Guest guest Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Today for you 35 new articles about earth's trees! (255th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --British Columbia: 1) Coastal Forest Plan comments, 2) Beetlemania, 3) Blackwater, protest, 4) Development freeze on forest lands, --Oregon: 5) The real Sustainable Forestry Network, 6) Glaze Forest Restoration, 7) Salvaging Old Growth Cedars for the local tribe, --California: 8) Treesit at UCSC, 9) Fires to close forests for a year, 10) Wakeup Weyco, 11) Illegal logging investigated in giant sequoia monument, 12) Tree sit in Berkeley, --Montana: 13) Lawsuit against Cow Fly Timber Sale, 14) Legislating that Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF is a model for other forest to follow? --Arizona: 15) Studying the Amazon --Minnesota: 16) New tree protections but not for trees city wants to cut, --Louisiana: 17) 320 million large trees worth of carbon lost in 2 Hurricanes --Alabama: 18) How controlled burns affect amphibians --Georgia: 19) Cellulosic prayers --Maine: 20) Loggers squeezed by high diesel prices --USA: 21) Our greenhouse gas mass total is way in the red --Canada: 22) Clearcutting near Kananaskis, 23) New Forest Products Giant, --UK: 24) A fearsome machine improving forests? --Russia: 25) Siberian shamanism --Congo: 26) Bonobo Conservation encompasses 11,803 square miles --Belize: 27) Paradise Earth Project Blog --China: 28) Investors looking for new ways to cash in look to China's depleted forests, --Cambodia: 29) Cardamon Mtns. 30) Long-lost temple complex of Angkor, --Sumatra: 31) Jambi a centre for the plantation industry, 32) Village forest stripped and drained in despite local protests, 33) Sumatran rhino, --Indonesia: 34) Moratorium? 35) Blockade of Oil Palm Tanker, British Columbia: 1) Without actual restrictions and concrete timelines to reduce and phase-out old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland where old-growth forests are scarce, the plan is little more than PR. Without new restrictions, timber companies will not only log the second-growth forests, but also continue to log the old-growth forests, in particular the largest, high-value species - red and yellow cedars, and any pockets of the rare, ancient Douglas firs and Sitka spruce they can find. These species are the largest, most magnificent of the old-growth tree species in BC.The War in the Woods since the 1980's has precisely been fought over focal stands of these giant species: the ancient redcedars of Meares Island, Clayoquot Valley and Walbran Valley; the ancient Douglas firs of the Elaho Valley, Elk Creek, Chilliwack Lake, Cathedral Grove, and Koksilah Valley; and the ancient Sitka spruce trees of the Carmanah Valley, Walbran Valley, Windy Bay, Tsitika Valley, and Clayoquot Sound. It is true that increasing the harvest of second-growth Douglas fir and redcedars could shift logging away from the smaller, lower value old-growth species, that is, western and mountain hemlock and amabalis fir (ie. " balsam " ). However, the government's plan also entails searching out new markets for and increasing the economic viability of logging these species by developing new products. http://www.wcwcvictoria.org No mention of East Creek and the Klaskish here (The lower half of East Creek remains intact, and is spectacular). Or the west coast of Valdes Island (which is the largest, contiguous remaining patch of old growth Douglas fir, which are otherwise virtually extinct.) Since there are so few remaining old growth refugia tufts remaining on Vancouver Island, we might as well name them all. ingmarz 2) Beautiful forests and snowy mountains surround it, but the town itself looks like a sprawling trailer park in a dust bowl. Tumble weeds blew down the streets. It would have been a good setting for a spaghetti western. In the center of town there is a sawmill the size of three city blocks. A huge pile of logs occupied more than half the space. " Excess supply, " I thought to myself... Merritt is in British Columbia, about 200 miles east of Vancouver. Last weekend, I went to Merritt to see the dead forests and the Mountain Pine beetles that kill them, but I also had an appointment with the owners of a small sawmill. Business in the Canadian sawmill industry is tough right now. The slump in the U.S. housing market and the huge oversupply of logs has reduced prices for lumber products to 15-year lows. Now the strong Canadian dollar is putting the Canadian lumber industry into receivership. The couple that runs the sawmill had to lay off nine workers recently. That's half its workforce. Now this couple is excited about another business... and that's why they were so eager to meet me... They need $1 million to build a pellet mill. " A friend from high school is a big cheese at Tolko, " one of the sawmill owners told me. Tolko is one of the largest lumber companies in Canada. " I called him up, " she went on, " and I said look, 'Give me an honest answer. I don't care what the answer is, I just need the truth: Would a pellet mill be a good investment?' He told me a pellet mill would make 19%-22% returns. " Pellets are a form of bio fuel. They're made from sawdust and waste wood. You can dry and compress your waste wood into these little pellets and use them as fuel. Demand is growing for these pellets every day. http://www.dailywealth.com/archive/2007/nov/2007_nov_16.asp 3) Seven months into their protest against plans to log some 60 hectares of forest at Blackwater Creek, a member of the D'Arcy-based Blackwater Stewardship Group this week said there's reason for optimism — in spite of the fact that the B.C. government hasn't backed away from its logging plans just yet. News that B.C. Ministry of Forest and Range (MOF) and B.C. Timber Sales (BCTS) officials have been discussing the issue with the community comes in the same week that the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) sent a delegation to show solidarity with the Blackwater protesters. The group that visited on Tuesday (Nov. 13) included famed Vancouver anti-logging protester Betty Krawczyk. Mariko Kage, a member of the Blackwater group, said that while she's frustrated that the issue hasn't been resolved, she takes comfort in the fact that logging hasn't yet taken place and that the government seems willing to sit down with those opposed to the logging. " They're interested in carrying on an ongoing discussion, but having said that, there's already two more cutblocks that will be going up for sale before 2008, " Kage said. Kage said MOF and BTCS officials sat down with members of the group three weeks ago and were handed a list of 19 questions that the protesters want answered. This week she received word back that the officials want to meet soon to discuss the matter. " They said they're putting together an information package with maps and what not. They want to meet and go over it, " she said. The group, which opposes the project on the grounds that it would destroy a prime area for pine mushroom harvesting and critical habitat for wildlife such as deer, bears and owls, set up a protest camp in March. The group has the support of the N'Quatqua Band, leaders of which earlier this year sought unsuccessfully to set up a meeting with Forestry Minister Rich Coleman. BCTS and MOF officials claim the logging would be done in patches and would leave large patches of mushroom habitat undisturbed. The timber cutting licence is held by Pemberton-based Lizzie Bay Logging but the contractor has so far not begun logging. http://www.whistlerquestion.com/madison\WQuestion.nsf/0/FAC606D9A121176F88257394\ 000267FA?OpenDo cument 4) The Capital Regional District plans to freeze most development on huge tracts of land on Vancouver Island's west coast, including former tree farm licence land being sold by Western Forest Products. Land in an area stretching from Sooke Potholes to Port Renfrew would be limited to lot sizes of 120 hectares, if land use amendments get final approval. The unusual changes, which went through two readings at a packed CRD meeting Wednesday, would mean almost all rural and forestry land, except historic existing communities such as Otter Point, Shirley and Jordan River and rural lots under eight hectares, would be limited to huge lots. Public hearings will be held early next year. About 4,500 hectares which were formerly a patchwork of zonings within the local community plan areas would become 120 hectare minimum and the remaining forest land, already divided into 120 hectare lots, will be limited to one dwelling per lot. The zoning will affect almost all the 151,200 hectares in Juan de Fuca electoral area. Most of the forest land is owned by WFP and TimberWest, but 39 rural parcels, owned by about two dozen private landowners, will also be affected. " It is a broad brush approach and some smaller landowners may feel they are being caught in the back draft, " said Arnie Campbell of the Otter Point Residents and Ratepayers' Association. The decision, which requires the votes of only three directors on the Juan de Fuca land use committee, but was supported by the CRD board, fights back against a provincial decision which could skew the regional growth strategy, which some fear could lead to urban sprawl in unserviced areas. Forests Minister Rich Coleman announced in January that WFP would be allowed to remove 28,283 hectares of private land from three tree farm licences on Vancouver Island. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=30d34c68-2825-42a\ 7-8c91-d1869e9 13783 & k=16223 Oregon: 5) Sustainable Forestry Network is a grass-roots, non-profit Political Action Campaign (PAC), located in the state of Oregon. Our purpose is to educate the public as to the ecological, spiritual, and commercial values of our forestlands, as well as ensuring that the legacy of our natural heritage is passed on to our children through the implementation of sustainable, non-destructive forest use policies. Sustainable Forestry Network has a grassroots campaign underway to to qualify the Oregon Forest Restoration Initiative for the November 2008 ballot. Using the State of Oregon's citizen initiative process, Sustainable Forestry Network must collect approximately 100,000 signatures of Oregon registered voters by July 1, 2008 to qualify for the ballot. Your help is needed in this effort to stop the devastating and unnecessary practice of clearcutting on private and state forest lands throughout Oregon. Let's work together to protect the state's remaining 4% of old growth forests, and to stop hazardous chemical herbicide and pesticide use on forest lands. The Oregon Forest Restoration Initiative does not propose a ban on logging. It is a carefully thought out proposal that requires that timber on private and state forestlands be harvested by selective logging as an alternative to the current wasteful practices. It also protects and helps restore the remaining old growth stands in Oregon. Finally, the measure seeks to restore our soil, air, and water quality by requiring the use of safe, organically certified weed and pest control methods on state and private forest lands in Oregon. Our work for forest conservation is far from over. Our best efforts are now most crucial. Everyone's help is needed! We hope this site will help folks understand how to best use your skills and energy for the protection of Oregon's land and wildlife. We encourage you to join us in our efforts to protect and restore our forest ecosystems and create economic lifestyles that are in harmony with nature. Your help is needed, indeed crucial, for us to protect and restore the ecological health of our forests. Your support for this campaign will help to qualify and pass the Oregon Forest Restoration Initiative into law during the November elections and stop the destruction of clearcutting in Oregon! http://www.efn.org/~forestry/ 6) The 20 or so people — from the U.S. Forest Service, timber industry, conservation groups and some who just live nearby — stood in the ponderosa pine forest next to Black Butte Ranch. Armed with 11 different colors and patterns of marking tape, they set out with a goal — to flag which trees they would save, with the other ones left to be cut, if they were making the decisions. " I can only mark six trees? " asked Marilyn Miller with the Sierra Club, who was walking around with white tape in an area that would be thinned sparser than other sections. " Six just isn't enough. " But she marked the biggest ones she could find, and then moved to an area where more trees would be left standing. There, she used her tape to mark ones that might make a good wildlife habitat cluster. During the daylong field trip to the 1,200-acre Glaze Forest Restoration Project site Thursday, participants got a glimpse of the current state of the forest, what it could look like in the future and how project organizers are planning to get it to that point. One objective point of the Glaze restoration project is to thin trees and do other management treatments to generate new old-growth forests, possibly creating an example for other areas to follow in the process, said Maret Pajutee, district ecologist for the Sisters Ranger District. But the goal for the day was to have people see how decisions are made about which trees to cut, learn from each other and share ideas, and perhaps build trust between the different groups and the Forest Service, she said. And putting in time on the ground with different groups at the beginning of the process, she said, could help avoid time-consuming appeals and lawsuits at the end. The Glaze restoration project was actually first pitched to the Sisters Ranger District by Cal Mukumoto, manager of Warm Springs Biomass, on the timber industry side, and Tim Lillebo, with the conservation group Oregon Wild. While the district originally had other priorities, once Mukumoto and Lillebo built some community support for the project and raised money, the agency got on board. Now, a draft environmental assessment of the project is expected early next year. http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/NEWS0107/7111604\ 78/1001 & nav_cat egory= 7) As a powerful helicopter crested a forested ridge Friday with a long log dangling from a hydraulic grapple on the end of a long cable, Don Day smiled and raised his digital camera to record the moment. Then he jotted some numbers and a brief description of the chopper's load on a tablet lying on the front seat of his pickup, tabulating how many trips the Boeing 234 Chinook had made and how many logs it had carried. Day, an elder of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, was clearly thrilled. " This is very exciting, " he repeated again and again. " This is Celebration Day. I've worked a whole year to get to this hour. " The monster western red cedar trees from the U.S. Forest Service's Sweet Home District were beginning their journey towards becoming the first Native American longhouse built in the Willamette Valley, using entirely traditional methods, in more than 250 years, he said. The chopper carried about 50 8- to 20-foot lengths of old-growth cedar logs, some of them more than 5 feet in diameter, out of a hole behind a tributary of the Soda Fork river, and deposited them on a landing off Soda Fork Road on Friday afternoon. The wood will be trucked to the Grand Ronde Reservation, west of Sheridan, by Sweet Home logger Gary Olsen, who was on the scene to plan his attack. District Archaeologist Tony Farque said that, because of treaties and federal regulations, Indians are given access to natural resources in what was once their ancestral lands now controlled by the Forest Service. " It's fully appropriate for the tribes to request resources for non-commercial uses, " he said. " They have access to ceremonial sites or can request the resources themselves. The tribes regard us as gatekeepers of those resources. " He said that Don Day, an elder of the Grand Ronde tribe, asked for the cedar to build the plank longhouse. " Don calls me and we spent years looking for the right trees, " Farque said. The bases of the trees, which Day estimated to be between 500 and 600 years old, had been buried by 20 feet of mud in a landslide 12 years ago, which is believed to have killed them. http://www.sweethomenews.com/news/story.cfm? California: 8) The people of Santa Cruz continued to show their support over the weekend for activists who have taken to the trees in opposition of UCSC Long Range Development Plan. Santa Cruz community members have come to observe, to bring supplies and to thank the tree-sitters for taking a stand against UCSC's plan to add 4,500 new students and destroy 120 acres of forest. Among the visitors over the holiday weekend were Mayor Emily Reilly and her husband, Robert Nahas. After touring the liberated space under the trees, the mayor called the site " inspirational " and said that she would donate food from her bakery to the activists. Many of UCSC's in-town neighbors have visited the site, bringing extra blankets and food, showing their children the platforms high in the redwoods or just thanking the activists for their show of opposition. UCSC shuttle drivers consistently honk their horns when they drive by the site and are greeted by cheers and waves from the activists. Monday night, local DIY film collective Guerilla Drive-In hosted a showing of " Sir, No Sir, " a movie about GI resistance during the Vietnam War. The film was shown on a sheet at the base of one of the redwood clusters. On Tuesday, as school resumed, faculty members came by to show their support. An art class convened at the base of the trees for a drawing assignment. Faculty members also assured the activists that they did not support the UC police departments use of force at last Wednesday's protest. Tuesday night, local pop band James Rabbit entertained the crowd. The show was followed by a poetry reading that included a tree-sitter shouting a Rimbaud poem from their redwood perch. Chancellor Blumenthal stated at a meeting of the Academic Senate on Friday that the administration " will take whatever actions necessary to move forward " with the construction of the proposed Biomedical Sciences facility at the student-occupied site. But protesters have vowed to remain at the space until UCSC drops its plans to add 4,500 more students and destroy 120 acres of forest. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/15/18461281.php 9) Popular areas of four national forests in Southern California that burned last month could be closed for a year or longer because of threats from smoldering hot spots, flash floods and erosion, and to allow damaged habitat and wildlife to recover, U.S. Forest Service officials said. The closures, announced over the last week, affect thousands of acres of the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests, which are among the most highly used public lands in the nation. Forest-wide closures that were imposed after the fires have been lifted, but nearly half of the Cleveland National Forest, which stretches from the Mexican border through Orange and Riverside counties, will remain closed, some of it for a year, officials said. The Harding and Maple Springs truck trails and other heavily used weekend recreation routes will be off-limits in the Cleveland National Forest until mid-November 2008. In the Angeles National Forest, the Rowher Flat off-highway vehicle and Drinkwater Flat areas, affected by the Buckweed and Ranch fires, will remain closed until rehabilitation efforts are complete. Officials did not say how long that effort will take. Lands east of Piru Lake and Piru Creek affected by the Ranch fire will remain closed for one year. In Los Padres National Forest, most of the San Rafael Wilderness and all of the Dick Smith Wilderness, as well as some surrounding land affected by the Zaca fire will remain closed through April. Several areas affected by the Grass Valley and Slide fires in the San Bernardino National Forest also will remain closed until rehabilitation is completed, including trails near Green Valley as well as the Fisherman's and Tent Peg campgrounds. Cleveland National Forest supervisor William Metz issued an emergency order Thursday closing much of the forest's northern end through November 2008. The closure covers steep slopes and scenic watersheds that were scorched in the Santiago fire. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-forests17nov17,1,1098386.s\ tory?coll=la-n ews-environment 10) Building conferences and shows happen fairly regularly around the country and serve as a showcase for companies hoping to expand their reach in the industry. These events are great opportunities to put Weyerhaeuser on the spot for for their destructive logging practices and disregard for human rights. Weyerhaeuser was there to promote it's iLevel brand, which are engineered wood products that are constructed from trees coming directly out of Grassy Narrows despite protests from the community. We were ready to embarrass Weyerhaeuser in front of their peers in the building industry and to deliver the message once again that they need to immediately pull their operations out of Grassy Narrows traditional territory and stop profiting from stolen wood. We arrived at the Long Beach convention center before most of the builders themselves and staked out the conference center for our impending actions. As the show opened its doors, we met scads of builders just outside the entrance. By mid-morning all 1000 of our flyers were in the hands of every builder within 100 miles of Long Beach. Meantime, in a parking-lot around the corner, we furiously filled dozens of balloons with helium for our banner. Our plan was to release a " balloon banner " inside of the conference center that read: " iLevel by Weyerhaeuser - Clearcutting Human Rights - Ask Us How! Booth 229. " Nick made the first noble effort to release the balloons and the attached banner. With the banner safely hidden in a " gift " bag and big bunches of balloons overhead, he entered the conference lobby like he owned the place. Security was on the ready and expecting trouble. They showed Nick the door before he could deliver his precious cargo. Miraculously, the banner still made it inside. Nick handed the balloons off to Julie and her wingmen, incredible RAN volunteers, Wendell and David. Just minutes after the first attempt, the threesome managed to bring the very same banner (without the bag) back into the very same lobby with the very same security—and release the banner up to the ceiling. Unfortunately, the building security caught on and quickly escorted everyone outside before we could capture great pictures. http://understory.ran.org/2007/11/16/ran-confronts-weyco-at-long-beach-builders-\ conference/ 11) Agriculture Department investigators are in the Giant Sequoia National Monument this week probing allegations of illegal logging, lawmakers revealed Tuesday. The investigators from the department's Office of Inspector General are examining claims that the Forest Service allowed about 200 protected trees to be chopped down in 2004 and 2005. Environmentalists contend the logging included trees removed near the popular Trail of 100 Giants. " They're looking to move pretty quickly, " said Jeff Lieberson, spokesman for Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y. " We wanted them to take a look and see what the real deal is. " The investigation could reopen old wounds around the Giant Sequoia National Monument, established by President Bill Clinton in 2000 despite some local opposition. Critics contended the 327,769-acre monument, carved into the existing Sequoia National Forest, would unduly cramp important commercial and recreational activities. Monument supporters fear loggers have continued to hold too much power even in areas meant to be preserved. National monuments are supposed to be off limits for timber production, but logging is allowed on national forests. " It is the responsibility of the Forest Service to protect the trees within the Giant Sequoia National Monument, not to chop them down and sell them to timber companies, " Hinchey said in a prepared statement issued Tuesday. In a letter delivered to Capitol Hill by a courier on Monday, Inspector General Phyllis Fong said she expected the investigation field work to be completed by December. A formal report will be issued sometime after that. Three investigators have been working in the Giant Sequoia National Monument since Oct. 29, according to Sequoia National Forest spokeswoman Mary Chislock. " We are working with an OIG team from the San Francisco office, " Chislock said. As is customary, Forest Service and Office of Inspector General officials declined further public comment about the investigation while it is ongoing. http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=100703 12) Protesters and their supporters have been engaged in a waiting game with university officials after a judge ruled last month that the university can remove the tree-sitters, even if they are not identified in a court order by name. Wednesday night's clash was not an attempt by authorities to clear the tree-sitters from the grove, however. A man identifying himself only as Ayr said the supporters came to the grove from a benefit concert nearby around 11:30 p.m. Ayr said the group included Native Americans who believe that the grove was a burial ground for Ohlone Indians. UC anthropologists have said there is no evidence that is true. Ayr, part of the ground crew that helps the tree-sitters, said the arrests occurred after one of the protesters came down to the ground and started to cut the chain-link fence that university officials erected around the grove in August. The university said the 8-foot-tall barrier was meant to separate football fans and the protesters. " We went to deliver sage and tobacco and water to the tree-sitters, because we had heard earlier that (police) were denying them food and water and threatening people helping them with arrest, " Ayr said. " We got the stuff up to them and we were doing some chants and songs when one of the tree-sitters came down and started cutting the fence. " When police moved to arrest the protesters, the crowd got rowdy and two more people were arrested, Ayr said. Police did not immediately return calls today seeking comment. UC wants to remove about 100 trees, about two-thirds of the grove, to build the center, and plans to replace each lost tree with two saplings and one mature tree. All but a few of the trees were planted by the university after the stadium was built in 1923. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/15/MNRGTD61B.DTL Montana: 13) A lawsuit filed in federal court here seeks to stop a logging project in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest of southwestern Montana. The Cow Fly Timber Sale on 242 acres in the Gravely Mountains violates a forest plan's requirements for protection of elk habitat and old-growth trees, say the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council. The groups filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court, saying the Forest Service ignored state advice against logging. Forest Service spokesman Ed Nesselroad at the agency's regional office in Missoula declined to comment Thursday on the suit, which names the Forest Service and Regional Forester Tom Tidwell. Native Ecosystems Council director Sara Johnson, a former wildlife biologist for the Gallatin National Forest, said in a news release that 52 previous timber sales have occurred in the area and " the place has been logged to death. " Nesselroad said preliminary work on the timber sale may have begun this week. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS01/7111\ 5022 14) " This plan can be used as a template for resolving disputes about timber cutting and the environment across the West, " Tom France said. Environmental, timber interests address City Club about Beaverhead forest. By JOHN CRAMER of the Missoulian A coalition of timber companies and conservation groups is urging Montana's congressional delegation to introduce legislation that would make the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest a model for managing federal lands nationwide. The coalition has drafted a bill that calls for increased logging on Montana's largest national forest, but also setting aside large swaths of new wilderness and better protecting streams, wildlife and forest health. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership on Friday discussed its vision for the future management of the 3.3-million-acre forest at a City Club Missoula forum. The plan calls for setting aside 570,000 acres for wilderness and designating 713,000 acres as suitable timber base. Both figures are significantly higher than what's proposed in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge draft land use plan. Tom France of the National Wildlife Federation said he was optimistic that Montana's congressional delegation would introduce the legislation next year. The bill is called the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Conservation, Restoration and Stewardship Act. " This plan can be used as a template for resolving disputes about timber cutting and the environment across the West, " France said. In a phone interview Friday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said the plan made good sense. " This proposal is a result of folks from across the spectrum sitting down together and hammering out a common vision for Montana's forests, " he said. " It's a smart and fair compromise among loggers, conservationists, sportsmen and timber mills. " The coalition's three conservation groups and five logging companies got together last year after deciding to set aside their longstanding differences. " Ten years ago, some of these folks couldn't be in the same room together, " Tester said. " Now they're sitting around the same table working together to do what's best for our forests. " http://www.b-dpartnership.org Arizona: 15) A University of Arizona-led international team of scientists has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant to answer the question, What is the future of Amazon forests under climate change? and to train the next generation of culturally experienced scientists. The project combines international collaboration with interdisciplinary training in earth system science, remote sensing and modeling. The National Science Foundation-funded project is called the Partnership for International Research and Education-- Amazonia, or Amazon-PIRE. The grant includes $1.5 million for stipends and fellowships to support participating students and early-career scientists. PIRE students will take a field course in Brazil's Amazon forest about tropical ecology and biogeochemistry, conduct related experiments within the tropical forest biome at UA's Biosphere 2 and work with Brazilian scientists and students through exchanges at Brazilian scientific institutions. An additional National Science Foundation grant for $308,000 will let the scientists conduct aircraft surveys using laser-based sensors to help determine whether the Amazon forests are releasing or taking up carbon dioxide. " The Amazon-PIRE study is based on the premise that we can study the feedbacks by looking in some detail at interannual variation over a roughly ten-year period, " said Saleska, who began collecting data in the Amazon after first visiting Brazil's Tapajos National Forest in 1999. In addition to conducting field work in Amazonia, the project also will include experiments within Biosphere 2's gigantic controlled-environment facility near Oracle, Ariz. If drought doesn't cooperate in the Amazon, the team can always force a dry spell under glass. " There we can make the weather be what we want it to be, " Saleska said. " We can induce a big drought, observe what it does, and learn how the vegetation responds to the dry conditions. " http://uanews.org/node/17038 Minnesota: 16) To preserve the city's woodsy look, Minnetonka is preparing a new tree protection ordinance for approval early next year. But soon, the City Council is expected to sign off on a road-widening project that will mow down 427 trees, many of them large hardwoods. " That's more than a little ironic considering we're probably the most tree-hugging city in the metro area, " said City Manager John Gunyou. The trees will be lost to Hennepin County's widening of Shady Oak Road from two to four lanes between Bren Road and Excelsior Boulevard. " We live in a suburban wooded community, and they are making it look like Blaine, " said Ken Anderson, who lives off Shady Oak Road. Mayor Jan Callison said " We hate to lose trees in Minnetonka. ... The environment is one of Minnetonka's values. " We also value safety for people on roads. " Almost anything the city does requires balancing competing values, she said. If the proposed tree ordinance were applied to the project -- though that's not the plan -- it would require planting 827 new 2-inch deciduous trees and 91 new evergreens. Gustafson said trees will be replanted where they will fit and can survive, and it's unlikely there will be space for 800 new trees. http://www.startribune.com/west/story/1555213.html Louisiana: 17) In the southern United States, the land's ability to soak up carbon from the atmosphere took a hit from Hurricane Katrina, which caused death and severe structural damage to approximately 320 million large trees, according to a new study released Thursday. With the help of NASA satellite data, a team of biologists at Tulane University in New Orleans has estimated the losses inflicted by Katrina on Gulf Coast forest trees. Their study results will be published in the Nov. 16 edition of journal Science. The August 2005 hurricane affected five million acres of forest across Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, with damage ranging from downed trees, snapped trunks and broken limbs to stripped leaves. The disturbance weakened the role the forests play in storing carbon from the atmosphere, because the dead vegetation then decays, returning carbon to the atmosphere, and because the old vegetation is replaced by smaller, younger plants, said the researchers. " The carbon that will be released as these trees decompose is enough to cancel out an entire year's worth of net gain by all U.S. forests. And this is only from a single storm, " says Jeffrey Chambers, lead author of the study. In their papers, the researchers speculate that if climate warming causes more extreme events and greater storm intensity, the corresponding damage to forest trees may contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, which seems to be a vicious circle. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/16/content_7084591.htm Alabama: 18) Jimmy and Sierra Stiles are residing in a cabin in the Talladega National Forest right now. They spend their days retrieving lizards and snakes, salamanders and tree frogs. The husband and wife biologists track amphibians to study the effects of controlled burns on the tiny animals. The observations gathered in the Oakmulgee District east of Moundville and south of Duncanville will be analyzed in the University of Alabama biology department. They hope the study will help foresters reclaim longleaf pine forests, of which only 3 percent remain of the 92 million acres that covered the nation 150 years ago. Jimmy Stiles said it is the most threatened ecosystem worldwide. For more on these high school sweethearts who share the same interest in nature, read Sunday's Today section in The Tuscaloosa News. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20071116/NEWS/71116039/1007/dateline & cache\ time=3 & templat e=dateline Georgia: 19) " Forestry is one of our main industries. We're right in the middle of miles and miles and miles of forest, " said Hugh Beasley, a Treutlen County commissioner. " We're hoping and praying that (cellulosic) works, not only for us but for the whole country. " The nation's biofuel belt expanded Tuesday with Georgia joining the Midwest in the nation's alternative-fuel lexicon. Whereas the Midwest depends on ethanol made from corn, Georgia — with its 24 million acres of sustainable forests — will hitch its renewable-fuel wagon to pine trees. Colorado-based Range hopes to eventually churn out 100 million gallons of ethanol a year. It will hire 70 people to work at the factory in an industrial park outside Soperton, about 155 miles southeast of Atlanta. Company officials said Range may build additional alt-fuel factories in Georgia. " We need to declare a war on oil, " said Khosla, who co-founded Sun Microsystems. " Corn ethanol started this war, (but) as the war escalates we need better weapons. Cellulosic ethanol is the weapon we need. " U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who attended the groundbreaking and steered $76 million in federal money Range's way, said cellulosic ethanol has " more net energy than corn. " Yet corn ethanol is commercially viable and can be purchased at E-85 pumps across the country. Ross Harding, a vice president with the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center in Savannah, Ga., a state-funded development authority, said there are " drawbacks around the technical issues " involving cellulosic ethanol. (Venture capitalist Khosla said " we are confident it will work. " ) Nonetheless, the timber industry authority pledged $1 million last week to further biofuel development in Georgia. Herty's goal: boost the state's timber industry by $5 billion over the next 10 years via alternative fuels; double, to 120,000, the number of forest industry jobs; and break ground on another 30 renewable-fuel factories. " If we take just the surplus and waste (pine tree) material, we should be able to replace 20 percent of the state's fuel within 10 years, " Harding said. Range Fuels " is the most exciting opportunity for the forest industry out there. It looks to me like the real deal. " http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=100704 Maine: 20) Those who work in Maine's forest products industry say they are getting squeezed by high diesel prices and they're urging both state and government leaders to help. According to AAA, diesel prices in Maine have gone up more than 60 cents a gallon over the past 2 months. Tom Cushman, president of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, said that kind of increase puts a huge strain on business. Cushman's company, Maine Custom Woodlands, uses about 3000 gallons of diesel every week. He said he can't just charge customers more because many of them are already locked into long-term contracts. This Saturday, members of Maine's forest products industry will be meeting with representatives from the governor's office and Maine's congressional delegation to talk about possible solutions. Governor Baldacci also plans to release a new energy strategy for the state Thursday, and a spokesperson says he will address diesel costs. http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=74851 USA: 21) The outpouring of greenhouse gases from North America far outstrips the ability of the continent's fields, forests and wetlands to absorb all the carbon in the atmosphere, and the United States alone remains the world's largest emitter of climate-warming carbon dioxide, scientists reported Wednesday. All told, the burning of fossil fuels by the United States, Canada and Mexico releases nearly 2 billion tons of carbon each year into the atmosphere, and the United States accounts for 85 percent of that total, says the report by the Climate Change Science Program, a research effort by government and private scientists sponsored by the Bush administration. Until now, many scientists had thought the continent holds enough vegetation to absorb most of the carbon dioxide emissions, but the new report refutes that assumption and warns that the disparity is increasing. The entire continent accounts for 27 percent of all the carbon dioxide emissions in the world, says the report, but China, where more and more coal-burning power plants go online every year, is already forecast to soon become the world's worst emitter. " This is the first systematic assessment of America's contribution to the carbon budget in the context of global climate change, and it tells us what we really need to know, " said Christopher B. Field of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford. Field is the lead author of a section of the report that deals with the carbon cycle - a kind of balance sheet calculating how much climate-changing gas is emitted by North American power plants, vehicles and industry and how much is absorbed by the forests, crops, soils and surrounding ocean waters that constitute what scientists call the carbon sink. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/15/MNC4TCDAE.DTL Canada: 22) Alberta Sustainable Resource Development recently approved plans to allow clear cut logging activities in the area of Kananaskis near Bragg Creek and across a broad slice of the region. This has many concerned, including Mountain View MLA Dr. David Swann. One of the reasons SRD gave to residents during public consultations was that an effort was needed to combat the Mountain Pine Beetle activity in the area and taking preventive action against its spread. This isn't a well-founded strategy, according to Swann, especially due to the increased risk to water resources in the area. " It has been studied pretty well in B.C. where they examined the impact on water, " said Swann. " If you clear cut rather than leave the pine beetle damage alone, there is increased damage to the water, increased soil erosion, and damage to water flows downstream. " The combination of climate change and clear cutting could significantly affect the local water supply in the future, explained Swann, noting residents should make an effort to protect the water for the future. " Pine beetles can do terrible things to a forest, there's no question, " he said. " The question that we are asking SRD is this: 'are we going to minimize the damage or make it much worse?' They are determined to use mechanical means to control this and, in so doing, damage the ecosystem, habitat, wildlife diversity and the water system. Just because it's cheaper for the forest industry to clear cut, they are going to allow them to do that. This is not progressive policy. " Swann was involved in the Save Kananaskis Rally in Calgary Fri., Nov. 9. Swann was adamant that this shows how concerned Albertans are about preserving Kananaskis. " What is the long-term economic asset that exists there as a result of the pristine forests and waterways as opposed to the short-term economic benefits of logging? " asked Swann. " Most Albertans would choose the long-term. " http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/11925 23) MONTREAL — As debuts go, it's no Bee Movie. The only buzz surrounding AbitibiBowater Inc. has to do with the speculation it could be forced into restructuring before it even reaches its first birthday. It's not enough that Canada's new forest products giant - for economy's sake, let's call it Abitowater - has lost 42 per cent of its stock market value since it began trading two weeks ago. It's not enough that the world's biggest newsprint producer, with forest licences covering an area three times the size of New Brunswick, is barely worth $1-billion. Thanks to Greenpeace, it's losing customers, too. It all started when the group launched a media campaign against Abitowater in June, back when the old Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater were merely engaged. Newscasts around Quebec caught the massive banner - Looters of our Forest - that Greenpeace activists tacked onto the outside of Abitibi's head office. Last month, they staged another one of the TV stunts that are their forte by blocking the unloading of a ship containing Abitowater newsprint in the Netherlands. Stéphane Dion should be as media savvy. Greenpeace has also been pressuring Abitowater's customers to force the company to adhere to the forest management practices set by the Forest Stewardship Council - rather than the Canadian Standards Association norms it now meets. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071115.wryakabuski15/BNStor\ y/Business/colu mnists UK: 24) A fearsome machine is making quick work of a tree-clearing programme which is changing the landscape of Guisborough. The " claw " timber harvester is clearing thousands of trees at Guisborough Forest. And more than a quarter of the timber felled is to be burned at the new SembCorp wood burning power station at Wilton. Last year, the Forestry Commission unveiled a blueprint to make the 1,000-acre wood in the North York Moors a better place for people and wildlife over the next 50 years. This vision is being turned into reality as the hi-tech harvester grabs, cuts and strips trees as part of the first large scale felling work, which will take about nine months to complete. Contractor Dave Fenwick, 54, said: " It takes about a year to train to use this gear - it requires a bit of brain power. " But with it, I can cut down and trim 50 trees an hour. It cuts through them like butter! " Area forester Ian Blair said chain saw gangs could only manage 50 trees a day. But the £250,000 claw makes the job child's play! Of 10,000 tonnes of timber which will be cut down, 2,700 tonnes will go as woodchip for the power station. The rest will go for pallets, saw mill wood and fencing. Mr Blair said: " We are working to a 50 year blueprint and the area will gradually revert to natural, open woodland. Many areas of former ironstone, jet and alum mining interest will be uncovered for archaeological interest. " Currently, 85% of the forest is planted with conifers, which took root after the Second World War to help shore up the nation's depleted timber reserves. Most will be gradually felled and replaced by broadleaf trees like oak, ash and rowan, to eventually comprise 75% of the wood. There will also be more open spaces creating a range of wildlife habitats. To start the transformation, 100-acres of trees, around 36,000 conifers, are being felled in the eastern part of the wood. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2007/11/15/tree-clearing-program\ me-underway -in-guisborough-forest-84229-20107715/ Russia: 25) This is an adventure for those who believe we have the ability to influence humanity's future relationship with the Earth. Take a powerful inner and outer journey into the heart of Siberian shamanism. Walk this ancient road of wisdom. Learn to energize directly from the elements and to live in greater harmony and in communication with the Earth and other living beings. During this 15 day journey we will travel to the majestic and mysterious Altai Mountains, where civilizations have come and gone but indigenous people still cling to their ancient roots despite years of oppression. Meet and work with extraordinary shaman Maria Amanchina, who has taken the responsibility of returning her own culture to its Earth-honoring, shamanic origins. Travel with elder and ecologist Danil Mamyev who oversees a 60,000 hectare, Native controlled " Nature Park " . Siberia is a land of stunning contrasts; the Siberian steppe and transitional desert areas; the taiga and the tundra, the world 's largest forest; mountainous regions inhabited with rare plant and animal species, the home of the threatened snow leopard; seasonal temperature extremes ranging from 100 degrees above zero to 70 below (but during our time there the weather should be warm to hot). In the Altai we will travel to ancient ceremonial sites, cliffs strewn with petroglyphs, stone circles, and caves that have seen human habitation for more than 60,000 years. Be immersed in wild Nature; live close to the land and travel with Altai shamans, elders, and the gentle locals. Open your heart to the ancient, ancestral spirits and the energetic gateways of the land. Experience honoring the Spirit World of the Altai and learn how to harness the life force in order to direct your own energies for positive results. While in the Altai, drink from the sacred Katun and Chuya rivers, learn about Siberian ecology and what can be done to preserve this magnificent territory for future generations. On the journey home, take in the juxtaposition of Old Russia against Soviet period architecture in the famous " Red Square " of Moscow. http://www.sacredearthnetwork.org/expeditions/altai07new.cfm Congo: 26) The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) joins the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in announcing the creation of the new Sankuru Nature Reserve, a huge rainforest area harboring the endangered bonobo, a great ape most closely related to humans. Larger than the state of Massachusetts, the new reserve encompasses 11,803 square miles of tropical rainforest, extremely rich in biodiversity. " This is a monumental step towards saving a significant portion of the world's second largest rainforest, of critical importance to the survival not only of humankind's closest great ape relative, the bonobo, but to all life on earth given the increasing threat of climate change, " said Sally Jewell Coxe, president and co-founder of the Bonobo Conservation Initiative. The Sankuru region was hit very hard during the recent war in the Congo, which devastated the local people and claimed four million lives -- more than any war since WWII. In addition to the critical environmental challenges presented by unsustainable hunting, the humanitarian crisis must also be addressed. " The people of Sankuru rely on the forest for every aspect of their livelihood. Helping them to develop new economic opportunities apart from the bushmeat trade is one of the most urgent priorities, " Coxe said. In danger of extinction, bonobos (Pan paniscus) were the last great ape to be discovered and are the least known great ape species. Found only in the DRC, bonobos inhabit the heart of the Congo Basin, Africa's largest rainforest, which is threatened by the onslaught of industrial logging. Bonobos are distinguished by their peaceful, cooperative, matriarchal society, remarkable intelligence, and sexual nature. Other than humans, bonobos are the only primates known to have sex not only for procreation, but also for pleasure and conflict resolution -- and with members of either sex. They serve as a powerful flagship both for conservation and for peace. http://yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_70618.shtml Belize: 27) The Paradise Earth Project Blog, Rainforests In Crisis, launches with a bang this week from the rain forest of Belize in Central America. Char & Tony Mandarich (Mandarich Media Group) will be providing twice-daily blog updates with photos, video, and educational/entertaining segments on their adventures in Belize. The Paradise Earth Team, led by Founder David Calvin & his television co-host Craig Allison, will spend the week filming the pilot episode for their upcoming Paradise Earth Television Series. Additional segments for the show planned for Belize will include educational & entertaining interviews with rainforest experts, as well as interviews with rainforest animal & rainforest plant authorities. Ecotourism segments, including visits to Mayan ruins, are also planned so the Team can provide their audience with a personalized take on eco-travel. Furthering his commitment to bring the Paradise Earth audience reputable, authoritative information on rain forest issues, David Calvin spent this weekend hosting world-renowned biologist Thomas Lovejoy at the Paradise Earth offices in Arizona. For more information about the Paradise Earth Project, visit Paradise Earth Online. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb569039.htm China 28) Investors looking for new ways to cash in on China's strong economic growth are turning to its emerging forestry industry, which is flourishing amid a clampdown on the global trade of unsustainable rainforest timber. China is the world's largest importer of soft and hard woods. Total forest product imports more than tripled between 1997 and 2005 to 134 million cubic metres, accounting for around half the log exports from Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Indonesia and Russia. But with campaigns against deforestation prompting tighter rules on international trade, a handful of listed logging firms are looking to exploit China's 960 million hectares (9.6 million sq km) of forests, of which only 5 percent is in plantation use. The fledgling industry is planting fast growing, high-yield trees such as eucalyptus to feed demand from explosive growth in home ownership and construction -- and trying to soothe investors by battling accusations it is harming the environment by using timber taken illegally or unsustainably from the world's forests. China's insatiable demand for raw materials has helped push up the price of commodities from iron ore and palm oil to copper and milk powder and wood products are no different. Benchmark NBSK pulp prices have risen more than 30 percent in two years. Analysts say firms such as Temasek-invested Sino-Forest Corp and China Grand Forestry Resources Group can cash in on rising demand and tighter supply. " With China's significant imbalance of wood supply, upstream players should benefit from rising wood prices, " said Chuan Tang, an analyst at Deutsche Bank. China Grand Forestry, which transformed itself from a garments maker formerly called Good Fellow Group, has seen its market value balloon nearly 18 times since the beginning of 2006, when it announced the purchase of Beijing Wan Fu Chun Forest Resources Development Co Ltd. http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7081909 Cambodia: 29) The Cardamom Mountains, in southwest Cambodia, comprise one of the last great wilderness areas of Southeast Asia. Their mixture of forests, rivers, tropical animals and indigenous peoples mark them as an area of exceptional biological and cultural value. Yet the Cardamoms remain largely a mystery to the outside world, with few non-locals venturing into its evergreen valleys or along its cooler pine-clad uplands. In December 2005 a party of Khmer and ex-pat locals (author included) sort to redress this situation by undertaking a survey of a potential eco-tourism trail across the Cardamom Mountains. Dubbed the 'Hornbill Trail', this route took us across from the eastern side of the Cardamoms (Kompong Speu province), over and across the range to the southern portion of Koh Kong province; our journey ending at National Route 48 and a main ferry crossing. We started our trek across the Hornbill Trail at a small rural village tucked beneath the sandstone escarpment of the eastern Cardamoms. Our party of five ascended slowly through the hardwood forest, accompanied by two guides; one of whom carried a live chicken for the evening meal. Here, in this portion of forest, old logging tracks were slowly being reclaimed by the forest, while the whining of chainsaws has again given way to the whirling of woodpeckers through the upper canopy. At one point, as we climbed, our party disturbed a large flock of hornbills feeding on the ripe fruit of a tall fig tree. The lonely hoot of gibbons echoed around us and an occasional troop of long tail macaques crashed through the undergrowth. Our climb ended after six hours, on the top of a pine-clad phnom; a cool breeze revived our exhausted bodies. In this colder environment, spaced forest and grass dominate the vegetation, with small deer feeding in the open areas. From where we now stood we were miles from any other humans, 1000m up, with a spectacular view of Kompong Speu before us; the panorama swept all thoughts of tiredness away. http://andybrouwer.blogspot.com/2007/11/next-big-thing.html 30) Cambodia's long-lost temple complex of Angkor is the world's largest known preindustrial settlement, reveals a new radar study that found 74 new temples and more than a thousand manmade ponds at the site. (See a photo gallery of Angkor's newly uncovered sprawl). But urban sprawl and its associated environmental devastation may have led to the collapse of the kingdom, which includes the renowned temple of Angkor Wat, the study suggests. Ever since the late 16th century, when Portuguese traders spied the towers of the monument poking through a dense canopy of trees, people have puzzled over the demise of the Angkor civilization. Now a new archaeological map created using jungle-penetrating radar has revealed traces of vast suburban sprawl surrounding the many temples and the walled central city of Angkor Thom. Extensive waterworks threaded through the low-density development, channeling the flow of three rivers through agricultural fields, homes, and local temples. In the end, residents of greater Angkor likely struggled with the ecological consequences of transforming the landscape. The new survey found breached spillways and canals clogged with silt, suggesting that environmental degradation made the infrastructure increasingly difficult to maintain. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/news Sumatra: 31) Jambi province on Sumatra, according to Feri, is a centre for the plantation industry: Acacia for pulp mills and oil palm for the palm oil industry. There are plans to further expand the plantation industry. We are very worried about this, because forests have been destroyed on a large scale and social and land conflicts remain unresolved. Massive deforestation continues in the rainforest areas in Jambi, including in national parks. The largest active companies in Jambi are: 1) Sinar Mas (through its pulp and paper subsidiary APP) 2) Raja Garuda Mas (through its pulp and paper subsidiary APRIL) Both corporations have several subsidiary companies in the palm oil sector: 3) ASTRA - All those are international corporations with connections in the international pulp and paper market. Sinar Mas has concessions for one tenth of the whole land area of Jambi, where they have planted acacia for pulp and paper production. Furthermore, Sinar Mas owned palm oil companies (PT SMART and others) have been granted concessions for 15% of the land in Jambi for planting oil palms. This means that Sinar Mas alone holds one quarter of all land in the province. If the concessions granted to other pulp and paper and palm oil companies are inlcuded, not much land remains for settlments, forest and agriculture. The results are many enviornmental and social conflicts. http://redamazon.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/conflict-indigenous-people-palm-oil-co\ nservationist- and-carbon-trading/ 32) Head man Mursyid Ali stands amid blackened stumps, the remains of much of the rainforest belonging to this village on Indonesia's Sumatra stripped and drained in spite of local protests. It's a scene repeated across much of Indonesia, where poverty and voracious demand for commodities -- coupled with corruption and poor law enforcement -- drive the destruction of forests. Thanks largely to the burning of forests and destruction of carbon-rich peatlands, Indonesia is the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, a statistic coming under the spotlight ahead of the nation hosting a major international climate change conference next month. The December 3-14 UN summit on the resort island of Bali will see delegates from around the world -- including more than 100 ministers -- thrash out a framework for negotiations on a global regime to combat climate change when the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Satellite images from environmental watchdog WWF show that only 25 years ago, the majority of Riau province -- home to Ali?s village -- was covered in equatorial forest, one of the most ecologically diverse habitats on Earth and a vital absorber of carbon. Today, four million hectares (nearly 10 million acres), or more than 60 percent, have gone. Land clearing, both legal and illegal, has made way for tree and oil palm plantations, logging concessions and small farms. In Kuala Cenaku, the landscape has been denuded to make way for oil palm plantations cashing in on booming demand for palm oil -- ironically seen as a source of climate-friendly biofuel. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hAj4I1DIymTy_J2siBMpRZqydUAg 33) The Sumatran rhino is the smallest living rhinoceros species weighing just 1,300-1,700 pounds. It has fringed ears, reddish-brown skin variably covered with long hair, and wrinkles around its eyes. It is probably the most endangered of the rhinoceros species and is the last surviving species in the same group as the extinct Woolly Rhinoceros. Numbers have declined over 50% due to poaching and habitat loss over the last 15 years. Fewer than 300 Sumatran Rhino survive in very small and highly fragmented populations in Southeast Asia with Indonesia and Malaysia being the only significant range states. Sabah is the last preserve of the Borneo Sumatran Rhino, a subspecies of the Sumatran Rhino. WWF officials said that surveys in 1992 and 1995 in Sabah had found fewer than 13 rhinos, scattered over a vast area. While some of the Sumatran rhinos are kept in zoos, they are difficult to breed in captivity. The 2000 birth of a healthy calf to a rhino called Emi at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio was the first successful captive delivery in 112 years. The Sumatran rhino are solitary animals that only come together to breed, but a 2005 survey results seem to indicate that the 13 rhinos are in an area in Sabah that's untouched by poaching which means the rhinos have a reasonable chance to meet each other and breed. There is also evidence that there are young animals in the group so it would appear that breeding have already taken place. This has sparked hopes that the population of Borneo Sumatran Rhino can again flourish, at least in Sabah. http://travelmalaysiaguide.com/sumatran-rhino/ Indonesia: 34) The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) suggested the government to adopt a logging moratorium to overcome deforestation, which has reached 2.7 million hectares each year. " The logging moratorium should become a government policy, instead of being a forest guard, and receiving wages from forest and environment destroyers as offered by REDD, " Walhi executive director, Chalid Muhammad said in a discussion here Friday. REDD (reduction of emissions from deforestation) in the developing countries is a mechanism offered by the world to solve forest destruction, he said. Regarding the REDD, Northern countries offered an incentive to Southern contries in a bid to reduce emissions and solve deforestation, Chalid said without elaborating. It means that the developed countries as the world`s biggest emission fossil carbon disposing countries and perpetrator of global warming, will have no guilty feeling as they have " bought " the forests including those in Indonesia, Chalid said. Walhi therefore reminded the government to reject the REDD offer. In the meantime, Tjatur Sapto, the House`s commission VIII member of the National Mandate Party (FPAN) faction also asked the government to avoid the REDD offer. http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/11/17/ri-should-adopt-logging-moratorium-pol\ icy/ 35) Greenpeace has blocked a tanker carrying more than 30,000 tonnes of palm oil from leaving an Indonesian port to protest against forest destruction blamed on plantations, the environmental group said on Thursday. The protest came less than three weeks before a U.N. climate change meeting on the resort island of Bali, where delegates from 189 countries will debate ways to slow down global warming, including the impact of dwindling tropical rainforests. The group's Rainbow Warrior ship dropped anchor next to the MT Westama, which was set to leave for India from Dumai in Sumatra island, one of the Southeast Asian nation's main ports handling palm oil. " We will block this as long as we can. We want the government to immediately issue a moratorium on conversion of forests and peatlands into palm oil plantations, " said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner, who spoke by telephone from onboard the ship. Environment groups have blamed palm oil companies for driving the destruction of Indonesia's forests and peatlands. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSJAK323505 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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