Tokyo Olympics venues ‘built with wood from threatened rainforests’
Wood from threatened south-east Asian rainforests has been used to build venues for
the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to complaints filed with organisers.
At least 134,000 large sheets of tropical plywood from Malaysia and Indonesia
have been used as concrete moulds to build stadiums, causing what campaigners say
is irreversible harm to precious biodiversity reserves.
Charge sheets seen by the Guardian accuse the authorities of purchasing policies
“resulting in the permanent loss of tropical rainforests in Indonesia as well as
the destruction of critically endangered orangutan habitat in Borneo”.
The allegations focus on the use of 8,700 tropical plywood sheets mostly supplied
by the Korean-Indonesian firm Korindo. A report by a group of environmental NGOs
this month alleged that the wood was being used to construct the Ariake arena, a
planned volleyball venue, despite the lack of credible sustainability certification.
Japan’s huge new national stadium may also have been built with the wood, campaigners fear.
The “vast majority” of East Kalimantan forest concessions held by some Korindo
suppliers is orangutan habitat, according to the complaint.
Orangutan populations in East Kalimantan have plunged as deforestation advances.
An estimated 80% of the apes now live outside protected areas, making them highly
vulnerable to logging, plantation and mining operations.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/tokyo-olympics-venues-built-with-wood-from-threatened-rainforests
