The Rainforests of New York: A Trail of Destruction

November 12, 2008

	Tim Keating, director of Rainforest Relief (right), pointing out the horrors of the new "Nature Boardwalk" recently unveiled in Hudson River Park. The walkway is nearly 2/10 of a mile long and made entirely of ipê. Rainforest Relief estimates that 250 acres of primary tropical forests were logged — most likely illegally — to provide the wood for the boardwalk. Photo by Cindy Rosin.

In conjunction with the release of Rainforest Relief's response to New York City's Tropical Hardwood Reduction Plan, Rainforest Relief and New York Climate Action Group organized a tour of southern Manhattan's rainforest wood for elected officials, the media and the public.

The tour was a great success, highlighting the use of tropical hardwoods from the Amazon (Brazil and Peru), Guyana and West Africa as well as the failures to address the problem in the City's Plan.

On the same day, RR released a draft of the scathing report, The Rainforests of New York: A Trail of Destruction, Rainforest Relief's Response to New York City's Tropical Hardwood Reduction Plan. The report is the 7th in the Rainforest Relief Reports series of ocassional papers. The full report will be released shortly and be available on the web. For now, you can download the draft Executive Summary here.

Our hope is that we will also be able to create a 'virtual' tour of NYC's tropical hardwood use. If there's anyone out there willing and able to help with that, please contact us.