Greenpeace Boards Timber Ship to Halt Rainforest Destruction

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

GREENPEACE BOARDS TIMBER SHIP TO HALT RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION

Press Release: 26 Mar 98: At 10am today, 4 Greenpeace activists
boarded a shipment of ancient Canadian rainforest timber and
pulp in Greenock harbour outside Glasgow.

The activists, all trained climbers, scaled the front loading
crane of the ship the 'Saga Wind', preventing it from unloading.
They unfurled a giant 17 metre long banner reading 'Don't Buy
Canada's Great Bear Rainforest Destruction'. Two further banners
displayed the logos of British companies. One banner lists the
'tick' companies, those which have stopped buying timber and
pulp from companies destroying Canada's Great Bear Rainforest.
The other lists the 'question mark' companies, those which are
continuing to purchase timber, despite being alerted to the
destruction by Greenpeace.

Greenpeace forest campaigner Brenda Ramsey said, "This ship is
carrying ancient rainforest timber and pulp destined for the
British market. For the sake of magazines, garden furniture and
even cosmetics, 1,000 year old trees have been destroyed and an
entire eco-system put at risk.

Nothing can replace these trees or the intricate life system
they support. The destruction must be stopped before the
temperate rainforests disappear."

The UK is the first European port of call for the 'Saga Wind'.
Britain is Europe's biggest importer of timber and one of the
largest importers of pulp from British Columbia. It has a
critical role to play in saving Canada's Great Bear Rainforest. 

Following a campaign by Greenpeace, a number of major British
companies have said that they will stop purchasing timber and
pulp from this unsustainable source. These include B & Q,
Sainsbury's Homebase, Do It All and BBC Worldwide Publishing.
Other companies, however, have still to take action on this
issue, including Magnet, Jewson and Harcros.

Those companies which have agreed to help protect the Great Bear
Rainforest believe that their customers would not wish to be
part of this ecological catastrophe.

Brenda Ramsey said, "Customers have no idea that their DIY doors
or cosmetics are made at the cost of destroying something so
ancient. Some of these rainforest trees started growing before
William the Conqueror shot Harold at the Battle of Hastings.
There are sustainable alternatives to this wood and pulp. Why
destroy, not just the ancient forests but the matrix of life
they support, like Canada's largest population of grizzly bears
and the only population of rare white spirit bears in the world.
Other solutions exist"

Today's non violent direct action comes just days after one of
the Canadian logging companies (Western Forest Products) started
blasting new logging roads into the heart of the Great Bear
Rainforest. 

The action was accomplished by Greenpeace within minutes of the
ship docking. The activists swooped, scaling the crane and
securing their position before port officials or crew members
could prevent them. The activists are refusing to move until the
ship agrees to return to Canada with its shipment. And until the
remaining British companies have agreed to stop buying
rainforest timber from companies hell bent on destroying the
pristine areas of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Only 20% of British Columbia's' rainforest valleys remain and at
current rates of logging most will have disappeared within the
next five to ten years. 

The Canadian rainforest is amongst the most threatened ancient
forest in the world. Globally 80% of the world's ancient forests
are gone.

Notes to correspondents: Greenpeace has been campaigning to
encourage British companies not to buy from companies
threatening to destroy the pristine areas of the Great
Bear Rainforest. In response to this campaign many major
companies have agreed to cancel their contracts. Others,
however, are still sitting on the fence.

On April 1st 18 activists, including Greenpeace members, go on
trial in British Columbia for disrupting logging activities in
the Great Bear Rainforest last year. All face possible
imprisonment. At the beginning of May Nuxalk First Nations
chiefs are also on trial for the same action.

The following household products are made from ancient
rainforest timber and pulp: paint, cosmetics, magazine paper,
DIY materials such as doors, garden furniture, staircases,
verandas and garden trellis.

Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org