Greenpeace Switzerland blockades import of African timber

Greenpeace blokades tropical logs from afriocan rainforest in the Dutch port of Delfzijl

Greenpeace activists prevent the offloading of tropical logs from the African rainforest in the port of Sagunto

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Greenpeace Switzerland blockades import of African timber

 Since 6.00 am this morning 15 Greenpeace activists have been blockading 10 railway wagons of tropical logs from Central Africa. The logs were being delivered to "Fritz Jaeggi" Switzerland’s biggest importer of tropical wood. Greenpeace’s intention behind the blockade is to denounce the ongoing plunder of the Congo Basin by industrial logging companies. Greenpeace calls on the company "Fritz Jaeggi" to stop trading all timber which comes from ancient forest destruction.

 From this morning (Thursday, March 23rd) at 6 am 10 railway wagons containing 461 tonnes of African timber have been being blockaded near the city of Koblenz .The sawmill facilities of Swiss importer "Fritz Jaeggi" were also stopped.

 Swiss companies are currently deeply involved in ancient forest destruction. In Switzerland, the consumption of tropical wood was in decline until 1997, but since then, it has been rising once more. Of the Swiss timber importers, "Fritz Jaeggi" is the biggest importer of tropical timber with an with an annual volume of 5'000 to 10'000 tonnes of roundwood, most of which comes from Cameroon.

 Logging operations in Cameroon are considered by all experts to be "mining operations" - whereby the best timber is taken without caring for the rest of the forest. In addition, illegal logging and corruption are rampant in Cameroon - making all steps towards sustainable forest management extremely difficult. Logging companies often operate without any respect for the rights of local communities. In the entire Congo Basin region there is no sustainable forest management, let alone any which has been independently certified. Therefore "Fritz Jaeggi" also cannot present any independent certification for the African timber they import.

 According to the Washington based World Resources Institute, commercial logging is the single most important factor in the destruction of the world’s last ancient forests. In the forests of the Congo Basin (Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo- Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasha) selective logging is a major factor in forest degradation and destruction. The construction of logging roads in previously inaccessible areas is also fueling the commercial bushmeat trade which will eventually lead to the extirpation of many protected mammals such as the western lowland gorilla, chimpanzees and the forest elephant.

 So far, political measures by the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the World Bank and the Biodiversity Convention have turned out to be completely ineffective in stopping this rampant destruction.

 Therefore Greenpeace calls on the company "Fritz Jaeggi" to commit to:

1. To adopt full transparency: the company must identify all logging companies supplying their tropical timber. It must also declare – for all imported timbers - the botanical name of the timber , its precise origin (including concession area) and the harvesting methods used in its extraction.
2. To stop buying ancient forest destruction: the company must urgently present a plan for a gradual phase-out of its import of timber from destructive sources and commit ultimately to trade only in timber from FSC-certified sources.
   Greenpeace calls on all wood processing industries and corporate wood consumers to avoid forest products from ancient forest destruction and only choose instead FSC-certified wood products. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme is the only certification scheme which is currently supported by international environmental and social organisations.
3. A binding declaration for timber (indicating species and origin) The Swiss government should introduce a binding declaration on wood and wood products. Only with a full declaration, will consumers be able to identify wood from destructive sources and choose to avoid buying it.

For more information please call:
 Media department of Greenpeace Switzerland, phone 00 41 1 447 41 41
or call forest campaigner Christoph Wiedmer, 00 41 79 679 01 24.
Info on Greenpeace's ancient forest campaign on: http://www.greenpeace.org
Filip Verbelen Greenpeace Forest Campaign Vooruitgangstraat 317 1030 Brussels tel: +32 2 274 02 31 (urgent: +32 496.161.586)