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Protest against newspapers' link to destruction of ancient forests
15 May 1997
PHOTOCALL
"RUPERT MURDOCH ATE MY FOREST!" BANNER WILL BE ERECTED OUTSIDE NEWS INTERNATIONAL
1 PENNINGTON STREET, LONDON E1
10.30 AM THURSDAY 15 MAY 1997
Friends of the Earth is calling on newspaper publishers, including News International, the UK's largest national newspaper group, to insist that their suppliers stop using wood from endangered, ancient forests. The last 5% of old, natural forest in Scandinavia, vital for many hundreds of threatened species, is still being logged, and the wood bought by companies such as ENSO, UPM-Kymmene, and Norske Skog, all of whom supply newspaper to the UK.
Over 700 species of forest-dwelling plants and animals (including the Flying Squirrel), are threatened in Finland, 1,700 in Sweden and 898 in Norway. Forest in Finland hosting the endangered Flying Squirrel and Siberian Jay was logged two weeks ago, while in Norway one of the most famous old-growth forests in the country, Skotjernfjell, was logged in April and the timber sold to Norske Skog.
While the last ancient forests in Scandinavia are being destroyed, around 5 million tonnes of paper a year is being thrown into the UK's landfill sites, and some authorities are having difficulty getting rid of the old newspapers they have collected. Friends of the Earth is calling on the newspaper industry to set a target to increase their recycled content to 80%by the year 2005.
The UK is the fifth highest user of paper in the world, with newspapers accounting for 20%of all the paper used in the UK. Global demand for paper and wood products is predicted to rise by 58% from 1990 levels by the year 2000, putting enormous pressure on forests.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Dec 2008
