22 June 2001
Greenpeace confronts Hong Kong firm to stop fueling forest crime

Greenpeace today exposed that forest crime in the Brazilian Amazon is being committed by a Hong Kong company which is jointly owned by China's Tianjin municipal government. Campaigners confront the directors at the company's Annual General Meeting with this revelation urging it to come clean and stop buying "forest destruction".

According to a new Greenpeace report released- "Compensa, Fulbond International Holdings and Municipal Government of Tianjin joint venture company, links with forest crime in the Brazilian Amazon " - the majority of Compensa's wood supply comes from the deforestation of the Amazon. On two occasions this year the Brazilian environmental authorities have seized illegal log-rafts destined for Compensa.

The principal activities of Fulbond are the manufacture and sale of timber products. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

"Compensa continues to represent a serious threat to the Amazon in view of its long history in connection with destructive timber sources. When companies like Fulbond buy timber from illegal sources that plunder our forest resources, they are directly supporting the devastation of some of the world's most endangered forests." said Leon Ko, Greenpeace China's forest campaigner.

It is widely reported that the majority of timber extracted from the Amazon forest is either harvested illegally or sold illegally. A government report has estimated that 80 per cent of timber extracted from the Brazilian Amazon is illegal in origin.

"The Chinese government, who have become a staunch defender of ancient forest preservation, should take the lead and phase out the import of forest products derived from non-sustainable logging practices anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, in this case the Chinese Tianjin government has become involved with a company that has questionable links with forest criminals. We hope the relevant Chinese authority would take immediate actions to make amends and do all it can to protect rare and endangered forests," stressed Ko.

Greenpeace demands that Fulbond stops buying timber from deforestation and suppliers linked with illegalities. Greenpeace also urges the company show commitment to responsible timber trade practices and encourage the firm to buy wood from legal and well-managed Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified forests. At present, the FSC is the only international certification system to give consumers a label providing a verifiable guarantee that wood products are coming from ecologically well-managed forests.

Read the full report (pdf file)