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The G8 Summit held in Gleneagles on 6-8 July failed to make substantive progress to tackle illegal logging, and instead included in the final communique a reaffirmation of non-binding commitments made by G8 environment and development ministers in Derbyshire, England in March (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 1 April 2005). G8 ministers “recognized the impacts that illegal logging has on the livelihoods of many in the poorest countries in Africa and elsewhere, on environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and deforestation and hence global sustainable development”. The communique also includes a new reference to the “importance” of the role that forests play as global carbon sinks, including in the Congo Basin and the Amazon, urges both timber producing and consuming countries to take “action” to “tackle” illegal logging in order to achieve sustainable management of forests, but does not include new measures that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was reportedly going to present at the meeting (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 24 June 2005). The lack of new commitments came as a disappointment to non-governmental organisations such as WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, FERN (Forests and the European Union Resource Network) and the Rainforest Action Network which had issued a statement prior to the Derbyshire meeting calling for G8 members to enact legislation to prohibit the import and sale of illegal timber and timber products.
To access the Gleneagles Communiqué visit http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/PostG8_Gleneagles_Communique.pdf
“The G8 in 2005: priorities for action on illegal logging,” NGO STATEMENT, March 2005; ” Japan Prime Minister to bring up illegal logging at G-8 summit,” YOMIURI SHIMBUN, 16 June 2005.
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