European Union and Canada Keep Pushing for Forestry Treaty
4/10/97
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Headline: European Union and Canada Keep Pushing for Forestry Treaty
Source: Reuters
Date: 4/10/97
Byline: Evelyn Leopold
Copyright 1997: Reuters
UNITED NATIONS (Reuter) - The European Union and Canada
Thursday pressed hard for the world to begin talks on a
treaty to preserve shrinking forests from too much
logging.
Both are trying to breathe life into a five-year proposal
that is strenuously opposed by the United States and
Japan, as well as many environmental groups, for opposing
reasons.
``Our planet's future depends on healthy forests,''
Canada's Natural Resource Manager Anne McLellan said.
``Through a forest convention, we can create clear and
consistent rules for forest management.''
Dutch Environment Minister Margaretha de Boer, whose
country holds the European Union presidency, told a news
conference there was ``strong support in most nations in
the world for such a treaty'' and a willingness among many
others to consider it.
Among countries with heavy forests, even Brazil, long
opposed to such a treaty, now was willing to talk about
it, along with Malaysia, China, Colombia and Finland, she
said.
Canada, which has 10 percent of the world's forests, and
the Europeans are hoping for firm action on forestry when
world leaders gather in New York in June for the fifth
anniversary of the environmental summit in Rio de
Janieiro.
Environmental ministers this week kicked off a three-week
session to prepare pledges for the conference on fresh
water, oceans, fuel emissions, toxic chemicals and others.
The United States has long been reluctant to accept a
forestry convention, fearing restrictions on its lumber
industry. Many environmental groups also do not want a
treaty, saying it would take too many years to negotiate
and would settle for the lowest common denominator,
thereby delaying action that should be taken immediately.
Instead, they believe world leaders should make specific
pledges in June of a series of forestry actions.
Forests are decreasing rapidly, particularly in the
developing world where they are often chopped down for
firewood. More than 80 percent of the harvested wood is
used as fuel for cooking and heat.
Government representatives have held 10 meetings since
1995 and drawn up a list of 130 non-binding
recommendations. But McClellan said this was a
``fragmented agenda'' and would go nowhere without some
binding committments in form of a treaty.