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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Last Scandinavian "Wild Woods" Cut for Newspapers

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

2/13/97

OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE

The Environmental News Service reports on the clearing of the last

wild woods in the European Union; specifically, the last 5% of the

wild forests of Finland and Sweden. Friends of the Earth labels the

pulp and paper industry as the culprit for logging the few European

remnant wildlands. The hypocrisy of over-developed countries

condemnation of logging in lesser developed countries is once again

made crystal clear.

g.b.

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Last Scandinavian "Wild Woods" Cut for Newspapers

Posted to the web: Thu Feb 13 15:16:46 EST 1997

The Environment News Service--

http://www.envirolink.org/environews/enews.html

LONDON, England, Feb. 13'97 (ENS) - Friends of the Earth in a number

of European countries has written to 80,000 people this week appealing

for help in saving the last wild woods in the European Union. Ancient

forests in Sweden and Finland face destruction to satisfy the enormous

demand for wood and paper. Friends of the Earth (FOE) is urging people

to switch to using recycled products, and to tell Scandinavian

governments to spare their last remaining natural woodland.

The campaign is timed to coincide with the United Nations final

negotiations on an international forest treaty now taking place in at

UN Headquarters in New York.

Just 5 per cent of old, natural forest remains in Sweden and Finland,

according to Friends of the Earth estimates. These ancient forests are

home to a variety of animals and plants such as the flying squirrel,

capercaillie and golden eagle. Many of these species cannot survive in

the extensively-managed, man-made "factory forests" that have replaced

the old forest, and already 1,700 woodland species are endangered in

Sweden and 700 in Finland.

The UK is the fifth highest user of paper in the world, with 20 per

cent of the total being used for newspapers. Friends of the Earth

blames newspaper publishers such as Rupert Murdoch for cutting down

the last wild forests of Scandinavia for newsprint. "Although it is

perfectly possible to print newspapers on 100 per cent recycled paper,

around 60 per cent of newspaper is made from virgin fibre. Meanwhile,

approximately 5 million tonnes of paper is thrown into the UK's

landfill sites each year, and some councils are having difficulty

selling the waste paper they have collected," FOE said in a statement

released Wednesday.

Dr. Georgina Green of Friends of the Earth is appalled at the waste.

"Cutting down these last wild woods is madness. By increasing

recycling, we could not only take pressure off the world's forests and

the country's landfill sites, we could decrease imports and create

much needed jobs. Sectors like the newspaper industry should take a

lead in creating demand for recycled paper - Friends of the Earth

believes they should set a target to increase their recycled content

to 80%".

Around 1.7 billion cubic metres of wood and paper products are used

globally every year, and the figure is predicted to grow by almost 60

per cent by 2010.

The pulp and paper industry is a net emitter of greenhouse gases that

contribute to climate change. Paper thrown in landfill sites releases

methane when it rots, a gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon

dioxide in its effect on global climate change. Almost half the UK's

methane emissions come from landfill sites. The European Union wants

to introduce a directive reducing the amount of organic waste disposed

of in landfills, but the UK government is blocking this measure.

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