Guest guest Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 An audio sampling of news items from each edition of Earth's Tree News can be downloaded or streamed via http://www.archive.org/details/EarthTreeNews This newsletter can also be viewed on the web at http://www.livejournal.com/users/olyecology or by sending a blank email message to earthtreenews- --------- --------- Today for you 37 news items about Earth's trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below. --Alaska: 1) Tongass Settlement agreement --British Columbia: 2) Save Chapman Creek, 3) Haida Nation agreement, 4) Timber West pressure mounts, 5) Green wash is not a policy shift, --Washington: 6) Spotted Owl plan panned --Utah: 7) Save Cedar Hills forest --Pennsylvania: 8) Nature-shaped forests --New Hampshire: 9) 82-acre timber harvest in Pisgah State Park --USA: 10) Forest Council of Heartwood --UK: 11) Stonehenge of the tree world to be chopped for airport, 12) Save Northumberland woods, 13) Treesitter's one year anniversary, --Finland: 14) Metsähallitus' decision to resume logging --Russia: 15) More FSC certified genocide --Ivory Coast: 16) Rare tropical forests at risk of vanishing --Malawi: 17) Firewood provides 93 percent of all energy needs --Uganda: 18) Save Busoga forests --Kenya: 19) Government has forced more than 100,000 people out of forest --Colombia: 20) Coco crops blamed for deadly landslides --Guyana: 21) People finally chase away Barama --Peru: 22) National Association of Amazon Indians in Peru, 23) Andes protection, --Brazil: 24) Tribe blocks highway in Mato Grosso, 25) Tribal Leader speaks for forests, --Iran: 26) Jihad Ministry has illegally allocated 120 hectares --China: 27) Aborigines and Aboriginal rights activists staged a demo --Thailand 28) Shrimp economics is costly in the long run --Cambodia: 29) Kleptocratic elite destroy forests for personal gain --India: 30) Rare limbless Lizard discovered in degraded forest island, --Fiji: 31) Birds indicate forest health --Indonesia: 32) green caravan hits the road to speak for the trees, 33) Daryl Hannah's Palm Oil boycott, 34) Forest Defender Said Tolao, --Australia: 35) Forest saved is still not safe in Murray-Darling basin, 36) Agreement suspends Tasmanian logging, 37) Strategy to protect Cape York Peninsula, Alaska: 1) The Alaska District Court approved a settlement Wednesday in a series of lawsuits over timber sales on the Tongass National Forest. The agreement among conservation groups, mill owners and representatives of the state and the U.S. Forest Service is effective until Tongass officials complete the amendment of the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan, which is expected in the fall, said Erin Uloth, a public affairs officer for the Forest Service. The amendment was mandated in August 2005 by the 9th District Court of Appeals because a previous plan severely overestimated how much logging could be done on the forest. In the agreement, the Forest Service agreed to withdraw documents allowing nine timber sales in roadless areas. In return, conservation groups said they would discontinue litigation on several purchased sales. The settlement aims to provide enough timber to keep people employed until the final management plan is implemented, while ensuring that wildlife and habitat are kept safe, Tongass officials said in a press release. " We're happy to be able to keep working. Our existing wood products industry is dependent on timber from the national forest, so it's great to have some wood available for the next year or more, " said Kirk Dahlstrom, owner of Viking Lumber, based in Klawock. A spokesman for the plaintiffs said he also was pleased with the agreement. The plaintiff groups include the Organized Village of Kake, Sitka Conservation Society, the Tongass Conservation Society, the National Audubon Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and the Center for Biological Diversity. " This settlement is very practical. For the duration of the agreement, it safeguards important community use areas and wildlife habitat ... while ensuring local mills have the timber they need until the Forest Service completes the forest planning process, " said Russell Heath, SEACC's executive director. Uloth said talks on the agreement began in earnest last fall and were largely aided by concurrent meetings of the Tongass Futures Roundtable. Not all parties to the settlement were members of the group, but Uloth said that the meetings helped solve controversial issues. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/053107/sta_20070531007.shtml British Columbia: 2) The MLA for Sunshine Coast Powell River has made an official complaint to the Private Managed Forest Land Council in an effort to stop alleged logging and development on an 800-hectare site on benchland above the town of Sechelt. Nicholas Simons is seeking a stop work order, alleging logging on the property - owned by Columbia National Investments of Abbotsford - for the development of a golf course and recreational community is not an allowable use under the commitment filed by CNI with the council. Simons is also concerned logging and earth moving in the Chapman Creek watershed may foul the region's drinking water. Earlier this month, the directors of the Sunshine Coast regional district voted to ask that Howe Sound Pulp and Paper consider a moratorium on buying logs cut in the local watershed. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=191e1f17-233e-4a26-a314-afa0b19\ 9a0c9 & k=51767 3) VICTORIA – A draft Strategic Land Use Agreement (SLUA) initialled by the government and the Council of the Haida Nation moves the islands known as Haida Gwaii or Queen Charlotte Islands a large step closer to resolution of long-standing land use and resource management issues, Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell announced today. Intended to address the recommendations of an earlier Haida Gwaii land use planning process, the initialling of the draft SLUA is an outcome of government-to-government discussions initiated by the Province under a 2005 letter of understanding with the Haida Nation, and is an important step forward in the process of ratifying a final agreement. The draft agreement recommends: 1) Permanent protection for approximately 225,000 ha of land for natural, cultural, spiritual and recreational values, while balancing environmental sustainability with the social and economic needs of the Islands' communities. 2) The analysis, testing, and establishment of land use objectives implementing ecosystem based management or EBM. 3) A timber harvest of at least 800,000 m3 per year to maintain social and community stability. 4) Following ratification of the agreement, the establishment of appropriate committees to ensure locally driven implementation and monitoring of the agreement and EBM practices. http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2007AL0022-000708.htm 4) Dwarfed by two giants, Austrian tourist Markus Czizek looked skyward in awe. " Not at all do we have trees like this in Austria. Maybe one third the size, " he said, his arms stretched between two 80 metre old-growth Douglas firs. The grove of massive Douglas firs and cedars, beside the Koksilah River, is attracting increasing attention, despite its remote location and the fact that it is on private land owned by TimberWest. International demand to see big trees, big mountains and nature in the raw is growing and Vancouver Island needs to protect such areas, said Scott Bonner, Midnight Sun managing director. The stand of old-growth trees, almost two decades ago, inspired a group of Fletcher Challenge loggers to put down their chainsaws, risking their jobs in an effort to persuade the company to preserve the area. The grove was eventually put into a land reserve by the company. But work is likely to start within two or three weeks on rebuilding the logging road in the area and, once that work starts, TimberWest does not want tree tourists in the area. " It's a public safety issue, " said spokesman Steve Lorimer, from the company which is now owner of the area. The idea of companies taking tourists onto private land also rankles him. " If they are conducting a commercial operation on our private land, without consulting the landowner, I think that's very disrespectful, " Lorimer said. TimberWest is planning to save four hectares of the biggest trees, but selectively helicopter log around the outside of the area and conventionally harvest areas beyond the protective fringe. That is not good enough, said Don Hughes, the retired logger who led the 1989 revolt. Hughes, looking at pink ribbons, marking where the deer trail, with soft shale and scree, will be turned into a logging road, said landslides are inevitable. " Before, the road slid down and then they opened it up and it slid again. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=99331584-27e7-4f2\ 5-aed7-22e24917 7337 & k=49003 5) Industry and government are both using 'Green-wash' tactics to convince the general public that they are actually changing policy to positively effect the environment while actually changing very little or making things worse. The public desire to protect the old growth forests of British Columbia has been growing stronger over the past few decades. Many changes have been made due to public pressure and substantial forestland has been protected. The pressure on government continues to build, and politicians are looking towards changing some of the logging practices in old growth forests in a bid to remain in power. New Zealand and southwestern Australia have completely banned old-growth logging in recent years. Last week in British Columbia, Forests Minister Rich Coleman stated that Victoria intends to remake the coastal forest industry with a new set of policies aimed at shifting harvesting away from old-growth forests to second-growth. Coleman said a new approach is needed because of environmental pressures on the coast's remaining old-growth forests and the need for the depressed coastal industry to invest in mills that can process smaller second-growth logs. These changes will also include clamping down on the exports of second-growth logs. The minister plans to release details in early June. The question remains, is this simply another 'green-wash' tactic by the BC Liberal government? Since 2001 this same government has coined terms with a very positive spin in order to convince the public that all is well in the forests. Terms like 'Results-based forestry' which lead to the monitoring of all logging on publicly owned crown forestry land by large corporations such as Brascan, Interfor, TimberWest, and Western Forest Products. Variable retention is now the forestry industry standard for logging that does little to protect steep slopes, watersheds, or wildlife corridors yet claims to protect all of these ecosystems. The fact that many of these logged areas suffer massive blow-down which is followed by salvage logging does little to change the logging practices from the days where these types of logging operations were known as clear-cuts. richardboyce Washington: 6) A draft recovery plan for the imperiled northern spotted owl was criticized by most of the speakers at a public hearing Thursday night at the Worthington Center at Saint Martin's University. Of the 25 who testified, all but one assailed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan as a recipe for more harvesting of old-growth forests and a rekindling of the Pacific Northwest's timber wars in the late 1980s and early 1990s. " If we are politically manipulating this plan for economic gain, we're making a huge mistake, " said Linda Johnson, president of the Olympia-based Black Hills Audubon Society. " We need to save all of the forests and the species that live here with us. " About 70 people attended the public meeting, the last of four conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to garner public comment on the draft recovery plan. Several speakers leveled charges that political appointees of President Bush are manipulating the recovery plan to benefit the timber industry at the expense of owls and old-growth forests. They argued that approval of the plan would be the undoing of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan, prepared by the Clinton administration to preserve federal old-growth forests and the species that live there. " The recovery plan should be redrafted based on best available science, " said Alex Morgan, conservation director for Seattle Audubon. " This plan is more the result of political meddling than science. " Morgan was referring to the fact that Bush administration members in Washington, D.C., directed the recovery team to add a second option for public review that favors owl conservation based on local decisions by federal land-use managers, rather than owl-conservation areas with distinct borders encompassing about 7.7 million acres. http://www.theolympian.com/news/v-print/story/122324.html Utah: 7) CEDAR HILLS - Several residents in this northeastern Utah County city want to hold to the city's namesake by sparing a hillside covered by cedar trees that could be 500 years old. But the City Council has other plans. In an effort to lift a $6.25 million burden that is weighing heavily on Cedar Hills taxpayers, the council might uproot those trees and clear the way for 11 hillside homes and a relocated hole on an adjacent golf course. The proposal worries Highland resident Tyler Sheffield. He said he has gathered more than 500 petition signatures from residents who want to save the estimated 15 acres of open space, complete with the long-lived cedars, clusters of junipers and a trail. " It's a beautiful, beautiful place, and it's used frequently by Cedar Hills residents, " Sheffield said. " But the mayor has indicated that they want to do this, and that's very concerning. " The reason behind the city's proposal: Officials want to dig the struggling 18-hole golf course out of its financial divot. Selling the land for homes will bring in enough revenue to cancel out the course's multimillion-dollar debt, according to Mayor Mike McGee. Councilman Gary Maxwell said the city will face resistance regardless of what it does, and officials need to do what's best for the entire city rather than yield to a special-interest group. " We're trying to do the best we can to pay off the golf-course debt because that's what the residents of Cedar Hills want, " Maxwell said, citing a recent citywide survey. " There might be a dozen - or several dozen now - on the [opposition] bandwagon. But there are several thousand households in Cedar Hills. " http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6018045 Pennsylvania: 8) " What the numbers from all the studies tell us is that nature-shaped forests are far more diverse woodlands than those manipulated by humans. The complexity of old-growth environments may turn out to be their most important attribute in terms of being self-regulating autopoietic forest systems. " –Robert Leverett, " Old-Growth Forests of the Northeast, " in Wilderness Comes Home: Rewilding the Northeast, C.M. Klyza, ed., Middlebury College Press, 2001. -- A couple weeks ago, my mother gave a short walking tour to a couple of guests who were seeing our woods for the first time. " It looks like something out of the Lord of Rings! " they exclaimed. I guess if you're used to looking at younger forests, the portions of Plummer's Hollow that have avoided lumbering since the mid- to late-19th century might look pretty impressive by comparison. Our forest doesn't yet meet even the most minimal definitions of old growth — for example, a median age of half of the dominant tree species' maximum longevity in the majority of stands — but it does exceed by several decades the average age of private or public forests in Pennsylvania, and is beginning to acquire a number of standard old-growth characteristics that add up, perhaps, to a general impression of enchantment. The older trees get, the more character they develop. And even apart from the age of its individual members (or at least their aboveground portions), a more mature forest is qualitatively different from a younger one. More and more species of lichens, fungi, insects and other key organisms form increasingly complex food webs. Though foresters are wont to think of old growth in terms of individual stands of large old trees, forest ecologists will tend to stress the age of the over-all forested landscape. The longer a forested landscape goes without being clearcut, or completely leveled by a catastophic disturbance such as a large tornado or a canopy-destroying fire, the more structural complexity it acquires. Icestorms, diseases, strong winds and insect invasions take their toll, while shade-tolerant tree species bide their time in the understory, waiting for a gap to open in the canopy. http://www.vianegativa.us/2007/05/29/growing-future-old-growth/ New Hampshire: 9) State officials plan Saturday to propose an 82-acre timber harvest in Pisgah State Park, in southwest New Hampshire. Officials say they've waited decades for the resources to carry out the project, but critics want the state to wait longer. The Keene Sentinel's Donna Moxley reports… The Park spans nearly 14,000 acres and three New Hampshire towns, Winchester, Chesterfield and Hinsdale. To put that in perspective, Pisgah is a third larger than the city of Portsmouth, and around the same size as the town of Marlborough. So as As Ken Desmaris, the administrator of the N.H. Forest Management Bureau, points out, the 82-acre timber cut would directly involve just over half of a percent of the park's total area. In one particularly fertile, bowl-shaped area, there's a stand of lofty old ash, shading a brook under the canopy. A few hundred feet off the trail, a dead American chestnut - a species nearly extinct since the early 20th century, leans as is has for decades against a huge hemlock. A group of researchers – from AVEO, Keene State, Antioch University New England, and other organizations – wants to find every one of these special places in Pisgah , catalog it, and study it. Tom Sintros, from Keene High, says the researchers want to make sure that logging and other disturbances on the edge of this wilderness won't affect the treasures inside. I hope that they'll at this public hearing finally say, listen, let's all take the time we know we need, there seems to be enough public concern over just having wholesale timber sales, because once they're cut they're cut. http://www.nhpr.org/node/13020 USA: 10) Over Memorial Day weekend, GJEP Co-director Anne Petermann was the keynote presenter at the annual Forest Council of Heartwood, a network of forest protection organizations in the " heartland " of the U.S.--Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Her talk was titled, " Zapatismo, the Art of Acting Locally to Change the World, " and addressed the importance of " grassroots globalization " as the counter to corporate globalization. She stressed the need for international solidarity when confronting problems such as biofuels or genetically engineered trees that threaten communities around the world. She also emphasized how the conversion of the tree plantations of the South into biofuels plantations is likely to increase pressure on the native forests of other regions of the US to supply the wood and pulp that are no longer being supplied by the plantations of the South. Global Justice Ecology Project and The STOP Genetically Engineered Trees Campaign (which GJEP coordinates) issued an URGENT ACTION ALERT! in regards to GE tree giant ArborGen. ArborGen is seeking approval from the USDA for an outdoor field trial of cold-tolerant genetically engineered eucalyptus that flower and set seeds. The field trial is located in Baldwin County, Alabama in an area prone to extreme wind events that could spread seeds from the eucalyptus for hundreds of miles. Eucalyptus is not native to the U.S. In other countries, eucalyptus is known to be extremely invasive. There is no way to know how the genetically engineered traits of the eucalyptus (which ArborGen will not reveal) could impact forests and wildlife. This test plot is part of a plan by ArborGen to establish plantations of GE trees in in the southeastern U.S., for both agrofuels (biofuels) and paper pulp. In addition, GJEP uncovered some startling information about a pathogenic fungus that is hosted by eucalyptus and can be deadly to humans. This could become a very serious health threat in the Southeast U.S. if large scale eucalyptus plantations are established. Thanks to all who sent comments and signed petitions to USDA/APHIS in trying to help us stop this unprecedented threat to the forests of the Southeast! Stay tuned, your help will be needed again in this struggle. In regards to the above we issued a PRESS RELEASE: Effort Launched to Stop GE Eucalyptus http://globaljusticeecology.org/index.php?name=getrees & ID=420 UK: 11) Described as a Stonehenge of the tree world, Hatfield Forest is among the few surviving havens of ancient woodland in Britain, with nearly 2,000 trees that are more than 600 years old. From huge oaks to pollarded hornbeams, experts say it is a vital habitat unchanged since the last Ice Age, and documents show it was declared a royal hunting forest by Henry I in the 12th century. But nitrogen levels around the forest generated by air pollution from aircraft and vehicles is already twice that at which environ-mental damage, including tree death, is caused, says the National Trust. Ade Clarke, who manages the forest for the Trust, said: " Hatfield Forest is internationally important. It is the most complete medieval royal hunting forest. From Plantagenet hunting parties to the 250,000 ramblers who now stroll among its ancient trees, Hatfield Forest has coexisted with humanity for generations without coming to much harm. But this week the forest, among the last remaining of its type in Europe, faces what its custodians at the National Trust say is the sternest test yet of its survival, the ever-increasing thirst for air travel.The 1,000 acres of woodland and pasture in north Essex stands less than a mile from Stansted airport, beloved of millions of users of no-frills airlines and the proposed site for a £2.7bn second runway to cater for a massive expansion of passengers and aircraft in south-east England. A public inquiry begins tomorrow into urgent proposals by the British Airport Authority to expand the permitted number of passengers by 10 million to 35 million a year and flights by more than 20,000 to 264,000 a year. The present limit of 25 million is expected to be reached by 2008. If the second runway is built, 68 million passengers are forecast for Stansted by 2030. But in what will be the most demanding test yet for the Government's plans to expand aviation, environmental groups and residents say the proposals must be refused to avoid an increase in pollution which would destroy the forest for little or no economic gain. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=76260 12) A three-year study has revealed that action is required to improve ancient woods in Northumberland; more than half of which are in a poor condition. The North East has less remaining ancient woodland than any other region of England. The North East has 11,800 hectares of ancient woodland, equivalent to just over 1% of the region's land area. Where as the South East region has 130,000 hectares, more than ten times the area of ancient woodland, covering 7% of their land area. At 1.6%, even Greater London has a higher percentage of ancient woodland cover than the North East. The study, undertaken by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the Northumberland Native Woodland Partnership assessed all 665 ancient woodlands in the county and 45 of the most important woodlands across the whole of the North East of England. Results indicate that 61% of sites that have been woods since at least 1600 were in a poor or declining state. This breaks down as 44% of sites where most of the trees are still native species such as oak and ash and in the case of ancient woods that have been planted in the past with non native trees, such as conifers, 82% are in a poor state. Fortunately the most environmentally valuable woods have fared better. Of the 45 ancient woodlands designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in North East England 95% of these are in a good or improving condition. Brendan Callaghan, Regional Director in North East England, said, " These woodlands are a quintessential feature of the North East landscape, small precious fragments of Britain's natural heritage. These ancient woodlands are our equivalent of tropical rainforests, and in the North East they are especially important as we have less than any other area of England. This survey reveals that a considerable proportion of Northumberland's ancient woodland is in poor condition and is likely to continue to decline without the introduction of sustainable woodland management. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/AllByUNID/0B867CF90EC0115C802572E400662D\ F4 13) Environmental campaigners have marked the first anniversary of their campaign to stop the development of an ancient woodland in West Sussex. Treetop-protesters moved into Titnore Woods, near Worthing, on 28 May 2006, after the land was earmarked for 875 new houses, a supermarket and new road. Up to 210 threatened trees looked to be spared when plans were changed. But the protesters have said they will continue until the entire woodland is safe from developers. On Saturday the campaigners staged a celebration in Montague Place, Worthing town centre, to make their anniversary and thank local residents. The group said they wanted to get everybody together to say thank you for their help. Dave Murphy, who has been at the camp for most of the last 12 months said: " The local people have been very supportive. They don't want the development either. Two 30ft (9m) tree houses were initially built, since then the group has added communal sheds, and some semi-permanent shacks for sleeping. Mr Murphy said: " Now we have the good weather we're going to be busy making everything comfy for ourselves. I'm building a new house and it takes a lot longer when you have to prepare all the materials outside. " The protesters say many local residents have anonymously donated building materials, money and offered assistance. Cathy Harding, 21, said: " We can always go and have a shower at people's houses if we want. But the idea is to try to be independent. " She said the woodland was teeming with wildlife including crested newts, dormice and butterflies. " Sometimes at night you hear lots of strange things but you get used to them, " she added. Landowner Clem Somerset won a court ruling in July 2006 for them to be evicted, although the bailiffs have yet to move in. The protesters took their fight to the High Court, claiming that the case had been rushed, but the court ruled against them saying eviction could go ahead. In September 2006 West Sussex and Worthing councils said government advice meant Titnore Lane would not now have to be straightened as part of the West Durrington scheme, possibly saving 210 of the 265 trees. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/6695217.stm Finland: 14) Saami Council, a Non-Governmental Organisation representing the Saami people across four countries, is extremely disappointed in Metsähallitus' decision to resume loggings in Saami reindeer pasture areas in Inari. For the last year and a half Metsähallitus – the Finnish state logging enterprise - has refrained from logging in key winter reindeer herding pastures in Inari. All of the Saami representative organs - including The Saami Parliamentary Council of the Saami Parliaments, The Saami Parliament of Finland, Saami Council and many other Saami organs from Sweden, Norway, Russia and Finland - have supported the pasture preservation efforts of the local reindeer herders. The UN Human rights committee also instructed Finland to refrain from logging in the Nellim area in Inari in November of 2005. Nevertheless, Metsähallitus resumed logging in the Inari area again on the 14th of May, 2007 in the forests of Kessi wilderness in Hannunkotavaara, which is in the Paatsjoki reindeer herding area. Local Saami reindeer herders have not approved these new loggings. http://weblog.greenpeace.org/forestrescue/archives/2007/05/logging_restart.html Russia: 15) According to WWF, the Komi forest is " huge, the largest area of primeval forest in Europe, covering around 33,000 square kilometres...It became Russia's first World Heritage Site in 1995, saving it from massive felling for timber. " In 2002, WWF's existing work in Komi's Priluzje district with the state forest management unit, Priluzje Leskhoz, was transformed into the 'Komi Model Forest Project'. The purpose of the project (also sometimes known as the 'Priluzje Model Forest') is to develop a 'sustainable forest management model' in the Priluzje Leskhoz, which covers nearly 800,000 hectares. The project is run by 'Silver Taiga', a not-for profit foundation supported by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), and which brings together WWF, the regional authorities, and Mondi, a South Africa-based pulp and paper company. The first FSC inspection of Priluzje Leskhoz was carried out by SmartWood in September-October 1999, though the certificate was not awarded until February 2003. The certification process was paid for by John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In the light of the recent reports from Komi, some of the contents of SmartWood's Public Summary report now seem 'odd'. Notably, SmartWood concluded that FSC Principle 3, 'Indigenous Peoples' Rights were " Considered not applicable for this assessment...There are no indigenous people in the territory of Leskhoz and all groups can protect their rights in the court " . The report goes on to note that " The local FSC working group representatives said that this principle is probably not applicable in Priluzje Leskhos. Local Komi people, who are the only possible " indigenous " group within the Leskhoz area have equal rights to resource use compared to other groups. " (emphasis added). This would constitute a major failure by SmartWood against the FSC's requirements, which requires thorough investigation by the FSC Secretariat. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2007/05/30/_Non_existent__indigenous_people_ch\ allenge_WWF_s_c ertified__model__forest_project__Komi__Russia Ivory Coast: 16) Ivory Coast's rare tropical forests risk vanishing due to excessive exploitation by timber logging firms, environmental watchdogs warned Thursday. " Of the 123 companies in timber exploitation, only two respect the forestry regulations, " Jacob N'Zi, head of Ecological Group of Ivory Coast (Geci), told AFP. Geci accused the firms of ignoring a 2,000 to 10,000 cubic metre annual quota imposed by authorities for timber harvesting. " If we are not careful, at this rate Ivory Coast forests will disappear in 10 years, " N'Zi said. The size of Ivory Coast's thick tropical forests has shrunk from 16 million hectares in the 1960s to no more than six million hectares, according to official figures. But N'Zi argues that no more than a million hectares of forest remain, part of which is occupied by the western Tai national park, a UNESCO heritage site protected with aid from the German government. Kouadio Gnamien, head of another green advocate Ecologia, estimated that " wood fraud " cost Ivory Coast more than 200 billion CFA (300 million euros, 400 million dollars) between 2003 and 2006. He deplored the " complicity " of public authorities whose role is to protect the forests. The groups have asked parliament to probe the industry. Environmental issues were not a high priority during the four-year civil conflict that split Ivory Coast into a rebel-held north and government ruled south. http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=africa & item=07053118343\ 1.bpwxxmbp.php Malawi: 17) BLANTYRE - Malawi's utilisation of energy resources is heavily dominated by firewood, which provides 93 percent of all energy needs. Current annual household consumption of firewood and charcoal are at 7.5 million tons, exceeding sustainable supply by 3.7 million tons. Poverty and population growth in the country are placing escalating pressures on Malawi's indigenous forests which, the ministry of environment says, translates into an annual destruction of approximately 50,000 to 70,000 hectares of forest. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is hopeful that a new ethanol-based innovation will go some way to addressing Malawi's energy problem. The UNDP has included a local company's development of an ethanol-based stove in its Growing Sustainable Business Programme (GSB). It will also boost the local renewable fuel industry. The GSB initiative, which grew out of the 2002 United Nations Global Compact policy dialogue on business and sustainable development, is targeted at engaging the private sector in poverty reduction. The idea is to encourage the private sector to expand employment and livelihood opportunities through the development of new products and services that address the needs of the poor. GSB broker in Malawi, Jan Willem van den Broek, is facilitating linkages between large businesses, potential international investors and local partners to promote the new ethanol stove innovation called ''SuperBlu''. ''It is hoped that with 100,000 households in Malawi using the ethanol stoves, carbon emissions can be reduced by 720,000 tons and 21,300 hectares of trees can be saved annually. This will lead to reduced deforestation and less exposure to carbon monoxide, soot and other household pollutants,'' says van den Broek. http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=37989 Uganda: 18) Experts say the rate at which forests in Busoga region are being depleted has reached alarming proportions. The programme officer of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), Geoffrey Kamese, said the situation would become disastrous unless strategies to reverse the trend were adopted. " People have cut down most natural forests claiming the trees grew by themselves. If we don't act now, we may create an unpredictable environment to the next generation, " Kamese told cultural leaders and civil society members at Bugembe in Jinja. He noted that a natural forest in Baitambogwe sub-county in Mayuge district had been cleared recently. " A stream from this forest reserve that was serving the nearby community is drying up. " Former Mayuge chief administrative officer Dunstan Balaba confessed that 70% of the 16,000-hectare South Busoga Forest Reserve was deforested and Bukaleeba Forest was also encroached on. http://allafrica.com/stories/200705290102.html Kenya: 19) The government has forced more than 100,000 people out of forest areas in the past two years on the grounds of protecting the environment, according to a new report released Wednesday. However the five local and international organizations that produced the report said authorities targeted only the poor and offered no alternatives to them. Activists say this is the first time such large-scale evictions have happened in this stable and relatively peaceful East African nation since it gained independence from Britain 43 years ago. At the time of the evictions, officials said people forced out had illegally set up home in the forests, encroaching on an important source of water for Kenya. Some key rivers in the country originate in the Mau Forest area of southern Kenya. The Kenya government needs to live up to its international human rights obligations, complete the drafting of the national guidelines on evictions and act immediately to provide secure and appropriate accommodation for all evicted families and compensate them adequately for property,» the organizations said. It is fair to say that this is the largest evictions of its kind in the history of the country, Ashfaq Khalfan of the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions told The Associated Press. His group, together with the Kenya Land Alliance, Amnesty International, Hakijamii Trust and the government-appointed Kenya National Commission on Human Rights compiled the report. At least 50,000 people are living in makeshift structures after authorities destroyed their homes in the evictions, the groups said in a statement. When the evictions occurred, opposition politicians claimed the government's action discriminated against the communities living in the forests, which officials denied. The United Nations and environmental groups have long expressed concern about the aggressive clearing of Kenya's forests that they say have led to the country's frequent droughts.http://www.pr-inside.com/report-kenya-evicts-from-forests-more-r138998.\ htm Colombia: 20) Slash and burn cutting of tropical forest in Colombia led to massive landslides that claimed the lives of seven people last week. In 2005, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that some 7,826 hectares of coca were planted in Antioquia, a department to the northwest of Bogotá, the capital city. But, the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police has established that for every hectare of planted coca, 3-4 hectares of forest are destroyed. This means that in Antioquia alone, where the massive landslides occurred, over 30,000 hectares of forest have been clear cut to plant coca. The victims of this deforestation are growing. Just in Tarazá, a rural and steeply mountainous municipality in Antioquia, 2,500 to 3,000 hectares have been cut down to make way for coca, leading to 250 landslides in the region. So far, seven people have been killed, two of them indigenous children, and communities have been flooded. Officials from Antioquia not only blame coca crops for this tragedy, but for the incidence of violence in the region, which is decreasing in general, but nevertheless linked to illicit crops. According to reports presented by the Military Brigade in charge of the area, farmers earn some 2 million pesos (about 1,000 dollars) per kilo of coca paste, for which 625 kilos of coca leaves are necessary. The reports also make note though that of the 80 million pesos a coca farmer can make a year, 35 to 40 million are spent on chemical precursors, which are sold to them by drug traffickers themselves. " The ones who buy the coca paste are the same ones who sell the chemical precursors. Farmers never stop being in debt, " said one official with the Brigade. http://www.sharedresponsibility.gov.co/?idcategoria=691 Guyana: 21) Barama Company Limited yesterday announced that it would begin to demobilise its equipment and close its St Monica/Akawini operation following a decision by the Akawini Village Council that the company and its sub-contractor must go. The Village Council has, for the past several weeks, appealed for help saying that it was being taken advantage of and treated unfairly. The Amerindian Peoples' Association (APA) and the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) had, on behalf of the people of Akawini, called on Barama and its sub-contractor Interior Woods Products Inc (IWPI) to cease all logging operations in the titled lands. The council holds the view that Barama, which has a sub-contract to harvest on behalf of IWPI, is also complicit in the bad arrangement. Officials of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and IWPI were noticeably absent from the meeting, held at the Akawini Primary School yesterday. Several persons holding placards met the Barama team at Akawini protesting the contractual arrangement and calling for Barama and IWPI to go. General Manager of Barama Girwar Lalaram said at a meeting at Akawini yesterday that since the Akawini Village Council was holding fast to its position without giving a hearing to the company, he was left with no choice but to bring all operations to a close. The village also accused Barama and IWPI of logging hardwoods in addition to the peeler logs used to make plywood. But an official from the company said that it logged " mostly " peeler logs, acknowledging that some hardwoods were cut, but to a lesser degree. Further, the Village Council read out a list of demands to Barama. These included compensation for every log taken and for monies owed to workers. Compensation for degradation to ecosystems supporting wildlife and for loss of traditional way of life was also requested. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56521291 Peru: 22) The study, released by the National Association of Amazon Indians in Peru (AIDESEP), an indigenous rights group, and the Rainforest Foundation Norway, says that the Peruvian government issues mahogany export licenses in violation of international laws regulating trade in endangered species. The report says that illegal mahogany logging, often conducted in national parks and on indigenous lands, is threatening Amazonian tribes and calls on CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to suspend all exports of mahogany from Peru. The report comes shortly after Juan Carlos Vasquez, a representative for CITES, said that Peru is meeting international commitments regarding mahogany and that its efforts have produced a decline in illegal logging. Earlier this month, the International Tropical Timber Organization reported that Peru's environmental agency, implemented regulations for mahogany loggers that will now require forest concession holders to replant ten times the logged amount of trees. Overall, the initiative calls for the production and establishment of one million of mahogany plantlets over 5 years. http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0530-mahogany.html 23) The regional project PROBONA (Programa de Bosques Nativos y Agroecosistemas Andinas) contributes to the preservation of forests and ecosystems in the Andes with reforestation and protection programmes. Local communities and organizations are made aware of the importance of sustainable use of natural resources. The huge biological variety of the forests in the Andes provides local populations with an agricultural base and makes an important contribution to maintaining such natural resources as water for drinking and irrigation. But deforestation is threatening this agro-ecological system and with it the living environment of humans and wildlife. The PROBONA project supports communities through local public structures as well as through non-governmental organizations. Project achievements include the protection of some 15′000 hectares of Andean forest stocks, including sources of water, and more than 100′000 native shrubs and bushes have been planted. The development of plans for sustainable use of timber products has proved its worth in practice. While 3′000 hectares were dedicated to timber production, roughly 12′000 hectares were used in Potosi alone in 2005 for non-timber products. Tangible progress has been made in the areas of agro-forestry, soil conservation, cattle breeding, family activities to generate higher production as well as strategies for the commercial exploitation of honey and natural medicines. http://desertification.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/forests-and-agroecological-syste\ ms-in-the-and es-probona-dgalert-sdc/ Brazil: 24) A remote Amazonian tribe are blockading a major highway in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso in protest at a series of hydroelectric dams that will destroy their vital fishing grounds. The Enawene Nawe Indians set up their blockade yesterday morning. Companies led by the world's largest soya producers, the Maggi family, are pushing for a vast complex of dams to be built along the Juruena river which flows through the tribe's land. Europe buys half the soya exported from Mato Grosso. The Enawene Nawe, who eat no red meat, fear the fish they rely on will no longer be able to reach their spawning grounds. Some of the Indians have left their village for the first time to join the protest. The tribe, who number only 450, are also protesting over destruction of a crucial area of their land by cattle ranchers who are cutting down the forests and polluting the rivers with pesticides. The Enawene Nawe have said, 'The dams will bring our death, as they will raise the uncontrollable anger of the spirits.' Local ranchers say they will apply for a court injunction to remove the Enawene Nawe blockade on highway MT-170. Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, 'This tiny, unique tribe knows that its very survival is threatened by deforestation and the planned dams. The Brazilian government must wake up to this fact and protect the Enawene Nawe's land before it is too late.' http://www.survival-international.org/news/2456 25) An Amazon tribal leader warned Thursday that the world will " destroy itself " unless nations stop clearing rainforests and voiced anger that his message is falling on deaf ears. Taking his campaign to the world's second-largest economy, Raoni Metyktire, a leader of the Kayapo Indians in Brazil, said Amazon nature was falling victim to development, mining and farming. " I have met with presidents, provincial leaders and other officials. But they do not listen to what I say, " he said through a translator. Raoni, sporting a disc in his lower lip, is visiting Japan for several months of campaigning, educational events and displays of Amazon artifacts on a trip arranged by Japanese environmentalists. " If destruction of the forests continues, the world will destroy itself. Wind will blow, hail will fall, " Raoni said. " I am convinced that very bad things will happen. I fear that. " Donning yellow headgear and dark-colored neck ornaments, Raoni is best known for joining rock star Sting's 1989 world tour to promote rainforest protection. Ten countries including Brazil account for 80 percent of the world's primary forests. Environmental group Greenpeace warned recently that Indonesia had the highest deforestation rate, with more than 72 percent of ancient forests gone and much of the rest threatened by commercial logging and clearance for palm oil plantations. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Amazon_Tribesman_Takes_Rainforest_Message_To_J\ apan_999.html Iran: 26) Agricultural Jihad Ministry has illegally allocated 120 hectares of forests near Rasht Industrial Township for the construction of a petrochemical plant, Iran Daily reported. Majlis Agriculture Commission member has criticized Agricultural Jihad Ministry for its recent " incorrect " and " illegal " decision which led to the destruction of 120 hectares of forests in northern Gilan province. A lawmaker representing Arak and Komeijan, Abbas Rajaei told Fars on Wednesday that as per the Law on the Conservation of Forests and Pastures, state organizations are not authorized to hand over ownership of woodlands. The commissioner observed that such unprofessional decisions will not only destroy forests and pastures, which are national assets, but also ruin motivation of government employees and directors. Rajaei urged State Audit Court and State Inspectorate Organization to look into the issue. Last week, patches of wooded areas were cleared to expand Gilan Industrial Township. The measure sparked protests from conservationists in Gilan province. It is while some provincial official cited cabinet ratification envisaging that trees should be cut down for expansion of the township. They say felling some trees is inevitable. Meanwhile, head of Gilan Green Network told IRNA on Wednesday that the thick forest was cleared for construction of petrochemical company. Mohammad Ahmadpour described the tree-felling spree as " a disaster. " He contended that such unwarranted measure is not in the interest of sustainable development in the province. http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=51976 & NewsKind=Cu\ rrent%20Affairs China: 27) Hundreds of Aborigines and Aboriginal rights activists staged a demonstration in Taipei yesterday to protest a recent court ruling. The events leading up to the court case began two years ago when the only road linking Smangus, a remote Atayal village in Hsinchu County, to the outside world was blocked by a tree blown down by a typhoon. Villagers moved the tree to the side of the road and, a month later, the Forestry Bureau cut the tree into pieces and removed most of the trunk, leaving the rest at the roadside. In a community meeting, the villagers then decided that they would use the remainder of the tree to make a wood carving. However, three young men who were tasked with transporting the piece of wood back to the village were stopped by the police and accused of stealing Forestry Bureau property. Although both the Forestry Law and the Aboriginal Basic Law stipulate that traditional Aboriginal lifestyles should be respected in traditional Aboriginal domains, the three men were sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of NT$160,000 each by the Hsinchu District Court last month. To residents of Smangus, as well as Aborigines from different communities and tribes that took part in the demonstration yesterday, the sentences were not only unreasonable, but also humiliating. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/05/31/2003363207 Thailand: 28) Build a shrimp farm in Thailand by cutting down mangrove forests and you will net about 8,000 dollars per hectare. Meanwhile, the destruction of the forest and pollution from the farm will result in a loss of ecosystems worth 35,000 dollars/ha per year. Many leading development institutions and policy-makers still fail to understand that this ruthless exploitation for short-term profits could trigger an Enron-like collapse of " Earth, Inc. " , experts say. For example, the World Bank and other economic development agencies would happily loan a shrimp farmer 100,000 dollars to clear more mangroves. All economies depend on the natural capital lying within nature's lands, waters, forests, and reefs, but humans have often treated them as if they had little value or were inexhaustible. " Up till now, humans have been exploiting natural capital to maximise production of food, timber, oil and minerals at the expense of soil, water and biodiversity, " said Janet Ranganathan, director of people and ecosystems at the Washington-based World Resources Institute. " Usually only a few people benefit from this exploitation, " Ranganathan, who co-authored a new report called " Restoring Nature's Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Services " , told IPS. Worse still is that this approach to nature is extremely destructive and short-sighted, she said. Since 1980, nearly 35 percent of the world's coastal mangroves have been cut down, most often for shrimp aquaculture. http://www.countercurrents.org/leahy290507.htm Cambodia: 29) Top government officials and tycoons in Cambodia, including the prime minister's relatives, are illegally cutting down the country's dwindling forests while foreign donors do little to stop them, an environmental group said Friday. Cambodia has the largest remaining lowland evergreen forest in mainland Southeast Asia, home to endangered wildlife, including elephants, tigers and the Asiatic black bear. In a 95-page report, London-based Global Witness documented accusations of corruption and illegal logging under the eyes of foreign donors who annually provide some $600 million in aid — equivalent to about half the national budget. " Logging is part of a massive asset-stripping for the benefit of a small kleptocratic elite " that includes powerful businessmen, senior military and police officers, and ministers linked to Prime Minister Hun Sen, said Simon Taylor, director of Global Witness. A government spokesman, Khieu Kanharith, did not respond to Associated Press efforts to reach him for comment. Two individuals cited in the report as among the timber kingpins denied wrongdoing. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18989077/ India: 30) A limbless lizard of an extremely rare breed was discovered by zoologists in the forests of Orissa on Tuesday. The last sighting of a limbless lizard but a different species was way back in 1870 in the Golkonda Hills of Andhra Pradesh. Professor Sushil Dutta whose team spotted the lizard says it is a find of great significance. ''It is very important from the bio-geographic point of view because the closest relatives of this lizard live in South Africa and Sri Lanka,'' says Dutta of the North Orissa University. ''This is a new species to be included in a new genus and which is also a discovery after more than 130 years.'' The lizard is a little longer than a palm and has all the prominent features of its family such as lower eyelids and scales. It prefers to live in cool spots under the soft soil and in shaded forests. But scientists fear that its current habitat a patch of evergreen rainforest at Khandadhar is under threat due to mining activities in this iron-ore rich belt. ''From conservation point of view this occupies a heavy debt.This is an example of existence of small patches of rain forests due to degradation of forest, due to erosion of top soil perhaps most of these animals are vanishing,'' says professor Dutta. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013766 Fiji: 31) " Birdlife uses birds as an indicator of how well the environment is protected or maintained, " he said. He said if there were many birds (excluding the mynah birds and the bulbul), that indicated the environment was intact but a decrease in the bird population meant otherwise. " To protect our forests, we need to protect our trees because birds disperse seeds from which trees in forests grow. " Mr Masibalavu said it was important for Fiji to protect its environment and especially trees because out of the 59 bird species, 27 were endemic to Fiji. " Out of these 27 species found only in Fiji, 11 are now under critical status and we should work hard to protect them because tourists also come to look at these birds, " he said. But, he said, the threats to these birds came in the form of logging, fires and agricultural extension and the introduction of invasive species like mongooses, rats, mynah birds as well as the bulbul. Suva Mayor Ratu Peni Volavola said a clean village, town or city was a source of pride for its residents and there was a need for its protection. " Nothing so beautifies a city more and lifts the spirits of its residents as trees do, " he said. " The spirit of Arbor Day is unique in that it looks forward, never backwards. The planting of tree symbolises life and the benefits it brings to all of us in future, " he said. " It directs the minds and the hearts of participants to high goals which can only be attained through personal involvement, sacrifice, planning and responsible action. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=63723 Indonesia: 32) A green caravan will, both literally and figuratively, embark on a road show through Sumatra's main cities, aiming to raise ecological awareness of the importance of tropical rainforest and biodiversity conservation and sustainable growth. " Our aim is to collect one million signatures from people from cities in Sumatra. Their 'hope letters' will then be used to convince our government to invest more in our forests there, " the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Indonesia director, Noviar Andayani, told The Jakarta Post. " We'll urge the government to make a change by investing more. Forest rehabilitation costs a lot of money, " she said Thursday during the launching of the project. The Mobile Information Conservation Center, nicknamed Cimo, will campaign in Sumatra using books, posters, leaflets, stickers, magazines, banners and comics. In addition to disseminating crucial information and getting more voices on board, the campaigners also plan to hold seminars and creative activities such as drawing and story telling competitions. There was 19.6 million hectares of forestland on Sumatra, but in 2000 this area was reduced by 5 million ha. The Sumatran tropical rainforest was named a world heritage site in 2004 by UNESCO. Sumatra currently has three national parks -- Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Southern Bukit Barisan -- with a total area spanning some 2 million ha. Environmentalists traveling with Cimo will visit the cities of Bandar Lampung, Jambi, Padang and Medan, which represent the national parks, from June through to July. Established in 1985 under the name New York Zoological Society, WSC receives support from a number of NGOs. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070602.H11 & irec=10 33) Hollywood movie star Daryl Hannah strongly advocates a boycott of palm oil products that are produced by companies that use slash-and-burn practices in opening their palm oil plantations. Hannah, who came here to represent former U.S. vice president Al Gore from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), called on international consumers to reduce their dependence on palm oil because aggressive palm plantation expansion has been too costly for the global environment. Although the actress did not directly point her finger at Indonesia, the country is known for its inability to stop slash-and-burn practices over the last 10 years. Indonesia is the world's second largest producer of palm oil after Malaysia and in just a matter of years it is widely expected take over Malaysia's position. Addressing the UN Global Business Summit for the Environment over the weekend, the star of several films, including Splash and Kill Bill, urged consumers " not to buy products from slash and burn production " . For the second time since 2006, the UNEP gave the annual Champion of the Earth award to international environment workers and activists. This year the seven recipients included Al Gore, Jordan's Prince El Hassan Bin Talal and Brazil's Marina Silva. The UNEP event itself was sponsored by giant chemical company Dow and Singapore-based fiber, pulp and paper producer Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL). Its subsidiary PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper is one of the world's largest fiber, pulp and paper producers. http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/?p=410 34) It was around 6:00 a.m. and most residents of Ngata Toro in Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, were sitting outside their houses in sarongs. The air was actually a little cold that morning, with thick fog blanketing the village. Said Tolao, 53, however, was already set to leave his house. In worn boots, a hat and long-sleeved T-shirt emblazoned with the words Kader Lingkungan (Environment Cadre), he was headed for the forest. Two sheathed knives adorned his waist. Asked about forest destruction in the Lore Lindu National Park, Said got a little hot under the collar. " The central government has to empower local people by raising their environmental awareness, " the forest ranger said passionately. " Once local people realize the importance of protecting the forests, they will not destroy it and will join hands in guarding the forest, " added Said, who was born in Ngata Toro. Perhaps it was this awareness that prompted Said to take on the traditional post of tondo ngata, or village policeman in charge of protecting some 22,950 hectares of forest in the Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL). " For me, this is not merely a task, but also a calling, " said Said, who was elected village policeman during an assembly of community leaders in 1998. Since then, Said, who also commands an eight-person team, patrols the protected forests from one end to the other nearly every day. " By patrolling the forest I know if any local people or outsiders cut trees in protected forest, " he said, adding that in one day he and his team traverse more than a quarter of the 22,950-hectare protected forest. He said when he goes into the forest, he brings no food. " If I get hungry, I just suck my thumbs. That knowledge has been handed down to me from my ancestors. " Local people divide the forest into four different types. The first is called wanangkiki or moss forest, where no human activity is allowed. The second is wana or virgin forest, which serves as a water catchment area. Local people may collect resin, rattan, and fragrant or medicinal plants from virgin forest, and they may hunt animals or fish in forest rivers, but they may not cultivate the land. The third is pangale or restored forest. This refers to forests that were once cleared for cultivation, either for dry farming or rice fields, but have since been restored to their original state. The fourth is oma, which are forests that are often cleared to plant coffee, cocoa or other plants. http://www.thejakartapost.com/misc/PrinterFriendly.asp Australia: 35) Environmentalists say a property bought on the Murray River for the Living Murray program will not be safe from logging. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and the New South Wales Government have paid $4 million for the 1400 hectare property. It will be added to the nearby Central Murray state forest, one of six sites targeted for protection and restoration under the Living Murray scheme. Bev Smiles, from the New South Wales National Parks Association, says that it opens the door for more logging. " Well it seems to me that the MDBC and the New South Wales government has just invested four million dollars on a new supply of timber from our very important wetland red gum forests on the Murray, " she said. The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries says it is unlikely logging will be carried out on the farm. A spokesman says the purchase is to allow for flooding of redgum forest and any logging would be under strict guidelines. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1937741.htm 36) A landmark agreement between conservationists and forestry bosses has halted logging in Tasmania's south-west until after the federal election. Forestry Tasmania signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday with Upper Florentine Valley activists, allowing it to upgrade existing roadworks and collect harvested timber. It has vowed to stand by the agreement, even though it is not a legally binding document. Forestry Tasmania chief Rod Hill praised campaigners " for entering into constructive dialogue " . Mr Hill said the deal would provide a cast iron promise that logging would not recommence in the valley until a prime minister was chosen. " This will give them (conservationists) a guarantee that we are sticking to our word, and that we are willing to deal with them on a piecemeal basis, " Mr Hill said. He admitted it was a largely symbolic move because Forestry Tasmania did not intend to carry out further logging in the area this year. " This MoU simply confirms that intention, " he said. " We concede the agreement does not alter our harvesting plans and does not in any way jeopardise Forestry Tasmania's legal obligation to provide 300,000 cubic metres of saw and veneer log to the industry. " And it means we will be able to recover species logs, required by our craftsmen and women. " Still Wild Still Threatened spokeswoman Ula Majewski said the conservation group would now lobby politicians for the protection of old growth forests in Tasmania before the federal election later this year. " This agreement allows us to move our campaign to a new level, " she said. http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Forestry-Tasmania-to-postpone-logging/200\ 7/05/29/1180205 240345.html 37) The Wilderness Society and our cooperative partner, Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, along with our allies in the conservation movement, have released a new statement aimed at a comprehensive conservation strategy to protect Cape York Peninsula. This strategy is based on the continuing and central role of the region's Indigenous traditional owners. Cape York Peninsula – Ensuring its long term protection is our contribution to a conservation agenda for this extraordinary environment. It recognises the unique connection to country and depth of ecological knowledge that the area's Indigenous people possess and outlines the foundations of a healthy future for the Cape, including the role of protected areas, the importance of vegetation management and of protecting wild rivers, the need for active land management and environmental enterprise, and the opportunities afforded by recognition of the region's world heritage values. http://www.wilderness.org.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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