Guest guest Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Today for you 35 new articles about earth's trees! (283rd edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --British Columbia: 1) Privatize again and again till it's gone --Oregon: 2) Small time tree farms can't afford to harvest windfall --Alabama; 3) Biofuels from trees is the answer? --Canada: 4) Anto-Oilsands markets campaign --Norway: 5) Governent's carbon-neutral fantasy --UK: 6) Winnie the pooh's forest is being 'managed' --Germany: 7) Ten treesitters pulled out from 200 year-old Beech tree --Rwanda: 8) Announced that the Gishwati Forest Reserve --Nigeria: 9) We lose houses to the desert every year --Kenya: 10) 2000 trees lost, 11) Farmers are turning to forestry? --Uganda: 12) New director of National Forestry Authority focused on tourism --Guyana: 13) Be more realistic about getting climate money --Brazil: 14) Deforestation surges, 15) World Bank backs Cattle over trees, 16) Ten more years? 17) Amazon's vicious cycles, 18) A top 25 underreported new story, 19) Common nature of 1000 year old trees changes sequestration estimates, --Bolivia: 20) Bird community composition and abundance in logged and unlogged forest --India: 21) Anarchy in the woods, 22) Sundari trees die, 23) Timber for water not wood, --Thailand: 24) Scientific justification for destroying 20% of intact mangroves --Malaysia: 25) Logging the Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves --Indonesia 26) Woodlark Island will no longer be a palm oil plantation, 27) Bentayan Wildlife Reserve, 28) Ecotourism in Sebangau National Park, --Sumatra: 29) 500,000 of Sumatra's 2.5 million hectares of forest lost in the 1990's --New Zealand: 30) GE tree protest --World-wide: 31) Illegal logging market doesn't make sense, 32) Botanic RX ideas are being lost, 33) Rainforest flowers, 34) The Forest Transparency Initiative, 35) Recovery from the current extinction rate may take 30 million years, British Columbia: 1) B.C.'s chief forester on Thursday raised the idea, albeit reluctantly, that it is time to examine privatizing the province's forests as a way to help revitalize the forest sector. Stressing that he had been asked to present some outside-the-box ideas at the sixth annual natural resource forum, Jim Snetsinger noted a recent Globe and Mail column suggested privatizing Crown forest land could help revitalize the forest industry. While Snetsinger noted it was a " revolutionary " idea, it didn't mean it wasn't an idea worth thinking about. He pointed out that in Finland, a world-class forest sector is supported by timberlands held by small, private owners. And in New Zealand and Australia, private plantations are used to fuel their forest sectors, he said. Snetsinger also stressed this was not a decision the chief forester would make, but one that would be made by elected officials. " If and when it's time to start asking questions associated with tenure, I'm hopeful we are prepared to ask ourselves questions like, what kind of system would promote sustained investment in our forest industry and what kind of system would allow for optimized management of all resource values, " Snetsinger told the 200 community, First Nations and business leaders at the forum. Another question that would need to be addressed is what system would ensure the continued high standards of forest management in British Columbia because it is important not to lose those, he said. Right now, under the province's largely volume-based timber rights system, companies must replant logged forests, but there is no assurance they will get to log the replanted forests. It creates little incentive to put money into increasing productivity, for example, through fertilizing or thinning. http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=113\ 343 & Itemid=557 Oregon: 2) Stefanowicz, known to many as " Green Mountain Nick, " planted thousands of trees by hand over the course of several years in the 1950s with his children and grandchildren in mind. As his children grew, so did the trees. The work he put into managing the Douglas fir seedlings was an investment, he said, and by the time last month's storm hit, the trees had become a sizable asset. Stefanowicz wasn't planning to harvest his trees any time soon - especially given the bargain-basement price for logs in recent months. But the winds came Dec. 2-3 and knocked down about 25 percent of his assets. " She really ripped through here, " he said, looking out at a clearing of cracked and toppled trees. " I planted trees to make some money for the kids, not me. When I logged it, it was going to go to my children for college. But I don't know what's going to happen now. " More than 400 family forestland owners in Clatsop County have property in the December storm's severe wind damage zone, according to Glenn Ahrens, an Oregon State University extension forester in Astoria. He's working to help landowners pick up the pieces, and possibly drum up some form of compensation for their loss. Small woodland owners with storm damage face an expensive catch-22. Timber markets are grim, and salvage logging costs are higher than normal timber harvests. If landowners wait too long for timber markets to improve, the wood will begin to degrade. Most of the wood that's down has a 12-18 month window to be sold before it falls victim to rot and insect infestation. " These are not big companies with a buffer and other properties elsewhere, " said Ahrens. " The timber industry, they can recover from these things. But if you're a landowner with 20 to 100 acres ... the cost to try to salvage any of the timber will be high because it's more difficult to do when it's all laid down. The markets are terrible right now, so people wouldn't have chosen to harvest in this market if they had a choice. http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2 & SubSectionID=398 & ArticleID=484\ 65 & TM=15139.43 Alabama: 3) Using trees to make ethanol would be a cleaner and environmentally enriching and would not compete for farmland, says Dr. Gopi Podila, who heads up research on " high-yield " trees at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, which released a synopsis of his research this week. Trees wouldn't require the pesticides or fertilizers used by the corn ethanol industry, which sends millions of pounds of nitrites downriver where they pollute the Gulf of Mexico making a portion of it (known as the " dead zone " ) uninhabitable for shrimp, fish and oysters. By contrast, trees planted along rivers could take up some of that fertilizer and help alleviate the runoff problem before it hits the Mississippi Delta. But wait, there's more. A well-managed tree program also could help sequester carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere because trees are the best land-based carbon sinks, better than corn and other plants. Furthermore, fast-growing trees like poplar and sweetgum could be competitive as a raw material for biofuels because they can produce significant biomass for harvesting every five to six years and don't require prime land to grow well, said Dr. Gopi, the chair of the UAH's Biological Sciences Department. The only hitch to getting trees online as the next biofuel raw material lies with the technology to convert wood pulp to sugar. The process still isn't speedy or cheap enough to be competitive. But if the government decides to fund research in this area, Dr. Gopi believes that people " will find a way. …Like with everything else, " he quips, " money is the mother of invention. " http://www.greenrightnow.com/2008/01/19/are-trees-the-next-gen-of-biofuels/ Canada: 4) Some of the world's most influential environmental organizations are targeting customers for the oilsands, the banks that finance them, the home offices of the multinationals that develop them and the refiners and pipeliners that move the product - and the Alberta government admits it's falling behind in the public relations battle. " This is now an international campaign, " said Liz Barrat-Brown of the Natural Resources Defence Council, one of the largest environmental organizations in the United States. " It's certainly bigger than an Alberta issue. " The council helped organize the protests that Stelmach encountered on his visit Wednesday, but that's only the start of the group's actions to increase opposition in the U.S. to importing oilsands oil. Last week, it began lobbying airlines to stop using oilsands-derived fuel. It's also working with groups to oppose the expansion of American energy infrastructure to accommodate that oil. Plans to expand refineries in Indiana and Illinois are now meeting opposition, as is Enbridge's (TSX:ENB) proposal for a new pipeline through wetlands in Wisconsin. " This is all focused on the tarsands issue and the expansion of the infrastructure in the U.S., " said Barrat-Brown. " We need to take responsibility for our oil use. " The Rain Forest Action Network, based in San Francisco, has begun talking with major banks such as Citigroup and Bank of America over how their loan portfolios in the oilsands and in coal mining are influencing climate change. " These are two big drivers in North America that are taking us in the wrong way, " said spokesman Bill Barclay. " The finance sector is a very, very big player in all this. " In Britain, the World Wildlife Fund has released a pair of reports critical of how oilsands development has been regulated. The group has also organized flyovers of the area in northern Alberta for journalists from major news organizations such as the Financial Times, the Guardian newspaper and ITV for first-hand looks. As well, Greenpeace is working in the home countries of energy multinationals with major oilsands stakes. http://www.tarsandswatch.org/environmental-fight-against-oilsands-development-in\ creasingly-inte rnational UK: 5) We have all read tales of Pooh Bear's adventures in the One Hundred Acre Wood – but unknown to many of us a real-life hundred acre woodland stretches out from the heart of Cardiff. Although you won't spot Pooh and his friends such as Piglet and Eeyore in The Nant Fawr Community Woodland – there are a host of other wildlife and flora and fauna to enjoy. There are wildflower meadows and at least 25 species of woodland birds including wrens, tits and wood pigeons. In the adjacent Llanishen and Lisvane reservoirs wintering birds such as mallard and teal can be spotted from viewing platforms set up by the group. Of course you won't come across Christopher Robin leading his friends in their adventures but you are quite liable to bump into Ivor Lippett, who leads a large group of volunteers who work with the city's rangers to maintain and improve the woodlands for all to enjoy. Retired BT engineering manager Ivor said: " It's great – you get the privilege to play in the woods – cutting down trees, mucking about in streams and generally enjoying the great outdoors. " http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/cardiff-news/2008/01/19/woodland-that-s-just\ fauna-tastic-9 1466-20368420/ Norway: 6) Norway's parliament agreed on Thursday to make the world's number five oil exporter " carbon neutral " by 2030, 20 years earlier than previously planned. Under the scheme, any emissions of carbon dioxide in 2030 will be offset by cuts elsewhere. Costa Rica and New Zealand are among few countries that have similarly stiff goals to cut their net emissions to zero. Stoltenberg said deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of total greenhouse gases -- trees soak up carbon dioxide when they grow and release it when they rot or are burnt. Greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels such as coal or oil in power plants and factories account for almost 30 percent. These could be dealt with by new technologies to capture the gases and pipe them into underground stores, he said. " There's a long way to go but the potential is there, " he told Reuters of burying carbon. http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL18833483.html Germany: 7) DRESDEN - Police forced their way through a blockade of protesters and pulled 10 activists from a 200-year-old beech tree on Tuesday just after midnight, paving the way for clearing the land to build a bridge that has raised the ire of environmentalists and UNESCO. Two of the activists had chained themselves through a metal pipe to the tree and it took several hours for police to saw through the pipe and remove them. " Today's action will simply bring more people to protest against the bridge, " said a defiant Sara-Ann Lampmann, spokeswoman for Robin Wood, the group organizing the protest. The raid ended a monthlong standoff between the activists and city builders working on the new bridge over the Elbe river. Some 50 protesters were on hand at the time of the raid on the ground, while 10 were in the 20-meter-high (65-foot-high) beech tree and three in a nearby linden tree, police said. Ten of the protesters were taken into custody. With the way clear, the beech was felled just after noon, along with other trees, to make way for widening an access road to the planned four-lane Waldschloesschen bridge. It was the latest in a series of issues surrounding the construction of the bridge, which has drawn criticism from those who say it would mar the profile of the eastern city _ a UNESCO World Heritage site _ and encroach on the habitat of a rare species of bat. After a long legal battle, a German administrative court ruled in November that construction of the 635-meter (2,083-foot) bridge could proceed, despite the possible threat to the habitat of the lesser horseshoe bat. The court also ruled that a strict speed limit of 30 kph (19 mph) must be in place during nighttime hours in a bid to reduce any disruptions to the habitat of the nocturnal bats. http://www.pr-inside.com/police-pull-protesters-out-of-trees-r387356.htm Rwanda: 8) The Rwandan government, Great Ape Trust of Iowa and Earthpark have announced that the Gishwati Forest Reserve is the future site of the Rwanda National Conservation Park, setting into motion one of Africa's most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts ever. The selection of Gishwati as the location for Rwanda's first national conservation park comes less than three months after the project was unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative by Rwanda President H.E. Paul Kagame and Ted Townsend, founder of Great Ape Trust and Earthpark. The Gishwati Forest, in Rwanda's Western Province, was deforested in the 1980s by agricultural development and in the 1990s during the resettlement of people following the civil war and genocide. Human encroachment, deforestation, grazing and the introduction of small-scale farming resulted in extensive soil erosion, flooding, landslides and reduced water quality - as well as the isolation of a small population of chimpanzees. A team from Great Ape Trust and Earthpark toured the Gishwati region this month, hosted by representatives from the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and Rwanda National Forestry Authority (NAFA). " This was the first step in what will be a very long but powerful journey. What we've learned about Gishwati has given us an even bigger vision of what can be accomplished in Rwanda, " Townsend said. " It's a signature moment to participate in this conservation effort that is new and beyond anything attempted before. " http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Rwanda_Gishwati_Forest_Selected_As_Site_For_Hi\ storic_Conser vation_Project_999.html Nigeria: 9) Ciroma Mohammed is standing on the spot he says was once occupied by his house in north-east Nigeria. " We lose houses to the desert every year, " he says from the village of Bulamadu in Yobe State. The fine sand is swallowing up houses and roads every year. Almost all the villagers in this dusty arid region say they have lost homes and farms to the Sahara Desert which is expanding southwards. " What we do is that when the sand moves and buries our homes and farms and even our wells, we simply keep retreating southwards, " says Aminu Mahmud, another villager who says he has already lost two different houses to the sand. He says the situation deteriorates every April when strong pre-rainy season sandstorm sweep sand into their settlements. " The desert's unrelenting onslaught is pushing us further away from our original homes and it seems there's absolutely nothing we can do about it, " Mr. Mahmud says. " The desert has swallowed up our houses, our farms, our roads, our lives. It has changed our livelihoods. " A middle-aged Muslim woman who did not want her photograph taken says women in Bulamadu now spend most of the day travelling long distances in search of potable water. " Water has become more precious than gold now, " the woman who introduced herself as Mairo said, as she sat frying bean cakes know as kosai. " You wake up one morning and the water well that was there yesterday has been buried under the sand. As a result, most of us women have to trek long distances to get water. " The villagers do not seem to see any link between their large appetite for firewood and the advancing sand dunes. They keep cutting down trees in the vicinity and using sun-dried branches as wood fuel or even as an income earner. Further east in a village called Damasak, Sani Yunusa, 56, says the sand dunes were " not so strange. " He claims he had witnessed something similar as a child. " The sand should not prevent people from cutting down trees as they have been doing for centuries, " he says. " Desertification is just nature at work and it will reverse itself when it is ready. " But Mr. Yunusa an expert say that the march of the sand towards Nigeria's south has become almost irreversible. And the more trees the villagers in Bulamadu and Damasak cut down, the faster the sand dunes gallop towards the coastline to the country's south. http://www.champion-newspapers.com/daily%20champion%20files/features/article_3.h\ tm Kenya: 10) More than 2,000 exotic and indigenous trees worth more than Sh1.2 million have been destroyed by illegal loggers. Bomet District forest officer William Cheptoo said the loggers had taken advantage of the post-election violence to deplete the Chepalungu government gazetted forest. He explained that the forest was left unguarded after forest guards fled. Three months ago, members of the local community said to have opposed the conservation of the forest, invaded Chelelach forest station, which is part of the expansive Chepalungu forest block, and killed a forest guard. Speaking to journalists in his Bomet town office Thursday, Mr Cheptoo said the loggers were extracting timber and fencing poles from the felled trees. More than 100,000 tree seedlings planted six months ago were uprooted, he added. The forester appealed to the local community to stop the destruction. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=91608 11) Farmers are turning to commercial forestry to earn a living following shortage of timber and tree products across the country. The ban on logging has also been a major driving force. Excision of government forests in 1990s contributed to the shortage since the felled trees were hardly replaced. The Kenya Forest Service Act which came into force in 2005 promotes farm forestry. The Act is aimed to support farmers to plant trees to protect gazetted forests. Thus, the Kenya forestry sector is in the process of revival, attempting to overcome the various problems confronting it. Although forests play an important role in the livelihood of the people by providing a variety of goods and services, there has been inadequate attention to take advantage of opportunities aimed at sustaining them. A government report says a master plan was prepared in 1991-1994 to guide development of forestry for 25 years. But it was not fully implemented. The report further adds that considering the current social and economic situation, development of forestry should focus on poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. The most significant contributions is in the energy sector, supply for domestic and industrial processes, provision of timber for construction and trees for regulation of water flow. It is estimated that 80 per cent of Kenya's population uses biomas energy while developers in urban areas rely on hydro-energy. Experts have called for diversification of farmers' income in line with policies aimed at environmental conservation. The main activities targeted in the programme are farmers' training, production of seedlings, management, marketing and processing of forest products. The scheme, which covers 55 districts, also focuses on catchment protection and rehabilitation of degraded sites. According to reports from the Kenya Forest Service, industrial forest plantations programme was a core task. This is in line with the mission of the service " to develop, manage, conserve and protect forest, trees and resources sustainable for socio-economic development " . http://allafrica.com/stories/200801141827.html Uganda: 12) Damian Akankwasa has been appointed the new executive director of the National Forestry Authority (NFA). Akankwasa, who was the director of tourism and business planning at the Uganda Wildlife Authority, replaces Olav Bjella, who resigned in November 2006, to protest the planned give-away of forest reserves. Akankwasa is expected to work with four other new managers who were appointed last month. These include Paul Buyera, who became the new director of corporate affairs, Hudson Andrua, in charge of natural forests, Ernest Kaddu, the director of finance and Paul Dritch, the director of plantations. All the officials have been promoted. Buyera was an environment impact assessment specialist, Andrua was the planning specialist, Kaddu was the authority's senior accountant, while Dritch was the specialist in charge of inventory and surveys. " We have been grappling with many challenges, but the fresh appointments will help to respond to some of them, " said NFA's public relations manager, Moses Watasa. " The organisation has been keen to fill the vacancies and this process started with the appointment of Akankwasa. " NFA, which three years ago replaced the Forestry Department, has also been restructured with the department of field operations split into two; plantations and natural resources. http://allafrica.com/stories/200801150026.html Guyana: 13) Researcher and columnist Janette Bulkan believes Guyana must take a more active role in presenting its case with respect to climate change if it wants to be taken seriously on the world stage. In a letter to Stabroek News recently, Bulkan said that in the reports of the working groups, which prepared for the Bali climate change conference in Indonesia, the concerns of Guyana seemed not to have been presented. " Perhaps Guyana did not send delegates, or its delegates were unable to present a persuasive and rationalised case. Yet Guyana should have a good case in relation to rising sea levels, and should be able to present a comprehensive and costed action plan for re-engineering of its sea defences and of its drainage and irrigation control systems in the water conservancies, " the letter said. She said the relevant chapters in the National Development Strategy 2001-2010 contain the bases for such an action plan. " Is the Ministry of Agriculture working on such an action plan as its contribution as a member of AOSIS [Association of Small Island Developing States]? " she pondered. She said this briefing pointed out that countries with good forest governance would be well placed to take up post-Bali funding while countries with a reputation for poor forest governance would not. Also, technologies - of the kinds now being promoted by the GFC - are not a substitute for good governance. " In other words, to be credible and eligible for new donor funding Guyana (as represented by the GFC) would itself need to engage in real internal reform, " the letter said. http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56537062 Brazil: 14) Deforestation of the Amazon has surged in recent months and is likely to rise in 2008 for the first time in four years, a senior Brazilian government scientist said on Wednesday. The rise raises questions over Brazil's assertion that its environmental policies are effectively protecting the world's biggest rain forest, whose destruction is a major source of carbon emissions that drive global warming. " I think the last four months is a big concern for the government and now they are sending people to do more law enforcement, " Carlos Nobre, a scientist with Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, told a seminar in Washington. " But I can tell you that it (deforestation) is going to be much higher than 2007. " Nobre, whose government agency monitors the Amazon and gathers data, said that 2,300 square miles of forest had been lost in the past four months. That compares with an estimated 3,700 square miles in the 12 months ended July 31, which Brazil officials hailed as the lowest deforestation rate since the 1970s. Brazil's government has said that policies such as more controls on illegal logging and better certification of land ownership were reducing the deforestation that has destroyed about a fifth of the forest -- an area bigger than France -- since the 1970s. But environmental groups have warned that rising global commodity prices are likely to fuel more clearing of land for farms, as occurred in 2004 when Brazil recorded the highest deforestation rate of more than 10,400 square miles. Nobre said the cause of the recent surge was unclear, but that the major drivers of deforestation such as illegal logging and land clearing for cattle farming remained intact, despite the recent annual declines in forest clearing. " All those drivers of change are there. The three years of reduced deforestation ... did not bring by themselves a cure for illegal deforestation, " he said. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=91524 15) The World Bank has emerged as one of the key backers behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research has identified as the greatest threat to the survival of the rainforest. Ranching has grown by half in the last three years, driven by new industrial slaughterhouses which are being constructed in the Amazon basin with the help of the World Bank. The revelation flies in the face of claims from the bank that it is funding efforts to halt deforestation and reduce the massive greenhouse gas emissions it causes. Roberto Smeraldi, head of Friends of the Earth Brazil and lead author of the new report, obtained exclusively by The Independent on Sunday, said the bank's contradictory policy on forests was now clear: " On the one hand you try and save the forest, on the other you give incentives for its conversion. " There are now more than 74 million cattle reared in the Amazon basin, the world's most important eco-system, where they outnumber people by a ratio of more than three to one. Fuelled by massive illegal ranches, the South American giant has become the world's leading beef exporter, rearing more cattle than all 25 EU members put together. This industrial expansion comes despite international agreements to combat deforestation, and claims from the government of Brazil that it is succeeding in slowing the destruction of the world's largest standing forest. http://www.alternet.org/environment/74031/ 16) " Today Brazil has the conscience not to cut down trees to increase its production, " he said in an interview on Monday. " The government has decided -- no more deforestation. Now, it will be at least a decade before the policies are in place and working. " President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has repeatedly boasted that Brazil reduced deforestation by 50 percent over the last two years. But record commodity prices are increasing the pressure to make Amazonian land productive and deforestation has increased again since last August, the environment ministry said. Stephanes, a former congressmen, said Brazilian agriculture would grow by recovering 50 million hectares (124 million acres) of degraded pasture land, as well as developing another 50 million hectares of virgin savanna. " What we cut down already is enough, " he said. But he said there were no funds or concrete policy to provide farmers with incentives not to chop down trees. " We haven't started yet, it's not necessary yet, " Stephanes said. " This discussion is new, at least in this ministry, and still needs to mature so we can create new lines of finance. " He said he fully supported the government's decision in December to ban farm products coming from illegally deforested areas. But its implementation was not his job, he said. " If there are still people deforesting, that's a matter for the police, " he said. A tradition of conquering and settling Brazil's huge wilderness persists among many farmers and is an obstacle to environmental awareness, the minister said. Deforestation by small and mid-size farmers was likely to continue. " You'll have small infractions, the important thing is that the big ones are over, " he said. Friends of the Earth said in a report that beef production in the Amazon increased 46 percent since 2004 and now accounted for 41 percent of the total output. Stephanes said poor peasants and small-scale ranchers who received land and loans as part of government social welfare policies were partially to blame for beef production increases. Stephanes said cattle did not always occupy deforested areas in the region. But he urged meat packers to follow the example of soy traders and sign an agreement not to buy beef from deforested areas. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=91496 17) Deforestation and climate change could damage or destroy as much as 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest by 2030, according to a new report from environmental group WWF. The report, The Amazon's Vicious Cycles: Drought and Fire in the Greenhouse, shows that degradation in the Amazon could release 55-97 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. Forest loss could also dramatically impact water cycles in the region, affecting rainfall that is critical for river flows and agriculture. " The importance of the Amazon forest for the globe's climate cannot be underplayed, " said Dan Nepstad, Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center and author of the report. " It's not only essential for cooling the world's temperature but also such a large source of freshwater that it may be enough to influence some of the great ocean currents, and on top of that it's a massive store of carbon. " The report says that climate change could diminish rainfall in the eastern Amazon by more than 20 percent while causing temperatures to climb by more than 2 ° C — and possibly by as much as 8 ° C — by the end of the century. The changes in the Amazon could affect weather regimes as far away as Texas, according to NASA research. Nepstad agrees. " The Amazon forest complex is intimately connected to the world’s climate. First, it influences climate by acting as a giant consumer of heat close to the ground, absorbing half of the solar energy that reaches it through the evaporation of water from its leaves, " he writes. " Second, it is a large, fairly sensitive reservoir of carbon that is leaking into the atmosphere through deforestation, drought, and fire, contributing to the build up of atmospheric heat-trapping gases that are the cause of global warming. Third, the water that drains from these forests and into the Atlantic Ocean is 15-20 per cent of the world’s total river discharge, and may be enough to influence some of the great ocean currents that are, themselves, important regulators of the global climate system. " http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1206-amazon.html 18) Winner #19 of the top 25 most underreported news stories of 2007: A survey published in the October 21 issue of the journal Science is based on images made possible by a new, ultra-high-resolution satellite-imaging technique developed by scientists affiliated with the Carnegie Institution and Stanford University. " With this new technology, we are able to detect openings in the forest canopy down to just one or two individual trees, " says Carnegie scientist Gregory Asner, lead author of the Science study and assistant professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. " People have been monitoring large-scale deforestation in the Amazon with satellites for more than two decades, but selective logging has been mostly invisible until now. " While clear-cuts and burn-offs are readily detectable by conventional satellite analysis, selective logging is masked by the Amazon's extremely dense forest canopy. Stanford University's website reports that by late 2004, the Carnegie research team had refined its imaging technique into a sophisticated remote-sensing technology called the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System (CLAS), which processes data from three NASA satellites—Landsat 7, Terra and Earth Observing 1—through a powerful supercomputer equipped with new pattern-recognition approaches designed by Asner and his staff. " Each pixel of information obtained by the satellites contains detailed spectral data about the forest, " Asner explains. " For example, the signals tell us how much green vegetation is in the canopy, how much dead material is on the forest floor and how much bare soil there is. " For the Science study, the researchers conducted their first basin-wide analysis of the Amazon from 1999 to 2002. The results of the four-year survey revealed a problem that is widespread and vastly underestimated, " We found much more selective logging than we or anyone else had expected—between 4,600 and 8,000 square miles every year of forest spread across five Brazilian states, " Asner said. http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2007/index.htm#19 19) A UC Irvine research team has for several years been studying the age structure of trees in the Amazon. There, reports the Register's Pat Brennan, they have found big surprises. While standard supposition has been that the hot and steamy jungle may grow big trees, they don't live long. Wrong - or, at least, not always right. Some are more than 1000 years old, and one rainforest giant's age was found to be 1,400 years. But even small trees can be ancient, it says here. One less than six inches in diameter appears to be more than 300 years old. And, it further says here, slow-growing trees may mean that the pace at which the Amazon can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere is overestimated in standard models. The story, which ran today, is part of a series. Wednesday's segment looked into the local professors' evidence that much of the recent, surprising (even beyond expectations) rise in Arctic warmth could be due to dirty snow. Soot and other pollutants that darken snow and ice field accelerate their warmth, adding yet another forcing to that of enhanced greenhouse gases. I'll try to get more info next week on the extent of the series and see whether other segments run. http://ksjtracker.mit.edu/?p=5300 Bolivia: 20) We studied bird community composition and abundance within the logged and unlogged forest areas of a certified forestry concession in lowland Bolivia. The logged forest was harvested using reduced-impact logging techniques between one and four years previously. We used canonical correspondence analysis to describe the relationship between selected environmental variables and bird species abundance data, and the Indicator Value procedure to test for associations between bird species and the logged and unlogged habitats. Approximately one-third of birds were restricted to either the logged or unlogged areas, with 20% of all species only encountered in, or significantly more abundant in, the unlogged areas of the concession. The majority of birds found in significantly higher abundance in the unlogged areas of the concession were associated with forest habitats dominated by large trees, or a high diversity of trees, providing dense canopy cover and deep leaf litter, with an understorey dominated by ferns. Over 40% of bird species that were significantly associated with the unlogged areas of the concession are of conservation concern. In contrast, the majority of birds associated with the logged areas of the concession are known to be relatively resilient to human disturbance. The majority of species which exhibited significant lower abundances in the logged areas of the concession belonged to insectivorous or frugivorous feeding guilds. We discuss whether current management practices within this certified concession are sustainable and how our results can be used to guide future research and inform better practice. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL & _udi=B6V5X-4RKDPN4-1 & _user=1\ 0 & _rdoc=1 & _fmt= & _orig=search & _sort=d & view=c & _acct=C000050221 & _version=1 & _urlVersion=0 & _userid=1\ 0 & md5=71f202128 7bb710d2cefba5287384ea7 India: 21) The slogans painted on the walls and roadside stalls in Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Uttar Pradesh tell a tragic story. " The forest is yours, not the Government's, " is the defiant message put up by local groups who have unleashed a war on forest officials and, more crucially, on the forests. The protected forests in this area are a major source of what is known as " green gold, " the valuable timber of saal, sheesham and khair trees. Inevitably, they, along with the animals who shelter in their shade, have become prime targets for the ever-ravenous forest mafia.That's not all. The forest reserve is also under threat from gangs of land sharks with the result that the state's wildlife conservation efforts have come under unprecedented pressure. For example, the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department has lost control over nearly 288 sq km of the reserve. This area, worth around Rs 2,663 crore, is now in the illegal possession of the socalled forest mafia acting in concert with powerful land sharks who have encroached deep into the forests. The predictable and tragic result is that felling of valuable trees and poaching of wild animals, including endangered species like the tiger, have increased at an alarming rate. For the mafia, the forests of Uttar Pradesh are a prize target. The Terai, Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions of the state are rich in " green gold " , while mineral resources dot the Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions. In view of the growing population, unemployment and escalating prices of timber and wildlife products in international markets, forests in the state have turned into sanctuaries for smugglers and mafia. http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & issueid\ =31 & id=3646 & Item id=1 & sectionid=21 22) A species of tree that gave its name to Bangladesh's Sundarbans, home to the Royal Bengal tiger, is dying off following a severe cyclone late last year, forestry officials said on Friday. The Sundari species of trees, from which the name Sundarbans was derived, are dying of a disease called " top-dying, that has intensified following the cyclone. " The Sundarbans, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Dhaka, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Cyclone Sidr struck the coast of the impoverished South Asian country on November 15 with winds of 250 kph (155 mph). It killed around 3,500 people, made millions homeless and destroyed a large part of the Sundarbans. At least 60 percent of the 6,000 sq km (2,320 sq mile) mangrove swamps that are home to more than 400 Royal Bengal tigers was devastated by the cyclone. Top-dying was already endemic among Sundari trees, but the disease has spread and intensified since the cyclone hit, threatening the existence of the forest, a senior forest official said. Sundari trees constitute 70 percent of trees grown in the swampy forest. The trees grow up to 70 feet in height and are mostly used in boat building and house construction. Experts have yet to find a cause of the top-dying disease, but they suspect that increased salinity may have something to do with the intensification of the disease. " Gradual decreasing of oxygen in the soil of the forest may also be a factor for this (top-dying disease), " A.F. Fazlul Haq, a professor in the forestry department of the Khulna University told Reuters. Some other experts and forest officials say the salinity has been increasing due to decreasing water flow across the forest, which is criss-crossed by a number of rivers and canals. http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKDHA13405720080118 23) Forests would no longer be seen as generators of timber as the main product, as the proposed new forest policy of Himachal would focus on conservation of natural water streams within the forests. Deliberations have already started over the proposed new forest policy, which suggest that the plantation forests would now be raised for three purposes that include recharging of natural water streams and water harvesting by reduction of soil erosion, sustenance of villages in the vicinity of forests for essentials like animal fodder and, lastly, timber extraction. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Pankaj Khullar says, " Ever since 1864, when the first deodar plantation forest was raised in Hassan valley near Kufri, the British model of keeping timber extraction as focus formed the core of the state's forest policy. " But conservation efforts in Hassan valley proved inspirational for the forest department, where 24 natural springs that have been protected provide drinking water supply to Shimla. Khullar adds, " Success of the proposed forest policy would be measured by the number of water sources conserved through forest management. " Sources say review of the timber distribution (TD) rights is also a priority of the present government. Fixing a longer time interval to exercise the TD rights is an idea that is being mooted to rationalise the TD rights. Entry of TD right holders into the forest to get a tree of their choice is now being seen as most harmful that resulted in loss of best trees from the forests. Sources say the role of the Forest Corporation in giving processed timber to the TD right holders is also being examined. When asked about the commercial and development projects on forest land, resulting in slow death of many trees, Khullar claimed that the forest cover of Himachal has still not reduced. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Conservation-of-water-sources-to-form-co\ re-of-new-fores t-policy/262944/ Thailand: 24) In the case of mangrove forests in Thailand, Dr. Barbier said, researchers calculated that 20 percent could be given over to shrimp farming without significantly affecting storm protection, habitat for fish or production of wood for local uses. " This result suggests that reconciling competing demands on coastal habitats should not always result in stark preservation-versus-conversion choices, " the researchers said. The researchers from 14 universities and institutes around the world reported their findings in the Friday issue of the journal Science. Dr. Barbier said in an interview that a balance between the value of development and the value of the environment could be struck only if people could calculate the monetary value of the natural services the environment provides, a notoriously difficult task. By using techniques refined over many years, he said, the team concluded that with mangroves " you can lose 20 percent and have the same amount of protection. " Once 40 percent are gone, " you drop off steeply, " he said. " There's a threshold here. " But in a commentary on the report, Ivan Valiela and Sophia E. Fox of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., said the issues raised by the new work were critical, but they questioned whether, as yet, " ecological function can be converted into a currency directly equivalent to money " without unwarranted leaps of faith. " If we fail to try to get a handle on the value we can calculate, " Dr. Barbier said, " then policy makers are going to make decisions on the values they know, which is the commercial return on development. " http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/us/19coastal.html Malaysia: 25) Commercial logging operations at the wildlife-rich Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves stopped on Dec 31. But logging companies have been given extra time to take out the felled timber. Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan said ongoing rehabilitation work at both forest reserves, three times the size of Singapore, were being accelerated even as the logging companies continued to transport out the timber. " They couldn't remove all the stocks because of heavy rainfall in November and December, " he said. " We felt it would be better to allow them more time to remove the logs instead of letting them rot in the jungles. " He said rehabilitation of the two forest reserves totalling 237,777ha near the east coast Lahad Datu district which began last year would be speeded up this year. Mannan said that last year, silvicultural works (tending of existing trees) were carried out in an area of some 4,000ha within both reserves while a similar area would be covered this year. In addition, native trees species such as keruing, seraya and kapor were planted last year over some 400ha in both forest reserves, known to be home to diverse wildlife such as sun bears, gibbons, tambadau or wild buffaloes, Borneo pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos and orang-utans. " We intend to increase the planting area to some 1,500ha in 2008, " Mannan said, adding that the rehabilitation work would cost several million ringgit. " The silvicultural works cost about RM350 per hectare while the planting works which include site preparation and others cost about RM2,500 per hectare, " Mannan said. Logging had been carried out at both forest reserves for more than 30 years and operations were stopped as recently as five years ago. Timber extraction, however, resumed and in March 2006, Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman announced that Ulu Segama and Malua were being bequeathed as Malaysia's biodiversity gift to the world by the end of last year. Environmentalists voiced their alarm at the resumption of logging operations, which they said would affect the wildlife there. http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/01/no-more-logging-at-sabah-forest-re\ serve.html Indonesia: 26) Ecological Internet welcomes reports that Vitroplant, shady developer of a proposed oil palm project on Woodlark Island in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has withdrawn. PNG's Minister for Agriculture and Livestock says no oil palm development will take place on Woodlark Island. Vitroplant's withdrawal was due to local and international pressure to conserve Woodlark Island's natural habitat. The ill-conceived project was to have cleared 70% of the rainforests on biodiversity rich Woodlark Island, some 60,000 hectares, in order to establish a massive oil palm plantation. Following the direction of local peoples, Ecological Internet's Earth action network was able to generate nearly 50,000 protest emails from 3,000 people in 72 countries. The protest embarrassed the PNG government and highlighted the hypocrisy of their support of carbon payments for avoided deforestation, even as Woodlark was approved for clearance, and a rogue rainforest timber export industry continues unhindered. " We welcome reports that the Woodlark oil palm project is dead, " states Ecological Internet's President Dr. Glen Barry. " Yet campaigning will continue until Woodlark is legally removed from consideration for agricultural deforestation, and the land is returned to its residents. " Ecological Internet's PNG rainforest campaign seeks legally binding assurances that palm oil and other biofuels will not be developed on currently forested lands, and the elimination of PNG's industrial log export industry. Only then will payments for rainforest protection be justified. glenbarry 27) The Bentayan Wildlife Reserve covers, on paper, 23,220 hectares. But it is an hour's drive through the conservation area to the start of the natural forest. Locals have cultivated some of the intervening land, but the majority has been turned into a wasteland by illegal loggers. An occasional tree in this corner of South Sumatra province has escaped the plunder. Otherwise all that is visible for kilometre after kilometre are stumps and rough grassland. Locals say the illegal logging is on an industrial scale, with dozens of truckloads of wood being extracted every day. Such scenes are typical across Indonesia, where deforestation is taking place at an estimated rate of five football pitches a minute - faster than anywhere else in the world. About 80 per cent is being done illegally, according to the United Nations. Conservation International, which conducts satellite research, says that 4 per cent of Indonesia's conservation land is being encroach upon every year. One of the side-effects of this is that Indonesia has become the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. This is mainly because vast tracts of carbon-rich peatlands are being illegally cleared for oil palm, dubbed " green gold " . The myriad signs of recent activity lend credence to lend credence to the reports of illegal logging on an industrial scale. But officers at the nearest forestry department police post, about five kilometres outside the reserve, insist that no illegal logging is taking place. They are also adamant that no oil palm plantation companies are encroaching into the reserve, though locals say tens of thousands of trees have been planted on land that forestry officials have told them is included. Attempts to clamp down on illegal logging do appear to be succeeding. Almost half the country's plywood companies have had to close in the past two years as a result of a raw materials shortage, the industry's association chief said recently. Indonesia is also the first country in the world to make forest crimes a money-laundering offence. As a result, far fewer shipments of illegal Indonesian logs are arriving in foreign ports, according to Julian Newman of the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London and Washington-based group. " Enforcement is definitely having an impact because there's less timber obviously available than before, " he said. " It is hard to quantify but people who were dealing in Indonesian timber are now looking elsewhere. " http://www.ftd.de/karriere_management/business_english/302154.html?mode=print 28) Bird watching has become an exciting ecotourism activity in Sebangau National Park, Central Kalimantan, with 106 bird species recorded in the 568,700-hectare forest conservation area.Binoculars and a bird guidebook are all that are required to enjoy the wild birds within or on the fringes of the forest, while the morning and afternoon are the best times to see these lovely creatures feeding, playing and seeking mates. Petak Bahandang village in Tasik Payawan district is one of the most interesting locations in which to observe bird life. Situated on the border of Sebangau National Park, the settlement is about three hours' sail from Kasongan port, Palangkaraya. Part of the village population belongs to the Dayak ethnic group. In Petak Bahandang, a mainly agricultural community, no fewer than 10 bird species can be detected around the forest border close to the community farms. Among them are the rhinoceros hornbills (Buceros rhinoceros), swallows, greater coucals (Centropus sinensis) and various honeyeaters. It is also nice to watch the birds near the swamps or woodlands along the banks of the Katingan River. Bird watchers can cruise down the river, which is more than 200 meters wide, while surveying the behavior of birds, notably brahminy kites (Haliastur indus), which are frequently found perching on the top branches of tall trees. These rare hawks are known for their graceful flight. Around the peatland forest park, visitors can also find hornbills, a protected species active in the afternoon and morning. " They are generally seen in pairs, flying from one branch to another, " said Tatang Suwardi, a national park officer and bird watcher. " The birds also indicate that this area remains in a natural condition with its food supply chain (intact), " said the forest ecosystem control officer. The nature reserve has various forest sub-types. Its marshy forest is home to diverse land and water biota while its non-wood products like rattan, rubber and jelutung resin are utilized by locals. Rattan and resin are mostly found on Sebangau and Katingan riversides. The other unique feature of this park is that 95 percent of its ecosystem is composed of peatland. Although some regions in the province are former forest concession and illegal logging areas, Sebangau National Park and its environs continue to possess highly diversified species of fauna and flora. Its natural beauty enhances its ecotourism status, with its forest abounding in exotic vegetation, besides unique wildlife like its 35 species of primates. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20080115.R01 & irec=0 Sumatra: 29) The Palembang Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has said that tropical forests in Sumatra are under extreme threat from illegal logging. Coordinator of WCS Muhammad Taupiq said that at least 500,000 of Sumatra's 2.5 million hectares of tropical forest had been lost during the 1990-2000 period, or about 50,000 hectares per year. Sumatra's tropical forests include the 862,975-hectare Gunung Leuser National Park located in North Sumatra and Aceh, the 1.37-million hectare Kerinci Seblat National Park located in West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and South Sumatra, as well the 356,800-hectare Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park located in Bengkulu and Lampung according to Khairul Saleh. He said illegal activities such as logging, burning and conversion were to blame and urged all institutions, especially the local and central governments, as well as businesses to seriously work to solve the problem. The WCS and the South Sumatra Nature Lovers Forum, together with the Palembang municipal administration and South Sumatra provincial administration, recently arranged a campaign to protect forests in Palembang. Taupiq said he hoped the campaign would be followed up with concrete action from all stakeholders in order to preserve Sumatra's forests and its ecosystems. The campaign is also meant to prepare residents to face and overcome natural disasters. Taupiq added that in South Sumatra alone, at least 600 hectares of the 12,700 that make up the Pantai Air Telang protected forest in Banyuasin regency would be converted for the construction of Tanjung Api-Api harbor. He said he was concerned development would cause natural disasters in the region. Head of the South Sumatra Forestry Agency Dody Supriadi said that the conversion of 600 hectares in Pantai Air Telang protected forest could not be considered destruction because it was aimed at meeting the public's needs. " Moreover, we are not constructing a harbor along the entire 600 hectares of the forest. We are just using part of the area, " Dody added. Based on South Sumatra provincial administration data, the extent of the protected area is 1.7 million hectares, with 500,000 hectares of protected forest, 700,000 hectares of conservation forest, 350,000 hectares of riverbanks and 150,000 hectares of reservoir sites. http://www.indonesialogue.com/destinations/rapid-deforestation-a-serious-threat-\ palemabang-sum atra.html New Zealand: 30) A field trial of genetically modified pines near Rotorua has been broken into and 19 trees chopped down in an apparent protest. The attack was condemned by some anti-GM groups, who said it could have caused the spread of contaminated material and harmed New Zealand's green image. No group has claimed responsibility for the break-in, which happened over the weekend and was discovered at forestry research group Scion's Rotorua base on Monday morning. Police found a 1.5 metre hole and a damaged section of fencing, which had allowed somebody to burrow underneath it. A police spokesman said 19 small pine trees, each about 1.2 metres high, were cut down. A spade with a " GE Free New Zealand " sticker on it was found beside the 3.5 metre high electrified fence. But GE Free New Zealand national spokesman Jon Carapiet said that meant " nothing " . " Tens of thousands of people have those. " The field trial was installed in 2003 to look at the impact of genetically altered trees on the environment. The trees were genetically modified to grow faster, produce better wood, and improve their resistance to pests and herbicides. Two years ago anti-GM group People's Moratorium Enforcement Agency (PMEA) held a demonstration at the site, which resulted in the arrests of four people. Nobody from that group could be contacted last night. Other protests have targeted the planting of genetically modified crops. The Green Party has described genetic engineering as " a gamble " with no control over whether the results will produce more than just the single effect that is usually wanted. Mr Carapiet said the break-in was irresponsible, and could have spread GM material from the site, potentially harming New Zealand's image overseas. " That is of extreme concern, " he said. Mr Carapiet's worries were shared by Soil and Health spokesman Steffan Browning. He recently slammed the experiment as poorly run. He said animals such as rabbits and cats were easily able to get inside and spread GM material around. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4357649a11.html World-wide: 31) If I hire a couple of guys with automatic weapons, break into a garden in San Francisco, and take, at gun-point, fifty prize roses, I have committed a crime. If I drive those roses across the Bay Bridge to Oakland and sell them to Ace lumber, Ace lumber doesn't own them, and if it sells them suspecting I stole them, Ace lumber has also committed a crime. If a logging contractor does the same thing in Sumatra, or Peru, and gets the wood to the US, they're home free. Same thing if they sell the logs in China and the mahogany ends up in furniture in Wal-Mart. Illegal trade is one of the huge stories being ignored by the mainstream media. More than half of all tropical deforestation is estimated to be the result of illegal logging (pdf), and deforestation is causing 20% of total global CO2 emissions. But logs are not the only illegally traded goods. This Christmas we became aware that huge numbers of toys brought into the United States violated American and Chinese laws governing lead content. Imported pet food was also found to be adulterated, seafood was contaminated with illegal drugs, and people died from contaminated toothpaste. The problem, let's be clear, isn't China -- it's a business model in which importers seek to drive prices down to ever lower levels, and bear no responsibility for the safety of the resulting production processes, either in terms of environmental harm or health risks. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/how-about-law-and-order-o_b_82227.html 32) Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first identified in plants. But the Botanic Gardens Conservation International said many were at risk from over-collection and deforestation. Researchers warned the cures for things such as cancer and HIV may become " extinct before they are ever found " . The group, which represents botanic gardens across 120 countries, surveyed over 600 of its members as well as leading university experts. They identified 400 plants that were at risk of extinction. These included yew trees, the bark of which forms the basis for one of the world's most widely used cancer drugs, paclitaxel. Hoodia, which originally comes from Namibia and is attracting interest from drug firms looking into developing weight loss drugs, is on the verge of extinction, the report said. And half of the world's species of magnolias are also under threat. The plant contains the chemical honokiol, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancers and slow down the onset of heart disease. The report also said autumn crocus, which is a natural treatment for gout and has been linked to helping fight leukaemia, is at risk of over-harvest as it is popular with the horticultural trade because of its stunning petals. Many of the chemicals from the at-risk plants are now created in the lab. But the report said as well as future breakthroughs being put at risk, the situation was likely to have a consequence in the developing world. It said five billion people still rely on traditional plant-based medicine as their primary form of health care. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7196702.stm 33) There are thousands of rainforest flowers species. The rainforest has more flowers growing in it than anywhere on earth. Many of the rainforest flowers can be grown at home or anywhere in the world and they are not dependent upon the climate of the rainforest for growth. Many of these flowers include the Angel's Hair, Emerald Ebony, Forest Flame, Hot Poker Tree, Indian Shot, Lobster Claw, and Lucifer's Torch. These are gorgeous rainforest flowers that can be grown in your home. The Angel's Hair is actually used as firewood in some countries. This flower is ornamental and shows bunches of hot pink and white flowers. The scientific name for this flower is the calliandra calothyrsus. The Emerald Ebony also known as the jacaranda mimosaefolia grows large lavender blue trumpet shaped flowers. This is a tree that grows beautiful flowers and makes a perfect houseplant producing silky petals all year round. The Forest Flame is also known as the queen of the rainforest flowers with bright red bursts and a touch of yellow. The Forest Flame is known as the most beautiful flowers in the rainforest and also makes a wonderful house plant. The Hot Poker Tree or the erythrina poeppigiana produces dazzling bright orange flowers for half of the year. The trunk is cork-like and the tree is medium-sized looking fantastic in any home. Another rainforest flower that is not dependent on the climate of the rainforest and that will grow anywhere in the world and be a great houseplant is the Indian Shot. This flower is also known as the canna indica and flaming red fruit capsules grow from it. When the fruit capsules dry, black shiny seeds appear. Some people use the black seeds as beads because of the strength. The reason they are called Indian Shot is because of the seeds, the pirates used the seeds as BBs or buckshot when they would run out of ammunition. The Indian Shot is absolutely stunning. http://rainforestflowers.info/ 34) The Forest Transparency Initiative aims to improve governance, accountability and environmental sustainability in the logging/wood trade industry by creating a climate of incentive-based information disclosure for both governments and the private sector. Disclosing previously unavailable information on the forest trade sector and allowing for the target audience to access this information through a user-friendly interface will promote better accountability and governance in the forest sector and lead to a more favorable investment climate, improved resource management and a more equitable distribution of benefits. At the core of this initiative will be an interactive website for both those disclosing and accessing information for decision-making purposes. The website will contain both spatial (GIS-based) and non-spatial search elements. An emphasis will be placed on usability for target audiences. A drafted design of the envisioned FTI website is available at http://www.caudillweb.com/clients/fti . 35) The full recovery of ecological systems, following the most devastating extinction event of all time, took at least 30 million years, according to new research from the University of Bristol. About 250 million years ago, at the end of the Permian, a major extinction event killed over 90 per cent of life on earth, including insects, plants, marine animals, amphibians, and reptiles. Ecosystems were destroyed worldwide, communities were restructured and organisms were left struggling to recover. This was the nearest life ever came to being completely wiped out. Previous work indicates that life bounced back quite quickly, but this was mostly in the form of 'disaster taxa' (opportunistic organisms that filled the empty ecospace left behind by the extinction), such as the hardy Lystrosaurus, a barrel-chested herbivorous animal, about the size of a pig.The most recent research, conducted by Sarda Sahney and Professor Michael Benton at the University of Bristol and published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B this week, indicates that specialised animals forming complex ecosystems, with high biodiversity, complex food webs and a variety of niches, took much longer to recover. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2008/5785.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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