Hong Kong 9th December 2005 - Four days before trade ministers meet at
the 6th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
Hong Kong, Greenpeace released a new report highlighting the threat that
the WTO poses to the world’s last remaining ancient forests. The study
Trading away our last ancient forests (1)concludes that liberalisation
in the forestry sector must be halted immediately in order to avoid
destroying the last remaining ancient forests and the indigenous
communities dependent on them.
The report Trading away our last ancient forests highlights that
liberalisation is likely to magnify destruction of rainforests and
increase illegal and unsustainable logging, particularly in the poorest
countries. The study confirms the findings of a Sustainable Impact
Assessment commissioned by the European Union on the likely negative
impacts of WTO trade liberalisation on forests. The EU study was
published earlier this week (2).
“A push for unbridled liberalisation of the global timber trade at the
WTO would result in further irreversible ecological damage, as well as
social conflict and an increase in poverty,” said Daniel Mittler, Trade
Policy Advisor at Greenpeace International. “Plans for forest
liberalisation at the WTO must be abandoned in light of the proven
negative environmental and social impacts.”
The Greenpeace report illustrates how the WTO has been systematically
used to stall political action aimed at preventing the destruction of
forests. It therefore calls for governments to accept the primacy of
international legislation safeguarding people and the environment over
trade rules, so that the WTO can no longer be used to undermine
progressive social and environmental legislation.
The WTO ministerial in Hong Kong will focus on agriculture, services and
non-agricultural market access (NAMA). If the negotiations are to move
forward at all, trade-offs between these different negotiation areas are
inevitable. Forests, covered under the NAMA negotiations, are at risk of
being traded off for cheap gains in other areas.
“We must not allow the last ancient forests of the world to be traded
away in Hong Kong,” added Daniel Mittler, “Governments must halt the
NAMA negotiations and take urgent steps to improve forest protection
measures globally.”
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation that uses
non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental
problems to force solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful
future.
For more information, contact
tradeinfo int.greenpeace.org-
Daniel Mittler (in Hong Kong), Greenpeace International, Trade Policy
Advisor, Tel: +852 9764 6990, e-mail: -daniel.mittler int.greenpeace.org-
Namrata Chowdhary (in Hong Kong) Greenpeace International, Media
Officer, Tel: +852 91099062 email: namrata.chowdhary dialb.greenpeace.org-
Notes to Editors:
(1) The report is available at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/trade-and-the-environment
(2) The Sustainabilty Impact Assessment commissioned by the European
Union is available at:
http://www.sia-trade.org/wto/final%20report%20page.shtml
Daniel Mittler
Greenpeace International
Marienstr. 19-20
10117 Berlin
Germany
Tel. +49 30 30 88 99 22 Fax +49 30 30 88 99 30
Mobile: +49 171 876 5345
Skype: danielforhibs
daniel.mittler diala.greenpeace.org
www.greenpeace.org