The EU is one of the three main consumers of tropical timber exports along with Japan and the USA. Apparent consumption of tropical logs in Europe decreased by about 50 per cent between 1970 and 1985 and has now levelled off at about 3 million m3 per year (see Figure 23.7).
The current price of raw logs and processed wood from tropical forests is very attractive since current exploitation of the tropical forest does not include renewing the resource base. A number of measures have been proposed or implemented by certain Member States. These include: a voluntary agreement in The Netherlands between the government, non-governmental organisations and tropical timber traders and industries to market only sustainably produced timber from 1995 onwards; Tropenwald, an initiative taken by the German tropical trade and industry to promote and certify sustainably produced timber; and the Austrian attempt to introduce an 'Ecolabel'. Unilateral actions might, however, have unintended negative impacts; if they succeed in lowering the demand for tropical timber, reducing associated revenues and profits, tropical forests may be converted more rapidly to higher-value purposes, such as export agriculture (cash crops) or cattle ranching (World Resources Institute, 1992).
Figure 23.7 - Apparent consumption of tropical wood in Europe, 197090
Source: Compiled by Eurostat from UNECE/FAO
(see Statistical Compendium)