Feature story - October 12, 2007
Activists with Greenpeace prevented a ship from off-loading several thousand tonnes of newsprint in the harbour of Terneuzen, Netherlands in October. The newsprint was from Abitibi-Consolidated, the most important logging company in Canada, which is logging some of the last intact areas of the Boreal Forest.
Greenpeace activists boarded a cargo ship carrying Abitibi-Consolidated paper pulp from the Canada. The blockade took place overnight in Terneuzen, Netherlands and included the hanging of a banner denouncing the ongoing use of Boreal pulp in newsprint.
The shipment was destined for Dutch newspaper publishers. PCM,
Wegener and the Telegraaf Media Groep all buy from Abitibi with
annual purchases of over 26,000 tonnes of paper. Abitibi is their
most important Canadian source of newsprint. Only a small fraction
of the paper is recycled and Greenpeace research shows that the
Abitibi paper consists of over 90 per cent virgin fibers.
Activists wrote "No Newspapers from Ancient Forests" in Dutch on
the hull of the Finwood, a 170-metre long ship and are calling on
the Dutch government to ensure that forest products imported into
the country are not coming from ancient forests.
This recent action is an example of the growing international
concern with the state of Canada's Boreal Forest and the power of
an international markets campaign to signal to logging companies
that things must change. Greenpeace will continue to put pressure
on international corporate customers of Abitibi-Consolidated until
intact areas of the Boreal are protected and logging practices are
transformed, including the application of Forest Stewardship
Council certification (FSC).
Abitibi-Consolidated is the most important newspaper producer in
Canada. The company has logging permits for more than 16.8 million
hectares in Canada. Already, an area three times the size of France
has been degraded and fragmented by development in the Boreal
Forest region (175 million hectares). More than 76 per cent of the
forests under the management of Abitibi has already been degraded
and fragmented. Abitibi has also failed to certify itself to the
rigorous standards of the international FSC.
The Canadian Boreal Forest is one of the largest ancient forests
left on the planet, with many large intact areas. It's a very
important storehouse of carbon, with an estimated 47.5 billion
tonnes stored in its soils and trees. The forest is also a natural
habitat for many threatened species such as the caribou.
Greenpeace Canada is calling on the governments of Ontario and
Quebec for a moratorium on logging in remaining intact areas and
caribou habitat until large scale protection is implemented.