Demand For Merbau Wood Shredding Habitats Of Just-Discovered Species In SE Asia - Independent

British shoppers are unwittingly playing a part in the destruction of one of the world's last great wildlife habitats by buying flooring made of endangered wood from "paradise forests". Just as demand for mahogany is disfiguring the Amazon, demand for the golden wood merbau is doing immense damage to the forests of New Guinea, described as the place on earth that best resembles "the Garden of Eden". Dozens of new creatures such as a new species of honeyeater bird were discovered in New Guinea by an expedition in 2005, whose co-leader, Bruce Beehler, said: "There were so many things, it was almost overwhelming."

In a report handed exclusively to The Independent, Greenpeace warned a "gold rush" for merbau was destroying the rainforest through the construction of new roads and the felling of trees to allow its removal. The green pressure group estimated that, at current rates of legal logging, merbau would be commercially extinct within 35 years, though rapacious illegal logging means it may happen much quicker. A report last year by another group, the Environmental Investigation Agency, found flooring companies were flouting rules on the tree's export. As a result of the report - published in The Independent - John Lewis and the builders merchants Travis Perkins and Jewson withdrew merbau from sale.

However, it is still on sale on many shops, including the UK's biggest builders merchants Wolseley at its Build Center chain; at Topps Tiles, the biggest tile and flooring specialist; and at Floors 2 Go, the single biggest flooring shop. Other well-known carpet and kitchen stores also stock merbau. None of the companies wished to comment on Greenpeace's findings. Merbau grows to more than 100ft and is prized by developers because its wood is flecked with yellow, giving it a golden hue.

The tree used to grow throughout south-east Asia, Oceania and east Africa. Now, only the island of New Guinea, which is divided between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian province of Papua Land, has enough trees for commercial logging. Even on the island, most merbau has been eradicated from 60 per cent of its historic range, warns Greenpeace in the report, Merbau's Last Stand.

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