An urgent message from PNG
By Sam Moko, Greenpeace PNG Forest Campaigner.
In May a colleague and I abseiled off the top of a hotel in
downtown Port Moresby on the opening day of the International
Tropical Timber Organisation's (ITTO) 42nd committee meeting. We
unfurled a banner that read "ITTO Stop Forest Destruction". This is
the first time a protest like this has taken place in Port Moresby.
As a Papua New Guinean and a landowner I thought it was
necessary to do this to highlight ongoing problems in my country's
forestry sector.
The ITTO report on sustainable forest management in PNG found
that the local forest authority (PNGFA) is more concerned with
logging for financial benefit than it is with sustainably managing
our forest resource.
It will take political will to act on the recommendations
outlined in the ITTO report. A strong leader is needed to fix the
forestry sector, otherwise things will only get worse and there'll
be nothing left for our children.
To avoid buying illegally logged timber from PNG visit our
online Good Wood Guide www.greenpeace.org.au/goodwood
Himalayan Glacial melt
China - Glaciers in the Himalayas provide water for one-sixth of
humanity. But climate change is threatening this water source, with
reservoirs of ice disappearing as temperatures rise.
Scientists predict 80 percent of the glaciers will be gone
within 30 years if current warming rates continue.
A Greenpeace team recently documented the glacial retreat on the
world's highest peak, Mount Everest (Qomolangma). They took photos
of the Rongbuk Glacier, Everest's main glacier, 5,800 metres above
sea level, and compared them with similar photos taken in 1968.
Unfortunately, the campaigners were unable to reach the exact
spot where the 1968 pictures were taken because a smaller glacier
that was there four decades ago has completely disappeared, making
it impassable.
G8 to act on climate change...later...maybe
Heiligendamm, Germany - In the lead up to this year's G8 summit,
leaked documents revealed a distinct split among member countries
on the issue of climate change; not surprising, given seven of them
have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions under Kyoto -
while the US (far and away the worst offender) has not.
The final deal reached was nowhere near what's needed to halt
dangerous climate change. It's full of weasel words like 'seriously
consider' but fails to agree on essential targets.
What these leaders of the world's wealthiest nations fail to
take into account is that reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent
(compared to 1990 levels) by 2050 is not a negotiable diplomatic
point - it's a physical necessity. And, as we've already learned
from the last 15 years, voluntary measures don't work.
Greenpeace, however, welcomed the fact that G8 have cleared the
path for the next round of binding emission cuts to be set at the
United Nations.
Replica of Noah's Ark built as symbol of hope
Turkey - Judeo, Christian and Muslim religions all include the
story of a great flood and Noah's Ark. It's said that as the flood
subsided, Noah released a dove, and the dove returned with an olive
branch to show land had been found. To this day the Ark and dove
are symbols of hope.
In the run up to the G8 summit, Greenpeace and 20 German and
Turkish carpenters constructed a replica ark on Mount Ararat in
Turkey, where some say Noah's Ark came to rest. It took four weeks
to complete. Once finished, 208 doves (one for each country) were
released and the 'Ararat Declaration' signed. The declaration
demands that world leaders act to protect the basic human rights of
life and health, both of which will be at risk for millions of
people from the effects of climate change.
Measuring ten by four meters, the ark replica was to remind
leaders of all nations attending the summit, that it's now or never
to take action over climate change.