After a couple decades and billions of dollars invested in "sustainable rainforest management", the ITTO reports less than 5% of tropical rainforest logging areas meet their limited definition of sustainability. Their questionable methods account little for ecological processes and patterns, instead focusing upon continued wood yields. The ridiculousness of ITTO's position is demonstrated by claims that Malaysian loggers, a global rainforest scourge, have made the "greatest progress in sustainable management".

Groups such as Greenpeace, WWF and Rainforest Action Network that unquestioningly embrace and promote the dangerous wishful myth that ancient primary rainforests can in any manner be meaningfully protected through "sustainable logging" should by now be totally discredited and ashamed of themselves. And this goes for foundations as well.

The Earth's remaining large ancient forest expanses must be protected and restored as "Global Ecological Reserves", and the means found to compensate countries for lost logging revenues, if the Earth's climate, biodiversity and ecosystem crises are to be solved. Continued rainforest logging precludes any chance of the Earth and human societies achieving global ecological sustainability, and it must end.

Ecological Internet calls not only for a boycott of tropical timbers, but also of the organizations supporting and thus legitimizing the dangerous myth of sustainable logging in ancient rainforests.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Malaysia's magnificent Belum-Temengor rainforests are 130 million year old, making them some of the richest and most ancient rainforests in the world. Located in Perak state along the Thailand border of Peninsular Malaysia, Belum Temengor rainforests are a world-class wilderness with tremendous ecological, aesthetic and economic values including immense tourism potential. Sadly, this large and intact life-sustaining ancient rainforest marvel is now under threat from both legal and illegal industrial logging.

Take Action Now - Proposed National Park "Richest of the Rich" in Terms of Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Threatened by Logging

Sadly, this large and intact life-sustaining ancient rainforest marvel is now under threat from both legal and illegal industrial logging. Belum-Temengor's rainforests provide the last refuge for at least 14 globally threatened mammals including the Sumatran rhino, the Malayan tiger, the Asian elephant, tapirs and leopards. This is the only place in Malaysia where all 10 of Malaysia’s hornbills are found, flying in flocks of more than 2,000, something not found anywhere else in the world.

Despite rising wealth and environmental sensibilities, Malaysia still continues the low value and unsustainable practice of industrially logging their and others' ancient rainforests. This type of poorly conceived industrial development is highly damaging to Belum-Temengor and its ability to continue providing critical local, regional and global ecosystem services such as carbon storage, water cachment, and maintaining wildlife and biodiversity while continuing local sustainable uses and business opportunities.

Please respectfully support local initiatives to have Belum-Temengor declared a National Park - and an end to logging in order to pursue eco-tourism and other ecologically based and sustainable economic development opportunities. Your email will be sent to local conservationists in order to sign their petition to protect the area. Take Action now at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=malaysia

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network Spearheads Major Victory for Rainforest Movement

Under intense international pressure the Indonesian government has virtually abandoned plans to convert large areas of ancient rainforests, prime habitat for the endangered Orangutan, into a massive oil palm plantation. The original plan called for 1.8 million hectares (nearly 7,000 square miles or 18,000 square kilometers) of mainly native forests to be converted into a mega oil palm plantation along over 850 kilometers of the Indonesia-Malaysia border.

In an abrupt about-face, the Agriculture Minister (formerly the project's chief advocate) last week announced only 180,000 hectares are now deemed suitable for oil palm development. Given long-standing objections by the Forestry and Environment ministries, the larger project is effectively dead for now. International protest in support of local rainforest peoples and conservationists is responsible for reducing the project's expanse by 90%.

"Destruction of ancient rainforests and other habitat worldwide is now an international as well as local issue, as the Internet has globalized movements for rainforest conservation and global ecological sustainability," notes Dr. Glen Barry, President of Ecological Internet. "Those that participated in the campaign must celebrate; because of their action, millions of year old ancient rainforest treasures have been given a reprieve."

While many groups are active in orangutan conservation and protection of the "Heart of Borneo", Ecological Internet was the first to launch a major Internet campaign on the matter. In Ecological Internet's largest email protest ever, their network bombarded the Indonesian government with several hundred thousand protest emails. Ecological Internet's international network grew by over 20% as the campaign surged across the Internet. Several other organizations carried out letter writing campaigns based upon their campaign strategies and information.

"Indonesia's rainforests remain critically endangered, and their continued widespread loss threatens regional ecosystem sustainability and development potential. But for the time being, a huge swathe of very special and important ancient rainforests will remain intact. Our next immediate priority is to continue protesting China's plans to log other Indonesian rainforests for Olympic construction."

The announcement does not mean vital orangutan habitat has achieved meaningful permanent protection. Ecological Internet's network will continue to protest any oil palm development there and anywhere in primary rainforests, remain vigilante against a resurrection of the project as originally conceived, and monitor logging concessions and illegal logging in the area. And Indonesia's informal commitment to fully protect the "Heart of Borneo" with Malaysia and Brunei will continue to be supported.

Dr. Barry notes "this successful international protest shows what is possible when grassroots organizations seek an end to ancient forest destruction, rather than the big groups negotiating acceptable logging volumes. The age of industrial development of ancient forests is over - even governments and loggers are getting the message."

### ENDS ###

Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, +1 920 776 1075, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

Support online or via mail this and similar Earth Action campaigns, the Rainforest Portal and Ecological Internet.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Mimicking orangutan sounds, Malaysia's Energy, Water and Communications Minister assailed allegations that oil palm plantations are killing orangutans. He attributes concern over Malaysian's ancient rainforests and orangutans as an attempt to stifle competition. Malaysia has big plans to produce oil palm for biofuel [search], demand for which can only be met at the expense of primary rainforests. "Do you want us to be 100 percent covered with natural forest, so that we don't use cars, so that we swing from tree to tree like Tarzan and Jane? So that you can come and take photos of these loin-clothed natives?" These glib retorts denigrate the noble efforts of millions of Malaysians and global citizens working to protect orangutans [search], one of humanity's closest genetic relatives. And they fly against ecological science - namely that large forests must be protected and restored throughout the world if the global ecosystem is to continue providing humans their habitat. Do they not teach ecology in Malaysia?

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Indonesian government has announced that only 180,000 (of 1.8 million) hectares of the much criticized mega-plantation project along the Indonesia-Malaysia border on the island of Borneo are suitable to be converted into oil palm plantations. Recall the "Heart of Borneo" rainforests are some of the last prime habitat for the world's dwindling viable populations of wild orangutans. What makes these statements even more encouraging than previously reported opposition to the project within the Indonesian government is the fact that announcement was made by the Agriculture Minister, who has consistently been one of the most vocal proponents of the project.

Together we have worked hard to battle the forces of biological homogenization. Just when you may have given up, good news can unexpectedly emerge from the unlikeliest sources. If not already chastened by earlier claims that we had achieved a victory on the matter, and my subsequent loss of faith, I would be crowing right now. The very points made by Ecological Internet's email action network (YOU!) have been acknowledged. Clearly our campaign has had an impact and massively shifted the terms of debate towards protecting the Heart of Borneo and its rainforests and orangutans.

Besides putting an end to this project's last bits and inevitable attempts to resurrect the notion of destroying millions of year old ancient forests to make cooking oil, there remain dozens of egregious threats to Indonesia's rainforests including Chinese Olympic logging and vastly oversized pulp mills. Another article indicates the global pulp market is crashing because of overcapacity and lack of forests to pulp. And we must not lose site of the importance of stopping destruction, protecting and restoring Indonesia's rainforest fragments found elsewhere.

But largely because of our network, time has been bought for the Heart of Borneo, and for that we should give thanks to Gaia. When the world wakes up to looming ecological collapse, and begins the age of widespread ecological restoration in earnest, there will be more genetic and ecological materials from which to draw. I have learned my lesson - though shall not despair when defending the Earth from seemingly insurmountable evil (or at least bounce back at the next scrap of good news ;-)

While I have you attention, it would really help our campaign efforts and stress levels to reach our funding goal and put the fund-raiser behind us. Please, please celebrate yet another positive rainforest development we achieved together by donating to Ecological Internet.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Annie Kajir epitomizes the fearless rainforest campaigner. The recent winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize has been beaten and harassed for her efforts on behalf of Papua New Guinea's rainforests. When only 24 she successfully took criminal loggers Rimbunan Hijau to court. What can we learn from her experience? Firstly, while there are many such activists that usually labor in anonymity, we need more. Pick a rainforest and dedicate your being to saving it. In PNG, the use of the courts to stop the logging invasion must be more adequately funded. The relatively uncorrupted court system may be the last best chance to stop the timber mafia from finishing off these critical rainforest habitats.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

From Rainforest Portal, a project of Ecological Internet, Inc., http://www.rainforestportal.org/
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org, +1 (920) 776-1075

With two-and-a-half years to go until the start of the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing China, the Chinese government and Olympic Committee have recently placed a $1 billion rush order for endangered ancient rainforest timbers. They are to be industrially logged from Indonesia's Papua province to be used in construction for the games.

This weekend the Rainforest Portal and Ecological Internet's global ecological advocacy network launched a campaign against this Olympic rainforest tragedy at http://www.rainforestportal.org/. Already several hundred thousand protest emails have been sent to the Chinese and other national Olympic committees. Many dozens of email accounts have been filled and shut down around the world.

In explaining the rationale for the protest, Dr. Glen Barry notes "it is outrageous that China's Olympic facilities are to be constructed from ancient rainforests. It is against the Olympic ideals of bringing 'people together in peace to respect universal moral principles' when the events are housed in facilities constructed with timbers of questionable legality and morality. The Olympics should stand for peace and justice, not deforestation and ecosystem collapse."

Indonesia's Papua province on the island of New Guinea has some of the world's last remaining large intact rainforests. The proposed timber processing factory would industrially harvest 800,000 cubic meters of the famous and threatened merbau (intsia spp) rainforest timbers, destroying huge swathes of ancient rainforests, to be exported to China for the construction of sports facilities.

China's demand for timber following a ban on logging in their own country is devastating ancient rainforests around the world and particularly in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. An investment of this size will only serve to legitimize and further fuel illegal, highly unsustainable, and ecologically devastating logging, ensuring the destruction of the world last large and critically threatened ancient forests.

The campaign is calling upon the Chinese government and Olympic committee to commit to hosting an "old-growth, ancient forest free" Olympics. As a start, the purchase of these Indonesian rainforest timbers must be cancelled. Failure to do so will permanently tarnish China and the Olympics' reputation.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)