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REDD+ includes a carbon forestry vision of logging Earth's last primary forests to turn them into planted toxic monoculture and secondary managed tree plantations.   (link)

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Please oppose logging of all remaining primary rainforests and other old forests

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Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to express grave concern with the Environmental Defense Fund, Conservation International, and the Nature Conservancy's support for REDD+ forest carbon financing that includes so called "sustainable forest management" logging of ancient primary rainforests, and the still very real risk of conversion to agricultural plantations. REDD+ as it stands threatens virtually all remaining large, primary forests with industrial logging and destruction. Many had hopes for far more from "avoided deforestation" payments than destroying primary forests a bit more carefully - with money from carbon speculation, and on stolen indigenous lands. There is no such thing as ecologically sustainable first time industrial logging of primary forests. I am writing to demand that your organization work to stop any REDD+ agreement that includes primary forest logging of any sort, and withdraws from REDD if unable to do so. Primary forests contain Earth's last large and mostly intact terrestrial ecosystems. These intact ecosystems make Earth habitable, yet more intact primary forest ecosystems have been lost already than the biosphere can bear. Old forests must be protected and restored to sustain global ecology. Maintaining and expanding old forests will significantly help solve the climate and biodiversity crises. The human family and all species are utterly dependent upon old forests' carbon storage, biodiversity, soil, water, wildlife, rain and other ecosystem processes. Primary forests logged for the first time are destroyed - their naturally evolved composition, structure, dynamics and ecosystem functionality are forever changed. It is appalling neither your organizations, nor the United Nations, have learned – despite going on four decades of failed reform efforts – that industrial scaled primary rainforest logging is inherently ecologically unsustainable and corrupt. Ancient primary forest logging has no place within international efforts to address climate change. REDD+ perpetuates the myth that primary and old growth forests can and should be harvested using "Sustainable Forest Management" and "Carbon Forestry" techniques. By continuing to myopically view primary forests as resources to be harvested, rather than intact ecosystems to be cherished, all of Earth's remaining old forests are at risk. Ancient primary forest ecosystems that are industrially logged the first time - whether to become secondary production forests or totally cleared for planted monocultures - are on the path to becoming ecologically depauperate tree plantations, and a shadow of their former ecological brilliance. REDD should focus upon maximal benefits from intact and standing primary forests to address climate and biodiversity crises, and only pay for strict protections of primary forests, ecological restoration of natural forests to old-growth status, and small scale local community development based upon standing old forests. Climate solutions and efforts to pursue global ecological sustainability must focus upon ending first time industrial logging of primary forests, while providing local peoples alternative incomes based upon fully intact standing old forests. And new initiatives such as REDD+ - which falsely herald first time and industrial sustainable forest management in primary forests as a climate and deforestation solution - must be avoided at all costs. The rainforest movement must end greenwash support for international climate, biodiversity, and ecosystem "solutions" that include primary forest logging. Organizations participating in the establishment of UN REDD forest carbon finance, without highlighting and resisting its funding of primary forest logging as a climate and deforestation "solution"; are doing a grave disservice to rainforests, other old forests, biodiversity, forest peoples, climate and global ecological sustainability. To aid in destruction of Earth's last large naturally evolved ecosystems is criminal, and your greenwash corruption must stop immediately. If not now, when will your organization commit to working for the protection of all remaining primary forests? Only after the 1% has enjoyed a few more years of windfall profits, and old forests no longer exist in large, intact and contiguous ecosystems to power our biosphere? We will continue to highlight your organization's role in primary forest logging until you commit to its end, and remove your support for REDD+ as a financier of such forest ecocide. You are warned, the world is watching and won't forget or forgive your old forest logging treachery. With grave concern,

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