Use of Amazon wood in NYC comes under fire

The use of logged wood from the Amazon rainforest for park benches in New York City has been criticised by an environmental group.

Rainforests of New York, an organisation that promotes rainforest conservation, said the city's use of rainforest wood for lounge chairs as part of its High Line project is misguided, as it contributes to the deforestation of one of the world's largest rainforests.

Activist JK Canepa noted that wood from Brazil and Peru's ipe tree was chosen for its exotic qualities, but its use is at the expense of the natural world.

"Logging in old-growth forests anywhere on the planet is simply not sustainable," she told The Villager.

Katie Lorah, a spokesperson for Friends of the High Line, countered Rainforests of New York's criticism, saying that the ipe wood used was taken from managed regions certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

In a speech delivered to the United Nations earlier this year, New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city would cut its use of tropical hardwoods by 20 per cent.

Written by Adil Montez

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