British Columbia, Canada: In 2001, environmental groups, First Nations, logging companies, workers, communities and the regional government agreed to a new approach to conservation and sustainable management in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands). This agreement was the result of a campaign by Greenpeace and other non-governmental organisations, and resulted in a logging moratorium in 1.5 million hectares of pristine costal rainforest until land use planning is complete.

Greenpeace Canada joined forces with other Canadian environmental non-governmental organisations in 2000 under the umbrella of Markets Initiative. The coalition has been working with Canadian book publishers to ensure that the books they print do not contribute to the destruction of the world's ancient forests, and instead use recycled and FSC-certified paper. So far 35 publishers have signed up including all the major players, such as Random House Canada. Big name authors such as Margaret Attwood and Michael Ondaatje have also backed the campaign. The most recent supporter - 'Harry Potter' author J.K.Rowling - has also weighed in, ensuring that her new book will be printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper in Canada. This initiative continues to take the pressure off logging in ancient forests, strengthen FSC and recycling programs, highlights the need to protect forests, and shows that practical solutions are possible.

A 2003 report by IBM Business Consulting Services demonstrates that major customers of British Columbia forest products are shifting their purchasing towards greener, more environmentally friendly products. The report is titled: 'A Greenward Shift in the Market for Forest Products from British Columbia' and surveyed 30 customers globally, including the US, Japanese, European and Canadian buyers, who purchase more than $2 billion worth of British Columbia forest products. The survey indicates forest supplier regions that do not respond to this green shift are at risk of losing market share. The world's leading buyers of wood products are represented, including retailers such as Home Depot; the world's largest buyer of solid wood paper customers like BBC Worldwide and the Tribune Company; and home-builders like Japan's Mitsui.

In 2002, after eight years of campaigning by Greenpeace Russia, the Administration of the Russian Republic of Karelia accepted the importance protect Kalevalsky and establish it as a National Park, which would mean protection for 74,000 hectares from the threat of logging. The proposal for the National Park has been forwarded to the Russian Government to establish the park officially.

Greenpeace Russia joined forces with Greenpeace Germany to work on protecting the Onega Peninsula in the Archangelsk Region. The local administration has agreed to establish a local nature reserve on the peninsula totalling 200,000 hectares. Although the reserve will not happen until 2004, the proposed logging in the area has been halted.

Brazilian Amazon: Between 1999 and 2003, Greenpeace helped to protect 1.5 million hectares of Amazon forest by supporting a campaign by the indigenous people, the Deni, to have their territory demarcated and thereby protected from industrial logging activities. After a strong campaign by Greenpeace against the Malaysian logging company, WTK, and its markets overseas, which exposed the company for its involvement with illegal logging in the Amazon, WTK publicly declared that they would not explore the area which overlapped with the Deni territory and they would not judicially fight against the demarcation process.

In 1994, a coalition of 80 groups from the Brazilian Amazon called on the Brazilian government to place a moratorium on mahogany logging. The coalition identified mahogany logging as the leading cause of forest degradation and loss, south of the Amazon River. Following an intensive campaign by Greenpeace and other non-governmental organisations, the Brazilian Government placed a two-year moratorium on the granting of new mahogany concessions in 1996. In 1998 and in 2000 again, the moratorium was extended. In November 2002, after an extensive campaign by Greenpeace and others, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) agreed that mahogany will be placed on Appendix II in November 2003. This ensures much stricter international regulations in the trade of mahogany, and has effectively resulted in the collapse of the export market.

Between 2000 and 2002, a coalition of non-governmental organizations managed to undermine a proposal to modify the Brazilian Forest Code. The proposal would have allowed the area to be deforested in certain areas in the Brazilian Amazon to increase from 20% to 80%. Although the proposal presented by Deputy Moacir Micheletto (PMDB-RO) was approved on the special commission of the Deputies Chamber, the President Fernando Henrique Cardoso withdrew the proposal due to the mobilization of Brazilian public and civil society against changes in the Forest Code.

In July 2002, the Brazilian Government announced the creation of the Extractive Reserve of Jutaí, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. With 275,533 hectares, the Extractive Reserve directly benefits 809 people from 116 families. The creation of the reserve of Jutaí ensure the sustainable use of forest resources by traditional communities living in this area.

For the first time ever, the US Government sent back an illegal mahogany shipment to Brazil. In July 2003, IBAMA (the Brazilian Environmental Agency) apprehended a container with more than 45 thousand square meters of illegal mahogany veneer at the Port of Paranaguá (Paraná State in the south of Brazil), enough to pave an area the size of six and a half football fields. The mahogany shipment, which was sent back to Brazil arrived in the US in 2002, and was immediately seized at the port under request of the Brazilian authorities due to strong evidence that it was illegally harvested.

Papua New Guinea: The Maisin people of Collingwood Bay, Papua New Guinea, celebrated a court victory in 2002, over the loggers who tried to steal their land. Greenpeace, the Environmental Law Centre and other organisations assisted with the three-year legal battle.

In 2002 and 2003: Ecoforestry enterprises continued in the Solomon Islands, despite the political and security unrest in this nation. Ecoforestry directly benefits landowners, in contrast to industrial logging, which benefits international companies.

In 2003, Lake Murray Resource Owners in Papua New Guinea won a temporary injunction against logging on their land by the Malaysian company, Concord Pacific. Greenpeace and other non government organisations have been campaigning to end logging in this area for a couple of years so this is a great achievement.

Liberia: On 6 May 2003, after an intense campaign by Greenpeace and Global Witness, the United Nations Security Council extended its sanctions against that country, to include a ban on timber imports in addition to existing arms and diamond embargoes. The reason for the extended sanctions was "Liberia's active support" of rebel groups which is having a destabilizing effect on West Africa. The trade in so-called conflict timber is a major driver of forest destruction in Liberia.

Germany: A very valuable beech forest of 6000 hectares at Kellerwald was protected from logging after extensive and successful Greenpeace campaigning. There is a good chance that it will become a national park in January 2004.

Sweden: After a sustained campaign by Greenpeace, the regional council protected parts of the threatened forest of Bråta outside Gothenburg. Sweden has only very few tracts of old-growth forest left, so the protection of even small parts is ecologically important.

Finland: A number of valuable old-growth forests have not been logged due to a Greenpeace campaign against the markets that use the wood.

Switzerland: In 2001, the Swiss Government adopted a green procurement policy for wood products. The Government wants to avoid using wood from illegal sources and gives priority to wood coming from an independent certification such as FSC. The Government adopted this measure after the presentation of a motion by a parlamentarian, supported by Greenpeace.

Greenpeace could get the last of the three biggest Do-it-yourself retailers, Jumbo, to stop using wood from ancient forest destruction and to move towards using only wood from FSC certified sources. Other companies followed, such as the biggest furniture retailer, Möbel Pfister, and the smaller Mobitare.

For the expansion of the airport of Zurich 250 cubic metres of sipo wood was planned to be used. Greenpeace was advised about this potential forest crime and stopped the airport using the wood.

Together with the Bruno Manser Foundation, Greenpeace could get 346 Swiss communities (update 30.06.2003) in Switzerland to become ancient forest friendly. Ancient forest friendly means that no wood is used that comes from destructive operations. Instead, only FSC - certified wood and /or wood coming from the country or its neighbours can be used. Whenever possible paper made from recycled fibres is used, and overall consumption should be reduced.

The Swiss Kids for Forests have been very successful in pressuring door producers, ministers, communities and others to do the best in order to protect ancient forests and to become ancient forest friendly.

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For more information about the Kids for Forests Project contact your local Greenpeace office. For more information about Ancient Forests visit the Greenpeace website.