By Martin Banks - 5th July 2010
Illegal logging is a disaster
Ricken Patel
More than 120,000 Europeans have signed a petition asking EU policymakers to put a stop to the 'illegal' timber trade.
The move comes in the week parliament votes on a new European timber law.
The petition was organised by Friends of the Earth Europe and global citizens' network Avaaz.org.
Both are calling on MEPs to "ban illegally harvested timber and timber products from the EU market, ensure clear obligations for all timber operators and impose a minimum level of sanctions and penalties on offenders".
In 2009, a survey by Friends of the Earth Netherlands showed that an average of 92 per cent of people want strong European legislation to stop the illegal timber trade.
Avaaz executive director Ricken Patel said, "Illegal logging is a disaster - it has massive impact on climate change, destroys the livelihoods of forest communities, costs governments billions of dollars in lost income, and fuels corruption and violence.
"The people of Europe want to protect forests and end this devastating trade. The council has done the right thing by supporting strong legislation to curb illegal timber from entering the EU and it’s now up to parliament to follow suit.
"The pressure is on the MEPs to listen to their constituents and not bow to the powerful timber industry."
Patel said the plenary vote in Strasbourg on the forest law enforcement governance and trade (FLEGT) directive "can be the basis for a level playing field and the banning of illegal timber on the European market."
Magda Stoczkiewicz, director of Friends of the Earth Europe, agreed, saying, "MEPs have the opportunity to put a stop to the illegal timber trade.
"They should not let the people of Europe down, and vote for strong, binding legislation to create a level playing field in the timber trade and save the world's forests."
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