Sekedar renungan,

Jika baru sekarang USA menjadi negara pertama yang melarang
ilegal logging masuk ke negaranya, lalu tahun2 sebelumnya, negara ini
secara tak langsung mengakui menerima kayu ilegal dong….
Selain itu, jika USA baru pertama yang melakukan pelarangan, lalu
negara lain gimana ya??? kayunya darimana ya??? Siapa ya yang jadi
eksportir kayunya??? kaya nggak ya negaranya???

Akbar
PSU – Hat Yai – Thailand

Kabar dari negeri seberang, semoga berguna…..

PRESS RELEASE- June 19, 2008
For immediate release
CONTACT
Alexander von Bismarck
(301) 706-3375 or (202) 483-6621
saschavonbismarck@…

World’ First Ban on Illegal Wood Imports Finalized Last Night

WASHINGTON, DC -The United States Congress approved landmark
legislation last night to address the global illegal logging crisis.
The U.S. becomes the first country in the world to prohibit the
import, sale or trade of illegally harvested wood and wood products.
“The world’s biggest consumer nation has sent a message that will be
heard from forest to retail shelf: the United States’ doors are now
closed to products made from illegal wood,” said Alexander von
Bismarck, Executive Director of the Environmental Investigation
Agency, which spearheaded the coalition supporting the ban.
The legislation amends the U.S. Lacey Act, a long-standing wildlife
trafficking statute, to include trade in products made from illegally
harvested wood. The law received definitive approval with Congress’s
over-ride of Bush’s Farm Bill veto last night – a revote to correct
procedural problems with the bill’s original passage on May 22nd.
The bill also creates a requirement for importers to declare the
species and country of origin of any plant or plant product. This new
measure, which will significantly increase transparency in global wood
supply chains, goes into effect in 180 days. “If companies want to
avoid the risk of seizure and forfeiture, they must now ensure their
wood is legally sourced, end of story,” von Bismarck noted. “These
provisions, in combination with stronger penalties for those who
knowingly trade illegal goods, will change the equation to reward
responsible practices and root out timber trade crime.”
Environmentalists and industry organizations hailed these provisions
as a groundbreaking piece of forest legislation. The law has been
championed by Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Ron Wyden, both
of Oregon, and backed by a diverse coalition of environmental groups,
industry associations and organized labor.
Deforestation is estimated to cause almost one-fifth of annual
greenhouse gas emissions. Illegal logging is one significant driver of
the problem, setting in motion a chain of forest disturbance, clearing
and conversion. “This step represents the opportunity of a life-time
to protect dwindling forests around the world, help the people and
species which depend on them, and protect our global climate,” said
von Bismarck. “It is now critical that other consuming nations in
Europe and elsewhere quickly follow suit.”