[Bilstonglen] Save Mabira rainforest in Uganda

[Fleming, Dr Alan D.]

Hello,

Ugandan activists launched an international petition a few days ago, to
try and stop Mabira rainforest from being destroyed.  The Ugandan
government appear set on giving away 7,100 hectares of one of Uganda's
last remaining rainforests to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda, to turn
it into a sugar plantation.  This is a national forest reserve, to be
held in trust by the government on behalf of the people of Uganda -
President Museveni wants to give it away to a private company.

This will be a disaster, not just for biodiversity and for the regional
and local climate (with rainforests being essentialy for regulating the
carbon and rainfall cycle), but for huge numbers of local people who
live around Mabira.  The forest is a major water catchment area, and
villagers nearby will lose their water supplies and will have to walk
miles to try and find what little water will be left.  Pesticide
poisoning and soil erosion will follow.  The Sugar Cane Corporation
(Scoul) have been offered alternative land - but they reckon that
they'll make greater profits in Mabira then elsewhere.

There are massive protest against those plans in Uganda.  Thousands of
people are risking imprisonment by calling for a boycott of Scoul.  A
few days ago, a Scoul plantation was burned down, apparently in protest
at their planned destruction of Mabira.  The opposition Forum for
Democratic Change have said that they will do whatever they can to
physically try and stop the bulldozers.  One leading campaigner said
that, if this goes ahead, lives will be lost.  

You can find the petition here:
http://www.petitiontime.com/ViewPetition.aspx?key=savemabira  And please
help by spreading the word!

Thanks very much!

Regards,

Alan and Almuth