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BRITISH BUREAUCRACY vs BRITISH OAK
22 November 1996
The revised standard, BS 5268 Part 2,1996, does not include oak as a suitable material for use in load-bearing structures, despite the completion by the British Research Establishment of tests that demonstrate that it does have the required strength. In order for materials to be listed in the BS 5268 standard, they have to be officially graded and listed in BS 5756. The test results were sent to the British Standards Institution, but were not processed and added to BS5756 in time for it to be included in the revised BS 5268 standard.
The result is that oak from British woodlands cannot be used by specifiers wishing to comply with the BS 5268 standard. Tropical hardwoods such as Iroko or Keruing can be used instead, despite the fact that it has been shown that logging of such timbers is a major cause of tropical rainforest destruction, and both have been officially recognised as being of conservation concern [1].
Dr Georgina Green of Friends of the Earth said:
" This bureaucratic nonsense effectively means that timbers from the ravaged tropical rainforests that have travelled thousands of miles to reach the UK will be favoured over oak grown in local British woodlands. The UK Government has stated its commitment to restoring and sustainably managing our native woodlands, which will provide wildlife habitats and jobs and reduce imports. It's time these words were reflected in actions."
[1] Keruing is listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable; Iroko is included in the list of overexploited commercial tropical timbers in the Databook on Endangered Tree and Shrub Species and Provenances (FAO, Forestry Division, 1985) and is on a list of tree species regarded as threatened in two or more countries in which it occurs (World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1991).
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
