New Zealand’s prime minister is taking heat from environmentalists for giving President Biden a bowl made from trees that had been buried for 60,000 years when she visited Washington in May — and some environmental advocates are suggesting the White House return it, according to reports.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave the president a swamp kauri bowl made from glazed timber harvested from trees that had been submerged for 60,000 years in peat swamps, according to a report by News.com.au.
Fiona Furrell, the head of the Northland Environmental Protection Society, called Ardern’s choice of present “appalling” and a “faux pas” due to the damage done to the ecosystem in the extraction process.
“To us, swamp kauri, of all things for a gift to America, is really not on. It’s shocking after all the work we’ve gone through to try and protect these wetlands that produce the swamp kauri,” she told RNZ.
Biden, right, and Jacinda Ardern enjoy a chat in the Oval Office on May 31. AFP via Getty Images
The plates were made from timber harvested from trees that had been submerged for 60,000 years in peat swamps.
Furrell urged Ardern’s office to be more careful about selecting gifts for famous people.
“Any use of swamp kauri that is featured by our government, therefore, puts our wetlands at risk, because people will want more swamp kauri now,” she added before suggesting that Biden could set an example by returning the gift to New Zealand.
Ardern’s office said the wood came from businessman Nelson Parker, who had been investigated in 2019 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and found to have likely violated the Forests Act by exporting kauri to China as artwork.
Ardern, pictured above outside the White House, is now under fire by environmental advocates. AP
The White House declined to comment on the gift, which was given to the president when Ardern visited the White House in May. Getty ImagesBut the ministry decided against prosecuting him.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
