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FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY

Greenpeace Exposes African Rainforest Scandal

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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org, Inc.

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

http://forests.org/links/ -- Forest Conservation Links

11/14/01

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org

The rainforests of West Africa are gravely imperiled, yet

uncontrolled criminal plundering continues apace. New reports by

Greenpeace indicate that wood products from West Africa that have

been harvested in destructive and illegal ways are flooding European

and other ports. The nefarious activities in Liberia and Cameroon of

two companies in particular - Oriental Timber Corporation (OTC) and

Societe Forestere Hazim (SFH) - are exposed. OTC has been involved

in illegal arms smuggling in war-torn Sierra Leone. SFH has

repeatedly logged outside legally defined areas in Cameroon, and has

been involved in serious social conflicts with local communities.

Both companies have repeatedly operated with flagrant disregard for

national forestry law, and for the social and environmental impact of

their operations.

This situation is indicative of the crisis facing most of the World's

remaining ancient forests. Hyper-exploitative industrial logging by

the "timber mafia" to feed unsustainable timber consumption

threatens most of the World's remaining forest wildlands. Unless

international resources are dramatically increased to establish the

required large protected areas and adjacent ecologically based

management practices required for sustainable forest landscapes,

large and intact ancient forests are going to perish from the Earth.

This will have grave implications for global ecological integrity,

and regional and local environmental conditions and livelihoods. The

World's governments must take immediate action to stop importing wood

derived from the destruction of the world's remaining ancient

forests. The global logging industry must be forced to clean up its

act, and those that refuse to do so shut down and/or their principle

beneficiaries imprisoned for their dastardly acts.

g.b.

The new report by Greenpeace, "save or delete? A last chance to save

the world's ancient forests", can be found at:

http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/saveordelete.pdf

Two reports focusing on Africa are linked at the bottom of the

article below.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: GREENPEACE EXPOSES SCANDAL OF AFRICAN RAINFOREST

DESTRUCTION AND DEMANDS GOVERNMENTS TO ACT NOW

Source: Greenpeace

Date: November 14, 2001

Amsterdam - Greenpeace took action in the port of Amsterdam today to

raise the alarm on the current crisis facing the world's ancient

forests. More than 60 activists targeted logs and sawn timber known

to come from companies plundering the rainforests of West Africa. In

the mass demonstration hundreds of logs and stacks of timber were

painted red with the message "Stop Ancient Forest Crime".

Undercover investigations by Greenpeace have discovered that wood

products coming from logging companies operating in a destructive and

illegal way in West Africa are flooding European ports. These

investigations have recently uncovered logs and timber from two

companies in particular, which have some of the worst environmental

and human rights records of any logging company in the world.

These two companies, the Oriental Timber Corporation (OTC) and

Societe Forestere Hazim (SFH), are actively logging in Liberia and

Cameroon respectively. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

recently reported OTC's involvement in illegal arms-smuggling to the

Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighbouring war-torn

Sierra Leone. SFH has been found guilty for repeatedly logging

outside legally defined areas by the Cameroon government, and has

been involved in serious social conflicts with forest dwelling

communities there. Both companies have repeatedly operated with

flagrant disregard for national forestry law, and for the social and

environmental impact of their operations.

Logs and timber from these and other notorious companies have been

found in recent weeks in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and

China. China is the largest importer of timber from OTC.

In the light of compelling evidence on numerous companies like OTC

and SFH which operate illegally around the world, Greenpeace is

demanding that the world's governments take immediate action to stop

importing wood from the destruction of the world's remaining ancient

forests and force the global logging industry to clean up its act.

The action in Amsterdam comes in the wake of a series of protests

worldwide over the failure of world governments to halt worldwide

ancient forest destruction since the Rio Earth Summit almost 10 years

ago. Following recent expos,s on illegal and destructive logging in

Brazil, Russia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, Greenpeace released

fresh evidence of the crisis facing ancient forests, this time in

Africa.

This new evidence reveals that in Cameroon, most of the country's

forests have now been either allocated to logging companies or are

designated for allocation. This poses an enormous threat to the

survival of plants and animals living in these forests, and to

numerous human populations dependent on these forests for their

homes, livelihoods, and cultural and spiritual needs.

"If the public wants to know why gorillas, chimpanzees and forest

elephants are heading towards extinction, then the logs and timber in

the Amsterdam port and many other ports around the world is the

answer. Governments are aiding the destruction of the world's

remaining ancient forests by doing nothing and letting these products

of ancient forest destruction enter their countries every single day.

Now is the time to act otherwise it will be too late," said

Greenpeace forest campaigner, Tim Birch.

Today's action was supported by additional actions in Switzerland and

France and was timed to highlight a vital meeting taking place this

week in Montreal. This is the final preparatory meeting leading up to

the Ancient Forest Summit, the 6th Conference of Parties to the

Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place in the

ague, the Netherlands in April 2002. Government representatives and

scientific experts from around the world will decide the future of

the world's Ancient Forests.

"Two days have already passed without results. Governments now only

have three days left here in Montreal to decide on an action rogramme

for the Ancient Forest Summit," said Birch.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Tim Birch, Greenpeace International Forest Campaigner + 31 629 001151

Natalia Truchi, Greenpeace International Press Officer, +31 621296908

Stills available, Greenpeace International Photo Desk, +31 205 249

580

For additional information download:

Maps of Cameroon's loggings concessions

http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/camaplo.pdf

Forest Destruction Fuels Regional Conflicts: Environmental and social

impacts of the Liberian timber industry

http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/liberia.doc

Spotlight on Illegal Logging: Company Profiles, Societe Forestere

Hazim Hazim and its destruction of Cameroon's forests

http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/hazim.doc

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