It is great to see a campaign, Hands Off Our Forest, coming together locally to save the Forest of Dean from the Government selling it off. Appropriately enough I'm listening to Deep Forest as I write this! Anyway the website has what you can do to stop this madness - three petitions and a letter to your MP - see more at: www.handsoffourforest.org/I have just emailed both Mark Harper and my local MP Neil Carmichael. I await their replies.
There will be a Forest of Dean Council debate on 2nd December and then a public meeting on 10th December in the Miners Welfare Hall in Cinderford (remember that hall from years ago when I ran a training course there). The MP Mark Harper has another engagement - this seems pretty shocking in view of the importance of this issue. I hope another meeting will be called where he can hear the strength of feeling on this issue. Shame on the Tories and Lib Dems for this sell-off. As I note in my letter to local press here it will raise so little money and once gone will be gone forever.
HOOF have some excellent questions and answers here.
See Jonathan Porritt on the forests sell off here. He writes: "This is clearly going to be one hell of a battle as the ‘greenest government ever’ sets out to save a few tens of millions of pounds by way of its own unique response to the UN’s International Year of the Forest in 2011."
I wish the campaign every success and urge everyone reading this to take the actions noted.
5 comments:
Mark's office was very prompt at replying and said:
“I’ve discussed the Forest of Dean with the Forestry Minister so he is very clear about the importance of protecting the Forest of Dean. When the White Paper on Forestry is published I’m confident it will reflect this. However, until it is published it’s difficult to have a proper discussion on the issue. Once the Government’s White Paper is published however and my constituents have had a chance to read it I’d be happy to discuss it with them and listen to their views.”
So no support yet from Mark??
"he is very clear about the importance of protecting the Forest of Dean"
Well good, but what about everyone else's forests all over England? How safe are they?
Indeed forests are threatened across the country but great to see many local campaigns springing up.
See Ecologist article re concerns about the forests becoming biofuels:
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/691054/englands_controversial_forest_sale_could_attract_biofuel_energy_companies.html
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