***********************************************
WORLDWIDE
BIODIVERSITY/FOREST CAMPAIGN NEWS
Taiga
Rescue Network Campaign Report
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
February
2, 1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
The
taiga is a green belt of conifer-dominated forest encircling
the
northern hemisphere and making up one third of the world's
forest
area. The Taiga Rescue Network (TRN)
facilitates and co-
ordinates
the work of NGO's and indigenous peoples and nations
fighting
for the sustainable use of the northern forests of the
world. Following is their summary of a recently
completed TRN
report
entitled "Taiga Trade." There
is a great deal of diverse
information
here; so scan through it and find information on
forest
preservation in a number of countries worldwide,
information
on companies carrying out logging, and worldwide
consumption
information.
Here is
an address for the Taiga Rescue Network:
Taiga
Rescue Network
Ajtte,
Box 116
S-962
23
Jokkmokk
Sweden
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/*
Written 12:44 PM Feb 2, 1995 by nn:rogols in igc:taiga.news
*/
/*
---------- "trn campaign report ready!" ---------- */
Dear
friends,
the
campaign material for th TRN consumer campaign is being
printed
at the moment, and distribution will begin any day.
Just to
give you an idea about the main message of the campaign,
here is
some basic information for you. Please find below the
summary
of the "Taiga Trade"-report, and the full text of the
campaign
leaflet "The Taiga Terminators".
Hopefully these texts
can be
useful in your campaign planning, for translation,
preparation
of press releases etc. Printed editions of the report,
the
leaflet and a number of fact sheets on "hot spots" and on
corporations
operating in the boreal forest region can be ordered
from
the TRN coordination center. The fact sheets available are:
Corporations:
Mitsubishi, Daishowa, Repap, Avenor, Stora, SCA/PWA,
Norske
Skog, Veitsiluoto, SOEDRA. Hot spots: The Ussuri Taiga
(Russia),
Karelia (Russia), Kuusamo (Finland), Njakafjaell
(Sweden).As
soon as possible, we will make the "fact sheets" on
this
conference.
All the
best,
Roger
Olsson
************************************************
THE
TAIGA TRADE REPORT - SUMMARY PAGES:
SUMMARY
THE
TAIGA - A MAIN FIBRE SUPPLIER
The
boreal forest belt, the Taiga, is a main supplier of wood and
fibres
to the world. This is not only due to the fact that it
represents
1/3 of the world's forest resources. Boreal forests
grow in
sparsely populated areas, which is the very reason why
they still
exist. Other, more densely populated areas, such
as
Western Europe, have been more or less deforested. Less than
10% of
the world population live in boreal forest countries, which
means
that domestic consumption is small even in countries with
high
per capita consumption (Canada and the Scandinavian
countries).
A large
proportion of the global trade flow of wood, pulp and
paper
go from boreal forest countries (Canada, Scandinavia and
Russia)
to the three major consuming regions Western Europe, USA
and
Japan. Canada is the largest exporter of wood products in the
world.
A
majority of the wood harvested in boreal forests is used for
paper
production. A majority of the raw material used for paper
production
in the world originates from the forests of the North.
Most of
the pulping capacity in the world is
located in or near
the
boreal forest region. (Chapter 3).
THE
TNCS - LINKS BETWEEN THE CLEAR-CUTS AND THE
CONSUMERS
The
world market for pulp and paper is dominated by a limited
number
of giant transnational corporations (TNCs). They are the
links
between the clear-cuts and the consumers.
In
1992, the 150 biggest corporations in the wood products sector
produced
63% of all paper and paperboard in the world. The common
share
of the top 10 companies was 27 %,
compared to 15 % five
years
earlier. In Europe, the five biggest companies have a market
share
exceeding 50 % for most paper products. The giants are
constantly
getting even bigger through mergers and acquisitions.
Not
only the market but also the pulpwood trade is getting global.
One
striking example is the strategy by Japanese wood product
corporations
to diversify supply sources. Restrictions and bans on
log
exports from traditional suppliers, like Sarawak and the US
Pacific
Northwest, has lead to dramatic increases of imports not
only
from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands, Burma and
Africa,
but also from Scandinavia. (Section 2.2.2)
OLD
GROWTH AND PLANTATIONS - THE RAW MATERIAL
SOURCES
Most of
the pulp industry expansion during the last few years has
been
based on either old growth logging (mostly in the North) or
plantation
forestry (in the South). One obvious reason for this
is,
that TNCs constantly are searching for the cheapest raw
material
sources available.
Today,
the early phase of exploitation (the
"timber-mining") is
coming
to an end in Scandinavia, eastern and central Canada and
most of
European Russia There are very little
primary old-growth
forest
left. The yield of the present secondary forests, more or
less
intensively managed, cannot be increased (partly due to
environmental
demands). Furthermore, the roundwood produced in
these
areas is comparatively expensive. (Chapters 1 and 2). So,
the
timber frontier moves on. Present primary targets in the North
are
remaining old growth forests in western Canada and parts of
Russia.
The recent establishment of two giant pulp mills in
northern
Alberta (section 2.1.1.3) is an obvious example.
Most of
the remaining old-growth forests in the North are located
in
Russia. Due to the social and economical disorder, annual
harvest
has decreased by more than 50 % since the late 80s. Also,
production
in the wood processing industry has decreased, and the
export
is rather small. (section 2.1.2). In spite of the political
and
economical insecurity, however, it is obvious that the TNCs
regard
Russia's forest resources as a potential raw material
source
of great interest. The conversion of Russia into a raw
material
colony for the global wood products industry proceeds,
even if
this is not yet mirrored in the export statistics. This
process
involves bilateral development programmes, aid agencies,
World
Bank projects, forestry planning by Western consultants and
Western
and Japanese investments in joint-ventures. In this
report,
66 examples of joint ventures in the Russian Far East are
given,
involving companies not only from the major import country
in the
Far East, Japan, but also from among others Australia,
Germany,
the Netherlands, China, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Austria,
Switzerland
and Canada. (Section 2.2.2 and Appendix 2) Japan has
been by
far the most important importer from the Russian Far East
for the
last decades, but import volumes has decreased over the
last
few years. Four Japanese-Russian "development programmes"
have
been launched to facilitate timber export from Siberia to
Japan,
and recently an agreement on a fifth programme (KS-5) has
been
made. (Section 2.1.2.3 and 2.2.2.).
In June
1994, Russia and USA signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU)
regarding co-operation in the wood products sector. The
objective
of the MOU is to facilitate US-Russian trade at the
magnitude
of US$ 4.0 billion over a five-year period. US companies
will
deliver logging and industry equipment in exchange for timber
from
the Russian Far East. The background of this agreement is,
that
the US wood processing industry fear a lack of raw material.
For
1997, the domestic demand of softwood logs has been estimated
to
exceed supply by 25 %. One of the reasons for this is said to
be the
logging restrictions in the US Pacific Northwest, due to
pressure
from environmentalists. (Section 2.1.2.)
The
involvment of foreign companies is icreasing also in European
Russia.
Remaining old growth areas, such as the "green belt"
along
the Russian-Finnish border, are being logged by Finnish and
other
European companies
Forestry
legislation is not able to safeguard ecologically
sustainable
forest use anywhere in the boreal regfion. The rights
of
indigenous peoples are violated by commercial forestry and
other
kinds of industrial exploitation throughout the boreal
forest
belt. (Chapter 1).
PAPER
CONSUMPTION - THE DRIVING FORCE
The
driving force behind boreal forest exploitation is the ever
increasing
consumption of wood products, primarily paper. The
world
consumption of paper increased 17-fold since 1913, while
world
population increased no more than 4-fold. Most of the
consumption
increase has taken place during the last three
decades.
The world average annual per capita consumption has
increased
from 25 kg in 1960 to 45 kg in 1990. One fourth of the
world's
population - in Western Europe, North America and Japan -
consumes
roughly 3/4 of all paper produced.
It is
noteworthy, that while the world consumption of paper and
paperboard
has increased by more than four times since 1960,
consumption
of sawn wood has increased by 50 % only.
According
to the forecasts reviewed in this report, the global
consumption
of paper and paperboard is expected to continue to
increase
by 70 % - 80% until the year 2010
(using 1990 as the
base
level). Most of the increase is supposed to take place in
Western
Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The fastest growth
rates
are expected for Asia Pacific. Still,
according to the
forecasts,
about 2/3 of the global paper production will be
consumed
by about 17 % of the world population (in Western Europe,
North
America and Japan) by the year 2010. In other words, the
expected
consumption growth would not to any extent decrease the
gap
between the affluent and the low-consuming countries.
If the
developing countries of the world were able to reach
present
western average paper consumption levels, global paper
consumption
would increase by almost 300 million tons, on top of
the
200-240 million tons expected according to the forecasts. This
would
mean an impossible 300 % increase over 20 years - and still
the
Third world countries would have half the way to go to reach
present
US per capita consumption. (Section 4)
THE
FATE OF THE FORESTS
A
development such as indicated by the paper consumption forecasts
would
increase global roundwood demand by 200-250 million m3 over
the
period 1990-2010, even if paper recycling increased from
present
35 to 50 %. This resembles almost the entire present
Canadian
harvest or 2-3 times the Scandinavian harvest.
Another
way to reflect this development is to consider the
industrial
expansion needed: 8-9 giant pulp mills (producing 0.5
million
tons each) would have to be put into operation annually
somewhere
in the world over the next 15 years. (Another 12 mills
per
year would be needed to allow the population of developing
countries
to reach western paper consumption levels.)
One has
to remember, that the period overlooked is no longer than
15
years. The forests that are supposed to supply the raw material
for the
expected increase of paper consumption are already growing
somewhere
in the world.
The
pressure upon the accessible remaining old growth forests of
the North
is already big. If the annual harvest is allowed to
increase
by another 100 or 200 million m3 (or even more) over the
next 15
years, it is inevitable that the rate of destruction of
old
growth forests in Canada and Russia will increase
dramatically.
If
paper consumption in the affluent countries is allowed to grow,
we will
very soon reach the limits for ecologically sustainable
timber
harvest on a global scale.
It is
essential to reduce paper consumption in Western Europe,
North
America and Japan in order to:
o release the pressure oupon the forests of
the world, in
order
to facilitate the replacement of clear-cut forestry with
ecologically
sustainable forest management.
o allow developing countries to cover basic
needs of paper.
o allow the consumption of sawn wood to
increase, in order to
replace
plastics and metals with wood as construction material.
*******************************************************
THE
TAIGA TERMINATORS - PAMPHLET
BEWARE
- MOST PAPER IS CONTAMINATED!
Most
paper is contaminated - with endangered species and loss of
their
habitats. It may also involve traditional lands of
indigenous
peoples.
Wood
can be an environmentally friendly, renewable resource - but
not if
it is produced by destructive forestry practices.
When
buying a newspaper in Tokyo or a carton of milk in London you
probably
have contributed to forest destruction somewhere in the
world.
It is increasingly likely that the paper originates from
the
Taiga - the northern coniferous forests of the World.
The
invisible link between the northern old growth forest and the
ordinary
newspaper reader are the transnational companies buying
and
selling wood and paper - the "Taiga Terminators". Today the
huge
forest corporations are moving around the globe - from the
tropics
to the taiga - in search for cheap raw material. Names
such as
Mitsubishi, Weyerhaeuser, Stora and MacMillan Bloedel are
well-known,
while others have so far remained anonymous. Their
environmental
records vary, but not one of them can justly claim
that
their products originate from ecologically sustainable
forestry.
In fact, with the exception of small local examples,
there
are no truly sustainable commercial forestry anywhere in the
world,
that maintains the quality, beauty and biodiversity of the
forest.
This
does not mean, however, that forest products should be
replaced
by plastic or aluminium. It means that forestry practices
must
change. Ruthless timber-mining and intensive plantation
forestry
must be stopped.
One
first step is to reveal the links between the products and the
ecological
and social destruction. Once the consumers have learned
the
true cost of paper, producers will have to change.
STOP
THROWING THE FOREST IN THE WASTE-BINS
Another
crucial step is to stop throwing the forests of the world
into
waste-bins of the affluent world. Today, one fourth of the
world's
population is consuming three fourths of all paper and
paperboard.
Vast areas of old growth forests in the United States,
Canada,
northern Scandinavia and elsewhere are being pulped for
newspapers
and toilet rolls in North America, Europe and Japan.
The
wasteful use of paper is increasing rapidly. According to a
recent
UN study, world consumption of paper will almost double
over
the next 20 years. More than 60 per cent of the increase will
take
place in the north. This will put an enormous pressure on the
world's
forests, and deprive developing countries of their fair
share
of a limited resource.
If
world consumption of paper increases, for example, to the
present
German per capita level, industry's demand for roundwood
would
more than double - even if the use of recycled fibres were
doubled
as well. This increase would equal three times the present
Canadian
annual harvest. Such a scenario would be a disaster for
the
world's forests. It would make it extremely difficult or
impossible
to develop ecologically responsible forest use.
----------------------
NORILSK
- THE CONVERTER CONNECTION
Catalytic
converters clean car exhausts and help solve air
pollution
problems in the west. But the Russian taiga is paying a
high
price for this environmental achievement.
Most
catalytic converters contain small amounts of platinum. 40
per
cent of the world's platinum production is used in converters.
There
are only two big suppliers of platinum in the world: South
Africa
and Russia. 25-50 per cent of the world's platinum supply
originates
from Norilsk, a city in the middle of the Siberian
taiga.
The
smelters of Norilsk are the worlds single largest air
polluter,
emitting 2,3 million tons of sulphur dioxide annually
(more
than 20 times total Swedish emissions). 4,000 square
kilometres
of boreal forest around Norilsk have been killed by air
pollution,
and larger areas are severely damaged. There are
serious
health effects on the inhabitants of the city of Norilsk.
USA and
Japan are major importers of Russian platinum. One channel
for the
trade of precious metals from Russia to USA is the Salmaz
PMG, a
joint venture with Salomon Brothers as the US counterpart.
Mitsubishi,
Toyota and Nissan buy Russian platinum.
The
world wide trade with Russian metals links most parts of the
industrialised
world to the ongoing environmental disaster at
Norilsk.
NORSKE
SKOG - PULPING THE LAST SCANDINAVIAN OLD-GROWTH
Skotjernfjell
is a small old-growth area close to Oslo. The area
had
been declared to be of national value by environmental
authorities.
Still clear-cut logging was carried through and some
of the
timber sold to Norske Skog, one of the major Norwegian
forest
companies. Norske Skog has officially declared that to
their
mind, logging in areas such as Skotjernfjell is consistent
with
sustainable forestry.
The
main product of Norske Skog is newsprint.
Almost half of the
production
is exported to western Europe, mainly to Germany and
UK. The British news papers The Guardian and
Daily Express are
among
the customers of Norske Skog. Norske Skog is also a supplier
of
the German publishing house Axel
Springer Verlag, who
officially
has declared their intention to print only on "clear-
cut
free" paper in the future.
Less
than 5 per cent of the present forest cover of Scandinavia is
old-growth,
the rest being transformed to managed secondary forest
by
hundred years of large-scale commercial forestry. As a result,
hundreds
of species dependent on old-growth habitats are
considered
endangered, whilst logging continues in the last
remnants
of old-growth.
3.
DAISHOWA AND THE GREAT ALBERTA GIVE-AWAY
International
pulp companies have cutting rights to vast areas of
forest
land in northern Alberta, Canada. One of them is the
Japanese
pulp and paper giant Daishowa, who operates the Peace
River
pulp mill through Daishowa-Marubeni International (DMI) Ltd.
Daishowa's
Peace River FMA (logging concession) covers
approximately
40,000 square kilometres, 15,000 of which is
reserved
for expansion. The area is home to the Lubicon Cree
Indian
Nation. The Lubicon have suffered poverty and disease as a
result
of the fact that they have no treaty and their land base is
not
secure. Heavy oil and gas exploitation on traditional Lubicon
land
has virtually destroyed the band's hunting grounds. Large
scale
clear-cut logging would complete the disaster. Presently
there
is an uneasy moratorium on logging in the area.
Daishowa
operates five pulp and paper mills in Japan and is a
major
importer of chips and roundwood from all around the Pacific,
including
Canada, USA, Chile and Australia. In North America,
Daishowa
owns two mills apart from the Peace River Plant: the Port
Angels
Mill and the Daishowa Inc. Quebec mill.
Daishowa
produces printing papers and newsprint. The company
supplies
several major newspaper publishers, such as Yomiuri
Shimbun,
Asahi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun and
Chuinichi
Shimbun.
AVENOR
AND THE CARIBOU
The
last herds of woodland caribou are quietly being extinguished
in
north-western Ontario, as logging by Third Party operators on
land
tenured to Domtar and Avenor destroys the caribou habitat.
This is
only one of many examples of forest destruction which
occurs
in silence because there are too few local activists who
have
resources to draw attention to what is going on.
Avenor
(formerly Canadian Pacific Forest Products, CPFP) has
access
to about 114,000 square kilometres of forests in Quebec,
Ontario,
New Brunswick and British Columbia. It is a leading
manufacturer
of newsprint as well as Canada's largest exporter of
market
pulp. The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Company are
among
the customers of Avenor.
VEITSILUOTO
- CLEAR CUTTING KUUSAMO AND KARELIA
Last
summer 23,000 hectares of roadless old growth forests were
discovered
in Kuusamo in northern Finland. There are very few
untouched
forest areas of this size left in Scandinavia. Still,
roads
have recently been constructed into the area and large clear
cuts
are being made, in spite of protests from environmentalists.
The
Finnish forest company Veitsiluoto Oy has assured it's
customers
that it does not use wood from old growth forests.
Still,
a large share of the timber from Kuusamo is being bought by
Veitsiluoto.
In
fact, Veitsiluoto is one of the key destroyers of old growth
forests
not only in northern Finland, but also in Russian Karelia.
About
15 % of the pulp wood used by Veitsiluoto is imported,
mainly
from the Russian regions of Karelia and Murmansk, where
clear
cut logging is presently fragmenting the "green belt" of
boreal
forest along the Russian-Finnish border, reaching from Lake
Ladoga
in the south to the shores of the White Sea in the north.
This
area might be regarded as the most important boreal
biodiversity
centre in Europe.
The
international publishing company IPC, owner to magazines such
as
Country Life, Marie Claire and New Scientist is a major
customer
of Veitsiluoto.
MITSUBISHI
- GIANT OF THE TIMBER TRADE
In
1989, the World Rain Forest Movement called for an
international
boycott of Mitsubishi Corporation because of its
role in
logging the forests of Sarawak, Malaysia. It took a few
years
until the full extent of Mitsubishi's world-wide forest
destruction
was revealed. Mitsubishi, in combination with its
subsidiary
Meiwa Trading Co., may well be the greatest corporate
threat
to the world's tropical, temperate and boreal forests.
Mitsubishi
owns almost half of the giant AlPac pulp mill, that
controls
70,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in Alberta,
Canada.
It owns the Canadian Chopstick Manufacturing Company in
British
Columbia, where it wastes 85 % of the timber it cuts. It
also
continues to be a major buyer of old growth
logs
and sawnwood from companies like MacMillan-Bloedel.
Mitsubishi
Corporation was consistently one of the largest
importers
of whole logs and sawnwood from the United States in the
last 30
years. Mitsubishi also held controlling shares in Alaska
Pulp
Co., which was logging the rainforests of Tongass National
Forest
until its contract was cancelled in April 1994 for
a
breach of the original terms of agreement. Mitsubishi is also
involved
in forestry projects in the Russian Far East.
In
three years, Mitsubishi has refused to meet with environmental
leader.
The boycott campaign continues.
TAIGA
UNDER THREAT
The
taiga is a green belt of conifer-dominated forest encircling
the
northern hemisphere and making up one third of the world's
forest
area.
The
taiga is under increasing threat. In Scandinavia, the large
scale
commercial exploitation of the forests began more than one
hundred
years ago. Today, virtually all forest land has been
transformed
into intensively managed secondary forests. The
situation
is similar in parts of Canada and most of European
Russia.
In the interior and remote parts of Alaska, Canada and
Siberia
most of the primary forests are still intact. However,
Industrial
forestry is now moving into these last undisturbed
areas.
The forest resource is considered unlimited, reforestation
is
often ineffective and environmental standards are minimal.
In the
northern forests, the major cause of native and old growth
forest
destruction, as well as to continued degradation of managed
forests,
is ever-increasing industrial timber extraction. In
addition,
air pollution and industrial activities like mining and
oil
exploration are also damaging considerable areas of the taiga.
The
biodiversity of the Northern or boreal forests - and
subsequently
the future sustainable use of this vast natural
resource
- is endangered. The deterioration of forest ecosystems
is a
growing threat to indigenous peoples and nations throughout
the
region.
A
NETWORK FOR BOREAL FOREST PROTECTION
Taiga
Rescue Network (TRN) facilitates and co-ordinates the work
of
NGO's and indigenous peoples and nations fighting for the
sustainable
use of the northern forests of the world. The network
was
founded in 1992 at an international NGO meeting in Jokkmokk,
Sweden.
At present the network has well over 100 participating
organisations
and groups all over the taiga region as well as from
countries
which import boreal forest wood products.
NGOs,
indigenous peoples and nations, and individuals sympathetic
to the
protection, restoration and sustainable use of the boreal
forests
may participate in the network by signing the platform.
###RELAYED
TEXT ENDS###
You are
encouraged to utilize this information for personal
campaign
use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and
forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate,
timely
pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information
rests with the reader. Check out our
Gaia Forest
Conservation
Archives at URL=
http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html
Networked
by:
Ecological
Enterprises
Email
(best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org
Phone->(608)
233-2194 || Fax->(608) 231-2312