Brian's Story
30 March 2006
Brian Baring, a member of the Gingilang clan, hails from Papua New Guinea and has been involved in protecting the country’s ancient forests for some time. His clan have been custodians of the land for thousands of years and are now legally the customary landowners.
As part of a visit to Europe, Brian came to the UK to tell ministers and timber merchants about the dire need for action to save the remaining tracts of forest. Here he explains why the forests are so important and about the devastating impact of the trade in illegal timber.
For generations that stretch into the distant past my people have depended on the forest. It is home to our sacred sites and to our ancestors, and has always provided us with everything we need - our food, medicines, clean water, building materials for our houses, everything.
