Background - 8 October, 2007
Every second tropical tree traded in the world is sent to China, where it is processed into cheap furniture, flooring and plywood for local use or for export to Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan and South Korea.Much of the wood comes from the Paradise Forests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), where between 76 to 90 percent of logging is illegal.
The China Forest Rescue Station is housed in a traditional Chinese courtyard in Beijing
The China Forest Rescue Station (CFRS) brings the Paradise Forests to those who can make a difference, in the most dramatic and realistic way. It is designed to feel like our Global Forest Rescue Station in Lake Murray, Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
Housed in a traditional Chinese courtyard, the CFRS is decorated with genuine PNG artefacts. When people enter the CFRS, they virtually enter the forest. They hear the sounds of the forest and embark upon a journey of discovery about its people, plants and animals and, sadly, the destruction of one of the most biologically rich regions in the world.
This public venue provides a direct link to the Station in Lake Murray. Visitors can:
- view recent images and footage of Greenpeace's activities in Papua New Guinea
- talk online to an activist in Lake Murray (at certain times)
- attend a solutions forum
- discover ways to help and take action online
We aim to inform decision-makers and consumers about the Paradise Forests and show the destruction industrial logging can cause.
Ultimately, we aim to convince the largest importers of illegal and destructively logged timber to switch to more responsible supply sources. Perhaps then the industrial loggers will similarly be forced to change their destructive practices, and perhaps then, Paradise can be regained.