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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
G8
Appeal: It's Time to Save the Forests
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
07/20/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
Despite
over a decade of political platitudes in support of forest
conservation,
the World's major economic powers, members of the G-8,
"are
still very active in destroying ancient forests inside and
outside
their own borders." Greenpeace and
the World Resources
Institute
are taking the G-8 to task. They note
destruction of
remaining
pristine forests is heavily subsidised using funds that
would
be better spent protecting the world's last ancient forests from
illegal
logging and other threats.
g.b.
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ITEM #1
Title: It's Time to Save the Forests
Who among our politicians will save our
forests?
Source: International Herald Tribune, Copyright
2000.
Date: July 19, 2000
Byline: Opinion Piece
Most
leaders sense the long-term significance of forests to their
people.
Forests help define a nation, its past, its culture, its land.
Trees
are planted by politicians and others as symbols of hope for the
future,
as well as perhaps out of guilt.
All
over the world, old trees are venerated, respected, celebrated and
often
literally propped up. Stories are kept alive through trees that
can far
outlive people.
How
tragic then that our political leaders are generally much better
at
planting ceremonial trees than they are at saving the forests of
their
nations. Perhaps a ban should be put on political tree planting
until
the forests are truly protected.
The
heads of the eight leading industrialized nations (the Group of
Seven
plus Russia) will meet in Okinawa, Japan, beginning on Friday.
Japan,
of course, is a nation that loves its forests. Unfortunately,
multinational
companies from Japan and other members of the G-7 are
still
very active in destroying ancient forests inside and outside
their
own borders.
In
Italy in 1987 the G-7 "underlined" its "own responsibility"
toward
tropical
forests. In France in 1989, it called for "adoption of
sustainable
forest management practices, with a view to preserving the
scale
of the world's forests." The members realized that the
destruction
of forests was threatening the earth's atmosphere as well
as the
huge reservoir of the its species and genetic resources, which
are
mostly dependent on them.
In
1990, as the Amazon region burned, the leading industrialized
nations
met in the United States. "We are determined to take action to
increase
forests while protecting existing ones," they declared. The
following
year, in the United Kingdom, the G-7 plus Russia "remained
concerned."
At the
Tokyo meeting in 1993, members wanted "international agreement"
to
protect forests, while in 1997, in Denver, they called on "all
countries"
to "eliminate illegal logging." Forests, they said,
"continue
to be destroyed and degraded at alarming rates."
Finally,
at Birmingham, England, in May 1998 this pious succession of
sound
bites without commitment yielded an "Action Program on Forests"
with a
pledge to report back on progress in 2000.
This
history is like so many UN resolutions, consistently voted but
seldom
implemented.
So here
we are. The loss continues. An estimated 10 million hectares
(2.5
million acres) of ancient forest are destroyed or degraded each
year.
Since the Denver summit, an area the size of Germany has been
destroyed.
Most
terrestrial biodiversity resides in forests, and many of these
species
are put at risk as industrial logging companies penetrate
further
and further into the world's ancient forests. Moreover,
millions
of forest-dwelling people are threatened and the climate is
being
destabilized.
Perhaps
the G-7 plus Russia should stop meeting like this! Its action
plan
was as tentative as forest destruction is final. It committed the
leading
industrialized nations to greater information sharing to help
develop
countermeasures to illegal logging. Yet 80 percent of the
logging
in the Amazon region in South America is now estimated to be
illegal.
Sadly, similar scenarios are being repeated on other
continents.
The
plan further calls on governments to assist in market transparency
for the
work of the International Tropical Timber Organization. But
the
organization's members are already committed to sustainable
management
of their forests by this year, and almost every one of them
is
failing to implement that commitment.
International
political action necessarily involves institutions and
incremental
processes. But the continuing destruction of the world's
ancient
forests demands more specific and direct action. Are timber
trade
lobbies becoming more powerful than governments?
Along
with implementing the action plan, the Group of Seven nations
should
set an example by taking some straightforward actions
themselves.
This would show they really mean business. They are the
main
market for illegally logged timber, and they should stop buying
it.
Governments
should make this their own procurement policy. They should
say no
to any aid projects that destroy ancient forests, which,
incredibly,
still goes on. And they could prevent trading of illegal
timber
within their borders by using their police forces and customs
to
arrest those involved.
On the
positive side, the industrialized leaders could simply commit
only to
buy timber from certified forests such as those carrying the
mark of
the Forest Stewardship Council. And they could provide funds,
logistical
support and training to help other nations battling to stop
illegal
logging.
Insecure
leaders like to build their own monuments just to make sure
they
are not forgotten. But great leaders do not need monuments. Their
achievements
live on in the culture, health and education of
societies.
Around
100 years ago, for example, Theodore Roosevelt played a key
role in
creating the U.S. national forest lands system and literally
helped
turn the tide of destruction in North America.
Who
among our contemporary leaders will have the vision to save the
world's
remaining ancient forests? What greater legacy could one
aspire
to leave future generations than this unique natural heritage
the
oldest and richest resource sustaining life on Earth?
Will
Giuliano Amato, Tony Blair, Jean Chretien, Bill Clinton, Jacques
Chirac,
Yoshiro Mori, Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder live up to
their
obligations?
ITEM #2
Title: G8 subsidies aid in forest destruction-Greenpeace
Source: Reuters, Copyright 2000.
Date: July 20, 2000
OKINAWA,
Japan, July 20 (Reuters) - Greenpeace urged G8 leaders on
Thursday
to stop government subsidies it said are helping destroy the
earth's
remaining ancient forests.
The
environmental organisation presented a new report from the
Washington-based
World Resources Institute (WRI), which said
destruction
of remaining pristine forests is subsidised by Group of
Eight
governments to the tune of more than $3 billion.
The G8
comprises the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan,
Britain,
Canada and Russia.
The
report's release comes just one day ahead of the group's three-day
summit,
where it is expected the leaders will discuss the G8 Forest
Action
Program.
``Instead
of wasting tax money in the destruction of forests, the G8
should
decide to invest this money in protecting the world's last
ancient
forest, particularly combating illegal logging and trade
of
illegally harvested timber,'' said Martin Kaiser, Greenpeace
international
forest campaigner.
The WRI
research pointed to Canada, Japan and the United States as the
leading
providers of subsidies to companies that contribute to
destroying
frontier forests.
``The
structure of these subsidies is so complex and so politically
charged
that the public does not often appreciate their scale or call
for
their removal,'' said Nigel Sizer, principal author of the report.
``The
preliminary results of our research makes it clear that this is
a
serious problem and should be a priority for concerted action by the
G8.''
At
their 1998 summit, the G8 governments committed to major and wide-
ranging
actions to protect forests.
G8
foreign ministers recently issued a report describing how the
programme
was being implemented and affirming the importance of
promoting
effective international cooperation on the issue. A final
report
will be published in 2002.
But
Greenpeace's Kaiser told Reuters: ``The foreign ministries' report
was
very weak and they didn't make any new commitment. They're
admitting
they have failed.''
Greenpeace
calls for G8 countries to assess existing ``perverse
subsidies''
and adopt green procurement policies.
The WRI
also recommends the G8 establish an independent external
commission
to conduct a rigorous investigation of government subsidies
that
promote forest destruction.
ITEM #3
Title: WRI Urges G8 Summit to End Destructive
Forest Subsidies
Source: Business Wire and WRI Company Press Release
Date: July 19, 2000
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--July 19, 2000--A new report released
today
by the World Resources Institute (WRI) recommends that the
leaders
of the world's richest countries end government subsidies
which
are destroying the earth's remaining frontier forests and
harming
their economies.
In the
report, WRI estimates that in Canada alone the government
wastes
at least US$2 billion a year subsidizing logging industry
activities
that are environmentally and economically damaging. The
United
States is not much better. The U.S. government lost over US$2
billion
from 1992-97 on sales of timber from national forests.
In
Japan, subsidies pay for the processing of timber imported from
the
frontier forests of Siberia, Canada and Southeast Asia, some of
which
is probably cut illegally.
``G8
governments continue to be hypocrites when it comes to forests.
Despite
commitments they made in 1998, their perverse subsidies
continue
to fuel the destruction of the world's remaining ancient
forests,''
said Dr. Nigel Sizer, principal author of the report,
Perverse
Habits: The G8 and Subsidies that Harm Forests and
Economies.
The
Group of Eight (G8) is made up of Japan, France, the United
States,
Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada and Russia. Foreign
ministers
from these countries recently issued a report describing
how the
1998 G8 Action Program on Forests is being implemented and
affirming
the importance of promoting effective international
cooperation
on forest issues.
The G8
leaders, including President Clinton, will likely endorse the
report
during their July 21-23, 2000 summit in Okinawa, Japan. A
final
report will be published in 2002, four years after G8 leaders
first
committed to halt global forest destruction. ``The G8 report
reads
like a laundry list and continues to ignore logging industry
subsidies,''
said Dr. Sizer.
The WRI
report notes that perverse subsidies are those that cause
forest
loss or degradation and have no lasting positive impact on
economic
development. Local communities and society in general bear
the
costs of these subsidies while companies reap the benefits.
``The
structure of these subsidies is so complex that the public does
not
often appreciate their scale or call for their removal,'' said
Dr.
Sizer. ``The preliminary results of our research show that this
is a
serious problem and should be a priority for concerted action by
the
G8.''
The WRI
report, published with the support of Greenpeace
International,
points to Canada, Japan and the United States as the
leading
providers of subsidies that destroy the world's remaining
frontier
forests. Among the European members of the G8, France stands
out as
the only government with direct investments in logging
companies.
France
is particularly active in Africa's Congo Basin, second only to
the
Amazon in the size of its tropical rainforest. Through the French
Development
Agency and similar agencies, France is estimated to have
spent
about US$500 million from 1989-99 in building roads and other
infrastructure
in Central Africa that benefited logging companies.
In
Okinawa, Japan - where the G8 Summit will be held - the government
has
financed projects in the Yanbaru area that have led to the
clearing
of large tracts of this unique sub-tropical forest.
Activities
that are most harmful include building large roads through
the
forest that primarily serve to generate work for Japanese
construction
companies.
In
1997, the U.S. Forest Service proposed a ten-year plan to build
1,100
miles of new roads to open up 85,000 acres for logging in the
globally
unique Tongass National Forest in Alaska. This, despite a
loss of
US$33 million on timber sales from the Tongass in that year
alone.
The WRI
report recommends that the G8 establish an independent
external
commission to conduct a rigorous investigation of government
subsidies
that promote forest destruction. It also asks that the G8
countries,
especially Canada, the United States, France and Japan
commit
to eliminating such subsidies by 2005.
The
World Resources Institute (WRI) is a Washington, DC-based center
for
policy research that provides objective information and practical
proposals
for change to foster environmentally sound and sustainable
development.
WRI
works with institutions in more than 50 countries to bring the
insights
of scientific research, economic analyses and practical
experience
to political, business and non-governmental organizations
around
the world. For more information, visit WRI's website at:
http://www.wri.org/media
Contact:
The
World Resources Institute
Adlai
Amor, Media Director, 202/729-7736
Email:
aamor@wri.org
or
Nigel
Sizer, Director of Forest Policy
In
Okinawa, Tel: (90) 2253 0327
and(90)
2254 2388
Email:
nigels@wri.org
http://www.wri.org/wri
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