173 - Earth's tree News

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Formatted for wide margins! If you don't have wide margins use the weblog instead!Today for you 42 news items about 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---Alaska: 1) Comments needed to save Tongass NF, 2) State's Pulp liquidation scheme--British Columbia: 3) 30,000 deregulated hectares draws protest, 4) Windstorm salvage, 5) In-SHUCK-ch Nation celebrates logging, 6) Demise of Forestry schools, 7) Victory in Taku Watershed, 8) Big Mother has fallen, 9) KWAKIUTL Band challenges government,--Oregon: 10) Wallowa-Whitman logging plans panned--California: 11) New Wilderness bill introduced, 12) Pacific Lumber still a swindling,--Montana: 13) Locked gates now are everywhere, 14) Spatial distribution of forest loss,--Colorado: 15) Recreation comments needed for Pike and San Isabel NF--North Carolina: 16) Declining forest industry collapsing slower than textile industry--USA: 17) Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007, 18) feds plan 68% increase in logging, 19) Healthy Lands Initiative, 20) Conservation easement, --Canada: 21) ForestEthics disputes FPAC, 22) $127.5 million in subsidies for big timber, 23) Widespread failure to enforce logging laws that protect migratory birds, 24) Gold and diamond industry to protect Canada's Boreal Forest, 25) Spanish Forest info,--Finland: 26) Metsahallitus begins new roads leading to planned logging sites--Mozambique: 27) Illegal logging continues to flourish--Mexico: 28) UN wants Mexico to restore forests to improve climate--Peru: 29) Scientists' do another Rapid Biological Inventory--Brazil: 30) Raising money for the Xavante Indians, 31) Getting bats to do restoration, 32) Human disturbance more extensive, 33) Syngenta loses land, --Guyana: 34) Conservation trees to be logged, 35) China's $100 million for logging,--Haiti: 35) Cooking for less deforestation--China: 36) Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper Co stopped from taking over state land--Madagascar: 37) Lemurs in Ranomafana National Park--New Zealand: 38) Droughts are good for both livestock and land clearing--Australia: 39) hard to find good trees for the sawmill, 40) massive native forest clearfelling on Melville Island, 41) Wellsford State Forest a national park?, --World-wide: 42) Governing council of United Nations Environment Program meets,

Alaska:1) Time is running out to save America's rainforest from the chopping block. And this is your chance to protect it. Right now, the Forest Service is deciding how Alaska's Tongass National Forest should be managed for the long term. An initial proposal would allow massive clear-cutting of old growth in roadless areas, putting wildlife populations at risk. But there's good news - before the plan is finalized, the Forest Service must accept public comment. Don't let the administration use our taxpayer dollars to feed America's rainforest to the timber industry. It's destructive and a money-losing venture! The comment period lasts only a short period of time. Don't delay! Last year, as a result of our legal challenge to the forest plan, a federal court ruled in our favor stating that the Forest Service illegally misled the public during the development of its management plan and ordered a plan revision to correct the errors. This revision is nothing short of disappointing. The Tongass is too precious to be destroyed by poor management decisions. Wasting millions of our taxpayer dollars, the administration has already damaged critical habitat for bears, wolves, salmon and bald eagles. Not to mention the large-scale clearcutting of 800-year-old trees that once stood in tall cathedral-like stands. The Tongass is a rare and threatened resource that needs permanent protection. http://www.wilderness.org/2) Alaska's political integrity movement began in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough when residents of all political beliefs got together to stop coal bed methane drilling on their private property and in their neighborhoods. Now it's wood chips. The state and borough propose leasing large areas of the Valley's " backyard " -- our nearby recreational forests -- to be ground into wood chips and fed onto the hungry conveyor at Port MacKenzie. Current 100-acre lease areas off Hatcher Pass Road around Shirley-Towne Road in Willow and along the historic Houston trail are well known to outdoors persons. This is just the beginning. State plans are vague, but it looks like more than 600,000 acres of public and private lands in Mat-Su and Valdez could be chipped. Operations on this scale will leave our nearby wilderness pock-marked. Mass wood-chip operations in Mat-Su are not addressed by state land-use plans, which haven't been significantly updated for decades. However, access to Mat-Su birch forests has been fast-tracked for one private company, NPI, which expects Alaska to provide vast amounts of cheap, healthy birch trees for a short-term mass extraction. The state is, in effect, subsidizing NPI in the risky wood-chip business, competing with places like Indonesia and Malaysia. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/8626778p-8519113c.html

British Columbia:3) Last week, the BC Liberal government deregulated almost 30 000 hectares of land on Vancouver Island by allowing Western Forest Products to take their private forest lands out of their Tree Farm Licenses (TFL's). This opens these forest lands to being sold-off as real estate for suburban developments between Sooke and Port Renfrew, for logging without any real laws (ie. no Forest Practices and Range Act outside of TFL's), for raw log exports in 3 years time (ie. loss of BC milling jobs), and for rampant logging without any restrictions on the rate of cut. These lands also include highly significant stands of Vancouver Island's vanishing ancient red cedars, western hemlocks, and Douglas fir trees - already 75% of Vancouver Island's ancient forests have been cut down. Only a massive push by environmentalists, millworkers, First Nations, tourism operators, recreationalists, and other concerned citizens will protect Vancouver Island's remaining old-growth forests, stop raw log exports, and stop the deregulation of the forests. Visit http://www.wcwcvictoria.org for details in the Feb.1 media release, and for the Globe and Mail and Times Colonist articles. Visit http://www.viforest.org to sign the online petition and to write a letter for Vancouver Island's old-growth forests.4) Fierce storms smashed into the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island late last year, knocking down trees on TimberWest's lands, but CEO Paul McElligott says most can be salvaged with little loss to the company. McElligott said Friday the company has estimated, after ground and aerial surveys, that about 14,000 cubic metres of trees were flattened on the southern part of Vancouver Island. " Salvage plans have been developed and we expect to recover 80 per cent of that before mid-year, " McElligott told a conference call with analysts. " Six salvage operations are underway so, all in all, the losses were not material. " In TimberWest's operations in the northern part of Vancouver Island, the company estimated that trees amounting to less than 1,000 cubic metres were blown over by the storms. http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070209/b020962A.html5) FRA to provide benefits to Lower Lillooet communities, officials say The In-SHUCK-ch Nation and its partners last week celebrated the first load of logs to be shipped out of the Lower Lillooet River Valley under a Forest and Range Agreement (FRA) signed with the Province in 2004. Drumming, singing, and speeches were part of a ceremony in Baptiste Smith, 40 kilometres south of Pemberton along the Lillooet Forest Service Road last Thursday (Feb. 1). The chiefs and council members of the three In-SHUCK-ch bands, representatives of forestry partners Lizzie Bay Logging and community members took part. In 2004, the In-SHUCK-ch signed an FRA that provides for a five-year, non-replaceable forest licence with an annual allowable cut of 130,000 cubic metres. The agreement was part of a province-wide reallocation of timber resources introduced by the Province in 2003, providing for revenue sharing and forest tenure opportunities for First Nations and non-native communities. Last Thursday's ceremony celebrated the first load of logs to directly benefit the In-SHUCH-ch under that agreement, which will either be renewed after five years or replaced by treaty provisions, In-SHUCK-ch officials said in a statement. http://www.whistlerquestion.com/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/0/8A2F6052DC4577BF8825727C005E857E?Open

Document6) This is a global phenomenon. Forestry schools are shrinking or disappearing around the world, for a number of reasons: 1) The first rotation is almost over. Foresters started in Europe. When that was logged out they moved to North America. This is almost finished. meanwhile they are working through Asia and Siberia 2) The world is getting more urban. Try as we might, forestry is a rural or backwoods experience. 3) Students are getting more specialized. Forestry is too broad for most students, who are increasingly taking programs that focus on ecosystem restoration, environmental rehabilitation, etc. Forestry schools are out of date, even though some of them are being rebranded as offering courses in 'forest ecosystems'. 4) Its the economy. Who is interested in taking a two year course to line up for a job that pays today what it did ten years ago. 5) We don't manage like we used to. When I started in silviculture in the 90s the MoF would survey every single cutblock every year until green up. Then they changed the guidelines so it was easier to get greened up, and then they eliminated the requirements for annual surveys. Now we just assume that blocks green up by themselves, and the large silviculture survey contracts have been gone for years. John Cathro cathro7) Many of you may have followed the battle over the past decade against a proposed 180 km long mining road in the Taku Watershed in northwestern BC, a campaign which the Wilderness Committee has weighed-in on from time to time. The Taku Watershed is the largest unroaded watershed off North America's Pacific Coast and is the third largest salmon producing river in Canada, after the Fraser and Skeena Rivers. A mining road would have jeopardized its numerous salmon streams, allowed major access for trophy hunters, and opened the area up for various mining and logging projects. But last week Redfern Resources announced they were finally abandoning plans for the road. Excellent news!! A great thank you to the Taku River Tlingit First Nations and to David Mackinnon, Nola Poirier, and Chris Zimmer of the Transboundary Watershed Alliance who led the battle against the mining road for years, and for all of YOU who have written-in and spoken up for this exceptional big wilderness. However, Redfern is now interested in barging-in supplies up the river in order to access the old Tulsequah Chief Mine, a highly polluting, multi-ore mine originally abandoned decades ago. Not only is the mine a threat to the salmon, but reopening the mine could lead to other developments in the area. So keep your eyes open as the campaign progresses and support the Transboundary Watershed Alliance at http://www.riverswithoutborders.org8) By the time Captain James Cook became the first European to land on Vancouver Island, in 1778, it was already a towering giant. But when the western red cedar that came to be named Big Mother fellh recently in the forest on Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound, there was no one there to witness the end. " It's down and it's a tragedy, " said Wayne Barnes, a nature photographer who found the fallen tree, near Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island, on the weekend. Mr. Barnes had gone to Meares Island to see if the recent wild storms that have plagued British Columbia had damaged any of the giants standing along the aptly named Big Tree Trail. He was shocked to discover that " Big Mother, " which is off by itself in a sheltered grove and was the fourth-tallest western red cedar in Canada, had been torn out by the roots. He climbed up on the giant trunk and walked along it to the crown, getting a sensation that he was walking to the tree tip. " It was a very surreal experience. I've never done that on such a large tree before, " said Mr. Barnes, who wondered about the tree's history as he worked his way toward the top. Although it is thought to be about 1,000 years old, it could be older. An attempt will be made to age the tree by using one of the branches. " When these giants go, there will never be another to replace it because we are logging in 80-year cycles now and there just isn't a chance for trees like this to grow back. " These giant old trees you find in the remaining first-growth forest are like our dodo birds. They are leaving us slowly, but surely. Once they are gone they will never come back. " http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070207.BCBIGTREE07/TPStory/National

9) We learned of the BC Government's approval of Western Forest Product's application to remove private lands from its Tree Farm License via news broadcasts. Western Forest Products historically has been blatantly allowed to disregard their obligations by your " watchdogs " to notify First Nation communities of their harvesting plans. These plans have, and always will have, the end result of infringement on our Treaty and Aboriginal rights and title as it exists for our traditional territory. This situation is further exacerbated by non-notification from your office of the recommendation to approve Western Forest Product's application. It should be obvious to your ministry that there is the obligation to meaningfully consult and accommodate with First Nations and that message should have been strongly stressed to Western Forest Products. Western Forest Products has touted that it has good relationships with First Nations communities on its website but when we look at our relationship with them, the Kwakiutl First Nation must protest that Western Forest Products and Ministry of Forests and Range do not entirely follow legislated protocol. --KWAKIUTL BAND COUNCILOregon:10) An environmental group based in La Grande is urging the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest to trim the size of a proposed timber sale near Unity that would rank as one of the larger logging projects on the forest since 1990. The Hells Canyon Preservation Council also suggests the Wallowa-Whitman study in more detail how the Mile 9 project might affect the environment. Larry McLaud, the Preservation Council's ecosystem conservation coordinator, wrote in an e-mail to Whitman District Ranger Ken Anderson that because the Mile 9 project " has the potential of having a significant impact to the environment, " the Wallowa-Whitman should write an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In the comments he e-mailed to Anderson, McLaud wrote that " building roads and harvesting timber have had detrimental effects on this project area in (the) past and continuing these activities are likely to retard recovery in the future. " Wallowa-Whitman officials agree with the first part of McLaud's claim. In fact, officials say, the Mile 9 project is designed to fix some of the problems that past timber sales caused. In those previous sales — including 11 between 1980 and 1995 — the Wallowa-Whitman allowed loggers to cut mostly the older, more valuable trees, especially ponderosa pines. Loggers left the smaller, less valuable trees, mostly grand firs. http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=4651California:11) I am very pleased to let you know that I recently introduced legislation to protect more than 2.4 million acres of federal public lands in California. The California Wild Heritage Act would designate public lands owned by the American people as 'wilderness' the highest level of protection in federal law and segments of California rivers as 'wild and scenic.' These areas would remain open for recreational activities such as horseback riding, fishing, hunting, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing and canoeing. My bill would also protect vital watersheds in our national forests, which are a source of California¹s drinking water supply. In addition, the bill would help protect vulnerable ecosystems and threatened species of plants and animals, such as salmon and trout. Sincerely, Barbara Boxer United States Senate 12) The state is alleging that the Pacific Lumber Co. is using an empty office in Corpus Christi, Texas, as a foothold to file in a friendly federal bankruptcy court there instead of in California, where all but one of its subsidiaries is based. California agencies, including the Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Forestry, are asking a judge to move the proceedings in the complex Chapter 11 case to Oakland. They claim that Scotia Development LLC, created in June, has a mere "phone booth" presence in Corpus Christi. Palco's subsidiaries and nearly all of its creditors, potential witnesses in the case, its timberland (held by Scotia Pacific), the lion's share of its vendors and nearly every employee are located in California, the motion reads. Allowing the case to proceed in Corpus Christi could disenfranchise those with a stake in the outcome of the matter, the agencies' attorneys contend, by making travel difficult and expensive. The Corpus Christi address for Scotia Development is an office building. On a request from the Times-Standard, a reporter from the city's newspaper found the company listed in the building's lobby directory, but was unable to find the suite number it listed. A call to the landlord of the building was not returned. According to court filings, the office is 344 square feet and rents for $550 a month. "This office is, literally, a phone booth used to manufacture venue in Texas for the bankruptcy case," state attorneys wrote in their motion. --Eureka Times StandardMontana: 13) "Most likely if you've hunted much in this county, at one time or another you were on Plum Creek lands. Whether you knew it or not, you were a visitor." When those corporate timberlands change owners, quite a few folks will find fresh orange paint on fence posts and no trespassing signs hanging from nearby trees at some of their favorite getaways. And it's not only access to Plum Creek lands that's at stake, said Mack Long, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park's Region 2 supervisor. Much of Plum Creek's holdings either border or are scattered in a checkerboard fashion among public lands. "The subdivisions people are most interested in block access to large blocks of public land," Long said. "Developers must drool over those properties. If there isn't a public road that comes out on the other side, the public is effectively blocked out of those lands.We have this one chance in time to do something," Long said. "Once it's subdivided, it's gone forever. Anyone who's wondering what Montana will be like 25, 50 or 100 years from now should be thinking about how to go forward with this issue of industrial timberlands." http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/06/news/top/news01.txt

14) Jennifer Alix-Garcia (University of Montana, Dep't of Economics) has posted A Spatial Analysis of Common Property Deforestation on SSRN. Here's the abstract: This paper develops and tests a theory of common property deforestation over space. The model examines both the spatial distribution of forest loss and the total amount of deforestation within a given community, showing how these outcomes are jointly determined. We estimate the equations of the model in a four step process using data from 318 Mexican common properties. In contrast to previous deforestation theories, we find that the allocation of deforestation across space is dependent upon both the absolute and relative quality and location of each hectare land in the same community and on the overall deforestation decision of the community. Simultaneously, total deforestation depends upon the value of deforested land, which is determined by its physical attributes, as well as the characteristics of the community that affect its collective choice problem. Smaller group size, higher secondary education, and greater inequality are associated with lower deforestation. http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/property/2007/02/alixgarcia_on_c.htmlColorado:

15) East, west, north and south, the Wet Mountain Valley is surrounded by forested land, a substantial portion of it within the boundaries of the Pike and San Isabel National Forest. Each year some five million visitors hike, fish, hunt, ski and otherwise recreate in the over 2.2 million acres that make up the national forest which boasts half of Colorado's 14,000-plus foot peaks. Mining, logging and grazing are ongoing economic activities in the national forest and it is also home to many historical and archeological sites, part of the heritage of this area. Now, the Forest Service is asking citizens to tell them what they like and don't like about this big chunk of public property. On Wednesday, Feb. 14, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. the Forest Service is hosting a free public workshop in the community room at Cliff Lanes. During the workshop participants will have a chance to discuss their concerns and visions for the Pike San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands. The federal agency will use these comments, and those gleaned from other workshops, to begin revising the management plan for the entire PSICC. http://www.wetmountaintribune.com/home.asp?i=358 & p=1North Carolina:

16) The forest products industry has surpassed textiles as North Carolina's premier industry in terms of total employment and wages, according to research conducted by North Carolina State University. Statistics compiled by NCSU's College of Natural Resources indicate that the forest products industry employs 103,165 workers statewide, comprises 2,742 facilities and generates annual wages of $3.6 billion. By comparison, textiles employs 82,110 workers, comprises 1,237 facilities and generates annual wages of $2.5 billion. The forest products industry includes logging, wood products, paper and wood furniture, while textiles includes textile mills, product mills and apparel manufacturing. Despite its top ranking in the state, forest products has lost jobs in recent years. In 2002, the industry employed 118,489 workers statewide. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2007/02/05/daily40.html

USA:17) Roadless leaders in the House of Representatives are beginning a co-sponsor drive to reintroduce the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007. Their legislation would codify the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule into law. In the 109th Congress, the House roadless legislation had over 140 co-sponsors. With your help, we can continue to build strong support for protecting our roadless wild forests in the 110th Congress. The deadline to become an original cosponsor of the legislation is February 23. The recent repeal of the Bush administration Roadless rule by Federal Judge Elizabeth LaPorte reinstated the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule that limits road building, logging and other development on about 50 million acres of roadless areas in our national forests. These areas provide unmatched opportunities for camping, hiking, and other recreational activities, valuable habitat for fish and wildlife, and abundant supplies of clean drinking water. Judge LaPorte found that the Bush administration acted illegally in reversing the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Bush administration rule required governors to petition the federal government to protect national forests in their states and would have allowed states to build logging roads through millions of roadless acres of publicly owned national forests. To find out how many acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas exist in your State, go to: www.ourforests.org/local/18) The President's budget calls for a whopping 68% increase in logging (from 2.1 billion board feet in FY06 to 3.5 billion board feet for FY08) and has provided an increase of $41 million to the timber program to reach that goal. Under particularly heavy attack are the lands protected by the Northwest Forest Plan. The Northwest Forest Plan, developed in 1994, ended the bitter Northwest timber wars of the late 80s and early 90s and protected much of the remaining old growth forests in Washington, Oregon and Northern California from rampant clearcutting. The Bush administration has been looking for ways to circumvent the Northwest Forest plan's popular protections and deliver timber to the industry on their way out of office. Signaling their intent to undermine old growth protections, the President's budget increases funding for the Plan that would allow forests roughly the size of 20,000 footballs fields to be logged including clearcutting some of the remaining iconic old growth forests. As a result the region's old growth forests, clean water and salmon runs, habitat for hundreds of rare and imperiled animals and plants, and a part of America's outdoor heritage are put at risk. While the timber sale program gets bigger and bigger with these budget increases, opportunities for the public to recreate on national forest lands grow smaller and smaller. The Recreation, Wilderness & Heritage program is slated for a nearly $30 million cut when it should be increased to meet the public's growing recreational demands. http://www.americanlands.org19) The Healthy Lands Initiative in the FY2008 budget will expand cooperative conservation efforts to help restore nearly half a million acres of western land that hosts world-class wildlife habitat and energy resources and provides major economic benefits to local communities. The $22 million investment combines the wildlife science and land-managing expertise of Interior agencies with the knowledge and experience of local communities, companies and conservation groups to rehabilitate and protect working landscapes. The initiative is expected to leverage at least another $10 million in contributions from state, local and tribal governments, philanthropic organizations, advocacy groups and energy industry partners. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said. "As we seek enhanced energy security through domestic oil and natural gas production, we must maintain healthy lands for wildlife and their habitat.We must actively manage species, such as the sage grouse, to prevent its listing under the Endangered Species Act and to assure the recovery of other threatened and endangered species," Kempthorne said. The initiative, the first of its kind, focuses on projects in six areas facing the greatest challenges in managing natural resources to maintain multiple use. Five of these areas contain the largest onshore reserves of natural gas in the country. Interior's Bureau of Land Management will use $15 million of initiative funding to carry out landscape-scale restoration and enhancement activities in all habitat types, with a special focus on sagebrush, mountain shrub, aspen, and riparian communities. The BLM and other Interior agencies will work in partnership with federal leaseholders, private landowners, state, local, and tribal governments. BLM has allocated its funding for the projects as follows: southwest Wyoming ($4.5 million); northwest and southeast portions of New Mexico ($3.5 million); Utah ($2 million); the three-corner state area between Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada ($1.9 million); south-central Idaho ($1.8 million); and southwestern Colorado ($1.3 million). http://www.doi.gov/news/07_News_Releases/070205c.html20) Encouraged by recent tax legislation, Mr. Garnett has placed a " conservation easement " on much of his property, located about 80 miles from Washington, D.C. The move permanently shields the rolling pastures, timber forests and croplands from being turned into a housing subdivision or business park. Under the easement, which is a binding agreement typically made with a land trust, the Garnett family still owns the land and can continue to use it for farming and timber but most of it can never be developed. Landowners who place conservation easements on their scenic, environmentally sensitive or historic properties have long been able to get tax breaks from the federal government, and some states have also begun offering tax incentives. Now, a little-noticed provision in the wide-ranging pension law Congress passed last summer has made the federal tax breaks even more generous. Conservation groups say this has spurred a sharp increase in the number of landowners interested in placing easements on their property. " The incentives are fantastic, and I don't think a lot of people realize it, " Mr. Garnett says. But the expanded federal incentives, backed by some influential lawmakers from agricultural states, are due to expire at the end of this year, unless Congress acts to extend them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117081063481600278.htmlCanada:21) Today ForestEthics disputed several of the claims made by the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) in its sustainability report, and called on industry to move beyond rhetoric and demonstrate leadership to ensure ecological integrity of forests, sustainable forest communities and respect for Aboriginal rights and title. Claims made recently by FPAC in the report and in the media call into question FPAC's credibility and interest in creating a forward looking, sustainable forest industry. " Canadians and the international marketplace care about global warming, species loss and sustainability and expect more from major industries than misinformation and glossy public relations, " said Tzeporah Berman, Strategic Director with ForestEthics. " If FPAC is truly committed to providing leadership on sustainability issues then it will encourage its membership to support large scale conservation of what's left of Canada's intact forests and ensure that any logging that is done is ecologically responsible and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Anything less is simply tired rhetoric in new packaging. " http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2007/07/c5592.html22) Ottawa will use $127.5 million of a $400-million aid package for the beleaguered forestry sector to address long-term competitiveness, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said yesterday. In a luncheon speech at industry gathering PaperWeek International, Lunn told forestry executives, experts and observers that despite its industry troubles, Canada " is still the best source of sustainable, high-quality forest products. " But new competitors, often plugged into the latest technological advances, are vying for greater market share of a global market growing by about three per cent a year. They have the advantage of cheaper wood, faster growing trees, lower labour costs, and lighter regulator burdens, Lunn said. Over two years, $70 million will be used to promote sector innovation. The freshly minted FPInnovations, based in Montreal and formed by the merger of Canada's three national forest research institutes, will be a key beneficiary of that money. Another $40 million will be used to expand market opportunities for Canadian wood-product producers, while $12.5 million will be used to develop a " national forest pest strategy. " About $5 million will be used by the Human Resources and Social Development Canada Forest Sector Council to identify and address sectoral skills. Segments of the industry are suffering labour shortages. Last month, $200 million of the $400-million package was invested in a federal program to combat the spread of the mountain pine beetle infestation, a plague that devastated B.C. and is working its way east. Another $72.5 million was set aside to help older workers in the forestry sector who have lost their jobs. This week, the industry's laudatory report on its sustainability was overshadowed by a fact-finding report issued by the NAFTA environmental watchdog. Environmental groups said it exposed Ottawa's shamefully lax enforcement of anti-pollution laws governing Canada's pulp-and-paper industry. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/business/story.html?id=ba51e36d-5fe0-4bc8-a345

-4dc137b5922c23) The NAFTA pollution watchdog released two reports yesterday that found the Canadian federal government is guilty of widespread failures to enforce laws requiring forest companies to protect migratory birds and ensure that their effluent doesn't kill fish. When North America adopted its free-trade zone, some feared that Mexico would try to gain economic advantages by failing to enforce its environmental laws. But it turns out that Canada isn't averse to trying to help companies by turning a blind eye to violations of pollution laws and wildlife-protection rules. " Initially, the fear was that it would be Mexico that would be cutting corners on environmental protection to siphon business from the U.S., and now we're seeing quite clearly . . . that Canada, as opposed to being a leader, is being a laggard, " said Albert Koehl, a lawyer with the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. In one case reviewed by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Ontario companies destroyed an estimated 45,000 nests of migratory birds through clear-cutting during the summer breeding season of 2001. Under bird-protection laws, it's an offence to wreck even a single nest. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070206.ENVIRO06/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/

24) Birks & Mayors Inc., operator of luxury jewelry stores, backed a campaign set to protect Canada's Boreal Forest region. Birks claims it is now the first Canada-based jeweler to call for more socially and environmentally responsible production of gold and diamonds. Birks & Mayors signed onto the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, a vision and commitment to the long-term sustainability of Canada's Boreal region. The Boreal Framework was launched in 2003 and is led by the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI.) " For 128 years, Birks has lived by a set of principles to fully meet the responsibilities of corporate citizenship by contributing to the well-being of society and the environment in which it operates, " said Thomas Andruskevich, president and CEO of Birks & Mayors. " We feel it is our obligation, as Canada's leading jeweler, to take the lead in the effort to protect the Boreal region and to support sustainable and responsible mining. " Birks & Mayors now joins Aboriginal leaders in the effort to protect the ecological and cultural integrity of Canada's vast boreal forest. More than 60 companies worth $30 billion in annual sales have backed the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework. " The Canadian Boreal Initiative applauds Birks & Mayors for being the first jewelry retailer to offer its support to the conservation of Canada's Boreal region - an ecosystem of global importance for its intact forest, migratory bird habitat and wildlife, " said Larry Innes, acting executive director of the CBI. http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=16804

25) The Spanish Forest is located in the transition zone between the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region to the south and the Boreal Forest Region to the north. The dominant tree species on the forest are jack pine, black spruce, white birch and poplar. The south-central portion also contains a component of white and red pine with lesser amounts of maple, yellow birch, white spruce, cedar, larch, and balsam fir. The Spanish Forest is the main supplier of softwood timber to Domtar Inc.'s Nairn Centre sawmill. The residual softwood chips from this operation are sent to E.B. Eddy's pulp and paper mill in Espanola. Sawmills in Timmins, Ostrom, Chapleau, Sault Ste. Marie and Thessalon also receive significant amounts of softwood timber from the Spanish Forest. Hardwood species are used mainly by Norbord's Cochrane veneer plant, and Grant's OSB (oriented strand board) plant in Englehart and Timmins. Hardwood is also supplied to mills in Sault Ste. Marie, Thessalon and Wawa. Several other mills receive smaller amounts of wood from the Spanish Forest. http://northeastforest.blogspot.com/2007/02/spanish-forest-management-plan-2010.html

Finland:26) Finnish governmental forestry enterprise Metsahallitus has begun construction of roads leading into the planned logging sites in the Intact Forest Landscape of Pokka-Pulju in Finnish Lapland, the largest area of unprotected old growth forest left in North Finland, just south of the Sammi people's homeland. The forests of Pokka-Pulju are intact, virgin old-growth forests in their natural state. They have never been logged before. The Finnish government will now start industrial logging in this pristine area. This clearing of Intact Forest Landscape is occurring to supply the needs of the Finnish pulp and paper industry despite intense objection from people around the world. http://thepaperplanet.blogspot.com/Mozambique:27) One of the reasons why illegal logging continues to flourish in Mozambican forests is that the country has only ten per cent of the recommended number of forestry inspectors. According to Pedro Mangue, head of the norms and controls department of the Ministry of Agriculture, cited in Friday's issue of the independent weekly " Savana " , the country has just over 400 inspectors. They work out of 57 fixed posts, and there is an additional mobile inspection brigade in each province. This is totally inadequate for a country of around 800,000 square kilometres, much of which is still under forest cover. The figures used by " Savana " suggest that an inspector should be able to patrol, on foot, about 13 kilometres a day. He should effectively control 5,000 hectares. Thus Zambezia province, which contains three million hectares of productive forest, would require 600 inspectors - one and a half times as many as the entire country possesses. In fact Zambezia has slightly more than 30 inspectors. The total area covered by vegetation in Mozambique is estimated at 62 million hectares (or 80 per cent of the country's surface area). Of this area, over 19.7 million hectares is productive forest. This requires around 4,000 inspectors, if the patrols are to be effective. Mangue told " Savana " that the Mozambican state is building a strategy for " participatory inspection " of forests and wild life, that would involve communities in helping ensure that resources are not ripped out of the country, but are managed sustainably. He said the government is well aware of the devastation of forests, notably in Zambezia and in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. These are the areas which seem to be most affected by the illegal logging of precious hardwoods, particularly by companies owned by Chinese citizens. http://allafrica.com/stories/200702090756.htmlMexico:28) Enrique Leff Zimmerman, the coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme in Mexico, on Thursday urged Mexico to seek alternative strategies for the sustainable management of its resources. Leff, one of 80 speakers at International Public Policy Forum on Development, which ended on Thursday in Mexico City, called on Mexico to assume appropriate responsibility for climate change. Climate change is mainly caused by deforestation, forest fires and pollution, he said. He urged Mexico to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the gradual switch from fossil fuels and petrol exports. He said that Mexico should begin a national campaign to restore land and strengthen local economies by training indigenous people and farm workers. This would conserve biodiversity and use natural resources at a more responsible rate, he said. " The ecological use of natural resources would be promoted, benefiting these communities, reducing poverty and giving them food security, jobs in the countryside and improving their quality of life, " he said. He also said there should be a policy of reducing degraded ecosystems, ecological restructuring and promotion of new productive practices. http://english.people.com.cn/200702/09/eng20070209_348867.html

Peru:29) Further along the trail, prehistoric-looking hoatzins flap and yodel above an oxbow lake, the blue patches on their cheeks bright in the late-afternoon sun. Suddenly, the air is alive with activity — a small band of Goeldi's marmosets, among the rarest of the New World primates, is alarmed by approaching visitors and unsure which way to flee. The tiny, jet-black monkeys leap from tree to tree, almost buzzing with fluffy, comical charm as they swarm to safety. "Perfect," says Peruvian ornithologist Christian Albujar, exhaling into the silence left behind. The upper Amazonian region of Sierra del Divisor — almost 1.5 million hectares of highland forest along Peru's border with Brazil — is full of similar delights. But decades of aggressive economic development throughout the Amazon basin have made such vast stretches of contiguous forest increasingly rare — and increasingly threatened. Although Divisor also faces pressure from development, it is still substantially pristine, protected thus far by its remoteness and elevation. Albujar is here to help survey the area's flora and fauna in an expedition organised by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. It will take years of meticulous fieldwork to fully document the region's rich biodiversity, but the group of 13 Peruvian, Brazilian and American scientists will spend just three weeks on the ground. This is a Rapid Biological Inventory, the museum's version of an increasingly popular tool in conservation science — a quick, intensive taxonomic expedition designed to identify areas of particular biological, geological and cultural significance before development and exploitation take hold. The idea is simple. With funds, expertise and time too limited to conduct thorough species surveys of every unknown region, experts, instead, target the most promising areas and quickly assess whether these are worthy of conservation. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=24 & theme= & usrsess=1 & id=146287

Brazil:30) The Brazilian aid group Cidade Movel is raising money for the Xavante Indians who live in the Amazon rainforest by selling ringtones based on their traditional chants. According to a Reuters article tones like " the hunt song " and " the healing dance " have already garnered tens of thousands of dollars for the impoverished community. The group has also created ringtones for two other regions as well: Praia da Pipa and Ponto de Cultura Flutuante. http://www.alrdesign.com/blog/2007/02/call-of-rainforest.html31) Bats can be lured into large areas of destroyed rainforest with fake fruits, researchers have found. This, they say, could be the key to restoring patchy parts of the landscape. South American leaf-nosed bats of the family Phyllostomidae defaecate the seeds of the fruits they have eaten as they fly. This process, known as 'seed rain', aids plant dispersal throughout the rainforest. Gledson Bianconi of the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Rio Claro, Brazil, along with a team of ecologists and chemists, wondered if this efficient seed-dispersal mechanism could be harnessed to restore damaged parts of the rainforest. If bats could be controlled, they thought, they could perhaps be used by researchers aiming to regenerate parts of the forest that had been used as agricultural land or pasture until the topsoil washed away. The team extracted the essential oils of peppers (Piper gaudichaudianum), a favourite meal of some species of leaf-nosed bats, and smothered them on artificial fruits made of foam rubber. They then placed these fruity lures in the midst of damaged rainforest, where bats would not normally bother to fly in search of food. They staked out the forest by night, and waited to see if bats would be tricked into visiting the area. Using night-vision goggles, they saw up to a dozen bats come out of the denser rainforest each night to visit the fruit. The team trapped the bats using nets, and collected their faeces. Inside they found plenty of seeds, they report in Biotropica http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070205/full/070205-14.html32) Human disturbance of the Amazon rainforest is more extensive than previously thought say a team of scientists writing in the current edition of the journal Frontiers in Ecology. Reviewing recent research on the Amazon ecosystem, they note that human activities are affecting the health of the forest and impacting the ecological goods and services the Amazon provides mankind. " Emerging research indicates that land use in the Amazon goes far beyond clearing large areas of forest; selective logging and other canopy damage is much more pervasive than once believed, " the authors write. " Deforestation causes collateral damage to the surrounding forests – through enhanced drying of the forest floor, increased frequency of fires, and lowered productivity. The loss of healthy forests can degrade key ecosystem services, such as carbon storage in biomass and soils, the regulation of water balance and river flow, the modulation of regional climate patterns, and the amelioration of infectious diseases. " In recent years the Amazon has experienced high levels of deforestation, including the largest loss of forest on record between 2002 and 2004. Growing interest in the region's resources and agricultural potential will likely continue to fuel forest clearing and degradation. Further, roads and other infrastructure are opening up once inaccessible regions to development, accelerating human influence in the region. http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0208-amazon1.html " Even more unexpected was the finding that only 16% of the logged area turned into deforested (clear-cut) land the following year, and only 32% of the logged forests were consumed by clear-cut deforestation within 4 years (Asner et al. 2006), " write the researchers. " These results completely change our view of logging as a form of land use in the Amazon: first, selective logging often matches, and can even exceed, deforestation each year; second, for the most part, logging does not immediately precede deforestation – it is a distinct form of forest disturbance in and of itself. In short, the footprint of human activity on the Amazon landscape is roughly double that of previous estimates of deforestation alone (Asner et al. 2005). " http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=68971

33) Syngenta had one of its genetically modified crop research facilities shut down and expropriated by the Paraná state government in southern Brazil. No financial figure has been given, but some estimate losses in the millions of dollars for Syngenta. The 304-acre property was located roughly 3.7 miles from the Iguacu National Park in western Parana state. The park is also home to the immense Iguacu Falls on the Brazil-Argentine border, and is considered a world historic landmark by the United Nations. Roberto Requião, Paraná's governor and a foe of transgenic seed since he was elected five years ago, signed a decree to confiscate the property in November on the grounds that it broke federal environmental laws. Those laws said genetically modified crops couldn't be planted within 10 kilometers (about six miles) of a nature reserve. Syngenta argues it was given permission by the biosafety agency of the federal government, CTNBio, to test transgenic corn and soy on the site. Syngenta has owned the property since 1986 and in November managed to get a federal court to agree the company had been operating legally in the area. Moreover, in early 2006, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva changed the 10-kilometer law. The distance between genetically modified crops and nature reserves has been shrunk to just 500 meters. The Paraná government, the Brazilian Environmental Protection Agency, known as Ibama, agrarian-overhaul activists and their lawyers say the 500-meter ruling doesn't count for Syngenta because they were experimenting with the seeds before the presidential decree was signed. So far, theirs is the dominant view. Syngenta's problems began in March when more than 600 rural workers and unemployed peasants, which make up part of the Via Campesina agrarian-overhaul movement, invaded the site. They argued that the company had no rights to plant genetically modified crops in the area. The protesters remained on the property for months before police finally kicked them out. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117082625977100698.htmlGuyana:34) The Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Con-servation and Development is partnering with Tigerwood Guyana Inc. (TGI) for what it calls 'sustainable harvesting' of some of its forests over the next five years. And TGI hopes to start work in a matter of weeks. Essentially it means that trees earmarked by the conservation centre will be processed into log products which Tigerwood said will be done right here in Guyana and preferably in the areas where the trees were harvested. And Iwokrama justifies its move with the belief of its trustees that the centre " must be master of its own financial house and not solely dependent on official donors with other and understandable priorities " . Iwokrama yesterday unveiled a plan which it noted was approved in April last year by its board of trustees in which it outlines a model of business development. At a simple ceremony yesterday to launch the five-year plan, presented by advisor to the Trustee Board, John Clement, Chairman Edward Glover pointed out that the centre must be able to plan several years in advance, rather than an " uncertain hand-to-mouth existence. " http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56513683

35) Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc, a new company with funding from China, plans to invest approximately US$100M dollars over the next three years for value added processing as well as timber harvesting and hopes to have an annual production capacity of 300,00 to 500,000 cubic metres, the company said at a press conference held yesterday. The company is 49 per cent owned by BUCC, a construction company of China which has businesses in various countries of the world. Funding for Bai Shan Lin comes directly from BUCC, the company said. Speaking at the press conference, the Company's Administrative Manager Karen Canterbury said that to date, more than US$10M worth of various kinds of logging equipment has been brought in from China and other countries. She said that the company has already received a sum of US$5.1M to facilitate the project. " We plan to establish two large-scale timber processing factories in Linden and Georgetown, with a total log capacity of 300,000 cubic metres per year, " Canterbury said. " Towards this end, the company has purchased a sawmill in Linden, which has been previously owned by Jaling Company and discussions have commenced with the Government officials about the expansion of the factory site, " she said. http://guyanaforestry.blogspot.com/2007/02/chinese-investment.html

Haiti:35) Essentially, the traditional foodstuff made of locally grown agricultural products and called Akamil that was used in Haiti had required a tremendous amount of time to cook over charcoal fires in the past, and quickly went to waste on the shelf if not consumed in a timely fashion. Ultimately the charcoal necessary to cook it came from local timber, which helped add to the critical levels of deforestation going on there while much of the food ended up going to waste. So enter this new and improved form of Akamil which takes just 20 minutes to cook as opposed to 60 minutes, and lasts far longer on the shelf than the previous version so a lot less goes to waste before consumption as well. The combined benefits thereby leading to less deforestation in Haiti's Central Plateau as the amount of charcoal needed for cooking is reduced to 1/3 of its original demand, and people can begin to move from subsistence farming towards a cash crop that will improve their lives as the product lasts longer on the shelf once it gets there. http://www.treehugger.com2007/02/college_kids_le.php

China:36) The State Forestry Administration (SFA) yesterday halted Indonesia's Asia Pulp & Paper Co (APP) from buying 58 percent shares of a State-owned timber company in Hainan Province and pulled up some local governments for being involved in timber rackets. Such actions, 10 of which are major, are depleting the country's forest cover, damaging the environment, the SFA said. The APP merger and acquisition plan in the South China island province involved the transfer of 67,000 hectares of State-owned forest. So the SFA asked the provincial government to carry out a thorough investigation before making a final and prudent decision. " Pursuing immediate interests, some local governments have backed or have been directly involved in selling of forest land at very low prices, " SFA spokesperson Cao Qingyao said at a news conference after results of SFA's 2006 national survey on forest resources were released. Among the 10 cases, the most severe took place in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. To build an expressway in Naimai Banner, the provincial communications department grabbed over 350 hectares of forest illegally, and fell more than 6,000 cubic meters of timber since 2005. Other destructive actions included the construction of a hydro-power plant in Muli County of Sichuan Province, 20 mines in Fengcheng, Liaoning Province, and the railway improvement project between Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces. Infrastructure construction projects such as railways, highways, hydro-power plants and power grids have felled a lot of trees without the approval of the forestry department, the SFA said. Illegal mining, too, has caused a lot of damage to forests. Cao told the country's 14 regional forest resource management offices, which are directly under the SFA, to crack down on those felling trees illegally. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/08/content_803968.htmMadagascar:

37) In National Geographic News, "Threatened Lemurs' Diet Key to Conservation Efforts, Researchers Say," Summer Arrigo-Nelson's, an anthropologist who has been working in Madagascar's Ranomafana National Park, research shows us that, "[lemurs] living in unspoiled forest are eating a more nutritious diet than those in disturbed forest, since fruits and their seeds are a potent source of sugars and fats." Arrigo-Nelson came about this conclusion by analyzing a one-year snapshot of deforestation in Ranomafana. In her dissertation, she discusses the effect of habitat disturbance on lemurs; where lemurs in pristine habitat have a richer diet than those in disturbed habitat. Diet is closely tied in with fitness, since nutrition determines body weight, maintenance of pregnancies, and production of high-quality milk for their offspring. Arrigo-Nelson hopes to extend her research to address questions on infant mortality in pristine habitat and how lemurs respond as disturbed habitat recovers. http://primatology.org/2007/02/08/wanna-save-lemurs-give-them-their-food-and-ecosystem-back/

New Zealand:38) " I look forward to a good drought, " he says calmly. " It will give me a chance to tidy up all the poplars and willows that have got away on me in the last few years. " He's not joking - well, maybe a little. The farm he helps run with father Rob and brother Trevor near Waipukurau is an attractive, tree-clad property in the depths of drought country. They are moving to what they call a " natural " farming style - edging toward organics but being extra careful not to sacrifice their stock's health along the way. An integral part of looking after the sheep and cattle welfare and, of course, their own, are the ranks of trees of all kinds that are the heart and lungs of their 400-hectare (1000-acre) farm. Most of those trees are poplars and willows, ranging from the stately 50-year-old Lombardy poplars planted by Rob's father Rae when he bought the farm on his return from World War II to new plastic-sleeved seedlings recently dug in by Martin. The trees that have " got away " on Martin are 20 and 30-year-olds planted by Rob and the 40 and 50-year-olds put in by Rae. Rob learnt their value during the big drought of 1989-90 when he cut branches off to feed to his sheep and cattle. Until then, the use of poplar and willows as fodder was not widely appreciated by farmers, but he had noticed how stock seemed to relish them, with sheep standing on their hind legs to reach hanging willow leaves and quickly scoffing windfalls. He had even seen sheep bending young trees down so other sheep could eat them. So, with his pastures rapidly drying out as the drought progressed he turned to the willows and poplars for feed. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3954145a3600.htmlAustralia:39) Over the last 5 years especially, the timber industry has found it increasingly difficult to find reliable resource supplies. As a consequence the average stumpage rate and haulage distance of native sawlog has risen. Many landholders have more market options in the veneer, pole, and compulsory and salvage grades than before simply due to the fact mills are prepared to haul longer distances. Sawn/graded timber has a market value that is determined by resource costs, processing costs, marketing and delivery costs and profit margin. The market price for sawn timber is influenced by competition, demand and trends. In other words, it is extremely difficult for timber wholesalers to raise the sale price, so in order to achieve a higher profit margin; sawmiller's seek to find efficiencies and savings. The basics of stumpage/royalty (The two terms have become synonymous in the private sector) is that a standing tree has a value determined by a number of factors such as species, wood quality, dimensions, distance to sawmill, quantity of resource in comparison to the scale of the property, property access and terrain i.e. rocky, steepness that impact upon cut and snig costs. Once theses factors have been taken into account and cost of extraction calculated, the mill offers a price. http://www.privateforestrysthnqld.com.au/archives/6941) Perth-based tax minimization company Great Southern Plantations Ltd (GSP) took over a massive native forest clearfelling project on Melville Island north of Darwin (Melville together with Bathurst Is makes up the Tiwi Islands). GSP has been very open about its plans to expand its venture to clearfell around 80,000 hectares of native bush from the Tiwi Islands. The deplorable Great Southern Plantations project is the single largest native vegetation/native forest clearing project in the whole of northern Australia. Last year's clearing of 10,000 ha is comparable to the total annual native forest clearfelling in Tasmania. Many endangered and endemic species live in these forests and in adjacent rainflorest patches which are being degraded as a result of the clearing. If approval is granted, this expansion would be ecologically, economically and culturally disastrous. Following a response on Perth Indymedia to a recent Feature article on the ongoing large-scale destruction of the Tiwi Islands, The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory (ECNT) have corrected several misleading statements made by Mr Ikin of Great Southern Plantations (GSP) in relation to the ongoing destruction of Tiwi Island forest for woodchip plantations. http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/02/139097.php41) BENDIGO'S green groups have united in an aggressive campaign to make the Wellsford State Forest a national park. The forest is home to some of the region's oldest trees, with at least seven dating back to pre-European settlement. The forest was left out of the Greater Bendigo National Park proclamation in 2002, allegedly to placate a nearby saw mill, a policy that left the forest open for logging. However, green groups say the forest has some of the highest quality of flora and fauna in the region and urgently needs to be protected. The Bendigo and District Environmental Council, Bushlinks, Wellsford Watch and the Bendigo Field Naturalists have joined forces to campaign for the upgrade. They have been backed by The Australian Greens and the Victorian National Parks Association. Bushlinks member and Greens state election candidate John Bardsley said action was needed immediately to save the forest from being lost forever. " A state forest is a working forest. It doesn't look after conservation, it looks after production, " he said. " The longer it stays a state forest the longer it will take to recover. It should be a national park. " The quality of vegetation and habitat is the same as, or better than, what is in the national park around Bendigo. " http://www.bendigoweekly.com/articles/2953/1/Nature-groups-want-national-park/Page1.html

World-wide:42) The severe degradation of the environment and its impact on climate change are dominating discussions currently underway at the 24th meeting of the governing council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the Kenyan capital. Delegates at the five-day meeting which ends Feb. 9, are in agreement that climate change, which remains the world's overriding environmental challenge, requires global efforts to counter it. Reducing deforestation is being cited as a key measure to mitigate some of the effects of climate change. Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director, emphasised his organisation's intention to plant a billion trees worldwide by year-end. Launched in 2006, the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, encourages the planting of trees appropriate to local environments. However, some targetted local communities say they have minimal or no access to the internet, and are hindered by a language barrier. " Communities do not have access to the internet for information and advice on the campaign, yet they are the ones who are expected to plant those trees, " James Maina, coordinator of Friends of Sports, an organisation promoting environmental conservation through sports in Mathare, a Nairobi slum, told IPS. Maina said there was an urgent need to translate documents into local languages for dissemination within communities. " Communities need to understand. Unless they are brought on board, all these initiatives to counter climate change including measures to bar logging, which is rampant, will go to waste, " he warned. http://allafrica.com/stories/200702080470.html