Japanese Timber Demand Soars

Forest and Bird, Volume 21, Issue 2, 1 May 1990, Page 8

Japanese Timber Demand Soars

THE U.S. STATE OF WASHINGTON is at present the site of a battle between conservationists and loggers over protection of one of the great temperate areas of rainforest left in the world. The arguments bear echoes of those carried on in New Zealand, relating to the definition of sustained yield. The U.S. Forest Service has interpreted it to mean large scale clearfelling of old growth forests, trees of which may be as old as 500 years. At threat is the habitat of the rare northern spotted owl and other wildlife such as the grizzly bear. Japan is the market for the most of the timber. However, rather than being chipped, the magnificent Douglas firs and cedars are shipped as logs for the Japanese building industry. In 1989 Japan built 1.68 million new homes, twice that of the U.S. which has double the population. Audubon magazine says that the Japanese use prodigious amounts of timber in their homes because they are so fond of wood. A quality home can call for upwards of 30 tonnes of timber. Japan's wasteful and excessive demands for industrial plywood and for paper products similarly place enormous demands on the world’s forests.