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Exotic wood: French companies singled out
French sawmills are condemned for illegally importing wood from the Amazon. Convictions for lack of reasonable vigilance. What is it exactly? – (France 2)
French sawmills are condemned for illegally importing wood from the Amazon. Convictions for lack of reasonable vigilance. What is it exactly?
Thousands of hectares completely razed. In the Amazon, the forest continues to shrink a little more every year. According to several environmental associations, part of the wood resulting from deforestation ends up here in France. For the first time, a sawmill has just been fined 20,000 euros for having imported Ipe wood, an exotic species from a tree that grows mainly in Brazil. The company appealed, its director believes that it has put in place all the necessary controls and refers to the certificates issued by its suppliers.
A production chain that is not sufficiently controlled?
Certificates provided by the Brazilian administration, accused of sometimes being falsified, in a country where corruption is massive. A second company was also fined 100,000 euros before appealing. A court decision based on European regulations. It requires companies to limit as much as possible the risks of supplying products resulting from deforestation. Very often, Ipe wood is extracted in the state of Para, in Brazil, a region very affected by deforestation. The production chain is not sufficiently controlled, according to environmental associations. For them, companies would continue their trade with full knowledge of the facts.