China towards a ‘green’ wood industry
November 05, 2014
According to Tao Yiming, vice President and Secretary General of the China Timber and Wood Products Distribution Association (CTWPDA) , a „green? wood industry must be created which would involve setting environmental standards along the complete wood industry chain. This would involve „green? procurement, production, distribution and marketing.
To achieve this, says the CTWPDA , three requirements should be met. First, raw materials should meet the requirements of sustainable forest management. Secondly, the manufacturing processes should satisfy the requirements of product standards. Thirdly, how to recycle wood products needs to be addressed.
Despite the latest initiatives problems remain in achieving development of a green wood industry chain in China:
•The standards for market access for timber and wood products are not perfect. Whether it is the standards of industry or national standards most are voluntary. There are few man datory standards for timber and wood products.
•The supervision, inspection and testing of product quality is not well established and there is no oversight or control of wood products placed on the market.
•The preparation of up-to-date laws and a system that builds credibility is slow.
•Consumers awareness and the ability to identify and reject wood products with toxic and harmful substances is low.
The CTWPDA has offered suggestion to address these problems. First the authorities should develop and ensure implementation of the „green? wood industry policy; it should speed development of laws, regulations and standard for a „green? wood industry; it should strengthen market supervision to eliminate marketing of wood products with toxic and harmful substances. In addition, systems should be put in place to ensure the legality of wood products for the domestic and international market