The habitat of Indonesian orang-utans is threatened by illegal logging.
Ironically, the ship carrying the illegal cargo arrived in the
Thames under police protection - while our activists were arrested
for trying to prevent it from being unloaded.
Volunteers from Greenpeace UK (Greenpeace Ltd) occupied the
gates at Tilbury and formed a boat blockade as workers tried to
dock the ship (the MV Greveno), which is carrying tens of thousands
of cubic metres of rainforest timber.
Police
removed our activists and the ship was allowed to dock. We
immediately sent an urgent fax to Environment Minister Elliot
Morley, urging the Government to seize the timber and return it to
Indonesia. The ship's next destination is Antwerp, where some of
the timber will be unloaded and transported to The Netherlands.
We have been tracking the Greveno since it loaded up with
rainforest timber in Indonesia in early February. Volunteers tried
to board the ship in the English Channel, but were pummelled by
high-powered deck hoses.
An Indonesian Government investigation has found that Korindo,
the company producing and selling this shipment of wood, buys from
notorious timber barons known to obtain timber from Tanjung Puting
national park - an orang-utan refuge. To date nearly half the
national park has been damaged.
As
much as 90 percent of all logging in Indonesia is illegal and the
industry is further linked to corruption, violence and human rights
abuses.
'The logging, export and sale of this timber is nothing short of
organised crime,' said forest campaigner Andy Tait. 'Behind each
sheet of plywood that originates in Indonesia's rainforests there
is a web of criminal activity, corruption and bloodshed.'
Governments worldwide must act before the Indonesian rainforest
is gone and orang-utans are only found in zoos. Despite the
evidence against Korindo and the cargo aboard the MV Greveno there
is currently no law to stop the import of timber like this into the
EU.
The
UK timber industry has admitted that not one of Indonesia's
sawmills can provide sufficient evidence of legality or
sustainability for the UK market. Three UK high-street builder's
merchants, including Jewson and Travis Perkins, have stopped
selling Indonesian plywood because of concerns about illegal
trade.
Tony Blair has promised to fight against the illegal timber
industry and save the world's ancient forests. Now is his
chance.
Find out more about illegal timber at www.saveordelete.com
Take action
Please
write to Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for
Development and Humanitarian Aid, asking him to stop this illegal
timber trade immediately.