West Papuan environmental activist touring Aotearoa
Septer Manufandu National Tour 27 May – June 5 2008
Your chance to hear a prominent community leader, human rights defender and advocate for the preservation of West Papua's Paradise forests
Septer Manufandu is:
Executive Secretary of Foker: the NGO Cooperation Forum in West Papua (covering 64 NGOs)
(Foker advocates for cultural and human rights, and development strategies that empower the people)
Former Director of Yalhimo (a community development agency committed to land rights and environmental sustainability
A member of the Biak tribe
A forestry graduate from Cenderawasih University Jayapura
Public Meetings
Christchurch
Wednesday 28 May
7:30 pm Oxford Terrace Baptist Church Lounge at, cnr Oxford Terrace and Madras Street
(Sponsored by Arena and CWS.)
Contact Gillian Southey 03-366-9274
Thursday 29 May
Wellington
5:30-7pm Public Meeting St John’s in the City (Willis/Dixon St)
Contact Martin de Jong Caritas : 04-496 1742
Tuesday 3 June
Auckland
7-30 pm St Columba Centre 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby
Contact Maire Leadbeater 09-815-9000 or 0274-436-957
Wednesday June 4
Whangarei
Details to follow
Contact Tim Howard: 09 434-6633
Globally, tropical deforestation accounts for approximately 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter largely due to deforestation. The pristine rainforests of West Papua are losing out to the palm oil industry and the powerful illegal logging barons.
New Zealand is complicit in this devastation because we continue to permit the import into New Zealand of West Papua's illegally logged kwila ( also known as merbau) a species on track to extinction if current extraction continues.
Contact Maire Leadbeater 09-815-9000 or 0274-436-957
for further information: Kevin Mcbride paxnz@xtra.co.nz or Maire Leadbeater maire@clear.net.nz
