Ugandan activists have launched an international petition, 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. The opposition Forum for Democratic Change have said that they will do whatever they can to try and stop the bulldozers. One leading campaigner said on Ugandan radio today 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!

Almuth Ernsting