Gunns still in our sights, says Rockefeller
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 12, 2011
ANY backsliding by woodchipper Gunns on its promise to stop logging in Tasmanian native forests would quickly reignite an international campaign against the company, a Rockefeller family member has warned.Steven Rockefeller, heir to the fortune of the legendary American oil magnate, is a trustee of the billion-dollar Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which in 2005 donated $US200,000 to a campaign to protect Tasmania's forests, run by the Californian conservation group the Rainforest Action Network.Mr Rockefeller said if Gunns was to back away from sustainable forestry it would be a "major setback" for Tasmania and "irresponsible", leading to "renewed protests by well organised, international advocacy groups".Mr Rockefeller joined the campaign to protect Tasmanian forests when approached by the Wilderness Society in early 2005. The society was reacting to a $6.4million damages claim by Gunns. "It was clear to me that the unsustainable logging of Tasmania's old growth forests would lead to a tragic loss both ecologically and economically," Mr Rockefeller said this week.A Rockefeller Brothers Fund manager, Michael Northrop, said Tasmania had scored "a huge victory" with Gunns' decisions on sustainable logging and it would be a "significant step backwards to reverse course".
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald