159 - Earth's Tree News

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159 - Earth's Tree News

Today for you 38 news items about Mama Earth's trees. Location, number

and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed

further below.Can be viewed on the web at http://www.livejournal.com/users/olyecology or by sending a blank email message to

earthtreenews---British

Columbia: 1) Coal mining affects rare forest in the Flathead, 2) Wells

Gray Community Forest Corp, 3)Lot size in Cowichan, 4) Kenora Forest

Co. wood rights,--Oregon: 5) Trees on the outer edge--Idaho: 6) Wood River Land Trust, 7) New State Park,--Colorado: 8) Forest Service staff aware of their ecological footprint--Missouri: 9) Missouri Ozarks Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP)

--Pennsylvania: 10) Presence of "den trees" --USA:

11) US consumption drives global deforestation via China, 12) soil

nutrition is critical for the effective carbon sequestration, 13)

Forest thinning don't survive fires well, --Canada: 14) Industry giant Asia Pulp and Paper Co moves in--Poland 15) Save Bialowieza Forest--Congo: 16) 2/3 of forest could vanish in 50 years, --Mozambique: 17) China buying up slow-growing tropical hardwoods,

--Ghana: 18) Calls for the creation of a forestry district at Ejisu--Uganda: 19) President defends plans to destroy last rainforests--Kenya: 20) Charcoal burners warned they risk arrest and prosecution--Guyana: 21) Barama company's contract, 22) 80,000-acre concession,

--Eritrea: 23) Frankincense is an endangered aromatic hardened wood resin--Liberia: 24) 10,000 jobs to come from timber exports?--Mexico: 25) Tamaulipas, a 350,000-acre ecotour reserve--Brazil: 26) Aracruz Celulose protest by natives almost turns deadly, then ends

--India: 27) Marathon debate for tribal rights, 28) Road through Betul reserve forest,--Nepal: 29) Maoist camp is being deforested--Philippines: 30) Filing 135 cases against illegal loggers--Papua New Guinea: 31) foreign investment logging ruins local communities

--Malaysia: 32) Choosing who to evict among 20,000 'illegal' forest reserve residents,--Borneo: 33) Fifty-two new species discovered as logging increasingly encroaches--Indonesia: 34) illegal logging in a forest reserve

--Australia:

35) Bad accounting by Greenfleet who gets money to plant trees for

ethical CO2 consumers, 36) Legal victory for Wielangta forest, 37)

International arboretum put on hold, 38) Logging stopped pending old

growth review,British Columbia:1) A federal

government policy reversal appears to have cleared the way for coal

mining in an area long coveted by Parks Canada and which

environmentalists have called " one of the most biologically important

places on Earth. " Documents obtained under the Access to Information

Act show that in negotiating with British Columbia over ownership of

massive coal deposits now under federal jurisdiction, Ottawa has

dropped a major condition that would have required a parks feasibility

study in the Flathead Valley. The region, in the southeastern corner of

the province adjacent to Waterton Lakes National Park, has long been

seen as the key to protecting the southern Rocky Mountains by creating

a linked series of national parks in the rugged landscape where

Alberta, B.C. and Montana meet. Environmentalists said yesterday they

were shocked to learn Ottawa has thrown away its trump card in

negotiating with B.C. over the fate of the wild valley. " I find this

unbelievable, " said Vicky Husband, one of B.C.'s leading

environmentalists. " This is an area that belongs to all Canadians and

even though B.C. wants to allow coal mining in there, I would expect

the federal government to show some backbone and demand a parks

feasibility study. " It is absolutely one of the most environmentally

significant places in B.C. " Bob Peart, a consultant for the Canadian

Parks and Wilderness Society, said the federal Liberal government

passed an order in council in 2005, that created a link between a

national park feasibility study and transference of the coal deposits

to B.C. He was surprised to hear that link had now been broken by the

Conservatives. An environmental group known as Flathead Wild has

labelled the Flathead Valley " one of the most biologically important

places on Earth. " http://www.theglobeandmail.com/2)

The Wells Gray Community Forest Corp. (WGCFC) held a public meeting

Dec. 3. at the CSS Theatre (The Pit). Prior to timber harvest

commencing, a Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) must be approved. This

public meeting served as a kick-off to that process. Laverne Burnell,

president of WGCFC, reviewed the objectives and future plans of the

newly awarded probationary community forest agreement. The new

community forest encompasses just over 13,000 ha and has a forest

composed of 42 per cent fir, 24 pr cent pine, 18 per cent spruce, five

per cent cedar, eight per cent balsam, two per cent hemlock and some

birch and other species. The Community Forest has a contract to remove

67,000 cubic metres of wood (mainly pine beetle infested) by the end of

2007. (A truck load is approximately 50 cubic metres.) Net profits from

the management of the Community Forest will be deposited with the North

Thompson Communities Foundation. Non-profit organizations and groups

within Wells Gray Country will be able to apply for these funds to

conduct a wide range of projects that will benefit the community. http://www.clearwatertimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=7 & cat=43 & id=795726 & more=

3)

Many people seem to think so, based on comments made at a public

hearing in Lake Cowichan recently to discuss increasing the minimum lot

size on forestry land from 20 hectares to 80 hectares. The directors

for the rural areas of the Cowichan Valley Regional District have

different ideas, though. They think it's worth protecting the industry

by encouraging smaller, more sustainable methods of logging. There's no

guarantee this will happen, of course, because it's impossible to

predict who will purchase land from TimberWest and the other private

forestland owners. They do, however, hope these forestland property

owners will be encouraged to sell to those who want to develop

small-scale forestry operations. As we have found out in recent years,

the present path the forest industry has taken has led to a lot of lost

jobs. Small-scale logging operation would very likely mean more local

jobs in the industry. This type of forest industry, with small mills

included in the mix, could co-exist with the tourism industry that is

beginning to explode here. The lot size issue has met with a lot of

criticism from people who own land west of Youbou, mostly for the

purpose of camping and other recreation during the beautiful summers we

have here. They believe they are being treated unfairly. It's their

land, they say, and they should be able to camp if they want. It's a

much bigger issue than that, but those who have been camping for many

years have a good point and it's an issue that the CVRD — and Youbou

director Brooke Hodson — must address. http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=9 & cat=48 & id=794968 & more=

4)

Kenora Forest Products brass are marking the days on their calendar

until the deadline for the Ministry of Natural Resources' decision on

area wood rights. "We're pretty positive we've done everything we can

to secure the fibre," said operations supervisor Rob Halverson on

Thursday. "We look forward to a very bright future at Kenora Forest

Products. We're here for the long-term," he emphasized. Three days ago,

management submitted a proposal, which would help provide fibre for its

$30-million expansion plans. If approved, the project could create

about 50 jobs in the mill, as well as another 200 positions in the

woodlands. The company expects a response from the province within 60

days, which would be the end of February. The additional capacity would

allow them to manufacture new items, such as machine stress-rated

materials for trusses and flooring components. On Thursday afternoon,

Halverson got encouragement from NDP forestry critic Peter Julian, who

took time from his cross-Canada tour to visit the plant. The B.C.

member said he'd seen a lot of communities suffering from the ongoing

forestry crisis, and he was interested in the local company's plans to

create jobs, rather than cut them. "They really want to move forward,

and I believe they deserve the support from the federal and provincial

governments," said Julian, after looking over plans for the new

facility. There are also opportunities for creating new sources of

energy from the burning of sawdust and bark. The separating processes

would allow for management to reduce energy costs, while also

facilitating the sale of such byproducts as sawdust. http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/News/275674.htmlOregon:5)

Paul Ries, an urban forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry,

said Douglas fir and Western red cedars grow best among other trees.

The trees on the outer edge of the " tree community " develop what's

called " tree firmness. " " As (trees) bend and sway, they put on

'reaction' wood, " Ries said. " The tree forms wind resistance. " When the

wind-resistant trees are removed, remaining trees are susceptible to

the weather. " When we remove a tree in a native forest remnant, the

trees that are now the outside of this grove, they don't have the same

wind firmness as previous tree did, " he said. " So sometimes those trees

can come down. It can be a concern for land managers and developers to

retain intact groves as much as possible so as not to leave a strip of

trees. " Dan Lassila, who lives off Jasper Way NW and Fir Gardens Street

NW, said the trees left along the edge of the development were swaying

in the strong winds. " It was really devastating watching those trees, "

he said. " They looked like bamboo stalks. " Lassila's home suffered some

damage as a tree grazed the corner. But his neighbor's home across the

street was the hardest-hit in the area. http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061217/NEWS/612170310/1001Idaho:

6)

The Idaho Department of Lands and the Wood River Land Trust in central

Idaho have agreed to a land swap of 80 acres of steep, rocky terrain

favored by wildlife for 4.58 acres that's part of a subdivision. The 80

acres the land trust is getting include a half-mile of riverfront

property along the Big Wood River in the town of Hailey. It includes

the northeast face of Della Mountain, which rises up on the west side

of Hailey. " This is absolutely the biggest thing we've ever done, " Land

Trust Executive Director Scott Boettger told the Idaho Mountain

Express. Under the consent agenda dated Dec. 12, the state will receive

a lot in the Indian Creek subdivision northeast of Hailey. A previous

deal involving the 80 acres and a 2.17-acre parcel fell apart after

part of the smaller parcel flooded in May. That led to the land trust

offering the 4.58-acre parcel instead. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_48654957)

Gov. Jim Risch plans to announce this morning that the Thousand Springs

Preserve along the Snake River near Hagerman will become the state's

newest park. The Nature Conservancy, which has preserved the lush and

idyllic spot for more than two decades, is donating the property to the

state. The cleanest water in Idaho flows down the cliffs here, after

creeping its way through the underground aquifer for two centuries. The

glassy flows surround an island that once held a small dairy —

state-of-the-art when it was built in 1918. The privately funded

Conservancy bought Thousand Springs in 1985, paying $1.2 million to the

estate of U.S. District Judge Willis Ritter. The group also helps

protect fishing mecca Silver Creek near Picabo and scattered landscapes

throughout Idaho. Today's gift — to be announced at 10 a.m. in the

governor's office at the Statehouse — won't change the process Gov.

Dirk Kempthorne started to build a new state park in eastern Idaho.

Agency leaders are working to develop a 577-acre site that also is on

the Snake but upriver, between Firth and Blackfoot. Idaho has 30 state

parks and recreational trailways, drawing more than 2.5 million

visitors a year. http://www.idahostatesman.com/101/story/64135.htmlColorado:8)

" We're starting small, " he said. The first thing is getting local

Forest Service staff aware of their ecological footprint, he noted, and

making simple, manageable moves towards energy efficiency and waste

reduction. For now, that includes things like switching out

incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient compact fluorescents,

encouraging staff to rely on natural light, and putting computer

sensors on thermostats to regulate heat use. The local project is an

offshoot of a larger effort. The Rocky Mountain regional office of the

Forest Service has been working with the Golden-based National

Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) since 2004 to increase energy

efficiency. " We have a bunch of different tasks we're helping them

with, " said NREL mechanical engineer Alicen Kandt. The first thing NREL

is doing, she said, is getting metering systems in place to help the

Forest Service determine their baseline energy use and identify areas

where energy can be saved. The baseline will also serve as reference to

help the Forest Service gauge the efficacy of their energy-conservation

efforts over time. " We're also making energy savings recommendations, "

Kandt said, and helping the Forest Service " get an energy management

system going, which is basically a big, fat document. " Helping the

Forest Service get more efficient, Kandt added, is the first step in

helping them convert to more expensive renewable energy sources in the

long term. http://www.aspendailynews.com/article_17303Missouri:9)

If it is true that knowledge is power, then the Missouri Department of

Conservation has a big generator coming online. The generator is the

Missouri Ozarks Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP). The knowledge it

generates pertains to forests. The power that knowledge creates is the

ability to manage forests in ways that sustain their biological

diversity, health and economic productivity. The Conservation

Department launched MOFEP in 1990. The long-term research project is

designed to generate understanding of how the various parts of a forest

- including trees, wildflowers, fungi, insects, amphibians, reptiles,

birds, mammals and more - react to different types of management. The

project is a science experiment on a grand scale, in both size and

duration. On one-third of the study area, the Conservation Department

is practicing even-aged forest management, where harvests involve

cutting down all the trees within a forested stand and re-establishing

forest stands in which all the trees are the same age. On another third

of the study area, trees are harvested selectively in what is known as

uneven-aged management. This produces timber stands with trees of

different ages. Timber harvesting techniques used in the study are the

same as the Conservation Department uses to manage forests on its land

statewide. By tracking changes that occur under different management

practices, the agency hopes to gain insights that will guide forest

management for sustaining biological diversity and commodity

production. Such insights already are beginning to accumulate. http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/19670/Pennsylvania:

10)

Many species of woodland wildlife benefit from the presence of "den

trees." Den trees, or snags, are those standing trees that are used by

animals for nesting, roosting, cover, food supply and other critical

functions of basic survival. These trees are often over-mature with

many defects and no financial value from a forestry standpoint.

However, from a wildlife standpoint, their value is life itself.

Wildlife that inhabit these den trees, such as woodpeckers, nuthatches,

bluebirds, squirrels, and raccoons, are called cavity nesters. The type

of wildlife that utilize these den trees will also depend on the kind,

size, and location of the den tree. There are two basic kinds of den

trees: hard or soft. Hard den trees have rotten centers with a solid

exterior and a few limbs. These usually make the best den trees because

the center can be easily excavated to form a home. Trees that usually

form good cavities are large hardwoods that decay slowly; such as sugar

maple, beech, white oak, hickory and sycamore. These trees are normally

quite old and may look totally healthy, but with close inspection, in

and around the base of the tree a cavity, will indicate its hollow

nature. Soft den trees have softer exterior wood, and usually have no

limbs. These den trees usually make good foraging sites for

insect-eating birds, as well as nesting sites for woodpeckers,

chickadees and nuthatches. These trees often have short life spans and

rot quickly. Aspen would be a perfect example of this type of tree.

Evergreen den trees do not usually last as long as hardwoods, and are

usually not utilized for a den tree. However, eastern white pine makes

an excellent nest and perch site for bald eagles and osprey when

located next to water. http://www.sungazette.com/outdoors/articles.asp?articleID=12582USA: 11)

ZHANGJIAGANG -- Night and day, the timber ships reach this Yangtze

River port, one of the world's busiest clearinghouses for logs from

every corner of the globe: Southeast Asia, the Amazon, Russia, the

Congo. Soon, this wood will be yours. It will be your hardwood floor

and your coffee table, your bedroom dresser and your plywood -- all

stamped with the most successful label of our time: Made in China. In

less than a decade, China has transformed the global timber trade,

importing more wood each year than any country in history and

quadrupling the amount of wood products it ships around the globe. And

no one is consuming more of it than Americans. U.S. shoppers have

become the world's best customers of low-cost Chinese flooring,

furniture and plywood, buying 10 times as much as a decade ago. But

that profitable embrace comes at a steep, hidden cost: The demand for

cheap Chinese goods is driving destructive logging around the world,

threatening livelihoods and dividing fragile nations. To grasp how a

rising superpower's appetites shape the world, consider a single log

from this port at Zhangjiagang. Buried among thousands of others, it

has nothing to set it apart except a number emblazoned on a tiny green

tag: 11008. In those five digits lies the story of where the log began,

a coded map to a distant outpost of China's commercial empire. It

points south from the flourishing coast of southern China, across 3,000

miles of the Pacific to Papua New Guinea, one of the world's most

troubled and spectacular countries, which nearly abandoned logging

until China came along. Digit by digit, the map leads over the

mountains and glaciers to the nation's remote northwest province,

Sandaun, where millions in timber profits and payments have left

children without shoes and schools without plumbing. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-china-timber-htmlstory,0,1381395.htmlstory

12)

Researchers attached with the USDA Forest Service have found that trees

can only increase wood growth from elevated CO2 if there is enough leaf

area to support that growth. Building on preliminary studies reported

in the journal Nature, the scientists claimed that soil nutrition is

critical for the effective carbon sequestration in forest areas. " With

sufficient soil nutrition, forests increase their ability to tie up, or

sequester carbon in woody biomass under increasing atmospheric CO2

concentrations, " says Kurt Johnsen, SRS researcher involved in the

project. The studies took place at a Free Air Carbon Enrichment (FACE)

study established by the U.S. Department of Energy on the Duke Forest

in Durham, North Carolina. The researchers said: " Forests play a

critical part in sequestering carbon, and may play a role in mitigating

the elevated levels of carbon dioxide associated with climate change. " http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews & id=66533

13)

The basic idea is that most of our forests are far too dense. There are

way too many trees per acre. This, we are told, not only makes them

" unhealthy " but also reduces their productivity for wood production and

makes them prone to frequent and severe wildfires that damage the

forests even further. Cutting down many or most of those trees is the

proposed solution. But the evidence is mounting that this is not the

case. Studies of actual fire behavior in Northern California, Colorado,

and Oregon indicate that removing trees, " thinning " the forest, by

itself actually increases the severity of forest fires and the damage

they do to forests. Some of the fires in 2002 were so huge that they

provided a natural laboratory to study what impact previous forest

treatments had on how much damage the forest fires did to trees.

Despite the usual picture often painted for us of fires simply

blackening thousands and thousands of acres, totally destroying all the

trees and every other living thing, forest fires actually have very

diverse impacts, usually creating a mosaic of heavily burned as well as

relatively lightly burned landscapes. By studying the variation in tree

mortality in these large fires and matching that up with previous human

manipulation of those forestlands, the scientists could get a picture

of what, for instance, previous thinning did to control the severity of

the damage done by the fires. What they found in both Oregon's Biscuit

Fire and Colorado's Hayman Fire was that areas that had not been

thinned or subject to prescribed burns before the recent fire lost

about half of their trees in that fire. In areas that had been thinned,

80 to 100 percent of the trees were killed. Thinning the forests made

them more vulnerable to wildfire. This was not entirely surprising to

the scientists. Thinning the forest opens the forest up to more

sunlight and wind. That increases the temperature and lowers the

humidity, drying out the forest more and allowing the higher winds to

carry any fire that starts further and hotter. In addition, the

thinning activity disturbs the ground, baring mineral soil for a new

crop of shade intolerant young trees, shrubs, and invasive weeds.

--Montana Public Radio CommentaryCanada: 14) One of

the world's largest -- and most controversial -- pulp and paper

companies has bought the Meadow Lake Pulp Mill, the biggest

money-losing government investment in Saskatchewan history, it was

revealed Friday. Industry giant Asia Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd. (APP) will

pay $38 million for the fixed assets of the mill, which is jointly

owned by the provincial government's Investment Saskatchewan arm and

Alberta forestry company Millar Western, said the mill's lawyer Conrad

Hadubiak. The mill, which employs about 150 people, has been under

bankruptcy protection since February and the deal must still be

approved by the Court of Queen's Bench in a hearing slated for next

week. Under the deal, expected to close in late January, APP has

pledged to operate the mill for five years, with penalties if they shut

it down before that time. " I think this is good news for the town of

Meadow Lake." Hadubiak said. The company went through major financial

difficulties in 2001, including a massive default on bank loans and

bonds. It has also been a focus for environmental groups, which say the

company has been involved in illegal logging of natural forests in

China and targeting highly ecologically sensitive forests for

conversion into plantations in Sumatra. " I would see it as being a bad

sign that they are coming into Saskatchewan, " said Richard Brooks, head

of the forest campaign at Greenpeace Canada. " This isn't an issue where

they're just slightly bad on the environment. They're one of the worst

offenders when it comes to protecting the environment, particularly

protecting natural forests and forests that have very high conservation

values. They rank very, very low on our list of companies operating in

places like Asia. " http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/business_agriculture/story.html?id=5eee6e90-455e-46f

9-81ce-2657f4a1c931Poland:Help

save Europe's oldest lowland forest The Bialowieza Forest, situated on

the border of Poland and Belarus, is the last remaining natural lowland

forest in Europe. Abundant in wildlife, it houses a vast treasure trove

of different species: thousands of plants, hundreds of birds and more

than 50 types of mammal. Unfortunately, only 17% of the Polish area is

protected as a national park. The rest is subject to logging of old

trees - an enormous threat to the natural harmony of the forest and the

survival of its wildlife. Help us save this truly special place by

signing our petition demanding that the national park is extended to

cover the whole area of the forest in Polandhttp://passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC=53100509 & uCampaignId=13

Congo:16)

YAOUNDE - Two-thirds of the forests in the Congo River Basin could

disappear within 50 years if logging and mineral exploitation continues

at current rates, environmental group WWF said in a report. The Congo

Basin, the world's second largest tropical forest after the Amazon,

loses some 3.7 million acres a year to agriculture, logging, road

development, oil exploitation and mining, WWF's Central African

regional office (CARPO) said in a report published late on Thursday.

" Tropical forest is vanishing at a rate of 5 percent a decade, wrecking

habitats and releasing 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, which

is a fifth of global greenhouse emissions, " CARPO director Laurent Somé

said in the report. About 400 mammal species live in the Congo Basin,

including the world's largest populations of lowland gorillas,

chimpanzees, bonobos and forest elephants, all under threat as their

habitat is destroyed. More than 655 bird species fly under its dense

canopy and over 10,000 plant species take root in the forest floor,

many of them unique to the region and containing medicinal properties.

" The region is blanketed by a patchwork quilt of logging concessions.

While the logging itself is usually selective and does little damage,

the associated roads, infrastructure and migration degrade surrounding

landscape and result in massive wildlife depletion, " the report said. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15808867.htmMozambique:

17)

Chinese timber buyers are colluding with Mozambican business people and

some members of the Mozambique government and their forest services to

strip precious slow-growing tropical hardwoods from Mozambique's

semi-arid forests at a rate that could see the resource exhausted in

5-10 years, according to reports of the trade on timber and wood in the

Zambezi. The unsustainable logging begins with Chinese support to

timber buyers to acquire 'simple licences', which allow logging of a

relatively small quantity in a specific area. These licences are given

to local Mozambicans, in large numbers (146 in 2003 alone), thus

starting a deforestation process often referred to as 'the Chinese

takeaway'. Once an application has been approved, the licence holder

pays for the licence (US$10-40 per cubic meter of forest logged

depending on the species). Many of the local licence holders get credit

from Chinese buyers to pay these expenses. The availability of this

credit is the main factor driving the logging boom, attracting

unqualified and unskilled people into the sector. Up to one-third of

operators do not repay their debts, and this cost is passed on to other

operators, in lower prices paid for the timber. On average the income

generated by locals linked to the logging industry is below the legal

minimum wage of US$30/month. The quotas and licences give little

indication of the quantity and area of logging; under-reporting is

systematic and widespread. Inspections are rare, bribes common, and the

computer-based control system of licensing and transport is purely

cosmetic, according to reports and local experts. There is only one

real checkpoint at Nicoadala, were copies of all the licences of all

the operators are filed and were all drivers should stop. Anyone

looking into the matter who spends time at the checkpoint will notice

that the focus is on villagers with small volumes of hand-sawn timber

and established industrial operators, while operators well connected to

politicians, the Provincial Forests and Wildlife Services of Zambezia

(SPFFB) and the timber buyers are allowed to escape. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612140902.htmlGhana:18)

MR. CLEMENT Manu, Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management

Organization (NADMO) for the Ejisu-Juaben district has called for the

creation of a forestry district at Ejisu to control forest degradation.

He noted that the non-existence of a district forestry officer at Ejisu

has contributed to the spate of illegal chainsaw operations in the

district. According to him, the monitoring of illegal chainsaw

operations is not effective since forestry officials responsible for

Ejisu-Juaben district are stationed far away at Nkawie, Juaso, Kumawu

and Bekwai. Mr. Manu intends to collaborate with the police, Forestry

Services Division (FSD), and Special Task Forces to clamp down on

illegal logging in the district. He has therefore urged Unit committees

to be vigilant and check the practice in their areas. The Co-ordinator

noted that besides the economic benefits, forests serves as wind breaks

and helps to avoid disasters. In the interim, Co-ordinator Manu

proposed the mounting of a barrier at the entry points of the district

to check the movement of chainsaw operators and has urged the public to

report activities of chainsaw operator to his outfit for necessary

action. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612140688.htmlUganda:19)

KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has defended plans to destroy some

of Uganda's last few rainforests to give land to plantation owners,

saying his country urgently needs to industrialize, local media

reported on Wednesday. Museveni has clashed with politicians and

environmental groups for months over offers to agro-industry tycoons

that would allow them to destroy thousands of acres of virgin

rainforest to grow palm oil and sugar crops. " It is on account of the

urgent need for industrializing our very backward country ... Our

backwardness is on account of the absence of industries, " he told

parliamentarians on Tuesday, according to Ugandan newspaper Daily

Monitor. " The problems of Africa are not lack of forests but lack of

factories, real estate, professional services, " he added. Last week,

the head of the National Forest Authority, Olav Bjella, resigned after

failing to resolve a dispute with Museveni in which he refused to grant

a local palm oil company a license to remove a rainforest on an island

on Lake Victoria. Museveni has also argued fiercely with local

officials over a plan to allow Uganda's Mehta Group to axe 7,000

hectares or nearly a third of Mabira Forest Reserve on the mainland,

which has been protected since 1932, to expand its sugar estate. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews & storyID=2006-12-13T140944Z_01_

L13838064_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-UGANDA-FORESTS-DC.XMLKenya:20)

Charcoal burners have been warned that they risk arrest and prosecution

because of destroying forests. They were a major threat to the survival

of indigenous trees in the province, said provincial commissioner

Hassan Noor Hassan while announcing that special commission will be

formed to protect forests in Rift Valley. Baringo, Koibatek, Narok,

West Pokot and Trans Nzoia districts were some of the districts in

which charcoal burning was on the rise and depleting swathes of

forests, said Mr Noor. He said: " We are told that lakes Nakuru, Baringo

and Elmentaita will be extinct in eight years. We have to do something

to reverse this situation and the time is now. " Some areas had

experienced flooding because of destruction of the water catchment

areas, the PC said. About 60 per cent of all government forests were

within the vast province, stretching from Oloitokitok to Kibish in the

north. Mr Hassan, who was speaking at Afraha stadium in Nakuru, further

cautioned residents against being divided on the basis of tribe,

particularly during campaigns for next year's elections. Mr Hassan said

that some 300,000 children were yet to benefit from free primary

education. He urged parents to send their children to school. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1 & newsid=87529

Guyana:21)

The Barama company's contract to harvest in a sustainable manner the

Baromalli forest type in its large concession was made possible under

the Hoyte Administration at a time when Guyana was experiencing severe

structural economic adjustments and unsubstantial foreign investments.

In fact Guyana then was not a suitable destination for foreign

investment. When Barama's contract was officially signed there was no

opposition to it by the present day critics of Barama. As soon as the

Hoyte Govern-ment was replaced by the PPP/C Government, opposition

elements in the forestry sector in their bid to pressure the new

Government decided to wage a campaign of hostility against the Barama

Company. Today this campaign continues which was evident from the

letters in the Stabroek News in preparation of the Forest Stewardship

Council's (FSC) auditors visit to Guyana. Unfortunately for Barama's

critics including Mr. Beharry their letters of venom had no effect or

merit and in the final analysis Barama retained its FSC certificate

which the critics wanted to be withdrawn. The Barama Company's

intervention in our forestry sector has significantly revolutionized

this sector with its sustainable harvesting methods and good forestry

management practices notwithstanding its large concession. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_letters?id=5650998922)

Sustainable Forest Inc (SFI) is on a mission to give a supply boost to

the value-added market in a $300M investment amid a shortage of prime

species of logs. The consortium comprising Bulkan Timber Works,

Precision Woodworking Ltd and Farfan & Mendes Ltd, in June gained

approval from the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) under a State Forest

Permission for an 80,000-acre concession. The government had taken a

position to enhance the availability of raw materials to manufacturers

who add value to logs. Over the past weeks letters in this newspaper

have called on the GFC to improve its monitoring of forest resources,

amid concerns that foreign loggers were exporting prime log species

like locust and purple heart and were not in compliance with their

management plans. Directors Howard Bulkan, Managing Director of Bulkan

Timbers and Andrew Mendes, Managing Director of Farfan & Mendes in

an interview with Stabroek News called for concessions in the vicinity

of 20,000-100,000 acres to be given to 400-500 small forest producers -

since these producers contribute revenues almost equal to the large

companies. For example, it was noted that SFI will have a small road

network since milling will be on site and there would be no need for

large vehicles to access the site. " Mobile saws will cut accurately the

good timber and at 65% yield will give 50% more lumber than the best

fixed mills in Guyana, and at 1/3 of the traditional cost, " according

to SFI. It was further noted that " SFI will have no or minimal log

hauling costs because its preliminary milling will be at the tree

stump. " In addition, this means that SFI can cut and recover relatively

small amounts of good timber from defective trees, which would not be

worth hauling to fixed mills. The " SFI's recovery rate of 65% means

that the GFC will be gaining around three times as much in royalty per

tree than it gains from pure logging operations, or about four times as

much per hectare, " according to Mendes. Some 57 persons will be

employed in the forest side of SFI, plus others in a mill for wallaba

shingles. Bulkan noted that due to a shortage of their prime species,

locust, over the past year they have operated at 40% capacity. The

situation has gotten so bad that Bulkan Timber has had to import a few

40-foot containers of locust from Brazil this week. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56509974Eritrea:

23)

Frankincense is an aromatic hardened wood resin obtained by tapping

Boswellia trees. For 2000 years, the resin has been important as an

ingredient in incense and perfumes, especially popular in Christian

communities at Christmas. Writing in the December issue of " Journal of

Applied Ecology, " the ecologists said that overtapping the trees

results in them producing fewer, less viable seeds. Working in

southwestern Eritrea, they tested the hypothesis by looking at how many

seeds intensively tapped trees produced, and their germination rates,

compared with untapped trees. Although the impact of tapping trees for

other crops, such as latex and pine resin, has been studied in

plantations, this is the first study to show quantitatively the fragile

relationship between the extraction of resins and tree regeneration in

natural populations. " At all study sites, trees subject to experimental

tapping produced fewer flowers, fruits and seeds than trees that were

exempt from tapping, " said Bongers, an expert in tropical forest

ecology. " Furthermore, " he said, " tapped trees produced smaller fruits

with seeds of lower weight and reduced vitality than non-tapped trees. "

They say new tapping regimes should include rest periods when there is

no resin harvesting to allow the trees to recover. At least five

species of Boswellia are currently exploited for frankincense. In

addition to those in Eritrea, Boswellia woodlands are found in Nigeria,

Chad, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Yemen and Oman. Boswellia

papyrifera is a small deciduous tree that grows in a savanna belt

stretching from northern Nigeria eastwards to the highlands of Eritrea

and Ethiopia. In Eritrea, it grows under semi-arid conditions in

shallow soils on rocky slopes. Despite its economic importance, B.

papyrifera is a threatened species in Eritrea where Boswellia woodlands

are being destroyed for agricultural land. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2006/2006-12-13-01.aspLiberia:24)

MONROVIA - Liberia's Forestry Development Authority is preparing a new

bidding process for logging concessions following the lifting in

October of the United Nations Security Council's three-year ban on

Liberian timber exports. " We expect this will create about 10,000

jobs, " Richie Grear, the government's forest bureau spokesman, told

IRIN. " All the mechanisms are being put into place to ensure that

logging activities restart. " Revenues from timber constituted 50

percent of the country's export earnings before the UN Security Council

imposed sanctions in July 2003. At the time, the council described

Liberia's logging industry as a threat to peace and security with

revenue from timber allegedly being used by former president Charles

Taylor to fuel armed conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The council

has not yet lifted sanctions on diamond exports imposed on Liberia five

years ago, saying the country is yet to meet international standards of

verification designed to prevent the illegal trade of so called " blood

diamonds " .With timber, the current elected government of President

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has implemented new legislation on logging to

ensure revenue would benefit the whole country. " [it is] principally

geared towards sustainable forest management and more developmental

benefits to the communities where logging activities would be carried

out, " Grear said. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/cc96b046b3e559689bc51729bbbe1d5f.htmMexico:

25)

ALTA CIMA - The souped-up pickup rocked its way up the old logging road

into the cloud forest. A formidable dark silhouette swooped overhead

and Eduardo Padrón told the driver to stop. " Aguila solitaria, " he

said, springing from the truck's bed just in time to see El Cielo's

latest VIP guest, a solitary eagle, glide over the forest canopy. El

Cielo, an unusually well-protected nature reserve in northeastern

Mexico, has been drawing its fair share of rare birds in recent months,

including stygian owls and ornate hawk eagles. And with those sightings

have come the birders, helping Padrón's small community in this

mountain area adjust to life without hunting and logging as they try to

turn ecotourism into a profitable way of life. Tucked just below the

Tropic of Cancer in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the

350,000-acre area was declared a reserve in 1985. Part of it is

considered a cloud forest, shrouded year-round by clouds and mist. The

resulting humidity and plant and animal diversity is limited to a small

number of similar forests in the world.But telling Padrón's community

that it had to stop shooting the fauna and chopping down the flora

wasn't an easy sell. " We felt anger, " said Padrón, 30, who was just a

child at the time but recalls the turmoil clearly, since the

government's original plan was to evict El Cielo's 10 or so

communities. Without work, many left anyway. In 1992, things took a

turn for the better with the arrival of Terra Nostra, a nongovernmental

organization that helped the village of Alta Cima organize itself to

provided ecotourism services. They established a bungalow-style hotel,

a restaurant and a craft shop, and they started charging nominal fees

for access to the village and surrounding trails. The facilities, a bit

rustic but clean and well maintained, are run collectively by 30 men

and women who divide the profits. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA121706.27A.el_cielo.37f7a6f.html

Brazil:26)

After the arrival of a director of the company Aracruz Celulose, the

more than 1,000 workers of the company and its subcontractors

encouraged to take out the Tupinikim and Guarani Indians by force from

the harbor of Aracruz (Portocel), left the place at about 17:00hs. The

situation today got very tense, several Indians and supporters of their

struggle were attacked by workers and almost a fatal conflict took

place. With loudspeakers, when they left the place, the leaders of the

workers threatened the Indians that they would come back tomorrow. At

the end of the afternoon at about 19:00hs, after a meeting with local

representatives of the FUNAI, the Indians accepted the proposal of

having a meeting in Brasília next monday with the Minister of Justice

Márcio Thomas Bastos. The Tupinikim and Guarani left the harbor

voluntarily. Aracruz Celulose is the main responsible for the

aggression practiced today, even against a state parliamentarian,

Claudio Vereza, who uses a wheelchair, and who is a well-known defender

of human rights. It is unacceptable that a company releases its workers

to take out the Indians by force, according to the trade union leader

Davi Gomes - one of the workers´leaders - because the military and

federal police did not act against the Indians. Responsible also is the

Brazilian State that was negligent during the aggressions against the

indigenous peoples and the solidarity groups, having only some few

policemen present at the place. During the whole action, the Minister

of Justice did not make any pronunciation about the emission of the Act

of Demarcation of the Tupinikim and Guarani lands. In the afternoon

(13/12) about 60 students occupied for some time the Palace of the

Government of the state of Espirito Santo, supporting the Tupinikim and

Guarani and demanding that the State of Espirito Santo should take

position to guarantee the security of the indigenous peoples and

activists at the harbor.Some photos of the occupation of the harbor

(credits: Nester Samora) and of a small demonstration yesterday at the

consulate of Brazil in New York:http://www.globaljusticeecology.orgIndia:27)

The most important amendment was to have the cut-off year, for

recognizing rights for tribals living in forests, changed to 2005 from

1980. The government has also accepted the right of jurisdiction of

gram sabhas to settle claims of tribals. Replying to a marathon debate,

tribal affairs minister PR Kyndiah allayed fears that inhabiting

forests would denude the areas. "Studies have revealed that where there

are tribals, forest area has been dense," Mr Kyndiah stressed, adding

tribal and forest dwelling communities were the most-efficient

conservationists. Out of many amendments introduced in the Bill, many

were withdrawn and some adopted. Mr Kyndiah said it had been agreed

that tribal forest dwellers who have been living since December 13,

2005, were entitled to their rights and could sell the forest produce

from their land there. In the run-up to the introduction and passing of

the Bill, the tiger lobby had put up a strong resistance to some

provisions in the Bill, saying it would affect the forest and its

environs. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/822873.cms28)

The 17-km Mohda Gurwa Pipariya road through the Betul reserve forest

was built six months ago under the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojna. And the

raw material for the road came by digging up the forest. Betul, it

seems is full of such ravaging and plunder. Harrai village on the

periphery of the forest reserve is meant to be the lifeline of the

tribals there, while the Harrai river seems more like a puddle. " They

have even dug up the river. It's hardly there anymore, " said Samiya

Bayee, villager Harrai, Betul. According to the Madhya Pradesh Miner

and Mineral rules, quarry leases cannot be granted within 50 metres of

a watercourse. Yet, the hill as well as the river itself have been

excavated blatantly and without mercy. This quarry belongs to a

contractor Prakash Agarwal, who's also close to Raja Thakur and MP

Vijay Khandelawal. There's yet another illegal quarry in Harrai, which

according to the chowkidaar Ram Swarup, belongs to Raja Thakur and will

be used for the road. It seems to be a cosy family business. Of the 49

contracts sanctioned in the roads project, 27 contracts worth Rs 26

crore went to Raja Thakur's brother Rajendra Singh Kiledar. He in turn

patronises the stone crusher association, whose vice-president is

Mukesh Khandelwal, son of Betul MP Vijay Khandelwal. Illegal quarrying

has always been a drain on the Betul reserve forest. But since 2003,

when the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojna was launched, it's been a bonanza

for the industry. The tribals protested both in Betul and Bhopal and a

petition against illegal mining were filed in November 2004. In 2005,

the Collector cancelled ten illegal leases in the area. Within 24

hours, the Collector was transferred out and the leases reinstated

within three days by Babulal Gaur, the Chief Minister at the time. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1870055,000900030009.htm

Nepal:29)

Maoists in Nawalparasi have been chopping down large number of trees in

Jhyaldanda, Hattikhor and Jargha of the district despite cautionary

warning from District Forest Office. .The forest office informed that

tractors with loaded logs had been ferrying the woods each day without

any record. They claimed that they needed planks to spread on the floor

but they have not used any plank for the purpose so far, the office

said. Although the Seven Party Alliance representatives urged them to

stop chopping the trees, the Maoists have been clearing the sal tree

forests in Jhyaldanda in Rakachuli VDC, Hattikhor and Jargha of Ram

Nagar of the district, a local political leader said. Ganesh Man Pun

alias Rashmi, fourth divisional commander of the Maoists, however,

refuted the claim saying some people had been trying to tarnish the

image of the party as they had chopped down some trees to build roads

to reach the cantonment areas. The Maoists have established fourth

divisional headquarter at Jhyaldnda and auxiliary camps at Hattinagar

and Jargha. http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=8440Philippines:30)

Ricardo Calderon, regional executive director of the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said they have "always been

in control of the illegal logging situation" in the area, filing 135

cases against illegal loggers in the region, with 12 this year. Five of

the cases were filed in Davao Oriental, he said. He announced the

deployment of more DENR personnel in key points as a key deterrent to

the illegal operations and has beefed up personnel in Cateel, Davao

Oriental and in Compostela Valley province, where there were recent

reports of illegal logging. He said the move was intended to protect a

growing wood industry in Cateel and neighboring towns. He denied that

thousands of hectares of forest lands under Integrated Forest

Management Agreements were abused and used as front for illegal logging

activities. " IFMA (areas) are properly regulated and documented. There

is no basis on that accusation, " he said. Though he also said the DENR

would not condone illegal acts committed by their personnel, he

admitted that nobody has been suspended so far despite reported

involvement of some DENR men. http://mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=1455 & Itemid=50

Papua New Guinea:31)

" In the name of bringing foreign investment and development to PNG and

Indonesia, these powerful multi-national companies have caused the

displacement of local communities, particularly indigenous people, the

deprivation of their native customary rights to land, the loss of their

source of livelihood as well as environmental destruction and

degradation, " a spokesman for several PNG and Indonesian NGOs said. The

NGOs also said that in PNG, Malaysian companies were responsible for

widespread human right abuses and political corruption. They said these

companies have disgraced Malaysia. They were speaking at a joint press

conference today after a three-day Sahabat Alam Malaysia seminar on

land rights, indigenous people, logging and plantation that saw 40

participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, PNG, Nepal,

India, Chile and the Netherlands. The logging industry in PNG is

dominated by Malaysian companies with one Malaysian company owning five

of the 12 major logging projects while in Indonesia, Malaysian

companies are said to be responsible for widespread illegal logging,

especially along the Kalimantan-Sarawak- Sabah border. The group's

spokesman, Indonesian Muhamad Yayat Afianto, said last year, Indonesian

police released a wanted list of 16 Malaysian company officials whose

companies were involved in these illegal activities.He claimed that

seven Malaysian-owned companies have been clearing forests in Central

Kalimantan without proper permits from the Indonesian Forestry Ministry

and at least five companies in Riau and another five in Central

Kalimantan have used fire to clear the forest for plantations. http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=16446Malaysia:32)

Officials in East Malaysia have the hard job of choosing who, and who

not, to evict from among 20,000 'illegal' residents of it's forest

reserves. At one end of the scale you have those arriving with

chainsaws in the back of their landcruisers, destructively clearing

trees to build weekend residences within forest boundaries. Then are

villages whose growth sees them slowly encroaching borders of the

reserves. Finally come complete and established self-sufficient

villages existing deep within the heart of the reserves. http://www.celsias.com/blog/2006/12/15/people-forests-part-ii/Borneo;33)

A mission by WWF scientists to the south-east Asian island found 52

species previously unknown to science, including three types of tree,

two tree frogs and a tiny fish less than a centimetre long. " These

discoveries reaffirm Borneo's position as one of the most important

centres of biodiversity in the world, " said Stuart Chapman, the

international coordinator of WWF's Heart of Borneo programme. " The

remote and inaccessible forests in the Heart of Borneo are one of the

world's final frontiers for science and many undiscovered species are

still waiting to be found there. " But he warns that species are going

extinct as fast as the scientists can find them. In the second half of

the 20th century, forest cover on the island - which includes parts of

Indonesia, Malaysia and the sultanate of Brunei - dropped from 162m to

98m hectares. Since 1996, deforestation has accelerated to 2m hectares

(5m acres) a year. The threat comes from forest clearing for rubber,

oil palm and pulp production. Logging roads into the forest also make

it easier for illegal wildlife traders to poach animals. Borneo has

long fascinated biologists. Charles Darwin, on his voyage around the

world on the Beagle, described the island as " one great wild untidy

luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself " . The naturalist and

co-discoverer of natural selection, Alfred Russell Wallace, spent many

years there studying its plants and animals and honing his ideas. The

Heart of Borneo is a forested highland region which covers 30% of the

island and is home to creatures such as the orang utan, clouded

leopard, sun bear, Borneo pygmy elephant and proboscis monkey. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/120671.htmlIndonesia:34)

JITRA: A logger authorized to remove logs from a private land is

suspected of felling trees in an area earmarked for a forest reserve.

Kedah Forestry Department has since sealed the consignment of the logs

worth RM50,000. Its director Kassim Osman said the consignment belonged

to a local logger, who had obtained licence to remove logs from a

private lot bordering the proposed Bukit Payung forest reserve in Wang

Tepus near here. " During a routine check, our officer noticed that

the logs which had been cut and piled on the land in Charok Tok Latah

looked too 'pretty', " he said. " Pretty " meant high-quality, expensive

logs such as the Keruing log, Kassim explained. " The consignment could

have come from the proposed forest reserve area, " he said during a

visit to the site yesterday. Kassim said the logger could be charged

under Section 15 of the National Forestry Act for theft. If convicted,

the offender could be fined up to RM500,000 or one year jail sentence,

or both. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Monday/National/20061218082252/Article/local1_htmlAustralia:

35)

Since 2002 Greenfleet has planted about 23,000 trees at the Hannan

feedlot property and nearly 3 million nationally. Greenfleet is a

not-for-profit organisation, whose goal is to grow enough trees to

consume the carbon dioxide produced by its rs. These

rs calculate the carbon dioxide emitted by their cars, flights

and domestic power consumption and then donate to Greenfleet to

establish forests of trees and shrubs on their behalf. An important

condition is that, in order for it to be counted as a carbon offset,

every species needs to be one that can potentially grow to two metres.

Greenfleet is one of the biggest offset outfits in Australia, with

11,000 rs, both individuals and fleet, but since climate

change coverage has taken off, so has recruitment to the scheme. All

carbon-offset companies are now preparing for the extra scrutiny that

is likely to follow as they come in from the fringe to the mainstream.

Planting 17 trees for $40 for the average Greenfleet r may

sound simple, but the challenges facing the organisation are a

formidable combination of human nature and mother nature. One of the

main problems Greenfleet has to rectify is its lack of detailed

environmental accounting and auditing. A second forester has been

employed to audit the plantings and to monitor future work. Extra staff

will also enable more regular inspections of progress. It has been a

year since Greenfleet sent a staff member to Wagga to check on the

progress of its carbon-offset forests there, leaving the organisation

dependent on reports from locals. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cant-see-the-forests-for-the-gloom/2006/12/15/1166162323034

..html36)

Mr Brown said the decision meant that logging could not proceed in

forests containing endangered species unless the logging improves the

chances of the species' survival. In his court challenge, Senator Brown

maintained that logging as proposed at the Wielangta forest was outside

the law because RFAs had to ensure species were protected, and be in

compliance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity

Conservation Act (EPBC Act). Federal Court judge Shane Marshall in

Hobart upheld Senator Brown's challenge to logging in the forest. " The

Court has formed the view that the relevant forestry operations will

be, and have been, carried out otherwise than in accordance with the

RFA,'' Justice Marshall said in his judgment. Forestry Tasmania did not

have an exemption from provisions of the EPBC Act, Justice Marshall

said. The Wielangta forest is home to endangered species including the

swift parrot, wedgetail eagles and the Wielangta stag beetle. " The

Court has found that the forestry operations and proposed forestry

operations of Forestry Tasmania in the Wielangta area are likely to

have a significant impact on all three species,'' the judge said. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20951932-5005961,00.html

37)

Canberra's controversial $6million international arboretum has been put

on hold after a warning that up to 90 per cent of any of the trees

planted could have been lost to the drought. Planting at the 250ha site

west of Lake Burley Griffin was due to start in November but,

ironically, was postponed because earthworks were affected by heavy

downpours. Six species, including the still rare Wollemi pine, the

Camden white gum, maiden hairs and giant sequoias, were to have been

planted.The ACT Government has deferred the project until at least next

autumn after receiving advice that the valuable trees were unlikely to

survive because of the continuing drought. In late October, Chief

Minister Jon Stanhope defended the plantings while the territory

prepared for the most severe water restrictions in its history. A

minimum of 1300 kilolitres of water a year would be needed to irrigate

the arboretum, with the Government issuing an official bore water

licence for the site. As a result of the latest delay, the Wollemi pine

and the Camden white gum will have to be repotted into larger pots at a

cost of about $12,000. However, ANU professor Peter Kanowski, who is

advising the Government on the project, said yesterday that the cost

was minor in light of the 100-year investment. " My advice is it is not

a risk worth taking, " he said. Professor Kanowski said that in 1919-20,

Canberra also had been in significant drought. Of the 48,500 trees

planted before 1921 at Greenhills the site for the planned arboretum

only 1000 had survived. http://wimmera.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=breaking%20news & subclass=general & story_id=5408

05 & category=General & m= & y=38)

A forest conservation group has accused the Department of Environment

and Conservation (DEC) of allowing logging in old-growth forest halfway

between Pemberton and Northcliffe in Western Australia. The Global

Warming Forest Action Group recently visited the Crowea 10 coupe,

saying it contains areas of old-growth forest that cannot be logged.

However, the Forest Products Commission was due to begin logging

shortly and already has infrastructure in place. Action group spokesman

Mark Sheehan says while it is concerned other areas of old-growth have

been approved by the department for logging, it is pleased with the

department's response. " We're happy that the DEC has now called for an

assessment of old-growth forest to be carried out by the Forest

Products Commission, of which they'll be doing very shortly, " he said.

" They've halted all operations in Crowea 10 coupe until this survey has

been done. " The DEC's manager for the Warren region, Peter Keppel, says

it knew about the areas of old-growth forest before being approached by

the action group. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1814561.htm