Guest guest Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Today for you 40 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) Bowan island sprawl, 2) Big land grab by coal operators, 3) ecosystem-based management, --Washington: 4) State's largest conservation area is now 30,000 acres --Oregon: 5) County's want more state land logging, 6) Berkeley treesit--California: 6) Berkeley tree-sit continues on, 7) Dead, dying logging plans, --Wisconsin: 8) Oldest state forest--Indiana: 9) Environmental groups lost their appeal on Hoosier NF --Minnesota: 10) Sale-driven model of forestry is short sighted and dangerous--Pennsylvania: 11) 500 additional acres forever protected,--New York: 12) New York Old Growth Forest Association--USA: 13) Six-legged walking harvester, 14) More economic harm than good, 15) Forestry as disinformation, 16) Wildland firefighters save homes for free, 17) Invasives--Canada: 18) Manitobans for park reserves, 19) Alberta's beleaguered woodland caribou, 20) Largely intact and truly wild forests, 21) McGuinty promises,--European Union: 22) Biofuels--Mozambique: 23) Sustainability amidst poverty?--Gabon: 24) Earns forest certification--Kenya: 25) Aberdare forest--Uganda: 26) Nine reserves as forest giveaways, 27) Giveaways are unconstitutional, --South Africa: 28) Knysna forest--Peru: 29) Occidental Petroleum pulls out--Madagascar: 30) Sucker-foot Bats--South East Asia: 31) Deforestation in Kalimantan, Suamtara, Java, Sulawesi, Papua--India: 32) Around 20,646 hectares of forest will be lost to new dam --Malaysia: 33) Mega-biodiversity--Borneo: 34) More orangutan orphans--Indonesia: 35) Forest fire surveys--Australia: 36) Aborigines win land back, 37) legislation to counter a species protection, --World-wide: 38) Selective logging may be more damaging than realized, 39) Cattle as the greatest threat to climate, forests and wildlife, 40) Carbon Credit Support ProgramBritish Columbia:1) " We're getting the highest pricing for waterfront that Bowen Island has ever seen, " Sorensen says. He doesn't expect the market to slow down either. "…but I don't think we can be negligent about our response to land, " he says. " If we'd wanted to clear-cut the property, there would have been no legislation to stop us. " Sorensen, who co-owns Sorensen Fine Homes, will also offer home-building services, priced from about $350 per square foot. It's a first for the 12,997-acre island of about 3,500 residents. The result situates building envelopes into existing clearings where they naturally fit, says Sorensen, and there is no blasting permitted for new home sites. Homes have to be built according to a flexible style guide, he says. Vinyl, aluminum or steel is prohibited. There isn't a box store in sight. No traffic jams -- well, the ferry terminal excepted -- or road rage. No sirens. " It's very romantic, dreamy and special, " says Sorensen of the property. The development plans don't include any fancy recreational centers -- no swimming pools, gyms or coffee shops -- but Sorensen says, this doesn't matter: The 41 empty lots range in size from about a half-acre to 1.29 acres, priced from $349,000 to $1.49 million. Since going on-sale last month, six of the fully-serviced lots have already sold. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoasthomes/story.html?id=72a9e11e-36a1-4e22-92b7-87 1d70082eb52) It appears Compliance Power's plans are not limited to the Princeton / Tulameen / Similkameen valley Coal Power Plant financed by BC Hydro, but they appear to have similar plans for the area between Courtenay and Campbell River -see corporate presentation below. Slide 19-20 show maps of the 40,000 hectare coal titles immediately west of the Island Highway at Courtenay and slide 22 " timeline " suggests a Vancouver Island Coal Power Plant development begins in 2007!http://complianceenergy.com/present ation/corporate_presentation_oct_2006.pdf They are so confident they will develop an Vancouver Island coal power plant ie: win a bid in the upcoming 2007 BC Hydro call for power, that they put that on their corporate timeline/investor presentation. Now is the time to find a way to derail that ambition! Geza Vamos geza3) Today, a new phrase is striking fear into boardrooms of Coastal forest companies. It is called ecosystem-based management (EBM), and it is the new bogeyman in B.C.'s persistently unimaginative and, predictably, declining forest industry. Parks and protected areas have had a negligible impact on the industry, but live on in the public imagination as having had a huge influence on forestry. Arguably, a much greater impact on forest practices in B.C. could flow from the other shoe dropping on our parks and protected areas strategy, which is the implementation across the Coast of EBM. Already on the Central and North Coasts, EBM is viewed as either a great step forward for forest management, or another blow to a reeling industry. It is being resisted, in some quarters, with a zeal not seen since the pitched battles over places like Clayoquot Sound, the Carmanah, Gwaii Haanas and the Stein Valley. But just like parks and protected areas, EBM is inevitable. It is a natural extension of society's desire to see large parts of B.C. protected, and to see world-class forest management occur in places where harvesting is permitted. Some in industry resist EBM as just another set of onerous constraints that adversely affect planning and harvesting, and endanger economic success. Other, more visionary, companies will welcome EBM as a crucial opportunity for the industry to reposition itself around true ecological, value based forestry within an increasingly competitive global forest economy. Value, not volume, is where the future of B.C.'s forest industry lies, and EBM charts a course towards value that could save our Coastal forest industry. Ecosystem-based management is not a new concept. The U.S. Forest Service, and a host of landowners and land managers across the globe, have been implementing various versions of EBM for decades. For many generations, First Nations have had their own approaches to EBM. In fact, it was only with the birth of the industrial forest industry in B.C. that non-EBM became an operational norm. That began to change when the Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forestry Practices in Clayoquot Sound offered up its version of EBM back in 1995. More recently, the Central Coast and North Coast Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP's) have set aside some 35 per cent of the land base into conservancy areas, and have designated the remaining lands as EBM forestry areas. Truck Logger Magazine, Winter 2007, Volume 9 - Number 4, Pages 79 – 81Washington:4) SULTAN - In a single move, the Department of Natural Resources this week created the state's largest conservation area while protecting a key source of drinking water for 80 percent of Snohomish County. The state agency added 4,065 acres to existing conservation areas it manages in the Upper Sultan Basin north of Index. The move links the Greider Ridge Natural Resources Conservation Area with that of Morning Star and Mount Pilchuck for a total of 30,374 acres. The new designation means the mostly mountainous terrain will remain untouched by logging. As such, the move also protects the parcel's next-door neighbor: a key reservoir that feeds the Everett municipal watershed, providing drinking water to about 500,000 people. Protecting the Spada Lake reservoir is key. " It's the only one we've got, " said Tom Thetford, utilities director for Everett. The move will reduce accessibility to the area, since the DNR will eventually stop maintaining the roadways there, Thetford said. The state agency will continue to keep up roads that lead to recreational areas the city has around Spada Lake, however, until its license on them expires in 2011. After that, it likely will be up to the city and Snohomish County Public Utility District to maintain the roads. http://heraldnet.com/stories/07/01/06/100loc_b1spada001.cfmOregon: 5) Tim Josi is a commissioner from Tillamook County, home to no less than half the state's forestland. Tim Josi: " That plan is now finished and the tacit understanding that we had with the department and the Board of Forestry at the time was if the numbers didn't come up close to what the expectations were then the plan needed to be opened up. " Josi says Tillamook County -- along with 14 others in Oregon -- relies heavily on timber revenues and the middle class jobs that logging creates. Tim Josi: " This isn't just about the county general fund receiving more money. This is about all of the people in my county and what the impacts of these timber revenue have on the lifestyle and livability in the community. " In an effort to satisfy the timber counties, assistant state forester Paul says three timber sales were recently added to this year's plan. Jim Paul: " We've sort of turned over all the rocks and given the current plan, making sure we're doing everything we can to produce timber but to also insure all the other values that the plan wants to achieve, tries to achieve. " But those three sales are not going over well with environmental groups. Donald Fontenot: " Well we all know that the timber industry and the counties have an insatiable appetite for timber and it's up to the Board of Forestry to curb that appetite and follow the forest plan as it's written. " http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article & ARTICLE_ID=1020249 & sectionID =1California:6) Berkeley, California-As three earthquakes registering over 3.5 on the Richter scale punctuated the debate about a major UC Berkeley construction project on the Hayward fault, site of the recent earthquakes, opposition to the project is growing by leaps and bounds. Three lawsuits with no fewer than 13 plaintiffs will have a hearing in court on January 11, the seismic safety issue being primary in all of these suits. A similar lawsuit brought by the City of Berkeley has a hearing scheduled for January 18, and on January 5, a fourth lawsuit against the University is expected to be filed by the " Save Tightwad Hill " group. A request for an injunction to halt the Univeristy's construction plans until the legal actions are resolved will be heard before Judge Laurence Apel on Jan. 11 in District Court at 600 Washington St. in downtown Oakland. It is open to the public. Meanwhile, the grove of heritage oaks at issue in this debate remains occupied by intrepid tree-sitters and their support crews, after a month of rain storms and cold weather. To celebrate the one-month anniversary of the tree-sits, activists will hold a " spiral dance " at the oak grove on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 2 pm. A spiral dance is a celebratory ritual often held on earth-based holidays like summer solstice and Halloween. A diverse collection of people have contributed their voice and resources to the opposition to the university's massive construction project, scheduled to begin in a couple months on the site at the east end of UCB campus on Piedmont Avenue north of Bancroft. Students, City of Berkeley officials, the Panoramic Hills Neighborhood Association, the non-profit Save the Oaks at the Stadium (SOS), Rainforest Action Network, Earth First!, the California Oaks Foundation, the California Native Plant Society, and many community members have either joined the legal actions as plaintiffs, or otherwise campaigned to stop the ill-advised sports stadium expansion. Karen Pickett kp7) It is estimated that 13 million trees are dead or dying in the San Bernardino National Forest. Removing the trees and turning them into pallets is good forestry and smart fire safety. Priority Pallet Vice President Kathy Dietrich said, "I'm very excited that we are able to create jobs and improve forest fire safety." Riverside County Economic Development Agency (EDA) Assistant County Executive Officer Robin Zimpfer said, " This grant helps us turn something that has been a hazard and a danger into jobs and positive economic development for Riverside County." The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service needed a way to ensure that the dead trees were reused and not burned or sent to landfills. It issued a $1.3 million federal grant to the EDA that allowed it to take applications on what to do with the dead trees and award Priority Pallet with funds to reuse the diseased trees in an environmentally proactive way. http://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2007/01/05/news/05news.txt Wisconsin:8) It's only 30 miles long and just a few miles wide, but Wisconsin's oldest state forest is among the most storied outdoor landmarks in the Northland. And it's 100 years old this year. The Brule River State Forest was commissioned in 1907 after lumber baron Frederick Weyerhaeuser deeded 4,320 acres to the people of Wisconsin. The state forest has since grown to encompass about 80,000 acres, of which about 41,000 is state land, along one of the nation's most famous and visited trout streams. It is now one of nine state forests in Wisconsin totaling 514,000 acres. The Brule River meanders its entire 44-mile path through the forest and remains the focal point for the more than 100,000 people who visit each year. For many, the attraction is fishing. For others, it's a whitewater canoe or kayak trip. Still others seek solitude in hiking, cross-country skiing or picnics. All that takes place alongside snowmobile and ATV trails and in conjunction with commercial logging. It's done amid islands of private property scattered inside the forest borders. And it's all just 30 minutes east of the Twin Ports. http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/articles/index.cfm?id=21520 & section=Outdoors & property_id=9 & foru mcomm_check_return & freebie_check & CFID=13912537 & CFTOKEN=80634897 & jsessionid=883022c3329864215576Indiana:9) Indiana environmental groups lost their appeal of a federal plan that would allow increased logging in the Hoosier National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service rejected the appeal filed in July by Protect Our Woods, Heartwood and Sassafras Audubon Society. " The whole plan is illegal and problematic, " said Karyn Moskowitz, a Protect Our Woods board member. But Gloria Manning, a reviewing officer for Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, wrote last month that the plan " meets the requirements of applicable federal law, regulation and policy. " The plan, released in March, doubles the previous 5-acre limit for clear-cutting for hardwoods. Three public meetings were held on the proposal, and the forest service received comments from 1,500 citizens and environmental groups. Officials have said the plan would limit logging to about 200 acres per year in the sprawling forest, which covers about 200,000 acres in segments stretching between Bloomington and the Ohio River. The groups argued the 15-year plan violated the National Environmental Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and other measures. " We're at the end of the line as far as appealing to the Forest Service, " Moskowitz said. " Now we have to appeal to the courts. " Meanwhile, Moskowitz said the environmental groups will try to stop immediate plans for harvesting trees and conducting controlled burns in Perry and Crawford counties. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070105/LOCAL/701050510Minnesota:10) It is strangely quiet outside now, at 7 pm. Usually in the winter 7 pm is always a quiet time, but last night it was not. The air was ringing with the whining, humming sound of logging equipment. It went on for over 24 hours straight; loggers have so much invested in their equipment that when they get a good sale they can't afford to run fewer hours. A parcel of land that includes a forty acre square that is kitty corner from ours on the southeast is being logged. When all is said and done, part of the view across my swamp will be altered considerably. And 120 acres will be trampled, cut over, and left to new succession. I should not be so concerned; it's just third or fourth growth aspen, which is regularly cut on a thirty year rotation around here. It will grow back, and ruffed grouse thrive in early succession aspen forest. The Hermit even earns his paycheck now encouraging land managers to manage for early succession aspen for ruffed grouse. It's what a certain group of hunters want. I'm all for the local person making a living off logging. However, I can't help but think this sale-driven model of forestry is short sighted and dangerous. Far too much of the public forest land around here is managed for aspen, cut on a thirty year rotation, at the cost of diverse forest habitat. Sure, a few species might thrive in early growth aspen, but so many others, which are declining in numbers, require a mixed hardwood/conifer landscape with varying degrees of maturity. The county administers the majority of forest lands around here, most of it tax-forfeited since the 1930's, when people gave up on this area as farm land. But the county, in my opinion, lacks vision in managing this valuable resource; if it benefits a logger in the short term, it's good business. Never mind that other low impact logging models have shown good promise elsewhere. http://whitepines.blogspot.com/2007/01/log-thon.htmlPennsylvania:11) MEADVILLE — Pennsylvania's diverse wildlife has nearly 500 additional acres forever protected across the state thanks to local conservationists and a $3.5 million commitment from The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania. The 50-year-old conservation organization, whose mission is to protect the diversity of life on earth, identified five critical parcels that are habitat for Pennsylvania's unique biodiversity and, through acquisition and conservation easements, took action to protect the land for future generations. The newly protected habitat includes a riparian corridor along the pristine French Creek near Meadville in Northwestern Pennsylvania's Crawford County, endangered Bog Turtle habitat in Cherry Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, woodland vernal pools at Minsi Lake in Northampton County and South Mountain in Cumberland County, and old-growth forests at Woodbourne Preserve n ear Dimock. The acquired riparian corridor along French Creek, a major tributary of the Allegheny River, comprises forests and floodplains as well as 1,800 feet of frontage on the famed river. French Creek is the most biologically diverse river in the northeastern United States and contains 28 species of native mussels and 89 species of native fish, including almost all of the native species that were present when George Washington followed the river before the French and Indian War. It is possibly the only river in the entire Ohio drainage whose ecosystem remains this intact. Protection of French Creek helps address numerous threats to this natural area. They include increased inappropriate development and the spread of invasive species such as the tenacious zebra mussel. Loss of riverbank stability and riparian forests, as well as increases in nutrient run-off, can lower water quality and impact the rich variety of aquatic life found here. http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/press/press2780.htmlNew York: " The general rule for finding old growth is that the harder it is to get to, the more likely it's going to be left alone, " Breglia said. He and others with the New York Old Growth Forest Association want to see laws enacted to protect the ancient survivors. " There are all these protections for endangered animals, " Breglia said. " There isn't any sort of protection no matter how large or old a tree is. There are no laws in place unless it's a rare plant. " He pointed to 2001, when the Western New York Old Growth Forest Survey got the state to protect trees within the Zoar Valley Gorge along the Erie and Cattaraugus county line. Those 585 acres contain some of the state's tallest trees -- reaching up to 150 feet high. " We're trying to create as much awareness of such sites as we can, " Breglia said. " I would like to see that we have laws put in place to protect those historic landmarks and to protect what our country looked like. " http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=551167 & category=REGION & newsdate=1/6/2007 USA: 13) It may be the coolest machine to ever to hit the logging industry since Babe the Blue Ox — a six-legged walking harvester. This thing actually steps around obstacles and causes virtually no damage to the forest floor when compared to a tracked or wheeled vehicle. Parker technologies and the logging industry recognize that the logging methods of old needed some modernization to be both safer for loggers and more environmentally friendly. But a 14-foot-tall, forest-walking mechanical ant that can fell and de-limb 700 trees in an 8 hour shift is just too cool not to build – or mention here on Toolmonger. Seriously, this thing makes me want to be a logger, and I hate mowing my own grass. http://toolmonger.com/2007/01/05/finds-walking-harvester/14) Logging on national forest land creates more economic harm than good, according to a recent study by the National Forest Protection Alliance and the Forest Conservation Council. The 75-page report, three years in the making, notes there are dramatic economic and social losses when forests are logged under the U.S. Forest Service's timber-sale program. " Past reports have only looked at the financial costs of logging, " said John Talberth, lead author of the report. " They have ignored both the external costs of logging and the economic benefits of standing trees. This report includes both. " The report, " The Economic Case Against Logging National Forests, " states that national forest lands are far more valuable to rural communities when trees are left standing, and that the federal logging program creates billions of dollars in unaccounted costs for communities, businesses, and individuals. This expense comes in addition to timber industry subsidies, which cost American taxpayers approximately $1.2 billion a year. Talberth and co-author Karyn Moskowitz examined the economic value of trees to the ecosystem. The benefits of standing trees run the gamut from flood control to water purification to pest control to pollination. National forests supply more than 530.4 million acre feet of clean water each year to municipalities, businesses and rural residents, the report notes. Environmentalists estimate that the value of this water for consumption alone is more $3 billion a year. The authors note that national forests annually filter more than 53 million metric tons of carbon fiber from the atmosphere, a function worth nearly $3.4 billion. Recreation, hunting and fishing in national forests contribute $111 billion to the gross domestic product, generating 2.9 million jobs a year, the report also notes. As the principal habitat for thousands of pollinators, national forests may contribute as much as $4 billion to $7 billion to U.S agriculture. The report also addresses what economists call " externalities, " costs that are passed on to businesses, communities and individuals when national forests are logged. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/03/16/forest.logging.enn/index.html15) And I maintain that the forest products industry, through its paid legislators and media personnel, DNR and USFS " foresters " , academic " forest scientists " , ad campaigns, and most insidious of all, public school " forestry education " systems (e.g., Project Learning Tree, Leaf, Trees for Tomorrow) has had a decades-long disinformation campaign that in principle and social impact is as insidious as those perpetrated by the tobacco and petroleum industries. A big difference in the case of the forest products industry is that the university connection has conferred a level of credibility the extends through some very rotten land management agencies. When economists, wood products specialists and silviculturists can pass themselves off as bona fide academic " forest ecologists " , something is, as the Bard put it, " rotten in the state of Denmark " -- except, of course, in our case it's any of 50 states. -- William Willers willers16) Surely Americans would still be building homes next to pretty little riversif only they could get insurance -- and count on the federal government to pile up sandbags when the water rose. Only fools still build in floodplains. But in the fire-prone fringe of wild forestlands, a rough equivalent, housing starts are booming. Appetites for woodsy living appear insatiable, and undimmed by a string of bad fire years. Why not? Should a fire break out near your sylvan sanctum, government firefighting agencies, usually led by the U.S. Forest Service, will respond with quasimilitary might. You won't see a bill for their services. And if your place burns down, the insurance money will build you another -- in a new location, unscarred by flames. This is subsidized lunacy, and its stunning impact on U.S. taxpayers is laid out in a recent audit report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, parent agency of the Forest Service. Though sharply worded, it refrains from voicing a conclusion obvious to any reader: Federal firefighting efforts are controlled, in effect, by homeowners who build where they shouldn't, and by local officials who won't enforce reasonable zoning measures. http://www.startribune.com/561/story/916039.html17) About 85 percent of non-native woody plant species growing wild in the U.S. were originally imported for the landscaping and nursery trade. Because the U.S. allows imports regardless of invasiveness, many species make it to public and private lands undetected. Once invasives take root, controlling a single species can cost millions of dollars annually because eradication is often impossible. Florida, for example, has spent about $8.2 million since 1998 to limit the spread of Old World climbing ferns in public lands. These plants were introduced as ornamentals and serve as " flame ladders " during fires. Many other horticultural imports, like English ivy, Brazilian pepper, bush honeysuckles, and Norway maple, also have high environmental costs when they displace native wildflowers, decrease wildlife habitat, or change the availability of water or sunlight. " Invasive plants spread for decades and their economic and environmental costs are severe and increasing, " said biologist David M. Lodge of the University of Notre Dame, one of the study's authors. " Even when we only considered very straightforward costs, it's clear that screening benefits both the economy and the environment. Screening is the next step in improving U.S. policy and completely consistent with our international trade obligations. " http://www.ucsusa.orgCanada:18) Through a Wilderness Committee and CPAWS campaign initiative roughly 1,400 Manitobans contacted government in support of protecting the Park Reserves in just a few short weeks. We commend the government for keeping over 24,000 hectares of Manitoba wilderness from the potential harmful effects of industrial development. It is important, however, to note two key concerns with this announcement. First, Park Reserve protection lasts for just five years, making this extension a temporary solution only. What Manitobans, and in particular Wilderness Committee members and supporters, really want is permanent protection for these areas, as well as an increased amount of permanently protected wilderness in the province. Second, the areas protected on December 14, with the exception of Cormorant Islands, have been Park Reserves for at least five years already. In that time government has not completed the required consultations and planning for any of these six areas, steps necessary to move the Park Reserves into permanent protection. What we now must ask the current government to do is commit to completing the planning and consultations for these areas in order to permanently protect them, moving Manitoba towards a healthier environment and future. http://www.wildernesscommmittee.org19) A provincial organization charged with making plans to protect Alberta's beleaguered woodland caribou has asked the Province to back off on its proposal to direct forest companies to log pine trees in caribou habitat. In a move to control the spreading mountain pine beetle infestation in Alberta, especially in the Grande Prairie region northwest of Edmonton, the Province issued a directive in November for forestry companies to change logging plans to shift their focus to stands of mature pine forest, generally 80 to 120 years old — the favoured habitat of pine beetle and woodland caribou alike. "That's what the pine strategy calls for and we've asked forest companies to help us attain that goal. They are now doing their plans and they will be submitting them to us with the view of trying to reach that goal," said Michel Proulx, a representative of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (SRD). In July, millions of beetles were blown into northern Alberta from Prince George, B.C. by strong summer winds, leaving an estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million infested trees, up dramatically from the 19,000 trees infested trees found in 2005. In comparison, southern Alberta, including the Bow Valley corridor, currently has about 5,500 infested trees. But environmental groups, along with the Alberta Caribou Committee (ACC), established to implement the Alberta Woodland Caribou Recovery Plan and lead caribou conservation in Alberta, have argued that clear cutting old growth forests in caribou habitat could have a disastrous effect on the already endangered woodland caribou. In December, the ACC asked the Province to instruct logging companies to ignore the previous directive in regards to caribou habitat in areas such as the Naraway and Little Smokey regions. http://www.rockymountainoutlook.ca/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=128 & cat=23 & id=805454 & more 20) Take Ontario, for example. We have something here you could search the rest of the world for, mostly in vain: a vast, largely intact and truly wild forest that sustains healthy populations of species, such as woodland caribou and wolverine. These boreal forest animals have all but disappeared from more industrialized areas. The forest is the source of the fresh air and water that feed our cities, and is a storehouse of carbon that is unrivalled in any other ecosystem. The boreal forest contains the essence and spirit of the wild, while also being home to first nations communities that rely on its lands and waters for their cultural and economic survival. In 2003, Mr. McGuinty promised a new approach to protecting this valuable area. Instead of permitting one industrial activity after another, he made a commitment to put conservation ahead of piecemeal economic decisions to cut up the cloth. He did this by promising to conduct "conservation-first" planning for the region and to protect key wild areas before decisions to introduce industrial activities into intact areas are made. It may not have been a high-profile commitment, but it was one of the most far-sighted conservation ideas for Ontario. It recognized the near impossibility of putting the pieces back together in chopped-up natural systems, especially ones that are under increasing stress from a changing climate and other environmental pressures. It also recognized that planning before development is the only way to create true long-term sustainable opportunities for the people who live in this vast region. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070104.wxcoforests05/BNStory/specialCommen t/home21) In 2003, Mr. McGuinty promised a new approach to protecting this valuable area. Instead of permitting one industrial activity after another, he made a commitment to put conservation ahead of piecemeal economic decisions to cut up the cloth. He did this by promising to conduct "conservation-first" planning for the region and to protect key wild areas before decisions to introduce industrial activities into intact areas are made. It may not have been a high-profile commitment, but it was one of the most far-sighted conservation ideas for Ontario. It recognized the near impossibility of putting the pieces back together in chopped-up natural systems, especially ones that are under increasing stress from a changing climate and other environmental pressures. It also recognized that planning before development is the only way to create true long-term sustainable opportunities for the people who live in this vast region. The Premier also promised to do something about species and ecosystems that are under threat. A new Endangered Species Act was promised with the aim to protect the homes and food sources of those creatures that have done poorly in natural landscapes compromised by the expansion of our cities, farms and forestry operations. In a sense, these commitments form the bookends of a new approach to Ontario's landscapes. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070104.wxcoforests05/BNStory/specialCommen t/homeEuropean Union:22) Currently, 97 per cent of the North American transport sector runs on petroleum, with ethanol derived from corn and wheat accounting for the majority of the remaining two to three per cent. However, in the next five to 10 years, it is projected that new technologies will allow liquid biofuels -- like ethanol or butanol -- to be produced economically from biomass such as agricultural and wood residues. This could signal a seismic change for Canada's and the world's agricultural and forest industries. Over the last year or two, there has been a huge surge of interest in biofuels and other forms of bioenergy. Although oil prices have fallen somewhat over the last month or so, they remain relatively high, influencing everything from personal to national budgets. It is certain that uncertainty will continue for oil prices, due to the seemingly intractable conflicts in the Middle East oil-rich countries and the vulnerability of other critical oil producing regions to extreme weather events. Governments in Europe, North America and Asia have embraced biofuels and bioenergy to in part address social and economic concerns over global energy supplies. For example, Sweden has a national target of being fossil-fuels free by 2020, with bioenergy (including the importing of wood pellets from B.C.) playing a key role in attaining this target. http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcreports/2007/07jan04/feuling.htmlMozambique:23) In the struggle for daily survival, people often ignore the importance of environmental sustainability in creating future economic growth. This was the case in Mozambique's Sofala Province, part of a woodland mosaic stretching across 12 countries from Angola to southern Tanzania, Mozambique and northern South Africa. It is home to some of the most beautiful and rare hardwoods in the world. More than 200,000 Mozambicans depend on the revenues generated from the forest sector, a number that increases substantially if those dependent on charcoal and firewood are included. However, according to research by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2004 the country lost 16,724 cubic metres of wood to fuel alone. At the root of this problem are people deskilled by civil war and, as a result, trapped in a perilous downward poverty spiral. In the town of Dondo, members of a small wood-turners' cooperative were making products that were not up to market standards. At the same time, they were targeting a tourism market that didn't exist any more and a local market that was as poor as they were. Because it is tropical, the range of trees is diverse and the timber from these trees is more decorative, more stable and more durable. The intense, rich colors range from deep burgundy to ebony. A plan was developed with the community to cut below the amount allowed by nature for a single year, and then to replant. About 180 trees need to be cut each year, but the nursery capacity has gradually grown and is currently germinating more than 2,500 seedlings. About 80% of the project's wood harvesters and blanks makers were previously charcoal makers, a harmful activity that contributes to chronic diseases, pumps tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere and ravages woodlands. Today, they work as lumberjacks and nurserymen. To improve the income of harvesters and reduce the volume of raw material transported, the project trained and equipped the lumberjacks to prepare the raw timber into machine-ready blanks, which meant the turners could concentrate on their craft. http://www.tradeforum.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1064/In_Mozambique,Communities_Use_Wood,_Save_ Trees.htmlGabon:24) Gabon has become the first African member of the international PEFC Council - the so-called Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes. Behind the bureaucratic name, the PEFC plays an important role to assure trade with wood and paper that only stem from sustainably managed forests. For the Gabonese forest industry, it is quite prestigious to have its home-grown Gabonese Pan African Forest Certification System (PAFC Gabon) admitted into the international PEFC Council. Gabon only becomes the 30th PEFC member in a body totally dominated by Europe and North America. The only other tropical forestry member nations are Brazil and Malaysia. PEFC Chairman Henri Plauche-Gillon welcomed Gabon as the first African country into the council after members unanimously voted in favour of its membership application. The PAFC Gabon certification system aims at becoming the basis of an all African standard - thus titling itself " Pan African " . http://www.afrol.com/articles/23604Kenya:25) The water that fills Lake Naivasha comes from rivers and streams originating from the Abederes mountain range that forms the eastern wall of the Rift Valley. The Aberdares used to be covered by thick forests that trapped moisture, kept temperatures cool, and performed other functions including supplying plentiful rainfall to the area. But massive deforestation has taken place in the Aberdares range and other wooded areas in Kenya over the past few decades. The deforestation has come about from people clearing the land for farms, timber merchants over-logging, government selling or giving away large tracts of forest in corrupt deals, and other forms of mismanagement. This has caused many of the rivers and streams feeding Lake Naivasha and other lakes to shrink or dry up, leading to a drop in water levels. There is also less rain in the area, in part because there is less forest cover to trap moisture and attract cloud cover. John Njoroge, a farmer and conservationist in the Aberdares area, points out grassy plains in the nearby hills that once were forested, but have since been burned and cleared by the local community. Njoroge says he has noticed less rain and changing rainfall patterns. http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-01-05-voa24.cfmUganda:26) Even before the dust raised by the Mabira and Kalangala forests giveaways settles, the new board of the National Forestry Authority has okayed a plan to degazette nine forest reserves in municipal councils across the country. Daily Monitor has learnt that the decision to clear these forests was reached after a series of closed door meetings by the board in December. Some of the forests being targeted are in Nebbi, Moyo, Fort Portal and Entebbe among other municipalities. The Chairman of the NFA board Baguma Isoke on Wednesday confirmed the development. " Leaders in town councils and municipalities applied to us to degazzette these forest lands so that they find space for development. We have agreed to give away these lands that have been caught up (sic) with development, " he said. Mr Isoke said the giveaways would happen when municipal councils provide alternative land where new forests will be planted. " http://allafrica.com/stories/200701050807.html27) Deforestation schemes by government are not only outrageous, they are in total contravention of the constitution. For starters, a land use permit does not have or cannot have the effect of changing the land use/regime of an area protected under Article 237(2) (b) of the constitution read together with Articles 39 and 245 of the constitution. Worse still, the forest land giveaways are done without any Environmental Impact Assessment and in essence violate the citizens' rights to a clean and health environment as provided for in the constitution. The forest giveaways have now attracted international condemnation. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has warned that the current natural forest reserve giveaways to private investors not only contravene our municipal (statute) laws but international instruments including the Convention on Biological Diversity to which Uganda is a signatory. It's quite ironic that Wilmar International, a co- investor with Bidco who are funding the Kalangala palm oil project is a member of the International Roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil production which requires that new planting of oil palm does not replace primary forests or any area containing one or more high conservation values. The Bugala reserves in Kalangala district have been designated core conservation forests and are critical sites for biodiversity conservation in Uganda because of their physical isolation. However, Bidco'company's website, www.bidco-oil.com states that the oil palm plantations will eventually cover 40,000 hectares and will be the largest in Africa. The site says 6,000 hectares have been prepared and transplanting the palm seedlings is underway. http://allafrica.com/stories/200701020903.htmlSouth Africa:28) An article in a recent issue of the South African Journal of Science brings us wonderful news from the famous and very popular Knysna forest of southern Africa. The Knysna forest comprises 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) and is the largest indigenous forest in South Africa. The fauna and flora are abundant and include many exotic species, including yellow-wood, stinkwood, ironwood, blackwood, Cape chestnut, and white alders; some of the trees have been dated to be 400 to 800 years old. The forest is dense in places and almost impossible to penetrate. The forest houses the Knysna Elephant and is a favorite tourist attraction in southern Africa. A pair of botanists from the University of Cape Town and South African National Parks began their article on the Knysna forest noting "The present and predicted future impacts of global environmental change on intact forests are both alarming and contentious" and that "some local models have predicted the demise of South Africa's only significant extent of indigenous forest, the Knysna forest, by 2050." Midgley and Seydack then state "There is thus a need for a local perspective on this debate, which we aim to provide here by an analysis of a decade of growth of the Knysna forest." Well, everything seems just fine in the forest. They found that basal area and above ground biomass had increased by 2% over their 10-year study. They also found that rainfall was 5% below average during the study period which led them to conclude "Changes in these rates may have been the effect of the increase in global atmospheric carbon dioxide, rather than to enhanced local precipitation because precipitation was average." Midgley and Seydack end by stating "At this stage, therefore, there appears to be no sign of the effect of environmental change on the above-ground biomass of the Knysna forest." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1762877/postsPeru:29) Occidental Petroleum, a Los Angeles-based oil and gas company with over $6.5 billion in total current assets, decided to cease all operations in a highly-sensitive and diverse region of northern Peru today, called "Block 64," home to the Achuar people. Occidental has a checkered past for sure, including lawsuits for possible involvement in the murder of local workers in Columbia back in 1998, and a futuristic employee-locating technology called "personnel badges," that raised some eyebrows in the business community this past year (kinda like tracking employees like we track dogs and wildlife). But perhaps the darkest piece of their past involves an utter lack ofresponsibility for cleaning up over 30 years of chemical waste due to their drilling operations in the region. In a move reminiscent of Exxon dodging cleanup payments after the Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound back in 1989, Occidental Petroleum is throwing integrity to the wind and tossing a multi-million dollar cleanup effort to Pluspetrol, the Argentine oil company who bought them in 1999. Government health studies have found that Achuar Indians in the zone suffer high blood concentrations of cadmium and lead — a problem that Peruvian officials have said goes back to the 1970s when Occidental operated in the region. Occidental spokesman Larry Meriage said the responsibility for cleanup passed to the new owners of the drilling operations. Sure, legally Occidental is free of any responsibility for cleaning up over three decades of environmental destruction, but can they really sleep at night knowing they poisoned thousands of innocent Achuar community members? http://www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/EC/burling/index.php?page_number=4Madagascar:30) Among the bat families, only one sucker-foot was known all these days. But, its not one, but two bats species that are real suckers! Scientists have recently discovered a second bat species, named Myzopoda schliemanni, that have adhesive organs — or suckers — attached to its thumbs and hind feet. It allows the creatures to climb and cling upright to smooth tree leaves. This new species — belonging to a family of bats — was spotted in the dry western forests of Madagascar, which is found nowhere else in the world. Previously, scientists knew of a sister species of this bat — Myzopoda aurita — that is found only in Madagascar's humid eastern forests. This finding has come as a relief to the conservationists, before its finding, sucker-footed bats were considered endangered. It is because there was only one known species in the family and was also distributed limitedly across the world. And per the discovery of this new bat in a dry forest, the sucker-footed bat family members seem to be capable of surviving even if tropical forests are lost to deforestation. Deforestation is a huge issue in Madagascar where less than 10 percent of the country's original forest cover remains. http://www.greendiary.com/entry/new-found-sucker-footed-bat-species-reveals-their-survival-capa city-even-in-dry-forests/South East Asia:31) About 16 million hectares of Kalimantan forests are in a critical condition because of illegal logging and mining activities, as well as forest fires. In South Kalimantan, 560,000 hectares are damaged; in West Kalimantan, 5.1 million hectares; in Central Kalimantan, 4.1 million hectares; and in East Kalimantan, 6.3 million hectares. According to Heru Waluyo, Head of the Kalimantan Regional Environment Management Center, Kalimantan used to have 54.7 million hectares of forest. "Today, Kalimantan forests have already been destroyed by human beings," he said yesterday (01/03). The percentage of environmental damage in Kalimantan is 43 percent, like on Sumatra, whereas the situation is worse on Java and Sulawesi with 80 percent. "It is only Papua that has 70 percent of its area covered with forests," said Heru. As a result, some regions in Kalimantan are subject to flooding and landslides in the rainy season. http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2007/01/04/brk,20070104-90610,uk.html India:32) Officials of the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) will be coming to Manipur to inspect the forest areas to be affected by the Tipaimukh Multi-purpose Project for which foundation stone was laid on December 16 last by Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, an official source said though the necessary clearance had been given for the project by the State Government, Chief Conservator of Forest (North East Region) BN Jha had sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of the State for inspection of the forest areas which fall within the project site .Accordingly a team of officials of the Ministry of Forest and Environment would be coming for the inspection. Around 20,646 hectares of forest area falls within the project site and the MoFE officials would go to the project site for the inspection, the source said. The State Government has not yet fixed the exact date for the inspection , the source said, adding that Chief Conservator of Forest, Government of Manipur is trying to consult the NEEPCO authorities in this regard. http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=2..060107.jan07Malaysia:33) Do you know that Malaysia is recognized as one of a dozen countries in the world with mega biodiversity? Many species of plants and animals have thrived here for some 130 million years. We have one sixth of the world's total animals species or some 180,000 species. Of these, more than three quarters are invertebrates, with insects forming the largest single group. The rest are made up of butterflies, moths, birds, mammals and fishes. Roaming deep in our jungles are tigers, elephants and rhinoceros. Other interesting animals that evoke much interest are orang utan, proboscis monkey, tapir, deer, mouse-deer, leopard, civet cat and pangolin. Our tropical forests are also bursting with over 15,000 species of colourful flowering plants or nine per cent of the world's total. Here, you can find unique plants like the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia, and the world's smallest orchid variety, the Podochilus. Then there are carnivorous pitcher plants of many shapes and hues. Definitely worth mentioning is the Tualang, the world's tallest rainforest tree that can soar up to 80 metres. These are like guardian angels of our forests, touted to be among the oldest and most ancient on Earth, much older than the equatorial forests of the Amazon or the Congo. About half our country is still covered by forests. Dotting our coastlines are mangroves, peat swamps and mud swamps that act as buffer against the onslaught of eroding waves. Several other types of forests also dot our land, like lowland dipterocarp, sub-tropical montane forest and mossy forests. The mossy forest of Gunung Brinchang in Cameron Highlands is an outstanding place for you to see and feel how ancient the forest there is. Green mossy carpets and curtains in cool, misty setting give a fairylike feel. There are coral gardens with lichen and liverwort, a funny looking fluffy moss that had evolved from its beginnings as an aquatic plant. Scientists suggest that this place was under water ages ago. http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20070101104635/Article/ Borneo:34) ONCE again, I am driving, under the blazing equatorial sun, down an uncomfortable, rutty relic of a road into the interior of central Borneo. With me are two uniformed police men, one armed with a machine gun. The landscape is bleak, no trees, no shade as far as the eye can see. Our mission is to confiscate orangutan orphans whose mothers have been killed as a result of the sweeping forest clearance taking place throughout Borneo. Without forests, orangutans cannot survive. They spend more than 95 percent of their time in the trees, which, along with vines and termites, provide more than 99 percent of their food. Two forests form their only habitat, and they are the tropical rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Sumatra is exclusively Indonesian, as is the two thirds of the island of Borneo known as Kalimantan. That places 80 to 90 percent of the orangutan population, which numbers only 40,000 to 50,000, in Indonesia, with the remainder in Malaysian Borneo. What happens in Indonesia, particularly Kalimantan, will determine the orangutan's future. When I first arrived in Central Kalimantan in 1971, orangutans were already endangered because of poaching (for the pet trade and for the cooking pot) and deforestation (by loggers and by villagers making way for gardens and rice fields). But it was all relatively small-time. The forests of Kalimantan were vast — Indonesia's are the second largest tropical rain forests in the world, after Brazil's — and forest conversion rates small. People still used axes and saws to cut down trees and traveled by dugout canoes or small boats with inboard engines. I went straight to work, beginning a wild orangutan study that continues to this day, and establishing an orangutan rehabilitation program, the first in Kalimantan, which has returned more than 300 ex-captive orangutans to the wild. But the wild is increasingly difficult to find. In the late 1980s, as it entered the global economy, Indonesia decided to become a major producer and exporter of palm oil, pulp and paper. Before this, the government had endorsed selective logging. Now vast areas of forest were slated for conversion to plantations to grow trees for palm oil and paper production. Monster-sized bulldozers, replacing the chain saws of the early logging boom, tore up the forest, clear-cutting as many as 250,000 acres at once for palm oil plantations. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/06/opinion/06galdikas.html?_r=1 & oref=slogin Indonesia:35) Researchers have confirmed a long-suspected link between logging and the devastation of forest fires in tropical rain forests. Forest fires that ripped through East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in 1998 burned more than 12 million acres (5 million hectares). The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), based in Bogor, Indonesia, estimated that the economic loss to Indonesia exceeded U.S. $9 billion and that carbon emissions were high enough to make the country one of the largest polluters in the world. Using remote sensing, satellite imagery, and ground and aerial surveys, a team of German and Indonesian researchers found that the bulk of the roughly 12 million acres (5 million hectares) consumed by fire occurred in timber concessions, plantations, and on land converted to agricultural use and then left fallow. Fire damage was by far the worst in areas that had been recently logged. Almost two-thirds of the pulp wood plantations in East Kalimantan were destroyed by the fires. Less than one million acres (400,000 hectares) were in protected, and presumably pristine, forests. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/12/1203_loggingfires.htmlAustralia:36) ABORIGINES yesterday won a ten-year fight for control of World Heritage-listed rainforests in the centre of Australia's wealthy east coast, sealing one of the country's biggest native land deals. The Githabul people - ten families comprising about 250 individuals - will help manage 19 national parks and state forests covering 3,700 square miles in New South Wales, including mountain peaks said to be home to powerful ancestral spirits. The area lies beside some of Australia's most pristine coastal scenery, including the Byron Bay resort and tourist beaches and cities of southern Queensland. In 1992, Australia's High Court ruled Aborigines had a right to ancestral lands used before white settlement and a lower court ruled in favour of a native land claim over the city of Perth, although the government has appealed against that decision. As part of the agreement, to be formally signed later this year, the Githabul tribe gave up any claim on farmland within its traditional area. The tribe was given native title rights over the national parks and state forests, and freehold title to an unused nursery, an old forest rangers' station and three sacred sites, including a water spring and mountain. Trevor Close, one of the claimants, said the agreement would allow his " people of the rainforest " to hunt, fish and run businesses near the parks without fear of punishment. She said anyone would still be able to drink from the spring and walk in the area. " In Aboriginal culture, we don't own the land, it owns us, " she said. Many of Australia's 460,000 Aborigines live in remote communities with poor access to jobs, good housing, health services and education. They account for about 2.3 per cent of the 20 million population. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1043200737) " The endangered species protection measures that are in place are all based on the premise that you could keep logging, keep farming, et cetera, " Senator Abetz said. The Howard Government has flagged legislation to counter a court ruling it fears could halt logging and the development of agriculture, wind farms and housing across the nation. Forestry and Conservation Minister Eric Abetz told The Weekend Australian the Federal Court's decision last month halting logging in Tasmania's Wielangta forest could have far-reaching implications. While he was still seeking legal advice, legislative changes could be needed to remove a hurdle set by the judgment for land use that affected endangered species. But on one interpretation of the ruling, land users would now need to show their actions enhanced the survival of endangered species. " Potentially, there might even be a situation where a huge paddock or landscape which does not have bush on it but which is a handy hunting ground for the wedge-tailed eagle, for example, could not be converted to housing, " he said. " This is an absolutely pivotal moment in Australian environmental history. Are we going to protect the species listed (as endangered) internationally as the law lays down or are we going to change the law and therefore deliberately send creatures towards extinction? " http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21017752-30417,00.htmlWorld-wide: 38) JOBS NOT TREES yells a bumper sticker in the timber country of the western United States, crisply stating one side of a long-running dispute between loggers and " tree-hugging " environmentalists. There is, however, a middle ground in this debate: the system of forestry called selective logging. Only trees of desired species are removed from the forest, leaving other trees intact and ensuring the continued health of the ecosystem. But recent reports on selective logging's effects on a forest's carbon-storing ability may erode the middle ground. In the journal Science (November 11, 2005), a research group led by modeler Daniel Bunker at Columbia University recently reported that carbon storage in a selectively logged forest could be reduced by up to 70 percent if certain species are permanently removed. Bunker's analysis is not the only evidence that selective logging may be more damaging than realized. The Carnegie Institution's Gregory Asner, working with colleagues in Puerto Rico and Brazil, measured forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon caused by selective logging. By tweaking remote sensing methods, they reported in an earlier issue of Science (October 21) that selective logging is degrading the Amazon rain forest at twice the rate previously estimated. In a finding consistent with Bunker's, Asner's team calculated that selective logging adds 25 percent more carbon to the atmosphere than accounted for by deforestation alone, contributing to the " greenhouse effect " thought to drive climate change. " Logging is widespread and cause an important gross loss of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon each year, " says Asner, an ecologist. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=5202539) A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs. The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. - The Independent (December 28 2006) http://billtotten.blogspot.com/2007/01/cow-public-enemy-number-one.html40) Global Forestry Services (GFS) is pleased to announce the launch of their new forestry support programme titled " Carbon Credit Support Programme " . This is aimed at specifically easing and enabeling access to carbon reflected forestry projects. The GFS Carbon Credit Support Programme (GFS CCSP) has been developed in response to the large volume of requests received from the business community around the globe to aid in the development of carbon forestry projects to mitigate the effects of " global warming " and obtain Carbon Neutrality status. The CCSP is comprised of the following objectives: 1) To provide a structure for the design, development and implementation of Carbon Forestry projects to generate carbon offsets & tradable credits; 2) To facilitate comprehensive " project due diligence " to ensure roject viability; 3) Facilitating project development between partner organizations and clients; 4) To support value added services of existing forest management through risk analysis and strategies involving Carbon offsets; 5) To support Carbon Forestry projects and Forest Management through international standards of certification. http://www.gfsinc.biz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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