KEY POINTS:
New Zealanders worried about the illegal felling of tropical rainforests are pushing for better information on the source of imported wood products.
Malcolm Scott, chairman of the Imported Tropical Timber Group, said there was consumer pressure for the certification of imported timber, particularly tropical hardwood.
The group was formed with the goal of ensuring tropical timber imported into New Zealand is sourced from certified sustainably managed forests.
Its members include tropical timber importers and retailers and environment and conservation organisations.
Mr Scott said the amount of tropical hardwood being imported into New Zealand that could be proven to be sustainable and was certified as legal was minimal.
"But the importers are confident the bulk of the imports are legally sourced."
Mr Scott said third-party certification was in its infancy and had started to come on stream only in the past six months.
Some international companies were offering timber certification including the SGS Timber Tracking Programme, Certi-source and TFT (Tropical Forestry Trust).
Mr Scott said getting timber certified as legal and sustainable would increase its cost by 10 to 20 per cent.
"New Zealanders are keen to adopt it but the public will pay for it."
The Green Party said New Zealand imported about half its wood furniture from China, which itself imported substantial quantities of illegally logged timber from countries such as Indonesia, the Solomons and Papua New Guinea.
Co-leader Russel Norman said the New Zealand Government estimated up to one-third of the timber products coming out of China were illegally sourced, but in his view the figure could be even higher.
China's second-biggest timber source was Papua New Guinea, where the level of illegal logging had been estimated at 75 to 90 per cent.
Dr Norman said China also obtained timber from the felled rainforests of Borneo, one of the last habitats of the highly endangered orangutan, under threat from logging.
The Greens recommended that outdoor furniture made from tropical timbers such as kwila or ramin should be avoided, or at least certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
"Better still, look for furniture made from New Zealand-sourced plantations like macrocarpa or eucalyptus which is durable."
A Green Party survey last December found that while 12 of 26 furniture retailers claimed the timber was sustainably logged, only three had the documentation to prove it.
This summer, many retailers, including The Warehouse, Mitre 10, Placemakers, Bunnings and Briscoes, planned to offer FSC-approved stock.
Dr Norman said illegal logging was a significant issue as deforestation destroyed the biodiversity of tropical forests.
"The Solomons expect to lose all forests within seven years."
Dr Norman said the New Zealand Government should follow the example of Norway, which two months ago banned its Government agencies from using any rainforest timbers because it was too hard to establish their legality and sustainability.
In New Zealand it was mandatory for Government departments to seek timber and wood products, including paper, from legally harvested forest.
The Government also expected its agencies to take all reasonable steps to ensure products were from sustainably managed sources.
Greenpeace suggested the Government extend the requirement for legal verification of its own timber use to the rest of the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry acknowledges illegal logging and associated trade are serious problems which have a significant impact on New Zealand producers.
Forestry Minister Jim Anderton said New Zealand export log prices were about 10 per cent lower as a result of cheaper illegal products in the international market.
Richard Davies-Colley, a Northland eucalyptus grower, said an end to the importing of illegal timber here would increase prices for logs grown here and encourage more plantations.
