My decade of forests campaigning

Yesterday was a great day – first the EU banned illegally-logged timber, then HSBC shed its investments in the forest-trashing Sinar Mas. Great campaign victories which, in the case of the EU, has been rumbling on for the best part of a decade (if not longer).

Way back in early 2002, I moved back to Hampshire and shortly after, took on the ‘Area Networker’ role (as it was then) and restarted the Southampton group. This was Greenpeace’s ‘Banksy’period with Save or Delete graffiti stencils and subvertised Disney images. ‘Save or Delete?’ was probably the first involvement I had with new media-style campaigning – after all, I’d only just bought my own computer and was barely web-savvy (but learning fast). Then, in 2003, Greenpeace held the Save or Delete art exhibition at the Oxo Gallery in London, and very successful it was – it toured later, providing an opportunity for those of us in the provinces to see it.

2004 got pretty busy; in May, Greenpeace highlighted the use of illegal Indonesian timber in new EU buildings in Brussels, dropping a banner with the now-familiar message 'EU: Stop Illegal Timber'. In July that year, M&S were exposed for selling garden furniture made of dodgy timber. Other targets followed (a Glasgow art gallery in September, Danzer group in December) and by know we were pushing FSC certification strongly – there was no excuse for companies to buy dodgy timber and they knew it, so when when one gave in and pledged to go sustainable, others followed.

In January 2005, B&Q (the UK’s largest DIY retailer) went for FSC certification. Soon after, our volunteers (and orang utans) visited Wyevales garden centres – by April they’d pledged to source sustainable timber, as had Heritage Lottery in March. And I haven’t even mentioned our research and other visits to Travis Perkins and Jewsons...

Some campaigning went via a different route – the Greenpeace Book Campaign was largely responsible for Random House (one of the UK’s biggest publsihing houses) committing to FSC book production. This was a huge step at the time – now, more and more books can be found with the FSC logo (Harry Potter, anyone?)

Where various companies were quick to see sense, Government was a little more slow to act. So, in October 2005, the Defra entrance was blocked with plywood and the building hung with a banner reading... yup, ‘Ban Illegal Timber’. Not long after, the top three builders’ merchants had all stopped selling Chinese plywood with logs sourced from Papua New Guinea, Russia or Africa.

Into 2006... in February, the British Columbian Government in Canada pledged to fully protect a third of the country’s unique Great Bear Rainforest. This was the same month that, in rather warmer climes, Greenpeace launched its 'Paradise Forests' Global Forest Rescue Station in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, with the Rainbow Warrior sailing on "Forest Crime Patrol" from the capital Port Moresby. I remember really wanting to visit that Station... Soon, Brian Baring, who grew up in a traditional village in the Paradise Forests was in Europe highlighting the destruction caused by allowing European companies to import illegal timber. A familiar theme as we lobbied Peter Mandelson...

Back in the UK, Greenpeace’s  'League Table of Garden Furniture Retailers' showed a great improvement by most larger companies, and made it really easy to see who wasn’t taking the campaign – or their responsibilities – seriously. Given that companies such as Wyevales who had already experienced the camapign and ‘seen the light’ were being contacted by others who had yet to make the right decision shows it was only a matter of time.

In June, the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced that timber used on Greater London Authority sites wouldcome from responsibly managed forests. However, Blair’s weasel words were exposed in July when Greenpeace scaled Admiralty Arch to reveal that the renovation of his own Cabinet Office building was using illegally logged rainforest timber. This followed controversies in 2002 and 2003 when previous building projects failed to use sustainable timber. More climbing, more banners... replacing the doors at Downing Street... on this occasion, Papuan Sam Moko called on the Government to... yes, ban the import of illegal timber – a familar theme as it’s the only way to stop this destructive trade.

By now we were also campaigning strongly against forest destruction for soy and palm oil plantations, and ranching – huge issues which have also seen huge victories. So, fast-forwarding, when the EU finally banned illegal timber, I sat and looked at the email for a moment before – and I admit it – doing a little victory dance. Oh yes. It has been a long time coming, and showed that (a) sometimes you have to be patient and stick with it (Airplot was brief  in comparison) and (b) we wouldn’t win campaigns without committed volunteers doing a lot of different types of activity. It’s these things that make all the phone calls, emails and other bits and pieces that go into group admin worthwhile. *smile*