Greenpeace and the Great Rain Forest

Greenpeace is an international environmental organization founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1971. Its origins lie in the formation of the Don't Make A Wave Committee by an assortment of Canadian and American expatriate peace activists in Vancouver in 1970.

Greenpeace is known for its use of nonviolent direct action campaigns to stop atmospheric and underground nuclear testing as well as bring an end to high seas whaling. In later years, the focus of the organisation turned to other environmental issues, including bottom trawling, global warming and genetic engineering. Greenpeace has national and regional offices in 41 countries worldwide, all of which have affiliation with the Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International.

Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organisation which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force solutions for a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace's goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.

One of the GP campaigns is "Forests". After a recent study it has been discovered that there are only about 7 more intact forests left in the whole world.

Intact forest is defined by Greenpeace as blocks that are larger than 500 square kilometres that have not been fragmented by human infrastructure development.

The ancient Great Bear Rainforest is one of the largest tracts of temperate rainforest left in the world (2 million hectares), It stretches along the mainland coast of British Columbia to the Alaska border, covering an area the size of Switzerland.

This forest is home to thousands of species of plants, birds and animals. Along with the grizzly bears, black bears and spirit bears that give this forest its name, packs of grey wolves and herds of elk roam the large tracts of undisturbed rainforest in search of food and shelter

These forests are not home to animals alone, for thousands of years the coastal First Nations have lived here. Archaeological studies and oral traditions show that coastal First Nations have lived in the Pacific rainforest region for at least 9,000 years, creating rich and diverse societies European contact, however, has resulted in the erosion of both First Nations' culture and land.