Archived press release

Uk consumers fanning forest fires

23 September 1997

UK consumers are contributing to the massive forest fires occurring in Malaysia and Indonesia [1] because of the consumption of tropical hardwoods and the possible effect of the large scale use of fossil fuels on the El Niño climate phenomenon.

The forest fires in Asia are linked to El Niño, a periodic natural event that makes conditions in the south-east of the region much drier. El Niño has in recent years become more frequent, intense and longer-lived. It also started earlier than usual this year. Some scientists have attributed these changes to global climate change [2] caused by the emission of so called greenhouse gases, mainly from burning oil, coal and gas.

Logging makes forests more prone to fires [2] and opens inaccessible forest to settlers,who use fire to clear areas for agriculture. Indonesia is the second largest supplier of tropical timber (including plywood) to the UK [3].

Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:

“ The environmental disaster unfolding in south-east Asia is not simply a regional issue. It is inextricably linked to the behaviour of countries in the developed world who presently consume vast quantities of wood and who are mainly responsible for the changes now occurring to the global climate. Its time politicians took these issues seriously and implemented the environmental agreements that they have already signed up to”.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The smoke from the out-of-control fires combines with pollution from cities to create a choking smog. The sun has been obliterated, and children are being given masks to minimise the health effects. It has been estimated that the smog will last till next April.

[2] See for example Trenberth, K. and Hoar, T. (1996) 'The 1990-1995 El Niño Southern
Oscillation Event: longest on record', Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 23, p.57. These authors concluded that the likelihood of an El Niño effect as long-lived as that seen in 1990-

1995 was one in every 2000 years. It is even more unusual to see another El Nino within a couple of years that is the most intense of the last half century. Mick Kelly of the East Anglia Climate Research Unit also suggested this week that the effects of El Nino could become more extreme because of human-induced global climate change.

[3] Forest fires are more prevalent in areas affected by logging, because of the build up of dead branches and leaves on the ground, and thinning of the canopy allowing more sunlight to penetrate the forest.

[4] In 1996, the UK imported a total of 201,650 cubic metres of tropical timbers (logs, sawn timber, plywood, veneers and boards) from Indonesia (Tropical Timbers April 1997).Indonesia harvests approximately 26 million cubic metres of timber from its forests annually (Tropical Timbers Dec 1996) and is the biggest player in the international tropical timber market. Over 1 million ha of forest are lost in Indonesia every year (FAO State of the World's Forests 1997).

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust