GREENPEACE EXPOSES GREEK LINKS TO LIBERIAN ANCIENT FOREST CRIMES

22 March 2002

Athens, Greece - Over twenty Greenpeace activists against forest crime boarded the vessel 'African Trader' today in the port of Lefkanti, 90 kilometres northeast of Athens, as it was preparing to offload hundred of logs from Liberia’s last remaining ancient forests. Four climbers scaled the ship’s cranes and unfurled a banner reading ‘Stop Ancient Forest Destruction’, while a team of activists blocked the cranes’ lifting gear which prevented the logs from being offloaded.

The port facilities in Lefkanti are owned by the Greek flooring and plywood manufacturer Shelman, who claim to be ‘one of the largest purchasers of African logs in the world’(1). The Shelman facilities have, in the recent past, imported logs from several powerful logging companies implicated in numerous human rights abuses and arms trafficking between Liberia and Sierra Leone, including Oriental Timber Company (OTC). OTC is run by a close business associate of the Liberian President (2) who has granted the logging rights to one third of the Liberia’s remaining 4.8 million hectares of ancient forest to the company (3).

“Each year, hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of Liberia’s remaining forest is exported by logging companies like OTC to countries in Asia and Europe,” said Greenpeace Forests Campaigner Phil Aikman in the port of Lefkanti. “These logging companies are destroying some of the last forest sanctuaries for the forest elephant, the chimpanzee and the pygmy hippopotamus.”

With only 20 percent of the world's original forests left, those that remain are also in danger of disappearing with industrial logging posing the single largest threat to their survival. Today’s action is one more in a series of Greenpeace protests throughout Europe against Liberian and other ancient forest timber in recent weeks. The actions have been highlighting the destructive and often illegal nature of timber coming from the world's remaining ancient forests. In the last three weeks, there have been similar protests by Greenpeace in Spain, France, Italy, Finland, China, Chile, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the US and Germany.

“Shelman should end their role in facilitating the trade of Liberian logging companies linked with the arms trade and forest destruction, knowing full well of their disastrous environmental and social consequences,” said Nikos Charalambides, Greenpeace Greece executive director from the Greek port of Lefkanti. “The Greek government should bring an immediate end to their role in providing an import destination for timber trade which continues to fuel regional conflict.”

In the run up to the forthcoming Ancient Forest Summit in the Hague, the Netherlands this April, Greenpeace is urging governments of all importing countries to bring an immediate end to their role in the destruction of ancient forests by committing to stop further industrial activities in intact ancient forests until responsible plans for forest conservation and sustainable use have been agreed; ensuring that timber is produced and traded in a legal and ecologically responsible way (4) and providing at least US$15 billion each year to pay for forest conservation and sustainable development.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Phil Aikman, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner, currently in the Greek port of Lefkanti, ++44 7801 212 995
Gina Sanchez, Greenpeace Press Desk in Amsterdam, ++31 6 27 000 064

For Photos: John Novis, ++31 6 53 819 121
For Video: Mim Lowe, ++31 6 53 504 721

1) ShelmanSwiss Hellenic exports plywood and flooring to countries in northern Europe, the Middle East, United States and Canada.

2)OTC has been exposed by the United Nations Securities Council for illegally supplying arms to Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels fighting the government forces and UN Peacekeepers in the war-torn neighbouring country of Sierra Leone. For further reading see Greenpeace briefing: Forest Crime File: Liberian timber trade fuels regional insecurity.

3)The company is believed to have paid President Taylor between US$3 million and US$5 million for its massive concession, the largest in Liberia’s history. Although the concession is not legally valid and has never been ratified by the Liberian congress, OTC opens up between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares of intact forest every month.

4)The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is currently the only international certification and labelling system that uses globally endorsed ecological performance standards, ensures a traceable chain-of-custody from production to final consumption and brings together a broad range of environment, social and economic stakeholder interests.