The Paradise Forests need your help.

Background - March 30, 2006

Brian Baring

Hello,

My name is Brian Baring, I grew up in a traditional village in the Paradise Forests of Papua New Guinea. My people have relied on the forest for their daily needs for generations.

The forest is our supermarket, our water tap, our green-grocers and our medicine cabinet. It gives us the food we eat, the water we drink, the medicine for when we are sick and shelter from the heat and the rain.

The forest is our life.

But right now, as you read this message, my home is being destroyed. European companies are importing timber products made from the forests stolen from my country. By allowing my people's stolen forest to be imported into Europe, our way of life, the forest and the amazing plants and animals in the forest are destroyed. I have seen the impact of forest destruction on my people and on my land.

I am in Europe now to ask you and your governments to stop buying timber stolen from my home. Please help and send this letter to Peter Mandelson, the European Commissioner for trade and ask him to implement legislation to stop the import of illegal and destructive timber into Europe.

Time is running out for the forest and my people.

Thank you for your support,

Brian

So far people have taken this action!

Your Information

Step 1.

Fill in your name and email address.

Name *

Email *

Country

Your Message

Step 2.

Compose your message in the space below, or use the one we have provided. Please be polite and check for spelling errors.

Your name will automatically be added to the end of the letter.

Subject

Message * To: Peter Mandelson European Commissioner for Trade The trade in illegal and destructively logged timber is destroying the last ancient forests on Earth. A staggering 80% of the Earth's large intact areas of ancient forests have been destroyed or degraded, and what is left is under threat from illegal and destructive logging.In 2003, the European Commission promised to release a study on options for legislation to combat the import of illegal timber into the European Union (EU) before mid-2004, but we are still waiting.Legislation to exclude illegal timber and timber products from the EU market and ultimately ensure imports from legal and sustainable sources, is urgently needed. Every two seconds an area of forest the size of a football field disappears. In the two years we have been waiting for the Commission report, an area of forest the size of over 21 million football fields has been destroyed.The European Union is a large importer of timber from countries, such as Indonesia, Cameroon, Russia and Brazil, where illegal and destructive logging is rife. The EU is also a large importer of timber products from China and imports are growing every year. In the past decade there has been a 100-fold increase in the import of plywood products from China, that's growth of 10,000 percent. Five out of every ten tropical logs shipped from the world's threatened rain forests are now destined for China. Research has revealed that Europe imports Chinese plywood made from timber originating in Papua New Guinea, supplied by Rimbunan Hijau, a Malaysian logging company known for breaking laws and perpetrating human rights abuses in its logging operations in Papua New Guinea.Mr Mandelson, political inaction in Europe is destroying ancient forests. Please do not delay any longer and urgently support legislation banning the import of illegal timber and timber products and ensuring that ultimately, all wood products imported into Europe are from legally logged and well-managed forests.Yours sincerely,