Since the transport takes place by ship, which transports thousands of containers of timber, the environmental impact per kilometer is considerably lower than transport by truck. There is no denying that tropical wood comes from far away, traveling many kilometers before being used in a lock gate, bridge or construction. This often translates into high CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the environmental impact is not so bad, as shown by environmental calculations.
It is not only the kilometers that are important, but also the means of transport. Have you ever seen a truck with 8000 containers? Transport by ship is much cleaner per kilometer than by truck.
The environmental damage caused by transport is determined by both the distance and the method of transport. This calculation example shows that transporting softwood from Europe can sometimes even have a higher environmental impact than wood from tropical areas.
The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/