Japan's Tropical Timber Imports '84-'99

Overview

Japan has come under severe criticism over the years for its massive imports of tropical timber, which have caused massive tropical forest destruction throughout Southeast Asia and other regions. Imports from the Philippines in the 60's and 70's made this country a net importer of timber, and imports from Indonesia and Sabah State, Malaysia in the 70's to mid 80's led to serious resource depletion and a temporary ban on log exports to promote local processing.

Since the mid 80's, Sarawak State, Malaysia, (in Northern Borneo) has supplied the majority of tropical hardwood logs to Japan. Logging in Sarawak has led to massive forest destruction and widespread protests by the indigenous Dayak peoples, resulting in the arrest of more than 500 people and many human rights abuses.

In recent years, Malaysia has also been promoting plywood processing while reducing quotas for log exports. This has led to log imports from new sources such as Papua New Guinea, the Solomon islands, and Africa. Next Page
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