Tuesday, September 1

Greenpeace fails to end Canada's ancient boreal forest clearcuts for paper products, yet proclaims victory

Greenpeace fails to end Canada's ancient boreal forest clearcuts for paper products, yet proclaims victory

Greenpeace has chosen to end its "Kleercut" campaign despite receiving no assurances clear cutting of Canada's ancient boreal forests will end. Instead, according to Greenpeace, such decimation of old forests will be "certified" as "sustainably managed" by FSC. Let Greenpeace know the forest protection movement has moved past claims of sustainable forest management in primary and old growth forests. Old forests must be protected and restored for global ecological sustainability.


Ecological Internet and allies vigorously condemn Greenpeace Canada's greenwash endorsement of continued ancient boreal forest logging to make throw away paper items. We are appalled that Greenpeace supports the continued first time industrial harvest of Canada's ancient boreal forests to access "virgin" fibers to make toilet paper. The Canadian Boreal Forest is North America’s largest primary forest, holding massive amounts of water, threatened wildlife and migratory birds, and containing 25% of the world's remaining intact ancient forests. It is also the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet, storing the equivalent of 27 years worth of global greenhouse gas emissions.


Greenfleece has announced a premature end to its "Kleercut" campaign against "ancient forest crimes" by Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the maker of Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle brand paper products, on the basis of amazingly flimsy promises. The ONLY things that change are clearcuts of primary boreal forests will now be certified as acceptable by numerous certifiers including FSC, and token amounts of recycled fiber will be used. Making of toilet paper from primary and old growth forests does not end, it will just be "certified" by one of five forest certifiers as being well-managed. There is no such thing, as first time logging of old forests inevitably destroys primary and old growth forests' fully intact ecological function, structure and composition.
Greenpeace's forest campaign is ecologically lacking and socially naïve. They completely fail to understand that all primary and old growth forests are endangered and of high conservation value. Instead they perpetuate the ecologically criminal myth that old forests can and should be industrially logged for the first time in an environmentally acceptable manner. Greenpeace fails to realize real solutions to the forest/paper crisis require shrinking demand, increasing recyclables, and only accessing new fiber from regenerating secondary forests and mixed species, non-toxic, locally supported plantations.


In a world well past its ecological carrying capacity, facing abrupt climate change, and species and ecosystem collapse, we call upon Greenpeace to immediately disclose the ecological science that suggests primary and old growth forests can and should continue to be clearcut to wipe our asses. Greenpeace has missed a marvelous opportunity to make clear that consumption of ancient forests for throw away paper products is unsustainable, unethical and unjust. Their atrociously weak targets will legitimize continued destruction of Canada's ancient forest ecosystems, to largely be replaced by toxic plantation monocultures, to produce throw away paper products for decades.


Call upon Greenpeace to immediately globally cease and desist from negotiating agreements with industry that continue the production of throw away consumer items from Earth's dwindling old forests. Call upon Greenpeace to work for full protection of primary forests, restoration of old growth forests, and dramatic reduction in paper use globally. Further, Greenpeace must immediately disassociate itself from the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) ongoing certification of first time industrial logging of primary forests as being "well-managed" while implying sustainability.


No one including Greenpeace can tell us how many tens of millions of hectares of primeval forest ecosystems are being destroyed under FSC's certification label. Until Greenpeace and friends stop greenwashing FSC ancient forest logging, we call upon committed forest protectors to resign their memberships, and to stop using toilet paper from virgin primary forests, no matter how sensitive their behinds. Global ecological sustainability will never be achieved if we cannot make such minor sacrifices. Shame on Greenpeace, who should know better.


Note: With special permission from www.Forests.org

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