LEADING WORLD GOVERNMENTS INVOLVED IN DESTRUCTION OF WORLD’S LAST ANCIENT FORESTS

10 April 2002

Amsterdam - Greenpeace activists blocked the timber trader Wijma(1) this morning. Over 40 activists chained themselves to points across the timber yard forcing the yard to cease operations. Once the activists had set up their blockade, the timber yard workers arrived at the scene and reacted with extreme violence. While some workers threw stones at the activists, others used a water hose to get climbers to climb down from the crane.

“Wijma should respect the Cameroon forestry laws and stop its illegal logging activities,” said Ingrid Visseren. “Wijma needs to take sustainable forest management seriously and only trade in timber that comes from legal and well managed forest operations.”

Wijma has been logging in Africa for over 30 years. The company has several logging operations and sawmills in Cameroon. The forest areas where Wijma is sourcing its timber are of high ecological and cultural value. Wijma is known to be buying timber from some of the most notorious logging companies operating in the last intact forests of Cameroon, forests that provide a critical habitat for endangered species such as the forest elephant, the lowland gorilla and the chimpanzee. And forests that provide a home for millions of forest dwelling people. The company’s suppliers include the Lebanese logger Hazim, whose illegal activities have been estimated to have cost the Cameroonian government tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue (2).

The Dutch government is an important buyer of Wijma timber products since the company specializes in timber for large marine construction projects. Greenpeace questions why the Dutch government is allowing imports of rainforest timber from destructive sources, especially when said timber is destined for government projects.

“While in the Hague, delegates from over 180 governments are meeting to discuss the fate of the world’s last ancient forests, Greenpeace expects the Dutch government to take the lead to save these valuable natural resources,” added Visseren, referring to the Ancient Forests Summit, being celebrated now in the Netherlands.

Additionally, this morning 40 Greenpeace activists entered the UK government's cabinet office in central London and declared it a forest crime scene, following an investigation which revealed the government was about to install hundreds of new wooden doors made from Africa's last ancient forests (3).

The activist entered the building to remove doors made from ancient forest destruction and replace them with doors independently certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards (4). Nearly two years ago Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to source all government timber from legal and well-managed sources.

Speaking from London, Greenpeace forests campaigner John Sauven said: "Today Greenpeace has exposed Blair's total failure to turn words into action. Trashing Africa’s remaining ancient forests to supply government doors and windows threatens the very existence of gorillas and chimpanzees in the wild. "

Canada also came under fire today with the release of the report: The Lost Decade by Sierra Legal Defence Fund (5) that condemns Canada for its failure to live up to its commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Ingrid Visseren, Greenpeace Netherlands Forests Campaigner: ++31 6 25031007
Gina Sanchez, Greenpeace International Media Officer ++31627 000 064
Tamara Stark, Greenpeace Canada, currently in The Hague, ++44 7801 858 459
Phil Aikman, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, currently in the UK, ++44 7801 212 995

(1) A report on Wijma’s activities can be downloaded at: http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/wijma.pdf

(2) A report on Hazim’s activities can be downloaded at: http://www.greenpeace.org/saveordelete/reports/hazim.pdf

(3) The Cabinet Office is currently undergoing a Ł 322.6 million refurbishment. The government falsely claim, which has been confirmed by the company that project manages the site, that the wood used in the project was from "legal and sustainable...purchased under certified logging schemes."

(4) The FSC, Forest Stewardship Council, is the only independent certification system that meets credible international ecological standards, incorporates balanced interests of social, economic and environmental groups, and has a widely supported and globally recognised label. The FSC system assures integrity of the chain of custody from the extraction of wood, through processing to the final consumer. The FSC offers the best available guarantee that logging practices are legal and do not lead to ancient forest destruction.

(5) The report is available for downloading at: http://www.sierralegal.org