***********************************************
WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
German Chancellor Calls G-7 Amazon Actions "Pathetic"
***********************************************
Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
7/20/96
OVERVIEW & SOURCE by EE
Following is a photocopy of a Reuters report on Chancellor Helmut Kohl's
visit to Brazil, where Germany's active financial assistance in Amazon
conservation projects, the implementation of promises made at the 1992
Earth Summit, was contrasted with other industrial countries meager
contributions. The piece provides a good review of recent Amazonian
conservation issues; including increased concern about rising deforestation
rates, the recent ban on logging of some hardwoods including mahogany, and
Brazil's recent dropping of it's opposition to the ITTA agreement which
limits tropical timber trade to sustainable harvests.
g.b.
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Kohl says G7 eco-action over Amazon is "pathetic"
Copyright 1996 by Reuters
7/18/96
BRASILIA (Reuter) - German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, paying a visit to
Brazil, Wednesday blasted other Group of Seven industrialized countries for
their "pathetic" contribution to the protection of the Amazon rainforest.
Speaking to Brazilian industrialists at a "working breakfast" in the
capital Brasilia, the German leader said Bonn was the only G7 nation living
up to environmental funding promises made after the 1992 Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro.
"The motto seems to be: The others talk, we pay," he said. "Their actions
have been rather pathetic. After all, we are talking about protecting the
future of a whole generation."
Germany has taken the lead in funding a pilot program for saving Brazil's
endangered Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, sometimes
called the "Lungs of the Earth." The program, which last week won
additional financing from the European Union, a contribution largely
bankrolled by Germany, aims to promote sustainable forest use, protection
of indigenous communities and ecologically-aware development.
Kohl said Bonn had coughed up 60 percent of the $312 million put into the
Amazon program so far, while other G7 industrialized nations were largely
sitting on their wallets.
Ecologists are again voicing concern after a recent survey showed the rate
of deforestation rising, and Amazon rainforest protection is likely to be
placed firmly on the agenda of the next Earth Summit in New York in June
1997.
In July, Brasilia announced a ban on further logging of mahogany and virola
hardwood after a Ministry of Science and Technology study revealed 5,750
square miles of rainforest was felled in 1994 compared with 4,298 square
miles in 1991.
Soon after, Brazil dropped its long-standing opposition to the
International Tropical Timber Agreement, now likely to come into force next
year and limit the $100 billion a year international timber trade to
sustainably managed forests.
Kohl, traveling with several high-powered German businessmen on a three-
nation Latin American tour aimed at boosting trade and investment, said the
environment was "an industry of the future."
He said it was not his prerogative to criticize developing countries that
sometimes sacrifice ecology for the sake of progress, especially as Europe
had all but eradicated its own forests. "It's not our job to force our help
on others, but we can offer it," he said.
On Tuesday, Kohl and Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso spoke of
friendship and shared ideals. They pledged to make ties between their
countries a priority and to seek ways to boost their $7 billion plus in
bilateral trade.
Kohl, who visited Argentina before Brazil, was to fly to Mexico Wednesday.
###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###
This document is a PHOTOCOPY. All recipients should seek permission from
the source for reprinting. You are encouraged to utilize this information
for personal campaign use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns
and forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all information rests with the
reader. Check out our Gaia Forest Conservation Archives at URL=
http://forests.org/gaia.html
Networked by:
Ecological Enterprises
Email (best way to contact)-> grbarry@students.wisc.edu