Three intrepid British activists worked undercover to bring Cambodia's illegal

WHEN you see newspaper articles about illegal logging in Cambodia, chances are that the details are supplied by environmental group Global Witness. When you see that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is vowing to crack down on the trade still flourishing under remnants of the Khmer Rouge, a main reason is the activism of Global Witness. Indeed, it has been invited by Mr Hun Sen to take part in monitoring of the logging - even after it found his signature on logging permits.

But did you realise that the anti-logging campaign was conducted by three young believers from a backroom office in north London in England? In this tiny nondescript setting the group is pioneering a new type of environmental action that has rattled governments on two continents. The highly motivated staff at Global Witness - now numbering nine - have launched campaigns in Africa and Asia investigating cases in which environmental issues affect human rights, often risking their own safety to secure evidence.

Sometimes adopting false identities and using hidden cameras, they have established a reputation for in-depth research into problems other agencies with worldwide funding programmes and global reach have found too tough to tackle.

Bill Barclay, a seasoned campaigner for Greenpeace, acknowledges their bravery. 'These people are really to be congratulated. They have guts and are doing something which is really very dangerous, dealing with criminals who would not give a second's thought about using violence if they knew what was going on,' he said.

'What's so impressive about Global Witness is that they gather really detailed information which they present to governments who are then unable to ignore what is going on. It involves quite a lot of risk, which is probably why others are not doing the same thing.' Having helped curb illegal logging in Cambodia after being established just five years ago, the group is turning its attention to the diamond trade in Angola that is helping finance a bitter civil war.

'When we started we did not want to duplicate work other groups were doing, but felt we had the skills to start investigating things that perhaps other people had not been able to look at,' said Charmian Gooch, 34, one of Global Witness' three founders.

Having spent years working for other environmental groups they recognised the need to go into the field to get first-hand reports rather than rely on official data.