Greenpeace Japan Press Release
Feb 18, 2004

Papua New Guinea's forests at mercy of Malaysian timber baron
Greenpeace exposes Rimbunan Hijau's Japanese partners in crime

"The Chain of Destruction From Papua New Guinea's Ancient forests to the Japanese Market"

Tokyo/Kuala Lumpur: A Greenpeace report released today exposes how the Malaysian logging giant, Rimbunan Hijau, has secured Japanese customers for timber from its illegal operations in Papua New Guinea ( 1 ) The report, "The Chain of Destruction From Papua New Guinea's Ancient forests to the Japanese Market" documents their partners in crime, which includes the large Japanese trading firms, such as Nissho Iwai and Marubeni, but also the specialized timber dealers like Nippon Paper Lumbers, Mahcome and Tsuda Industry.

©Greenpeace

Rimbunan Hijau, controlled by Datuk Tiong Hiew King, dominates the logging industry in Papua New Guinea. The company maintains a veil of secrecy over the true extent of its logging and other businesses, but it has interests in more than 60 inter-linked companies that are registered in Papua New Guinea. These companies control more than 50 percent of large-scale commercial logging operations and at least 55 percent of log exports from Papua New Guinea.

"Rimbunan Hijau have an appalling record of human rights abuses, environmental crime and forest destruction in many countries across the world," said Dorothy Tewkie, Greenpeace PNG forest campaigner. "Now Greenpeace can reveal that their timber is being sold to Japanese buyers, who has ignored their responsibility of these issues in Papua New Guinea. This latest report aims to bring this issue to their urgent attention."

©Greenpeace

The latest information builds on a report released by Greenpeace earlier in the month that Rimbunan Hijau's timber is traded across the globe with little or no regard for the environmental damage and the misery and suffering that is caused in producer countries by this international forest criminal. ( 2 ). The report's findings have been publicly supported by the Australian Forest Minister Senator Ian McDonald, and former PNG Environment Minister Sasa Zibe.

"Papua New Guinea's priceless forests are being destroyed and shipped to Japan as cheap illegal logs for plywood production. This is such a waste of the country's natural resources and biodiversity," said Yuka Ozaki, Greenpeace Japan forest campaigner. "Urgent global action needs to be taken by world governments to stop biodiversity loss and protect these forests from further destruction."

©Greenpeace/Scheltema

Greenpeace is highlighting the plight of the world's last remaining ancient forests and the depletion of the ocean ecosystems at the Summit for Life on Earth-the UN meeting of the Convention for Biological Diversity-being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Greenpeace is urging governments to protect life in all its diversity, indigenous people's rights and cultural variety by providing money for protection of life on land and sea. World governments must also ban large-scale industrial activity in all sensitive areas and establish a network of land and marine protected areas with effective law enforcement and management.

Notes to Editor

1
An independent review was recently ordered by the government into a number of new logging permits and extensions: Three of the reviews involved logging projects operated by Rimbunan Hijau (Wawoi Guavi, Vailala Blocks 2&3 and Passismanua). The review found that the extensions to all three projects were unlawful as they breached legal requirements and had not followed due process. The review reached the ' unavoidable conclusion that there have been serious departures and breaches from due process and there are serious anomalies in the timber permits and agreements. ' As well as declaring the project extensions unlawful, the review also found that the original timber permits for Vailala Blocks 2 and 3 and Wawoi Guavi were also unlawful and that the timber rights had never been properly acquired from the landowners.

2
The Greenpeace report, The Untouchables: Rimbunan Hijau's world of forest crime and political patronage