illegal foresting

[humanfish]

I was just browsing the bbc website and came across this, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/n ... 351863.stm It was an interesting read and another complex international issue. Seeing as we all use this precious commodity i was wondering if anyone had any views. I went to a timber yard a number of months ago, W.L West and Sons near Midhurst http://www.wlwest.co.uk/home/index.asp, with my college and had a very interesting tour. Our guide/finance director, i forget his name forgive me, raised some interesting points about the state of the British timber situation and how so much timber is being bought from former soviet bloc countrys and other nations at a fraction of the cost of what it would be here in the UK. I myself dont no a great deal about the state of britains forestry situation nor the availability or lack of many exotic timbers due to over forestation. it is something i might look into. Anyone else have any views or insights into this topic i myself would be quite interested
regards
bad_hypertension

[MOD edit - the URL had a stray full stop after it, so I've removed it and the link seems to be fine now.]

 

[Anonymous]

You might like to check out the forestry commission site, I think it's forest.gov.uk ...might be some interesting links.
if you're up for a bit of sweating they might have a voluntary ranger scheme in your area

 

[Frank D.]

Hi bad hype,
I don't know much about it, only a few articles that I've read in the paper, a few news reports on TV and what I've gleaned on the Internet, but apparently availability is no guarantee of sustainable forestry. For many species of tropical woods the majority of what's commonly available on the market has been forested illegally. Even here in Canada cherry is endangered but still widely sold. I always try to find a few credible sources on the woods I intend to use in a project and I try avoid species that are in ecological trouble.
FWIW,
Frank

 

[Midnight]

I've some pretty deep concerns about this, so I try as best I can to avoid adding to it; I try to work with locally grown stock that's been properly managed...

 

[Adam]

I went to a timber yard a number of months ago, W.L West and Sons near Midhurst

Me too! Heres my tour from ages ago

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2026

I'm slowly coming round to deciding I'm really only interested in working with native English hardwoods (from an environmental aspect). Preferably locally sourced, to within a county either side. Why buy Oak from Scotland when you can have Sussex/Surrey Oak. The distance it travels will be much less.

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

I'm afraid that the link does not work today. This is an issue that really concerns me. Deforestation in the amazon and other forests is a growing problem that needs to be tackled on an international level. I saw a program on TV a while back that showed whole container ships of illegally felled lumber being shipped out of south America all around the world and no-one seemed to be doing anything about it at all.

To my embarrassment, I did not ask where my last load of Timber came from

 

[Adam]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4351863.stm.
bad_hypertension

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/n ... 351863.stm

Try this? Although it appears the same

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

I first went out to Brazil in 1974 and it was wonderful flying over the rainforest at 5000 feet in a DC-3. Next time I flew over was in 1999 and it was really scary to look down then on what was now effectively a desert.

The one thing I do is to never (knowingly) buy any products from any company that has facilitated such illegal devastation. Sure it means I have to plan petrol stops as I boycott a certain 'seashore' supplier, and I will never buy anything from a Japanese giant known for its 'young horse' cars that was and still is the primary destroyer of the Indonesian rainforest. I also boycott a certain Swiss foods firm, and some others. Sometimes it makes shopping difficult, or I simply go without. Only if we are prepared to stand up in sufficient numbers will the companies have any interest in changing their practices - and every vote counts as they say.

I buy my wood from sustainable sources and local suppliers, and go dumpster-diving at woodyards for offcuts of exotics that would otherwise go into landfill. It's amazing how much you can get out of a 9 inch board of a 6 x 1 exotic if you;re creative!

 

[Alf]

'Tis the same old problem. The Old World did all this waaaaaay back in days of yore, and our prosperity is largely due to making use of the resources we had. Coal, for instance, as well as wood, all cheap. Now the Third World (sorry, Developing Nations) are doing exactly the same thing and we all say "hey, no!". Not very fair really, if you think about it from their point of view. Trouble is they can do all the destruction it tooks us years to achieve in a fraction of the time, thanks to modern inventions like the chain saw, and that's where the trouble really comes. Obviously I'm not in favour of world deforestation, but I can understand why they're doing it. Stopping them doing it may cost more than we're prepared to pay. But not stopping them will cost more than we can afford. <end of trite quotable>

Anyway, I try to do my best and use native woods but it's still got to come from up country simply because it just doesn't exist down here. One of the reasons I got so excited about Heligan's initative is the possibility of genuinely local timber to use - and some of it may be a bit "exotic" too, albeit grown in Cornwall. Don't get me started on the blasted Forestry Commission and all their ruddy pine trees, whatever you do...

Cheers, Alf

 

[Adam]

Don't get me started on the blasted Forestry Commission and all their ruddy pine trees, whatever you do...Cheers, Alf

In fairness, the chap at Wests said the forestry commission are granting timber felling licences on the basis of replanting with native english hardwood - so some things are starting to change. Not for everywhere, but its becoming more common - so the forestry commission are getting their act together.

Adam

 

[Alf]

so the forestry commission are getting their act together.

About bloomin' time. Okay, so I'll have to confine myself to damning their past stupidity - I can cope with that.

Cheers, Alf

 

[tim]

In fairness, the chap at Wests said the forestry commission are granting timber felling licences on the basis of replanting with native english hardwood - so some things are starting to change. Not for everywhere, but its becoming more common - so the forestry commission are getting their act together.

This is definitely happening around us.

T