Guest guest Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 199 - Earth's Tree News Today for you 39 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) End logging subsidies --British Columbia: 2) Protest to save medicinal gathering site, 3) Industry changes? --Washington: 4) Cascade Land Conservancy, 5) DNR's massive boosts in logging in Olympics, 6) Activist responds to DNR's logging boost, 7) Turning a dump into a forest, --Oregon: 8) Response to Seneca Jones Letter to Ed., 9) Another Andy Kerrism, --Montana: 10) Pineros --North Dakota: 11) Juniper cutting for endangered sheep opposed --Ohio: 12) Loss of too many pines in the Oak Openings Preserve --Canada: 13) Glen Davis shot, killed, 14) Catalog retailer campaign, 15) Boreal driftwood, 16) Boreal driftwood part2, 17) Trashing forests in Martin's Heron, --Finland: 18) Prices of felled timber reach record level --Africa: 19) Biomass mapping to help manage and preserve --Uganda: 20) Victory for Mabira forest, 21) Chimps in reserves can't be sustained, --Congo: 22) Discussing the crisis in the rainforest --Panama: 23) Most diverse place in the world? --Brazil: 24) Refusing to commit to specific emission reductions, 25) Atlantic Forest, --Argentina: 26) Challenging fast-expanding soya plantations, --Malaysia: 27) Does Government aid illegal logging? --Indonesia: 28) Eco-tourism is underdeveloped, 29) Selling endangered species, 30) biofuel empire builders, 31) Did they accept bribes? 32) Courts fail to punish illegal loggers, 33) 'Jungle school' for orphaned Orangutans, 34) Mangrove logging, --Australia: 35) Campaign to end land clearing in NSW, 36) Shire council won't call cops on Bodalla protestors, 37) more arrests in Bodalla, 38) 185ha in Ellis Creek saved, --World-wide: 39) UN's Billion tree debacle, Alaska: 1) Last year, the U.S. government paid $48.5 million to build roads through our largest national forest so logging companies could get in there and cut it down. Taxpayers recovered $500,000 of that investment, about what was expected given the worldwide timber glut. What part of that sounds like a good idea? Nevertheless, the U.S. Forest Service is poised to do it all over again. Over the last 25 years, taxpayers have subsidized Alaska's timber industry to the tune of $1 billion and counting, while conservationists and sportsmen howled in protest about the ravaging of the Tongass National Forest -- the world's largest temperate rain forest. Centuries-old Sitka spruce and other irreplaceable trees have been felled to compete with cheap imported lumber from Russia and South America. The timber companies never make enough money to repay the cost of the roads, but they'll give it all back some day, if they don't go bankrupt first. In the last decade, the number of jobs supported by logging in the Tongass has dropped from more than 1,500 to fewer than 200, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense. Taxpayer subsidies amounted to more than $200,000 per job, about four times the average logger's salary. Before the fiscal watchdogs joined the chorus, environmental groups lobbied for protection for the wolves, bears and bald eagles that live in the Tongass, species driven north by human encroachment. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705210629may22,1,933556.stor\ y?coll=chi-new snationworld-hed & ctrack=1 & cset=true British Columbia: 2) Logging protesters -- both white and native -- say they'll be out in force this morning to try to save 31 hectares where they harvest medicinal plants and valuable pine mushrooms. " People are marching to save this piece of land because this is very important land for our people here in N'Quatqua, " said N'Quatqua elder Laureen Jack, 64. " For thousands and thousands of years, our people have thrived using this land that keeps us alive. We go there to harvest food. It supplies us with many of our needs. " Jack is part of the Blackwater Stewardship group, which has gathered close to 500 signatures from people who oppose the logging about 85 kilometres north of Whistler. Jack said she hopes 20 or so protesters will turn up this morning. Asked if they would block logging trucks, Jack said tactics were to be discussed at a meeting last night but she hopes for a peaceful protest. The cut block is in the provincially recognized Blackwater Pine Mushroom Management Area. It's estimated that the sale of the mushrooms brings in up to $100,000 a year for the community, which has no other real source of income. The N'Quatqua band and the government have an agreement that acknowledges limited log harvesting within the mushroom management area. " If this is cut off, a lot of people will be starving here, " said Jack. " That is what sustains our population in this area. " The highly prized pine mushroom can take up to 80 years to grow, so logging will likely mean the end of mushroom harvesting in the area. " It is so heartbreaking to see all this happening just for a handful of money and for just a handful of people to benefit from it, " said Jack. http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=ccab3243-7bfe-4c55-b995-b31\ fcff5cf94 3) There was a time in British Columbia, not that long ago, when both the provincial government and the forest industry believed that an end to clear-cut logging would spell economic doom. So through the 1980s and into the 1990s there was a so-called war in the woods as environmentalists, trying to change what were needlessly destructive harvesting practices, blocked roads and staged protests. B.C. became globally famous for its dirty logging practices when the fight over Clayoquot Sound blew up into an event that featured mass arrests and mass news media coverage. That crisis persuaded the government, then an NDP administration under the leadership of Mike Harcourt, to take a hard look at logging policies and to try to find better solutions. Helping to push the government and industry into change were market campaigns launched by Greenpeace and others that were having some real economic effect. Today no sensible forest executive or forests minister would argue for a return to the massive clear cuts that turned entire mountainsides in B.C. into moonscapes, and unleashed erosion that choked salmon streams with debris and smothered spawning beds. It's shocking to look at pictures from those times and recall that people actually argued there was nothing wrong with those practices. Although there is still bad logging in B.C., it is not unusual to meet loggers or logging company executives today who quite justifiably consider themselves environmentalists. Forestry people are looking for balanced, sustainable ways to harvest timber and - the problems over spotted owl and mountain caribou habitat aside - in most places they are finding it. Consider then where we are today with the fish farm debate - awash in a sea of denial. http://www.rbcinvest.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/LAC/2007052\ 1/BCHUME21/nat ional/national/nationalTheNationHeadline/6/6/17/ Washington: 4) Cascade Land Conservancy: Since taking over the organization in 1991, Duvernoy has transformed CLC into Washington's largest independent conservation and stewardship organization, with allies in Seattle City Hall, the Washington Legislature, and Congress. Working in King, Kittitas, Pierce, Mason, and Snohomish counties, CLC has participated in transactions protecting more than 130,000 acres. CLC helped lead the effort to convert a rail corridor to a recreation trail on the east shore of Lake Sammamish in suburban Seattle. It quietly launched the discussions, now public, for King County to buy a 47-mile Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line, a proposal that's since morphed into a complex plan involving the sale of Boeing Field to the Port of Seattle. Duvernoy is " very creative at finding solutions, " says Rod Brandon, King County's director of environmental sustainability. CLC is also building support for its Cascade Agenda, a $7 billion, 100-year plan to protect 1.3 million acres of forest, streams, and farms. CLC's future is not burdened by modesty. " We will lead a movement to connect conservation to the fabric of our community and thereby change conservation as we know it, " says the group's mission statement. Credibility and trust are critical to what he wants in every negotiation. And by all accounts, Duvernoy is a master at understanding the needs of environmentalists, businesses, and politicians and relentlessly pushing his ideas. If you can forgive the pun, he is a force of nature. When focused on a goal, Duvernoy skips the chit-chat. Former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer says friends have tried unsuccessfully to teach Duvernoy the phrase, " How about them Mariners? " Duvernoy may not care about the mechanics of a 90-mile-per-hour fastball, but he does love the moving parts of a complex negotiation. CLC sometimes buys property (it now owns 12,000 acres), but more often it's a mix of traded development rights, easements, permits, debt, private money, public money raised through " conservation futures tax " or other tools. A developer can be persuaded to set aside some of his land in exchange for building more on what's left. Environmentalists like to see green spaces locked up and politicians like to please both parties, manage growth and get some credit. (CLC is not shy about getting members to sell its proposals.) Duvernoy calls this the win-win-win scenario. http://crosscut.com/mudville/3355/ 5) The state Department of Natural Resources plans a milestone harvest of more than 100 million board feet of timber on the Olympic Peninsula - including Clallam and Jefferson counties - during the next fiscal year, beginning in July. " Heck, we haven't cut 100 million board feet since 1988, and that was the year the spotted owl was listed, " said Al Vaughan, assistant regional manager for DNR's Olympic region. The state lands cover 100,000 acres in Clallam County and 25,000 acres in Jefferson county. Increased harvests could mean more jobs and more money for Clallam and Jefferson county coffers. But those in the timber industry say they are taking a wait-and-see attitude. " I don't think folks want to get too excited yet, because we don't know what will happen, " said Rod Fleck, attorney for the city of Forks, which gave input into DNR's timber harvest calculations. Some timber harvests may be close to homes that have been built on the Olympic mountain foothills, Vaughan said, but residents within one-fourth mile of a timber sale would be notified in advance. New sustainable harvesting calculations have made it possible to harvest the wood, which is enough to frame more than 33,000 small homes. The projection is more than a 33 percent increase over logging in recent years, when harvests hovered around 75 million board feet annually, said Vaughan. A 1992 study by the University of Washington found that 7.69 jobs are created for every million board feet of timber harvested and processed. By that calculation, the increased harvest could mean 200 more jobs within the Olympic region. " The real challenge for the industry now is going to be (finding) the crews to do all the harvesting, " said Bill Herman, part owner of Herman Brothers Logging and Construction in Port Angeles. Statewide, DNR plans to sell 633.8 million board feet and earn $134.4 million during the 2008 fiscal year. " The reality is that we have been artificially low, " said Carol Johnson, director of the North Olympic Timber Action Committee. " Now it's a little bit of catch up . . . it sounds like the good old days, but we're just playing catch up. " http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070520/NEWS/70520\ 0302 6) Response to the above article: The Olympic Forest Coalition, who has a strong program on state forests in the Olympic Region, is truly pissed about this article. First, it is true that the cut will be going up (we, along with three other enviro organizations) sued DNR over their so-called Sustainable Harvest Calculation (done once every ten years) and negotiated a settlement. The timber industry and a number of beneficiaries came in as intervenors so were " at the table " in the negotiations. What we mostly won was a commitment to not log trees over 100 years old until they redid the SHC in 2014. The second thing we won was a bunch of stuff they were supposed to do on the Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF)--264,000 acre piece on the west and northwest end of the Oly Peninsula. This is mostly about what the article was about and this is NOT the information we previously received. We were told by Al Vaughan of DNR that they actually averaged 50 mmbf over the last 10 years, not 75. The 100 million board feet a year is off the wall. First, although 8% reduction will occur because of the settlement agreement (NOT calculated in Al's numbers), on the OESF. Second we were all told that DNR could not ramp up to their full allowed cut until close to 2014, but now they are claiming the full meal deal immediately. Thirdly, they are working with USFWS on directions to protect the marbled murrelet and there are a hell of a lot of murrelets flying into state forest land. In 1-2 years DNR expects a rather significant reduction because of that new protocol. There are other problems with the article that came as a surprise to us, since we are supposed to be notified about all of this, but it's too technical to get in to. Unfortunately, for years we had a great regional manager who has recently retired--being replaced by someone who is not progressive. Interestingly, most of the timber industry quotes say they doubt if this will happen and Rod Fleck from the City of Forks (one of the settlement partners) actually made the most sensible comment and that was something like unless you take the environment into account and not just how many trees will be logged, the plan won't work. --Bonnie Phillips, Executive Director, Olympic Forest Coalition http://www.olympicforest.org 7) Most residents, let alone city policymakers, hadn't paid attention to the empty property until after the city purchased it. They used it to dump large trash items such as cars and washing machines. Kids even played paintball among the giant stands of trees. " It's a surprise to lots of people, " says Earl Kuhl, one of the first residents to take an interest in protecting the property. If most residents didn't know about it, tourists and visitors certainly didn't, either. Kuhl wanted that to change. " This is like the Quinault rainforest on a miniature scale, " he says before stepping into a narrow, wooded path he cut by himself six years ago after the then-city manager granted his request. " You step into the woods here about 30 feet, and you're immersed in the forest on all sides. " The paths are well-worn, a testament to the increased use they've been getting, thanks to tours during native plant appreciation week in April. They're also rich in debris, and Kuhl says that causes the paths to stay dry even during heavy rains. Kuhl points to countless huckleberry and salmonberry bushes, a favorite of the bears. He listens to the chorus of songbirds, a rare sound for the beach. The paths cross clearings of false lily of the valley, salal and ferns. Fresh deer tracks are a typical sight, he says. But the Weatherwax's most distinct features are the sizable stands of spruce, hemlock and cedar, and the vast diversity of mushrooms at the base of those giants. Much of the trees around the edge of the property are massive, yet aren't suitable for good lumber harvests. The relative ease with which they reach the sun's rays means their branches aren't forced to grow as high as elsewhere. Combine that with the strength of coastal storms, and some bizarre, climbable trees emerge. " This is a coastal forest, so many are deformed or fractured, " Kuhl said. " You don't see a forest get any bigger than this on the coast because they're not sheltered from the storms. " Down at the forest floor, mushrooms come in 57 varieties, according to a group of University of Washington students who said they were fascinated with the property and some of the rare species of mushrooms, some of which are unique to the area. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says there's also sizable wetlands in the western portion of the property — the likely location of the new golf holes. Despite the wetlands, Kuhl said the western portion is the " least impressive " of the Weatherwax. http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/05/20/local_news/02news.txt Oregon: 8) Aaron Jones, owner of Seneca Jones Lumber, says the real threat to our forests is not corporations ravaging public lands for personal profit, but instead individuals dedicating their lives to protecting these wild lands and waters for the life that depends upon them for survival - humans included (letters, April 11). Comically, Jones whines about restrictions on federal forests, which only became necessary due to the greedy and short-sighted mentality of his beloved logging industry, leaving us today with less than 5 percent of our native forests. Jones himself has a long rap sheet of earth-abuse, such as clearcutting and spraying herbicides on countless acres of forests and watersheds; wasting $6 million of taxpayers money on the failed logging industry land grab, Umpqua Land Exchange; axing French Pete Creek from the Waldo Wilderness bill; funding the corporate swindle, Measure 37, and planning to log native forests in Eugene's source of drinking water, the McKenzie River watershed. Jones should know that a six-inch sapling does not replace a 300-year-old tree. Especially when the loss of tree roots dumps fertile topsoil into watersheds and when all you're planting are monocrop tree plantations. Humans, even ones with as much influence as Jones, can never create a forest. The only sane option for our forests is to save what's left and restore what's been lost. --MICHELLE D'AMICO, Eugene http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/05/21/printable/ed.letters.0521.4M9V5f30.\ phtml?section=op inion 9) Conservationists could achieve more and better conservation of national forest lands if they traded away administrative appeals of agency decisions in exchange for Congressionally mandated substantive protections for roadless, riparian, older, naturally younger and other ecologically significant forests. The time and effort spent by the conservation community on administrative appeals could be better spent on preparing for litigation, political organizing, resource monitoring and public education. The proposed legislated trade of process for substance would not affect judicial review of agency action. A more printable version (much larger file) may be downloaded at www.andykerr.net/downloads Montana: 10) Packing heavy 30-pound loads of ponderosa pine seedlings wrapped in wet burlap, the men stretch out single file across the hillside. Every few steps, they stop for a moment to swing their sharpened tools hard into the rocky soil. Ping. Ping. Ping. Pulling back on the 6-inch slice of steel opens another hole in the earth. The men reach down into their bag for the next bare-root seedling. With the seemingly effortless motion that comes from countless hours of repetition, a tree is placed into its new home. On a good day - when the ground isn't filled with rocks - the men might plant upward of 700 trees. Yet there's nothing about this job that's easy. " It's very hard work, " Moreno says as he watches his men, who call themselves pineros, scramble over dead fall and slick stone in their search for the next best place for a new seedling. " But it's good money. It's the reason they're all here. They want a better life for their families. " In Mexico, the men might make $20 a day working in and around the small agricultural community of Amealco, just south of Mexico City. " They make about $16.50 an hour on this job, " Moreno says, motioning for a pair of pineros to spread out a bit more. " It is good money, but it is not an easy life. " At 34, Alejandro Garduño is one of the oldest on this 12-man crew. Every year since 1998, he has packed his belongings, signed a work visa and left his family for nine months to work in the woods of Montana, Oregon and Idaho. Every year he tells himself this will be the last. It's hard to say goodbye to your family. It's hard to miss your children's birthdays. It's hard to see your wife cry. Manuel Anaya hopes someday to save enough money to start his own business. At 22, he's not sure how long that might take. He does know he doesn't want to do this forever. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/05/21/news/local/znews01.txt North Dakota: 12) In a state known as the least-forested in the nation, the U.S. Forest Service wants to fell hundreds of juniper trees in North Dakota's Badlands to improve the habitat for transplanted bighorn sheep. Biologists believe bighorn sheep need clear areas to protect their young from lurking predators. Area ranchers say earlier efforts to thin junipers from the Badlands have been a waste of taxpayers' money, and they have refused access to their land, forcing state foresters to haul equipment farther. " I don't believe in them cutting down trees and I'm not going to make it any easier for them to do it, " said Medora rancher Harold Hugelen, who along with his rancher neighbors has denied access to a state tree-thinning project the past two years. " If they want to do it, they have got to work for it. " Hugelen does not believe in reintroducing bighorns in the Badlands. Biologists say the bighorns are native to the state, but were wiped out by 1905 because of over-hunting and disease. " I don't think we should change habitat for wildlife - if they can't survive, they can't survive, " Hugelen said. " The next thing they'll want to do is level the Badlands because the hills will be too steep for the sheep. " http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Sheep_Terrain.html Ohio: 12) Much to the dismay of some nature-lovers, the Metroparks of the Toledo Area cut down thousands of pine trees in Oak Openings Preserve. Stewardship of the natural environment, a charge that most people in the Toledo see as a primary responsibility of the park district, would appear to preclude such deforestation. But appearances can be deceptive. In fact, the pine trees don't really belong there. They were introduced to the park in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration with the goal of harvesting the lumber and using the revenue to help fund the parks. It wasn't known at the time how globally rare are the Oak Openings environment and some of the species there. At the time, the idea to plant pines and raise revenue from their harvesting made sense. Today it doesn't. But the fact that the Metroparks organization is making the right call in meeting its responsibility to care for the land doesn't ease the pain of local residents who love the trees, or those to whom it is anathema to cut down any tree. It was a difficult decision for Metroparks officials to make, but it nevertheless was one that recognizes the bigger picture, the place that Oak Openings occupies in the larger environmental scheme of things. Many of the pines were hard hit by a drought 19 years ago and have become stressed and vulnerable to disease and pests, posing fire risks. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that the trees were planted far too close together. They should have been 18 feet apart, but many are at a distance of only 6 to 8 feet. And while it might have seemed a compromise to allow the pine trees to die a natural death, that can't be allowed because their decomposition would change the chemistry of the soil. So instead of pine trees, the Metroparks will make room for native oak trees and rare plants, like the wild lupine which is the food source for the Karner blue butterfly, itself an endangered species. http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070520/OPINION02/705190308/-\ 1/OPINION Canada: 13) TORONTO -- Glen Davis was not your typical multimillionaire: He rode the subway, spent months hiking and paddling through the wilderness, and never had children because he believed the world was overpopulated. Mr. Davis gave millions to causes - to hospitals, universities and the environmental movement - but didn't want buildings or parks named after him. Some of his contributions were noticed only by a grateful few, like the women of the Canadian national rowing team, who learned that he had set up a tab for them at a London restaurant. His quiet generosity created legions of fans, including Elizabeth May, federal leader of the Green Party, who considered Mr. Davis " a great person, and a great friend. " But it appears Mr. Davis had enemies, too. On Friday, he was fatally shot in a Toronto parking garage in what police consider a carefully targeted crime. " This was not random, " Detective Wayne Fowler said. " It was a calculated event. " http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070521.wmurder21/BNStory/Na\ tional/home 14) Catalog retailers send out over 20 billion catalogs a year, and almost none of the paper contains any recycled content. That's 8 million tons of trees going from forests to the landfill, with a short appearance as junk mail in between. Last month, activists across the country served the catalog industry with a 30-day eviction notice to get out of Endangered Forests. Time is up! This week we are kicking our catalog campaign into gear. Thanks to your pressure we are meeting with representatives from the catalog industry to help them make the right decision -- stop making catalogs from Endangered Forests. You are our biggest weapon in the campaign to reform catalog practices and protect our Endangered Forests. Thanks to a few generous donors, your gift will be matched 3-to-1 if we meet our challenge to raise $5,000, and that's $20,000 in the bank. We need your support. https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/forestethics/shop/custom.\ jsp?donate_page _KEY=2458 15) Driftwood that originates in the Siberian and North American boreal forest is the major source of wood to people in the treeless Arctic. It archives various kinds of data about climate, river flow, ocean and ice circulation, and other critical environmental and cultural characteristics in the north. Unlike wood in most other regions, it is often well preserved in arctic archaeological sites. The existence and renewal of driftwood are closely linked to specific climatic and ecological conditions that have changed through time (e.g., floods, river banks, storms, prevailing currents and winds, sea-ice circulation, etc.). These conditions differently affect the fall, circulation and delivery of driftwood to the coast, resulting in changes in abundance, distribution and intrinsic properties of the wood. Based on a review of existing literature supplemented by new data from Alaska, this paper details factors underlying the dynamic of driftwood production in terms of driftwood abundance and quality, and indigenous people's use of the resource. Oral history interviews in coastal and river communities of Alaska recorded knowledge on driftwood use and ecology. Driftwood samples were collected from accumulations along the northwest coast of Alaska and the south of the Chukotka Peninsula. Results show that the timing of treefall and river transport are crucial to the subsequent ocean circulation and may determine the size and quality of the wood. Ultimately, it conditions what coastal people could build or manufacture. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/gloplacha 16) Driftwood logs have tales to tell about past river and ocean circulation and climate, and Alix is one of the few scientists who study driftwood. When trees fall from the bank of a great river like the Yukon, Mackenzie, or the Anadyr in Siberia, they sometimes travel thousands of miles to the ocean. Once in the ocean, a Yukon spruce log can reach the eastern Arctic via Fram Straight, riding ice floes for a good portion of the way and taking many years to complete the trip. Alix once traced a spruce log gathered by Steven Stone in Hooper Bay to an area near Beaver, Alaska, about 900 miles from Hooper Bay. By matching up growth rings on the log to rings of live trees from the Beaver area, she found that the spruce tree had fallen in the Yukon near Beaver in 1999 and took four years to drift to Hooper Bay on the Bering Sea coast, where large trees don't grow. In Hooper Bay and villages beyond treeline, residents look forward to the spring days after ice breakup when driftwood from the interior of the continent floats to their village. " It's still a very important resource in places like Hooper Bay and Scammon Bay, " she said. " They use it for carving, firewood, and for their steam baths. " Villagers along river systems also use driftwood as rafts to float fishwheels and to use driftwood poles to build frames for fish racks. Over the years, Alix has noticed that people in the High Arctic of Canada use the same parts of driftwood logs to make the same things as Eskimos on the west coast of Alaska. " It's remarkable what they make from this wood, " she said. http://www.farnorthscience.com 17) Three areas of forest in Martin's Heron have been devastated within the past month. A large section of woodland off Blewburton Walk was bulldozed and, as reported in Midweek last week, trees in Allsmoor Lane were cut down. Now an area of woodland on the railway line between Martin's Heron and Ascot train stations has also been chopped - this time by Network Rail. Outraged residents say the clearance of trees will have a terrible effect on the area's wildlife. Green Corridors campaigner Mary Combs said she was worried about the survival of nesting birds. She said: " People think that they can cut down trees to get development approval in the future. " I am trying to campaign about the effect on wildlife in Allsmoor Lane but I am also worried about Blewburton Walk. " Both the areas of woodland, in Allsmoor Lane and Blewburton Walk, are owned by private landlords. The areas are being investigated by the Forestry Commission due to the size of the patches of forest which have been felled. http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/chronicle/tm_headline=anger-over-woodland-des\ truction & method= full & objectid=19162658 & siteid=50102-name_page.html Finland: 18) Stumpage prices of felled timber reached a record level in April, according to statistics kept by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA). The stumpage price is the value of timber in the forest before it is felled. According to data collected by METLA, the price paid for pine and spruce logs was slightly over EUR 60 per cubic metre. In March the prices rose by four per cent. The price rise for coniferous logs from April last year was about one third. Buyers have paid more than EUR 60 per cubic metre for high-quality stands of trees available for felling in the summer. There are reports of prices as high as EUR 73 per cubic metre in the west of Finland. Antti Sahi, head of forestry at the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) says that the situation is unique. " Not even the oldest forestry professionals remember anything like this. It is also exceptional that demand remains strong for a long time " , he says. Although a higher price for wood is in MTK's interest, Sahi says that some aspects of the situation are a cause for concern. " At some point the prices will even out, and let's hope that it will happen in a controlled manner. If the prices move in the opposite direction in the same way, the wood trade will be completely stuck. " Economists in the field were caught completely off guard by the price development of raw timber. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Price+of+coniferous+logs+hits+new+record/113522\ 7401526 Africa: 19) Scientists are using a biomass map in Africa to help manage and preserve natural resources. It shows how much live vegetation, or biomass, covers a specific area of land. The tropical zones of Africa are home to dense and humid forests. They contain a diverse spread of life and absorb and store carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Using biomass maps, made using satellites, scientists can infer how much carbon is contained in the forest and how much could be released into the atmosphere by deforestation. In Africa, it's common practice for people to clear a patchwork of land to farm and feed their families. They cut the trees down with machetes and set fire to the area. Then they plant in the ashes, which help fertilize the crops. This is called slash and burn. Nadine Laporte: When they burn the biomass, you have CO2 which is emitted in the atmosphere, and so it increases CO2 and changes the climate. It gets warmer and warmer. That's Nadine Laporte, the director of the Africa Program at the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts. She developed the new biomass maps for Africa. She said it's more difficult to prevent slash and burn by families in Africa than deforestation that's driven by industry in other countries. http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/51345/map-keeps-track-of-africas-forests-and-\ carbon Uganda: 20) Uganda's cabinet has suspended a proposal to give away part of a rainforest to a sugarcane grower, the environment minister said on Tuesday, weeks after three people were killed in a protest against the plan. President Yoweri Museveni has faced vocal opposition over the plan to raze 7,100 hectares (17,540 acres) of Mabira Forest, a nature reserve since 1932, and give the land to the privately-owned Mehta Group's sugar estate. Environment minister Maria Mutagamba told Reuters the government had shelved it, pending a cabinet committee study. " There is a suspension until the committee reports back, " Mutagamba said. " It is an extensive process -- it is not going to be finished in a week or a month. " A protest to save Mabira last month turned violent, leaving three dead, including an Indian man stoned to death by rioters. Mehta is owned by an ethnic Indian family. Mutagamba said the lands ministry would draw up a map of land available to investors in Uganda for sectors such as coffee, sugar, manufacturing or tourism, to see if there was alternative land for Mehta's sugar. http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2007/05/ugandan_protected_rainforests.asp 21) Over 200 chimpanzees in western Uganda are living in small forest reserves that cannot sustain them and causing an increase in crop raids, conservationists have said. " What we regard as habitats for chimps are being changed by farmers who want to engage in agriculture, " Debby Cox, the executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute (Uganda) said. " This is causing disputes because displaced primates are turning into crop raiders.'' Cox gave an example of Kasokwa forest reserve, which had a chain of forests that acted as a migratory route for chimps to move back and forth that had been cut off from Budongo. " We have between 200 and 500 chimps living in isolated forest reserves in Western Uganda and we are considering relocating them to larger reserves, which can sustain them.'' Cox was speaking at a meeting organised in Masindi by the USAID programme on environment. Peter Apel from the Jane Goodall Institute in Uganda warned against turning forests that shelter streams and rivers into farmland. " Water and firewood will become scarce once all the forests are wiped out. Streams and rivers will completely dry up because they are connected to the forests, which hold a lot of rain water and release it gradually.'' He added: " At the moment there is a conflict between humans and chimps because they raid their crops but the water sources will also disappear.'' http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/566216 Congo: 22) The occasion was a panel discussion hosted by Greenpeace and (deep breath) the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Great Lakes Region of Africa, to discuss the crisis in the Congo rainforest. As the name suggests, it's a collective of MPs from all parties with a special interest in that part of the world who try to make sure issues affecting the region remain on the political agenda. The special guest stars were representatives from two Congolese organisations that work to protect the forest and the people who live there, so it was an excellent chance for MPs, civil servants and UK campaigners (including me) to hear first-hand reports about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and how the World Bank's policies are affecting both the forest and the people. Through working on this campaign over the past few months, I've learnt a lot about what's happening in the Congo rainforest, but listening to these guys really brought home how things are hanging in the balance. We know that a mind-boggling number of people (40 million out of the DRC's 60 million population) rely on the forest for their survival, but it was Adrien Sinafasi Makelo, of the Pygmies Indigenous People Association Network and Dignité Pymée, who really made it clear how close that relationship is. He described the forest as a supermarket where water, food, medicines, building materials and more are all available, but the people he represents are seeing all these things disappearing before their eyes. Not too dissimilar from what a landowner from Papua New Guinea has told us in the past. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/caterpillars-and-contracts-20070521 Panama: 23) Amazonia represents the quintessence of biodiversity the richest ecosystem on earth. Yet a study by Smithsonian scientists, published this week in the journal Science, shows that differences in species composition of tropical forests are greater over distance in Panama than in Amazonia. The finding also challenges recent models proposed to explain forest species composition. Institute's Center for Tropical Forest Science, compared data from single-hectare (2.47 acre) tropical forest plots near the Panama Canal with plots of the same size in the Yasuni National Park of Ecuador and in Peru's Manu Biosphere Reserve. After identifying, tagging and measuring more than 50,000 individual trees with stems of ten centimeters or more in diameter in all three forests, they observed that a wide swath of the western Amazon has a forest in which the species change very little over distances of more than 1000 kilometers. The tree species counts in any one locale are high, but each locale turns out to be much like the others in terms of species composition. In contrast, forests on the Isthmus of Panama change dramatically in tree species composition from one site to the next. Forests just 50 kilometers apart in Panama are less alike than forests 1,400 kilometers apart in the western Amazon. As a result of such high landscape variation, parts of Panama have as many or even more tree species than parts of Amazonia. " Ecologists have a technical term for landscape variation in forest types: beta-diversity, " Condit explained. " Beta-diversity is high when forests change a lot over short distances as in Panama but low when forests are similar over long distances as in Ecuador and Peru. " http://inkanaturatravel.blogspot.com/2007/05/where-is-worlds-greatest-biodiversi\ ty.html Brazil: 24) Brazil appears to be about to pass over a prime opportunity to affirm itself as a leading environmental power in negotiations to bring the threat of global warming under control, according to environmentalists and analysts. Crowned with the dubious honor of being one of the five countries that produce the most greenhouse gases, Brazil is unique in that three-quarters of its emissions of these gases are due to deforestation. A drastic reduction in deforestation could be achieved simply by enforcing what is already official policy: that is, stemming the advance of agricultural and mining activities as they illegally encroach on the Amazon rainforest. But the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is refusing to commit to specific emission reduction targets, which so far are compulsory for only 35 industrialised countries. Brazil first wants to consolidate the principle of " common but differentiated responsibility " mentioned in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets legally binding targets only on industrialised countries, which bear the greater responsibility for the greenhouse gases that have accumulated in the atmosphere. With regard to natural forests, Brazil's position has changed. At first it opposed their inclusion in the mechanisms created by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and implemented in 2005, which permit industrialised countries to fulfil part of their emission reduction in other countries by earning carbon credits. Last year, Brasilia proposed creating a fund made up of voluntary donations to compensate efforts by developing countries themselves to cut the rate of deforestation compared to historic averages. Remuneration would be proportional to the volume of greenhouse gas emissions prevented by these actions. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37827 25) Walking through the ancient Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia in Brazil is like taking a pilgrimage through a living version of a Gothic cathedral. Immense columns of trees surge up towards the brilliant flecks of sunlight filtering through the forest canopy high overhead - giving the visual effect of a stained-glass ceiling held by timber pillars. Just as startling are the massive natural supports jutting out from the trunks of some of the bigger trees to stop them from toppling over on the steep slopes - mimicking the flying buttresses of medieval cathedrals. The Atlantic Forest is the forgotten forest. It does not get the publicity of its Amazonian counterpart yet its place in the scheme of life is just as important because of the sheer density of species that are found here and nowhere else. Parts of the forest are considered to be richer in life than any other rainforest on the planet. Scientists have documented super-high levels of endemic species which live solely within the forest's varied and unique habitats. My guide was Kevin Flesher, a 6ft 6inch American biologist with a ponytail who has studied the incredible biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest for more than a decade - and nowhere is more diverse than southern Bahia on Brazil's north-east coast. " Within the Atlantic Forest the richest areas identified so far in terms of floral diversity are the forests of southern Bahia. And we are right in that zone. So we are pretty much in the richest zone of tree species anywhere in the world, " Dr Flesher said. And yet this unique habitat has virtually disappeared and what little is left has become the most threatened rainforest on the planet. Many specialists, including Dr Flesher, feel that not enough is being done to preserve the few substantial forest fragments that remain. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2567971.ece Argentina: 26) The ambition of Manuel Santos Uribelarrea is written in big black letters on the side of machines reaping the plains of South America: MSU. It is harvest time and the state-of-the-art behemoths bearing his initials have a mission to revolutionize agriculture, change the world's eating habits and make their owner very, very wealthy. At 28, Santos is well on his way to achieving those goals, making him a lord of the pampas, literally master of all he surveys, and one of Argentina's most eligible bachelors. His company owns more than 100,000 hectares of farmland in Argentina and Uruguay, is expanding into Brazil and has plans for Ukraine. The empire, however, is controversial -- it is built on soya. Fast-expanding soya plantations are blamed for the destruction of forests across South America, posing an even graver threat than logging. The outcry has led to the tabling of a " forestry emergency " bill in Argentina's lower house of Congress. It would usher in a one-year moratorium on deforestation and oblige all 23 provinces to control and protect the region's biggest and most diverse eco-system outside Brazil. Most soya producers shun the limelight and any possible association with the bulldozers. Santos, long-haired and fizzing with energy, is different. Speaking at Villa Canas, amid an ocean of soya four hours west of Buenos Aires, the founder and president of MSU said that his company's drive for efficiency was helping to feed the world. " The environmentalists are extremists who want to leave everything as it is, " he said. " But soya is a great crop. It is an important part of sustainable development. We are contributing to Argentina and a better world. " http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/05/22/2003361995 Malaysia: 27) Malaysia's Forestry Department was investigating whether its officers helped timber companies illegally cut down trees in eastern Pahang state, a newspaper reported Monday. The department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is looking into 16 cases to determine whether officers took bribes to alter documents and logging maps so more forest could be cut down, the New Straits Times said. Minister Azmi Khalid was quoted by the daily as admitting there were cases of forestry department officers receiving bribes in Malaysia, but the number was " very low. " Neither the minister nor deputy minister could immediately be reached Monday. Other ministry officials contacted by The Associated Press declined to confirm the report. Despite a 2005 government directive to states to limit the number of new logging concessions, Malaysia's primary forests are still being logged excessively, and officers assigned to protect the forests have often been accused of turning a blind eye to timber companies' illegal activities. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/21/asia/AS-GEN-Malaysia-Illegal-Logging.p\ hp Indonesia: 28) The forests of Kalimantan may be over exploited, but eco-tourism is massively under-developed according to research by Lorna Dowson-Collins. Malaysia now gets ten per cent of its tourism revenue from folk in floppy hats and non-designer baggy shorts - Indonesia around five per cent. Sabah alone attracts 1.7 million visitors a year. Those who reckon slapping on mosquito repellant is a great way to pass time are generally members of the so-called 'Silent Generation', couples whose kids have long flown the nest. In the West professionals from this 55-plus age group are usually well-heeled, want to stay active and have no interest in hedonism and shopping malls. Then there's the Baby Boomers, a generation younger and equally keen to get their feet wet. They also have purpose in pleasure bringing the kids along because travel is educational. It's a market has yet to get serious attention from Indonesian tourism authorities. http://indonesianow.blogspot.com/2007/05/central-kalimantan-ecotourism.html 29) Many endangered species from remote thick forests in South Kalimantan have been sold in some decorated plant shopping kiosks here for the past few months, a report has said. ANTARA reported here Sunday many traders claimed they had obtained the endangered species from remote areas of Mt. Meratus. Stealing endangered species is equivalent to the increasing number of people who have a hobby to collect decorated plants following the Banjarmasin city administration call to the people to cultivate decorated plants in their backyards as well as office and public parks. " The new hobby has given us a business chance to sell decorated plants and thus encouraged us to hunt many endangered species and offer them to people, " said Faisal, the seller of decorated plants. ANTARA observed many endangered species were sold at the Sunday market along Ahmad Yani street here, thus creating a long congestion every Sunday morning. http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/5/20/endangered-species-from-kalimantan-remo\ te-forests-sol d-in-banjarmasin/ 30) Some of Indonesia's most influential and politically connected companies have refocused their business strategies and are joining hands with foreign investors to push forward the government's multi-billion dollar ambition to transform the country into the world's leading biodiesel producer. But there are major political, financial and environmental risks to the grand designs, which arguably are being understated and threaten to complicate the emerging industry's outlook. The same local companies now leading Indonesia's biofuel drive incurred and defaulted on huge foreign debts in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Few fully repaid their debts and today they still dominate the country's logging, wood-processing and pulp industries. Several also have highly suspect environmental records. Now, they are landing big new foreign joint-venture deals to develop the nascent biofuel sector, including major investments in palm-oil plantation development and big new processing facilities that benefit from government incentives and policies aimed at rapidly developing the sector. For instance, Chinese energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is among 59 foreign and local energy investors who in January signed many biofuel-related renewable energy agreements worth US$12.2 billion. SMART is listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges and is a subsidiary of the country's largest oil palm grower, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd. It is also part of the controversial Widjaja family's sprawling business empire, which includes Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), part of the Sinar Mas Group and Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd (APRIL), which in turn is controlled by Raja Garuda Mas International (RGM). http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IE22Ae01.html 31) Was it a case of Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi (being betrayed by someone you trust) as far as several Pahang forestry officials were concerned? Did they accept bribes from timber companies to illegally expand logging areas? These are questions that will be asked in a probe into 16 cases to ascertain if the officers altered documents and logging maps so that more timber could be extracted. The results of the investigation by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is expected to show whether the officers had abused their powers by doing the exact opposite of what had been required of them. One of the principal duties of forestry officials is to ensure that logging companies do not exceed the limits of logging concessions. Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk S. Sothinathan said investigations had started into the cases. He, however, declined to reveal details of the case or if the Forestry Department was also investigating cases outside Pahang. Sothinathan said the ministry would submit a paper on the matter to the cabinet soon. He also gave an assurance that all would be revealed once the cabinet had been informed and investigations had been completed. Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said the number of bribes involving forestry department personnel nationwide was " very low " . " There are cases of forestry officers receiving bribes in other states (besides Pahang), but the figure is small, " he said, when asked about corruption among forestry officials. Azmi could not, however, provide details. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/20070521075301/Article/i\ ndex_html 32) Environmentalists condemned Thursday Indonesia's crackdown on illegal logging in the wake of revelations many suspects in timber-rich Papua province were escaping punishment. Police complained this week that courts had thrown out almost half of the cases of illegal logging that they had investigated in Papua. " The problem not only lies with the justice system, but the whole chain of forest management, " Greenpeace forest campaigner Hapsoro told AFP. Hapsoro blamed a weak justice system for the acquittals, but said Papua's thousands of hectares of forests also needed to be better managed with tighter security to deter illegal loggers. Police said they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the number of illegal loggers who were inexplicably being acquitted. " Seventeen out of 29 cases of illegal logging in Papua have been acquitted and the rest were only given minimum punishments, " said Hadiatmoko, the national deputy chief of special crime, on Wednesday. " Police cannot do anything about the courts' decisions. We only hope that prosecutors will appeal the verdicts, " Hadiatmoko said. Indonesia's government has promised to crackdown on illegal logging, but the practice continues, leading authorities charged with stamping it out to publicly rebuke each other. The government estimates illegal logging has cost the country about four billion dollars and some 2.8 million hectares of forest cover per year over the past decade. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Indonesia_Crackdown_On_Illegal_Logging_Under_F\ ire_999.html 33) Orphaned by hunters who hack their mothers to death, or victims of loggers destroying their forest, these wide-eyed, innocent orangutans have found a sanctuary to protect them. And their unlikely new 'mummy'? Former air-hostess Lone Droscher-Nielsen and her Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. She has dedicated her life to saving orangutans whose habitat is being razed by bulldozers - without her, it is unlikely that any of these babies would be alive today. Now they attend 'jungle school' so they can be returned to safe forests. GREAT PICTURES: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id\ =455397 & in_pag e_id=1811 34) Logging of mangrove trees by farmers in coastal areas of Lampung poses a serious threat to both traditional and modern shrimp farms. Lampung Maritime and Fisheries Office data indicate that 736,000 hectares, or 60 percent of the nine million hectares of mangrove forest along coastal Lampung, are badly damaged. Along the coast of East Lampung regency, mangrove logging has caused coastal abrasion in a number of areas. In South Lampung regency, traditional shrimp farmers are facing difficulties obtaining seawater for their ponds. In coastal areas in Tulangbawang regency, the logging of mangroves and the destruction of buffer zones has threatened the existence of modern aquaculture companies, such as PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja (DCD) and PT Central Pertiwi Bahari (CPB). Around 3,000 hectares of mangrove swamp around PT DCD shrimp farm have been felled -- an area approximately 27 kilometers long and 300 to 700 meters wide. Director of the Lampung chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, Mukri Friatna, said mangrove forest destruction continued unabated and conservation efforts were impeded by a lack of funds and environmental awareness, among both residents and the state. " Traditional farmers whose farms are located near PT DCD recently lost hundreds of tons of ready-to-harvest shrimp due to poison flowing from the river. The spread of toxins could have been minimized if the mangrove swamps still existed, " Mukri said Monday. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070518.G05 & irec=4 Australia: 35) The reinvigorated campaign to end land clearing in NSW, that has been helped by you, has delivered results! Newly returned Premier Iemma has made an important policy announcement that will lead to a new satellite monitoring system to identify illegal land clearing. The Government recently announced a $3.5 million per year satellite monitoring package that was recommended by The Wilderness Society in it's NSW policy paper. If implemented correctly, this will enable illegal clearing to be detected and punished appropriately. The NSW Government also features a new 'super' environment ministry in charge of looking after our precious bushlands and to focus on illegal land clearing. We will continue to push the Government to ensure that laws are enforced so that our bushlands remain for future generations. As you may have seen in the press over the last few days, land clearing continues to be a real threat to nature in NSW. Thanks to all those people who sent in personal emails, letters or cyberactions in the past weeks and months. Your action has made a difference! We have congratulated the Premier but the proof will be in the pudding and more needs to happen. Mr Iemma needs to keep focused on making sure land clearing ends. He also needs to urgently bring in rules to stop destructive logging on private land and protect our native forests in the south east of NSW. Join us to Combat Climate Change and Protect Australia's Precious Environment. The Wilderness Society is a not-for-profit organisation that relies upon its members to continue the campaigns to protect our wild places. If you are a member, thank you for helping to make the difference we are achieving right now in NSW. If you are not yet a member you can join by becoming a Wilderness Defender today. https://www.wilderness.org.au/join/ 36) Eurobodalla Shire Council says it is not going to take sides in a far south coast forest dispute. The council yesterday backed away from a recommendation that it call in police to move on protesters who are camping on council reserves near where controversial harvesting is under way in the Bodalla State Forest, near Tilba. Councillors instead referred the matter to the general manager who they were told has statutory powers to prosecute people for illegal camping. Mayor Neil Mumme says the New South Wales Government has a responsibility to review overdue Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). " The difficult thing for council is this is a State Government issue, " he said. " What did come out of the day was there was quite a lot of passion in the public gallery and I guess the message we sent to the State Government was 'for God's sake, review your RFAs', it's part of your obligations and you are supposed to do that. " There was a call to cease the logging to those RFAs [they] have been reviewed. " Pretty much we are sympathetic to both causes. It is like a dollar each way for the council. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1930488.htm 37) Anti-logging protests and police have clashed in the latest disputed forest of the south-east of New South Wales. Seven people were arrested this morning after they refused to observe police orders to leave the section of Bodalla forest, near Tilba. They were taken to the Narooma police station and have been charged with refusing to leave a prohibited area. Meanwhile, the Eurobodalla Greens councillor, Chris Kowal, has accused the State Forests department of using his council as a pawn to control logging protesters in the Bodalla forest. He claims that State Forests is behind a recommendation to tomorrow's council meeting that would allow police to remove anyone camping on council reserves and roadsides. Cr Kowal says the recommendation may have an unforseen impact on tourism and paints council as the bad guys, taking the heat off State Forests. But Cr Kowal's claims have not impressed the local MP. Andrew Constance says most of the protesters are from outside the local area. http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200705/1929777.htm?southeastnsw 38) The struggling timber industry has lashed out at the Conservation Commission after it was stopped from logging 185ha between Bridgetown and Nannup following a last-minute announcement that the area had old growth forest. The Forest Industries Federation supports the ban on logging old-growth trees but said the late change of status to parts of the Ellis Creek forest — which was due for harvest this year — left the sector high and dry. Executive director Bob Pearce said it would take nine months to prepare an alternative area for logging and the sudden blockade of such a large tract of land would make it difficult for the industry to meet its annual quota of 131,500cu m of timber allowed under the 2001 Forestry Management Plan. Mr Pearce expected the industry to struggle to acquire 110,000cu m this year after delivering only 118,000cu m in the previous couple of years. The industry's difficulties recently prompted Federal Forestry Minister Eric Abetz to call on the State Government to review its ban on old-growth logging to stop WA's native timber industry from going under. Mr Pearce accused green groups of making late requests to the Conservation Commission to investigate specific areas for old-growth trees in a deliberate tactic to stall logging, which could not start until the investigation was complete. http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=146 & ContentID=29481 World-wide: 39) An ambitious United Nations plan to oversee the planting of one billion trees worldwide - including 50 million in Canada - moved ahead yesterday despite mounting criticism from arguably unexpected quarters. Officials at the Nairobi headquarters of the UN's environment wing declared that groups and governments around the world have pledged to exceed the goal - and said the initiative will help fight climate change and poverty. " People talk too much. We are no longer talking; we are working, " said Kenya's Wangari Maathai, whose work as a " green " activist won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. UN Environment Program chief Achim Steiner said the pledges represent a " billion statements " by people worldwide who are saying " time has run out for debating. " But among the rising number of critics are activists and scientists who share the UN's premise that global warming is a fact - but say the " billion tree " campaign risks causing more harm that good. " You can't just say, 'There's a billion extra trees; it's automatically a good for the environment,' " said Kevin Smith, author of the Carbon Neutral Myth, a newly released report by Amsterdam-based Carbon Trade Watch. " You have to work out the local context, where you're planting them, and what type of trees you're planting. " He told of a planting scheme in Uganda that resulted in local farmers being thrown off their land. More widely known is the case of eucalyptus plantations in Brazil that, Smith said, are a " disaster for local biodiversity, " and absorb so much water they " deplete people's water resources. " Smith supports the premise that man-produced " greenhouse gasses " have caused or accelerated global warming, but his report says there is a " huge degree in variation in estimates of how much (carbon dioxide) trees are capable of absorbing. " The 80-page report also cites a recent study by the Carnegie Institution that concluded most forests do not have any overall effect on global temperature because of the additional heat trees in temperate regions absorb. Launched at a major UN climate meeting in November, the billion-tree campaign had by yesterday recorded 1,013,331,365 pledges to plant. Of these, a little more than 14 million were already in the ground, the UN said. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=cf07a53b-32ee-41a4-a0e5\ -79512373783a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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