18.30pm Thursday 5th June, 2003. The Government today backed down and agreed to launch an enquiry into the use of Indonesian rainforest timber on the Home Office HQ site , 2 Marsham St, Westminster. In response eleven Greenpeace climbers who have occupied four 40 metre high cranes on the site for the past 2 days agreed to end their occupation and abseiled down from the cranes. The climbers (9 men and 2 women) were escorted off the site.
Thursday 5th June, 2003. Greenpeace today rejected claims by Home Secretary, David Blunkett (1) that the Indonesian rainforest timber being used on the site of the new Home Office HQ has been sourced legally and is in line with Government policy. It accused him of condoning forest crimes.
At 6am this morning Greenpeace volunteers occupied the construction site of the new Home Office HQ at 2 Marsham Street, Westminster (1) and declared it an ancient forest crime scene. Eleven Greenpeace climbers scaled and occupied four huge cranes on the site and hung banners saying 'Rainforest Demolition Site'.
7th May, 2003. Greenpeace today welcomed the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) decision to end the role of the timber trade in fuelling the war machine of Liberian President Charles Taylor.
The UNSC decision, agreed last night, renewed existing embargoes on trade in arms and diamonds with Liberia and extended them to include a ban on all timber exports, with effect from 7th July 2003. The ban will affect trade in species including Liberian Azob, Sapelli, Iroko, African mahogany and African walnut'.
Two illegal logging barges carrying over two hundred logs have been impounded and the owner fined almost 200,000 Brazilian reals - nearly US$ 60,000, after a three-day river blockade mounted by Greenpeace activists and local community members in the Amazon to protest against forest destruction and demand the reation of an Extractive Reserve (1).
Summary The lowland rainforest of Cameroon forms part of Africa's stunning Forest of the Great Apes. One of the world's last remaining strongholdsof species such as lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants, this forest supports countless species of plants and animals and is home to around 12 million forest-dependent people. But today their future is under threat, as illegal and destructive logging companies encroach deeper and deeper into this fragile forest.
