***Japan's voracious appetite for tropical timber appears to be declining, raising hopes for Southeast Asia's endangered rainforests.

PRESSURE from international green groups and an economic slowdown has for the first time reduced Japan's imports of tropical hardwoods from South-east Asia, but environmentalists say it is too early to tell whether this represents a trend.

Japanese log imports from South-east Asia shrank from a record 12.3 million cubic metres'in 1989 to 11.3 million 1990, according to the International Timber Trade Organisation (ITTO). The Yokohama-based group estimates another eight per cent drop for 1991.

The international watchdog for tropical rainforests also notes a sharp drop in imports of sawn wood. In 1989, Japan bought close to 1.8 million cubic metres, mainly from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah. In 1991, the figure dropped to 1.32 million.

"Thailand has taken over from Japan and become the world's biggest importer of sawn wood," says Steve Johnson of ITTO. Among buyers of tropical logs, however, Japan still ranks first.

But despite the encouraging drop In Japan's Imports, green groups say their long fight to get the Japanese government to protect tropical rainforests by curbs on demand at home is not yet over.

Japanese imports are dropping not because the government and corporations want to preserve tropical forests," says Elshi Maesawa of the environmental group Traffic.

Vociferous environmental campaigns against hardwood Imports made major dent In Japans massive Import of tropical timber, but conservationists say there are other factors Involved.

The recession in Japan and the drop in supplies from producer countries which re alise the need to sustain their forest* are the main reasons for I he decline we see today, said Yuji Haruna of the non. governmental group Sarawak Campaign.

by Suvendrini Kakuchi

Japanese demand for cheap tropical timber is blamed for most of the forest loss in the Philippines and Thailand In the 1960's. After decimating a country's forest, big Japanese companies have simply moved on to neighbouring ones to plunder trees.

Currently, they are In the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak from where Japan gels 53 per cent of its total tropical timber Imports. In 1989, Sarawak sent almost half its logs to Japan. Sarawak has cut down production this year by some 1.5 million cubic metres.

Green groups urge Japan to shift from tropical hardwood to environment-friendly

Japan's voracious appetite for tropical timber appears to be declining, raising hopes for Southeast Asia's endangered rainforests.

softwood timber from plantations In temperate countries. An average Japanese consumes 300 kg of paper each year, while a Chinese or an Indian uses only two kg.

Japan's prodigious demand for paper and plywood, the high cost of domestic production and the availability to cheap hardwoods In Southeast Asia are putting a heavy strain on the region's receding rainforests.

Despite the encouraging drop In tropical timber imports, green activists do not discount the possibility of Import volumes bouncing back once Japan's economy picks up again.

The Japanese government reduced Its housing and construction budget last year. But environmentalists fear plans to spend a trillion yen (USS 8.3 billion) on public works projects this year mean another spurt in timber Imports.

Environmentalist* arc lob hying for rich countries to formulate a long-term policy to encourage high value, low volume timber trade

'We are not asking for a

boycott of tropical timber. What we urge the Japanese government to do is to buy valuable tropical wood products for higher prices to reach sustainable forest management," explains Maesawa.

Japan's pledges to protect tropical rainforests. Including the much-trumpeted slogan 'Sustainable Management by the Year 2000', have yet to set targets for a higher pricing system or an increase of plywood imports made in developing countries.

In addition to the transfer of technical expertise for better forestry management in Asia, Japan plans to take steps to cut tropical wood wastage at home, including the use of low-cost softwoods like pine for making concrete moulds, a spokesman for Japan's Forestry Agency told IPS.

Increasing higher value tropical wood imports is expected to be an uphill task. The Japan Plywood Manufacturers Association (JPMA) Is resisting import increases to protect tts interests.

According to ITTO, Japan's consumption of temperate wood, mainly from Canada, New Zealand and the United States, has risen since 1991 to ease the pinch caused by depleting wood stocks.

JPMA plans to increase the use of coniferous plywood in concrete moulds from 10 per cent at present to 30 per cent.

“We are concerned about the vast forest reserves, par ticularly In the United Stales, which will become the new targets for Japanese corporations, " says Maesawa

Despite corporate opposition to making fundamental changes tn timber trade. ITTO's Johnson says a rise In prices of tropical forest prod ucts is inevitable. Producer countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia are trying harder to Increase exports of wood products rather than logs or sawn wood.

Indonesia, which banned sawn wood export* In 1988. saw Its plywood market grow dramatically from I 88 million cubic metre* in 1988 to 3 06 million in 1989.