-Caveat Lector- ACTION ALERT *********************************************** FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY Citigroup Funding Deforestation in Indonesia *********************************************** Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org, Inc. http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Portal http://forests.org/links/ -- Forest Conservation Links http://forests.org/indomalay/ -- Indonesia and Malaysia Rainforest Conservation News and Information TAKE ACTION: Citigroup Funding Deforestation in Indonesia http://www.ran.org/info_center/aa/aa154_citi2.html 07/30/01 OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org Rainforest Action Network and others have launched a major campaign against Citigroup - the largest U.S. financial institution. Citigroup is an international leader in the financing of destructive oil and gas, mining, and commercial logging operations. In Indonesia, Citigroup has been a major funder of companies engaged in oil palm and paper pulp production, leading to massive deforestation of these globally critical rainforest ecosystems. If the World's rainforests are to be conserved it is important that rainforest activists go beyond railing against globalization in general, and hold corporations responsible for such specific instances of ecological misdeeds. Holding Citigroup, Boise Cascade, ExxonMobil (Esso) and others responsible for activities that threaten the world's forests, climate and other ecosystems is an excellent eco- activist strategy. See RAN's Citigroup campaign page at http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/citigroup/ for more information on this exciting new rainforest campaign. To help launch this campaign, that is sure to grow until Citigroup yields to the will of the people and stops funding industrial ecocide, participate in the action alert below (or at http://www.ran.org/info_center/aa/aa154_citi2.html). Forests.org has gotten this alert to 5000+ forest conservation entities worldwide, but maximum efficacy depends upon you forwarding this alert widely and encouraging your friends and colleagues to sign-up for this free forest conservation email news at http://forests.org/forms/signlist.htm. g.b. ******************************* RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE: Title: Citigroup Funding Deforestation in Indonesia Source: Rainforest Action Network, http://www.ran.org/ Date: July 2001 AS THE FIRE SEASON in Southeast Asia approaches, international activists are increasingly concerned about the fate of Indonesia's rainforests. Of particular concern is the role of Citigroup (Citi), North America's largest financial institution, in fueling deforestation in the region. Citi is a key financial backer of some of the most environmentally egregious projects in Indonesia, including projects that have caused extensive rainforest destruction and pose an ongoing threat to the country's remaining old growth rainforests. Additional background information is included below. What You Can Do: Demand that Citi funds not be used in Indonesia or anywhere else to fund the destruction of forests, communities, and wildlife. You can send the email directly from RAN's web page at: http://www.ran.org/info_center/aa/aa154_citi2.html Or here is a sample letter that can be edited and sent to Citigroup at [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Stop funding the destruction of the rainforests! Sandy Weill CEO Citigroup Center 153 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10043 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Mr. Weill, I am outraged to learn that Citigroup is financing forest destruction in Indonesia at the expense of indigenous peoples and endangered species. As a key creditor of this devastating industry, you have the opportunity-and the influence-to halt further forest destruction in Indonesia. Almost 80 percent of the world's old growth forests have been destroyed or degraded. Indonesia houses 10 percent of what remains. I urge you to stop funding the destruction of old growth forests and to promote sustainable development in Indonesia and around the world. As one of the world's largest banks, Citi must set the standard for an ecologically sane, democratic, and just economy. Please let me know where you stand on this critical issue. Thank you, ***************** Background Information One of Citi's top business partners in the region is Indonesia's most infamous palm oil company, London Sumatra (Lon Sum). Lon Sum has been implicated in illegal logging and human rights violations, and is suspected of being among the palm plantation companies that deliberately and illegally set fires in Indonesia in 1997. The devastating fires destroyed vast areas of rainforest, which the government then allocated to forest corporations. Many of these companies sought the increased operating area in order to pay off debt to foreign investors, such as Citi. Overall, palm oil plantations have claimed nearly eight million acres of native forest in Indonesia, and every year close to one million additional acres of forest are targeted for conversion. Pulp and paper operations are another key factor in the decimation of Indonesia's forests. Citi is a top investor in Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of Indonesia's largest pulp and paper operators. Since the late 1980s, foreign investment in Indonesia's pulp and paper sector has grown by 700 percent. The increase in pulp and paper processing has far outpaced the development of sustainably managed pulpwood plantations, resulting in the widespread destruction of natural forests. APP has reportedly expanded its processing operations in order to resolve outstanding debts with foreign creditors. Indonesia harbors 10 percent of the world's remaining old growth forests. An estimated 72 percent of the country's original frontier forest has already been destroyed. Today, the destruction continues unabated, posing an increasing threat to the country's indigenous peoples, who face displacement from their traditional forest territories. The forestry sector also poses a grave danger to Indonesia's wildlife, including tigers, elephants, rhinos, and the endangered orangutan, which is found only in the remaining intact forests of Borneo and Sumatra. The orangutan population has declined by 50 percent in the last decade, primarily due to destruction of its forest habitat, up to 80 percent of which has been lost in the past twenty years. Less than twenty-five thousand orangutans now remain in the wild. Both Lon Sum's and APP's operations threaten habitat that is critical to the orangutan's survival. ###RELAYED TEXT ENDS### In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving forest conservation informational materials for educational, personal and non-commercial use only. Recipients should seek permission from the source to reprint this PHOTOCOPY. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces, though ultimate responsibility for verifying all information rests with the reader. For additional forest conservation news & information please see the Forest Conservation Portal at URL= http://forests.org/ Networked by Forests.org, Inc., [EMAIL PROTECTED] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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