21 March
2006 - International — What we've lost, what we
have left and what we will lose if we don't act
now. That is the message that the latest global
maps of the planet's last intact forests and most
vulnerable ocean areas tell us.
The maps were launched at the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) as government delegates begin negotiating
how to stop the world's plants and animals from
disappearing forever.
The CBD has set itself the goal
of significantly reducing the number of plants and
animals becoming extinct by 2010 for life on land
and 2012 for ocean life. It is an ambitious target
given that they have barely started the work after
14 years of painfully slow negotiations between
the more than 180 counties who have signed the convention.
Our latest maps show that implementing
a global network of large protected areas, which
are required to stop the slide towards extinction
for many plants and animals can be achieved now.
The map of the remaining intact forest areas was
created using the latest satellite images and is
the most up-to-date map of its kind. The map of
the oceans uses the latest research to determine
the areas of the ocean in most need of protection.
If the global network of protected areas isn't implemented,
within 20 years, a huge portion of the planet's
plants and animals will be lost forever. There has
never been a more urgent need for action.
"Governments can use these
new maps to fast track a global network of large,
protected areas both on land and at sea. They can
no longer use the lack of maps and data as an excuse
for not taking action to halt the biological catastrophe
we are facing. If they don't, we run the risk of
losing even more species forever, and in so doing
jeopardising our own survival," said Greenpeace
International forest campaigner, Christoph Thies.
The launch of the maps coincides
with Greenpeace campaigns to highlight the global
biodiversity crisis. Greenpeace is in the heart
of the Amazon campaigning to prevent it being cleared
to grow agricultural product such as soy. Greenpeace
has also set up a Global Forest Rescue Station in
the Paradise Forests of Papua New Guinea to protect
the forests from illegal logging.
At sea, our ship the Esperanza
is continuing its 15-month long Defending Our Oceans
Expedition, currently focused on stopping pirate
fishing and securing sustainable future livelihoods
for the millions of people living in coastal communities
who depend on the marine environment for food and
income.
The challenge for the world is
to use these maps as a roadmap to recovery and not
as a sad reminder to future generations of what
we could have saved if only the governments of the
world had acted.
