Guest guest Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Today for you 36 new articles about earth's trees! (288th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --Washington: 1) Oly NF's Jackson Thin ambition reduced, 2) Never blame loggers, --Canada: 3) OfficeMax an Agent of Genocide cuz' of RAN's failed campaign, --Sweden: 4) Former PM is new chairman of state-owned timber company Sveaskog AB --Sierra Leone: 5) Turf war between key government departments --Panama: 6) Culture nature and tourism --Peru: 7) La Ley de la Selva is not okay --Brazil: 8) Jungle for landless Brazilians? 9) Specialization along narrow ecological gradients, 10) Incredible relationship between human degradation and environmental degradation, 11) New Satellite, 12) International tribunal to fight deforestation, --India: 13) Artificial scarcity of timber designed to import blue-eyed wealth, 14) Development and its voiceless tree victims, --Vietnam: 15) Trees of Hoang Lien Son will conquer Fansipan peak, then go extinct --Japan: 16) Unused biomass? --China: 17) Dams deforestation and floods --Philippines: 18) Co-manage¬ment agreement with the DENR --Thailand: 19) Forest cover at 32% in 2004, 20) Dam activist warns of deforestation, --Indonesia: 21) Palm oil the primary cause, 22) National Awakening Day, 23) Greenomics advocate for a massive audit, 24) 2.4 million hectares lost annually, --Singapore: 25) Graceful weed trees labeled a killer, --Papua New Guinea: 26) Aussie effort to save trees --Sabah: 27) Bring efforts together into an integrated approach, 28) Restoration, --Australia: 29) Styx valley action, 30) Cont. 31) Save Chester forest, 32) Bushfires reduce Murray river flows, 33) logging an internationally recognised wetland, 34) Bleak industry outlook, 35) More Styx valley action, 36) She saved the King Jarrah tree, Washington: 1) On January 30, 2008 the U.S. Forest Service released a much-anticipated decision notice for the Jackson timber sale, located between Quilcene and Brinnon on the Olympic National Forest. All of the controversial logging proposed in older, scenic forests has been eliminated. National Forest acreage on Mount Walker remains untouched. Logging road mileage has been much reduced, and what remains will feature improved standards such as narrower widths. Olympic Forest Coalition wishes to congratulate all those in the community who care deeply about their home turf and made their voices heard through this long process. Several years of agency planning, repeated site visits by Olympic Forest Coalition and other conservation groups, and voluminous public comment resulted in a final product that most folks can probably live with. In its original form, the Jackson sale proposal was not without controversy. Much debate derived from plans to log in scenic forest that had regenerated naturally from a succession of settler fires in the late 19th century. This unique maritime forest, centered on the quiet slopes of Mount Walker -- a major recreation draw and green backdrop to Hood Canal -- is maturing towards eventual old-growth status all on its own. Other concerns stemmed from proposed logging roads that would jeopardize water quality and fish habitat. Opposition from the local community and conservationists was rapid and sincere. In reviewing the Jackson sale's final version, it's clear that the Forest Service heard the public's input and responded accordingly. We are quite certain that the agency spent many extra hours studying each nuance of the sale, relying on both their professional expertise and the public's stated concerns. Happily, Mount Walker will not be logged as part of this sale. And neither will the equally impressive east slopes of Buck Mountain and Mount Turner across the way, rising tall above Highway 101. Moreover, certain areas in the vicinity of Rocky Brook sporting older forest attributes will also be spared the chainsaw. To be sure, the Jackson sale will still result in the thinning of over 1,500 acres of public forest and involve over three miles of new logging roads on previously unroaded soils (though these roads will be removed to the extent possible after the sale is completed). Olympic Forest Coalition remains generally skeptical of agency claims that thinning in western. Bonnie Phillips, Executive Director bonnie 2) Homes are damaged or destroyed. Many farms and businesses are threatened or lost. Cleanup will continue for months. Economic recovery for many will take years. While some in government and the timber industry have referred to the record floods as an " act of God, " clearly there was a human hand involved that made a bad situation worse. In this case, the buck stops at the Department of Natural Resources, tasked with permitting timber sales — even on private land, in this case Weyerhaeuser — on slide-prone, steep slopes. As stark photos of the clear-cut hillside illustrate, the agency permitted a clear-cut on a slope that should never have been logged in this manner, if at all. Led by Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, agency personnel acted against state rules designed to balance harvest goals with protecting property, public safety and the environment. In short, they failed to exercise appropriate professional distance between a public agency with a broad public mission and the industry they are tasked to oversee. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case of lax oversight and too-cozy relationships with industry, whether timber or large developers. From land swaps that result in forests lost to strip malls and vacation homes to similar land-damaging clear-cuts, the department and its leadership are failing to protect both public health and the long-term value of our public land. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004152372_goldmark30.html Canada: 3) Activists with Rainforest Action Network (RAN) orchestrated a National Day of Action today to demand that OfficeMax honor its commitment to help resolve an ongoing conflict over Indigenous rights in Canada's Whiskey Jack Forest. Hundreds of activists participated, demonstrating at OfficeMax stores in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Atlanta and other cities across the country. OfficeMax purchases paper made from wood pulp obtained through clear-cut logging in the Whiskey Jack Forest of northwestern Ontario. The Grassy Narrows First Nation, one of more than 600 Indigenous communities located within Canada's vast Boreal forest, claims a region including the Whiskey Jack as its traditional territory and has long objected to clear-cut logging there. The Canadian constitution allows First Nations to safeguard their traditional territories for customary uses such as hunting, trapping and fishing. In January 2007, the Grassy Narrows community called for a moratorium on all industrial activity occurring on its traditional territory without its free, prior and informed consent. " We're asking OfficeMax to keep its promise to reduce the social and environmental costs of its paper products. " said Brant Olson, director of RAN's Old Growth Campaign. " American consumers don't want copy paper made from clear-cutting forests at the expense of Indigenous communities and the environment. " http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0130-12.htm Sweden: 4) Sweden's former Prime Minister Goran Persson was named on Tuesday as the new chairman of state-owned timber company Sveaskog AB. In a brief statement, the government said it will appoint the former premier to the post April 16, replacing Bo Dockered, who has served nine years on the company's board. Sveaskog is Sweden's leading timber supplier. It also sells logs, pulpwood and biofuel. The government statement cited Persson's long leadership experience and his personal interest in forestry. Persson served as Sweden's premier for 10 years, but stepped down in October 2006 after his party was ousted by a center-right coalition led by Fredrik Reinfeldt. In August, he was recruited by Nordic consultant group JKL as a strategic communication adviser. Dockered did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment about the change, but was quoted by Swedish agricultural newspaper Land Lantbruk as saying he would have liked to remain in the Sveaskog post for another couple of years. Frank Nilsson, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson, said politics has nothing to do with the Persson's appointment, but said that when it came to Persson's skills for the job " it's hard to ignore that he's been a prime minister. " http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5494934.html Sierra Leone: 5) Whilst illegal loggers are threatening Sierra Leone's few remaining forests, including the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, a turf war is being waged between key government departments tasked with tackling such issues. Global Witness is calling on new President Ernest Bai Koroma to bring much needed direction and law enforcement to Sierra Leone's forest sector in order to prevent further destruction. The previous President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, shifted responsibility for environment and forestry from the Ministries of Lands and Agriculture, respectively, to the newly created National Commission of Environment and Forestry (NaCEF). Many believed this decision was taken because these two Ministries – and related governmental agencies – were ineffective in stopping widespread logging operations. Over the past few years there have been rumours of corruption within these Ministries. However, in a recent speech, Sierra Leone's new President Koroma linked environment and forestry with their old ministries, which have taken this as a cue to reclaim these portfolios, together with NaCEF's US$6 million of international funding. It is critical that an urgent decision on the future of NaCEF is made given the recent upsurge in illegal logging, much of which is reported to have been carried out by Chinese loggers. The situation has become so severe that earlier this month the government banned timber exports amidst fears that environmental degradation may force forest-dependent communities to move from their land. A coherent and effective government response is unlikely until this decision has been reached. " Sierra Leone has a mountain to climb in terms of reconstruction and undoubtedly lacks money and capacity; it is critical that the Government focuses its efforts on controlling illegal logging rather allowing different departments to scramble for power and funding, " said Patrick Alley. http://allafrica.com/stories/200801290788.html Panama: 6) The women, among the world's finest basket weavers, demonstrate how they weave supple chunga palm strands, dyed with natural extracts, into flat plates, bowls, and masks. The men carve intricate pieces from cocobolo wood and tiny tagua nuts, known as vegetable ivory. All are artisans, Tocamo explains. This and low-impact, small-scale ecotourism is how the 53 villagers make their living, allowing them to maintain their traditional ways and protect their rainforest home. " We are like park rangers without the salary, " he says. For the next three hours, we enjoy fried tilapia and plantains, followed by music and dancing, body painting and shopping for beautiful handicrafts. We were promised it would be the most memorable experience of our trip. It was, followed closely by the antics of a family of white-faced capuchin monkeys isolated on the canal's Monkey Island. Fronting the Chagres just before it drains into the canal, the 136-hectare Gamboa Rainforest Resort lies in the centre of the Panamanian Isthmus, just 27 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean and Panama City and 40 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Its location in the heart of Soberania National Park is perfect for exploring the wonders of central Panama, the most visited region. Gamboa's onsite aerial tram transports guests and day trippers to an observation tower above the rainforest canopy, with views of the Chagres and Gaillard Cut, the canal section that required the most excavation and thus is the narrowest. After the tram, the resort's zoological and botanical exhibits display Panamanian rainforest treasures, including a fish and reptile exhibit, serpentarium, butterfly house and model Indian village. Visitors can choose from an enticing host of guided activities to experience the country's wild side, like sport fishing, boating, and kayaking. Further afield, but still close, are other tourist highlights. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/travel/story.html?id=38a1d211-e76d-4e18-\ be5b-bd86f8efd4c 5 Peru: 7) Peru's rainforest residents are not happy. Leaders from the regions of Ucayali, Loreto and San Martín will meet mid-February to decide their official stand on and when to protest a new law President Garcia has cooked up. If approved by congress, Law Nº 840/2006-PE, also known as " La Ley de la Selva " (The Law of the Rainforest), would supposedly guarantee jobs for those living in the area, but in turn, rob them of their right of possession of land. The Minister of Agriculture reports that as of December of 2007, there are 9.5 million acres of deforested land in Peru's Amazon. With " The Law of the Rainforest " , the President of the Republic hopes to sell that land to national and foreign private investors. The issue here is that there is no possible way of knowing who that 9.5 million acres of land belongs to without a proper investigation taking place. Residents of the area have a right to be alarmed, what with congress debating today, January 30th, as to whether or not the law will pass. Should it pass, how exactly will the acres be distributed if no actual land registry exists? President Garcia was in Spain last week and spoke with local Spanish daily " ABC " about his ideas for implementing The Law of the Rainforest, assuring Peruvians that the act would create jobs, while taking advantage of the country's natural resources by allowing for reforestation. José Luis Capella, coordinator of the Forest Program of the Peruvian Society of Environmental Rights (SPDA) begs to differ. Capella told La Republic that without a land registry and an organization looking after the orderly conduct of the distribution of deforested land, talks about selling said land should be forgotten. He cites the country's investment in mining as an example to follow in this situation. " The state invested a lot of money in creating the Ministry of Energy and Mines and came up with a mine registry that featured all the necessary information investors needed to know. " Brazil: 8) " The Amazon basin is so vast it makes the forests of North America look small, " said Roy. " Now, the government is trying to open up some of the jungle for landless Brazilians...Land that was lush is leached and turns to desert in two or three years. It's a disaster. " Their work that began among the people more than half a century ago is concluded in The Death of the Jaguar, a fictional book about one young woman's fight against ecological destruction. " I'm trying to raise some understanding of the difficulties there, " said Roy. " Brazilians are tremendously energetic people. They just need a chance – if they have a hand up. " In the story, the main character, a young woman named Neide, is changed after seeing the skin of a jaguar hanging in a shop. Her ensuing fight to preserve the rainforest is difficult in the face of the powerful and corrupt politicians in Brazil. While the story is fictional, many sections are based on the experiences of the Kenny's, other missionaries and their Brazilian friends. The couple own a jaguar pelt, a souvenir they picked up during their stay in Brazil. " This jaguar was killing a man's pigs at the edge of the jungle, " said Roy, holding up the skin. " A hired hunter threw stones at the jaguar until it jumped at him from a tree – he killed it with a machete, right across the head. " Roy found the skin in the shop of a small town, rolled up with salt crystals inside. " Now [the book's] not all my own story, but a lot of these things really happened…I've also added romance, adventure and a steady thread of conflict all the way though. That's why I've had so many people tell me it's a real page turner. " http://www.napaneeguide.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=877845 9) In tropical forest ecology, it is common to recognise broad ecological zones, but few people look at specialisation along more narrow ecological gradients within these zones. It's usually easy enough to distinguish between forests and open areas, or between evergreen and (semi-)deciduous forests, but finer subdivisions are uncommon. Most plant ecologists focus on trees, and tree diversity often functions at scales that are far coarser than environmental factors. A small wet area in an upland forest may have distinctly different soil, but may occupy the area of only one or a handful of tree crowns. Factors like dispersal limitation might prevent wetland specialists from arriving at the site frequently enough to catch it at the right time when it is available for colonisation – after all, no matter how much better a competitor it might be as an adult, it's almost impossible for a tree seedling to grow up and displace an adult tree. When you have this sort of fine-grain heterogeneity, these " mass effects " are likely to outweigh ecological factors. One of the few types of habitat heterogeneity that is readily apparent is the effect of small streams. Streams create areas of saturated soil and allow more light in – distinct habitats which tend to have distinct riparian vegetation. Drucker and co-authors predicted that understorey herbs are likely to show a more readily discernible pattern than trees, since herbs are more sensitive to changes in light and soil moisture than are canopy trees. They were able to detect a difference in the understorey herb composition up to 100 m from the stream. They didn't find a distinct assemblage of riparian herbaceous species except in a narrow band along the stream, but they were able to detect a gradient of change in the species composition away from the streams. From a methodological viewpoint this study was interesting – attempts to classify the sites into groups did not work well, but gradient analysis – an idea which has been around since Whittaker – was able to detect a change away from the stream. http://ianramjohn.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/understorey-herbs-in-riparian-tropica\ l-forests/ 10) What I saw, throughout my life, was this incredible relationship between human degradation and environmental degradation. They are completely linked, one to the other. After so many years of traveling and seeing this unhappiness, I began to lose confidence, and believed that the human species was heading straight into the wall. Because we are rational, we forget we are animals, part of nature. This split in humans--this departure from the fact we are really nature and part of the planet--this has created the big complication for man. In 1990, me and my wife, Lelia Deluiz Warnick, bought a 2,000-acre cattle farm from my parents in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. We decided to transform this land into a national reserve and to replant the property with the Atlantic forest that was there 80 years before. The Atlantic forest is the most neglected part of the rainforest in Brazil. The country has two big forest ecosystems, the Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic rainforest, and we now have just 7% left of this big Atlantic forest that was once twice the size of France. Our wish, when we started this project, was to try and see if we could add ourselves, humans, back into the planet. The big hope here is that we can rebuild our planet--that what we destroy we can also rebuild. In October, 1998, our family farm in the Rio Doce Valley of Minas Gerais became Brazil's first Private National Heritage Reserve, and the following year Lelia and I created the nonprofit Instituto Terra. Lelia is its president. Our plan is to plant 2 million trees over this 2,000-acre area; we started planting in 1999, and we are now at 1.1 million trees. The tropical rainforest is a very sophisticated ecosystem, and you must plant a lot of different types of trees. There are more than 300 species of trees in the rainforest, with some of them growing 25 meters high. The water came back to the property. The birds and insects came back. And now we are seeing the animals return. We have eight people working full-time at the Instituto Terra. We also have a training center, where we hold classes. One set of classes is for people in the region, and is built on the belief that if you change people's attitude, you will change behavior. So we have classes for miners, for forest police, for bulldozer operators. If you teach the bulldozer operator how to properly build a road, they won't kill the rivers. The Instituto's training center has a library, lab, auditorium and place for the students to live and eat. We bring in researchers from universities and foundations, specialists who also teach classes. http://www.forbes.com/philanthropy/2008/01/25/brazil-rainforest-ecosystems-pf-ii\ -in_ss_0125phi lantrophy_inl.html 11) Today another Sino-Brazilian Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) went into operation. CBERS-2B, projected to obtain high resolution photographs of the Earth, was launched on September 19 and placed into a 778 kilometer orbit. It will be used to search for raw materials, aid in urban planning, and prevent and monitor natural disasters and deforestation. CBERS-2B is the third satellite placed in orbit since Brazil and China sealed a cooperation agreement on the CBERS project back in 1998. http://www.emtemporeal.com.br/index.asp?area=2 & dia=25 & mes=01 & ano=2008 & idnoticia=\ 44554 12) Brazilian bar association on Friday proposed the creation of an international tribunal to fight deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, Brazilian media reported. " Allowing Amazonia to be devastated, as is happening at great pace, is committing a crime against humanity, " the Order of Brazilian Lawyers president Cezar Britto said in a statement. The association said it will hold a large-scale meeting this year to discuss the creation of the tribunal and " definitive solutions to prevent the disappearance of these assets that belong to Brazil and to humanity. " Britto said the tribunal should be permanent and put pressure on individual countries to adopt public policy to preserve the rainforest and its great biodiversity. Amazonia, the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covers a surface of 5.5 million square kilometres across eight countries - Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. Official data were released Thursday showing 3,235 square kilometres of jungle were destroyed in the last five months of 2007, setting a record pace for deforestation. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Thursday called an emergency meeting of seven ministers, and a series of measures were announced to investigate the increase in deforestation and intensify efforts to fight it. Among the measures announced were the suspension of licences to cut down the forest in towns with the highest rates of illegal deforestation in 2007, an embargo on estates where there is deforestation and the suspension of financial assistance for businesses that promote illegal tree-cutting. Beginning February 21, surveillance of Amazonia is set to be increased, with the presence of an extra 780 federal police officers. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/178614,brazilian-lawyers-propose-interna\ tional-court-t o-save-amazonia.html India: 13) Jammu: Stating that artificial scarcity of timber was created under a design to import wealth to benefit " some blue-eyed persons, " former Forests Minister and senior National Conference (NC) leader Chaudhary Muhammad Ramzan has said the destruction of forests over the last six years was unprecedented. " Since the coalition government has taken over, 1,50,000 trees have been felled in the forests across the state. This is a huge number and one needs to find out the reasons for it. The government should hold a probe so that the picture becomes clear, " he told reporters here Sunday. The NC leader said the successive Forests ministers of coalition government " under a design created artificial scarcity of timber to shower benefits on few people. " He said there was no need to import timber as there is enough timber available here. " It was during our government that the Forest Protection Force (FPF) was created and it was expected that the force would be strengthened. But as the coalition government took over nothing was done in this respect and the force was rendered functionless. The successive Forests ministers did everything to damage the forest wealth and they have succeeded in it, " said Ramzan. He said that under the Supreme Court directions the state can fetch 80 lakh cft of timber and that the government is just trying to harp on the issue of scarcity with ulterior motives. He said Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, former Managing Director of State Forest Corporation (SFC) was issued a notice during the NC rule for not discharging his duties regularly. " We issued a notice to Aijaz and it was expected that action would be taken against him, but that was not to be. Instead he was given a plum posting and appointed as MD while superseding 17 senior officers. This goes to show the nefarious designs of the people at helm, " said Ramzan. http://etalaat.net/english/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=4701 & Itemid\ =1 14) The voiceless victims of development, or rather, the devastation of Bangalore are its road-side trees, which until now also constituted its pride and soul. But, in the mercenary rush characteristic of new Bangalore, trees are considered a nuisance to be hacked away at the slightest inconvenience. The latest is, of course, that the trees are a hindrance to people rushing about in their individual cocoons, called cars. Whole lines of trees on 84 roads, numbering thousands, are to be hacked away because Bangalore, if it has to be a global city with any self-respect, has to have 6-laned roads. Alternative Law Forum, CIVIC, Environment Support Group, and a few concerned individuals, under the banner of Hasiru Usiru (HU), are daring to raise their voice against this collective suicide. The body authorised to give permission for felling trees in any urban area is the Tree Authority, to be set up under the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976. HU has questioned whether this has been constituted, with three non-official representatives, and if its permission has been taken for the large scale felling of trees. HU has questioned whether road-widening is necessary at all since the proposed Metro will be passing through many of these areas and the quantum of vehicular traffic is expected to reduce on these roads. http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan292008/snt2008012849110.asp Vietnam: 15) James Fahn, Executive Director of Earth Journalism Network and an environmental expert, said: " Native trees of Hoang Lien Son will conquer the Fansipan peak (the highest mountain in Indochina) and if the temperature continues increasing, they will have nowhere to live. " According to a survey by the Hoang Lien national park, conducted from 2003 to 2007, some indigenous species of plants are moving higher and higher, including Van Sam Hoang Lien pine tree, which exists only on Hoang Lien Son and is named in the World Red Book. This kind of tree used to grow on an altitude of 2,200 - 2,400m, but now have moved up to 2,400 - 2,700m. Other prevalent trees of Hoang Lien Son like Thich Xi Pan and Thich Sa Pa that formerly grew at 1,700m are also moving higher. Hoang Lien National Park is located in the Eastern part of Hoang Lien mountain range, the highest top of which is Fansipan at 3,143 m. The ecology of the Park is characterized by the interface between montane and subtropical climate, so the vegetation cover as well as wildlife of Hoang Lien is rich in biodiversity. Nguyen Huu Hanh, Deputy Director of the Hoang Lien national park, said this phenomenon is clearly associated with shifting weather patterns and climate change and but the park can't afford to research this matter in depth. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2008/01/766495/ Japan: 16) Japan is set to embark on a five-year plan this year to harness a new form of energy using unused wood biomass to produce auto fuels and other industrial products currently made from imported petrol. Japan, where two-thirds of the country is covered by forests, can supply a part of alternative fuels made from wood-origin ethanol as well as raw materials for plastic and carbon fibres. The Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday it was to set aside a total of 1.2 billion yen ($11.2 million) in the next fiscal year's budget to support a few private projects to develop an alternative processing system to that of the petrochemical industry, pending parliament approval. Satoshi Ishihara, director of the technology development office at the ministry's Forest Agency, said up to 1 billion yen of the total subsidy would be used for a project or projects using the wood for cellulosic ethanol technology. " We're looking for a cellulosic technology using enzymes and yeasts to cut down the size of such a plant, " Ishihara told Reuters on the sideline of a gathering of potential project operators in Tokyo. http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKSP32569220080128 China: 17) Experts say flood prevention is a difficult task for the dam to accomplish. For example, a devastating flood in 1998 that killed thousands of people was caused mainly by soil erosion and deforestation along tributaries that enter the Yangtze downstream from the dam, scientists say. The U.S. environmental group first broached the idea of cooperating on the Yangtze River dams in 2005, when Henry Paulson, now U.S. Treasury Secretary but then chairman of the Nature Conservancy as well as chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., wrote a letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Reducing the water-retention role of the Three Gorges Dam could also generate $1 billion more in annual electricity-generation revenue that could be put toward warning systems, flood insurance and ecological protection in the areas downstream, Nature Conservancy officials argue. That approach would be a departure from existing Chinese water-management practices, which have basically relied on more dams and embankments to channel flood waters. China champions dams as a clean alternative to coal-fired power stations. Already the world's biggest user of hydropower, it plans to build dozens more dams and is emerging as a leading dam builder abroad. Current widespread power shortages caused by bad weather and coal shortages are underscoring China's need for more electricity to fuel its fast-growing economy. The Three Gorges Dam, however, has become a symbol of the high cost of industrialization, forcing the relocation of 1.4 million residents, exacerbating river pollution, triggering dangerous landslides and disrupting the ecology of the Yangtze River basin. In September, dam officials for the first time publicly warned in unusually frank language of an environmental 'catastrophe' unless preventive measures are taken. Millions more people may need to move to reduce pollution and poverty along the shores of the 645-kilometer-long reservoir created by the dam. http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080129/chw164231.asp?source=channel Philippines: 18) Given a conducive policy framework for LGU participation in forest management, the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya led by Gov. Rodolfo Agbayani initiated a co-manage¬ment agreement with the DENR for the implementation of a land tenure program covering the watersheds and open and denuded forestlands in the province. Nueva Vizcaya has only 25-percent forest cover left. Where once 75 percent of the pro¬vince's total land area was covered by forests, its forests and watershed resources have been significantly reduced by massive logging, overharvesting of forest products, mining, forest fires, immigration, conversion to agricultural land and unsound public policies and priorities. Since the topography of the province is greater than the 18-percent slope requirement, most of it is owned by the state. Nearly 80 percent of the total land area is considered forestlands. Of that figure, more than 90 percent are proclaimed critical watershed and/or watershed reservations. Because of this classification, government programs providing land tenure was excluded in watershed areas. As a result, there was difficulty in con¬vincing people to plant trees and prevent them from burning the forests since they have no assurance they will not be resettled or will be granted the right to harvest in the future. Governor Agbayani convened the Nueva Vizcaya Stakeholders Congress to agree on a common policy and program platform. At the end of the day, participants were united in making environ-mental management their shared covenant. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/26/yehey/opinion/20080126opi5.html Thailand: 19) As the forests in the country keep shrinking every year, calls to change the way growing areas are managed are falling on deaf ears. The department's statistics show that the country's total forest cover has also shrunk from more than 53% of the total land area in 1961 to about 32% in 2004, or about 167,590 square kilometers. " People have been complaining that we have limited their rights to use teak, but this measure is necessary if we want to protect what little is left of the forests, " said the official.The Forestry Department has no plans to lift restrictions on teak growing areas to prevent more teak from being lost to poachers, ignoring repeated calls from locals in the northern region that the tough measure be eased. Logging in natural teak forests are completely banned because of the high market demand for the wood. Under the current forestry law, state permission is required for the use of teak, even if it is planted on private land, while teak in natural forests is off-limits to loggers. Also, registration must be made before individual land owners can plant any teak trees. A senior forestry official said calls to ease the restrictions on the use of teak have been made from time to time, but the department could not bow to pressure as it believes relaxing the ban would do more harm than good to the country's teak forests. He said the registration process allows state authorities to differentiate privately-grown wood from wood coming from a natural forest. Even with such a strict regulation in place, 1,970 illegal logging cases were reported in 2006, with more than 6,400 illegally felled teak logs seized in raids. Teak forests have largely dwindled in the country and now mainly remain in some upper northern provinces, including Phrae. http://www.blogs.1stopthailand.com/2008/01/29/no-plans-to-lift-the-restrictions-\ on-teak/ 20) Anti-dam activist Prasitthiphorn Kal-onsri said if the 284,000-rai forest reserve were destroyed, it would make it easier to revive plans for the dam. There are about 24,000 rai of teak stands in the reserve. He said the Irrigation Department, buoyed by a study it paid for describing the teak as " deteriorated forest " , was " ceaselessly pushing " for the dam. Prasitthiphorn said the report's description of the teak stands was wrong, probably because they were inspected during a summer " wither-and-bud period " . Villagers in tambon Sa-iab later hired Chulalongkorn University to conduct another study a few years later, and over a longer duration. That showed the stand as very fertile and the " largest and most complete natural teak forest in Thailand " . No other teak forest measures more than 3,000 rai. Prasitthiphorn said the Kaeng Sue Ten dam would flood vast areas of the Mae Yom forest reserve and all of the teak area, which he said was invaluable in monetary and environmental terms. The 296 felled trees are valued at Bt3.8 million, and the 19 abandoned logs at Bt49,000, the Forestry Industry Organisation said. The actual value is much higher when their end-product worth is calculated. Prasitthiphorn's conspiracy theory was sparked by the discovery that some of the tress had been killed using chemicals. Police have arrested four men for the poisoning. Prasitthiphorn said a volunteer scout group found 768 trees had been poisoned. Forest rangers had identified 296 only. Mae Yom forest reserve chief Mongkhol Saengrung-arun has been transferred for failing to prevent the attacks. Suwit Yakit, a senior forestry official, was transferred to an inactive post for his suspected involvement in the attacks. Seng Khwanyuen, the head of Don Sak Thong village, accused forestry officials of direct involvement with the poisoning. He dismissed an Irrigation Department statement that the dam would prevent drought and provide water to more than 100,000 rai of farmland. He said the department overstated the good the dam would do, citing a Food and Agriculture Organisation study that said it would cause major environmental loss and result in the relocation of more than 1,000 families. Flood prevention would be minimal. http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/27/headlines/headlines_30063550.php Indonesia: 21) The UN released a report earlier this year saying that the explosion in palm oil plantations " is now the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss " in Indonesia and Malaysia. About 300,000 hectares of forest were cleared every year in Indonesia to make way for palm oil plantations. The rate of rainforest destruction and burning of peat lands in Indonesia makes it the third largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world after the US and China. This land clearing, at the present rate, will wipe out the Indonesia's forests in 20 years. Once again, if we are going to produce biofuels lets do it sustainability, not just to make a dollar regardless of the lifecycle impact. We certainly should not be causing the clearing of rainforests in other countries to get cheap palm oil and neither should anyone else. If we are going to make a mess lets do it in our own back yard before we do it anywhere else. Actually, instead of messing up our own back yard lets just apply some good old Aussie ingenuity and come up with some great sustainable solutions. http://envirofuel.com.au/2007/10/18/palm-oil-deforestation-concerns-continue-to-\ rise/#comment-1 0953 22) Green activists called on the government to use the momentum of the centennial anniversary of National Awakening Day to overhaul its development program along pro-environment lines.Chalid Muhammad, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said here Monday that repeated natural disasters such as floods, landslides, droughts, harvest failures and forest fires had worsened the country's poverty rate. " Our country spends nine months a year managing the calamities of disasters, " he said. Indonesia will commemorate the 100th year of National Awakening Day on May 20. The day marks the time young intellectuals set up Boedi Oetomo, the first national political society in Dutch-ruled Indonesia. Chalil slammed the government for not making any breakthroughs in reducing ecological disasters. " The leaders seem to forget Indonesia is now in a critical phase of ecological disasters. " He said massive exploitation of natural resources would remain in place in the coming years as many of the government's policies were pro-business. Chalil referred to the new investment law, which offers tax incentives to investors, and laws on spatial planning and the management of coastal areas and small islands. Walhi also predicted conservation would continue to be challenged by allowing big-scale plantation firms, mining and oil industries to expand their businesses. Chalil said the government had issued a new policy allowing investors to manage 100,000 hectares in a province, higher than the previous of only 20,000 ha. The government also provides credit facilities to attract more investors in plantations. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20080129.H05 & irec=9 23) Forest watchdog group Greenomics Indonesia has urged the government to audit the country's wood processing industry and respond to claims of a diminishing supply of raw materials. The call was made after a Greenomics report showed 31.9 percent of 122 wood processing companies enjoyed a surplus of raw material in 2006, while 46 firms, mostly from plywood and cut timber industries, lacked supply in the same period. " It shows a contradictory fact… On one hand, many wood players protest the declining amount of raw material but others enjoy a surplus, " Greenomics national coordinator Vanda Mutia Dewi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. " If the government takes no action, such contrary conditions will remain in place this year. " Greenomics reported its finding to the Forestry Ministry on Friday. " We just analyze reports of wood processing firms submitted to the ministry. The ministry knows the names of the companies that recorded a raw material surplus, " she said. Vanda said the raw material surplus absorbed by processing companies reached 2.22 million cubic meters. " Seventy percent of raw materials were absorbed by the plywood and cut timber industries, and the remaining by the pulp and paper firms, " she said. Vanda alleged the wood supply surplus resulted from illegal logging activities that would further damage the forests. " The ministry also needs to audit companies experiencing a lack of raw materials supply, " she added. http://redapes.org/news-updates/indonesian-govt-told-to-check-raw-timber-supplie\ s/ 24) WWF estimated the rate of illegal forest clearing at 2.4 million hectaresannually, up from 900,000 hectares in the late 1980s. An executive of the Indonesian Ecolabeling Agency, Hariadi Kartodihardjo,told the seminar that only one of 16 timber companies audited by the agencyobtained certification, but three more would receive it in the near future. He cited mismanagement in the national forestry sector, saying the touting of the country's huge amount of forest resources led to wasteful exploitation. " The ecolabeling should be promoted as a means of further developing the timber industry through sustainable resource management. " He said the imposition of ecolabeling would also make the supervision andmonitoring of forest management more transparent. However, he added that the government should pioneer the adoption of ecolabeling. " Without political will, the government is unlikely to make any progress in this matter. " The Indonesian Plywood Association requested a clear standard on ecolabeling certification by taking into account the diverse forest conditions and different interpretations on sustainable forest management. Ideally, the association said in a presentation at the seminar, the standard should meet two requirements of being applicable to specific localforestry conditions and acceptable to the international market. http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailbusiness.asp?fileid=19991130.K03 & irec=3 Singapore: 25) Albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria) trees have been in the local news since the recent spate of tree falls that resulted in a number of people being injured and even killed - locally as well as in neighbouring Malaysia. As a result of the bad publicity in the media, various government agencies have been quick to remove these large and graceful trees from wastelands all over Singapore. Albizia trees are now confined to wastelands where they proliferate, helping to reduce soil erosion and providing refuge to a wide variety of wildlife (above). Yes, there is always the possibility of branches falling, but away from human habitation and in areas where few, if ever, any people venture, they should not pose any threat to life and limb. Their presence thus should be tolerated. To chop down these magnificent trees and replace them with other species is a waste of resources. The tree is native to countries in east Malesia to the Solomons. It was introduced and grown in the Singapore Botanic Gardens in the 1870s. It has been flourishing in wastelands ever since. The nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are found growing in the roots help the trees to proliferate in these nutrient-poor soils. The tree is fast-growing, capable of attaining 20 metres in three years or more. It bears compound leaves, bearing small white flowers (left top) that develop into pods (left below). It grows tall, with wide-spreading branches and as such was once commonly used as a shade tree in coffee and tea plantings. Because growth is rapid, the wood is soft and earlier used in the manufacturing of matches and packing boards. Since the start of Singapore's Garden City Campaign in the 1950s, albizia has never been used as a roadside tree. In fact, any found growing near roads were removed. The shedding of branches during tropical storms and the aggressive roots that grow near the soil surface make it dangerous for such use. http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2008/01/29/save-our-albizia-trees/ Papua New Guinea: 26) An Australian scientist is proposing a scheme where conservations could purchase endangered tropical forests in Papua New Guinea. Professor Tim Flannery says he wants to establish an internet scheme where buyers would pay PNG villagers to protect vulnerable forests from logging. He's told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program the money would be held by a non-government organisation until the land reaches a level of carbon output reaches the bid amount. " What I'd like to see is some sort of internet connection in primary schools in the region, where communities could get together...and say this is their bit of land, this is the bit that they want to rehabilitate, " he said. " And then have an auction like process, where people could go in and buy the rights to fund X number of tonnes of carbon sequestration as that forest grows. " So far Professor Flannery's discussed his proposal with the PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and local villagers, as well as Australia's new climate change advisor Professor Ross Garnaut. " What we need to do, we need to take a small number of villages, show that this can actually work and then let it grow by osmosis, " he said. You can find the full story at the Pacific Beat website: http://radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2150368.htm Sabah: 27) While Sabah has various conservation programmes anchored by government agencies such as the Forestry Department and Sabah Parks, local district councils and NGOs, it needs to bring these efforts together and turn them into an integrated approach towards environmental monitoring, conservation and enforcement. This would ensure better co-ordination, systematic planning and better utilisation of conservation resources. The SDC master plan will support these efforts by incorporating them into its implementation over the next 18 years. Among the conservation projects in place is the " Heart of Borneo " initiative, which seeks to manage and conserve the second largest contiguous forest landscape in the world. The efforts include leveraging on trans-boundary collaboration of Bornean governments, engaging local interests in short-and long-term planning and securing sustainable and long-term finance. In 2003, Yayasan Sabah voluntarily designated the Imbak Canyon as a Conservation Area for research purposes, education and training, besides the Maliau Basin and Danum Valley Conservation Area. Additionally, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (Sabah) is developing an Integrated River Basin Management Plan for the Kinabatangan River Basin with the assistance of WWF, which seeks to resolve land use and water-related issues in a sustainable manner. Sabah is also one of the leading states in the country in carbon sequestration, with a number of international collaboration efforts for carbon trading and sequestration projects which have been carried out to date. The state is also aggressively tapping biotechnology under the Sabah Bio-X Programme that will open new possibilities in conserving its biodiversity, through new developments in water treatment, renewable energy and tissue culture. http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_be599\ 25c-cb73c03a-1a 2760f0-8bd3b950 28) SABAH, globally recognised for its biodiversity and unique wildlife, has been for more than a decade doing its part to offset greenhouse gases produced in industrialised nations halfway across the world. Hooking up with international partners, the state is currently implementing two notable carbon sequestration projects designed not only to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but to rehabilitate logged-over forests and implement sustainable forestry methods through outside funding. (Carbon sequestration refers to th long-term storage of carbon in " sinks " , such as forests, to reduce the build-up of carbon dioxide, a principal greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere.) One initiative is the Innoprise-Face Foundation Rainforest Rehabilitation Project (Infapro), established in 1992 to rehabilitate 25,000ha of degraded forests through enrichment planting in the Danum Valley, in eastern Sabah. The aim of Infapro, a joint venture between Yayasan Sabah's investment arm Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd and the Face Foundation of the Netherlands, is to increase the capacity of the once logged-over forest for carbon sequestration. In this collaboration, Face Foundation owns the carbon dioxide credits while forests and other benefits of rehabilitating the area go to Innoprise. Dr Waidi Sinun of the Sabah Foundation's Research and Development Division said so far, more than 11,000ha of forests had been rehabilitated through the collaboration. The enrichment planting is supported by a large nursery with the capacity to produce more than a million dipterocarp seedlings, while maintaining stocks of 30 or more dipterocarp and other indigenous tree species. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Columns/2143155/Article/index_html Australia: 29) Tempers have flared in the forests with protesters claiming to have been abused, assaulted and threatened with guns and machetes during a protest in the Styx Valley. Protesters from Still Wild Still Threatened say three men visited their blockade on Tuesday afternoon armed with weapons and made violent threats. They said the unknown assailants detonated explosives at the base of a tree a protester was sitting in, and threatened her life again by dragging a support tripod with their car. Two protesters also claimed to have been run off the road as a car tried to ram their vehicle, and another alleged sexual assault by a police officer. The dramatic allegations come after a week-long protest in the Styx Valley ended on Wednesday when police arrested the last two activists. The Tasmanian Greens have backed the activists, calling for forestry industry leaders to publicly condemn any use of violence against forest protesters. Forestry Tasmania chief executive Bob Gordon questioned the authenticity of the allegations made by the protesters, whom he described as " quite a hard-core group " . He said allegations made in the past had later proved to be unfounded and added any unlawful activity was a matter for the police. Mr Gordon said he did not sanction violence in the forests and believed retaliation would not help the debate. " For 12 months now I've been calling for the Wilderness Society and these other extreme groups to sit down at the negotiating table with us and the police and try to work out a way that they can peacefully get their message across without putting themselves and others at risk, and without causing contractors and other small businesses to lose money, " he said. " We're still willing to sit down with them ... it doesn't really matter to me what their motivation is, all I'm asking is that they act in a lawful and civilised manner and that applies to everyone in the forestry debate. " Inspector Glen Woolley said no complaints had been made by any member of Still Wild Still Threatened. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23142282-2,00.html 30) This morning, forest activists from Still Wild Still Threatened continued their tree top protest in the Styx Valley. Right now, activists are perched high in the giant Eucalyptus regnans of the Styx to raise awareness and to protest against the continued destruction of these unique old growth forests. " We are speaking out against the systematic eradication of some of our most significant carbon sinks at the hands of local climate criminals Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd., and are calling on Senator Penny Wong to take immediate action and halt this rampant woodchipping of our unique ancient forests " said Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Ula Majewski. The Bali climate conference has reinforced the critical importance of halting the degradation of carbon sinks. Eucalyptus regnans old growth forests, such as those located in the Styx Valley, have been shown to store huge amounts of carbon. " Right now, in the globally renowned forests of the Styx Valley, ancient ecosystems are being devastated and new roads are being pushed into high conservation value wilderness areas. In this era of dangerous climate change, Tasmania's logging industry is an international disgrace " said Ms Majewski. Forest defenders will continue to take a stand against the destruction of old growth forests located in the Styx, Weld and Upper Florentine Valleys. http://www.criticaltimes.com.au/news/tree-top-protests-continue-in-the-styx-vall\ ey-tasmania/ 31) The WA Forest Alliance met in Margaret River on Saturday, January 19 to maintain their stance against the proposed logging of Chester forest. Chester is an area of State forest near Augusta with rare flora and the group said logging within an area of 840ha was expected. " Chester is highly biodiverse forest in excellent condition, " spokesperson for the conservation campaign Rod Whittle said. " The forest and associated wetlands contain an extraordinary variety of trees and other plants, but little jarrah worth logging. " The Forest Products Commission expects to get only 800m3 of jarrah sawlogs from this operation. " To trash and incinerate Chester using the destructive 'fell every tree that isn't marked' method followed by intense burning to produce such a small amount of sawlogs would be irresponsible and pointless. " As well, the logging and burning add significantly to greenhouse emissions. " Areas such as Chester that are located in a relatively high rainfall region will inevitably become crucial habitat for species migrating in response to the drying climate. " According to the statutory Forest Management Plan, conservation plans are required for rare and priority flora and locations of rare flora excluded from logging. " We've seen no evidence that any of this has been done for Chester. " Logging of native forest no longer needs to occur in WA since almost all sawn timber we need can be sourced from plantations. " Yet, the Forest Products Commission said logging was planned in the next two to three months. http://margaretriver.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/alliance-fights-to-save\ -chester/11721 30.html 32) Research by scientists at the CSIRO Forest Biosciences (Australia) has found that the 2003 bushfires could reduce flows into the Murray River by more than 80 thousand megalitres a year by 2020, informed NAFI. This is due to the intensity of regrowth required after bushfires such as the 2003 fires, which saw 3 million hectares of forests burn across Victoria, NSW and the ACT, particularly in national parks. NAFI CEO, Catherine Murphy, has campaigned strongly for more active management of forests in reserves so that the intensity of wildfires can be reduced. " The Australian forest industry's position has always been that forests need to be actively managed to reduce the frequency and severity of bushfires, " she said. " That means activities like bushfire fuel reduction targets must be met, access roads must be maintained and park management staff should be increased to allow more staff to be allocated to 'on the ground' activities, " Catherine Murphy said. " If the destruction, through bushfires, of forests in reserves is having negative environmental impacts such as damaging our waterways and emitting huge amounts of carbon, then they are contradicting the environmental intent of reserving the forests, " Catherine Murphy added. NAFI provides the national voice for the hundreds of firms and thousands of individuals who comprise the Australian forest industries. NAFI was formed in response to a spate of politically inspired forest closures and a difficult market situation for timber. http://www.lesprom.com/news/32296/ 33) State Government's environment department is planning to log an internationally recognised wetland area at a rate more than four times the recommended sustainable level. Proposals released by the DSE this month allocate about 5600 cubic metres of commercial timber and firewood as available for harvest in the mid-Murray region in 2008-09. The area includes the Ramsar Convention-listed Barmah and Gunbower wetlands. But draft proposals from the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council's investigation into river red gum forests found the sustainable harvest level for sawlogs and standard logs was 1357 cubic metres. The recommendations take into account a slowdown in growth of red gums as a result of prolonged drought and are based on information provided to VEAC by the DSE. Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel called on the DSE to review its forestry policy. " The Government should be investigating the transition of the timber industry out of red gum forests and into plantations and agroforestry, " Mr Ruchel said. " Agroforestry can generate up to three times as much timber as native forests do. " DSE spokesman Alex Konrad said the plan was still in the draft stages and was open to submissions. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23110281-2862,00.html 34) Tasmania's forest industry faces a bleak outlook even if the proposed Gunns pulp mill is built, according to an independent report that calls for a cut in the number of logging contractors. The report, obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws, was prepared by private consultants URS Australia for the federal Government before its decision to approve the mill. It warns demand for Tasmanian woodchips " will at best remain relatively flat " and that increased global competition will hamper efforts to crack into emerging markets. Prepared for the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the report suggests some of Tasmania's 130 logging and log truck contractors will not survive. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23118618-5013404,00.html 35) Two forest protestors who chained themselves to machinery in Tasmania's Styx Valley have been arrested. Police moved into an area near Jubilee road this morning and removed the pair, who had been attempting to stop road building operations. But the manager of Gondwana Forest Products says it is too little too late. Shane Dohnt sent workers to the Styx last Thursday, but they were turned away by police because of tree sit protest in the area. Mr Dohnt says the unproductive day cost him around $1500. He says more needs to be done to discipline activists who do the wrong thing. " If I parked myself outside any other business and restricted access I'd be arrested and carted away fairly promptly, " he said " There seems to be a softly softly approach by the authorities to sort of live and live. " But the logging contractors are the ones that pay the price. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/30/2150048.htm?section=business 36) Ten years ago, local conservationist Sallie Coulson captured headlines around the State when she spent 15 days on a 1mx2m platform 30m up the King Jarrah Tree. Her action was part of protests to halt logging in the area and put in motion the development of the Wellington National Park. On Australia Day, she gathered with other conservationists to celebrate the anniversary of the win. Sallie said it was an amazing experience, with other protesters creating a vigil at the base of the tree and sending up food via a pulley system. Hundreds of people from throughout the State turned out to support her stand. And on Australia Day 1998 she enjoyed one of the most spectacular views of the fireworks from her platform and was sent up icecream and champagne to celebrate. " It was quite amazing, " she said. " The support was overwhelming and it gave me a great deal of strength and incredible hope. " Her protest ended when Tactical Response Group officers plucked her from the tree using a cherry picker before issuing her with a $2000 fine. Almost immediately the State Government bowed to public pressure, buying 400 hectares of forest to put under protection, and the national park was announced at the next State election. Now there are plans to continue the fight. Preston Environment Group spokesperson Peter Murphy said conservationists originally wanted 30,000 hectares put aside as national park and they would now push to see the remaining 13,000 added. http://bunbury.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/saving-wellington-forest/1172\ 212.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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