Forest protection is one of the fastest ways to save the climate.
With up to a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from cutting down and burning forests, it's clear we cannot avert a climate disaster unless world leaders take action of their own to stop the destruction.
Fifty of our activists - from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain,Germany, Belgium, Brazil and Finland - shut down deforestationoperations in the heartof the Indonesian rainforest and stopped companies clearing anddestroying the carbon-rich forest peatland and asked Obama to live upto the promise he made to take decisive action on climate change. Withjust weeks left before December's critical UN climate summit, hisadministration is actively undermining and stalling the climate changenegotiations.
One group unfurled a huge 20x30 metre banner in a freshlydestroyed area of rainforest that read "Obama: you can stop this". Others locked themselves to all seven digging machines that were in themiddle of destroying the rainforest in one of the pulpand paper concessions in the Kampar Peninsula - owned by Asia PacificResources International Holding Limited (APRIL -- one of Indonesia'sbiggest pulp and paper producers). In spite of intense heat, swarms ofmosquitoes and tropical rain - ouractivists managed to hold their nerve and remained locked onto thedigging machinery. Workers even startedthree of the excavators and moved one of them with threeof our activists still on its roof. They only stopped when otheractivists bravely sat right infront of the machine.
Things began to get tense about 10 hours into the action - when company staff broke the chains and started another of thefour diggers - even though it had 7 activistslocked onto it. The police moved in to stop the protest. Our activists are currently detainedby the police.
Liar, liar - trees on fire!
In response to a letter we sent voicing our concerns about forestdestruction in this region, pulp and paper company APRIL statedthat it had ceased operations in the Kampar Peninsula. But we knewotherwise. So, earlier this week we released fresh evidence - includingaerial surveillance images - that left no doubt that APRIL isdestroying this rainforest. Thisdata also raised damning suspicions that the company is draining anddestroying forest peat that is deeper than three meters - the maximumdepth allowed by Indonesian law.
A few hours ago, we brought this evidence to a public meetingheld by APRIL in the regional capital of Pekanbaru where the company wasintroducing the latest of a string of so-called 'High Value Forest Assessments'aimed at greenwashing its image.
Watch this space to see what happens next...
Dam it! We need forest protection NOW!
Today's action tookplace on the Kampar Peninsula on the Indonesian island of Sumatra,where we have set up a ' Climate Defenders' Camp'. Rainforest and thedestruction of the forest's carbon-rick peat soil in Indonesia emitshuge quantities of CO2 and has driven Indonesia to become the world'sthird largest climate polluter after China and the US. The peatland inthis area alone stores approximately 2 billion tonnesof carbon. Our activists at the camp have spent the past weeks constructing dams across the canals - built by paper companies toprepare the land for plantations - to prevent them draining anddestroying the forest and its peat and releasing alll this CO2 to theatmosphere.
In two days, President Obama joins 20 other Heads of State in Singapore to discussAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) - just a few weeks before he and other leadersmust agree an historic deal to avert a climate crisis at December'sUN climate summit. Instead of continuing to block progress - Obama andother world leaders need to push for anambitious, fair and effective deal that includes ending the destructionof the world's rainforests.
To end global deforestation, industrialised countries must invest30 billion euros in forest protection (on anannual basis, mostly from polluters, not taxpayers). This is less than theUS gave to individual banks during the financial crisis last year - a staggering $180billion went to bailout AIG alone.
Take Action
Join our activists by calling on world leaders to agree on a firm pact in Copenhagen this December - including a fund for forests.
Support Us
It is thanks to people like you - that we are able to set up a camp and take action at the frontline of forest destruction. You can help make a difference tomorrow by giving whatever you can today.