Help stop the massive logging of an ancient rain forest in Chile. More than
2,500 alerce trees have been cut this year by clandestine logging companies
operating in the 120,000-acre Rio Blanco Sur property in Chile's Coastal Range.
This area is at the heart of one of the most outstanding ecoregions in the
world, the Valdivian temperate rain forest.
The alerce is a key species in this ecoregion. These giant trees, which closely
resemble the North American redwood, can reach heights of 375 feet and live for
more than 3,000 years. Despite the alerce's protected status under Chilean law
and despite police investigations and lawsuits, massive logging in the area has
been under way for a year and continues unchecked. Loggers have taken control
of the property and are operating with total impunity: using heavy machinery,
building their own roads, and installing locked gates to control entry. This
operation is estimated to generate millions of dollars in income to the
clandestine companies. Meanwhile, the government has not taken action to close
down the operations or the networks that buy and trade the timber.
Ironically, Chile is in the midst of hosting a meeting of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species. The alerce is included in the most
protected category of the treaty.
The Valdivian ecoregion is one of only five temperate rain forests in the world.
Its unique assemblage of wildlife includes the southern river otter; the pudu,
the world's smallest deer; and the rufous-legged owl, a cousin of the spotted
owl of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, unsustainable logging, conversion
of native forest to timber plantations, forest fires, and the development of new
roads are rapidly degrading this world class habitat. Of the original
54,000-square-mile forest, only 40 percent remains.
Please follow the simple steps below to send free messages urging the president
of Chile and the minister of agriculture to take decisive action to stop the
illegal logging. Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.
**************************TAKE ACTION NOW!*********************
If you received this email from World Wildlife Fund's Conservation
Action Network, follow the steps below for taking action. If a friend forwarded
this email to you, go to
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=68218&l=1005 to take action.
TO TAKE ACTION QUICKLY -- To send the message below, translated into Spanish, to
the president and the minister of agriculture in Chile, hit "reply" to this
email and then "send." We will automatically send the messages for you.
IF YOU KNOW SPANISH, YOU CAN ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR
IMPACT -- Log in to your Personal Action Center --
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=68218&l=1006 -- with your email
address (gnome_me@hotmail.com) and your password. Once you are in your
Personal Action Center, click on "Stop Illegal Logging of Old Growth" and follow
the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your messages.
If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help.
***************************LETTER TEXT**************************
Dear (the president and agriculture minister's names will be inserted here):
I respectfully urge you to take immediate action to protect the alerce forests
of the Coastal Range from continued illegal logging.
Illegal loggers have already cut more than 2,500 live alerce trees in the Rio
Blanco Sur property in the County of Fresia. The large commercial operation in
this area is estimated to generate millions of dollars in income to the
clandestine logging companies.
As you know, the alerce rain forest is an irreplaceable component of the world's
natural heritage. Among the steps that need to be taken to ensure the long-term
survival of alerce within Chile's Coastal Range and protection of the region's
biodiversity are effective monitoring of logging operations in the region,
enforcement of the country's forest laws, and establishment of new protected
areas.
It is striking that the massive logging continued even while Chile hosted the
12th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). The alerce is protected by CITES as well as Chilean law. In addition,
Chile and other United Nations countries recently committed at the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to take immediate actions to reduce
illegal logging.
Please do all you can to protect the alerce rain forest.
Sincerely,
Your name and address
will be inserted here
