Swift Parrots Lodged an Official Grievance against Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organizer
Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN) and swift parrots and other endangered species delivered an official complaint against Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organizer alleging plywood material from native forests with their habitats in Tasmania were used for concrete framework in Ariake Gymnastics Centre, one of Tokyo's Olympic Games related facilities.
The use of plywood manufactured by Ta Ann, a Malaysian-based multinational logging and timber products company, is strongly suspected to breach Tokyo 2020 Sustainable Sourcing Code for Timber.
Ta Ann Tasmania was established in 2005 as a partnership between Ta Ann Plywood, Japanese building material trading company SMKC (predecessor of SMB Kenzai) as well as Tasmania's state-owned forest management company Forestry Tasmania (predecessor of Sustainable Timber Tasmania).
Ta Ann Tasmania opened and operated two veneer mills in Tasmania that used rotary-peeling technology on short eucalypt logs - known as billets -harvested from native forests.
In 2006, Ta Ann Tasmania negotiated a wood supply contract with the state-owned forest company for the supply of 265 000 m3 of eucalypt timber per annum.
Loss of these habitats is a major threat to the swift parrot, which may only survive in the long term if there are networks of protected habitats throughout their range.
There could be fewer than 300 swift parrots left in the wild, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).
