Contents:

1. The campaign situation -greetings by coordination
2. Action alert - how to stop China´s GM poplar contamination
3. A network study: The situation of GM trees on the Earth
4. Petition for global ban on GM trees and other ngo-publications for UN
Kyoto meeting (Cop10) in December
5. Support for the campaign

1. The campaign situation -greetings by coordination

Dear friends,
You have signed the petition for a global ban on GM trees
(http://video.elonmerkki.net/forestforum) and have also requested more information as the campaign continues.

Now we are happy to tell you that there is more than 2 200 subscribers including more than 220 organisations from 70 countries. This is a really good start.

We ask your help and cooperation to continue the campaign successfully.

There is now one month before we are going to present the petition for the UN Kyoto meeting (Cop 10) in Buenos Aires.
(http://video.elonmerkki.net/forum/form/?catid=104)

You can make your next move just after reading this message. Please forward it to your friends and networks and ask them to join in by their efforts.

The new signatories can also be collected on paper in meetings and happenings if someone just updates the petition list with these new names. Do you think that we could reach the limit of 10 000 signatories before 15th December?

Besides the success of the petition campaign we hope that we could all together develop this Internet campaign to help our national campaigns as an information source and an open forum for campaigning and co-operation. All ideas, and suggestions for that kind of activities are welcome.

We are convinced that by this existing network we all together can make a real change and start a process to achieve our common goal: A global ban on GM trees.

The future of this campaign depends now on ourselves.

Hope to hear from you and your efforts,

Hannu Hyvönen
coordinator
The Union of Ecoforestry in Finland

2. No right for contamination -
China´s GM poplar invasion must be halted

The situation on the GM tree battle is serious. Please, spend a moment and read the report by Chris Lang
(http://video.elonmerkki.net/forum/thread/?id=286)

The news of more than a million GM poplars in commercial growing in China should be a real action alert for all of us.

This is a totally wrong and unfair action and China´s GM poplar invasion should be immediately halted.

Please visit the workshop on this issue http://video.elonmerkki.net/forum/topic/?catid=101

3. A network study: What is the situation of GM trees on the Earth

China´s case shows that there is serious lack of information about what is happening on the Earth with GM trees.

Lets make together a watch on the situation in different countries. We hope that we could find out at least;
-are there any GM trees being grown in the open environment in your
country and what are the activities in laboratories
-what is the situation of public discussion and resistance

Together with this network via the Internet we can help each other to follow
the situation. Read the reports and bring your news on the table in the GM tree forum:
http://video.elonmerkki.net/forum/topic/?catid=71

Keep us updated!

4. GM trees and UN Kyoto meeting in December in Buenos Aires

The aim is to publish the petition in Buenos Aires again on 15 November
2004 by publishing a campaign booklet for the UN meeting. You can take part and follow the editing process in the workshop:
http://video.elonmerkki.net/forum/form/?catid=104

5. Support for the campaign

This campaign was started by the funding of the Union of Ecoforestry in
Finland.
The present and future budget is based on the donations and the possible incomes from the campaign booklet. You can help the funding situation by making your order of the campaign book by 50 euros supportive price and/or making a donation.

Please contact the campaign soon if you want to make a donation or order
the book or if you have some good suggestions for seeking the funding.

Global Ban on GM trees
http://video.elonmerkki.net/forestforum
e-mail: forestforum (at) video.elonmerkki.net