Guest guest Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Today for you 37 new articles about earth's trees! (336th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --British Columbia: 1) 100% industry and no citizenry, 2) Coleman sucks, 3) Cont., 4) Save Sooke potholes from housing developers, 5) Pope and Talbot's sale to APP falls through, 6) Clayoquot aboriginals get approval to destroy last ancient forests, --Haiti: 7) Deforestation and reforestation in the Ochos Rios watershed --Brazil: 8) An " activist of ideas, " 9) Shutting down plans for Chapadao diamond mine, --Venezuela: 10) Spokane, Washington-Based Gold Reserve Inc. loses permit --Bangladesh: 11) Solutions to deforestation --Nepal: 12) Buddha and Sal trees --Brunei: 13) Loggers talk about how much loot they wanna get --Laos: 14) All the Rice fields turned into Chinese forest plantations --Japan: 15) Running out of room to plant trees? --Philippines: 16) Mapping and planting to prevent landslide deaths, 17) Nine villages of Dinalungan against logging plans, 18) Putting a stop to timber smuggling, 19) Northern Aurora opposes logging so secretary order review, 20) 97% forest loss in one century, --Solomon: 21) Loggers have to conduct public report, 22) Loggers complain about taxes, --Indonesia: 23) Pelalawan Police bust Alam Lestari timber firm, 24) Man has no other purpose but to restore Mt. Arjuno, --Borneo: 25) Rainforest grown back in only 6 years? 26) Orang catches fish with stick, --Malaysia: 27) Palm greenwashing attempt fails miserably --New Zealand: 28) Enslaw One's plantation is now 100,000 hectares, 29) Maori's new forest treaty, 30) Palm kernel feedstock imports increase, --Australia: 31) Liquidating Aboriginal Rainforest Council's 900,000 hectares, 32) Bulldozing house lots in rare rainforest, 33) Legal challenge against Gunns pulp mill can go forward, 34) Update on Mt. Rae Forest and the firewood baron, 35) Another treesitter arrested in Little Dennison Valley, 36) Xao Xiang Yu fined $25K for cutting trees, 37) Clearing their last native forests while claiming to fight climate change? British Columbia: 1) Forestry Roundtable: It's an exclusive party, and you can't come. So say Gordon Campbell, Rich Coleman and Pat Bell. This Forestry Roundtable has been carefully crafted to exclude thousands of British Columbians whose family futures depend on our forests. Why does this government want to hold a closed-door meeting on the future of our forests? Pat Bell says the doors should be closed because " some players are more comfortable having an open discussion in a closed-door session. " If Campbell, Coleman and Bell aren't comfortable talking about what matters in our forest with those who matter in the forest, they should be embarrassed. It's no secret that since the inception of this government, thousands of forestry jobs have been lost, mills everywhere closed and our precious timber has been plundered. It's no secret the pine beetle has shattered B.C.'s backbone, and this government is breaking B.C.'s legs by selling timber rights and fibre access to multinationals with no ties to our communities. This government's policies on renewable forest tenure licences deliberately favour multinational corporations, not the people who built this country. This government thinks exporting massive amounts of raw logs every single day is perfectly acceptable practice. Campbell's government is discussing " significant issues " this weekend, but they don't include us. http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20080504129674/opinion/letters/forest-talk-ex\ cludes-stakeh olders.html 2) Another string of closures and layoffs in the forest industry, another bad week in the legislature for Forests Minister Rich Coleman. The Opposition started it off with a challenge to one of his earlier decisions, freeing Western Forest Products to sell some of its forest lands on Vancouver Island. Coleman had defended the removals as a way of shoring up a troubled company and protecting jobs in its remaining operations. " Since those statements, what have we seen? " challenged New Democratic Party MLA Doug Routley, who hails from one of the Vancouver Island ridings in the heart of WFP territory. " We've seen four Western Forest Products mills close, " continued Routley, answering his own question. " The minister failed. He failed the workers by not getting assurances for their jobs. He failed the people of B.C. when he allowed this removal without any compensation. " Coleman wasn't about to admit any of those things. As the troubles multiply in his ministerial bailiwick, he's become increasingly hostile to the critics on the other side. " I don't know why this member hates Western Forest Products, " the forests minister returned. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=101a6f93-c53e-491d-97d7-88\ 8dd23f4735 & k=10 463 3) Leonard Krog, NDP MLA: " This Forests Minister has told us that selling off B.C. forest lands is a strategy to protect jobs. A thousand jobs lost - 1,000 people on this island who are not going to have their mortgage payments met or their rent payments made. They're going to be facing EI. The only thing that this government has delivered is a do-nothing round table. My question to the minister: Were 1,000 jobs lost yesterday enough of a wake-up call? " Rich Coleman, Forests Minister: " Well, you know, on Vancouver Island there are seven sawmills and three reman plants run by Western Forest Products. They curtailed some of their logging yesterday. Some of it is going to go back as early as May 20, some on June 2 and some of it as late as June 24. They have actually told the people what days they can expect to come back to go back logging. This is what happens in the marketplace, honourable member. " http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080502.BCBLUES02/TPStory/Nati\ onal 4) Angry property owners in rural communities on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island say they were duped into supporting downzoning of forestry land, not realizing smaller parcels of land would be affected. A new organization calling itself Residents Establishing Process, Access and Independent Records, or REPAIR, has 300 signatures on a petition to the Capital Regional District asking that zoning bylaws and official community plans for East Sooke, Otter Point, Shirley and Jordan River be rescinded. The group is also asking the ombudsman for an investigation into the process that led to the zoning changes and is planning a class-action lawsuit if they do not get satisfaction. " People have had it, and they are now unwilling to have the unfair process rip them apart yet again. This is the line in the sand where people will make their stand to protect their land, " said organizer Cleo Gardener of Shirley. If the lawsuit goes ahead, it will be the second sparked by the land-use changes. The Association of B.C. Landowners is asking for the bylaws to be struck down because of the unusual voting system that decides land use in the sprawling Juan de Fuca electoral area. The land-use controversy began last year when the provincial government allowed Western Forest Products to remove about 28,000 hectares of private land from tree-farm licences on Vancouver Island. The tree-farm arrangement had seen the company follow stringent, government-set logging rules on its land in exchange for access to timber on Crown land. With the land removed from the licence, WFP provisionally sold 2,500 hectares to developer Ender Ilkay. Fearing that Ilkay's development ran counter to the Regional Growth Strategy and would see development in traditional recreational areas, the CRD responded by passing bylaws to restrict the lot size of the vast majority of forest and resource land to 120 hectares. However, the bylaw changes also stopped the practice of allowing four strata lots on four hectares and tightened the rules on subdividing lots into smaller properties. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?id=c07fe827-14b9-46b5-87d\ 3-f5e386c2ad76 & k=10368 5) An Asian paper giant has terminated its agreement to buy the three remaining pulp mills from the bankrupt Pope & Talbot Inc. PT Pindo Deli in February agreed to buy Pope & Talbot pulp mills in Nanaimo and Mackenzie, British Columbia, and Halsey, Ore., for $105.3 million. The deal included the assumption of debt and inventory concessions, bring its value to $225 million. The company is a subsidiary of Asia Pulp and Paper, which is owned by Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group, Asia's largest paper producer. The deadline to close the deals passed on Wednesday. In a news release late Thursday, Pope & Talbot said PT Pindo Deli delivered a written termination of the asset purchase agreement. PT Pindo Deli, along with Columbia Pulp and Paper Inc. and Columbia Pulp and Paper Ltd., the companies assigned the rights of the mills, said it would be willing to to discuss alternative transactions, Pope & Talbot said in a news release. Meanwhile, Vancouver, British Columbia-based International Forest Products Ltd. on Wednesday announced it had concluded the $69 million purchase of Pope & Talbot mills in Castlegar and Grand Forks, British Columbia, and Spearfish, S.D., as well related timber tenures in southern British Columbia. Pope & Talbot, a 160-year-old Portland-based wood products company, filed the third-largest bankruptcy in state history in November after fighting a losing battle with the slumping housing market, a strengthening Canadian dollar, and high debt levels. In order to secure an emergency $89 million loan, the company subsequently agreed to sell all of its assets by mid-February. http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/04/28/daily50.html?jst=b_ln_hl 6) A historic agreement that more than a decade ago gave first nations power over land use in Clayoquot Sound was extended Friday with the help of a $700,000 cheque from the province. As wood smoke curled from the firepit on the Esquimalt Reserve, the interim measures extension agreement, or IMEA, was signed by Aboriginal Relations Minister Mike de Jong and leaders of the five Clayoquot Sound bands. " It is one step further along the path of reconciliation, " de Jong said. " The days of pushing ourselves apart, of separation, of divide are over. We understand we can accomplish great things if we work together. " http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=11\ 48708c-bbd0-4a 62-b5d8-b6b73cb246f7 -- At the core of it all, " says Kent Goodyear of Ecotrust, " we encourage the notion of people relating to where they live, and trying to live in a sustainable manner. This is the underlying principle that makes FSC a valuable conservation tool in my work. " How does this warrant FSC certification? It is a recipe for blowdown and slides on these weatherbeaten coastal mountains, not to mention the drastic loss of salmon. It took two of these monster barges to take out the bundles of old growth forests here in Rankin Cove in Clayoquot Sound, basically high-grading cedar. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2008/03/26/Logging_at_Clayoquot Haiti: 7) The level of deforestation that has existed in the Ocho Rios watershed area is heart-rending. Just over three years ago, Rani Sittol and I, along with other members of our school's environment club and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the wider Ocho Rios area, planted hundreds of trees in the Bogue area. This was because of the removal of trees for, among other things, charcoal burning. Ocho Rios is not the only place that will face this problem if the ministry with responsibility for the environment continues to refuse to take corrective measures to address the problem effectively. We cannot wait until a disaster of this nature happens for the country to spend a hundred million dollars and forget about the problem until we need to spend another hundred million dollars. The ministry must forge partnerships with the NGOs that exist and supply the requisite funding for an extensive education programme for persons living in these areas, some of whom are squatters. Here, we recognise that this is a multifaceted problem which requires a multifaceted approach. The law must also be allowed to take its full course, despite political affiliation or advantage. We must teach our citizens to be futuristic and not short-term thinkers. The expansion of the Schools' Environment Programme into these areas can be an avenue through which this problem can be addressed. We should not just sit back and wait for the problem to recur before additional steps are taken. This problem has continued for far too long. The Fern Gully/Harrison Town fiasco is shameful. I have watched millions of dollars being spent over the years to resurface the roadway in the same old way and as soon as it rains, even lightly, it goes back to square one. No insight, no vision. Let's see what approach will be taken this time as we continue to rev up the national debt doing the same things the same old ways. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080430/letters/letters1.html Brazil: 8) Regular columnist and co-creator of Brazil's environmental news website, O Eco, Sergio Abranches has great credibility in Brazil's eco-awakening. A professor of political science, Abranches uses his unique talents to reach a widening audience in Brazil for environmental, energy, and climate change news and discussion. He speaks expertly on any number of topics: from Amazonian deforestation to the current food crises to economic and political transformations for a warming world. Calling himself an " activist of ideas " , Sergio Abranches spoke to Mongabay on many issues, including the current state of the Amazon. He calls for a zero deforestation program in five years though he is doubtful that Brazil's current administration will tackle the issue effectively. As to the Atlantic Forest, where Abranches has worked for years, he states that well-meaning NGOs must work together towards a more comprehensive goal. In addressing REDD (Reduced Emission through Deforestation and Degradation) in regards to these Brazilian forests, he believes that any such program must include tangible benefits for local population, including education and technology, in order to be effective. Each of these conservation issues leads to climate change, which Abranches sees as global society's overriding challenge. Abranches says that the world must approach climate change according to the worst-case scenarios: " We should pay attention not to contrarians' critiques of the IPCC reports. We should be more concerned with the scientists that are saying that the IPCC underestimated some of the risks, because if they are right we may face an even greater challenge ahead. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0429-hance_abranches_interview.html 9) Diagem Inc. reported that the Brazilian Federal Agency of the Environment (IBAMA) halted drilling and bulk sampling at Chapadao diamond mine. " The notification relates largely to deforestation caused by third parties prior to Diagem gaining access to the property, " the company reported today. " Diagem had documented the deforestation which had occurred prior to the commencement of the recent drilling and bulk sampling program and is providing this information to the relevant authorities. Diagem's legal counsel reviewed the IBAMA notifications and concluded that: The notifications are not in compliance with Brazilian law and amount to malicious prosecution on the part of the IBAMA agents involved; The procedures initiated by IBAMA are abusive and excessive and disproportionate in relation to the alleged wrongdoing; Due to their non-compliance with environmental regulations and laws, the procedures initiated by IBAMA should be declared null and void. As a result of legal arguments, the company is requesting an immediate suspension of the IBAMA notifications. " This Chapadao project has the potential to become a major job creator for the community and has the promise of a significant return for the shareholders who have long supported the company, " the statement read. Aside from this, Diagem recovered a 6.23 carat gem-quality diamond from bulk sampling at Chapadao recently. The sample held some 102 commercial-size diamonds, weighing in total 24.5 carats for a grade of 0.36 carats per cubic metre. http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=21461 Venezuela: 10) Toronto-based Crystallex Corporation announced Wednesday that the Venezuelan Ministry of the Environment denied a key gold mining permit for the company's operation of the Las Cristinas mine, one of the largest gold deposits in Latin America. The same day, Spokane, Washington-Based Gold Reserve Inc. reported that the ministry also plans to rescind an environmental and social impact approval, which had been granted to the company in March 2007, for the neighboring Las Brisas gold and copper mine. According to statements released by both companies, the ministry based its decision on issues regarding the indigenous peoples, the small miners, and the environmental health of the Imataca Forest Reserve in Venezuela`s mineral-rich southeastern Bolívar state where the mines are located. Crystallex stocks plunged nearly 50% in Toronto following Wednesday's news. They had already suffered a 26-day decline due to investor speculations on the ministry's position, according to the Toronto Star. Gold Reserve's stocks dropped 24%. Despite investor attitudes, the president of Gold Reserve, Doug Belanger, said " the company has not been formally notified of this decision and is working with various government officials to solve this matter. " " We are prepared to protect our rights to Brisas through the Venezuelan legal system and, if necessary, other avenues, " Belanger stated on behalf of the company's board of directors. Crystallex is also " committed to defending its rights in the Las Cristinas project and intends to respond to this matter vigorously, " the company statement prepared by company spokesperson Richard Marshall affirmed. The Las Cristinas project is owned by Venezuela's state mining corporation, the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG), and has been contracted to Crystallex since 2002. Before Wednesday, environmental impact studies, bonds, and tax permits had been approved for the mine, and the company was awaiting the final nod of permission from the ministry. http://www.netnewspublisher.com/venezuelan-ministry-of-the-environment-puts-brea\ ks-on-gold-min ing-permits/ Bangladesh: 11) It is common knowledge in Bangladesh that our forests have been decimated in recent decades. Less apparent than the loss of forests is the loss of other goods and services that forests provide particularly to the neighboring poor people whose well being and livelihoods depend on these forests. Rural homesteads all over the country have vastly increased tree production in recent decades, but according to knowledgeable people the collective production of households will never be enough to meet the energy or construction needs of a fast growing population. Commercial fuel wood sellers hire the poor to comb through existing Reserve Forests and Protected Areas to extract whatever they can for sale. Brick-fields are constructed inside or next to Reserve Forests to use wood as a primary energy source. Disappearance of mature commercial timber is as serious as the wood supply situation. The problem of over-extraction has been accentuated by land-grabbers, often with powerful political protection and bureaucratic support. The deep forests of Bhawal have now been legally titled for factories, homestead and other private uses. Other forests have met with similar fate in varying degrees. I understand from experts and concerned persons that as of now, many of our forests are already " dead " , meaning that there are no saplings in the lower and middle story to replace them when the older trees die. The following is a " short list " of actions that are most urgent and necessary if we are to recover the healthy and productive forests that we once had: 1) Enable poor communities to invest in forest protection and benefits; 2) Enable private investment in commercial timber production; 3) Allow forest benefits to be kept by beneficiaries at the time of transaction; 4) Publicly end the revenue targets implicitly handed to the forest department; 5) Quantify and communicate the enormous non-cash economic contributions of forests; 6) Make our forests carbon production centres for the poor in rural areas; 7) Recognized and accept the existence of a profound and persistent bias against ethnic minorities in forest areas; 8) Make " transparency " and formal " participation " the two leading characteristics of the entire forest sector. http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=34688 Nepal: 12) When the Buddha arrived in Kusinara and lay down between two Sal trees, they burst into flower out of season and sprinkled their petals over him. Ananda expressed amazement that the very trees were revering him, the Buddha said: " Ananda, these Sal trees burst into flower out of season in homage to the Tathagata and covered his body…But the monk or the nun, the lay man or the lay woman who lives practicing the Dhamma properly and perfectly fulfills the Dhamma, he or she honors, reveres and respects the Tathagata with the highest homage " (D.II,137-8). Being Vesakha I thought it appropriate to say something about Sal trees. The Sal tree (Shorea robusta) is sala in Pali and occasionally assakanna because the leaves resemble a horse's ear (Ja.VI,528). Sal is a majestic tree growing up to 45 meters in height and having a girth of 3.6 meters, with ovate oblong leaves and pale yellow flowers. Its difficult to find huge Sal trees today, they are almost always cut down before they become what the Buddha called " forest monarchs " (vanaspati, S.IV,302). Once I saw one on the edge of Corbett National Park that must have been about 40 meters and I am told that there are still giants growing in Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal. The tree is described as having dark green leaves, a straight trunk and being beautiful to see (Ja.V,251). In the light of this story and the belief that the Buddha passed away during Vesakha, it is interesting to note that the Sal usually blossoms in March-April and occasionally in May, if there has been a lot of rain. The huge Sal trees that grew in the lower reaches of the Himalayas had leaves and foliage, bark and shoots, soft wood and heart wood (D.III,152). http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/2008/05/sal-tree.html Brunei: 13) " Demand is very slow this year because government projects are slow to begin, but we will still be able to survive, " he said. KH Lee, director of Twinwood Kiln Dry Treatment Industries, said government rules on land allocation for the industry also affects supply. " We are given timber quotas every year. There is 97,000 cubic metres of land which divided by 24 saw milling companies, if you are talking about quantity it is a problem, " he said. " We cannot do anything as the government is doing its part in preserving the forests for future generations, " he added. He said Brunei used to import a lot of timber from Miri and Sarawak in Malaysia but timber from neighbours is usually those of low quality as good quality timber is already exported to other countries. " Our local timber is still of very good quality and cheaper than imported timber, " he said. Twinwood Kiln Dry Treatment Industries has not been importing timber for seven years. " We are not importing temporarily because the prices are too high due to the international market shortage. It is not easy to import, " Tan said. With imported timber it is also impossible to compete with local products, said the managing director. Among other concerns that were raised was the issuance of approved import permits by the forestry department and the tax imposed on imports. " Sometimes it is not easy to obtain the permit, " he said. Mahmud Yussof, the Acting Deputy of the Forestry Department, said the tax was under the jurisdiction of the customs department and not his. " (But) there should not be any problem in applying for the permit. Companies can approach the forestry department. We can issue it in three days, " Mahmud said. " They can import from wherever they want. The procedures are easy. I myself approve these permits, " he said. http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May08/020508/nite31.htm Laos: 14) The rice fields that blanketed this remote mountain village for generations are gone. In their place rise neat rows of young rubber trees their sap destined for China. All 60 families in this dirt-poor, mud-caked village of gaunt men and hunched women are now growing rubber, like thousands of others across the rugged mountains of northern Laos. They hope in coming years to reap huge profits from the tremendous demand for rubber just across the frontier in China. As Beijing scrambles to feed its galloping economy, it has already scoured the world for mining and logging concessions. Now it is turning to crops to feed its people and industries. Chinese enterprises are snapping up vast tracts of land abroad and forging contract farming deals. This quest raises both hope and criticism. Laos' communist regime touts rubber as a miracle crop that will help lift the country from the ranks of the world's poorest nations. China is expected to consume a third of the world's rubber by 2020, become its largest car market and put 200 million vehicles on the road. But some Laotian farmers are losing their ancestral lands or being forced to become wage workers on what were once their fields. Chinese companies are accused of getting rubber concessions from officials and not compensating farmers. They are also accused of violating laws, human rights and the environment, under conditions described by experts as " anarchic. " " The Chinese companies in the north are a bunch of thugs, " says Charles Alton, a consultant in agronomy for international agencies in Laos. However, Alton says, the " unpoliced, unregulated situation " in northern Laos is ripe for exploitation. The Chinese deny or don't comment on such allegations. " I haven't heard of the bad behavior of Chinese companies abroad, but Chinese companies which intend to expand abroad must know it is important to have a good relationship with the local people, " says Ju Hongzhen, president of the China Rubber Industry Association. China's State Forestry Administration last year issued guidelines for Chinese firms running overseas plantations. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is also scrambling to put out guidelines for a fast-moving global scenario. From Southeast Asia to Africa, the Chinese are farming oil palm, eucalyptus, teak, corn, cassava, sugar cane, rubber and other crops. As in Laos, the industrial-size farms are variously viewed as an ecological nightmare or a big step toward slashing poverty. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/04/asia/AS-FEA-GEN-China-Farming-the-Worl\ d.php Japan: 15) A movement to better maintain domestic forests, which can absorb carbon dioxide, and promote the use of domestically produced timber as part of the effort to tackle global warming is gaining ground in both public and private sectors. As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, the government has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 6 percent from its 1990 level between fiscal 2008 and 2012. The government aims to have forests absorb 3.8 percent of the amount of emissions the country is obliged to reduce. The Kyoto Protocol holds that forests can absorb increased amounts of CO2 if they are thinned appropriately. Therefore, participating countries are allowed to count their existing forests' increased CO2 absorption capacities, as well as newly planted trees, against CO2 targets. Because few areas remain in Japan for new forestation programs, the government launched a program in fiscal 2007 to maintain the current level of national and private forests of 3.3 million hectares. The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry also started a campaign in February 2007 to encourage the use of timber produced domestically. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Japan supports the ministry's campaign. At theaters where sneak previews of the company's film " The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, " scheduled to be shown to the public in late May, were held, mock forests made of timber produced through the ministry's program were erected to depict the forests in the film. Amid the government's efforts, major lumber dealer and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry Co. began to sell a new custom-built house called Taiju. The homes use domestically sourced timber as their major structural materials. The company's major brand, My Forest, also uses domestically produced timber for 51 percent of its construction materials. The Taiju house is about three times more expensive than the My Forest house. However, the company promotes the Taiju brand as environmentally conscious. The company claims that through the use of Taiju, customers will support the reduction of greenhouse gases and overall environmental improvement. Ministop Co., a convenience store chain operator, sells a 5 yen set of disposable chopsticks at about 1,200 outlets, 60 percent of its stores across the country. The chopsticks are made of Yoshino-sugi cedars in southern Nara Prefecture. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080503TDY04303.htm Philippines: 16) Hazard mapping conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office for Bicol based in Legazpi City identified several points covered by four other villages here as landslide prone areas. Arambulo said, priority concern is being given to Bgy. Aguada Norte, a densely populated village near the town center where over a hundred families are threatened by soil erosions due to a wide and deep crack left by the recent rainfalls on a large portion of a hill overlooking the residential area. These families are being evacuated to safer grounds everytime heavy rainfalls take place, Arambulo said. Vegetations that would hold back the soil have to be restored in these areas declared as landslide prone to prevent more tragic incidents, he said. " We planted hundreds of new trees on these areas yet we do not consider this an immediate remedy but a long term solution. When these trees grow up, it would certainly prevent soil erosions, " the mayor said. The Labor Day tree-planting affair was not actually in form a hard labor for the officials and local government workers as it was done in a festive mode. Ragrario said, " the observance of Labor Day calls for a celebration in honor of the working class that labors hard to render services, produce foods and all the commodities we need for our daily living and build structures for our shelter and convenience among others. " The planting activity was done like a picnic as the municipal government prepared foods for lunch and snacks eaten together by the participants while camped along a river where fresh and crystal-clear water flows, Ragrario added. http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1492962/ 17) An information caravan in the nine villages of Dinalungan, Aurora, started to gather support on Monday for the protest against the approval by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza of a five-year logging plan by a firm in the province. Fr. Ceferino Valenzuela, the town's parish priest, said the caravan mounted by the Concerned Citizens of Dinalungan started at 8 a.m., holding short programs in every village it passed. The 200 participants were expected to reach the logging areas of Industries Development Corp. (IDC) in Barangays Ditawini and Abuleg in Dinalungan, Dinadiawan in Dipaculao town, and at the Aurora-Quirino boundary before dusk. IDC vice president Michael Ong and general manager Isaias Noveras have not replied to the Inquirer's calls and text messages since Sunday seeking reactions to the protest. Romulo Palma, IDC chief security officer, promised to alert Noveras on the request for interview. Noveras has yet to call on Monday. Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1961, IDC holds two Integrated Forest Management Agreements (Ifma). Ifma No. 14 covers 9,466 hectares and Ifma No. 2001-06 spans 48,877 hectares in Dinalungan, Casiguran and Dilasag. The areas covered by the two Ifma are more than half of the 110,228 hectares of forests in the three towns, documents showed. Of the nine companies that have obtained Ifma for 150,774 hectares in Aurora, IDC manages a large portion of Aurora's forest. Following the deadly landslides in the province in November and December 2004, former Environment Secretary Michael Defensor allowed IDC to harvest logs on Aug. 17, 2005, after a review team found its performance " satisfactory. " http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080430-133507/Protests-\ growing-over-A tienza-OK-of-logging 18) An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here recently met with the Provincial Governor of South Cotabato in order to consolidate efforts in putting a stop to timber smuggling. Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Geronimo L. Sequito of the DENR in South Cotabato conferred with Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes on what the DENR is doing and what needs to be done in the fight against the movement of illegal forest products. Sequito's move was prompted by the pronouncement of Governor Fuentes published in a national newspaper regarding the helplessness of governors in the apprehension of forest products passing through their areas of jurisdiction. It can be recalled that the governors aired their sentiments during a dialogue with DENR Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr. at the 3rd annual meeting of the League of Provinces of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel last April 15. Moreover, the provincial chief executives expressed their readiness to support the DENR in its campaign against environmental criminals which was gladly accepted by Secretary Atienza. In the said meeting with PENRO Sequito, Gov. Fuentes agreed to request the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the province to pass a resolution banning the passage of logs, poles, or lumber from naturally-grown species without authority to transport from the DENR. An exception to this rule are forest products from trees cut from titled lands which are only covered with Self-Monitoring Form (SMF) and Certificate of Tree Plantation Ownership (CTPO). Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports reached the DENR that Region XII is used as a transshipment point of illegal forest products coming from other regions. Some timber smugglers devise some ingenious ways to conceal their hot cargo or use container vans which can only be opened upon presentation of a search warrant. http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12 & fi=p080430.htm & no=37 & r= & y= & mo= 19) CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Environment Secretary Lito Atienza ordered a review of the five-year operation plan of a logging company in northern Aurora on the heels of protests by residents and appeals by local officials, Environment Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi said on Wednesday. " Yes we are reviewing, " Gerochi said, referring to the integrated annual operation plan of the Industries Development Corp. (IDC). Atienza approved the renewal of IDC's plan in June 2007, but Dinalungan Mayor Tito Tubigan and Fr. Ceferino Valenzuela of the Concerned Citizens of Dinalungan (CCD) said they learned about it only in early April. The approved plan covered IDC's Integrated Forest Management Agreement No. 2001-06 that spans 48,877 hectares in the neighboring towns of Dinalungan, Casiguran and Dilasag. It has another Ifma for at least 9,466 hectares. But Gerochi, who heads the lands management sector of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, clarified that a review " did not mean that we are agreeing [with the opposition]. " In disputes, DENR would decide on " valid, scientific grounds, " he said. " The problem is we are putting emotions in issues, " Gerochi said. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080430-133765/Atienza-o\ rders-review-of- Aurora-logging-firm-operations 20) At the start of the millennium, we had less than 600,000 hectares of old-growth forest left. This means that in one century, we cut down close to 97 percent of our original forest. This may sound alarmist, but only because a national mapping of forests done after the millennium has changed the definition of " forest. " Following a globally-applied Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) formula, a hectare of land with trees over 10 percent of its area is now classified as " cover. " In other words, 10 percent now equals 100 percent. As a result of this dubious shift in definition, the government can claim that we have over seven million hectares of cover left. This may be possible but in truth, we do not have a lot of forests left. Unfortunately, bad data leads to bad decisions. Forests perform critical functions. They are watersheds. They also retain soil and manage erosion. Most importantly, they are storehouses of biodiversity that provide the natural mechanism for forests to restore themselves. The use of the FAO definition means that our capacity to restore forests, recharge aquifers, retain soil and manage erosion may actually be only 10 percent of what we think. Our water supply is at risk. We may not have that much water left. Forests are also the base of an agricultural value chain that contributes to our national rice output. Unfortunately, all administrations since martial law have regarded forests as a source of timber and as potential mining sites. Although we have an estimated 240 watersheds throughout the archipelago, barely 10 percent of these watersheds have been properly mapped, much less properly managed. Without viable watersheds, of what use are irrigation systems? Let us put first things first. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/mindfeeds/mindfeeds/view_article.php?article_id\ =133599 Solomon Islands: 21) The Solomon Islands government has stepped up efforts to save the country's forests from over-exploitation. The minister for Environment and Conservation, Gordon Darcy Lilo, has announced new, tighter controls on the logging and related industries, with the forestry minister, Sir Allan Kemakeza. Mr Lilo says these include a requirement for all companies in the logging, mining and agriculture sectors to conduct a public environment report before beginning operations. Sir Allan says the government has also ordered the the Foreign Investment Board not to consider any new application for logging operations in the country. He says the plan is to tighten existing legislation relating to logging operators, so that only a few good and reputable companies remain in the Solomons. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200804/s2230411.htm?tab=latest 22) The Solomon Islands Forest Industry Association has petitioned the government against the increase on export duty on round logs. The Minister for Forestry, Sir Allan Kemakeza confirmed that he had been informed about the petition but he was yet to sight the report. He said he will wait for the association's submission before calling a meeting with them and other stakeholders. The new determined price on log exports was implemented on April 30th, sparking concern amongst logging companies in the country. Some are reportedly laying off workers and others have stopped operating. Logging has been the biggest revenue earner for Solomon Islands since the early 90s, but there has been widespread criticism of the effects of industrial logging and the poor returns to landowners and government. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read & id=39550 Indonesia: 23) A timber company in Riau objected to charges that the thousands of logs discovered by Pelalawan Police in its concession area originated from illegal logging activities. A lawyer representing CV Alam Lestari timber firm, Juniver Girsang, said the logs impounded by police had accompanying legal documents issued by authorized agencies. " The logs were part of the remaining stock from the 2006 production year, and according to our working plan, which was the basis for felling the trees, had been authorized by the Riau Forestry Office, " Juniver told the media in Pekanbaru on Tuesday. He stressed that CV Alam Lestari had paid forestry resource taxes amounting to Rp 2.14 billion (approximately US$237,000) and reforestation fees of $1.29 million for the 23,000 cubic meters of timber in police custody since April 18. " Our client paid its dues for the timber, but cannot use it because of restrictions in forestry operations in Riau since 2007, " he said. Juniver played down the controversy surrounding the forestry permit issued by the Pelalawan regent in January 2003 to CV Alam Lestari to manage a concession area spanning 3,300 hectares, despite the fact it violated a ministerial decree prohibiting regents from issuing forestry licenses from June 2002. " If it's not legitimate, why did the local forestry office not point it out when the company applied for a license? There was also no problem with the timber tax and reforestation funds. Bear in mind that each and every permit held by CV Alam Lestari has never been revoked and is still valid and binding, " said Juniver. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnation.asp?fileid=20080430.G01 24) Villager Muhammad Yassin may not be aware Indonesia has reached a new record, it's fastest deforestation rate ever, clearing an estimated 1.8 million hectares of forest each year.But the 59-year-old villager of Jatiarjo, East Java does care about the forests on the slopes of Mount Arjuno, near his home. Every morning, the grandfather of five leaves his home, walking to the forest three kilometers away. In the afternoon he returns home, carrying bundles of grass for his three cows. Along the edge of a forest owned by state forestry company Perum Perhutani Unit II, Pasuruan, Yassin cultivates a plot of land some 250-square-meters in area. The former game hunter gained a permit to farm in the company's vulnerable forest areas by growing various trees. " I have no other ambitions. I just want to see this forest lush and green again, like it was before. I'll be planting whatever seedlings I can get from the village or this forest, on this plot, " Yassin told The Jakarta Post. Yassin now grows jackfruit, coffee, avocado, banana, papaya, guava, kapok, candlenut and bay trees, which he planted in around 2004. Yassin is one of 17 members of the Forest Village Community Institute (LMDH) in Ngudi Lestari, Jatiarjo. Its members joined the program by applying for the so-called " foster forest concept " . The " foster forest concept " was first introduced as a pilot project in 2004 by the Yayasan Kaliandra Sejati (YKS), a non-governmental organization dealing with the environment (which also operates the Center for Nature and Culture Education on the slopes of Arjuno) in Pasuruan. In the wake of the reform drive in 1998, thousands of hectares of forests on the slopes of Mt. Arjuno and nearby Mt. Welirang were targeted for deforestation by unscrupulous profiteers. Hundreds of thousands of logs from various trees including pine, casuarina, mahogany, bay and acacia were looted. Some forests were denuded completely and left without any coverage to retain rainwater, making areas vulnerable to landslides and erosion. Mt. Arjuno is an important area because it also serves as the water catchment area for more than 20 percent of the population of East Java. Yassin and other villagers affiliated with the LMDH-Ngudi Lestari program were determined to restore the forest to its previous state. The idea of village community based reforestation emerged in 2004, LMDH-Ngudi Lestari chairman Faturrohman said. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20080429.N01 & irec=0 Borneo: 25) There's new hope for conservationists after a rainforest in Borneo miraculously regrew in just four years. Dutch scientist Willie Smits replanted the rainforest at a reserve in Samboja Lestari using soil containing microbiological growth accelerators. He said: " We've planted over a thousand different tree species already and some of these trees are now 36 metres high. " A species of orangutans have now returned to the area and tourists find it difficult to believe this was once wasteland scorched by periodic fires. Mr Smits said: " I was looking as far as the eye could see. Just one big sea of yellow grasslands waving in the wind, but no sound of insects. It was hot and sweaty, but especially the dead silence. This was a dead zone. " Although saving the orangutans was Willie Smits' inspiration for recreating a living rainforest, birds and insects have started to resettle and rainfall has increased 20 per cent. http://www.itv.com/News/Articles/New-hope-for-endangered-rainforests-97747860.ht\ ml 26) The male orang lives in a sanctuary on the island of Kaja in Borneo which rescues animals driven out of their traditional rainforest home by loggers and palm oil plantation owners. The great apes, which share 97 per cent of its genes with humans, are routinely slaughtered if they get in the way of workers. Often they are butchered and their meat sold in shops with the animal's decapitated head used as an adornment. But those lucky enough to be brought to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) are lovingly cared for and nurtured in the hope that can eventually be rehabilitated and returned to the forest. Orangutan translates from the Indonesian into Man of the Forest. The beguiling creatures are great imitators and having seen local people fishing with sticks they are quick to try for themselves. The orangutan used one of the fishermen's poles to try and spear the fish as they swam by but didn't quite have the necessary dexterity. Instead he used the stick to hook out fallen fruit as it floated by. Another orang used a fishing stick to pick out fish trapped in lines set by locals. The relentless demand for land for agriculture, the continuing loss of invaluable rainforest and the worsening plight of the orangutans are told in a new book, Thinkers of the Jungle. It tells of the work of Dr Willie Smits who set up a charity in 1991 that evolved into BOS. It warns that unless something is done quickly orangs may disappear from the wild within 10 years. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/28/eaorang128.xml Malaysia: 27) As palm oil prices boom, Malaysia has mounted a campaign to counter allegations that the crop is responsible for habitat destruction, air pollution from slash-and-burn farming, and pushing orangutans towards extinction. It insists palm oil is only grown on legal agricultural land and that criticisms are an attempt by competitors in Europe and the United States to undermine growing demand for the commodity. But environmentalists say that while virgin rainforests are now off-limits, tracts designated as " secondary forests " , which are also valuable habitats teeming with wildlife, are not being spared. Junaidi Payne from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the government's stance is misleading and that the race to fulfil demand for palm oil risks causing further deforestation, both legal and illegal. " It is actually a red herring to say that Malaysia does not convert rainforests to oil palm plantations, " Payne said at a recent conference on palm oil sustainability in Sabah state on Borneo island. Payne said that in the past 25 years, previously virgin forests which have been partially logged were downgraded to secondary forests, which are then deemed to be legal agriculture land. " What bothers me is the current sustained price of crude palm oil, " he said. " The success of palm oil production will have an impact on forest conservation as more land is set aside to cultivate the crop. " The charismatic orangutan, the flagship species for the forest conservation drive, is found only in Borneo -- which is shared between Indonesia and Malaysia -- and Indonesia's Sumatra island. An estimated 41,000 orangutans live on Borneo, including Indonesia's Kalimantan and Malaysia's Sabah and Sarawak states, while Sumatra is home to 7,500 Sumatran orangutans, a sub-species of the red-haired ape. The gentle animal is now threatened with extinction due to a loss of natural habitat, say experts who point out that most of Malaysia's orangutans live in secondary forests. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFCBmUC9nYbjgoM0H6g4Nc3kbjFQ New Zealand: 28) North Island forestry company Winstone Pulp International has been bought for $117 million by Malaysian-owned Ernslaw One after Overseas Investment Office approval. Ernslaw One is owned by interests linked to the family of Malaysian timber billionaire Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King. The purchase of the Ohakune company's 3900 hectares of freehold forest and licences for 10,000 hectares of leasehold forest in the Central North Island takes Ernslaw One's forestry plantation to 100,000 hectares. This makes it the fourth-largest forest owner in New Zealand. The deal included Winstone's Karioi pulp mill and its sawmill at Tangiwai. Winstone employed 300 staff. Ernslaw managing director Thomas Song was unavailable for comment on his company's plans for Winstone's former assets and its staff. Ernslaw One owns forests in Otago, Manawatu and Gisborne, timber mills in Naseby in north Otago and Tapanui, west Otago. http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaruherald/4505732a6435.html 29) The Government and Central North Island Maori have reached agreement on the use of forest land in the area to settle their Treaty of Waitangi claim. Iwi this month put a proposal to Treaty Negotiations Minister Michael Cullen, which today he said was fair to everyone. The agreement is the latest step towards a final deed of agreement over the $400 million worth of forestry assets. The Central North Island iwi collective, which has about 110,000 members, proposed the largest-ever Treaty deal -- dwarfing the commercial fisheries Sealord deal. As a result it has been dubbed " Treelord " by some. At the heart of proposed settlement are nine central North Island forests -- Kaingaroa, Horohoro, Whakarewarewa, Crater, Waimihia, Marotiri, Pureora, Waituhi and Taurewa. The forests are administered by the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, which also holds about $240 million in rental revenue collected from foresters renting land in the nine forests. Under the proposed deal, Tuwharetoa will be offered the chance to buy the Lake Taupo and Lake Rotoaira forests from the Crown. It has taken 20 years for the iwi to agree on the plan, with three previous attempts made to hammer out a deal over Kaingaroa forest since 1990. Along with Ngati Tuwharetoa, the iwi group includes Ngati Whakaue, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Rangitihi and Ngati Whare. There has been speculation a settlement of the magnitude being contemplated could trigger relativity clauses in previous settlements, as it could push the total value of settlements past a $1 billion envelope agreed to between iwi and the previous National government. That would potentially give tribes like Ngai Tahu and Tainui the right to return to the negotiating table for a top up. Some others who have claim to the forests and are not included in the collective are also unhappy about the deal. Dr Cullen said the proposal provided the Government to hold on to some of the forest for settling those claims. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4503612a8153.html 30) Russel Norman, Greens co-leader, said palm kernel imported as supplementary feed had soared from 408 tonnes in 1999 to 455,000 tonnes in 2007. In the first three months of this year New Zealand had imported 185,000 tonnes of palm kernel meal and a recent Rural News article said some traders estimated 700,000 tonnes would be landed this year. " While we understand the summer drought has made feed scarce in some parts of the country, we urge farmers and the Government to look at alternatives to palm kernel. " Dr Norman said increased consumption of palm kernel mixtures or cakes over the last seven years, excluding this year, would require up to 900,000 hectares of rainforest to be cleared for palm oil. " This is equivalent to clear-felling rainforest four times the size of Te Urewera National Park. " Plantation owners were recording big increases in demand for palm kernel which was driving the profitability of the palm oil industry, he said. " The palm oil industry is knocking down rainforests and burning peat across Indonesia and Malaysia to expand production to meet the increased demand. This is resulting in the release of massive amounts of greenhouse gases and the destruction of the habitat of endangered animals such as the orang-utan. " http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3 & objectid=10507873 Australia: 31) A liquidator has been appointed to oversee the Aboriginal Rainforest Council (ARC) in north Queensland and allow projects to continue. The ARC represents 18 tribal groups between Cooktown and Paluma north of Townsville. It was incorporated in 2001 and was designed to represent Indigenous interests across 900,000 square hectares. However, last month the Supreme Court in Cairns appointed Foreman's Business Advisers as the liquidator. A spokesman from Foreman's says the council recognised it was facing severe financial difficulties and applied for a liquidator. He says it means the company's cultural heritage mapping project can continue under the control of Terrain Natural Resource Management.The liquidator is trying to collect outstanding debts totalling more than $100,000. A report is expected to be ready for creditors by the middle of this month. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/02/2233635.htm?site=northqld 32) Daubtree landholders are bulldozing rainforest in a bid to lock in development rights and drive up the sticker price on their properties, a conservation organization claims. Swathes of the World Heritage listed rainforest in the Daintree, 100km north of Cairns, have been labelled conservation areas and are barred from development. But up to 100 properties set aside as " rainforest residential " areas retain their development rights. And owners of rainforest residential lots at Forest Creek Rd and adjacent to Cape Tribulation Rd, near Cape Kimberly are using earth moving equipment to clear rainforest from their blocks, Rainforest Rescue Daintree project officer David Cook said. The clearings, while legal, are motivated by a bid to drive up the asking price for the land, Mr Cook alleged. " It adds to the value of the property, " he said. " It proves there's a house site there and makes it easier in the mind of the potential buyer that there is a house site as opposed to looking at a jungle for trees on the hillside and wondering how you get a house on there. " Clearing also locked in council-granted development rights which expire after two years if no work is carried out on the land. " The development authority can run out if you don't do something, " Mr Cook said. Rainforest Rescue, which uses public donations to buy rainforest properties and turn them into nature refuges, is now calling for the State Government to step in and order a buyback of the remaining lots. " We would like for no more trees to be cut down, for no more house sites to be created, " Mr Cook said. " If the Government extended a buyback, they'd become part of the national park. " Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Minister Andrew McNamara said the State Government appreciated Rainforest Rescue's efforts to preserve the Daintree. But he said Government had already spent more than $9 million on buying back properties in the Daintree, snapping up 173 allotments. " A further 12 blocks totalling 22ha were purchased by the Australian Rainforest Foundation with State Government funding at a cost of about $680,000, " Mr McNamara said. http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/05/03/3587_local-news.html 33) A legal challenge against federal approval of the Gunns pulp mill will go ahead after the Federal Court ruled yesterday that the group launching the action did not have to provide abond. Judge Shane Marshall rejected an application by Gunns for an order that Lawyers for Forests provide a $100,000 bond to cover the company's legal costs should the group lose. Justice Marshall ordered costs against Gunns for its failed application, estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, and set the legal challenge for a full hearing. This is likely to take place in July or August, taking it close to the time that construction on the $2billion mill is expected to start. Lawyers for Forests counsel Vanessa Bleyer said that Gunns would run a great risk by proceeding with construction before the judgment. " That is a risk that they can take, " she said. " I think it's a risk they should not take because if Lawyers for Forests are successful, Gunns would have to undo what they had done and that could be a costly exercise. " She joined environmental groups in welcoming the broader implications of yesterday's ruling. " This decision vindicates the rights of a community group to seek review of a minister's decision without the impediment of costly security bonds - this is an important precedent, " said Greg Ogle, Wilderness Society legal adviser. A three-day hearing will test the Lawyers for Forests' claim that then environment minister Malcolm Turnbull breached the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act when approving the mill last year. The group claims Mr Turnbull failed in his duty to have sufficient information on which to make a decision, and breached the act by approving construction while making the mill's operation conditional on the successful completion of a range of studies.The most important of these is a study to show the likely dispersal of the mill's 64,000 tonnes of dioxin-containing effluent into Bass Strait. Documents show Mr Turnbull was warned that threatened species, including whales, may suffer from the pollutants. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23625752-5013871,00.html 34) The future of the Mt Rae Forest is again in contention, pending an appeal to the Land and Environment Court. 'Firewood Baron' Bernie Smillie has lodged an appeal with the Land and Environment Court against the Upper Lachlan Shire Council's decision to deny him the right to fell the timber in his portion of the Mt Rae Forest. The Council upheld the community's wishes and saved the Mt Rae Forest, near Taralga, from logging at its ordinary February meeting. The Crookwell Gazette reported on Tuesday that Mr Smillie had originally been granted permission to take any fallen and windrowed timber on his property, but not to fell any growing trees. For the full story, please Friday's Goulburn Post, available from our front office in Auburn St, or at all leading newsagencies across the Goulburn area. http://goulburn.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/mt-rae-forest-firewood-saga-\ heads-to-court /1235925.html 35) Another forest activist has been arrested in the Little Dennison Valley near Ranelagh in Tasmania's south. The man was perched on a tree platform which was attached to logging machinery. Warwick Jordan from the Huon Valley Environment Centre says more than 80 people are taking part in the blockade in a bid to prevent the destruction of old growth forests. " The community is very concerned that a complete disregard is being shown for the high significance of the forest locally, " he said. Police arrested four people at the site on Monday. Forestry Tasmania says the area is being harvested in accordance with forest regulations. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/29/2230865.htm 36) An Auckland property developer has been fined $25,000 for felling and trimming protected trees. Xao Xiang Yu was fined in the Auckland District Court after the Auckland City Council prosecuted him for breaching district plan rules on protected trees, sediment control and earthworks. For Auckland City Environment, Jackie Wilkinson said the developer destroyed, pruned or topped several protected trees on his Hillsborough site. He had obtained resource consent for development of the site, but made no application for resource consent for the tree work. Earthworks were also done in excess of district plan limits for the zone and without adequate sediment control measures. The council served two abatement notices on Xao, but he failed to fix the matters, which led to the charges under the Resource Management Act 1991. Judge Brian Dwyer said the evidence showed that Xao had " decimated the significant and protected trees " on the property. Judge Dwyer accepted most people would not be familiar with district plan rules, but said that by deciding to undertake the business of property development, Xao was obliged to be familiar with the rules, even though he was a sole operator subdividing his own section. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1 & objectid=10507209 37) Australia continues to industrially clear their last native ancient forests, even as their government promotes forest protection internationally to combat climate change. Australia's new government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has ratified Kyoto, appears genuinely committed to global climate change policy, and speaks often of how Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the world must protect primary forests to solve global climate change. Yet in an act of unseemly doublespeak, the country that is perhaps most impacted by climate change continues to log its last centuries old trees found in ancient forest ecosystems vital for holding both carbon and water. Why is forest protection a good idea internationally but not for Australia's much reduced and climate impacted natural habitats? Despite being largely arid, Australia still contains relatively small areas of intact, unfragmented native forests which are vital for regional water, climate and wildlife. Unfortunately, large scale first time industrial logging and other clearing of these important ecosystems continues nationwide. The nation's few remaining natural forest ecosystems continue to face first time clearance including illegal land clearing and continued old-growth logging in New South Wales, tropical rainforest clearance for agriculture in Queensland, and logging of rare jarrah in the southwest's precious Gondwana forest remnants. Nowhere is first time ancient forest logging more problematic than in Tasmania where woodchipping giant Gunns Ltd. continues to clearcut ancient forests for export as woodchips to make paper, and is close to constructing a pulp mill that will indefinitely continue this dreadful legacy. The Tasmanian forest is ancient, beautiful and irreplaceable. Tasmania has the tallest flowering plants on Earth, with trees reaching over 90 meters in the Styx valley, and contains Australia's greatest tract of temperate rainforest in the Tarkine wilderness. Australia's intact Eucalypt forests are carbon rich, storing on average 650 tonnes of carbon per hectare, much more than typical temperate forests. http://www.ecoearth.info/alerts/send.asp?id=australia_tasmania_climate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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