Guest guest Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 ----Today for you 30 new articles about earth's trees! (350th edition) How do you like the new format? Does it make the info more accessible? Send your comments to deane ----You can now RSS tree news in a regional format: http://forestpolicyresearch.org ----To Subscribe / to the world-wide email format send a blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- In this Edition: EU-Africa Latin America Asia-Pacific-Australia Summaries: ----In Germany the Convention on BioDiversity is scuttled by gov-industry oriented manipulations. No ban on GE trees, no adoption of a real definition of what a forests is, no implementation measures for the defense of indigenous rights, just more wantings that devour our rapidly vanishing cake (1). FSC gave a presentation that was protested because FSC " certifies " plantation forests, which often extirpate indigenous people, as well as destroys ecosystems / biodiversity (2). A report titled " Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity " was introduced. The report focuses on the $3 Trillion value that ecosystem services provide us. (3) ----On the Ivory coast it's been announced Unilever is leveling primary rainforest for more Palm Oil plantations. A month ago Unilever was exposed to be a significant investor in the same kind of forest clearings in SE Asia(4). In Tanzania a new paper attributes the loss of glaciers on Kilimanjaro to deforestation (5). ----In Brazil the Arc of fire operation continues to shutdown illegal logging. But in town's that have not been raided in a while it's business as usual again. No one knows for how much longer… (6). The hype about the rest of the world taking over Brazil continues to grow via a suggestion that the forest could be purchased in its entirety for $50 Billion (7). A new book called " Tree of Rivers " is about the history of the rainforest and how the Amazon always conquers the most invincible foreigners via bugs, snakes and disease. (8) Meanwhile near the Peruvian borders aerial photos of the last uncontacted tribes are circulating in the media as a way to prove to government / loggers that this particular forest is already claimed and must not be made available for exploitation (9). Agribusiness giant Bunge's annual shareholder meeting was protested by Rainforest Action Network because Bunge destroys tropical rainforests to grow soy(10). In Tailandia, in the state of Para, rioters once protested the first Arc of fire raids. The article also documents slavery, exploitation and assassination of those who seek to save the forests in this region(11). Brazil's " National Economic and Social Development Bank " has announced that they have established a fund to collect international donations for Amazon preservation. Is this REDD oriented initiative kind of like hiring the fox to guard the hen house (12)? So far the most ambitious 'official' protection plan for the Amazon promises to protect only 10% of what remains (13). ----In the Dominican Republic there is an article about the Kalinago People who came to the land a century before Columbus. For a long time they successfully resisted European attempts to take their land until ultimately only 500 of them survived and they were put on a reservation with the Carib Indians (14). ----In Uruguay the world's largest pulp mill and the mono-crop plantations that feed it have created a poisonous havoc for the frontier cities of Fray Bentos and Gualeguaychú. This article gives a solid background of the history of road blockades, lawsuits and government proceedings (15). ----In Peru oil and gas allotments now cover 75% of the country's rainforest. (16) ----In India, in Haryana, 19,600 hectares of plantation was recently established. There is a national goal of 35-35 millions new acres in plantation. No mention of the problems with plantations in terms of biodiversity / water consumption (17). Forests of Saranda are being converted into eco-tour destinations despite issues of the land being a recent hotbed of Maoist activities (18). In N. Bengal a business man tours on a motorcycle to speak for and distribute trees (19). ----In Nepal a policy of shifting resource rights to the people via community forests is promoted despite governments resistance to honor such claims (20). Also in Nepal another article places the blame of deforestation on the landless peasants who have wreaked havoc on the Community forests in Bardiya (21). ----In Vietnam, there has been an order to preserve biodiversity via a network of 126 special-use forests covering a total of 2.5 million hectares, which includes previously designated national parks and conservation areas (22). ----In Japan the Yamagata Prefectural Forest Research and Instruction Center is battling oak die off caused by an ambrosia beetle. With as much as 1800 hectares infected they've focused on using phermones instead of pesticide to battle the beetle (23). ----In Papua New Guinea new satellite data shows their forests are no longer a pristine outlier and instead their forests are being deforested just as fast as the rest of the world (24) ----In Malaysia's Sabah a month long Rainforest Flora and Fauna Festival is being planned for August at the rainforest discovery center. This center is part of the 4,294ha Kabili Sepilok virgin forest reserve (25). Malaysia is hoping to be at the center of Kyoto re-negotiations in terms of earning carbon credits for its plantation systems, which are known to destroys primary rainforests (26). ----Likewise in New Zealand statements of working with Malaysia to combat illegal logging, as well as marketing fast growing plantation products was announced (27). ----In Australia the Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon suddenly resigned in alleged reaction of an opinion poll that show his popularity has dropped to 17% (28). Doubt about emissions offsetting opportunities in Papua New Guinea may derail Australia's plan to protect other countries forests instead of their own (29). Logging of Australia's last native forests gets the gov's greenwashed seal of approval (30). Articles: Germany: 1) Global Forest Coalition is appalled at the lack of political will displayed at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Ninth Conference of the Parties (COP-9) and the direction the CBD is headed. Although countries in the Africa Group were unified in protecting biodiversity, other countries such as Brazil, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Japan blocked most progressive attempts to contain the alarming influence of industry now found in the CBD. Very disappointedly the CBD now makes it easier for genetically engineered trees to be commercialized, which sets back the gains achieved at the last CBD (COP-8) in Curitiba, Brazil in 2006. Nor did the CBD adopt a correct definition of forests, which should exclude monoculture timber plantations from that definition. Dr Miguel Lovera, chairperson of GFC said, " This is not a step ahead but a huge step backwards at a time when forests and biological diversity are being lost at alarming rates. " Lovera continued, " The CBD did not do much to stop deforestation or protect biodiversity as proven by the GFC report released in Bonn, 'Forests and the Biodiversity Convention', in which 22 countries were independently monitored to evaluate countries' implementation of CBD decisions. " Lovera added, " In addition, although there is good language for Indigenous Peoples' participation in the preamble, there are hardly any measures to ensure this in the implementation process. One bright note, the CBD finally acknowledges that climate mitigation projects can be detrimental to forests and at least requests more research on these issues. " The CBD unfortunately failed to prevent agrofuel expansion. " They apparently are unaware of the litany of documented adverse impacts of agrofuels (biofuels) on biodiversity, food and climate, " said Dr. Rachel Smolker, lead researcher and campaigner with GFC and Global Justice Ecology Project. She summarized, " Their decision is littered with references to 'promoting the benefits of sustainable biofuel production' and 'taking account of their full life cycle'. GFC's Sandy Gauntlett, Chairman of the Pacific Indigenous Peoples Coalition (PIPEC) said, " The parties to the CBD are fast becoming the world's largest organization dedicated to opposing equitable social change, with industry laying an increasingly larger role in commodifying the planet's environmental resources. " He concluded, " Many of the parties are lining up for their slice of the cake. " http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/19161 2) After listening to 45 minutes of polite chat from the panel about how lovely FSC is, activists held up a banner reading " FSC: Stop Certifying Monoculture Tree Plantations " . They also read out parts of the statement below. After a couple of questions and a short discussion, Stefan Salvador from FSC closed the meeting, although several more people wanted to ask questions and some pointed out that this should be a democratic space for discussing the problems with FSC. Forest certification according to the principles of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) balances social, environmental and economic interests. FSC requirements address all core elements of the UN Convention on Biodiversity. In fact, through FSC certification these have been successfully implemented in over 100 million ha of forests around the globe. " The above statement is posted in FSC " s special section on its web site titled " FSC at the UN Conference of Biodiversity.? What the statement does not say is that the 100 million hectare figure hides millions of hectares of monoculture tree plantations that have been falsely certified as " forests? At the same time, it hides the fact that social and environmental movements from around the world have been for years denouncing tree plantations and demanding FSC to stop certifying them, because among many reasons they destroy biodiversity. This demonstrates that FSC is misleading the CBD with its statement. Be they plantations of eucalyptus, pine, acacia or oil palm, these large scale monocultures are mostly aimed at feeding northern consumers with growing volumes of raw materials extracted in southern countries at a huge social and environmental cost. http://www.geasphere.co.za/indexns.htm 3) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity review was commissioned in 2007 by German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel of Germany and European Environment commissioner Stavros Dimas and aims to assess the economic value society receives from nature through benefits such as food, water, soil, flood protection, medicines and carbon sinks. Undertaken by Deutsche Bank economist Pavan Sukhdev, the interim report warns that without the adoption of new policy measures, biodiversity will continue to decline at unprecedented rates, predicting that of over a tenth of the natural areas remaining in 2000 could be lost by 2050, " chiefly as a result of conversion for agriculture, the expansion of infrastructure, and climate change " . The interim report primarily focuses on the economic cost of deforestation and warns that the global economy is currently losing forest ecosystem services with a value of around €28bn a year. It added that these losses are felt in future years as well as in the year of deforestation, and therefore the net present value of services from forests ecosystems that we lose each year is estimated at between $1.35 trillion and $3.1 trillion, for discount rates of four per cent and one per cent respectively. The interim report does not detail the full economic cost of biodiversity loss, but speaking at the opening of the summit CBD executive secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf said that Sukhdev had put the cost at $3.1 trillion a year or six per cent of global GDP. Sukhdev called for the adoption of a new economic measure that is more sophisticated than GDP, and includes the benefits that ecosystems and biodiversity provide. By no longer ignoring these benefits, such systems would help policymakers adopt the right measures and to design appropriate financing mechanisms for conservation, " the report argued. http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2217979/shrinking-forests-cost-\ global Ivory Coast: 4) One of Côte d'Ivoire most important primary rainforests is to be cleared by global consumer product company Unilever and others, despite Unilever's recent promises to buy only " sustainable " palm oil from lands not cleared of rainforests for their production. Tanoé Swamps Forest in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is one of the last remaining old growth forests in the country and the last refuge for three highly endangered primates -- the Miss Waldron's Red Colobus, the Geoffroy's colobus and the Diana roloway -- as well as home to many endangered plant species. Tanoé Forest is thought to contain the last remaining population of Piliocolobus waldronae (known as Miss Waldron's Red Colobus). This is a species formerly widespread in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, but hunted to extinction over most of its range and declared extinct in 1998; yet a freshly shot specimen was found, in the early 2000s, having been hunted in the Tanoé Forest. If Unilever goes ahead with this project, it may be the first time in history that any company has deliberately profited from the extinction of a species. Despite international protests, the palm oil company PALM-CI has just begun destroying this 6,000 hectare forest to convert it to oil palm plantations. They are currently building drainage systems at the periphery and, once the rainy season is over, they intend to clearcut all of the forest. If the forest is destroyed, the three primate species as well as many plant species will almost certainly become globally extinct. Large amounts of carbon dioxide will be released from the carbon-rich swamp forests. http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=ivory_coast_oil_palm Tanzania: 5) There is supposedly a paper that explains Kilimanjaro's loss of glaciers as a result of deforestation. The loss of humid air rising up from the wooded slopes causes less condensation and deposition of ice on the cap of the mountain. A paper in Nature is often (from what I've seen in my searches today) cited as the one that explains all this, but the Nature paper is actually a news summary of the work of Bill Ruddiman. I can't pull up the references right now because UND doesn't electronically to the journals in question. I think this is probably a good answer to the question of Kilimanjaro, not because I'm skeptical of climate change but because the deforestation theory describes a discrete mechanism by which the ice cap would get smaller. It's a lot easier to figure out whether a specific theory is correct or incorrect than to argue for or against such ill-defined terms as " climate change " that do not in themselves describe a mechanism. http://www.google.com/search?q=kilimanjaro & ie=utf-8 & oe=utf-8 & aq=t & rls=org.mozill\ a:en-US:officia l & client=firefox-a Brazil: 6) TAILANDIA -- Acrid smoke from charcoal production blankets this Amazon logging town with the smell of business as usual. Less than three months ago, federal agents swooped in to close sawmills, confiscate wood and smash charcoal furnaces in a government crackdown on illegal logging. But tractors are moving logs again in Tailandia, after Brazil's renowned environment minister resigned last week and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Friday with Latin American and European leaders seeking to combat climate change. Locals are back to turning wood scraps into charcoal. ''It's starting up again, but it's not like it was, and nobody knows for how long,'' said Zenito Santiago de Souza, 44, who lost his job in the government raid. ``They're saying the police are coming back on the 20th.'' Operation Arc of Fire was rolled out after satellite data in January projected a 34 percent spike in Amazon destruction -- a political embarrassment for Silva after three consecutive years of decline. But with 70 percent of jobs in the area tied to logging, the raid left behind widespread unemployment and crime. http://www.miamiherald.com/540/story/552568.html 7) A Swedish-born tycoon who acts as a deforestation advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stirred up controversy in Brazil for reportedly claiming all the Amazon could be bought for 50 billion dollars. Johan Eliasch, the 46-year-old boss of the Head sports equipment company, is under investigation by Brazilian police and intelligence services for the alleged comments and for 160,000 hectares (395,000 acres) of Amazon forest he is believed to have bought, the newspaper O Globo reported Monday. He reportedly made the assertions to stimulate land acquisition as part of his role as director of Cool Earth, an organization he co-founded which finds sponsors for the rainforest as a way of protecting it. " Eliasch held meetings with businessmen between 2006 and 2007 in which he proposed that they buy land in the Amazon, and told them 'only' 50 billion dollars would be needed to acquire all the forest, " according to a report by Brazil's Abin intelligence agency cited by O Globo. The issue is a sensitive one for Brazil, which has been offended by statements by British politicians suggesting that the Amazon is too important to all of mankind to be left to the management of Brazil's government alone. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday stated that " the Brazilian Amazon has an owner, and that owner is the Brazilian people. " He told a gathering in Rio de Janeiro that while he was conscious of the need to conserve the forest, " there is also need to develop the Amazon. " Brasilia has been progressively tightening laws aimed at protecting the huge forest by cracking down on illegal ranchers, farmers and loggers, and stepping up vigilance against foreigners looking to exploit its biodiversity. Eliasch, who lives in London and has an estimated net worth of 790 million dollars, stopped being a significant donor to Britain's conservative party last September. He switched allegiance to Brown's Labour Party, apparently winning his special consulting post in the process. Although Cool Earth has generally received positive evaluations in Britain and the United States, some accuse the organization of embarking on " green colonialism " and compounding the problems of indigenous groups living in the Amazon. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdXu7xtY-MU8FAEAhxqfV9pZJmnQ 8) Hemming's most recent book, " Tree of Rivers, " covers ground familiar to anyone interested in the history of the Amazon. What makes the book important and, in many ways, even remarkable, are the breadth of the author's experience and the depth of his understanding. Throughout, Hemming scatters modest references to his own extraordinary journeys. As an aside, while discussing the river's multitude of swift, rapids-studded tributaries, he recalls that he was once nearly swept to his death in one. When explaining the potentially deadly diseases that Amazon explorers and natives alike have long suffered, he casually mentions that he has twice endured the searing fever and bone-grinding chills of malaria. Having cut trails through dense, remote rain forest, and having felt the sickening and very real danger of becoming hopelessly lost, he understands much better than most the extraordinary skill it takes for indigenous people to navigate their world. While Hemming has a deep appreciation for the beauty of the rain forest, he also understands why explorers fighting for their lives might be forgiven if they did not often stop to admire it. " Occasionally a shaft of sunlight pierces the gloom, illuminating huge blue morpho butterflies or rare colored plants that brighten the prevailing browns and greens, " Hemming writes. " But the beauty is lost on explorers having to hack through such foliage. ... After a few weeks of such toil, nonindigenous men are pale, with clothes torn and boots disintegrating. Their skin is covered in bites, thorns and festering scratches, and the glands that filter insect poison from arms and legs are swollen and sore. " Outsiders' helplessness in the Amazon, particularly in comparison with the deftness of its native inhabitants, is a recurring theme in " Tree of Rivers. " The vast difference between the two groups is immediately apparent from the earliest European explorers to arrive in South America. Francisco de Orellana's legendary descent of the Amazon River in 1541, for instance, is a story less of triumph than of utter disaster. " These young Spaniards were the finest fighting men in Europe, " Hemming marvels. " They were invincible in the Caribbean and open parts of the Andes. But as soon as they descended into the Amazon forests they became helpless incompetents. " http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/books/review/Millard-t.html?adxnnl=1 & adxnnlx=1\ 212292873-gqpb X7mlSoqrT0cTKUVunA & pagewanted=all 9) Mr Meirelles, who works for FUNAI, the Brazilian government's Indian affairs department, said they first encountered the group on a morning flight earlier this month and saw dozens of people dotted around a clearing with two communal huts. When they returned later the same day, the impact of the earlier flight was clear. Most of the women and children had fled into the forest, he said, and those that were left had painted their bodies, taken up arms and appeared to be on a " war footing " . Experts believe that the hostile response is a clear indication that they understand that contact with the outside world spells danger. Across the border in Peru, similar tribes are being driven from their lands by aggressive oil and mining interests and illegal loggers. Peru's President, Alan Garcia, has openly questioned the existence of uncontacted tribes. Meanwhile, evidence of the destruction of the forest has been piling up down river in the Brazilian state of Acre, where barrels of Peruvian petrol have washed up along with debris from logging operations. " What is happening in this region [of Peru] is a monumental crime against the natural world, the tribes, the fauna, and is further testimony to the complete irrationality with which we, the 'civilised' ones, treat the world, " said Mr Meirelles. After a decades-long political battle, indigenous groups now have their land rights protected under Brazilian law. The London-based charity Survival International is leading calls for Peru to act in accordance with international law and protect the tribes on its territory. Survival's Fiona Watson, who recently returned from the region, said that Indians fleeing over the border into Brazil could be driven into conflict with uncontacted tribes already living there. " It is clear from this photograph that they want to be left alone, " she said. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-amazonian-tribe-that-hid-fr\ om-the-rest-o f-the-world-ndash-until-now-836774.html 10) You probably haven't heard much about the agribusiness giant Bunge. And that's just the way the company likes it. Why? Because Bunge is burning down native old growth forests to process soy in South America and profiting from the use of slave labor. Bunge tries to hide from the spotlight and avoid responsibility. Today, your voice can help hold Bunge accountable for causing massive environmental destruction and human rights abuses. Last week Judson Barros, the director of a Brazilian environmental NGO called FUNAGUAS, and I confronted Bunge CEO Alberto Weisser directly at the company's annual shareholder meeting in New York. We held a rally outside the meeting and then the two of us went inside to tell the CEO, and the company's shareholders, that burning native forests to process soy and profiting from slave labor--both well documented Bunge practices--are not just illegal, but morally unacceptable for any corporation. The audience was stunned to even hear such accusations, and the CEO's response to my statement was simply appalling: he told me " thank you, but I'd like to say that Bunge is entitled to its earnings from plantations that use of slave labor. " How could he have such a cavalier and repugnant attitude? Because he--and Bunge--have never been challenged to act responsibly before. Today is our day, your day, to change that forever. Send a letter to Alberto Wiesser today and tell him that you want Bunge to stop burning forests at the edge of the Amazon rainforest and stop profiting from slave labor immediately. The company needs to know that we?re all watching and that we demand change and accountability now. With your help, we're going to shine the brightest light we can on a company that's spent more than 100 years hiding from the public. It's time we tell Bunge it can't hide its destruction and abuse anymore. Andrea Samulon, Rainforest Agribusiness Campaigner http://www.ran.org 11) At a remote sawmill in Tailandia, an Amazonian backwater, a crowd of police and environmental agency officers gathered recently. This was the beginning of a grass-roots clampdown on illegal loggers in Brazil. In February 2008, just before Arc of Fire was launched, loggers in the town of Tailandia rioted, making it impossible for environmental agency workers to begin the crackdown. The loggers burned tires and attacked buildings, fearing the loss of their livelihoods if logging practices were brought to an end. The state of Para has some of the worst human rights abuses in Brazil. People are trafficked from across the impoverished northeast of the country to work in slavelike conditions in the sawmills, illegal charcoal ovens and cattle farms. They usually work in horrific conditions, with no basic rights and existing on roughly $5 a day. If they try to seek help from the authorities, they are threatened with death. Ecologists are viewed with extreme suspicion, and they risk their lives coming up against loggers and ranchers. Environmentalists have tried to blow the whistle on the illegal deforestation and the widespread abuse of human rights that accompanies it. One such environmentalist, Dorothy Stang, was murdered in 2005 for her work in Para. The U.S. nun was killed for drawing attention to the workers' living conditions and highlighting the environmental damage caused by the loggers. The cattle rancher who was accused of ordering the killing was recently released following a retrial. The acquittal caused outrage among Stang's family members and human rights activists, and left many questioning the transparency of the Brazilian justice system. Many other activists have been forced into hiding, having fled death threats from landowners. One man in Tailandia -- who gave his name as Joao -- painted a distressing picture of his existence. He works under difficult conditions; searing heat while making charcoal in one of the town's illegal ovens. " We're all afraid of being killed, " he said. Under the guard of the federal and military police, employees from Brazil's national environment agency have to assess which wood is logged legally and which illegally. Officers clutching tape measures and working under the unwelcome gaze of the sawmill workers climb tree trunks and check documents for falsification. Faking documents to produce a land ownership certificate for clearing forests is a common practice in these parts. For years, environmentalists have complained vociferously about the absence of security forces to stop corruption at the local government level. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4947776 12) Brazil's state-run development bank announced it will establish a fund to collect international donations for Amazon preservation initiatives, reports Reuters. Luciano Coutinho, president of the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), told reporters the first contribution will come from the Norwegian government. In January Norway said it would contribute $500 million per year to slow global deforestation. Coutinho said Norway may pledge up to $200 million in the first donation to the fund. In February the Brazilian government said it would seek up to $1 billion per year in donations from the governments of industrialized countries and corporate sources. At the time it said that contributors will not be eligible for carbon credits that may be generated by " avoiding " deforestation under a mechanism — known as REDD — ratified at climate talks in Bali last December. The trees of the Amazon rainforest store 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, according to calculations by scientists, but deforestation accounts for about 70 percent of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions primarily result from forest conversion for agricultural expansion — notably beef and soy production — in the Amazon. Daniel Nepstad, a researcher at the Woods Hole Research Institute, estimates the cost of reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to nearly zero within a decade would be $100 million to $600 million per year under a program involving carbon credits for forest conservation (REDD). Tasso Azevedo, director of the Brazil's forestry services, estimates the country needs about $2 billion annually to stop illegal deforestation of the Amazon. It is unclear whether Azevedo's estimate accounts for income generated under a REDD framework. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0529-brazil_fund.html 13) An ambitious plan to put more than 10 percent of Brazil's Amazon forest beyond the grasp of loggers and agribusiness could slash carbon emissions by 1.1 billion tons by mid-century, according to a study released Wednesday. Deforestation in the tropics accounts for 20 percent of global emissions of CO2, making it the second largest driver of global warming after the burning of fossil fuels. Amazonia alone accounts for nearly half of those emissions, and 65 percent of the Amazon forest is in Brazil. Researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil and the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts calculated that the areas pegged for protection under the Amazon Region Areas Program (ARPA) stock some 4.6 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to 20 times the annual emissions of Germany.The ARPA network, slated for completion in 2012, would cover 12 percent of Brazil's tropical forests. They then estimated how much carbon would be released into the atmosphere over the next four decades if the designated areas were not protected -- a total of some 1.1 billion tons of CO2. The report was presented in Bonn at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, where more than 6,000 representatives from 191 countries have gathered to map out a plan for saving the planet's " Brazil is trying to battle illegal logging, but as long as the demand for the wood remains strong, they have a very hard time doing anything about it, " said Saskia Richartz, policy director for biodiversity at Greenpeace. Brazil's new environment minister, Carlos Minc, took up his functions Tuesday in a government increasingly split over how to balance preservation and development in the Amazon rainforest. More than 11,224 square kilometers (4,333 square miles) of Brazil's tropical forest disappeared last year. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080529-139472/Protected-f\ orests-in-Braz il-could-cut-billion-tons-of-CO2 Dominican Republic: 14) They came in canoes carved from single tree trunks a century before Columbus, and for generations they resisted European attempts to take their lands. But the tide of history was against them, and gradually they retreated deeper into the mountainous rainforests of their island until barely 500 remained. It was an enlightened British administrator, Sir Henry Hesketh Bell, who secured a reservation for the last Carib Indians in a remote part of Dominica in 1903, and it has been a remarkable success story for a community that has increased six-fold. They call themselves the Kalinago People, and they live in one of the most naturally bountiful places on Earth. This rumpled quilt of live volcanoes swathed in primary rainforest is so fertile they say if you plant an umbrella it will bear fruit. Perhaps not, but the island is a riotous assembly of vegetation in which avocados, apples and limes jostle for space with giant chatagnier trees, cocoa, mangoes, enough root vegetables to feed an army and a chef's cornucopia of spices and herbs. Throw in jungle hikes to spectacular waterfalls and hot sulphur springs, world-class scuba diving and laid-back people unspoilt by mass tourism, and you have the essence of a natural adventure park far from the Caribbean stereotype of glitzy hotels on palm-fringed beaches. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/centralamericaandcaribbean/dominica/2049243/Do\ minica-the-Car ibbean's-lost-world.html Uruguay 15) The conflict over the construction of a pulp mill just over the border in Uruguayan territory has gone has gone beyond a governmental or local debate from the neighboring frontier cities of Fray Bentos and Gualeguaychú, because of the mill's possible contamination effects. The conflict has expanded to a vast literary movement, the making of a film and even a video game with a clear message of xenophobia. The controversy began at the end of 2004 when then Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle Ibáñez (2000-2005) authorized companies Botnia and Ence, from Finland and Spain, respectively, to construct pulp-producing plants on the outskirts of the city Fray Bentos — across the border in the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú — on the eastern coast of the Uruguay River that borders both countries. As a result, the Gualeguaychú population — 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Buenos Aires, in the Entre Rios province — formed an assembly, condemned the possible environmental damage the plant could cause and, after obstructing transit on the bridge joining the two nations on several occasions, permanently cut transit on Nov. 20, 2006 in order to impede commercial trade and tourist travel to Uruguay. After entering the political agenda of the country, especially the Argentine government's, the assembly members went forward with their final objective of halting the factory projects — a goal that at first won over Argentine sympathy, but since Botnia began producing at maximum capacity in November 2007, many consider the demand unrealistic. During a moment of tension when political conservatives from both countries sought to exacerbate nationalist sentiments, well-known Argentine filmmaker Eduardo Montes Bradley produced " The Great Simulator, " a provocative documentary found insulting toward the Gualeguaychú population, which was never even released for showing in Argentina's commercial theaters. The documentary accused Gualeguaychú inhabitants of being accomplices in the contamination caused by seven other pulp mill factories located in the opposite side of their province, on the Parana River. " Though it was a clear and reprehensible act of censorship on the part of the distributing companies, this hurt nationalist sentiment silenced everyone. During a case of extreme nationalism that received no governmental criticism, a video game from an anonymous programmer — largely successful in Internet sales —proposed that Uruguayans use machine gun to eliminate the Gualeguaychú assembly members who for 19 months have been blocking the transit of persons and goods on the binational bridge.http://www.latinamericapress.org/Article.asp?lanCode=1 & artCode=5627 Peru: 16) The Peruvian Amazon, a region that holds some of the most pristine and biodiverse rainforests on Earth, continues to face an unprecedented wave of new oil and gas exploration. Peru recently released eight new Amazon oil blocks as part of its 2008 bidding round. According to analysis by Save America's Forests, that brings the total to 64 oil and gas blocks in Peru's vast Amazon region. " Oil and gas blocks now blanket nearly 75 percent of the Peruvian Amazon, " said Dr. Matt Finer, staff ecologist at Save America's Forests in Washington, DC, who is now in Peru. " That is over 123 million acres of megadiverse rainforest, roughly the size of California and Maine combined. " These blocks are auctioned by the state oil company Perupetro as license contracts for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. They now sprawl across both protected areas and indigenous territories. " Hydrocarbon blocks now overlap 20 protected areas, " said Cesar Gamboa, president of the Peruvian nongovernmental organization Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. " Thirteen of these protected areas preceded creation of the oil blocks and the overlap is illegal due to the lack of compatibility studies required in the Protected Areas Law, " Gamboa said. " Virtually all of the blocks overlap titled indigenous peoples lands, " said Robert Guimaráes Vasquez, vice president of the Peruvian indigenous organization AIDESEP. " Moreover, many of the blocks overlap the territories of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. " An analysis by Save America's Forests indicates that 58 of the 64 blocks overlay titled indigenous lands and 15 overlap the territories of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. These isolated peoples, so named due to their deliberate avoidance of the outside world, are extremely vulnerable because they lack resistance or immunity from outsiders' diseases. The Peruvian government, in 2003, reduced royalties to promote investment, sparking a new exploration boom. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2008/2008-05-28-01.asp India: 17) In Haryana, an area of more than 19,600 hectares has been brought under plantation at a cost of Rs 43 crore during the tenth Five Year Plan with the help of 20 Forest Development Agencies (FDAs). This was revealed at a day long workshop on implementation of National Afforestation Programme (NAP) held at Pinjore on Saturday where strees was laid on active involvement of women in joint management of forests. The workshop was organised under the aegis of Haryana Forest Department and Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC). It was sponsored by National Afforestation and Eco- development Board (NAEB). The main objective of the workshop was to share experience regarding the NAP, which was conceptualised in the tenth Five Year Plan and aims at improving forest resources in the country, according to an official release here. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, J K Rawat delivered the keynote address. He said that National FOrest Policy 1988 envisages 33 per cent forest and tree cover. For achieving the goal of National Forest Policy, about 30-35 million hectares of plantation is needed. Out of this, only five million can be done in forest areas. " This means we must explore areas outside forests for plantations. Panchayat land and institutional land should be brought under plantation and more thrust should be give to Agro- forestry. Women should be actively involved in Joint Forest Management, " he said. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/015200805311521.htm 18) The bustling forests of Saranda could regain its stature as a nature lover's paradise if the state forest department is able to unveil an array of exciting adventure tourism packages including treks, rock climbing and river rafting. Scarred by its reputation of being a hotbed of Maoist activity till recently, Saranda, the forest department believed, was now ready for tourism if it was introduced in a planned manner to revive the old world charm of the forests, barely 100 km from the steel city. " Saranda's charm and potential to attract tourists has pushed us to plan adventure tourism with special travel packages, " said a forester. Spread over 850sqkm, Saranda is a storehouse of plant and animal life, besides innumerable mountains and hills. Two rivers — Karo and Koina — snake through the jungle, making it an apt get-away destination for the city-bred tourist. Speaking to The Telegraph over phone, divisional forest officer (DFO), S.R. Natesh said as of now they were planning to launch rafting and motor boating in Karo and Koina rivers. " As the two rivers pass through the dense jungle, the idea is sure to click among those who love the outdoors, especially those who are fond of adventure in the woods, " he added. Other avenues for adventure would be rock-climbing at the various mountains in the forests of Saranda and nearby Kiriburu. " There are several rock formations in the vast Saranda forests, and rock-climbing is a viable plan to attract tourists, " said Natesh. Long before it was virtually taken over by Maoists, Saranda — in West Singhbhum district — was home to a number of exquisite guest houses built by the British. But almost all of them were destroyed by the Maoists during anti-insurgency operations in 2002. During the strike against Maoists, who had set foot in the tropical saal forests in the late '90s, police and paramilitary forces used to camp at the guest houses. Hence, these became targets of the Maoists. " Those who are aware of these guest houses, for instance the one at Thalkobad, still call us only to be told that they don't exist anymore, " said the DFO. " Of late, we have been flooded with calls from within and outside the country. Eventually, we adopted a plan for adventure tourism, " he added. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080531/jsp/jharkhand/story_9345000.jsp 19) a businessman from Nadia has embarked on a 'green mission' on motorcycle. Krishnendu Biswas, 45, would travel around 10,000 kilometres for the next two weeks on his Hero Honda - Karisma motor cycle, traveling extensively the hilly terrains of North Bengal before entering Bhutan where his journey concludes at Punakha. Accompanied by friend Barun Saha as pillion rider, Biswas left for Siliguri on Sunday morning with the slogan 'save world, nature and green'. " I am really concerned and do not bother how much I spent for such an initiative " , he said. During the journey he would distribute saplings among children. " On my way I would try to stop at as many schools as possible and meet the kids to distribute saplings so that they are encouraged to save trees and understand the necessity of afforestation, " said Biswas. He has also planned special programs on June 5, the world environment day. Biswas, who undertook a similar journey in 2007 has preferred the hilly North Bengal districts this time because he thinks that the entire region is fast loosing its colour at the cost of development. " Like green arable lands in South Bengal districts, the tea gardens in the North Bengal have now become the target, " he said adding that the recent trend of development in the state has told upon the nature. http://howrah.org/West-Bengal/14740.html Nepal: 20) 15 thousand community forest users have been protecting about 1.2 million hectares of forest while over 3.8 million hectares of forest is under government control. Forest activist Narayan Kaji Shrestha also pointed out the need to hand over conservation rights to people. " Nepalese people must be given the responsibility for conserving the natural resources. Besides forest, wildlife and herbs conservation rights should be shifted to people, " Shrestha said. Nepal's community forest is noted in the world for its participatory forest conservation model. But the government is not promoting it as expected by forest activists. Talking with The Rising Nepal on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Federation, Pandey lamented that the hand over over 6,000 community forests in Terai and inner Terai was pending in various District Forest Offices since last year depriving users from their rights to protect and utilise the resources. Forest Ministry's inaction contravenes the stipulated forest regulations that require the handing over of community forests to the user groups. " The District Forest Offices have been rejecting the call of user groups to hand over the community forests. The local government officials have reportedly been turning down the work plans of consumers for the management of the forests, " Pandey said. He noted then Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Matrika Prasad Yadav had directed the district level forest officials not to accept new applications for registration of community forest user groups and also endorse the work plan they put forward. Minister Yadav has returned to the same position but the problem is yet to be sorted out. According to him, the consumers of Chitwan, Rupendehi, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Kailali and Dang districts have been bearing the problem of forest encroachment. An official at FECOFUN said 1,500 community forests had been waiting to get a final clearance while 5,000 others were preparing their work plan for fresh registrations. He blamed the government of trying to maintain status quo in the conservation of forests thereby leading to widespread encroachments and misuse of the forests in the Terai and inner Terai regions. Dr. Keshav Kanel, Director General of the Forest Department, also accepts the fact that thousands of community forests had not been handed over to consumers. " The DFOs are not willing to give legal status to the new community forest user groups. We, being the civil servants of Nepal government, must follow the instructions given by the concerned minister, " Kanel said. http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/detail.php?article_id=1113 & cat_id=4 21) Forest encroachment and deforestation has been speedy and rampant in five community forests of Bardiya district recently. The freed Kamaiyas, the landless and those making houses and selling woods have been making it expeditious since even before the CA election. Making of huts has been continued in the community forest of Ramjanaki of Bangodi of Deuthakala of the district and settlements have been sprung up in community forests including in the Progressive Women's Community Forest. The encroachers have felled thousands of trees in this connection. The villagers had been conserving for years in the Baniyabhar's Women Jagriti Community Forest and 2,000 trees have been felled in the name of landless. The red card holding freed Kamaiyas and landless have been encroaching the forests after they were not given land. When I was alone I was a Kamaiya and lived in other's house, but now I have my children, said Mina Chaudhary settling in the women's community forest of Deuthakala- 3. For the children, I need land and have been settling in the forest by clearing the forest for the past four months, she said. Those encroachers are not in favour of going to other places leaving the forest. They said they will only leave if the government shows them an alternative. One thousand hectares of community forests of Bardiya and five hundred hectares of national forest area have been encroached, said Community Forest Users Federation Chairman Mohammad Kar Khan, adding the problem is being grave as the District Forest Office, administration and police are silent spectators to it. http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/detail.php?article_id=1181 & cat_id=8 Vietnam: 22) Vietnam now has established a network of 126 special-use forests (SUFs) covering a combined area of 2.5 million ha, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The SUFs include national parks, nature reserves and landscape conservation areas, accounting for 7.6 per cent of the nation's total land area. Of them, 28 are national parks, covering more than one million ha, the ministry says. Forest cover has also increased significantly, from 27.2 per cent to nearly 40 per cent. International environment organizations found the protected areas to meet the necessary requirements to conserve the country's current biological diversity. Many SUFs were recognized as examples of the world's natural heritage. The ministry says the results were partially due to the Management Strategy for a System of Protected Areas by 2010, adopted by the Government in 2003. Under the plan, for the past five years funding from official development assistance (ODA) sources and from the State budget has been used to protect biological diversity. Investments from the ODA sources alone raised from less than US$10 million in the early years of the strategy to over $20 million a year in recent years. Viet Nam is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, and is considered a high priority for global conservation. Its natural ecosystems include a rich variety of beautiful and productive forest types, marshes, rivers and coral reefs. Together they support nearly 10 per cent of the world's mammal and bird species. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01ENV310508 Japan: 23) A research group will launch an experiment in storm-damaged forests in Yamagata Prefecture this month with the aim of using artificial pheromones to exterminate insects that cause oak wilt. Mass die-offs of oak trees caused by the ambrosia beetle (Platypus quercivorus) has become an increasing problem in the nation's forests. Oak trees are an integral part of the nation's hardwood forests. In 1997, cases of wilting oak trees were confirmed in 12 prefectures. However, this had spread to 22 prefectures in 2007. The group is hoping the experiment will be successful as it is concerned that wilted oak trees will adversely affect the forest's condition and thus animals' ecosystems. Oak wilt is a disease that occurs when a tree's internal water conducting system is disrupted by a fungus, Raffaelea quercivora, which produces yeast that acts as the sole food source for adult beetles or larvae. The disease is generally treated by injecting pesticides into the trunk of a wilted tree. However, the increasing prevalence of the disease means there is no effective way of controlling the pest on a large scale. The research group, including the Yamagata Prefectural Forest Research and Instruction Center, which was formed in 2005, has been studying the pheromones secreted by male beetles that attract females. The group has managed to artificially reproduce the pheromones, which it then uses on a single " lure " tree. In one experiment, the pheromones lured 2,000 beetles from within a radius of up to 300 meters. The group plans to use the artificial pheromones in combination with pesticide. According to the Forestry Agency, a total of about 800 to 1,800 hectares of trees have been affected over the past several years, with the damage being particularly acute in trees more than 40 to 50 years old. Wilted trees in Kyoto are said to be detracting from the local scenery, and the disease is also said to have appeared in trees on Yakushima island, Kagoshima Prefecture. Experts are concerned that oak wilt will lower the water-retention capacity of forests, which has implications for global warming, and will also affect animals that rely on acorns and other nuts. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080601TDY02308.htm Papua New Guinea: 24) Papua New Guinea is considered by many as one of the last places on the planet with pristine rainforests. While there has been a well-documented pattern of exploitation by the big multinationals, exactly how much forest has been destroyed has been unknown - until now.High resolution satellite imagery taken from 1972 until 2002 has given the most accurate snapshot of previously undetected losses. Phil Shearman from the University of Papua New Guinea (PNG) says the level of destruction is more serious than many had thought. " In a nutshell, over the last 30 years PNG has lost about 15 per cent of its rainforest and had an additional 8 - 9 per cent degraded through industrial logging, " he said. " So overall, over that 30-year period we've seen a 24 per cent change in the forest state. The bad news is that it was previously thought that PNG had a very low or non-existent rate of deforestation and degradation. " Our study is making it reasonably clear that's not the case - indeed PNG is losing its rainforest at rates comparable to that of the Congo, and to that of the Amazon. " PNG is not an outlier in that respect. It's losing its forests. Its forests are becoming degraded at rates similar to other rainforest nations. " " Perhaps by 2021, something like 80 per cent of the accessible forest will have already been logged so there's a much shorter time frame than anyone has previously realised. " The data was presented to the PNG Government in Port Moresby today. Until now, it had been relying on statistics collected 20 to 30 years ago. But using this data, Dr Ash says the Government must rethink its policy decisions and capitalise on forest conservation. " If they want to achieve what they say they want to achieve, which is carbon balance or to be a carbon sequestering country rather than a carbon emitting country, then they clearly have to make some radical changes in their policy, " he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/02/2262808.htm Malaysia: 25) Sabah's pristine rainforests will serve as the backdrop for the first ever month-long Malaysian Rainforest Flora and Fauna Festival scheduled to be held here in August next year. Describing Sabah's forests as an " emerald, " Malaysian Landscape Advisory Panel chairman Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah said it was only appropriate for the inaugural event to be held at the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), some 30km from this east coast town. " What Sabah has is something priceless and we need to showcase it to the world, " said the Prime Minister's wife after visiting the RDC along with Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi here on Sunday. She said the festival was aimed at creating more awareness among Malaysians and the international community about the beauty, diversity and importance of the nation's rainforests and the need to preserve them. " We have one of the world's oldest rainforests and some Malaysians are not even aware of it, " Jeanne said. She said concerns over climate change and global warming and how rainforests could mitigate these environmental problems were sparking concerns about the conservation of these green lungs. The festival was aimed at attracting researchers and various professionals, as well as students and the public, to develop more interest in tropical jungles. She said the Sabah Forestry Department's 107ha RDC, an environmental education centre that is part of the 4,294ha Kabili Sepilok virgin forest reserve, had " everything and more " to host the biennial festival to be called Hutan Malaysia. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/1/nation/20080601161846 & sec=na\ tion 26) Malaysia hoped that it would be rewarded from the developed world for its efforts to preserve forest, a Malaysian official said on Monday. This was an issue that Malaysia would be highlighted in the next renegotiation process of the Kyoto Protocol, Malaysian Plantation Enterprise and Commodities Minister Chin Fah Kui said when he accompanied visiting New Zealand Agricultural Minister Jim Anderton to a development center at Banting near here. Malaysia wanted New Zealand's support in the renegotiation process, Chin was quoted as saying by Malaysia's national news agency Bernama. Chin believed that New Zealand, which is also a timber-producing country, would be interested in this issue and the two countries could work together in that area. Anderton said New Zealand would seek Malaysia's support in the renegotiation in order to have more flexibility in its land usage. Bernama said that New Zealand was also keen to work with Malaysia to fight illegal logging and promote scientific and technological research and development of wood technology. Malaysia was a " colleague " for New Zealand to understand the process of illegal logging in the world market, Anderton was quoted as saying. Anderton also said that cooperation on scientific research in wood technology and applications was mutual benefits for the two countries and New Zealand hoped that there would be exchanges of information and scientists in future between the two sides. New Zealand: 27) New Zealand is keen to work with Malaysia to combat illegal logging and collaborate in scientific and technological research and development of wood technology, including biofuel from wood waste, its Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton said Monday. " Malaysia is seen as a colleague for New Zealand to understand the process of illegal logging in the internationational market in order to combat the activities which are detrimental not only to the economy but to the well-being of people in this region, " he told reporters during his visit to the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB) Fibre & Biocomposite Development Centre at Olak Lempit, Banting, here. Besides combating illegal logging, Malaysia and New Zealand could also work together in scientific research in wood technology and applications in view of higher demand for high quality wood in the future, he said. " We have agreed that there are mutual benefit for New Zealand and Malaysia working cooperatively scientific development, technology development. We have institutions in New Zealand as you do have in Malaysia, specialising in skill training on wood industry, science and technology, " Anderton said. " Hopefully in future there would be exchange of informations and contacts between the two countries as well as the exchange of scientists, " he said. New Zealand was also working on biofuel in view of rising oil prices and was interested to see Malaysian scientists participating in joint research to produce ethanol (biofuel) from wood waste, he added. Anderton said Malaysia and New Zealand would benefit from the expected increase in demand for good quality hardwood worldwide in view of shortage of forest areas. Both countries, he said, have the capability to produce fast-growing timber from reforestaration activities by planting commercial viable species like mahogany in New Zealand and teak, rubberwood and acacia in Malaysia. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=336867 Australia: 28) Tasmanian Labor Premier Paul Lennon resigned suddenly on May 26, after an opinion poll revealed his popularity had dived to just 17%, and 39% of voters would have preferred Liberal leader Will Hodgman as premier. The Lennon government has been losing support for a long time as a result of a series of corruption scandals that caused the resignation of two deputy premiers, as well as its entrenched support for the unpopular Gunns' pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. The relationship between the state government and woodchipping company Gunns Ltd was widely seen as being too close, with Gunns accused of having an unacceptable amount of influence over the government. This was typified in a deal made public three weeks ago that guarantees Gunns $15 million of taxpayer-funded compensation if the supply of wood to their pulp mill is restricted as a result of further forest protection by any future government. The new premier, David Bartlett, is relatively new to politics, having only been in parliament for four years, and in the role of deputy premier for six weeks. He voted in favour of the pulp mill when approval for it came before parliament last year, but he is not as enthusiastic about the mill as Lennon was. In an interview on ABC's Lateline, on May 26 — the same day he was sworn in as premier, Bartlett said about the mill, " Some would say we've done more than enough as a government. I believe it's now firmly up to the company and their financiers to see whether this project goes ahead. " He has ruled out spending $65 million of public money on a pipeline for the mill, which the former premier was considering. http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/753/38915 29) Doubt has been cast on Australia's planned emissions trading scheme by research on Papua New Guinea forests. The research finds PNG may have limited capacity to sell carbon credits to countries such as Australia because it soon may not have much accessible forest left. It finds PNG's forests are being destroyed considerably faster than previously believed, and 83% of its accessible forests will be destroyed within 13 years if these rates continue. " The current state of forest management and lack of effective governance means that PNG is a long way from being able to meaningfully participate in the carbon economy, " the research concluded. It found that logging in protected areas, such as national parks, was happening at the same rate as in unprotected areas. " Government officials may claim they wish rich countries to pay them for conserving their forests, but if they are allowing multinational timber companies to take everything that's accessible, all that will be left will be lands that are physically inaccessible to exploitation and would never have been logged anyway, " the report's lead author, Phil Shearman, of the University of PNG, said. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Government's principal adviser on greenhouse gas emissions, Professor Ross Garnaut, have held out the prospect of Australian companies financing the protection of PNG forests through buying carbon credits. Professor Garnaut told a conference in Port Moresby yesterday that PNG had the potential to become the world's first carbon-neutral country, but only if it addressed the threats to its forests. " The first step, and most important, is PNG has to take a decision that it is really serious about effective forest management, " he said. The report, The State of the Forests of Papua New Guinea, took five years. It used high-resolution satellite imagery to compare forest cover in 1972 and 2002. Dr Colin Filer, of the ANU, was critical of the report's findings. He said it seemed to assume forest regrowth or reforestation had come to a halt. The claim that half of PNG's forests could be gone by 2021 was a gross exaggeration. The report was prepared by the University of Papua New Guinea and the ANU. http://www.theage.com.au/national/png-forest-logging-threatens-emission-scheme-2\ 0080602-2kw3.htm l 30) Logging of Victoria's native forests has achieved a 94% compliance rate with the State Government's environmental standards, according to the fifth independent audit of the sector. The Environmental Protection Agency report audited 45 logging coupes, 10% of those harvested in 2006-07. It shows an average coupe score of 94%, up from 87% achieved in the first audit in 2003, and 91% last year. Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said it was a significant industry achievement to improve its performance each year. " Improving environmental performance is an integral part of a world-class forest industry, " he said. Industry and government would continue to focus on improving compliance with the Code of Forest Practices, he said. Field auditing took place in 29 coupes after harvesting; 12 coupes during harvest; three road line coupes totalling 4.8 kilometres; two coupes in Melbourne's water supply catchments; and in two domestic firewood coupes. An office-based audit of the regeneration of 25 additional coupes and harvesting rates in Melbourne's water catchments was undertaken. The auditor found that documentation relating to regeneration processes was 81% compliant, with 12 coupes (48%) fully compliant. The audit team observed a number of positive practices. These included marking and protection of wildlife habitat trees, construction of roads and tracks in harvested areas, the protection of reserved areas using buffer strips, and the management of harvest exclusion areas for flora and fauna, and streamside protection. http://business.theage.com.au/94-of-coupes-are-not-out-of-their-trees-20080602-2\ kwt.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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