Time Running Out for World's Forests

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

3/3/97

OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE

Britain's Prince Philip and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are

urging world leaders to address the current world wide forest crisis.

They estimate that at current rates of deforestation, there will be

virtually no natural forests left on the Earth in 50 years. The

Prince notes "it is a critical situation." Alarming statistics

include the fact that 94% of the world's forests are unprotected, and

that Brazilian deforestation (to 1996) has increased by 34 percent

since 1992. Clearly, the world has limited time to react to the

threat.

g.b.

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Subject: Time running out for world's forests, says WWF

2/26/97

LONDON (Reuter) - Britain's Prince Philip urged world leaders

Wednesday to intervene to save their forests, warning that if the

present rate of destruction continued there would be virtually no

natural forests left in 50 years time.

The prince, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was speaking in his role as

international president of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which

wants all nations to sign up to commitments to protect at least 10

percent of their forests.

"It is a critical situation," the prince told a news conference. "The

area of the world covered by natural forests has declined dramatically

in recent years, so much so that within the last 100 years the forest

cover has been reduced by half."

"If reduction of the world's forest cover continues at the present

rate, there will be virtually no natural forests left within 50

years," he added.

The WWF estimates that some 1.236 million acres of forest are being

lost globally every week to logging, mining and slash-and-burn

agriculture practices.

Despite pledges made at the 1992 Earth Summit, little had been done to

reverse deforestation and in some cases -- markedly Brazil -- it had

increased. Some 94 percent of the world's forests are unprotected, the

WWF says.

"Time is running out. It is not on our side," WWF director general

Claude Martin told a news conference.

"WWF is campaigning for substantive commitment and action from

governments worldwide for the complete protection of at least 10

percent of all forest types by the year 2000," he said.

Prince Philip said he had written personally to 62 heads of state or

government urging them to make this commitment. To date he has

received 36 replies, 13 of them pledging strong support and another 10

making specific pledges.

The 10 were Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Lithuania, Malawi,

the semi-autonomous region of Yakutia in Siberia, the Slovak Republic,

Tunisia and Uzbekistan.

The prince said he was "very encouraged" by the response, remarking

wryly; "There is something curious about very important people and

that is that they are not keen to answer letters."

The WWF said Brazil was losing more forests a year than any other

country and expressed alarm at official government figures released in

1996 showing that the rate of deforestation had increased by 34

percent since 1992.

It said Pakistan had the highest percentage rate of deforestation,

losing 4.15 percent of its wooded areas a year even though it was

joint equal with Kenya in having the smallest amount of trees.

The WWF expressed disappointment that the United States had not

responded to Prince Philip's letter to President Clinton despite

figures showing that 741,300 acres of forest was being lost there

every year -- an area equivalent to the size of London.

The WWF said that Britain, which has zero percent of its forests

officially protected, had also failed to respond to the initiative.

But Prince Philip -- himself responsible for vast tracts of

countryside in the possession of the royal family -- noted drily

that other forms of protection already existed in Britain.

"You try cutting a tree down (in Britain) and you will have people

living in it," he said.

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