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Solution
V – International
Response 
Because
China, Japan
and South Korea
are the main importers of Russian forest products, cooperation from these
governments would reduce the number of illegally imported logs.
Inspection is
required on all international borders of wood products combined with heavy fines
for trading “harvest-restricted timber.” There are a limited number of ports
and land checkpoints on the supply and demand side which makes heavy inspection
feasible. “Real progress could be made in Chinese-Russian trade as the timber
is exported essentially from three points: Zabaikalsk, Gorodekova, and Manzhouli.”
 In addition to a better
inspection at border crossings, other countries should reduce consumption of
wood products. Japan, Europe and the United States
are culprits of over consumption.
China
uses wood products comparatively efficiently and it would be difficult to call
upon its citizens to reduce consumption further. Yet, China’s imports of Russian wood are used to fuel the furniture exports industry.
The West imports these products from China, so although there is little per capita consumption, the domino effect of
Western over consumption is felt in the East.
Likewise, Japan
is a major importer of China’s final wood goods and furniture. Japan
is another over consumption offender. “To effectively address Chinese over
consumption of Russian logs, one must therefore also address consumption in
those industrialized countries that import Chinese wood products. In Japan, about 75 percent of Russian timber is used to build houses.”
In general, houses last thirty to thirty-five years due to a
“scrap-and-build” housing policy supported by government, finance, and
insurance sectors in Japan. One writer described this system as a "constant turnover of housing
destruction and construction."
To reduce wasteful timber use, NGOs suggest revising
building codes to encourage use of nontraditional materials, dissolving loan
policies and regulations mandating limited life spans for houses, and
decentralizing housing construction.
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