Stop illegal logging
05.08.2014: Online-Petition von Avaaz
Your help is urgently needed by indigenous communities in Papua New Guinea who are seeing their forests illegally destroyed by foreign-owned logging companies. These companies are stealing logs, destroying the valuable forest environments communities rely on for their subsistence and subjecting local people to violence and abuse. The National Forest Board oversees the management of forest resources in PNG and is the body with the power to act and stop the logging. But we need to pursuade the Board members to take action.
The logging companies have illegally cheated their way into pristine areas of ancient forest by making false promises of long-term agriculture development and have convinced officials to by-pass proper processes to get their logging licences. Photo shows people trying to block logging company access into their Conservation area in Pomio, West New Britain. Armed police forced the removal of the road block. A Commission of Inquiry has already revealed how the logging companies have cheated their way into the forests: With corrupt government officials from implementing agencies riding shotgun for them, opportunistic loggers masquerading as agro-forestry developers are prowling our countryside, scoping opportunities to take advantage of gullible landowners But NOTHING is being done to stop the logging. In total more than 5 million hectares of land has been grabbed from local communities using a mechanism known as Special Agriculture and Business Leases. The government has ordered some leases be cancelled - but nobody has taken any action to stop the logging. Please ACT NOW! and send your email to the National Forest Board members demanding they cancel the logging licences.