Breakthrough in kwila decking supply

Rex Holmes examines sustainable kwila at Timspec's Mt Roskill yard. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Environmentally friendly kwila decking timber is available in New Zealand for what campaigners believe is the first time.

Timber merchant Timspec has imported an initial load of 10,000m of Forest Stewardship Council-certified kwila - enough to build 20 average decks - and another 10,000m is on its way.

The timber is certified to have been milled from legally logged forests that are replanted as they are felled.

Greenpeace forests campaigner Grant Rosoman said he believed it was the first time environmentally certified kwila had been on sale for decking in New Zealand. A small amount had been imported before but it was not available to the public.

Kwila is popular for decking and outdoor furniture, which Mr Rosoman said accounted for most of the imported tropical hardwood.

The Green Party has said most of New Zealand's tropical kwila imports come - often illegally - from dwindling forests in West Papua and Papua New Guinea. It is often imported via China, where it is processed.

To carry the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mark, timber must be from a well-managed forestry operation that benefits the community.

Mr Rosoman said FSC certification was the "gold standard" for environmentally friendly timber, though it was too soon to say whether FSC forests were truly sustainable. While Greenpeace did not endorse any particular company's products, it supported FSC timber and would add Timspec's products to its online "good wood" guide.

Timspec's Chris Wiffen said his company was negotiating with retail stores such as Bunnings Warehouse to get the decking timber on the shelves.

In the meantime, the company is selling directly to homeowners.

Concerns about illegal logging last year prompted retailers such as Harvey Norman, Big Save, The Warehouse, Briscoes and Farmers to begin phasing kwila out of their outdoor furniture departments.

Mr Rosoman said there had since been a big improvement and most major hardware stores now stocked outdoor furniture certified either by the FSC or Tropical Forest Trust. "Decking has always been the laggard (but) now it is catching up (to furniture)."

GOOD WOODS
* Use timber from New Zealand hardwood plantations such as macrocarpa or eucalyptus.
* Look for products approved by the Forestry Stewardship Council or Tropical Forest Trust.
Source: Greenpeace NZ

For more information:
* greenpeace.org/new-zealand
* timspec.co.nz