Surge in illegal logging by Chinese in Myanmar alarms activists
Source: The Guardian
Surge in illegal logging by Chinese in Myanmar alarms activists
Tom Phillips in Beijing
Thursday 17 September 2015 10.19 BST
A torrent of illegal timber worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year is pouring across Myanmar’s border into China as loggers reach deeper into the country’s forests in search of profits, activists have claimed.
In a report released in Beijing on Thursday, the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency said there had been an alarming escalation of timber flowing into China over the last three years.
“Within Myanmar we are being told that Chinese operations are going deeper into the country as they seek valuable hardwoods, mainly teak and rosewood,” said Faith Doherty, one of the report’s authors.
“New investments in infrastructure in the country, including dams, ensure roads are built, leading timber bosses from China straight to Myanmar’s valuable forests. If this continues, the impacts on both the communities that rely on the forest and the country’s forest itself will be irreversible.”
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/illegal-timber-myanmar-china-forests