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Help save Mediterranean cork forests by choosing natural stoppers
Rome, Italy – When opening a bottle of wine to share with their [partner],
consumers may discover bottles with plastic stoppers. WWF,
the Conservation Organisation, asks wine consumers to help the environment by
choosing and asking for wine bottles with natural cork stoppers.
The use of synthetic and screw top stoppers is on the rise. Currently it's
estimated they make up about 8 per cent of the stoppers manufactured every year.
This figure could rise to more than 30 per cent in the coming years. Letting
this trend continue could lead to the disappearance of an entire economy and
ecosystems that have coexisted for at least a thousand years in the
Mediterranean, which supply more than 99 per cent of the world's cork. More than
15 billion cork stoppers are made every year to supply the international wine
market, and over 80,000 people depend on the cork industry in Portugal, Spain,
Algeria, Morocco, Italy, France and Tunisia, the main cork producing countries
in the world. WWF urges consumers to support the cork economy by making sure the
wine they buy has natural cork stoppers.
“Cork extraction is one of the most environmentally-friendly harvesting
processes in the world - not a single tree is cut down to get the cork. This
tradition can survive, as long as demand for cork stays high, if not, the cork
forests will disappear — and with them, a unique cultural and natural heritage”,
said Pedro Regato, WWF Mediterranean Head of Forest unit.
Local communities who fear a decrease in their incomes try to find
alternative sources of revenue and take advantage of environmentally damaging EU
subsidies. Already, large tracts of land that were once Mediterranean cork
forest are now eucalyptus and pine plantations, which unlike cork oak trees that
are partially fire-resistant, are major sources of fuel for fires.
Cork oak forests support more than just the people directly involved in the
cork industry. Livestock graze under the cork trees. People make honey from
beehives in the forests, acorns are used for animal feed, and fruits and berries
that grow in the understorey go into other local produce. Cork forests are one
of the best example of a sustainable agro-forestry system, where people use the
natural resources around them while preserving the ecosystem’s high
environmental values.
The cork forests are home to a rich variety of wildlife, including endangered
species such as the Barbary deer (Cervus elaphus barbarus) in Tunisia,
the Iberian imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) and the Iberian lynx (Lynx
pardinus) in Spain and Portugal. The Iberian lynx, the world's most
endangered big cat, is on the brink of extinction, say experts. The total
confirmed population is estimated at less than 200. It is feared the species
could disappear within the next few years, making it the first big cat
extinction since prehistoric times.
“The loss of the cork oak forests would be a catastrophe for the region's
economy and ecosystems, and could spell dire consequences for Europe as a whole,
leading desertification processes into northern Europe. Consumers really do have
the power to make a difference by doing something very simple — choosing and
demanding wine bottles with natural cork stoppers”, says Clara Landeiro of WWF’s
Green Belt Against Desertification project in Portugal.
For further information:
Chantal MENARD, Communications, WWF Mediterranean Programme Office, tel: +39 06
844 97 417
Reproduced with permission from WWF.
© 2002 WWF-- World Wide Fund For Nature. (Formerly World Wildlife Fund). All
rights reserved.
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