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Facing up to illegal forest destruction

Coal is the worst climate offender Enlarge Image

Stop climate change

The world's leaders meet at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen to determine the fate of the climate. They could set us on the path to a deep emissions cuts or they could lock the planet into catastrophic, irreversible climate change.

Nomadic Penan leader Along Sega and his grandchild examine a tree stump near their village in the Sungai Nyakit area of the Sarawak rainforest in Malaysia. He is 60, a father of nine and grandfather of 30. Enlarge Image

Protect ancient forests

Forest destruction produces about one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than that emitted from all the cars, planes, and trains in the world.

Visit our new Climate Defenders Camp in Indonesia!

A reindeer in the Lappi reinder herding co-operative in Finland. Enlarge Image

Europe

The Last Ancient Forests of Europe combine Europe's few remaining tracts of ancient forest in Scandinavia with the adjoining forest of European Russia (from the western flanks of the Ural mountains). These boreal forests represent Europe's last remaining intact ancient forest.

Clearcutting of Canada's temperate rainforest, Tofino Creek, Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island. Enlarge Image

Threats

Eight thousand years ago, large tracts of ancient forest covered almost half the earth's land area. Today, only one fifth of the original forests remain as large areas of ancient forest, the rest having been destroyed, degraded or fragmented by relentless human activity.

Rubber tappers in Jurua Extractive Reserve, Amazon, Brazil. Enlarge Image

Solutions

Few can dispute the irreplaceable damage caused to forests from illegal and destructive logging around the world, but what can be done to effectively address the problem and reverse the increasing trend of ancient forest destruction?

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