175 - 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 41 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---British Columbia: 1) Industry gets government to abandon Caribou needs, 2) Great Bear Funding, 3) More crooks against Caribou, 4) Kwakiutl First Nation protest, 5) Trees and climate change, 6) Court reins in logger power, 7) Save Island old growth, --Washington: 9) North Kitsap Heritage Park, 9) Loggers not following HCP,--Oregon:10) Miners seek permit, 11) Fort Clatsop forest, 12) More logging will solve climate problems, 13) New-old wilderness bill introduced, 14) Save the wild Rogue,--California: 15) Save Giant Sequoias, 16) Latest on conservation easements, --Montana: 17) Beetle declines--Massachusetts: 18) Logging every 5-10 years preserves resources?--USA: 19) Pulp and paper supplies, 20) Wildest bill on the hill, 21) Chief testifies,--Canada: 22) Four years of blockading Weyerhaeuser--UK: 23) Toy airplane fliers cut trees, 24) Planting marathon, 25) Landfill to forest,--Spain: 26) 15,000 pine lost to new motorway--Russia: 27) Raising export duties of felled timber--Columbia: 28) Oil palms destroy voiceless indigenous--Peru: 29) Save Peruvian mahogany--China: 30) Supply chain of Russian log exports, 31) Restore clearcuts with green paint,--Nepal: 32) Forest Land stats, 33) Recent forest history,--Mongolia: 34) Desertification, deforestation, decline of water--Australia: 35) Trapeze artist protest, 36) Tree-top cabarets, 37) More funds for loggers, --Tropical forests: 38) Saving forests by helping the poor--World-wide: 39) UN to Combat Desertification, 40) A billion instead of a million, 41) Trees don't get enough mention in climate report,British Columbia:1) The BC government has caved in to industry demands to abandon mountain caribou. They are more concerned with serving the interests of logging and mining companies, snowmobilers, and the helicopter tourism industry. But the solution does not mean that these industries cannot continue to be successful. They just need to stay out of the 13 small areas (herd boundaries) where mountain caribou live, and protect connectivity habitat between the herds. The BC government's own mountain caribou science team has already identified all these areas. Now they just need to act on this expert advice. Fewer than 1900 mountain caribou remain in the Inland Temperate Rainforest region of British Columbia, the only place in the world where these animals are found. Scientists are clear that the 1900 remaining mountain caribou will go extinct unless their habitat is protected. The issue is quite straightforward; the BC government needs to know that their plan of killing predators to save endangered species does not work and has been scientifically discredited. They also need to know that all forests within the 13 mountain caribou herd boundaries, and connectivity areas between herd boundaries must be protected. Also, forest areas with old-growth trees which have been clearcut within Caribou herd boundaries need to be restored, since they are a vital part of caribou habitat. The BC government has the power to stop the destruction of mountain caribou habitat, but they will only do so if there is a massive public outcry. The public comment period is now about half over. The public comment page on the Species at Risk Coordination Office website is really hard to find. It is buried in with some complicated article on GIS files http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/sarco/mc/scienceteam_sarco_consult.html

http://www.wildernesscommmittee.org2) But what happens now? After the speeches are read and the champagne is gone? We won. The battle is over. The forest is protected. The money is allocated. We can all go home...right? Wrong. This is when the real work begins. We now start the task of turning promises into policy and transforming agreements into on-the-ground change. And, we need your help to create a lasting change in the Great Bear Rainforest. Can you contribute $15, $35, or $50 to help us put to rest old ideas that environmental protection is bad for business? Your contribution will help us: 1) Support pilot projects that assist in the development of business plans to help transform the economies of coastal communities. 2) Ensure that First Nations' rights are observed and that they receive funding for eco-friendly business. 3) Ensure the new land management plan (environmentally sustainable logging) is implemented and that credible, independent scientists guide all initiatives. 4) Facilitate communication and allow companies doing business in the Great Bear Rainforest to get to know the communities and the forests their products come from https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/forestethics/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_

KEY=22193) Forest industry representatives slammed a new science team study that recommends no logging take place in the high elevation habitat of the red-listed mountain caribou living east of Williams Lake. "We have no reason to think our strategy isn't working, and no reason to believe your strategy will,'' forest industry representative Mike Carlson told Mark Zacharias, director of the Species at Risk Coordination Office at a Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Resource committee (CCRR) meeting Friday. "Scientists will always come up with a zero risk option," Carlson said. He said the mountain caribou numbers had stabilized in the areas where modified logging trials were taking place. Logging contractor Tim Menning said: "This is not consultation. You should make that very clear to government. If you are going to ram this down our throats this ain't gonna fly." About 26 committee members and other stakeholders crammed into a small meeting hall on Second Avenue to hear Zacharias make the presentation on the science team review, which recommends no logging in the high elevation mountain caribou habitat as well as restrictions on heliskiing and snowmobiling. Representatives from the forest industry, tourism, back country recreation, Cariboo Regional District, and environmental groups were among those in attendance. Mountain caribou are on the federal and provincial red lists of threatened and endangered species. The 14-member Mountain Caribou Science Team was convened in December, 2004 to identify actions needed to either maintain or recover Mountain Caribou throughout their range. The study was completed last summer and consultation on the recommendations is continuing until the end of February. http://www.wltribune.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=37 & cat=60 & id=831443 & more=

4) " Our world is falling apart, " Basil Ambers, a hereditary chief of the Kwakiutl First Nation, warned the crowd. " Everything we hold dear is gradually eroding away.We are putting you on notice that we are going to start fighting for those things. " The Kwakiutl and their supporters gathered in Victoria, BC on Monday February 12 to protest a government-approved land transfer. The deal between Western Forest Products and the province would take private land out of three Tree Farm Licenses on northern Vancouver Island, including over 1400 hectares claimed by the Kwakiutl. Almost a hundred people, most of them native, filed into the traditional longhouse outside the BC Museum. After building a fire in the longhouse, two dozen people in tribal regalia lined up to beat drums, dance and sing traditional songs. The drummers led the crowd to the steps of the Legislature, where the Kwakiutl held a press conference. It was a slow walk, the sun was mild and the breeze was balmy. But Andrews looked grim as he addressed the crowd: " It seems like we always have to get together because of things the white folks have done to us, " he said. " This is not the first time for our tribe, or the first time across Canada. They have been doing too many things to us that we can't ignore. " The hereditary chiefs, band councillors and elders, along with some of their children and grandchildren, drove from Port Hardy to Victoria to make a statement about aboriginal rights on their land. Despite promises from BC Premier Gordon Campbell about a " new relationship " with First Nations, they say nothing has changed. Until now, some of the private lands claimed by Western Forest Products, a giant logging company, were managed under a provincial Tree Farm Licence. Western Forest Products has applied to take the land back in order to log it and sell it off to developers. The province has quietly agreed to transfer 28,000 hectares (70,000 acres.) http://gnn.tv/A029215) How trees will cope with climate change is a big puzzle for forest ecologists, and possibly a big price to forest companies. A new study coming out of the University of British Columbia is suggesting that as weather patterns shift to hotter, drier seasons, the valuable western red cedar could be in trouble in the lower elevations of Vancouver Island. The study, which used a grove of red cedars at Royal Roads University in Colwood, looked at a phenomenon called dieback –– where tree limbs dry out and lose their foliage. UBC forestry student Tanya Seebacher linked dieback to the driest climate zones on the Island at the lowest elevations. The wider goal to see if dieback is related to periods of drought –– and therefore the predicted direction of climate change –– admittedly remains elusive. "It's obvious if the climate is warmer and drier there will be a shift in the species, but it's tough to know where that will go," Seebacher said. "We can say likely on lower dry sites there will be a decline in cedars, but they may be more abundant higher up." Seebacher reckoned if dieback could be definitively linked to hot dry epochs in the climate record, the overall fate of red cedars could be predicted. But like any biological system, nothing is straightforward. http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=12 & cat=23 & id= & more=

6) In a victory for accountability, the BC Supreme Court has reined in the powers of the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP). Yesterday, it quashed, for the second time, the ABCFP's decision to dismiss a complaint from the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA). Concerned about species-at-risk, the SCCA complained to the ABCFP against a Registered Professional Forester operating in the Jervis Inlet area of the Sunshine Coast Forest District near Sechelt. It alleged that unprofessional and unethical practices had resulted in severe damage to Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat, Mountain Goat winter ranges and rare stands of old growth. However, the ABCFP's Registrar refused to send the complaint to the ABCFP's Complaint Committee. Madame Justice Gray's decision clarifies the role of the ABCFP's Registrar in accepting or rejecting complaints from the public. The Registrar, she ruled, does not have the power to evaluate the evidence. The Registrar can only consider whether or not a complaint alleges breaches of law or other rules. If it does, it is the Registrar's duty to refer the complaint to the investigation process. "This a step forward for the public and the profession" said SCCA Executive Director Daniel Bouman "because from now on, complaints can not be arbitrarily dismissed at the intake stage without a proper review." http://www.thescca.ca7) Do petitions work? YES!!! Only when enough people know, care, and speak up are governments forced to listen and do the right things. From now until 12:00 noon on March 23, we'll be asking all those who want Vancouver Island's remaining ancient forests protected to circulate a petition which you can download. The petition calls on the BC government to end old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and to ban raw log exports from BC. The 1st place winner gets a $250 gift certificate on all items in the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's Rainforest Store in Victoria, while the next 9 highest signature-collectors will also get prizes. We'll send you the prizes if you can't make it to Victoria! Look at what's happening with climate change right now. Petitions, letters, rallies, and protests all add-up together to generate the public awareness and mobilization to force politicians - who are worried about staying in power - to act accordingly, or else get tossed from power. Our goal is to collect 10 000 signatures over the next 5 weeks, pushing our current total to over 20 000 signatures. Signatures from anywhere on planet Earth are valid, since BC's old-growth forest products are sold internationally, too. http://www.viforest.orgWashington:8) Imagine a park in Kitsap County roughly the size of New York City's Central Park. The North Kitsap Heritage Park, with a potential size of 830 acres, won't look anything like the Big Apple's famous open space. It will, instead, reflect the vision of Kitsap residents, with sports fields, multi-use trails and acres of untouched natural land. The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a master plan for the park, to be located between Indianola and Kingston. The first phase of park development will include a roughly half-mile entry road off Miller Bay Road and three ball fields at a cost of $280,726. The ball fields could be ready for use in about a year-and-a-half, said Brian Lyman, who is heading up the project for the county. Complete build-out of the park is likely to take decades. The county currently owns a 450-acre parcel of land, with the option to buy an adjacent parcel of 380 acres. The county has plans for other " heritage " parks in South and Central Kitsap. http://www.kitsapsun.com/bsun/local/article/0,2403,BSUN_19088_5348447,00.html

9) A new government report says spot checks found that only 60 percent of the logging operations complied with the rules. The state Department of Natural Resources found that 60 percent of the logging operations followed all the rules its inspectors focused on in this review. About 7 percent failed to adhere to rules on all the items tested, and 33 percent were in partial compliance, says a draft report the state Forest Practices Board is scheduled to discuss today in Olympia. " We would definitely like to see a higher proportion of the (operations) 100 percent compliant, and the most important thing about a report like this is it allows us to dig into it and see what kind of follow-up action we need to take, " said Lenny Young, chief of DNR's forest practices division. Young said the agency will launch a review by a team of independent experts -- a course some critics had urged earlier. The new report represents the agency's first comprehensive attempt to check on compliance with the rules since they went into effect in 2001. Seattle lawyer Peter Goldman of the Washington Forest Law Center, who represents environmentalists, said a 60 percent grade equates to a D-minus. " If you extrapolate this out across 9.3 million acres where you're basically waiving the Endangered Species Act ... it's a big deal, " Goldman said. " We deserve to know whether this thing is being laid out (correctly) or not. " The rules in question were hammered out after federal and state environmental regulators agreed with Washington timber companies on the " Forests and Fish " deal of 1999, which sought to allow logging to continue while doing something to help salmon. In exchange, timber companies agreed to abide by new rules that required them, among other items, to take care of forest roads that slough off clouds of dirt into nearby streams, and to leave tree buffers alongside some streams to keep them cool and provide other benefits to salmon. Under the deal, timber companies won't face federal prosecution under the Endangered Species Act if their logging harms salmon and dozens of other kinds of fish and aquatic creatures across 9.3 million acres. But that forgiveness was based in part on the companies' word they would follow the rules and the state's promise to enforce them. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/303594_forest14.htmlOregon:10) Frank Hardin and partner Bob Robertson have threatened to pursue a $50 million lawsuit against Jackson County unless officials grant them a zoning change from woodland to aggregate resource. The change would allow them to mine between 1.4 million and 1.6 million cubic yards of aggregate — and possibly gold — from a 30-acre section of the 157-acre property. " We're here for justice, " said Robertson, an attorney. " This property is worth nothing without a (mining) permit. " The owners said they bought the property with the understanding the zoning could be changed. In the past 17 years, the county has twice promised to grant conditional use permits on the property. But a former land-use hearings officer thwarted the process, Sandra Hardin said. Jacksonville town leaders — and nearby neighbors wearing red " Stop Opp " stickers — packed the county auditorium Wednesday afternoon. Most believe allowing the mine to reopen would create environmental hazards, damage property values and threaten the historic status of Jacksonville. Represented by Medford land-use planner Mike LaNier and Attorney Ross Day, director of legal affairs for the property-rights group Oregonians in Action, Hardin and Robertson said neighbors' contamination, noise and traffic concerns either have no basis in fact or are easily mitigated. http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0215/local/stories/oppmine-ss.htm

11) Walking the trails that wind their way around Fort Clatsop, the resource specialist for Lewis and Clark National Historical Park pointed out features the park wants, and doesn't want, as it plans the long-term future of the forests in the expanded park. Staff at the new national park are crafting a management plan and environmental assessment for the 1,220 acres of forest land, from the stands within the original park boundary to the 900 acres of industrial timberland recently purchased from Weyerhaeuser Corp. A public scoping process, inviting citizen comments about the planning process, is open through Feb. 28. When they arrived at what would be their home for the winter in 1805, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark noted giant spruce, hemlock and Western red cedar, some as big as 12 feet thick, and dense woody debris on the forest floor. Today the same area is a patchwork of mostly second- and third-growth trees, some in stands so dense they are inhospitable to the plants and animals the explorers found two centuries ago. The plan may include selective cutting to open up dense stands, giving the remaining trees more room to grow and allowing vegetation to flourish on the forest floor. That would also make the forest more attractive to wildlife, Stonum said, and many of the cut trees would be left behind to provide the woody debris found in natural forests. On the damp Northwest coast, wind, rather than fire, has been the major natural controlling element in the forests, knocking down trees and leaving openings that allow for new growth and create forests of varying ages and species. http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2 & SubSectionID=398 & ArticleID=40308 & TM=62304.99

12) Logging industry front group Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) staged a conference entitled " Forests, Carbon and Climate Change " at the deforesters' training camp, Oregon State University, in Corvallis on February 13-14 to promote their grand solution to global warming: more logging! The same parties responsible for a century of clearcuts, industrial fiber farms, rampant roadbuilding, deadly mudslides, ruined watersheds, species extinction and fire suppression are now proposing to unleash chainsaws across our remaining 5% of native forests (Wilderness and Roadless Areas included) to not only benefit our forests, but to actually stave off climate change. Has the logging industry finally turned over a new leaf or is this just the latest greenwashed pro-logging propaganda? Two guesses and the first one doesn't count... The United Nations, NASA and the British Government's Stern Review all agree that logging is to blame for 1/3 of the human-made carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. The idea that those who have caused the devastation of one planetary ecosystem, our forests, will now be leading the charge to protect other planetary ecosystems, would be hilarious were it not such a bald-faced and dangerous—though brilliantly concocted—lie. Fanning the flames of the current fire hysteria, logging interests insist our western native forests are " sick " and in need of " thinning " (read: logging) on an unprecedented, landscape-wide basis. Conveniently enough, these proposed " thinning " projects would produce a large amount of woody debris. Industry's intention is to build hordes of biomass energy factories, to be fed by the products of forest destruction. The logging industry spin in a nutshell: not only are we " fixing " our forests, we're turning the " waste " into a clean, green, renewable energy source. Look how far we've come! Three cheers for the timber beast! Hip, hip, hooray! http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/02/354169.shtml13) U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., on Thursday reintroduced a bill to protect 128,600 acres of Mount Hood forestland, continuing a significant shift in how Oregonians use the national forest. Once one of the most prolific timber-producing forests in the nation, it increasingly serves as an urban forest, a playground to the region's millions of residents. The proposed new wilderness areas would close about 12 percent of Mount Hood National Forest to logging or road building, in addition to about 19 percent of the forest that is already wilderness areas. The bill would add 34,545 acres to national recreation areas within the forest. The recreation areas would allow limited logging or road building but only under tightly constrained circumstances. In addition, the " Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007 " would add protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 80 miles of rivers. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1171605303246780.xml & coll=7 I have to disagree that this is a " good piece of legislation. " The bill mandates a land exchange that was formulated by private entities to settle a dispute (i.e., to stop Mt Hood Meadows from developing in an area citizens objected to). The Government Accountability Office determined that the appraisals were improper and that there was a good chance the public would be royally ripped off in the trade. The new bill requires a new appraisal--but the bill also mandates that the trade as already formulated must occur, so it is hard to say what significance the new appraisal would have except as window dressing. The public would acquire Mt. Hood Meadows' ski resort--a developed property the agency obviously won't have the money to maintain. (The Forest Service is currently selling off lands where they have warehouses, offices, storage sheds, etc., to generate funds to maintain what they're keeping). Janine Blaeloch, DirectorWestern Lands Project http://www.westernlands.org14) The Wild Rogue River Watershed is one of Oregon's most pristine, scenic, and rugged landscapes. Located in southern Oregon and nestled in the Siskiyou Mountains, the Wild Rogue is one of the state's premier recreational spots, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year and contributing millions of dollars to the local economy. The Wild Rogue also provides important salmon and steelhead spawning habitat, forming the backbone for one of Oregon's most important fisheries. Unfortunately, the Wild Rogue is threatened. Despite the importance of this unique landscape, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to turn bulldozers and chainsaws loose this year into the unspoiled old-growth forests of the Wild Rogue area. The logging and associated road building would destroy not only the forests, but also impair water quality, degrade spawning habitat for wild salmon, and scar the largest forested roadless area administered by the BLM anywhere in America. The immediate threats to the Wild Rogue serve to underscore the importance of establishing permanent protection for this pristine landscape. Under the federal Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Acts, the Wild Rogue area could receive lasting protections that safeguard the land's fish and wildlife, scenery, and recreational values. Please visit our new website http://www.savethewildrogue.infoCalifornia:15) Today I am asking you to sign our petition to the newly appointed U.S. Forest Service Chief, Abigail Kimbell, and ask her to challenge the Bush Administration's continued efforts to allow commercial logging within the boundaries of the Giant Sequoia National Monument. President Bush has two more years to push forward with his plan that will endanger the Giant Sequoia ecosystem. We need citizens like you to speak out right away and call for the Administration to obey the courts, and stop the efforts to log in our last remaining ancient Sequoia groves. Sign our petition to protect the Giant Sequoia National Monument today! Some Sequoia trees have lived as long as 3,500 years. Don't let the Bush Administration and the Forest Service destroy this precious Monument in the space of two presidential terms. Please sign our petition today. http://www.sierraclub.org/16) The state's method of preserving the trees is through conservation easements, cordoning off the land from future development permanently. That concerned some members of the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Tom Tryon, who represents District 4, which includes the growing Angels Camp and Murphys areas, suggested long-term leases would be preferable to easements, which could be permanent, creating a problem for farmers who might choose to sell their land in the future. About 89 percent of Calaveras County's 159,000 acres of hardwood rangelands — including blue oak-foothill pine, blue oak woodland and montane hardwood — is privately owned, according to the California Department of Forestry. University of California Cooperative Extension studies showed a 0.72 percent net loss in oak woodland canopy cover in Calaveras County from 1996-2001. Although most of the damage was from wildfire, the Wildlife Conservation Board is concerned that development will lower the oaks' numbers even further if measures are not taken to protect them. Participation in the management plan adopted Tuesday is voluntary. State law also requires counties to adopt ordinances requiring developers to replace oaks destroyed in land clearing by replanting or pay mitigation fees to an Oak Woodlands Conservation Fund, to be created by the state. The county ordinance would govern how the fees are collected and disbursed, said Robert Sellman, county planning director. " The ordinance should have emphasis on private stewardship, " Wilensky said. " People abandoning ranching has been the greatest threat to the oaks. Future generations should have an incentive to continue that stewardship. " The board added a clause to the oak management plan resolution, suggesting the plan give developers an incentive to partner with the conservation board. http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=22717Montana:17) The good news is a few years of drought relief have helped push the Douglas fir beetle back on its heels. Numbers of the Western balsam bark beetle and fir engraver beetle appeared to drop off as well. "Most of the Douglas fir beetle activity appears to have decreased some last year," said Greg DeNitto, group leader of the Forest Service's Northern Region forest health protection team. "The increased moisture of the last couple of years has improved growing conditions." That's been enough to give Douglas fir a fighting chance. When trees are healthy, they can sometimes ward off an attack by beetles with a good dose of pitch. Ponderosa, lodgepole, limber and white bark pines haven't been as fortunate. Around Montana, mountain pine beetle infestations have been spreading in huge concentric circles from their initial points of attack. "In some areas we're seeing a decrease in intensity of the infestation just because the beetle's food source has been depleted," DeNitto said. "They've essentially eaten themselves out of house and home - and now they're moving outward into new areas. From the air, it almost looks like a doughnut." There's no reason to think the mountain pine beetle infestation is winding down. It typically takes a couple of weeks of severely cold weather to knock back their numbers. "That's something we haven't had for I don't know how many years," DeNitto said. Last summer, DeNitto's crews mapped 813,000 acres of pine forest with the telltale red needles that mark a recent mountain beetle infestation. That figure was down from the 820,000 acres mapped the previous summer, but there's no reason to celebrate. Last summer, 1.12 million acres of forests in Montana were affected by the insect that consumes the needles of Douglas fir trees. In 2005, the agency mapped 449,000 acres infested by the bug, which in itself was a striking increase from 2004 when 177,000 acres were affected. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/14/news/mtregional/news07.txt

Massachusetts:18) FREETOWN — In an effort to preserve the town's natural resources, the Freetown selectmen have begun opening selected parcels of town land to logging. Most recently, the town solicited bids on two lots off Nestle's Lane in East Freetown. " This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, " Selectman Lawrence N. Ashley told The Standard-Times. " The money we get from this is minimal. We are just trying to keep these areas forested for future generations. " John Ashley initiated the idea of harvesting some of the trees, something that has not been done in town for quite some time. " I hunt those woods, " he said. " I thought it was about time to start thinning them out. It's just a harvest; we're not doing any clear-cutting, and the town could use the money. " Eastern white pine rots from the inside out, he said, so although a particular tree looks healthy, it could just as easily be close to sudden collapse. The high bid Monday came from F. Horsman of Cherry Street in Middleboro at $10,260. Brightman Lumber was next at $9,251. West Wareham Pine bid $8,356, with Gurney Sawmill close behind at $8,117. Once the trees are removed, they are sold for lumber by the harvesters. The board voted unanimously to accept the high bid. Logging will be permitted for two years, beginning March 1 and running until March 1, 2009. Mr. Horsman will be required to pay half the bid amount before the job begins and the balance at the halfway point. " Timber is a renewable resource. Depending on the tract, this is something that could be repeated every five to 10 years. " http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/02-07/02-15-07/06local.htm

USA: 19) Every year millions of acres of forests in the southern United States are cut to fuel the pulp and paper industry. Nearly 25 percent of this demand comes from paper packaging, which usually ends up in landfills after a brief life as a disposable product. To support this industry, millions of acres of natural forest have been converted into fast-growing pine plantations -- in fact, the U.S. Forest Service estimates that nearly twenty percent of Southern forests are now pine plantations. Nationwide the United States lost an average of 831 square miles (531,771 acres) of old-growth forest per year according to official figures, the seventh highest loss in the world. A new campaign by the Dogwood Alliance, a U.S.-based grassroots organization, seeks to reduce the impact of the paper packaging industry by asking beauty products giants Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Revlon to reduce their excessive paper packaging. The campaign, coordinated with Valentine's Day, urges these firms to " love forests " by reducing the amount of paper in packaging, increasing post-consumer recycled fiber used in packaging, and ensuring that their paper products are not coming from endangered forests. " The message is simple - forests shouldn't be chopped down, chipped up, made into packaging and tossed in the landfill, " proclaims the Dogwood Alliance web site. " There are simple solutions that can transform the packaging industry. " The Dogwood Alliance is asking consumers to convey the message to Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Revlon by emailing company representatives. http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/02/15/us-forests-suffer-from-product-packaging/?url=http

%3A%2F%2Fnews.mongabay.com%2F2007%2F0214-dogwood.html & frame=true20) Informally, the founders call it "the wildest bill on the hill," but officially, it's called the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2007, and in the next few weeks, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) will, with the support of 187 co-sponsors (and counting), introduce the bill into the 110th Congress. It would designate many millions of acres of Wilderness, two new national park units, hundreds of miles of wild and scenic rivers, and establish linkage corridors between many of these areas. It covers all of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and dips slightly into far eastern Oregon and Washington. And with the new political landscape created by the last election, backers are confident of their chances for success. Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies (AWR), the main ball carrier of this legislation, says NREPA will be among the highest priority wilderness bills in Congress. For a more detailed explanation, go here: http://www.wildrockies.org/nrepa/brochure/nrepa_desig.html21) Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell received a less than gracious welcome Tuesday as she appeared before Congress for the first time as chief. Defending the president's spending request for the next budget year, Kimbell came under fire from all sides. " This is a rough and, in my view, a very unworkable budget, " said Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., chairman of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee. Kimbell, the first woman to head the Forest Service, began her new post Feb. 5, the same day President Bush announced a budget request that cuts Forest Service spending by 2 percent and eliminates more than 2,100 jobs in the budget year that starts in October. Bush's $4.1 billion budget request for the 2008 fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 represents a 1.6 percent cut from estimated spending for the current year, and is down nearly 4 percent from fiscal year 2006. Even so, the plan would boost spending to fight forest fires by 23 percent to $911 million, a recognition that firefighting costs have topped $1 billion in four of the past seven years. Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the Forest Service in the past for under-budgeting for fire expenses, noting that money is often taken from other accounts to pay for fire suppression. But Dicks, who took over as subcommittee chairman last month after serving on the panel for 30 years, said the budget request " has big problems. " While it increases spending for firefighting, it cuts money for fire " preparedness, " work done to thin overcrowded forest to reduce the risk of fire. " We all know that in order to keep suppression costs down, initial attack is vital. Yet this budget proposes a $92 million reduction in preparedness, so more fires would escape and cause damage, " Dicks said. Dicks and other lawmakers also attacked an administration plan to sell more than 200,000 acres of national forest to help rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging. http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP02132007news104087.cfmCanada:

22) After more than four years of blockading logging companies Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi, the people of Grassy Narrows have called for a moratorium on all logging on their traditional lands. This month, Indigenous activists behind the Grassy Narrows logging blockade will speak about their fight to protect their culture, their forests, and their right to self-determination on their Traditional Territory. Rainforest Action Network is now offering a rare chance to hear firsthand the stories of these inspiring blockaders, whose bold actions are blazing a path for all people who believe in a just and sustainable future. We hope you can join us as the tour passes through your town soon. Most RAN supporters know at least part of the Grassy Narrows story, but few have ever actually met the people from this community who are fighting to save their ancestral lands from rampant clear-cutting and destruction. I look forward to helping you get involved in supporting Grassy Narrows by getting Weyerhaeuser products out of your campus, community, local restaurant or place of business. Take care, David, Old Growth Campaign, Rainforest Action Network. http://www.freegrassy.orghttp://www.friendsofgrassynarrows.com

http://www.wheresmcguinty.caUK:23) TREES have been chopped down on a beauty spot to make it easier for model aircraft to take off and land. The silver birches have been cut down on Nomansland Common in Wheathampstead to help the model aircraft club which uses the area. Dawn Bradbury, who lives in nearby Ferrers Lane, is unhappy about the lopping and said: " We are supposed to be planting trees to save the planet. We have lived here for 27 years and the silver birches were planted around that time to enhance the common. " She is also upset about the continuous felling of the oak trees on the opposite side of the common and said: " If they were diseased you could understand it. Why cut down oak trees that have taken so long to grow? Jon Green, St Albans District Council's green spaces officer, said: " The silver birches weren't of any environmental impact. I believe they were only planted in the first place because they were left over from another job. " He said the removal of the five trees on the Sandridge side of the common was " a compromise " as the flying club wanted the council to remove the nearby hedge and some other trees to make it easier to take off and land their model aircrafts. He maintained that the other tree-felling was an important part of preserving the heathland and said: " In Herts we have lost 95 per cent of heathland. It is very rare. The trees have overshadowed the heathland and we just managed to save some of it by cutting down some trees. " http://www.hertsad.co.uk/content/herts/news/story.aspx?brand=HADOnline & category=News & tBrand=he

rts24 & tCategory=newshadnew & itemid=WEED15%20Feb%202007%2012%3A10%3A19%3A49024) A week long marathon event marked the first tree planting on the unique Jeskyns community woodland site, near Gravesend, Kent. The planting involved over 400 pupils from 9 different local schools, and 200 scouts from 12 different groups, and all in all over 3000 trees and shrubs were planted. The event was organised by the Forestry Commission team at Jeskyns, and the Woodland Trust, as part of the Trees for All Campaign. Denise Culley, the Forestry Commission's community ranger at Jeskyns, said: " These are the first trees planted on the 150 hectare community site, and after all the work we have done getting the site ready, we wanted as many young people down here to plant a tree and make the site their own. Jeskyns is all about getting people to engage with the outdoors, learn about it and enjoy it, and what better way to do that than to give them a role in creating it " " Planting trees is a brilliant way of connecting young people to the wonders of nature, and to give them a role in looking after the environment around them. Jeskyns is all about people, and giving them a green space they can make their own. The trees being planted this week will grow up with these children, and be here for decades to come - and I hope some of pupils here today, will be able to bring their kids and even their grandkids to enjoy them in the future. " Across the site as a whole we will be planting over 130,000 trees and shrubs, and creating 8 kilometres of hedgerows. It promises to be an amazing and diverse site for families and wildlife to enjoy. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/AllByUNID/DADF03CF817ACF02802572760060E60F

25) Green volunteers will plant five trees a minute on Saturday, turning a derelict Kennington landfill site into a beauty spot. Fifty people are taking part in the project to create a new community woodland, near Redbridge park-and-ride, for Oxford-based environmental charity Earthwatch. The 1,100 young trees will 'lock-up' tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetimes, helping to compensate for some of the climate-changing CO2 emitted through human activity. Earthwatch volunteer Rachel Barber, who has recently carried out conservation projects in Bedford and Brazil, said: " My motto is that you have to be the change you want to see. http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1193841.0.trees_to_turn_tip_into_haven.phpSpain:26) Some 15,000 pine trees which make up the only forested area in the Motril area are being felled to make way for the A-44 motorway from Bailén to Motril. The work is taking place in the area known as la Bullarenga, where heavy machinery has already moved in to fell the trees. The Development Ministry turned down a Town Hall proposal to replant them in the Cerro del Toro Park as unviable, both from a financial and practical point of view. http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_8963.shtmlRussia:27) Russia is raising the export duties of felled timber so high that it is likely to mean the end of imports of raw timber from Russia into Finland within a few years. Russia is using its customs and duty policy to compel Western countries to build pulp and paper factories in Russia. Finland's Minister of Foreign Trade Paula Lehtomäki (Centre) says that Russia's move violates the World Trade Organisation treaty that Russia signed three years ago. The cutoff of imports is likely to cause serious problems for Finnish industry, as one fifth of the wood used by Finnish pulp and paper manufacturers is imported from Russia. Shoring up the gap with the help of Finnish sources is seen as an overwhelming task. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation has protested against Russia's moves. Anders Portin, the resources manager of the association, says that it is pointless to hold bilateral discussions between Finland and Russia on the matter. http://papernotes.blogs.com/papernotes/2007/02/russian_export_.htmlColumbia:28)

Luis Evelis Andrade Casama, the President of Organizacion Nacional Indigena De Colombia visited the UK to tell the story of what is happening to his peoples and the poor Afro-Colombian community at the hands of those who wield the power in his country. The particular meeting I attended at the Schumacher Institute in Bristol was about the role palm oil plays in the lives of the people he represents. In Columbia oil palms are known as the African palm. In the notes I took, I have tried to accurately reproduce what Luis said: Luis came to speak on behalf of the voiceless people who live in the Choco (which is on the Pacific coast) and Amazonas (in the South, bordering Peru & Brazil) regions of Colombia. These vast areas are home to indigenous, Afro Colombians and small farmers and huge biodiversity, rainforests, water, minerals and oil. These areas have always been ignored by the government. Although in 1959 they were declared forest reserves. And in 1980, they became important to international capital, with associated development plans. In practise, this meant; airports, roads, ports. The words rural development was also used, which meant that the old growth forest became cocoa, rubber and oil palm plantations, for biodiesel. Colombia has signed the Convention on Biodiversity and the Kyoto Protocol. Colombia has endured civil violence and murder for over 25 years. The paramilitaries claim to force guerrillas out of rainforests, but it is in fact to clear the land that is owned by the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, who have title to the land. We were told of one case where paramilitaries displaced 25,000 people and stole from them, 30,000 hectares of land. This land was cleared and oil palm plantations were sown as the paramilitary said it was not collective property. The international community challenged this and ordered the companies to return the land to the rightful owners. This was ignored. In the last 20 years, more than 3 million people have been displaced. http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/blog/2007/02/15/biofuels-threatening-colombias-indigenous-commu

nities/Peru:29) The Peruvian rain forest is one of the world's most biologically rich and diverse regions and provides habitat for wildlife such as the jaguar, harpy eagle and giant river otter. Unfortunately, these creatures and their habitats are at risk from the unsustainable harvest of timber, particularly of big-leaf mahogany—a threatened species so valuable that it can lead to the destruction of large forest areas. Peru is the world's largest exporter of big-leaf mahogany, with 90 percent going to the North American market. The international trade in big-leaf mahogany is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Peruvian government has taken many steps to improve forest management and stop illegal logging. Despite these precautions, big-leaf mahogany continues to be harvested at unsustainable levels and illegal logging remains rampant. Many of these trees are illegally logged in protected areas or on the lands of indigenous peoples who receive only a fraction of the actual value of the wood. Strong measures must be taken today if this species and the rain forest of which it is a part are to survive for future generations. Every year, Peru sets a quota for mahogany that determines how much can be exported. It is critically important that Peru sets a quota level that is sustainable and scientifically-based, and that can be verified as legally harvested. If that does not happen, WWF will urge countries worldwide not to import Peruvian mahogany. http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/action/index.asp?step=2 & item=31417

China:30) Beijing Forestry University, Forest Trends and the Rights and Resources Group are pleased to announce the publication of a new study on the supply chain of log exports from the Russian Far East and Siberia into China. Russian Logs in China: The Softwood Commodity Chain & Economic Development in China follows the path of a Russian softwood log from its entrance into China at crucial " gateway " towns on the Russia-China border all the way through its final domestic use, or export to markets in the U.S., EU and Japan. Authors W. Song, B. Cheng, S. Zheng and X. Meng performed numerous visits to the gateways and intermediary markets, on-site interviews, and trade statistic analysis in researching this work. ?Russian Logs in China? complements a 2005 Forest Trends study of the Russian side of this supply chain, entitled China Softwood Log Commodity Chain and Livelihood Analysis: From the Russian Far East to China by A. S. Sheingauz, V. Lebedev, and N. Y. Antonova. http://www.rightsandtrade.org/regions/russia/blog/2007/02/new-forest-trends-study-russia-china.h

tml31) How long does it take to paint a rocky mountain face green? Well, if you've got seven workers, about 45 days. That's the discovery of Chinese officials who decided that the best solution to the deforestation of Laoshou mountain--a result of quarrying--was simply to paint it green. After all, office workers at a new government building nearby have to look at it all day. Plenty of people are unhappy about it: from those who say the feng shui of the area's been destroyed, to others who have calculated that the $60,000 spent on painting could have actually planted trees and bushes over a much wider area. But others think that green paint is " the new green " : who needs to save the environment when you can just make it look the right color? Perhaps tourists will soon see a bright green Great Wall of China, just to make sure it'll still be visible from space even through all our pollution. How long does it take to paint a rocky mountain face green? Well, if you've got seven workers, about 45 days. That's the discovery of Chinese officials who decided that the best solution to the deforestation of Laoshou mountain--a result of quarrying--was simply to paint it green. After all, office workers at a new government building nearby have to look at it all day. Plenty of people are unhappy about it: from those who say the feng shui of the area's been destroyed, to others who have calculated that the $60,000 spent on painting could have actually planted trees and bushes over a much wider area. But others think that green paint is " the new green " . http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/2/15/5819/22883/travel/Mountains+Are+Green+in

+http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2873918Nepal;Political, Social and Economic FrameworkNepal is a small, landlocked mountainous country in South Asia. Located between India and China and occupying an area of 141,181 sq km, the northern part of the country includes major ecological zones of High Mountains, Middle Hills and Shiwaliks while the southern part includes the Terai. The altitude ranges from less than 100 m in the southern plains to more than 8,000 m in the northern Himalayas, including the highest peak on earth, Mount Everest (8,848 m). The climatic variation from subtropical monsoon conditions in the Terai region to alpine conditions in the Great Himalayas harbours a large diversity of plants and trees. Annual precipitation is approximately 1,800 mm in the eastern Terai whereas in the West it is 760 to 890 mm. Approximately, 6,306,000 ha of the country is covered by forests. Forests and other wooded land as a share of the total land area in 1990 was 32.7 percent whereas in 2000 it was 27.3 percent. The forest resources provide 81 percent of total fuel consumption and more than 50 percent of fodder to livestock and are one of the main resources of the country, contributing about 14 percent in the national GDP. While revenue from non-timber forests products (NTFPs) including medicinal herbs and aromatic plants account for 5 percent of the total revenue collected from the forestry sector, in certain areas, NTFPs alone provide up to 50 percent of the family income. http://wildlifeheritages.blogspot.com/2007/02/forestry-sector-in-nepal.html33) Following the democratic revolution in 1950, the government nationalised all forests in 1957 in an attempt to prevent the feudal Rana rulers from continuing to use Terai forests as their personal property. The Private Forest Nationalisation Act 1957 was primarily concerned with bringing an end to indiscriminate felling of trees in the Terai forests and the unregulated trade of timber with a view to check the further degradation of forests in the country. However, the nationalisation of all forestland in 1957 and subsequent protectionist practices by the government undermined indigenous management systems and led to overgrazing and random harvests. This accelerated degradation of the landscape and caused deforestation on a massive scale, which gave rise to the emergence of community forestry in Nepal. Community forestry has evolved as one of the major components of Nepal's forest development strategy during the past 25 years, with local Forest User Groups (FUGs) preserving the forests with support from the government and donor agencies. Community forestry is most accurately and usefully understood as an umbrella term denoting a wide range of activities which link rural people with forests, trees, and the products and benefits to be derived from them. Gilmour and Fisher (1991) define community forestry in terms of control and management of forest resources by the rural people who use them especially for domestic purposes and as an integral part of their farming systems. Community forestry in the mid-hills is often regarded as one of the few notable success stories in the national context of poor public sector management, improving people's livelihoods on the one hand and conserving natural landscapes on the other http://wildlifeheritages.blogspot.com/2007/02/forestry-sector-in-nepal.htmlMongolia:

34) Mongolia's major problems are desertification, deforestation, decline of water resources, loss of bio-diversity, air pollution and solid waste in urban areas due to the reasons such as the change of economic activities into the market-based economy in the early 1990s, population concentration in urban areas and decreasing rainfall because of global warming. " The Ministry of Nature and Environment (MNE) was established 20 years ago, and the "Law on Environmental Protection" was enacted in 1995. At present, over 30 laws on environmental regulations have been issued and the legislative regime continues to be improved. In addition, Mongolia has ratified international conventions such as Climate Change and Biodiversity. " MNE sets specific objectives and implement policies for preventing illegal mining, overuse of water resources, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. http://www.mongolia-web.com/content/view/915/2/Australia:35) Trapeze artists will swing from ropes high in trees on a bulldozed road leading into the Upper Florentine Valley, while canopy tree sit-ins are maintained to guard against logging machinery. The Wilderness Society, which organised the event, claims it will be spectacular and provide valuable environmental education for children. But the move has frayed the tempers of industry heavyweights. Environmentalists say they will continue their " tree-top cabarets " and anti-logging protests in Tasmania's south-west, as industry groups call for more police to throw them out. The Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association (TFCA) and the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) claim the actions are costing loggers and sawmillers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Green groups, including The Wilderness Society and the Huon Valley Environment Centre who are fighting to prevent current logging at the Upper Florentine and Lower Weld valleys, say it is their duty. " These protest activities cost harvesters and sawmillers big money, and the Tasmanian public loses out as well, " TFCA executive officer Ferdie Kroon said. " Current actions are not only dangerous to protesters, but also endanger the lives of the harvesting operators, their supervisors and even the police. " Mr Kroon said children were being used in the protest, increasing the safety risks and complicating efforts to negotiate an outcome. " The presence of children makes it more difficult for harvesters to photograph protesters' illegal activity, " he said. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Treetop-protests-to-continue-in-Tas/2007/02/14/1171405288473

..html36) ENVIRONMENTALISTS say they will continue their " tree-top cabarets " and anti-logging protests in Tasmania's southwest, as industry groups call for more police to throw them out. The Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association (TFCA) and the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) claim the actions are costing loggers and sawmillers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Green groups, including The Wilderness Society and the Huon Valley Environment Centre who are fighting to prevent current logging at the Upper Florentine and Lower Weld valleys, say it is their duty. Trapeze artists tonight will swing from ropes high in trees on a bulldozed road leading into the Upper Florentine Valley, while canopy tree sit-ins are maintained to guard against logging machinery. The Wilderness Society, which organised the event, claims it will be spectacular and provide valuable environmental education for children. But the move has frayed the tempers of industry heavyweights. " These protest activities cost harvesters and sawmillers big money, and the Tasmanian public loses out as well, " TFCA executive officer Ferdie Kroon said. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21225056-1702,00.html37) The future of Auspine and its 300 workers is unclear after the north-east Tasmanian company lost its softwood supply deal two weeks ago. Senator Abetz says the Commonwealth is already offering a $10 million package to help the community. He does not believe the company would get any Federal Government assistance for transport under the Community Forest Agreement. " Auspine didn't put in an application and in the event that they would have done, it's unlikely it would have met the criteria agreed to by both the state and federal governments that it was for new investment in the industry, " Senator Abetz said. Auspine's Tasmanian manager, Geoff Campbell, says the company did lodge a formal application last year for funds under the community forest agreement. But Mr Campbell says it did not come to fruition. " It was never a requirement that had to happen for the mills to continue to operate or anything else, " he said. " I received a request back that said clearly the application appeared to the meet the guidelines but they needed more information but not from myself, from Forestry Tasmania. " Premier Paul Lennon says he is prepared to spend $2.5 million subsidising the transport of logs from Strahan to Scottsdale. The Commonwealth has refused to match the offer. But the Premier says it must consider Auspine's application for transport funding under the Community Forest Agreement. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1847228.htmTropical forests: 38) Preserving the world's rapidly shrinking tropical forests and improving the economic prospects of millions of poor people requires an urgent strengthening of national forest governance. Globally, this calls for strong financial incentives, says a new World Bank policy research report, " At Loggerheads? Agricultural Expansion, Poverty Reduction and Environment in the Tropical Forests. " A majority of people in rural tropical areas — about 800 million — lives in or around vulnerable forests or woodlands, depending on them heavily for survival. Yet deforestation at five percent a decade is steadily depleting this resource base, contributing to 20 percent of annual global CO2 emissions and seriously threatening biodiversity. " Global carbon finance can be a powerful incentive to stop deforestation, " said François Bourguignon, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics, the World Bank. " Compensation for avoiding deforestation could help developing countries to improve forest governance and boost rural incomes, while helping the world at large to mitigate climate change more vigorously. " . In Africa and Asia, some deforestation is equally unproductive. These forests may be worth five times more if left standing, providing carbon storage services, than if cleared and burned. If developing countries could tap this value, they could also stimulate more productive agriculture in degraded areas, while preserving the environmental services of forests. In Latin America, dense tropical forest is often cleared to create pastures worth as little as $300 a hectare, while releasing large amounts of CO2 But current carbon markets do not tap the potential benefits of forest carbon. The report reviews the obstacles impeding the use of global carbon finance to reduce deforestation, and offers workable solutions. " Now is the time to reduce pressures on tropical forests through a comprehensive framework that integrates sustainable forest management into the global strategy for mitigating climate change and preserving biodiversity, " said Katherine Sierra, Vice President, Sustainable Development, the World Bank. Deforestation is driven largely by economic incentives to expand agriculture, with varying returns. http://www.africasciencenews.org/_disc1/00000017.htmWorld-wide:39) 2010-2020 UN DECADE FOR DESERTS AND DESERTIFICATION: This draft decision (UNEP/GC/24/L.2) was introduced in the COW on Monday by Algeria. The US, the EU and Australia initially opposed the draft, questioning the added value of such a Decade after the 2006 UN Year of Deserts and Desertification, while pledging their support to ongoing activities under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The G-77/China and the Russian Federation supported the draft decision, arguing that a UN Decade would increase international attention. The matter was referred to a contact group, where opposition to the decision was withdrawn and the decision was later adopted. Final Decision: In the decision (UNEP/GC/24/CW/L.3/Add.1), the GC/GMEF recalls UN General Assembly resolution 58/211 declaring 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, takes into account the programmatic and financial commitment of the GEF to desertification control, and recommends to the UN General Assembly that it declare, during its 62nd session, the decade 2010-2020 as the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification. http://www.un.org40) When Nobel Prize laureate Prof Wangari Maathai visited the United States a few years ago she met a corporate group that said it planned to plant a million trees. Prof Wangari supported the idea but her vision for tree planting was beyond the horizon, having herself steered the Kenya Green Belt Movement to plant more than 30 million trees since 1977. She had thus told the group that it would be better if they targeted to plant a billion trees given the state of deforestation in the world and the need to rehabilitate the environment in order to combat global warming and climate change. It is from this vision of Prof Wangari that the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) came up with the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign which is now in its third month. The campaign aims to plant a minimum one billion trees this year. Yet even before the UNEP campaign was launched last November, there have been many tree planting activities the world over as individuals, schools and institutions, private sector organizations, and local authorities implemented their own plans to plant trees. What is required now, however, is the upping of these activities basing on the need for voluntary collective action to fight global warming and climate change. Man needs trees now more than ever before for several reasons but two are the major ones. Deforestation due to agriculture, urbanization and other human activities is going on at an unprecedented pace. http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2007/02/15/84419.html41) The fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due in complete form in a few months, but the "Summary for Policymakers" was released last week. The general consensus from environmental activists, along with the media and nearly all politicians can be summed up as this: "The 'question mark' has been removed; fossil fuels are causing global warming." The IPCC report claims that up to 27.5 GtCO2 per year originate from burning of fossil fuel, and up to 9.9 GtCO2 per year originate from "land use change." This suggests that up to 26% of anthropogenic CO2 comes from "land use change," which one may assume is associated with deforestation. And it is fair to say that the primary driver of deforestation today is the mad rush to establish biofuel plantations where tropical rainforests currently stand. What also isn't mentioned in the IPCC summary is that deforestation not only releases of vast quantities of CO2 as trees are removed and burned, but also causes a permanent loss of CO2 uptake capacity. Tropical forests, which flourish year-round, are far more efficient at removing CO2 from the atmosphere than the more extensive forests in the northern latitudes. Also receiving scant mention in the IPCC summary is the "surface albedo" and "cloud albedo" effects, which cool the planet, and which are directly undermined by deforestation, especially in the tropics. Worldwide, tropical rainforest area has declined from over 7 million square miles to less than 3 million square miles - a decline equivalent to nearly 10% of the land surface of the planet. http://ecoworld.com/blog/2007/02/12/136/