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G8 Takes Only Mild Stance on Illegal Logging - Draft |
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| UK: June 17, 2005 | ||
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LONDON - Rich nations in the Group of Eight have failed to heed calls for tough moves on illegal logging and will issue only a mild call for action at a summit next month, according to a leaked draft.
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G8 president Britain, among others, had been pushing for concerted and obligatory action -- including new international laws -- to curb the annual $15 billion business. But under pressure from the United States, the summit will simply commit the group to voluntary actions "with each country acting where it can contribute most effectively". The summit in Scotland will stress that logging countries have to bear their own share of responsibility for ending a trade that is devastating rain forests in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The leaked draft of the final G8 summit communique, seen by Reuters, contains a three-paragraph statement endorsing the findings of a meeting in March of G8 environment and development ministers that agreed bilateral actions to end the multi-billion dollar trade. Environmentalists at the time rued the lack of concrete and committed actions as "a missed opportunity".
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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