Greenpeace today applauded the Government of British Columbia (BC) for agreeing to take significant steps to protect the Great Bear Rainforest. Located on the west coast of Canada, this ancient rainforest is one of the world's natural treasures.
Speaking on a joint platform with logging companies and BC government officials at the Canadian High Commission in London, Greenpeace confirmed to representatives of the UK timber trade, environmental groups and journalists that it will end its campaign targeting companies linked to the destruction of the Great Bear Rainforest. (1)
Twenty large pristine valleys representing an area nearly four times the size of Greater London (603,000 hectares) will receive permanent protection. Logging of a further 68 valleys (536,000 hectares) has been suspended for up to two years while negotiations over their future continue.
The Great Bear Rainforest is the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforest in the world. It is home to thousands of species of plants and animals including 1000 year old cedar trees, towering ancient spruce trees, grizzly bears, black bears and the rare white-coated spirit bears, eagles, wolves and endangered salmon runs.
Speaking at today's meeting organised by the Canadian Government, John Sauven, Greenpeace UK Campaign Director, said:
"It's been a rough and bumpy ride to get to everyone to this stage. We are delighted that UK companies supported measures to defend this global legacy from being destroyed to make toilet paper and conservatories."
In 1998, Greenpeace alerted major UK companies to the threat of industrial clearcut logging in the Great Bear Rainforest by BC's largest logging companies. This led a number of major UK companies to declare that they would stop using Canada's rainforest timber in their products.
BBC Magazines informed Greenpeace that "We're keen to put pressure on them [Western Forest Products] to stop and think about what they plan for one of the world's remaining and priceless natural treasures."
During the same year, other major UK buyers such as B&Q, Sainsbury's Homebase, Do It All, Magnet and Courtaulds announced similar positions.
The world's leading tissue manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, makers of Britain's top toilet tissue brand, informed Greenpeace that "No use will be made of any coastal British Columbian wood fibre in making any Kimberly-Clark consumer products anywhere in the world."
In December 2000, following Greenpeace talks with British fund manager Friends Ivory Sime, the company sold its £.2 million worth of shares in Interfor, one of the main logging companies in the Great Bear Rainforest.
In February 2001, Durham-based Amdega, the world's leading manufacturer of conservatories and the largest UK customer of Interfor, told Greenpeace it "would not be placing any further orders [with Interfor] for the foreseeable future".
Greenpeace's ten year campaign to protect Canada's threatened ancient rainforest has targeted companies in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan which were linked to the destruction of these forests. Actions have included blockades of timber shipments and protests at embassies, retail outlets and timber yards.
Sauven concluded:
"Logging companies destroying ancient forests in the Amazon, in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, in the Congo Basin and in Russia should take note. The BC Government and the logging industry have learnt the hard way that it is no longer acceptable to continue to destroy these irreplaceable natural treasures. Greenpeace will step up its campaign against those who fail to take action to protect what remains of the world's ancient forests."
Notes to Editors:
Photos and footage of the Great Bear Rainforest and Greenpeace direct actions around the world are available from the Greenpeace Press Office.
1. The delegation is composed of representatives from the BC Ministry of Forests, Canadian Forest Products Ltd, Central Coast District, Kitasoo Band Council, Greenpeace, International Forest Products Ltd, Norske Skog Canada, Sierra Club of BC, Western Forest Products Ltd, Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd.
2. Environmental groups include Greenpeace, Sierra Club of BC, Rainforest Action Network and Forest Ethics.
3. Greenpeace is running a global campaign to protect the world's remaining ancient forests including the Russian boreal forest and the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, the Amazon and the Congo Basin.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255.
