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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Greenpeace Activists Arrested Protesting Criminal Amazon Timber Trade

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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

07/29/00

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

French commandos have arrested Greenpeace activists in the French

port of Honfleur, as a ship carrying Amazon timber had to abandon

port without offloading its criminal cargo. Greenpeace has

reinvigorated its commitment to ending the illegal timber trade,

carrying out a sustained string of non-violent protests around the

globe. The targets have been log exports to the over-developed World

that have connections to illegal logging activities in the Amazon,

Africa and Russia. Clearly the days of rogue, predatory logging are

coming to an end. Those that plunder rainforests for a living would

be well served to move toward certifiably ecologically sustainable

management practices, or find another line of work.

g.b.

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ITEM #1

Title: FRENCH COMMANDOS ARREST GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS IN HONFLEUR,

FRANCE: MV Aquitania abandons port without offloading Amazon

criminal timber

Source: Greenpeace International Forests Campaign,

http://www.greenpeace.org/~forests/

Date: July 29, 2000

HONFLEUR, FRANCE -- Six Greenpeace activists preventing the offloading

of criminal Amazon timber from two multinational companies, Lapeyre

and WTK, were arrested by the French special police in the port of

Honfleur in France this morning. Despite the removal of the activists,

the Aquitania was unable to prolong its stay in the port, and was

forced to leave Honfleur without offloading its criminal cargo.

Three teams of over 20 masked police used Search and Rescue Team

equipment to remove the activists who had been occupying the three

cranes of the cargo vessel Aquitania for 27 hours. The Australian

activist Madeleine Habib was subjected to force by special police as

they tried to remove her from the cables of one of the cranes. When

the Aquitania had to leave Honfleur, she was still attached to one of

the ship's masts. She was later removed and arrested on the high seas

by the special police.

The activists had occupied the cranes since 8 am yesterday morning to

prevent the unloading of containers loaded with timber from

Amaplac/WTK and Eldorado/Lapeyre. Both companies have been exposed by

Greenpeace for their involvement in the illegal production and

trade of timber from the Brazilian Amazon (1). Greenpeace was

demanding that the criminal timber be returned to Brazil.

"As long as companies like Lapeyre and WTK continue their role in the

illegal timber trade, we will do everything within our power to stop

them," said Greenpeace Amazon markets campaigner Phil Aikman. "We are

committed to stopping the trade in criminal timber from the world's

ancient forests. The only way that a company can guarantee that its

wood does not come from illegal or destructive logging practices, is

through a commitment to buy only from legal and sustainable sources

such as those certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards

(2)."

The French joinery giant Lapeyre - part of the Saint Gobain Group -

owns the Brazilian company Eldorado which Greenpeace has exposed for

its role in trading in illegal Amazonian wood. The Malaysian Group WTK

owns the Brazilian company Amaplac which has also been exposed by

Greenpeace, and is currently under investigation by the Federal

Prosecutor in Amazonas State (3).

The action in Honfleur follows sustained campaigning in recent months

against the import of wood from illegal and destructive logging in the

world's remaining ancient forests - particularly into G-8 countries

and the European Union. It follows earlier actions against Amaplac in

the UK, Germany and Denmark, and a four-month campaign against

Lapeyre, which has included protests at the company's retail outlets

in France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland, and the release of

Greenpeace's alternative Lapeyre catalogue and website

www.lapeyre.org/destruction at the company's AGM in May this year.

The activists have been taken into police custody in Honfleur. The

arrestees include Flavio Montiel, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner based

in Brazil.

Notes to editors

(1) See Against the Law: the G8 and the illegal timber trade.

http://www.greenpeace.org/%7Eforests/resources/ by Greenpeace

International.

(2) The FSC is the only independent certification system that meets

international ecological standards, incorporates the interests of

social, economic and environmental groups and has a widely recognised

label. This system assures the chain of custody from the extraction of

the wood, through processing to the final consumer. Unless

independently certified at least according to the ecological standards

of the FSC, it is not possible to guarantee that logging practices are

legal and do not lead to ancient forest destruction.

(3) During the official hearings, Amaplac representatives confirmed

that they are totally dependent on third party log suppliers, and that

they have never visited any of the forest holdings belonging to those

suppliers.

ITEM #2

Title: GREENPEACE EXPOSES INTERNATIONAL TIMBER CRIMINALS IN FRENCH

PORT: Activists board ship with Amazon cargo from multinationals

Lapeyre and WTK

Source: Greenpeace International Forests Campaign,

http://www.greenpeace.org/~forests/

Date: July 28, 2000

HONFLEUR, FRANCE -- Today an international team of 16 Greenpeace

activists from the MV Greenpeace boarded the vessel MV Aquitania in

the port of Honfleur, France to stop the unloading of Amazon

rainforest plywood and sawn timber. Activists boarded the vessel from

the sea and from the land and occupied the offloading cranes on the

ship and on the quayside. They have also chained themselves to

containers on the boat containing timber from the Amazon rainforest.

The MV Greenpeace pulled up alongside the MV Aquitania and is

preventing the ship from leaving its berth.

The cargo of the Aquitania was exported from Brazil by the

multinationals Lapeyre and WTK that have recently been exposed for

possession of illegal timber. The Brazilian Government estimates that

around 80 percent of all logging activity in the Brazilian Amazon is

illegal. Greenpeace is demanding that the criminal cargo from the two

companies is returned to Brazil. Eldorado is owned by the French

joinery giant Lapeyre, part of the Saint Gobain Group. The company is

wholly dependent on third party suppliers for Amazon rainforest

timber. Between 1998 and 1999 nearly half of the company's 159

suppliers were fined for the illegal production, transport and storage

of logs. Of 45 of these companies so far investigated by Greenpeace,

14 were not even registered with IBAMA (Brazilian Environmental

Agency) - a basic legal regulatory requirement (1).

Amaplac is part of the Malaysian group WTK, owning sawmills and

313,798 ha of forest lands in Amazonas State - including lands claimed

by Deni indigenous peoples as their traditional territory. Amaplac, a

plywood producer, was fined twice in 1996 and once in 1999 for

possession of illegal timber. Five of its seven third party suppliers

were fined between 1998 and 1999 according to IBAMA (2). Amaplac is

also currently under investigation by the Federal Prosecutor in

Amazonas State (3).

"Lapeyre and WTK must reject wood that comes from illegal and

destructive logging practices," said Phil Aikman, Greenpeace

International Amazon markets campaigner. "If we are to protect the

Amazon rainforest, these companies must commit to buy only from legal

and sustainable sources, such as those certified to Forest Stewardship

Council (FSC) standards (4)."

The action in Honfleur follows sustained campaigning in recent months

against the import of wood resulting from illegal and destructive

logging in the world's remaining ancient forests - particularly into

G-8 countries and the European Union. It follows earlier actions

against Amaplac in the UK, Germany and Denmark, and a four-month

campaign against Lapeyre, which has included protests at the company's

retail outlets in France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland, and the

release of Greenpeace's alternative Lapeyre catalogue and website

www.lapeyre.org/destruction at the company's AGM in May this year.

Illegal logging and the international timber trade was raised as an

important issue by the G8 leaders in Okinawa, Japan last week (5).

"The level of illegal logging in the Amazon is arguably one of the

greatest threats facing this unique rainforest. Words alone will not

save the Amazon," said Flavio Montiel, Greenpeace International

political campaigner in Brazil. "The governments of France, USA,

Italy, Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada and UK must live up to their

promise to eliminate the illegal timber trade and act. Now!"

Notes to editors:

(1) See Against the Law: the G8 and the illegal timber trade.

Greenpeace International, Amsterdam,

www.greenpeace.org/~forests/resources/index.htm.

(2) see above.

(3) During the official hearings, Amaplac representatives confirmed

they are totally dependent on third party log suppliers. They also

confessed that the company has never visited any the forest holdings

of their suppliers who log the Amazon rainforest.

(4) The FSC is the only independent certification system that meets

international ecological standards, incorporates the interests

of social, economic and environmental groups, and has a widely

recognised label. This system assures the chain of custody from the

extraction of the wood, through processing to the final consumer.

Unless independently certified at least according to ecological

standards of the FSC, it is not possible to guarantee that logging

practices are legal and do not lead to ancient forest destruction.

(5) G-8 Communiqu‚: Okinawa, July 23, 2000: "67. We fully endorse the

conclusions of our Foreign Ministers regarding sustainable forest

management. In this regard, we attach particular importance to

projects that help indigenous and local communities practice

sustainable forest management. We will also examine how best we can

combat illegal logging, including export and procurement practices."

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