Two BBC television programmes in the space of 24 hours which focused on the problem of illegally logged timber have elicited sharp responses from the timber trade.
Michael Buckley, of timber consultancy World Hardwoods, said he was outraged that environmentalist Will Travers from the Born Free Foundation said on Wednesday’s BBC breakfast television that people should not buy any wood products without the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label.
Mr Buckley, who has made a complaint to the BBC, said interviewer Jeremy Bowen seemed to endorse Mr Travers’ comments in his summary.
No mention was made of other national and international certification schemes, he added.
‘To maintain that the FSC scheme is the only proof of sustainable timber is misleading and a disgrace. It damages our industry, the economy and does a disservice to consumers’, he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) said the BBC Six O’Clock News ‘special report’ on Tuesday featuring the importation of some illegally-logged Indonesian timber by Malaysia did not include statements from the Malaysian government.
The MTC said Malaysia was implementing a national certification programme and UK importers could be confident that certified timber was from sustainable sources.
