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ctivists have asked the government to monitor the use of raw materials for paper following a laboratory finding that some products exported to the United States contained material from the protected ramin tree.

The analysis, done by the Washington-based World Research Institute (WRI), found paper containing ramin fibers (Gonystylus spp) in some children’s and coffee-table books in the US market.

The researchers found the books were manufactured in and imported from Indonesia.

“The government needs to respond to the findings and evaluate the materials from the pulp and paper industry,” Greenomics Indonesia executive director Elfian Effendi said Wednesday.

Greenomics issued a report following the WRI’s findings, saying all Indonesian pulp and paper products were likely to contain fibers from ramin trees and other protected tree species.

The group said a majority of industrial forest plantations (HTI) were located in natural forests containing species of protected trees.

In its study, Greenomics analyzed 44 HTI with total concessions of 2.3 million hectares.

The 44 concessions contain 520,296 hectares of natural forest that has not been converted. “Of the 44, 31 are home to protected tree species, including ramin,” he said.

Greenomics said ramin logs between 10 and 19 centimeters and between 20 and 29 centimeters were found in 10 of the concessions.

Ramin trees have been protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 2003.

The Indonesian government has banned exports of all ramin products.

Elfian said the government could study the DNA of trees in order to identify any violations of the convention.

He said the producers and exporters of paper products containing fiber from protected trees were subject to criminal penalties under the US Lacey act.

“This is a serious issue,” he said.

The Lacey Act prohibits trade within the US of products made from plants harvested in violation of international law or laws from their countries of origin.

Violations by importers, publishers or retailers of the products using protected species as raw material could be fined up to US$500,000.

Elfian said paper products using ramin fiber could also have been exported to other international markets such as Europe, Australia and Japan.

The WRI sent samples of 32 imported paper products such as paper bags, stationery, cardboard boxes, toilet paper, wrapping paper and books to an independent fiber analysis laboratory.

In the fiber analysis, scientists use high powered microscopes to look at plant fibers and vessels in a snippet of paper to identify what types of trees were used to make it.

Vessels are structures that transport nutrients and water in plants.

Forestry Ministry director general of forest protection and conservation Darori said he was aware of the WRI’s findings and the Greenomics report.

“It is very likely that the ramin fiber that was found was unintentionally there because ramin is very expensive,” he said.