19/10/2005
- Greenpeace activists dump over a tonne of plywood secured
with large chains blocking the entrance to DEFRA, the UK
Government's department responsible for the environment.
International — Everyone knows it's illegal to import pirated
CDs and DVDs, with heavy penalties if you get caught, but
what happens when you import stolen timber from the world's
last ancient forests? Absolutely nothing.
The Amazon lost an area roughly the size of Belgium last
year, and the Paradise Forests of South East Asia are disappearing
so rapidly, that their most famous residents, orang-utans,
are facing extinction in the wild within the next decade.
The African Forests of the Great Apes is similarly facing
a huge assault. Why? Illegal and destructive logging, driven
by demand for cheap wood from Europe. Last
week, in the port city of Livorno, Italy, we blocked the
unloading of the freighter 'Guan He Kou' which was carrying
timber from a company involved in illegal logging in the
Congo Basin. The presence of the 'Guan He Kou' and its
rainforest cargo in Europe shows just how easy it is to
steal from some of the most biologically rich areas in
the world.
After the activists were arrested,
the ship continued to deliver the timber before sailing
to Spain, where we greeted it again in the port of Valencia
on Monday. No inspections, no seizure of the stolen goods.
Many of the companies that log the
tropical timber are known to be involved in criminal activities.
In Papua New Guinea, for example, the logging industry
is dominated by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau,
a company that has been directly linked not only to environmental
destruction, but also to human rights abuses including
torture and rape.
Today in the UK, activists blockaded
the offices of the environment department in protest at
the lack of action to prohibit the importation of illegal
timber.
Lulu John and Aeabi Sakas in the rainforest.
They and their clan face an uncertain future as logging
threatens to destroy their land. Elie, Middle Fly Distrct,
Western Province, PNG
"Governments around the world have known about this
problem for years and they've done absolutely nothing
about it. Illegally logged timber products from the world's
last rainforests are sold openly around the world. This
criminal trade must be prohibited immediately," said
Phil Aikman, Greenpeace International forests campaigner.
The European Commission's (EC) response
to the issue of illegal logging has so far been weak.
It is promoting voluntary measures, despite calls from
180 NGOs, the European Parliament and 70 companies (including
Ikea and B&Q), who have all called for legislation
which stops the import of illegally sourced timber products
into Europe.
This voluntary approach is an inadequate
and untenable position, not just for consumers in Europe
who are unknowingly complicit in forest crimes, but also
for the people of timber-producing countries. The World
Bank estimates that illegal logging costs timber-producing
countries between US$10 and15 billion a year in lost revenue.
Forest dwelling people in countries like Cameroon, Papua
New Guinea and Brazil cannot afford to have their livelihoods
stolen from them.
One of the first steps in protecting
the ancient forest is the introduction of laws prohibiting
the import of illegal timber. While the European Commission
drags its feet, the forests continue to be destroyed and
the people that depend on them for their way of life continue
to be ignored. |
