The international environment group brought its flagship Rainbow Warrior vessel to Singapore to highlight what it said was new evidence of criminal smuggling of endangered hardwood from Indonesia into Singapore and Malaysia.

"It is quite evident that if countries in the region do not act now to stop the destruction of rainforests and illegal trade, we will soon have nothing to protect," Greenpeace forest campaigner Tim Birch said.

"Countries like Singapore and Malaysia hold the future of not only timber species, but of all plants, animals and communities that live in and depend on forests, in their hands."

Greenpeace released documents to reporters showing photos of boats laden with endangered ramin timber from the forests of Riau province in Sumatra, Indonesia, that were bound for Singapore and Malaysia.

Ramin is a hardwood tree species that is mainly found in lowland swamp forests of Malaysia and Indonesia. It is used in common household products such as window blinds and baby cots.

Birch said Singapore should set up a law enforcement unit focused solely on the illegal timber trade, saying this was a commitment the city-state gave when it signed a free trade agreement with the United States this year.

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, which enforces the nation's commitments to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), released a statement saying trading in illegal timber was not tolerated by the government.

"Singapore views illegal wildlife trade seriously and will not hesitate to take enforcement actions on companies or individuals who violate CITES provisions and our wildlife laws," the statement said.

The authority said it would continue to work with local and international enforcement agencies to ensure Singapore was not used as a conduit for the trade.

However it pointed out that not all ramin timber from Indonesia was logged illegally and that many timber species could be traded freely without a permit.

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