308 - Earth's Tree News

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--Sudan: 1) Meeting of the Near East Forestry Commission

--Liberia: 2) Rare Pygmy hippos photographed and forest stats, 3)

Logging ban to end, 4) Plantation planning and economics of it,

--Uganda: 5) Deforestation related to Ebola

--Congo: 6) History of a landscape with the greatest remaining mineral riches

--Latin America: 7) Deforestation stats

--Mexico: 7) Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range

--Costa Rica 8) Earth destroying profiteer moves into treehouse

--Guatemala: 9) Tikal landscape

--Brazil: 10) Women occupation of Stora Enso plantation ended violently

--Madagascar: 11) Deforestation rates have fallen eight-fold since 1990s

--Pakistan: 12) Connivance of Forest Department and police

--India: 13) War against the Power Grid Corporation, 14) Developing

methodology for assessment / enhancement of forest carbon stocks, 15)

Subdurbans drowing, --Bangladesh: 16) Future is in tourism

--Japan: 17) Cool Earth Promotion Program

--Vietnam: 18) Local officials under house arrest for illegal logging,

19) Phu Quoc Island leased for tourism

--Philippines: 20) tree nursery and tree planting program to counter

mountain agriculture, 21) Pulp plant complains of withholding of

issuance of forestry permits,

--Brunei: 22) Young Nature Scientist Awards

--Indonesia: 23) reasons for Java's devastating landslides / floods,

24) Trial by fire, 25) Fund-raising to " rent " forests to stop mining,

26) BirdLife has secured 100K hectares, --New Zealand: 27) Save the

Blythe Valley

--Papua New Guinea: 28) Asking Aussies for 300 cops

--Australia 29) New era of positive relations with PNG, 30) Tree hit

hard by drought, 31) RIP: Val Plumwood, 32) Scrap the Regional Forest

Agreement,

--World-wide: 33) Campaign to end ancient forest logging

 

 

Sudan:

 

1) A joint meeting of the Near East Forestry Commission and the Africa

Forestry and Wildlife Commission, held in Khartoum, Sudan, from 18-22

February 2008, highlighted the links between forests and climate

change. About 160 participants from more than 50 countries discussed:

the importance of forests in the energy strategies for countries in

both regions; the development of guidelines for best forestry

practices in arid and semi-arid zones; improvement of the conservation

of water and watershed management; and improvement of wildfire

management. Participants identified ways to mobilize resources and

improve international cooperation to address these critical issues.

http://desertification.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/links-between-forests-and-climat\

e-change-goog

le-iisd-linkages-update/

 

Liberia:

 

2) Pygmy hippos - which look like miniature versions of the common

hippopotamus - are one of the most secretive species of mammal on

earth, and are rarely seen in the wild. Less than 3,000 of them remain

in their natural habitat, the Upper Guinean forest which covers parts

of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. As only 10% of the original

forest is left, the pygmy hippos live in a shrinking world. What is

perhaps most amazing is that they survived Liberia's two long and

brutal civil wars. Hungry groups of displaced people, rebels and child

soldiers ate anything that came their way - Liberia after the conflict

was virtually devoid of animals, domesticated or wild. Although war is

now over in Liberia, the challenge will be to control illegal logging

and poaching, which continue to put the pygmy hippo at risk.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7286860.stm

 

3) If all goes according to plan, the chainsaws will start buzzing in

Liberia's forests later this month for the first time since the United

Nations imposed a ban on trade in the country's logs in 2003. Back

then, Liberia was a byword for uncontrolled and environmentally

devastating logging. Now the authorities hope to set the standard for

the enforcement of forestry law, thanks to some clever new technology.

Last month the Forest Development Authority hired SGS, an inspection

firm, and Helveta, a software firm, to set up a system to track all of

Liberia's timber. Future forestry concessionaires will be obliged to

attach a bar code to each tree they fell (and the stumps they come

from). A corresponding entry in a database will record the origin,

species, size and destination of the log in question. Inspectors can

then scan logs at random to see if they match their description in the

database. In theory, this should make it hard to forge paperwork and

easy to catch those who misrepresent the amount of wood they have

harvested, or where it has come from. Several other countries have

experimented with such schemes. But Liberia's is different in three

important respects. First, it covers all commercial forestry—so a log

without a barcode is inherently suspect. Second, it takes the decision

about whether a consignment is legitimate out of the hands of

inspectors in the field. They do not know what they are looking for;

the system simply requires them to scan each barcode and then enter a

description of the log it is attached to. If there is any discrepancy

between the description in the database and that provided by the

inspector, the system flags it automatically—making it much harder to

bribe the inspector to turn a blind eye. Finally, when such

inconsistencies arise, the system alerts the authorities directly, by

e-mail or text message. In the case of a few mislabelled logs, it

might summon local police and forestry officers; if a valuable

shipment is about to leave port without having paid the correct taxes,

it will warn the ministry of finance.

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10804107

 

4) The contracts on existing plantation areas are to be expanded to

yield a growing volume that will peak in 2018. The felling age of its

own plantations is to be brought to optimum levels of seven years for

coastal timber, and eight years for inland timber. The conversion of

10 000 ha from gum (hardwood) to pine (softwood) will be stopped,

increasing Sappi's plantation yield without adversely affecting the

softwood plan. Sappi Saiccor's current wood demand is 1 861 000 wet

weight tons a year (wwt/y) of hardwood and 200 000 wwt/y of wattle.

The projected timber demand for Project Amakhulu, assessed for a

twenty-year period given the proposed changes created, is about 770

000 wwt/y. The demand for eucalyptus is 2 631 000 wwt/y and for

wattle, it is expected to be 200 000 wwt/y. Temporarily unplanted

areas, including areas that are harvested yearly and fire-damaged

areas, are expected to be reduced in size to 3,5% from the current 5%

of planted area. This is expected to increase the available planted

resource by 3 750 ha. The felling ages will also be returned to

optimum rotation in order to yield more volume. The mean annual

increment is currently sacrificed as a result of surpluses that create

a situation where many plantations are over-aged, resulting in reduced

growth rates. This optimisation will result in a quicker turnover on

the land. Future replanting will be done with improved seedlings,

sourced from the Sappi research department's tree breeding programme,

and result in better yields for every ha. These improvements are the

result of many years of improved tree breeding, the results of which

have been documented since 1990. Currently, more than 50% of

Sappi-contracted growers are accredited as part of the Forestry

Stewardship Council (FSC) programme. Sappi encourages growers to

become FSC-accredited by paying a R6/t premium for FSC timber.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=127570

 

 

Uganda:

 

5) According to the International Centre for Medical Research, the

location of the Ebola outbreak areas suggests that the reservoir and

the transmission cycle of the Ebola virus are closely linked to the

rainforest ecosystem. Some forms of destruction of the environment

could be linked to Ebola spread like logging; the second largest

contributor to deforestation in Africa, threatening the continent's

existing indigenous forests and habitats of animals. Environmentalists

say part of the problem is as a result of the common use of clear

cutting and unsound methods that strip large areas of trees and

vegetation. This practice facilitates man's intrusion into the privacy

of animals like gorillas that have been linked with Ebola. It also

displaces animals and forces them to invade man's living areas.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, indigenous forests

in Africa are being cut down at a rate of more than 4 million hectares

per year. In Uganda, forests are disappearing at a rate of 2% per

year. At this pace, this implies that the country's forests are likely

to disappear in 50 years. In addition, the conversion of forest land

to agriculture is the most common cause of deforestation in Africa and

other tropical regions. As demand for farmland grows in response to

population pressures, several hectares of tropical forests are likely

to be destroyed. This would also facilitate man's displacement and

contact with animals and sites that have been linked with Ebola.

Therefore, as we look for ways of preventing ourselves from Ebola, we

should consider the following: Law enforcement concerned with standard

conservation and protection of wildlife, eliminating poaching and

hunting in protected areas, increasing investments in wild life

protection, preserving Africa's surviving tropical forests and

planting new trees. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/615139

 

Congo:

 

6) A synopsis of the history of the DRC, as Congo Kinshasa is commonly

known, tells us that the plunder of its natural resources begun well

in the 19th century when King Leopold II's Belgium, its former

colonial master, demarcated it for its own enrichment with the

infamous " Scramble for Africa " - a period in late 19th Century world

affairs when Africa's interior was feverishly carved up by European

imperialist expansion. Since then, DRC, formerly Zaire under the

notorious Mobutu Sese Seko, has not known peace. But the wanton

plunder and destruction of its ecology, plentiful of minerals and

forest cover, continues. And millions of people have and continue

paying the heavy cost of it all - through rape and death under the

watchful eye of the world hiding beneath the blue flag of the United

Nations. Talk of ecological wealth turned into a curse. In science,

precursor is defined as a substance from which another substance is

formed, so to use the term here aptly fits the true state of affairs

in this tragic African story that would otherwise contribute great

wealth to the rest of the world. The instability in Congo has largely

been instigated by Congo's yet untapped mineral wealth that even the

Mafia now want to control. The fighting has been in the rich mineral

regions of Eastern Congo. Despite the nearly abject poverty of its

people, Congo is so rich in mineral wealth that it has virtually all

known rich minerals found in the world. Large deposits of gold,

copper, cobalt, diamonds and petroleum oil still remain untapped. The

country's rivers provide a source of hydroelectric power giving Congo

the capacity to light up all of Africa. Thousands of kilometers of

forests have ample supply of wood that rivals that of the

fast-depleting forests of the Amazon. At the University of Kinshasa,

Congo has Africa's only nuclear reactor and research center since the

country also has uranium deposits. The American atomic bombs that were

dropped on the Japanese islands of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in the

Second World War used uranium mined in the Congo. DRC is a virtual

mineral economy. Between 1921 and 1992, more than 90 new hitherto

unknown minerals were discovered in the DRC. The country has metallic

cobalt reserves estimated at 600,000 tons, with derivative names that

include cattierite, comblainite, kolwezite, sphaerocobaltite,

dolomite, cobaltoan calcite, carrollite, siegenite, heterogenite and

oursinite.

http://ecoworldly.com/2008/03/07/ecology-of-wealth-as-a-precursor-of-death/

 

Latin America:

 

7) Of every 100 hectares (247 acres) of forest lost worldwide between

the years 2000 and 2005, nearly 65 (161 acres) were in Latin America

and the Caribbean. In that period, the average annual rate was 4.7

million hectares (11.6 million acres) lost — 249,000 hectares (615,000

acres) more than the entire decade of the 1990s, according to a recent

study. The report " Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for

Sustainable Development — 5 Years After Its Adoption " evaluated the

official commitments made by governments in 2002 to fight

deforestation. It was presented during the 16th Forum of Environment

Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in the Dominican

Republic Jan. 27-Feb. 1. Between 2000 and 2005, the proportion of

total land surface covered by forests fell in the Mesoamerica region

(southern Mexico and Central America) from 36.9 to 35.8 percent, and

in South America from 48.4 to 47.2 percent. However, in the Caribbean

it increased from 31.0 to 31.4 percent. The principal cause of the

increased pace of deforestation is the advance of the monoculture

farming frontier, a phenomenon that did not carry as much weight in

the 1990s. But there is good news for forestry defense and

reforestation efforts that have been highly successful in Costa Rica,

Cuba, Saint Lucia and Uruguay, as well as the increase in the surface

of protected natural areas in the region from 19.2 percent to 20.6

percent between 2000 and 2005, or 320,400 square kilometers (123,400

square miles).

http://www.latinamericapress.org/article.asp?lanCode=1 & artCode=5530

 

Mexico:

 

7) The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range stretches some 900 miles

south from the Arizona-Mexico border, a sort of southern continuation

of the Rocky Mountains. With only two paved roads and no major cities

or towns, with peaks rising to almost 11,000 feet and terrain

characterized by steep canyons called barrancas -- four of them deeper

than Arizona's Grand Canyon -- the Sierra Madre is rough territory. As

Grant puts it, " You can stand on the rimrock in high pine forest with

snow on the ground and look down on the backs of parrots and macaws

flying over semitropical jungles at river level -- a sight guaranteed

to wow the passing traveler and sink the heart of any army or police

force. " Natural dangers abound, but Grant's line about the army or

police force is key -- the Sierra Madre has long resisted domination

by outside forces. The Aztec emperors couldn't bring the regional

tribes under control, and the Spanish authorities, despite setting up

assorted missions, haciendas, military posts and mines, had little

more success. Eventually, the Spaniards and mestizo Mexicans who were

able to establish a foothold " developed a rough, violent, fiercely

independent culture that had more in common with the American frontier

than the civilized parts of central Mexico. " Today, local power rests

largely in the hands of regional strongmen, with occasional incursions

by the Mexican army. All of which would be dangerous enough, but in

the last 30 years, the Sierra Madre has also become " one of the

world's biggest production areas for marijuana, opium, heroin, and

billionaire drug lords. " The result is " a hillbilly vendetta culture .

.. . up to its eyeballs in the world's most murderous business

enterprise: illegal narcotics. " Town after town seems haunted by

brand-new pickup trucks with tinted windows, blasting a strange hybrid

music. Traditional folk corridos have been transformed into

narcocorridos, with lyrics like " I'm one of the players in the Sierra

where the opium poppy grows. . . . I like risky action, I like to do

cocaine, I walk right behind death with a beautiful woman on each arm.

.. . . I've got an AK-47 for anyone who wants to try me. " Into this

lawless, vicious, ever-shifting world steps Grant, convincing himself

that the Sierra Madre " isn't as dangerous as it used to be, " and that

" most places are not as dangerous as people say. "

http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/books/la-bk-wilson9mar09,1,4234953.\

story

 

Costa Rica:

 

8) " This is what living in a rain forest in Costa Rica is about, "

smiles Mr. Ablett, 29, a former Toronto realtor who moved to Calgary

to tap into the oil patch's gushing housing market, and is now the

proud owner of a tree house above the jungle floor. " When the

opportunity came to be a part of this unique community, I took it.

This is the ultimate in green development. " Examining the branches of

the 150-foot-high trees that will carry the weight of their

1,000-square-foot wood-sided home, Mr. Ablett and his 28-year-old

fiancé, Anne Stefanyk, are among the first title holders to a slice of

the tropical Eden called Finca Bellavista, the world's only tree house

subdivision. Foot power is the main mode of transportation to enter

this earthly paradise, which is fine with Mr. Ablett. " We'll be

growing our own crops in the organic garden. And if we want to stay

connected with the outside, there's easy access to a Wi-Fi signal and

a high-speed direct link satellite dish. We have everything needed

within walking distance. " Located at the base of a 6,000-foot mountain

on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a region that boasts the

highest percentage of land devoted to National Parks and Forest

Reserves in the country, Finca Bellavista (translated as " estate with

a beautiful view " ) offers panoramas of the Pacific Ocean and

breathtaking vistas of the surrounding - and pristine - landscape of

this ecologically lush 310-acre property. Currently in the first phase

of a planned three-stage development, the 72-lot Finca Bellavista is

the brainchild of co-founders Matt Hogan, a sports marketing

consultant from Maryland and his wife, Erica, a former newspaper

editor from Colorado.

http://www.nationalpost.com/life/homes/story.html?id=360217

 

Guatemala:

 

9) It's the sound of the howler monkeys that first strikes you. Even

before the low clouds relinquish their hold on the enormous limestone

pyramids for which Tikal is famous, the monkeys roar a salutation to

the day. The males' song is a formidable coarse howl that seems way

out of proportion to the child-sized, black primate itself and

suggests to me the imminent arrival of a Tyrannosaurus rex, or some

other primeval monster. It was a sound that made it difficult to

appreciate that you were also in a place where human ingenuity has

achieved worldwide celebrity. The ruins at Tikal date from as early as

900BC, but the site is best known for structures originating at the

time of Christ, and which subsequently flourished into one of the

largest, most impressive human settlements in the Americas. At its

height, in the mid-eighth century AD, Tikal was a city of 100,000

spread across 30 sq km. From the summit of a building erected in that

period known as Temple IV, a towering stone pyramid rising 65 metres

towards the heavens, you can easily imagine its extent. At least you

are not distracted by the clutter of the modern world, because as far

as the eye can see the only structures visible are pre-Columbian and

the rest is rainforest.Tikal is one of those unforgettable locations

where breathtaking human riches converge with nature's own. I have to

confess I was as awed by the flocks of parrots, toucans and dazzling

eye spots in the tails of wild turkeys as I was by Mayan glyphs or

elaborately carved stelae of a royal dynasty memorably known as

Jaguar's Paw. Yet simultaneous with a sense of biodiversity run wild,

you cannot help but reflect that Tikal is also a monument to

environmental ruin. Deforestation and - even more compelling - climate

change laid waste to Mayan agriculture, forcing Tikal's abandonment 11

centuries ago. With its passing, the rainforest rose once more to

engulf it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/10/ruralaffairs.guatemala

 

Brazil:

 

10) The Swedish-Finnish company, Stora Enso has purchased land and

established eucalyptus plantations in the State of Rio Grande do Sul,

along the area bordering Uruguay. This fact implies that the company

has acted illegally, violating legal provisions which ban the

acquisition of land by foreigners within a 150 km strip along frontier

zones bordering a neighbouring country. To denounce this situation, in

the framework of International Women's Day, on 4 March 900 women

members of Via Campesina occupied a 2000 hectare plot belonging to

Stora Enso, located within this frontier strip. The purpose of the

occupation was to denounce illegal appropriation of Brazilian

territory to establish agribusiness and monoculture plantations and to

defend food sovereignty. Repression quickly followed in the form of a

contingent of a Military Police Brigade, under orders from the

Governor of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Yeda Crusius. They did not

spare blows, humiliation, destruction and even imprisonment. Eight

hundred women were arrested and separated from their small children

that were made to lie on the ground with their hands behind their

heads. Over 50 women are injured. The camps were destroyed and their

work tools confiscated. The speed of the Government of Rio Grande's

reaction in support of Stora Enso is mainly explained by the fact that

the electoral campaign of the present governor was partly funded

(according to official data from the Higher Electoral Court) by the

pulp companies Aracruz, Votorantim and ... Stora Enso. Favours have to

be paid, including repression and criminalization of women and

children who are struggling for food sovereignty for present and

future generations. The World Rainforest Movement condemns this

violent State action carried out in partnership with Stora Enso and

expresses its solidarity with the women of Via Campesina who, as they

themselves state, carry with them the " energy and courage of thousands

of peasant women who, all over the world, are struggling against the

commodification of nature and life. " We invite those who wish to

express their condemnation, to do so by sending a letter to Governor

Yeda Crusius. Her e-mail is gabinete governadora (We

attach a model letter that can be used for this purpose). To express

solidarity towards the women of Via Campesina, you can write to them

at the following address: mstrs -

info

 

Madagascar:

 

11) Madagascar's deforestation rate in protected areas has fallen by

eight-fold since the 1990s according to Conservation International and

the Malagasy government. Reuters reports that satellite images reveal

a drop in deforestation rate in reserves from 0.8 percent per year in

the 1990s to 0.1 percent today. Island-wide, Madagascar's

deforestation rate is 0.3 percent, down from 0.5 percent during the

1990s, according to the U.N. Since 1990 Madagascar has lost about 6.3

percent of its forest cover. Most forest clearing results from

charcoal production and subsistence agriculture. " We need to do a lot.

But the important thing is that the trend is in the right direction,

which is not the case for every country in the world, " Reuters quoted

Conservation International's James MacKinnon as saying. An island

about the size of California located off the eastern coast of southern

Africa, Madagascar is famous for its biodiversity including more than

70 types of lemurs, brightly colored chameleons and toxic frogs, the

puma-like fossa, and hedgehog-like tenrecs. With three-quarters of its

species found nowhere else on Earth, conservationists have made the

island a top conservation priority. In 2003, Madagascar's President

Marc Ravalomanana announced plans to set aside 10 percent — 6 million

hectares (15 million acres) — of the country's land area as protected

areas. Since then tens of millions of dollars have flowed into the

country for setting up parks and establishing sustainable development

initiatives. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0310-madagascar.html

 

Pakistan:

 

12) KHAIR PUR: Some people with the connivance of Forest Department

and police have started cutting trees from the government's forests in

Nara district. The residents of the area protested the illegal cutting

of trees from the forests and said the natural beauty was being

destroyed for the sake of money. The wood collected from the trees was

sold in Karachi, they alleged. They demanded the government take

action against the accused officials involved in this practice.

http://thepost.com.pk/NatNews.aspx?dtlid=148857 & catid=2

 

India:

 

13) New Delhi: He heard the call of the hills and left his city life

behind to answer it. Jai Prakash Dabral waged a war against the Power

Grid Corporation of India, the timber mafia and the local government

to save nearly 90,000 trees in the bio-diverse habitat of Tehri.

Dabral wages one of the biggest environmental battles at ground zero

by motivating people in Tadkeshwar, Rudraprayag to start a

" chipko-style " campaign which he called Raksha-sutra. But Dabral knew

that the villager's peaceful protest would only provide for a

temporary solution. We intervened after they had cut only about 5,000

trees. And after that we were able to save most of the trees. The

number of trees that were felled on the entire transmission line has

now been reduced from 90,000 to just about 10,000. That has been the

contribution of my movement, " says he. Dabral started receiving death

threats from Tehri's local timber mafia — the multi-crore nexus that

operates between the Timber merchants, the Forest Department and the

local government. Undeterred Dabral decided to expose this nexus to

the SC and to the media. " Each tree is valued at around Rs 30,000 and

the value of 90,000 trees would have been around Rs 270 crore. But

then the number of trees which would have been cut would have been

much much more than what it is now and the project would have had more

than twice the money it has currently from the Uttranchal government.

That is the volume of money involved in this. Right from the Chief

Minister, the Forest Minister, the Forest Department officials, the

DFO, the ranger — everybody is getting a cut, " says Dabral. Six years

later, Dabral has taken his battle to the next level. He is now

actively seeking from the Central Government, a guideline for

construction of transmission lines in the Himalayan region that is

environment friendly. A pro-development man, Dabral offers some easy

and practical solutions to minimise the environmental damage that

takes place under the guise of development projects. " Uttrakhand is

going to have 66 dams, they have already planned for that, and they

are going to come up in next 10-15 years. For 66 dams there are going

to be atleast 132 transmission lines. Now what I want through this

particular case in the Supreme Court is a guideline for transmission

lines in hilly areas.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/man-fights-timber-mafia-to-save-90000-trees/60525-3.\

html

 

14) The international workshop on " developing methodology for

assessment of enhancement of forest carbon stocks due to conservation,

sustainable management of forests and increase in forest cover "

organised by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education

(ICFRE), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment and

Forests, saw scientists from China, Bhutan Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United

Kingdom, Malaysia, Thailand and Papua New Guinea converge at New

Delhi. Brazil, which supports a variation of the same idea on

compensating forest cover gave the conference a miss. So did

Indonesia, which has sizable stocks of forests. Jagdish Kishwan,

director general, ICFRE, said the meeting would aim at converging all

available technologies to adopt a common approach to quantify carbon

sinks. Says Kishwan, who was present at Bali: A study by the

Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science has reported that India

would increase its carbon stocks from forests to 9.75 billion tonnes

in 2030 from the present level of 8.79 billion tonnes. The figures are

an approximate assessment of the carbon worth of the forests in India.

The government wants to identify a methodology acceptable to the world

to measure the carbon stocks available in the forests.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=lmnu2 & subLeft=1 & \

autono=316195 &

tab=r

 

15) The adverse impact of global warming is causing hardships to

people around the coast line. As the sea level rises it is sub-merging

the coastline leaving the people inhabiting there, homesless. This

inundantdation has become disastrous to regions even with rich

biodiversity like the sundarbans . A back water refuge for wild life

where, sea water and riverwater meet.In the past two decades, four

islands of the Sundarbans - Bedford, Lohachara, Kabasgadi and

Suparibhanga - have sunk into the sea and 6,000 families have been

displaced from their villages. Lohachara island was the first

inhabited island to disappear due to global warming. There are

multiple causes of the disappearances of islands in the delta,

including a rise in sea levels, coastal erosion, cyclones, mangrove

destruction and coastal flooding. The loss of land has created

thousands of environmental refugees in the area. Since the first

settlements in 1770, the overall population of the Sundarbans has also

risen 200 percent to nearly 4.2 million. The average rate of sea level

rise at Sagar point is 3.14 mm per year while this figure is 5 mm at

Pakhiraloy point near Sajnekhali in the Sundarbans. Both these figures

are much higher than the global average of 2 mm per annum . A study

also pointed out that the Sundarbans would lose another 15 percent of

its total habitable land, displacing more than 30,000 people by 2020,

he told IANS. According to reports, about 30 percent out of 95 sq.km

of the Sagar area has already gone into the sea. 'There are three

other islands - Dalhousie, Bhangadoyani and

Ghoramara - which are at present under serious threat of climate

change. Almost 20 percent of both Dalhousie and Bhangadoyani and over

60 percent of the Ghoramara island have already been affected by

rising water levels in the Sundarbans,' he said. satish7683

 

Bangladesh:

 

16) Bangladesh has very diverse and distinctive flora and fauna, which

include a mixture of species at the Sundarban and Chittagong Hill

Tracts. Many of them are unique to Bangladesh and largely unknown to

the rest of the world. In fact, numerous globally threatened and

endangered species inhabit Bangladesh. Combination of diverse

landscapes, unspoiled habitat, and some rare wild plant and animal

species have become a subject of growing international attention and

conservation efforts. Tourism is always proud of having inherited all

resources of environment. Besides all measures, tourism law may

effectively come forward to contribute to over all conservation of

environment. Deforestation and poaching of birds and animals are a

threat to the development of tourism. This is the right time to

initiate a long-term plan to develop Bangladesh as an internationally

competitive tourist destination supported by mid-term plan to enhance

tourism in the region and short-term plan to develop new tourism

destinations, products and attractions. And this is time to adopt

measures for tourism development through enacting strict tourism law.

To denote tourism as the world's largest industry, there is some

statistics for those who like facts and figures against the belief of

real scenario. A according to the World Tourism Council, last year

tourism generated revenue over US$6 trillion. It provided around the

world 221 million jobs, with an expectation that by 2015 it will be

providing some 269 million jobs. Between 2006 and 2015, tourism's

growth rate is expected to average 4.6 percent per year. Law for

tourism industry in Bangladesh would definitely result in a great

success for controlling deforestation and conserving environment. The

cardinal objectives of tourism law may be: To drive economic and

social development in the country, while respecting its forest, fauna,

flora, mineral, archaeological and heritage, sites, which should be

preserved and passed on to future generation.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/03/11/news0862.htm

 

Japan:

 

17) " While promoting 'sustainable forest management', we need to try

to halt deforestation and forest degradation, " said Prime Minister

Yasuo Fukuda speaking last month at a Climate Change Forum in

Brasilia, Brazil. " I intend to promote a discussion on forest-related

issues with the countries concerned in order to make important

progress towards their resolution. " Fukuda said Japan would reduce its

own greenhouse gas emissions while working to help developing

countries address environmental issues through a $10 billion

initiative called the " Cool Earth Promotion Program. " In line with

Fukuda's remarks, the forum produced a proposal on reducing illegal

logging. The scheme calls for a global certification and tracking

system for timber as well as financial assistance for countries to

develop and implement " credible, certified sustainable forest

management. " http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0305-g8_timber.html

Vietnam:

 

18) The prosecutor's office of Quang Nam Province Sunday approved the

police's proposal to place three local officials under house arrest

for investigation into their involvement with an illegal logging ring.

The police have charged Ho Tan Son, Truong Duc Muoi and Le The Thanh

with " committing wrongdoings " in granting logging licenses which

resulted in the illegal felling of 670 cubic meters of logs in Khe

Dien forest. Son is the former vice personnel director of the

provincial Party Committee and director of the Department of

Agriculture and Rural Development. Muoi is the head of the local

forest ranger bureau and Thanh is a forest ranger. After the logging

ring was busted in June 2007, seven other people were arrested and

held in police custody for the investigation, including ring leader Le

Van Ngoc who was the director of Ngoc Son Co. According to the police,

the province in 2006 allowed logging in a local forest which would be

flooded for a hydro-power project. Son misused this policy to allow

Ngoc Son Co. to illegally log 131 hectares of forest outside the

approved area, while Muoi and Thanh signed documents in their capacity

to facilitate the process. The local Party Committee suspended

Son's position after his wrongdoing was found out.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3 & newsid=36573

 

19) KIEN GIANG — Some 2,340 ha of forests on Phu Quoc Island in Kien

Giang Province has been leased for tourism projects, the provincial

authority said. Tran Thi Thu Hang, deputy head of Kien Giang's Phu

Quoc Forest Leasing Project, said the land is part of 8,170 ha of

forest that have been leased out by the provincial authority since

December 2007. Officials hope the project will develop the tourism

industry, preserve the fauna and flora systems, minimise forest

destruction, and boost forestation. Hang said 21 companies have signed

contracts with the project's management board for 50-year leases. The

HCM City-based joint stock Thanh Xuan company leased the most forest

land, 374.4 ha; Kien Giang-based Dao Xanh Ltd. signed up for nearly

210 ha; and the Ha Noi-based investment joint stock company I. P. A.

leased 200 ha. Phu Quoc forests, which are known for their rare plants

and wild animals, are an attractive destinations for tourists.

However, there are as yet no travel agencies that provide tours

through the forest. According to figures from Kien Giang People's

Committee, Phu Quoc Island has 59,305 ha, 36,759 ha or 63 per cent of

it covered by forests. Phu Quoc forests comprise 29,135 ha in Phu Quoc

National Park and 6,455 ha of protective forests.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=05ECO080308

 

Philippines:

 

20) The impact of commercial vegetation, Akilit said, was most felt

when vegetable terraces were carved out of mountain slopes that loosen

the soil, making them vulnerable to slides, erosion and siltation.

This can be seen in the cases of Mt. Data National Park in Bauko, Mt.

Province, and of Mt. Pulag, the country's second highest peak that

straddles Benguet, Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya. The felling of trees and

the elimination of mossy forests in these areas have compromised the

ability of the forests to survive for a long time, he said. This was

the reason that pushed the Department of Environment and Natural

Resources and the NIA to launch a massive tree nursery and tree

planting program of more than one million trees as a measure to arrest

the forest and watershed decline, Akilit said. Records showed that the

NIA had scored some success in its campaign to rehabilitate the

watersheds and make full use of the distribution of water to the

farms.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080310-123803/Cord\

illera-losing-it

s-water-due-to-watershed-destruction

 

21) Publicly listed Picop Resources Inc. said it might shut down its

pulp and paper plant if regulators continued to withhold issuance of

forestry permits that would allow it to cut trees in its reserve for

use as raw materials. In a statement to the stock exchange, Picop said

the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had yet

to issue a new harvesting permit that would allow resumption of its

forestry operations, which have been suspended since May 2007 on the

expiry of its last integrated annual operations plan. The company said

it had submitted a new harvesting plan to the DENR, which it said had

not acted on it. It said that under the law such a plan should be

" automatically approved " after three months if the regulator fails to

act on it. " The DENR has not been respecting these [legal] provisions

since 2001, " it said. Picop told the exchange that the situation was,

in effect, a stoppage order, which it said was illegal because the

operator of a tree farm is allowed by law to do what it pleases with

trees on its property. " Thus, Picop cannot be deprived of its rights

as owner of the planted trees and worse, without due process at all, "

the company said. It added that it was contemplating whether to comply

with the " illegal stoppage order. "

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080308-123493/Picop-may-s\

hut-paper-mill-

sans-DENR-permit

 

Brunei:

 

22) The five finalists to compete for this year's 11th Princess

Rashidah Young Nature Scientist Award (PRYNSA) were revealed yesterday

in a ceremony held at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

The finalists, which were selected from 19 projects overall, were

Chung Ching Middle School, Seria for their project entitled " Nepenthes

Bicalcarata: A research and study on the habitat, adaptation, physical

characteristic and mutualistic association of carnivorous pitcher

plant with ants in the Andualu Forest Reserve; Pehin Datu Seri

Maharaja secondary school, Mentiri for their project called " Leaf

Litter Fauna " ; Menglait Secondary school for " A comparative study of

litter Fauna between Kerangas forest and Acacia mangium forested

areas " ; Sayyidina Umar Al Khattab secondary school for their project

named " An Assessment of stream qualities in Mukim Lumapas using

Macroinvertebrates as bioindicators " , and PDS Secondary school for

their project " The Ecological effects of surface fire on trees and

grass and their regeneration in the tropical forest of Brunei " . Each

of the five finalists was presented with $1,000 by the guest of

honour, Awang Hj Mohd Sufri Bin Hj Sulaiman, head of the HSE and

security from Brunei Shell Petroleum, to fund their research. Prior to

the announcement of the finalists,Awang Haji Saidin bin Salleh, the of Forestry,' said in his opening remarks that " with the

destruction of forest as the cause of climate change and realising the

importance of natural resources in the development of social and

economic progress, the Department of Forestry will continue to

practice the policy of forest conservation " . " To inculcate the spirit

of care for the forest to the younger generation is one of the pillars

or strategy relating to the policy on conservation for our

environment. Other strategies also include practising a system of

control logging, practising a system of selective logging, restoring

and replanting of forests in logging areas, creation of forest

plantations, restoring an area after forest fires, updating the

forestry rules and regulations and to promote economic activities that

will give minimal impact to the environment like eco-tourism and

others, " he said.

http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Mar08/090308/nite12.htm

 

Indonesia:

 

23) " Deforestation was part of the cause, " says Rully Syumanda,

discussing the reasons behind the devastating series of landslides and

floods in Java which killed more than 100 and left upwards of 70,000

people displaced, according to some estimates. Syumanda, a forest

campaigner for WALHI -- the Bahasa Indonesian acronym for the

Indonesian Forum for Environment, part of Friends of the Earth

International -- told IPS that the clearing of forest for seasonal

crops such as vegetables and tobacco contributed to the destruction.

But Frances Seymour, director general of the Indonesia-based Centre

for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), is non-committal

regarding the role played by deforestation in the floods and

landslides that hit Indonesia's most populous island in late 2007.

" CIFOR hasn't done specific research on those particular landslides in

those particular areas so we couldn't give a definitive answer about

what caused those particular ones, " she says. Seymour argues that

forest cover is just one of the variables involved in landslides and

floods. Other factors, according to Seymour, include the nature of the

soil, the intensity of the rain, the gradient of the slope, and the

level of a given area's development. " It's clear that trees and other

land cover can play a role in preventing shallow landslides, and by

that I mean landslides that move a metre or less of soil, " says the

CIFOR boss. But with larger landslides where the soil is moving at a

much greater depth, whether or not deforestation has occurred is of

little consequence " because the roots just don't go that deep, " argues

Seymour, adding that it is a similar story for floods. However,

environmental groups, along with a senior official from Indonesia's

national disaster agency, fingered deforestation as a causal factor

behind December's disaster. Even the country's president, Susilo

Bambang Yudhoyono, implied that deforestation was a major contributing

factor when he urged his fellow citizens to take better care of the

forests during a tour of some of the flood-devastated areas. Seymour

says that " what makes it into the newspapers are these really

large-scale, major landslides and floods and those are precisely the

ones that forests really can't do that much about. " " Deforestation can

play a role in both landslides and floods, but it's probably a smaller

role than (what) the popular perception is, " Seymour told IPS.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41520

 

24) Today was a revelation of sorts. I spent the afternoon absorbed in

a WRI publication called, Trial By Fire

http://www.wri.org/publication/trial-fire-forest-fires-and-forest-policy-indones\

ias-era-crisis-

and-reform The report has dramatically changed my frame of reference.

I have always been curious about the trans-boundary haze that has

enveloped Singapore with choking intensity and unfailing regularity. I

remember taking pictures of the 'hazy' days in 2006 in the vain hope

that capturing the 'evidence' and sharing it with my friends and

family would help ease my growing indignance at the health risk I was

being exposed to. Like many other Singaporeans my level of awareness

about the forest fires in Indonesia was over simplified – " It's a fire

– why can't they clamp down on the illegal loggers, punish the errant

miscreants and better still educate the ignorant villagers??...It

surely is that simple " Unfortunately, it isn't. It rarely ever is.

It's a story that sounds all too familiar – reminiscent of the many

out-of-control monsters created by a seemingly well-meaning politician

with a hidden agenda. A political agenda that goes woefully wrong and

before you know it the hunter has become the hunted. That pretty much

sums up what happened with Indonesia's forests. In the space of 30

years from when Suharto came into power, the country's natural forest

cover has been depleted by over 40 million hectares–an area the size

of Germany and the Netherlands combined. In what I can only call a

barbarous genocide of the forests, the Surharto regime allowed timber

companies to pilfer of one of the earth's last tropical treasures in

the name of income generation and economic development. The problem is

now bigger than Suharto and bigger than the Indonesian government. The

oil palm and timber barons cannot control the anger of communities

they have displaced and the echoes of many wronged ethnic communities

are ringing in their ears. Logging concessions granted overlap with

'protected' lands and have displaced local communities who are

dependent on the forests for their livelihood. Angered by the

injustice they are setting off fires on plantations which mushroom

into large scale infernos, fed by unusual dry spells (courtesy El

Nino). Plantation firms also start fires hoping that they can place

the blame on local communities or on drought conditions and claim the

deforested land for additional plantations. It's a choking

chicken-and-the-egg sort of problem. The burning of the forests in

Indonesia is symptomatic of a failed political regime, misdirected

economic policy and a legal system that is in the throes of failure.

It needs the attention of the international community and the aid of

multilateral organizations who can exact reformation of the forestry

sector.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/astrophelle/7/1204697580.html

 

25) In a bid to prevent open-pit mining in protected forests, the

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is fund-raising to " rent "

forests so that major mining companies cannot. The move is a response

to the 2008 government regulation on non-taxable income, which allows

open-pit mining in protected forests. The regulation stipulates that

open-pit mining operators in protected forests only need to pay

between Rp 2.25 million and Rp 3 million per hectare per year as

compensation to the government. On Monday, Walhi handed over Rp 1.6

million (US$176) collected from the public to the Finance Ministry.

Walhi forest campaigner Rully Syumanda said the forum had also

received positive responses from the international community,

including the United States, Norway and Britain. " They are now waiting

for our instructions on how to transfer the money, " he said here

Wednesday. Walhi, who has called for donations on its website

(www.walhi.or.id), has also received a massive response from ordinary

Indonesians, Rully said. " We just received a call from a community in

a Depok bus terminal who wants to transfer money. They have also

expressed their concern about the policy, " Rully said. Former

environmental minister Nabiel Makarim welcomed the move by donating Rp

50,000. Rully said Nabiel's donation could be used to rent about 166

square meters of protected forest per year. " Please, use this money to

rent the protected forest. I also don't want the land to be used for

open-pit mining, " Nabiel said. " Such a policy will only allow

businesses to destroy the forests. We need to reject it soon. " Nabiel,

now heads the research and development agency of the Indonesia

Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). The head of muslim group

Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin, and singer Franky Sahilatua each

promised to donate Rp 30 million to be used to rent 10 hectares of

protected forest for two years. The government is facing increasing

opposition from green activists after issuing the regulation, but has

insisted it will go ahead with the plan, using the fees to

" regenerate " the country's ailing forests. President Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono and Forestry Minister MS Kaban previously said only 13

open-pit mining companies would be eligible to operate in forests,

after they secured the permits from Megawati Soekarnoputri's

government.

http://thejakartapost.com/news/2008/03/06/walhi-raising-039rent039-money-forests\

..html

 

26) The RSPB, with the help of BirdLife International Partner

organisations around the world, has secured the management rights to

100,000 hectares of forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. That's

about two-thirds of the size of Greater London. So now the loggers

will be kept away, and this precious forest will be allowed to do what

it's supposed to do: provide a natural home for a vast range of

wildlife species — from the rhinoceros hornbill to the critically

endangered Sumatran tiger. The forest — now appropriately renamed

Harapan Rainforest, after the Indonesian word for " hope " — is an

important store of carbon. By protecting and restoring the forest, the

release of hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide, a cause of climate

change, will be stopped. There used to be 16m hectares of rainforest

in Sumatra; now it's down to just 600,000.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/related_features/love_nature/art\

icle3497721.ece

 

New Zealand:

 

27) The area is Blythe Valley, which follows the Blythe River through

rugged hill country, down to the North Canterbury coast, south of

Cheviot. She tells me this is great beef and sheep country. It staves

off drought longer than most of North Canterbury. The tree-clad slopes

trap mists that drift in from the sea, and the land soaks up their

moisture. Local folk have a strong community spirit. They hold great

parties at Christmas. They are proud that, in a paddock up the road,

brothers Rob and Bruce Deans started kicking a football around, on

their paths to All Black stardom. When the cattle have trotted past,

she directs me to the farmhouse of local historian Joan Murray. Murray

is one of many single women teachers who came to country schools and

married local farmers. Just before she arrived, in 1951, a severe

earthquake struck. She vowed to leave as quickly as possible but, of

course, she stayed. Her great interest is the area's past. She shows

me articles on local history, some of them written by herself. She

tells how Frederick. Weld was impressed with the district and acquired

a licence to graze sheep here, early in 1851 He had gained his

impression when walking from Lyttelton to Flaxbourne, in Marlborough,

a trek through forbidding and largely uninhabited terrain Weld came

from aristocratic English stock. He was later Premier (Prime Minister)

of New Zealand and Governor successively of Tasmania and Western

Australia. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4430126a34.html

 

Papua New Guinea:

 

28) The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Michael Somare, has called

for Australia to deploy up to 300 police to tackle his country's high

levels of violent crime and corruption. In an interview with the

Herald yesterday, Sir Michael said a visit by the Prime Minister,

Kevin Rudd, last week had led to a dramatic improvement in relations

and had paved the way for a deal to redeploy Australian police across

PNG. A proposal on the deployment will be considered by Australian and

PNG ministers at a forum in Madang next month. " We want to see

Australian officers side by side with our men on the beat, " Sir

Michael said. " We need to look at the possibility of 200 to 300 people

… Sometimes our police know too many people in the area. When you have

a foreign constabulary member with them, the approach is different. "

About 150 officers were deployed to improve law and order in late 2003

and were well-received by the local population. But the force was

withdrawn in 2005 - amid declining relations between PNG and the

Howard government - when a court ruled that immunities granted to the

officers were unconstitutional. Sir Michael said he believed the legal

issues would be resolved and that Australian police should operate

under PNG law and be transferred to Australia for any prosecutions. Mr

Rudd's two-day visit to PNG was an attempt to mend a relationship that

had become heavily strained. Sir Michael blamed the decline in

relations between the two countries on the former foreign minister

Alexander Downer. " The guy is too arrogant and self-important. He

looks down on the Pacific islander people. I'm glad that he has gone …

Kevin Rudd understands our people better. "

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/somare-appeals-for-return-of-australian-poli\

ce/2008/03/09/1

204998283823.html

 

Australia:

 

29) Australia and Papua New Guinea have committed to a new era of

positive relations following talks between the nation's two leaders.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd flew into Port Moresby and held

fence-mending talks with PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare, who

declared past differences between the countries " water under the

bridge " . Australia's relations with PNG had soured under the Howard

government. But Mr Rudd and Sir Michael Somare praised each other's

new approach to bilateral issues like the Kokoda Track, cooperation

programs and climate change initiatives. The leaders announced a joint

Australia-PNG forest carbon partnership that tackles climate change

issues associated with deforestation. PNG has large areas of surviving

rainforest and Mr Rudd says it can play a major part in reducing

emissions from deforestation. " We are working together on the great

global and regional challenge of climate change, " Mr Rudd told

reporters after their talks. " We will be able to get there because we

have a dialogue unfolding, " he said. " PNG doing its bit for the world

through avoiding deforestation is very important, " he said. The carbon

partnership looks at a possible carbon credit trading scheme and

follows on from successful talks between the two countries at the UN

climate change summit in Bali last December. As part of the forest

deal Australia will offer technical assistance for satellite-based

monitoring of PNG's 29 million hectares of rainforest. While no

specific target dates were announced both Mr Rudd and Sir Michael said

a ministerial meeting at Madang in PNG next month would finalise the

partnership details.

http://news.theage.com.au/rudd-hails-new-era-in-png-relations/20080306-1x9m.html

 

30) As Melbourne revels in the prolonged summer heat, the city's

drought-stricken trees are telling another story. The gold and orange

hues of autumn have come early this year as several tree species enter

survival mode in response to the city's long, dry spell. Richard

Barley, director of the Melbourne Gardens at the Royal Botanic

Gardens, said many species, particularly elms and poplars, were

suffering stress from the prolonged dry, which was causing them to

drop their leaves several weeks ahead of schedule. " As a rough

indication, normally the football season would have started before we

see trees start to drop their leaves, but this year it is happening

already, " he said. " The autumn process is a combination of night-time

and daytime temperatures and moisture levels, and clearly it is the

lack of moisture that is making them turn early. " Michael Coughlan,

chief climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Melbourne's

trees were now feeling the full impact of a long, dry three years with

rainfall 30% below average. February brought slightly cooler than

average temperatures but little rain, especially for the city's

western suburbs which received only 10 to 25 millimetres, he said.

" Certainly you can drive around Melbourne and see many trees dying or

under stress from the lack of water, " he said. " You don't have to dig

far under the soil to see it is extremely dry, which means that when

it does rain it doesn't soak in. " Areas to the west of Melbourne have

been the worst affected. Rainfall has still been within the average

range, but of course it is coming on top of a long dry spell. "

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/dying-for-a-drink-trees-take-the-fall/200\

8/03/08/1204780

131637.html

 

31) Val Plumwood. The name so fitted her that it was hard to imagine

she ever bore the more conventional surname of her second husband,

Richard Routley. Before all her other successes and failures, she was

a person who had recast herself after the trees that grew on her land.

When I met her in 1995, it was the day before she was to sign a

voluntary conservation agreement with the State Government over the

100 hectares she owned at Plumwood Mountain, 18 kilometres east of

Braidwood. With a few dozen signatures, she turned it into the first

official wilderness area on private land in NSW. It is a wild, wild

property on the edge of a precipice. More than anything, though, it is

unbelievably isolated - the home site is the only clearing for a very

long drive and a focal point for wildlife. " My allegiances are to this

place, " she told me on the day she signed the agreement. " This is

nature in its free state. " At first she seemed prickly and difficult,

but there was something else that drew people to her - a kindness and

a piercing gaze, an intelligence with tenacity, without compromise.

The unbroken intensity of her words left me both awed and a little

afraid of her. She was an environmental campaigner who loved music,

peace and chaos in equal parts and a feminist who could list more than

her share of wrongs at the hands of men. Her nose was broken as a

teenager by her father, her daughter, Caitlin, was put up for adoption

and then murdered by the adopted father, and Plumwood had been a rape

victim. For the last decade of her life, she had been engaged in a

venomous public feud with the men who look after Majors Creek

cemetery, where her son is buried. She was the high-profile survivor

of a savage crocodile attack in February 1985: several death rolls in

quick succession and an arduous crawl and walk with her thigh and

groin torn to shreds. The story made headlines around the world and

catapulted her to a national identity - the appallingly trite but

wonderfully clever Crocodile Blondee. With her second husband,

Routley, Plumwood wrote The Fight For The Forests, a bible for a

generation of environmentalists. Her more recent works include:

Feminism And The Mastery Of Nature and her 2002 book, Environmental

Culture: The Ecological Crisis Of Reason. Academically, as in almost

every aspect of her life, she could be a difficult colleague. French

said her work could now be easier to appreciate and would increase in

stature. " I suspect her reputation will grow long after her death, "

she said, " because Val is not around to be stroppy about it. " Last

Saturday her body was found by a local, Joe Friend. Early speculation

was that she had died from a snakebite. But while it was a good story,

it was not the truth. By Wednesday night an autopsy found she had died

of a massive

stroke.http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/vale-to-croc-woman-a-life-of-sweet\

-fruit/2008/03

/07/1204780065535.html?page=3

 

32) Government and big business have been painted as the bad guys in

the ongoing debate on the logging of water catchments. At a meeting in

Warburton organised by The Wilderness Society (TWS) and The Central

Highlands Alliance (TCHA), 150 people heard a call for the scrapping

of the Regional Forest Agreement which allows for the logging of areas

such as the Armstrong Catchment and Cement Creek Catchment. Speakers

included Sara Rees of TCHA, Victorian Forest Campaigner with TWS Luke

Chamberlain, and Shire of Yarra Ranges councillor and deputy mayor

Samantha Dunn. Victorian manager of Timber Communities Australia,

Scott Gentle, represented the timber industry, among a minority of

local timber industry people. They argued against the tide of opinion

on the night that the industry was not only legal, under the

agreement, but was sustainable in its present form. Mr Chamberlain

called on the people at the coalface of the timber industry to work

with environment groups to get rid of the agreement which he said

resulted in huge quantities of native timber being turned into wood

chips to swell the profits of pulp and paper companies. " If you go to

companies such as Australian Paper and ask if they would be willing to

pull out of the agreement they say they are bound by the government.

If you go to the government, they say they are bound by agreements to

the companies. " It's near impossible to drive a wedge in the

agreement, " he said. " There is also concern with the Cement Creek

bridge being upgraded that logging will be starting there soon, " he

said. Mr Chamberlain said the current cutting of large areas of timber

for fire breaks was also seen as an issue. Resident Sue Mann said more

logging trucks were going through Warburton than she had seen in the

30 years she had lived in the town. She questioned the rationale which

she said protected jobs above the environment. " For a long time I've

heard about loggers as though they are a protected species, " she said.

" Other people just don't get kept in jobs which have long lost their

purpose. " http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/55918

 

World-wide:

 

33) Ecological Internet's campaign to end ancient forest logging as a

keystone response to the climate change and biodiversity crises

intensified this past week. Over one thousand people from 57 countries

sent a third of a million protest emails to staff members of large

environmental groups, protesting their fiction that killing centuries

old trees in ancient forests is environmentally sound and well-managed

forestry. The alert remains current and can still be sent. Greenpeace,

WWF, Rainforest Action Network, NRDC, Forest Ethics, Friends of the

Earth and Rainforest Alliance were called upon to immediately end

their support for the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) greenwashing

of first time logging of primary and old-growth forests -- or face

continuing protest. The protest contained detailed ecological analysis

debunking claims that logging ancient rainforests has environmental

merit. FSC issues " certifications " that allegedly show ancient forest

logging is " well-managed " , legitimizing the destruction forever, by

themselves and others, of hundreds of millions of hectares of primary

rainforest. At least sixty percent of FSC timbers come from first time

industrial logging of ancient forests, and their current market demand

and planned growth depends upon it. Claims that FSC certified

old-growth logging protects biodiversity and ecosystems have

increasingly been called into question by new ecological science, lax

certifying organizations' conflicts of interest and a litany of

questionable certifications. Outrageously now the " Forests Liars " --

FSC with the endorsement of member NGOs -- claim certified logging of

primary forests has carbon benefits and deserves to be compensated in

the carbon market. Despite no mention of carbon balances in FSC rules,

logging companies and carbon offset projects are claiming FSC

certification makes them " carbon positive " . " After nearly a decade of

protesting leading environmental organizations' greenwashing of

continued old-growth logging, and being resoundingly ignored, we have

no choice but to pursue more aggressive protest options. To date we

have received no substantive rebuttal to our critique that there is no

such thing as ecologically sustainable ancient forest logging; that

FSC destroys biodiversity, ecosystems and the climate, and by its very

existence legitimizes continued industrial development of ancient

rainforests. They should know better and admit they are wrong rather

than resorting to spin and vilification, " says Ecological Internet

President Dr. Glen Barry.

http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2008/03/forest_liars_campaign_launches.as\

p