. Earth Science News .
Greenpeace occupies timber export ship in PNG

This handout picture provided by Greenpeace shows activists from the Greenpeace ship 'Esperanza', assisted by local land owners, halting the loading of illegally logged trees from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea onto the 'Harbour Gemini' ship, in Paia inlet, Gulf Province on September 3, 2008. According to Greenpeace these forests are being felled by Turama Forest Industries - a group company of the Malaysian company Rimbunan Hijau. Twenty percent of global greenhouse emissions annually are caused by the deforestation of natural forests worldwide. Photo courtesy AFP.
by Staff Writers
Port Moresby (AFP) Sept 4, 2008
Greenpeace said Thursday that its activists had boarded a logging ship in Papua New Guinea to stop it exporting timber to China, in a move labelled a smear campaign by the company involved.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific said four activists climbed on a loading crane aboard the ship Harbour Gemini at Paia Inlet on PNG's southwest coast to stop logs being loaded.

Greenpeace argues the ship is being operated by Malaysian-owned logging company Rimbunan Hijau, which it accuses of breaking PNG's forestry laws.

"We need to urgently protect these ancient forests to save our climate," Greenpeace campaigner Sam Moko said in a statement.

"Greenpeace is asking the Papua New Guinea government to establish a moratorium on any new large-scale logging concessions or extensions."

Rimbunan Hijau dismissed the allegations, saying it was not involved in illegal logging and had no involvement with the company that operates the Harbour Gemini.

"All the timber exported by Rimbunan Hijau is legal... no single law has been broken," Rimbunan Hijau manager of corporate policy Axel Wilhelm said in a statement.

"Claims that the ship and timber concession belong to Rimbunan Hijau are also false. The concession and vessel have no relationship with the company."

"Greenpeace has been attacking us with groundless smear campaigns like this for years," Wilhelm added.

The activists travelled to PNG on the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza, which was involved in a campaign against Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean early this year.

Greenpeace said the PNG government had a poor forest management record, including accusations of corruption and misappropriation of funds. It said PNG locals wanted an investigation into the logging industry.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Ghana, EU clinch deal to crackdown on illicit timber trade
Lagos (AFP) Sept 3, 2008
The European Union on Wednesday inked a landmark deal with Ghana to fight illegal timber exports from the west African country, the EU said.







  • 'Grim' conditions as India flood rescue hits crucial stage
  • Flooding risk for decades in China quake zone: expert
  • New Orleans revives as storm-slammed suburbs struggle
  • US disaster chief: Don't come home too soon

  • Study Seeks Human Fingerprint On Western Australian Climate
  • Global Warming Greatest In Past Decade
  • Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Could Cause Rapid Sea Level Rise
  • Thawing Permafrost Likely To Boost Global Warming

  • Ball Aerospace Begins Integration Of WorldView-2 Imaging Instrument
  • Hanna Not Moving Much Near North Of The Caicos Islands
  • Changing The World, One Student At A Time
  • Arctic Ice On The Verge Of Another All-Time Low

  • Destiny, Florida Creates State's First Energy Farm
  • EESTECH And AGL Energy To Use Australian Waste To Energy Technology
  • Palm oil firms' moratorium rejection threatens orangutans: activists
  • Angola's oil fields fuel economic growth

  • Toll rises to 121 in Uganda hepatitis epidemic
  • Sharp unveils new anti-bird flu air purifier
  • HIV-positive Swazi women march against royals' shopping binge
  • Matsushita says new DNA technology identifies disease risks

  • Caltech Scientists Discover Why Flies Are So Hard To Swat
  • Eyes Evolved For X-Ray Vision
  • Armoured Fish Study Helps Strengthen Darwin's Natural Selection Theory
  • Study Of Islands Reveals Surprising Extinction Results

  • EPA completes river cleanup
  • Heavy Metal Linked To Poor Growth And Fertility In Sydney Harbor Crustaceans
  • Even in Europe, 20 million people without toilets: forum
  • Greenland Ice Core Reveals History Of Pollution In The Arctic

  • Study reveals Australia suffering from 'man drought'
  • Chewing gum may reduce stress
  • Scientists rebut finding of 'Hobbit' bones
  • New Book Supports Theory Of Man The Hunted

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement