Against the grain

The fate of the rainforests is in our hands. Experts in tropical timber have concluded that developing countries lack either the will or the wherewithal to stop the onslaught which sees an area of rainforest the size of England destroyed each year.

The only hope, say conservationists, lies with the purchasing power of the rich countries in the north. If we insist on timber that is sustainably harvested it will put pressure on the loggers to ply their trade with greater care. Western governments must act much more swiftly. So must local government and business.

So must individual consumers. But as I discovered in a building project at my own home, putting conservation principles into practice is far from easy. For the past five months, my family has been enduring that living hell euphemistically known in the building trade as the kitchen extension. It will all be worthwhile when the builders have moved out and we are left in a stylish, modern space built with minimal environmental impact. The lightweight construction has highly-insulated walls and ultra-efficient glazing which passes the eco-test; but it fails with the timber.

My attention was focused on finding a set of patio doors that did not involve any rainforest destruction. My builder brother told me that, ideally, the doors should be made of hardwood which would not twist or swell. Local oak is out of my price range, so I resolved to buy doors made from tropical timber certified as being from a sustainably-managed forest.

The top timber certificate comes from the WWF-inspired Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which claims to ensure that the timber has been cut in a way that protects the environment and safeguards the conditions of workers. I clicked on the FSC website and searched for patio doors. No mention of them. I phoned the FSC office in Llanidloes, Powys, and was referred back to the website. I phoned FSC timber merchants at random. There are very few of them. One had gone to Holland for a week. Another told me that he could not inform me about FSC timber without knowing the joinery specification. The joiner said he could not specify sizes without knowing the qualities of the timber.

Time was ticking on the building schedule. Another timber merchant from the FSC list told me he had stopped selling FSC timber because no one would buy it, even though he had priced it at the same level as regular timber. Builders did not recognise the types of wood in the yard, and architects had not specified it.

More on http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2001/nov/28/guardiansocietysupplement2