Toespraak van minister Kamp bij seminar over illegale houtkap en houthandel

Toespraak | 10-11-2015

Esteemed members of the National Diet, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

The Japanese have a special relationship with wood. Japanese woodworkers and their wood carvings have been world-famous for centuries. Japan also harbours the world's oldest wooden building: the pagoda of the Hōryū-ji temple dates from the 6th century. Wood is a popular building material here. Furniture maker Sada Kenbi even built a sports car out of wood.

Naturally, sustainable timber production is important to a country with so much love and respect for wood. And I'm honoured to speak to you about this important subject today. I know Japan takes sustainable timber production very seriously. That's why the International Timber Trade Organization has based its secretariat here. This organisation promotes trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed forests.

It's a subject that Japan has put on the agenda at many multilateral meetings. At the G8, for instance, you have often called for action against illegal logging. And now you are about to add a new dimension to your international leadership in this area.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of sustainable forest management. Every year 13 million hectares of forest is lost, with serious consequences: emission of CO2, loss of biodiversity, erosion, water pollution, flooding and landslides. And loss of human lives.

And not least: some 800 million people around the world depend directly on what the forest has to offer. So sustainable forestry not only contributes to environmental and conservation goals, it also helps fight poverty and preserve people’s livelihoods. Therefore sustainability of logging contributes to the preservation and creation of jobs, and thus to inclusive economic growth.

And there's more. Illegal logging is often associated with human rights violations, corruption and even armed conflict.

According to Interpol, the annual economic value of illegal logging worldwide, including processing, is estimated to be between 30 and 100 billion US dollars. That’s 10 to 30 per cent of the global timber trade.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I think we all agree: illegal logging must be stopped. In 2013, the EU Timber Regulation combatting the trade in illegal timber entered into force. The Netherlands and other European countries have prohibited the trade in illegally harvested timber, imposed due diligence requirements on operators, and put in place effective penalties in an effort to eradicate illegal logging. Similar legislation has been introduced in the US and Australia.

For a global approach to illegal logging, we need Japan on board. After the EU, the US and China, Japan is the world’s largest importer of timber. The chairman of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Taku Eto, reaffirmed during his visit to our country last month how important international cooperation in this area is to Japan.

Japan already requires all publicly tendered contracts to specify the use of legally produced timber – Goho wood. However, public procurement makes up only 5 per cent of the total acquisition of timber in Japan. Various timber industry associations in Japan voluntarily follow the guideline for Goho wood, but this system is paper-based and doesn't demand due diligence.

At this stage, it's also fair to expect private parties to refuse timber that can’t be proven beyond doubt to be legal.

So I'm pleased that, alongside the EU, the US and Australia, Japan has initiated legislation that will boost the legal timber industry and the trade in legal timber. The bill would ensure all of Japan’s timber imports are legally harvested. This would reflect the leadership that your country has shown in the G8 and various other multilateral meetings. I hope Japan will use its influence to convince other consumer countries to follow in its footsteps.

Introducing this legislation is also an important step in the light of the upcoming Paris Climate Change Conference, since forest conservation contributes significantly to climate mitigation. Last year’s Climate Summit adopted the New York Declaration on Forests, which was endorsed by both our countries. It formulated goals that will help stop the loss of forests and boost forest restoration.

I hope your parliament will vote to pass this bill into law. If Japanese companies choose sustainable timber, it would boost the trade in legal timber throughout the Asian region enormously.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The ties between Japan and the Netherlands go back more than four centuries. We began our friendship as trading partners. One of the products the Dutch traders brought back from Asia in those early days was timber.

Now we are changing the direction of that old and special friendship. It is an honour and a pleasure for me to speak to you in your parliament building. But I'm also pleased that our countries can join efforts on an issue that is so important to us both: working towards sustainable forest management.

I see many opportunities for cooperation in this area. Exchanging experiences and relevant data. Encouraging producer countries to introduce effective legislation. And developing and improving verification and enforcement systems.

Japan, world's third largest economy, is reaffirming its leadership in the region and in the world in the field of sustainability. And the world can now look forward to the next exciting product from Japan. We know for sure it will be made from sustainable wood.

Thank you.