As the Group of Eight major nations kick off three days of summit meetings in Okinawa today, environmentalists are mounting an effort to steal a slice of the limelight.
Forestry issues — namely illegal logging and timber subsidies — are emotionally charged topics that groups are aggressively campaigning on to get the G8 leaders' and the world's attention.
On the eve of the summit Thursday, two citizens groups slammed the G8 nations for failing to adequately carry out a forest-action program agreed upon in 1998.