WALL: World Bank: Don't Destroy Old Growth Forests

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ACTION ALERT UPDATE!

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FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY

World Bank: Don't Destroy Old Growth Forests

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TAKE ACTION (Updated!):

Final Decision Soon on World Bank Subsidized Forest Ecocide

http://forests.org/emailaction/bank.htm

 

September 27, 2002

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org

As first reported by Forests.org in July of this year, the World Bank

is poised to significantly weaken its policy in regard to funding

industrial plunder of primary forests. The final decision whether

the Bank will stop its current policy of protection for the world's

remaining forests and start to subsidize industrial logging of

primary forests is to be made by the World Bank board this week.

Please follow up on our original, now updated, action alert!

 

Environmental group pressure led to the current policy that bans Bank

funding of logging in primary moist tropical forests. Over the past

several years, the World Bank has aggressively sought to resume

financing of " sustainable forest management " activities in the

World's dwindling primary forests, particularly in the tropics.

The Bank has spearheaded failed tropical timber industry reform

efforts for over a decade; failing miserably to reform commercial

logging in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Cameroon and

elsewhere.

 

The Bank's forest conservation policy approach continues to be based

upon the false premise that commercial logging in primary forests is

ecologically sustainable and socially advantageous. This is patently

false. Turning the Bank loose to " integrate forests into sustainable

economic development " will guarantee the demise of the World's

remaining large natural primary and old-growth forests. The Bank

seeks to sustain foreign exchange revenues and timber yields; rather

than natural ecological processes and patterns, and the well-being of

forest dwellers.

 

The Rainforest Action Network reports that approval of the new forest

policy is expected to take place during the World Bank meetings this

weekend in Washington, despite sharp and mounting criticism

worldwide. We need to make a final push to stop global forest

ecocide and indigenous genocide subsidized by taxpayers through the

World Blank! Please help out at

http://forests.org/emailaction/bank.htm .

g.b.

 

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Title: World Bank: Don't Destroy Old Growth Forests

Rainforest Action Network Banner Hang Banner Targeting World Bank's

Proposed Weakening of Forest Policy

Source: Copyright 2002 Rainforest Action Network,

http://www.ran.org/

September 26, 2002

 

 

 

For Immediate Release:

 

WASHINGTON DC, September 26, 2002 –Today two activists hung a banner

inside the IMF building targeting the World Bank's proposed weakening

of its forest policy. The dangling banner was dropped just prior to a

press conference by World Bank President James Wolfensohn and read,

" World Bank: Don't Destroy Old Growth. " Under James Wolfensohn's

lead, the World Bank is gutting its existing forest policy for one

that offers less protection for forests and their inhabitants, and

allows the controversial practice of logging old growth trees.

 

Approval of the new forest policy is expected to take place during

the World Bank meetings this weekend in Washington and has drawn

sharp criticism worldwide.

 

The World Bank's existing forest policy is inadequate in that it

fails to protect areas of high ecological value and prevent

conversion of natural forests. The new policy would further weaken

protection of forests by dropping critical requirements including

those that prohibit the financing of commercial logging in primary

forests and conversion of primary forests into plantations. Lifting

the ban on these projects will increase harmful exploitation and

destruction of the world's primary forests.

 

" The World Bank's proposed forest policy is going in the absolute

opposite direction necessary, " said Jaya Remis, one of the activist

who unfurled today's banner and who is also a forest campaigner with

Greenpeace " James Wolfensohn has a responsibility to protect these

forests by making sure that any new policy protect forest ecosystems

from the logging of old growth trees. Instead, he is stripping

protection for the world's remaining forests. "

 

The proposed policy has no clear process for monitoring forest

projects and no certification standards. It allows extractive

investments in all types of forests, except " critical forests, " which

are determined by World Bank Staff only. The proposed policy ignores

the impacts of programmatic and structure adjustment lending on

forests, does not apply to the Bank's private sector arms including

the International Finance Corporations (IFC) and the Multilateral

Investment Guarantee Agency (IFC). It fails to preserve the rights of

the people affected by projects funded by the World Bank, and has a

weakened requirement to secure borrower commitments to reserve areas

for forest dwellers. Finally, the policy lacks provisions to insure

that the projects alleviate poverty.

 

Activists are calling on the World Bank to halt the rewrite process

and reassess the existing World Bank forest policy. Specifically,

they are calling on the World Bank to:

 

— Expand the prohibition on funding commercial logging to include

primary forests and forests of high ecological value

— Clearly define " commercial harvesting " by listing all prohibited

activities such as the conversion of native forests to plantations,

road-building, logging equipment purchase and timber inventory

— Promote policies that are food for forests and forest people by

building capacity of improved governance and addressing the problem

of illegal logging

 

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URL= http://forests.org/

 

Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry

 

 

 

 

Glen Barry

M.S., Ph.D. (abd)

President

Forests.org, Inc.

gbarry

 

 

 

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