Forest destruction threat to biodiversity
Greenpeace received confirmation of the announcement by French
President Jacques Chirac that France will take a leading role in
the
fight against ancient forest destruction at the Conference of
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), currently taking
place in The Hague. Subsequently, the
German Minister of Environment, Juergen Trittin, declared that
his country joins France in taking this decisive step in shifting
the trend of destruction of the ancient
forests.
Greenpeace called the move "an excellent example of leadership
and vision". "We urge other countries to take up the challenge,"
said Gudrun Henne of Greenpeace.
"Only with the political will of all nations, can the current
alarming rate of ancient forest destruction be brought to a
halt."
The French and German governments have also announced that this
issue will also be a high priority at the G-8 Environment Summit
this weekend in Canada.
"As consumer countries, the G-8 have a special responsibility,
they must support developing countries with significant funding and
take international measures to stop
unsustainable trade," said Ludovic Frere, of Greenpeace
France.
The French proposal provides the basis for the adoption of
urgently needed measures to protect ancient forests, including:
· clear international objectives and co-operation on illegal
logging and related trade,
· measures for sustainable use, such as green procurement and
certification systems, and the elimination of perverse subsidies,
and
· the establishment of networks of protected areas.(1)
"We hope the announcement of the French/German proposal will
mark a U-turn in the negotiations in The Hague. We urge other
countries to join and stop the
destruction of ancient forests," said Martin Kaiser of,
Greenpeace Germany.
Notes: 1. Greenpeace welcomes the proposed creation of a working group on ancient forests that would bring together all stakeholders relevant for the survival of ancientforests. This working group would facilitate, monitor and further develop the implementation of the agreements reached at the Ancient Forest Summit in The Hague.