Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 --Today for you 37 new articles about earth's trees! (355th edition) New Format! --You can now RSS tree news in a regional format at: http://forestpolicyresearch.org --To Subscribe / to the world-wide email format send a blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- In this issue: Asia-Pacific-Australia Forest Type / World-wide Index: --Russia: 1) 9th Taiga Rescue Network conference: October 1-2nd --Myanmar / Burma: 2) They may be the new record holder in logging rates --China: 3) 53.4 million acres of man-made forest in losing battle with deserts --India: 4) Ending anti-poaching squads sent wrong signal, 5) Official caught stealing trees, 6) Google makes it we now know forests are being undemarcated or missing --Lao: 7) Preparing for REDD --Laos: 8) Deforestation gets even worse --Thailand: 9) Birder defends forest, 10) Monks defend trees, --Philippines: 11) DENR checkpoints are different than lots of other checkpoints, 12) Mangrove summary, 13) Syndicate behind illegal logging in Sitio Tawan Dagat --Malaysia: 14) Deramakot Forest Reserve FSC certified since 1997, 15) Peninsular Malaysia lost 1,700ha since 2001, 16) State added 38,800ha to forest reserves but cut down 40,500ha, 17) Forest reserve policy, 18) Perak and Negri Sembilan lost 20,000ha since 2001, 19) Cameron Highlands: Bulldozing above landslides, --Indonesia: 20) Gunung Leuser National Park (TNGL) being cleared by locals, 21) WWF repeats complaints to AP & P, 22) Temburong National Park adventures, --Papua: 23) A forest defender named Septer, 24) Gov foresters in corruption trial, --Solomon Islands: 25) As much timber as possible with as little consequence as possible, --New Zealand:26) More complaints about slash fires, 27) Kyoto clearcuts set all time record at 13,600 hectares, 28) Green party blames gov for Kyoto clearcuts, --Australia: 29) New treesit in Weld valley, 30) Wild Earth Quilt Project, 31) National Day of Action for Tasmania, 32) Forestry Tasmania's recent accidental logging, 33) Forestry Tasmania blockades /protestors, 34) Rudd's shameful speach for PNG in Japan, 35) Surge in approvals for logging privately owned north coast lands, --Tropical Forests: 36) Forest depletion is not debatable, it's irrefutable. --World-wide: 37) Medicinal and Indigenous value Articles: Russia: 1) Welcome to the 9th Taiga Rescue Network conference in the heart of boreal forests in Karelia, Russia. The conference will gather stakeholders of the world's boreal eco-region who are interested in equitable and sustainable forest use; in effective conservation of remaining old-growth forests and global biodiversity, as well as civil participation in and democratization of forest management and decision making for the benefit of local communities. Through multi-stakeholder discussion and presentations the conference aims to promote sustainable forestry and old growth boreal forest conservation. Through networking and discussion among participants with an interest in forestry, sustainable land use, conservation and community participation, the conference will develop new strategies for promoting socially just and environmentally sound forestry as well as conserving the world's last old-growth boreal forests. Conference highlights include:1) Attendees from international NGOs, paper and forest industry, local government and community groups, as well as academics and scientists; 2) Top keynote speakers representing the latest views of the scientific community, forest companies and civil organizations, 3) Multi-stakeholder panel discussions on the principles of and obstacles to sustainable forestry, 4) Case examples of successful and opposite attempts to combine economically and socially sound land use, particularly in Russia, 5) Experience for yourself one of the biggest wood suppliers of Europe, Karelia. http://taigarescue.org/conference2008 Myanmar / Burma: 2) The country tops the list of deforestation in the world and is going about depleting forest cover without a care in the world. There is little concern for the immense damage to the environment and the massive shift in ecological balance. Apart from rampant illegal felling of trees, by various organisations including Chinese firms and cronies of the ruling regime, the military junta is into a series of hydel power projects jointly with firms in China and Thailand. The seven hydro power projects lined up, work on some of which has already begun, threatens to displace thousands of people in Karen and Kachin state, ruin their livelihood and destroy the fragile ecological balance, leaving the country open to more natural calamities like the killer Cyclone Nargis which lashed over two days in early May killing over 1, 34,000, rendering 2.5 million homeless and countless missing. Official statistics indicate that at least 2.43 million acres of paddy were destroyed in the Irrawaddy, Yangoon, and Pegu division in the cyclone hit areas. Myanmar has about 20 million acres of paddy cultivation, including both summer and monsoon paddy. While the hydel power projects on the Irrawaddy basin and the Salween River, the longest free flowing river in Southeast Asia, is a recent phenomenon, mindless logging has been on for a long time, slowly but surely eroding the forest cover. Large scale deforestation continues unabated across the country. The states most affected are Shan, Kachin, Karen, Karenni and other ethnic areas, Aung Ngyeh, secretary of Burma Rivers Network, was quoted as saying recently by the Myanmar media in exile. Burma lost 18 per cent of its forests between 1990 and 2005, one of the highest deforestation rates in the world according to the Global Witness, which is committed to exposing the corrupt exploitation of natural resources and international trade systems. Fifteen tonnes of illegally felled timber cross the Myanmar border into China every seven minutes, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, it added. There is an alarming rise in deforestation. However, it is difficult to estimate how much increase there has been as almost all logging is illegal, according Aung Ngyeh of the Burma Rivers Network. There is acute shortage of water in summer and the fluctuations in weather have become increasingly evident. http://world.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=135582 China: 3) GUIYANG -- Thanks to years of afforestation efforts, the acreage of China's man-made forests has exceeded 53.4 million hectares to rank the first in the world, an official with the State Forestry Administration (SFA) said here on Monday. The country's forest coverage has risen to 18.21 percent of the land area, from 8.6 percent in the early 1950s, the official said at a forum on desert control and ecological civilization in Bijie of Guizhou Province in southwest China. Earlier, the SFA revealed in its 2007 Green Coverage Report that 51.54 billion trees ha. A total of 2.27 billion trees were planted last year by 58 percent of the population, lifting the urban forestry coverage to 35.11 percent, up 2.57 percentage points, figures with the SFA showed. Nationwide forest restoration efforts have helped fuel the fastest expansion of man-made forests in China, taking up 53.2 percent of the global annual increase, or one third of the world's total, said the SFA. China's forest acreage reached 175 million hectares last year, raising the country's forest coverage to 18.21 percent, compared with 12 percent in 1981. The per capita public green area edged up 0.41 to 8.3 square meters last year, which is still much lower than the international average. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/09/content_8329551.htm India: 4) The committee members felt that the disbandment of the anti-poaching squads by the forest department a few years ago had sent a wrong signal. Poaching is one of the main causes for the thinning wildlife in the forest, the committee members felt. The panel also found out that the forest department staff was not equipped with modern weapons and communication equipment. Whatever weapons the officials had at their disposal once were surrendered to the government in the face of growing raids by naxalites with a view to looting the arms. So much so that for the last two decades or so, the forest officials have been performing their duties without any weaponry to support them. The panel members wanted the government to correct this situation. The committee also found that only 10 per cent of the officers in the forest department were trained in wildlife management. This has led to a serious situation on the field. The committee is expected to ask the government to make training of the staff, particularly those belonging to the IFS (Indian Forest Service) cadre, mandatory. Moreover, there are reports that hundreds of posts have been lying vacant in the department for more than a decade. Also, the beat officer or the forest guard's area of operation is more than 50 sq km in numerous cases, when it should be about 20 sq km. Above all, the forest guard is neither given transport nor any allowance to monitor his area. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Panel_favours_anti-poaching_squads/\ articleshow/31 18779.cms 5) SHIMLA: The forest department in Himachal Pradesh has slapped a case against an engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) on charges of felling 71 trees and damaging forest cover. The official has been booked under sections 32 and 33 of the Indian Forest Act, officials said. He allegedly acted illegally in Mandi district. The PWD is constructing a road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna from Hanogi to Bahadi village, at a cost of Rs.35 million. Mandi's Divisional Forest Officer Kunal Satyarthi said that 71 trees were axed without the permission of the ministry of environment and forests. He says that the adjoining forest land was also damaged during the road construction. " Despite our repeated notices to the PWD about the violation of forest law, the assistant engineer did not bother. We finally registered a case. Cases against more officials can't be ruled out, " Satyarthi said. The PWD had got permission from the central government to use 4.33 hectares of forest land to build the road. It was authorised to cut down 290 trees. But the PWD started the project outside the permitted area and felled 71 trees in this zone, said Satyarthi. PWD executive engineer V.K. Awasthi insisted that the trees were cut after permission from the central conservator of forests in Chandigarh. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Flora__Fauna/PWD_official_booked_for_cutting_\ trees/articles how/3116675.cms 6) The site, dedicated to the people of Delhi, will be inaugurated by the LG on Monday. " By creating this site, we are providing people with a tool to understand their environment and take responsibility for it. By using this site, they can see a very localised area and can see for themselves how many encroachments exist around the natural resources, " Soni says. Shockingly, the maps find as much as " 68 sq km encroachment in non-notified forests " and a 9.2 km encroachment on Yamuna floodplain. " We found that 28.7 sq km of the Ridge is either undemarcated or missing on the ground, " Soni says. The maps, constructed through Google Earth with forest department inputs, reveal that of the 62 sq km of the Southern Ridge, which has a demarcated notified area of 33 sq km (including Asola, Bhatti, Rajokri, Ghitorni and Rangpuri), has 28.7 sq km missing. Also, there is an " encroachment of 68 sq km " in forests, which are protected but not notified as reserve forest. Reserve forests enjoy higher protection than protected forest. The Southern Ridge meanwhile, has several encroachments, especially near Jamia Nagar. " There is an urgent need to demarcate all undemarcated forests, " Soni says. On the Yamuna floodplain, the maps show you the 26 hectare Delhi Metro construction and the 37.3 hectare Akshardham complex. It also shows localised areas, like a part of the Ridge surrounded by houses in Aya Nagar. Altogether, 9.2 kms on the floodplain are encroached upon, which leaves only 78.8 kms of the 88 sq km of the floodplain for water recharge. " We hope that the government will take note of the encroachments in the Ridge and on the floodplain, " Soni says. The programme allows users to view areas in a 1.6 km by 1.6 km area, which can be magnified to 200 metre by 200 metre. The areas of encroachment on the Ridge and the floodplain (marked in red) can be calculated with a special drag function, which the viewer can use to compute the area through polygons. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Delhis-ground-reality-now-goes-online/32\ 0461/ Lao: 7) Lao PDR's Department of Forestry has engaged various stakeholders, including WWF, to prepare Lao PDR' proposal for inclusion in REDD. The country's extensive national protected areas and protection forests provide a strong basis for initial REDD strategies as they encompass about 50 percent of national forest cover, requiring strengthened management capacity. Under REDD, this country aims to raise public awareness of national and global benefits of participating in carbon trading. Land-use planning and titling programmes are stepping stones to engage village communities in emission reduction including the phasing out of slash-and-burn agriculture. In Champassak Province, where WWF is engaged with Government and communities in the ADB funded Biodiversity Corridor Initiative (BCI), could potentially be a pilot area for the REDD initial development. The area has undergone extensive land-use planning and delineated areas of protection forest. Also potential is the conservation forest area within the XEFOR II Project site in Xekong Province. The creation of the Forest and Trade Network could play a role in REDD by ensuring sustainable forest management of production forests. WWF's experience and knowledge of protected area management will be critical in supportting Lao PDR's government to implement REDD strategies. Strengthening protected area management at all levels, especially the inclusion of rural communities will be important to ensure a possible future commitment under REDD. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_pacific/our_solutions/greaterm\ ekong/index .. cfm?uNewsID=136381 Laos: 8) Deforestation could negatively impact hydropower projects, according to the National Land Management Authority president. Speaking at a press conference in Vientiane yesterday, Mr Kham-ouan Boupha said levels of deforestation in Laos were already back to those of 1989, when 47 percent of Laos was covered in forest. The current situation was even more worrisome, because this figure had further reduced, he said. " In 1989 we should have held up a red light to logging, but now the problem has got even worse, " he said. " If we faced a red light then, I don't know what colour light we're facing now. " Mr Kham-ouan maintains he has seen satellite images which back up his claim. He said if Laos 's forests continued to disappear, it would damage the potential of local hydropower projects. If deforestation occurs in a reservoir's catchment area this contributes to soil erosion. Soil then fills the reservoir and reduces the life of the hydropower project. Mr Kham-ouan said he knew of several hydropower dams that had failed to meet production targets for this reason, including Houayho in southern Laos and Nam Mang in Borikhamxay province. " Another dam in Luang Namtha province has insufficient water for electricity production because people cleared forests for rubber tree plantations, " he said. Mr Kham-ouan said illegal logging and slash and burn cultivation were contributing to forest decline. He said deforestation also contributed to changing weather patterns and the increasing frequency of floods and droughts in Laos during the past two years. In order to encourage reforestation and protect Laos 's capacity for hydropower, Mr Kham-ouan has called on officials from relevant sectors to strictly enforce current laws to ensure illegal logging is eradicated. Another challenge in preserving forests is instances of villagers taking ownership of state land without permission, including forest areas, and clearing the land for farming. This problem could be addressed if villagers were given land titles and legal rights to land, and these land titles were enforced to prevent forested land from being damaged. http://pnomsin.blogspot.com/2008/06/deforestation-could-negatively-impact.html Thailand: 9) Having in mind to wrap up our low-land forest birding escapee with our special friend from North Thailand we head to Bukit Rengit. We only head off from Raub, Pahang at about 8:40am from Kim's nephew house. In one of my field visit with a few friends to this place in Oct '2007, Encik Abdullah the deerland owner informed us that very soon this good sites might be depleting. The cause is because a logging license has just being approved and these contractor would very soon to start works. Bukit Rengit situated at the border of Krau Wildlife Forest is not a gazetted Forest Reserve nor it is actually a National Park. Would the loggers practise sustainability logging? Would the demands of wood products from the ever growing populations of Malaysia sustainability really is just a talks only? How much would the depleting for wildlife at Bukit Rengit due to loggings ? Soon and very soon this another good patch of low-land forest who is rich with birdlife will be loose to farm land. I send a list of birds that have been sighted here to Adbullah. He is one of the working committee member who wish that this place can be safe and leave it as of it is. I also wish that this place would be left intact but the demands for taking out more natural resources seems to be increasing. Well it is time that we should forgo the good quality wood furnitures and fittings and churn out less print out from our printers. Hei ... would you ever think that the earth would be such a depressing stage when the time that there is no more trees, rain, birds, animals, butterflies, dragon flies, damselflies, insects..the soil is no more furtile. http://wcm-birding.blogspot.com/2008/06/bukit-rengit-on-552008.html 10) If the foot feels the foot when it feels the ground, as the Buddha said, then does the hand feel the hand when it feels a tree? Due to commercial and illegal logging, the rate of deforestation in Thailand has been one of the highest in Asia. Most of the primary forest in Thailand is gone, with secondary forest only covering roughly 20% of the land area. This is compared to over 70% forest cover prior to World War II. As Perry Garfinkel states in Buddha or Bust: " The environmental impact [of this deforestation] is inestimable—from silting that kills fish and leaves riverbeds dry, to the loss of nesting and feeding for birds and other wildlife. " Enter the forest monks of Thailand, who have come to be known as environmental or, " Ecology Monks. " Active since the late 1980's and early 1990's, Ecology Monks around Thailand have taken action to protect every tree they can, each one a remaining symbol of the famed Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha first achieved " Bodhi " (in Pali), otherwise known as " enlightenment " and " nirvana. " Q: What have the ecology monks been doing? A: Ordaining trees as monks. Monks recite Buddhist prayers and tie a saffron colored robe around each tree's trunk. Because Thailand is 97% Theravada Buddhist, the saffron robes help to deter any potential loggers; the trees become, in effect, monks. Of course, this may not be " fool " -proof (see the fifth chapter of the Buddha's Dhammapada), but ideally this will dissuade a faithful Buddhist from logging although they may be in need of financial assistance. Some monks have also been active in creating fish sanctuaries in order to protect river ecosystems. Q: Why the environment? A: This may be a no-brainer to some, but it is important to note that the Buddha's primary goal was to end all suffering. Thai monks who have taken an interest in protecting the environment see that doing so works to end human suffering. Q: How many monks have been involved in the movement? A: At this time, it is difficult to say how many monks have been participating in the Ecology Monk movement. There are small groups of monks and community members involved with related conservation efforts; however, many of them are acting independently of one another. http://cid-bd575fac66bca77b.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BD575FAC66BCA77B!1725.entry Philippines: 11) BUTUAN CITY–Like Pontious Pilate, DENR officials here in Caraga Region headed by Officer-in-Charge Regional Executive Director Edilberto Buyser today denied accountability about the presence of many forest product monitoring stations or checkpoints along Agusan River. They claimed the agency has only two authorized checkpoints along Agusan River that in Batohon in Agusan del Sur side and in Bit-os in Barangay San Vicente here in Butuan City. " The rest are either owned by local government units for tax purposes, others by law enforcement agencies such as that of Philippine National Police, CIDG, NBI and military and private sector like the Balikatan, Bantay-Bayan " , Buyser, Agusan del Norte Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Bebot Asunto, CENRO Bong Ebron of Butuan City and Regional Technical Director for Forestry Adeluisa Siapno chorused. In an exclusive interview with the four officials with this writer, they claimed their responsibility are only that of DENR installed checkpoints while the more than 40 others sprouting like mushrooms along Agusan River were beyond their jurisdiction or responsibility. " While it is true that it is only DENR tasked constitutionally to implement forest and environmental laws including issuances of permits, the presence of many checkpoints as reported were never our accountabilities " the four officials added. The new Regional Technical for Forestry Adeloisa Siapno even commanded this writer to present to her witnesses, complainants, evidences regarding mounting public criticisms on the presence of so many checkpoints pestering poor tree farmers. Siapno even ordered this writer to bring the complaint affidavit of Mr. Fernando Duncano Curtina to the police so that it will be acted upon. The writer explained it is not journalist's duty to bring to their honorable presence complainants, evidences, witnesses on alleged mounting complaints of extortion and abuse committed by personnel manning checkpoints explaining journalist's role is merely to verify, check reports and seek comments or replies from all sides of the story. Neither journalist are made mail delivery boy. http://www.mindanao.com/blog/?p=3802 12) There were, at one time, according to the World Mangrove Atlas (International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan, 1997), more than 200,000 square kilometers of mangrove forests in tropical and subtropical coastlines all over the world. They have been disappearing at the rate of one percent to 2 percent a year or at about the same rate as the disappearance of coral reefs and rainforests. The rate of loss is faster in developing countries where in the last 25 years 35 percent to 86 percent of mangrove forests have been destroyed, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. In the Philippines, the rate of destruction, extrapolated from international data sources, is between 40 percent and 45 percent in the last 10 years. Mangrove areas in Bulacan, Davao, Palawan, the two Mindoros, Bohol, Samar and Zamboanga have shrunk, putting their long-term survival at risk. If this rate of loss is not reversed, we would have no mangrove stands by the middle of the century. Mangrove destruction is due mainly to human settlement and aquaculture but as the pace of urbanization quickens, reclamation and pollution will begin to take their toll. Mangrove forests are ecosystems that sustain unique plant and animal species, many of which we still have to discover and study. It's possible that many of them have become extinct with unforeseen effects on fragile mangrove ecology. Loss of functional diversity is particularly serious because mangrove ecosystems are species-poor. The FAO reports that in 26 of 120 countries, mangroves are critically endangered or fast becoming extinct. ( " Status and trends in mangrove area extent worldwide, " FAO, 2003). What are the known consequences of mangrove deforestation? Mangrove ecosystems are an integral part of terrestrial and marine food webs. Their destruction will have an immediate effect on fishery productivity. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/june/08/yehey/opinion/20080608opi2.html 13) KORONADAL CITY – Environment officials in South Cotabato tagged a " highly-financed " syndicate as behind the continuing illegal logging activities in declared forest reserves in Lake Sebu town. Ramon Ponce de Leon, Provincial Environmental Management Office (PEMO) chief, said in a press conference this morning that they are currently looking into the involvement of a wealthy trader from Banga town in the illegal cutting and transport of logs from the forest reserve in Sitio Tawan Dagat in Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu. But he refused to identify the alleged illegal logging financier pending investigation.Two weeks ago, Ponce de Leon said PEMO personnel stopped the transport of about 3,000 board feet of logs in Sitio Tawan Dagat after it turned out that they were from the nearby forest reserve. He said they initially planned to transfer the illegally-cut logs to the provincial capitol in Koronadal City last week but it was delayed due to the heavy rains and the lack of available vehicle.Several days before they were scheduled to transfer the logs, he said they found out that the supposed owner was able to move the logs out from the area.Ponce de Leon said the truck carrying the logs was last seen moving towards the national highway in Sto. Niño town in South Cotabato.He said a similar case happened last month when they also recovered illegally-cut logs in Barangay Tasiman of Lake Sebu.He said their personnel asked the barangay council then to take custody of the confiscated logs but the illegal loggers were still able to move them out of the area later. Ponce de Leon said the province's Multi-Forest Protection Council has already conducted a fact-finding investigation regarding the case and it turned out that the backers of the illegal logging activities in the area are " well-financed and very influential. " He sad they initially sought the help of the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office to investigate these cases and help file the case against the perpetrators. " We want to stop these illegal loggers but our resources and functions are limited. We cannot actually file a case against them, it's only the Cenro (Community Environment and Natural Resources) who can deal with them, " he said. http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=4511 & Itemid=1\ 06 Malaysia: 14) Deramakot Forest Reserve has been re-certified for another five years (2008-2013) under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification scheme making it the longest continuously certified rainforest in the world. State Forestry Director, Datuk Sam Mannan said the re-certification covering the period of April 21, 2008 to April 20, 2013 also made Deramakot the first tropical rainforest area in the world to be certified as such, since the inaugural award in 1997 under the FSC system. Sam handed over the FSC certificate for the approximate 55,000-hectare Deramakot Forest Reserve as " a well managed forest " to Forest Management Enterprise Manager, Albert Radin, in a brief ceremony at the department's headquarters in Sandakan on Monday. He also congratulated all the officers involved for striving diligently to maintain this world standard of forest management in Deramakot. The Deramakot System is also currently being multiplied to other areas directly under the department's management and the FSC certification process for Tangkulap-Pinangah Forest Reserves (FMU 17A) covering some 50,000 hectares is also now well underway and expected to be completed by end of this year. He said the department's target for 2009 was to have the largest sustainable forest management project area, Ulu Segama-Malua, covering some 250,000 hectares similarly FSC-certified by the end of next year. http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=58058 15) Peninsular Malaysia, according to official gazettes, lost 1,700ha of its permanent reserved forests over a five-year period from 2001. But hold on a second. That might not be true. Not only does the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia vehemently deny it, the protector of trees asserts that the peninsula has gained 6,800ha of forest reserves over the same period. The gazettes show that between 2001 and 2005, state governments allowed trees on 40,500ha of reserved forest land to be cut down. At the same time, trees were planted on 38,800ha of land. This gives a net loss of 1,700ha. But the Forestry Department, quoting from " gazettes " , says although trees on 16,500ha were cut down, 23,300ha of forests were created. This gives a net gain in forest reserves of 6,800ha. So what gives? Even the hectarage of trees cut and replanted is vastly different. In the immortal words of Alice (in Wonderland), " It's getting curiouser and curiouser " . It is manifestly unlikely, we think, that local forest trees have suddenly taken on lives of their own, or are distant cousins of the walking-talking humanoid Ents peopling (or is it treeing?) the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The department's explanation for the inconsistency is classic officialese. It says: " Since the procedures of gazettement and degazettement are a lengthy process and involve several parties, figures might be displaced along the process. " To say the department may not be seeing the forest for the trees may be incorrect. For, if the gazette figures are correct, it is the trees that have been displaced. In the wake of reports of illegal logging and illegal land clearance, such a discrepancy in figures could raise suspicions. The latest such case is the allegation that 650ha in a water catchment area in Kuala Selangor, including the Raja Musa Forest Reserve, had been illegally cleared over the past two to three years. The discrepancies could, of course, be due to a lack of coordination between the department at federal level and those involved in preparing the gazettes. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Columns/2261357/Article/index_html 16) According to statistics from state gazettes, state governments added 38,800ha to forest reserves but cut down 40,500ha between 2001 and 2005. This means that Peninsular Malaysia lost a net total of 1,700ha of its permanent forest reserves in five years. That amounts to more than 2,000 football fields. However, the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) painted a contrasting picture, with an addition of 6,800ha. It stated that there was an addition of 23,300ha over the period with omission or degazetted areas of only 16,500ha. When states add forest reserve acreage, they gazette these areas. Similarly, omission means degazettement. Interestingly, the department also cited the gazettes as its source of information. Discrepancies between the figures in the state gazettes and what the department reported, based on those same figures, are baffling. For example, JPSM placed reserve cuts at 16,500ha. This does not tally with what the gazettes -- the only legal documents proving a permanent forest reserve addition or excision process -- state. Based on four major excisions plucked from the gazettes, the total had breached the 18,000ha mark. There were 115 other excisions in those five years. On the inconsistencies, the department said: " Since the procedures of gazettement and degazettement are lengthy and involve several parties, figures might be displaced along the process. " Legal processes may take a long time to finalise, but current figures aren't looking too good. Over the last decade, reserves have been on a slight but steady decline. The National Forestry Council and the National Land Council jointly approved a proposal for a permanent forest estate of 5.18 million hectares (about 40 per cent of Peninsular Malaysia's land area) 30 years ago. The target has not been met and continues to appear unattainable if the recent trend is anything to go by. Between 1999 and 2004, total reserves fell from 4.85 million hectares to 4.68 million hectares and stabilised at 4.7 million hectares, according to Forestry Department statistics. On how viable the 5.18 million-hectare target was, considering that Peninsular Malaysia is short of a whopping 480,000ha, the department played down those concerns. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2261835/Article/index_ht\ ml 17) Permanent forest reserves are gazetted mainly for sustainable timber production and other forest produce, as well as for water and environmental conservation. This is in accordance with the concept of rational land use. One of the objectives of the National Forestry Policy 1978 (amended 1992) is to dedicate adequate reserves strategically located in the country. Although they are mainly for timber production, reserves are also important for wildlife conservation, studies show. Under the purview of the National Forestry Act 1984, the state authority can: 1) Excise a reserve or any part of a reserve " under very special circumstances " . This is when the reason for its reservation no longer applies, or it is required for economic use higher than the present forest value; and 2) Replace all areas of permanent forest estate that are cut down, provided there is a need for soil and water conservation, biodiversity and other environmental consideration; a need to sustain timber production; an economic interest for the state; and there is suitable land available. This responsibility lies with the state forestry departments with the help of land and mineral offices or district offices which have administrative authority over state forests. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2261836/Article/index_ht\ ml 18) PERAK and Negri Sembilan experienced the biggest net loss in permanent forest reserves between 2001 and 2005. Perak lost about 11,900ha, an area slightly larger than the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Negri Sembilan lost 8,800ha. Of the 11 states in the peninsula, Pahang is the only one which recorded an impressive net gain of 26,600ha, an area spanning half the Langkawi archipelago. Perlis and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya registered no change. Negri Sembilan forestry director Ahmad Zainal said the excisions took place during the time of the former state government. He said the state had marked two forested areas to be regazetted, but he could not provide the size. As of 2005, a quarter of Negri Sembilan was still covered with reserves. On how the state was going to increase its permanent forest reserves considering that there were few reserves left to be regazetted, Ahmad said: " That's where you are wrong. Any state land can be planted back with forests and regazetted. " There are such things as reforestation and afforestation. " Pahang, which excised 3,000ha but added 29,000ha, had 42 per cent of its total area under forest reserves. The bulk of the addition came from the gazettement of peat swamp forests, said its forestry department deputy director, Jalil Md Som. " These peat swamps are not to be logged or even touched although they are categorised as agriculture land. We have to keep them forested because of their importance as carbon sinks. " Jalil said Pahang had always practised sustainable logging. " For an area that has been logged, we have to wait 30 years for it to be rehabilitated before we are allowed to go in again. " http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2261837/Article/index_ht\ ml 19) CAMERON HIGHLANDS: It is a hill that has suffered at least three landslides in the last two years, but this has not stopped a contractor from stripping its summit bare. Environmentalists in Brinchang are outraged after spotting land-clearing work for what is believed to be a strawberry farm. They claimed that 10ha of the summit has already been cleared and was looming dangerously close to the Cactus Valley nursery, just 200m below it. The Department of Environment (DOE) last week recommended to the district office that work be stopped after finding that the contractor had violated several conditions. Orchid enthusiast Embi Abdullah accused the developer of being an " environmental outlaw " . " This is dangerous because there are people in homes and businesses further down the slope. What happens if there is another landslide? " he asked. Environmentalist N. Madi said it was distressing that a primary virgin forest with rare orchids, ginger plants, cinnamon trees and medicinal plants was being destroyed. The area was also home to Imperial pigeons, serow (endangered mountain goats), civets , bear cats and migratory birds, he said. " Once they're driven out of their habitat, you will see cases of these animals dying because they're unable to adapt and find food. I've seen it happen, " he added. A check on the hill last month, which is part of the Ulu Bertam water catchment area, found six backhoes and other heavy machinery working on the summit. Further down, there were signs of severe land erosion and previous landslides just 300m from the worksite. The land clearing has since stopped, pending a site investigation by DOE on Tuesday. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/8/nation/21491625 & sec=nation Indonesia: 20) Banda Aceh - Hundreds of hectares of forests within the Gunung Leuser National Park (TNGL) have been cleared by local people to obtain land for corn and cacao cultivation. Forests along the Alas River situated between Muara Situlen and Batu Injin of Southeast Aceh district have been seriously damaged, a spokesperson of the International Leuser Foundation (YLI), Chik Rini, said here Tuesday. The illegal activity had been going on for the past two months, she said. Rini said, hectares of area on the right side of the river were cleared , and people had now begun to cut trees within the Leuser Ecosystem Area (KEL) on the left side of Alas River. The people planted the cleared area with corn and cacao while the wood was used to build cabins for their families, Rini said. She called on the government to take stern measures to stop the activity to avoid further damage to the forests that could threaten people living in the downstream area of Subulussalam and Aceh Singkil districts. " Now, floods always hit the two areas every year claiming many lives, " she added. In addition, she said, Alas River was a potential area for ecotourism, especially for rafting where tourists could enjoy the views from Leuser forest, and see wild animals such as elephants, orangutan, gibbon and hornbills. Now, those animals were rarely seen in the area, she said. In the period 1994-2004, some 40 foreign tourists visited Southeast Aceh every month for rafting in Alas River and tracking in the Gunung Leuser National Park to watch wild life. http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/6/10/hundreds-of-hectares-of-forests-in-leus\ er-national-par k-cleared/ 21) WWF has repeatedly leveled allegations of illegal logging in Indonesia at the Singapore-headquartered APP. " WWF is very concerned about APP's logging activities in high-conservation-value forests in Indonesia, " the organisation said. The latest move follows comments from a conference held by APP in Birmingham last month, where it reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability and the PEFC chain of custody (PrintWeek, 5 June 2008). However, WWF also said that this was not satisfactory, adding that FSC certification is the only forest accreditation scheme that it recommends. The spokeswoman said: " Evaluations by WWF of forest certification schemes have found that the different PEFC schemes are highly inconsistent in quality and comprehensiveness and that, as a system, it cannot guarantee well-managed forests. " Last year, APP was kicked out of FSC over allegations of destroying tropical forest in Indonesia. FSC suspended the company's rights to use its logo last November following the accusations. http://www.printweek.com/paper/news/816369/WWF-reiterates-APP-concerns/ Brunei: 22) Temburong National Park is a little known and rarely visited 50,000-ha dipterocarp forest in southern Brunei. It is a truly pristine tropical rain forest with no history of logging and minimal human settlement. Access is only available by river in traditional wooden longboats or temuai - otherwise known as 'flying coffins'! A small new Photo Album - Temburong Park, Brunei - is now in the collection and I hope it provides some visual references for our one day adventure in the park. Unfortunately, the camera does not do justice to the amazing vertical scale of the dipterocarp trees or the height of the canopy walkway above the ground. Located deep in the forest is a high canopy walkway with magnificent vistas in all directions and the rare opportunity to look down on the top of the forest. To enjoy these sights it is necessary to climb a series of narrow aluminum step ladders that are stacked vertically inside open towers up to 50 m in height. The suspended walkway is in sections at different heights, requiring climbs up and down five different towers. To reach the 'Perch', the top of the highest tower, we climbed up and down over 40 step ladders. The 'Perch' is 75 meters above the ground! This was not a 'cake walk in the park'! Looking up at the canopy walkway from the ground is intimidating. Our guide regaled us with tales of tourists with severe vertigo who froze, either on the step ladders or on the walkways, and had to be carried down using a fireman's lift. Kathleen took all this in her stride and was determined not to balk when we reached the bottom of the first tower. I should also mention that we first had to climb up 1,200 steps on a jungle trail just to reach the base of the first tower. By this time of course there was no turning back and up we went. http://davidowens.typepad.com/asian_images/2008/06/jungle-adventur.html Papua: 23) The grew up in the high mountain areas of central Papua. After studying agriculture the University of Cendrawasih, he moved onto become the secretary of Folker, an umbrella group coordinating West Papuan nongovernmental organisations. Here to campaign against kwila wood the oppression of native Papuans, Septer spoke to the Times about the environment in Papua and its people's struggle. What relationship does the tribe have with the forest? Papuan people consist of 356 tribes and most live close to the forest. Papua has lowlands, highlands, wetland areas and coastal and marine areas. 50 per cent of Papuans live in high mountain areas and 68 per cent live close to the forest. Q: Were you dependent on the forest growing up? A: Yes. My parents went to the forest for food all the time. Cutting down sago palms, making traditional fires, planting sweet potatoes, animal hunting and getting fish from the river. Q: What changes have you seen there over your lifetime? A: Logging companies have come and occupied people's land and clear cut the forest. Papuan people live in the forest, but forest land is all controlled by government. It is difficult for Papuan people because all their activities in the forest and coast are their main traditional activity. Q: What have the tribes lost? They lose food, they lose animals and traditional medicines and they lose culture because in the forest they implement traditional culture. It's their home. Their perspective is the forest is their mother. The mother can give everything. It can protect, give food and give life. We believe every indigenous people have a perspective and local wisdom. But so far the Indonesian government has not recognised their rights. When we talk about rights it is very difficult because in Papua there is a stigma from the government and military: " You are separatists! " Q: Who are the companies? A: Mostly foreign: Malaysian, Chinese and others. They operate outside the concession. The government gives a legal permit, and then they go outside that area. But illegal or legal are both causing destruction and deforestation. A: The military is connected with all of this? Q: Yes. All activity from logging companies comes through the military. A: What do you want New Zealand to do? Q: Stop buying kwila. Support indigenous people. Destruction of the forest is like killing people because they lose everything. They cannot have food, they can't get water. Logging companies pollute the water too. http://www.times.co.nz/cms/news/interview/2008/06/art100020587.php and www.fokerlsmpapua.org 24) Tengku Zuhelmi, the former head of the local forestry agency, testified that Azmun had asked him to pass recommendations needed for the issuance of authorization letters to four companies. Government regulations require recommendations from local forestry agencies and environmental management agencies prior to a regent approving any request for a forest resource utilization permit. " I received an order from the regent to sign the recommendations. I eventually did so, knowing the companies were linked to him, " said Zuhelmi, who is a distant relative of Azmun's. Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have charged Azmun with abuse of authority for personal benefit. He is accused of issuing authorization letters to 15 companies for the utilization of more than 120,000 hectares of forest in Pelalawan, Riau, causing Rp 1.2 trillion (US$128 million) in losses to the state. Azmun issued the letters to the companies between December 2002 and January 2003. Seven of the companies were established by his relatives and acquaintances, and none of them met the criteria necessary for forestry enterprises in terms of financial or technical qualifications. Prosecutors told the court Azmun had received more than Rp 19 billion from the companies since issuing the letters. Azmun's brother, Tengku Lukman Jaafar, who was involved in establishing some of the companies in 2001, earned more than Rp 8 billion, the indictment says. A total of Rp 840 million was paid to three Riau Forestry Agency officials who were allegedly involved in approving the procedural letters for the authorization. PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) general manager, Rosman, who is wanted for questioning, is also implicated in the case. Rosman was allegedly involved in the takeover of six of the seven companies belonging to Azmun's relatives and cronies by a subsidiary of RAPP, PT Persada Karya Sejati, soon after the letters were issued. http://redapes.org/news-updates/indonesian-court-rules-forest-minister-abused-po\ wer/ Solomon Islands: 25) VANUATU is seeing the benefits of its relationship with Solomon Islands through trade between local timber companies. Tahos Timber Company in Port Vila started to import timber from the Solomon Islands early this year. Tahos' main suppliers in the Solomon Islands are Lagoon Eco-timber and Bobby Ramo Timber Company. Tahos gets timber every two months with three containers in each shipment. However, due to an increasing demand in Vanuatu, Tahos Timber is focusing on getting at least 10 containers in future shipments. The imported timbers were described by the owners of Tahos Timber, Tony and Lilian Nicholls, as very high quality grading logs. Solomon Islands Forestry Minister Sir Allan Kemakeza visited the Port Vila company. He was briefed on the arrangement made by Tahos Timber and their Solomon Islands suppliers. Sir Allan also had the chance to see first hand the end products made out of the Solomon Islands logs. Lilian Nicholls told Sir Allan that Solomon timbers have good quality grading and meet the requirements of their buyers in Port Vila. " We see that they have good grading and at the end of the day our buyers are pleased with what we are selling them although the price is a bit higher than our local timber price. " We are happy to get timbers from Solomon Islands and are looking forward to get more quantity in future to meet our current and future standards and demands. " Sir Allan said his ministry encourages downstream processing when it comes to logging. He thanked Vanuatu Director for Agriculture Livo Mele for the arrangement to visit Tahos Timber. He said through the visit his delegation will take home the idea so that more suppliers in the Solomons can get on board in the same business. http://solomonstarnews.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=1780 & change\ =71 & changeown=79 & Itemid=26 New Zealand: 26) The pollution, last Thursday, came from a large burnoff in the forest, which lasted for two days and enveloped houses and farms in a 15km area with smoke, residents say. Local resident and arborist Linus Wood says the forest is managed by Rayonier in Whangarei. He says they lit a fire which resulted in a smoke plume 500 metres high and 15km long. " It's quite disgusting. They need to clean up their act if they think this is okay, " he says. Mr Wood says they were burning the tailings off the logs. " All the heads and branches they don't want get shoved in a pile and they light a fire. " He says there are other options for the tailings. " There are several companies in New Zealand who have expressed interest in chopping it up for mulch, and they will come and remove it. " " The mulch can be burned for energy or go into the ground for gardens. " Then the carbon goes back into the ground, or can be used for energy and heating. It's just polluting the air and it's unbelievable. " Is this New Zealand's attitude to world environmental issues? The pollution is a disgrace, " he says. http://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/4578829a23016.html 27) The worst ever loss of 13,600 hectares of forest last year is a disaster for the environment and makes a mockery of Labour's climate change commitments says National's Climate Change spokesman, Nick Smith. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's National Exotic Forest Description Annual Report was released today. " New Zealand proudly planted more trees than it felled every year from 1951 until 2003, building a forestry resource of 1.9 million hectares of trees. " The last four years has seen ever-growing levels of deforestation. The 12,900 hectares of forests cleared and not replanted in 2006 had grown to 13,600 hectares in these latest figures. " In 2002, only 2.8% of harvested forest was not replanted. By 2003 this had grown to 3.6%. In 2004, 4.2% of all forest harvested was not replanted and in 2005 it was 18%. In 2006 it was 33% and these latest shocking statistics, for the 2007 year, show 35% of felled forests remain so. " This chainsaw massacre of 3.4 million trees is a direct consequence of the Government's disastrous climate change policies. Foresters have been so desperate to avoid massive liabilities that they have chosen to instead, chop the lot down. " The report notes; 'The relatively new trend of not replanting forests after harvesting, and in a number of cases converting immature forest to pasture, started on a large scale in 2004'. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00135.htm 28) The Green Party is calling on the Government to admit to being a major on-the-ground player in the worst deforestation in New Zealand's modern history. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's (MAF) National Exotic Forest Description Annual Report shows the loss of 13,600 hectares of forest last year, which is the largest deforestation in 50 years. On Radio NZ Morning Report today Agriculture and Forestry Minister Jim Anderton admitted most deforestation was caused by dairying and he defended the deforestation practice. " What the minister should be focussing on is the government enterprise Landcorp being one of the worst offenders, " party Co-Leader Russel Norman said. " The chainsaw massacre has got worse in the last four years, with Landcorp a major player. A Landcorp partnership (the Wairakei Estate) is converting 25,000 hectares of pine plantations north of Taupo into dairy and drystock farming. Up to 20 industrial dairy units will eventually carry 30,000 cows (1). " But we suspect government projects may have caused even more than this deforestation, especially if native scrub and bush-lots are added. " We are trying to get the total number of hectares Landcorp is clearing around New Zealand and I would call on Mr Anderton to provide those figures today. " Such conversions marked a potential " triple whammy " on the environment as it destroyed carbon sinks and replaced them with dairy farming, which was one of the most greenhouse gas intensive forms of land use. Also Landcorp had a bad record of polluting streams and rivers as was evident with its cows in the Manawatu River, Dr Norman said. " This morning, Mr Anderton called Morning Report co-host Sean Plunket `silly' for suggesting the Government was putting " bucks and business " ahead of the environment and the planet., " http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0806/S00154.htm Australia: 29) Environmentalists have established a tree sit in the Weld Valley in southern Tasmania to protest at what they say is the construction of a new road. Spokeswoman for the Huon Valley Environment Centre, Jenny Weber, says the Fletcher's Eddy area is under immediate threat from the new logging road and subsequent logging operations. In a statement, Forestry Tasmania said the Weld Valley including access to Glovers Bluff remains accessible to the public. Spokesman, Mike Farrow says Forestry Tasmania operates according the Forest Practices Code under the scrutiny of the Forest Practices Authority and has its operations certified under the independent and internationally recognised Australian Forestry Standard. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/11/2271224.htm?site=hobart 30) The Wild Earth Quilt Project was inspired by our deep feelings for the wild spirit of the Weld Valley in Southern Tasmania, a stunning wilderness valley being rapidly destroyed by industrial clearfelling and woodchipping. In mid-2007 flyers were distributed calling-out for individuals to make quilt patches inspired by their feelings for wild places, wherever that may be. Patches started trickling in from all around Australia, and then from places all over the world. It has been fascinating being privy to other people's feelings and ideas about wild places. Cultural and environmental differences greatly influence our perception of what is " wild " ; from the swirling depths of the wild Franklin River in Tasmania, to the farm animals of Ireland. The Wild Earth Quilt was recently exhibited at the annual collaborative exhibition Weld Echo, held in Hobart as a fundraiser for the campaign to protect the Weld Valley. (The Black Sassy Collective is the artistic arm of the Huon Valley Environment Centre in Southern Tasmania. The HVEC is a grassroots volunteer-run organisation that campaigns for the protection of Tasmania's threatened native forests, and promotes sustainable living. http://www.huon.org and http://www.blacksassy.org 31) Giant Environment Minister Peter Garrett visited six ALP offices across Australia on 5th June as community members held a National Day of Action to highlight their critical concerns with the destruction of Tasmania's old growth forests and the ALP's continued support for Gunns Ltd.'s proposed pulp mill. Giant Garrett was kept extremely busy on World Environment Day, appearing in Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle, Brisbane and Darwin. " Today's National Day of Action has sent a very clear message to Minister Garrett that the ALP's continued support for the woodchipping and burning of Tasmania's ancient forests as well as Gunns Ltd.'s forest munching pulp mill is simply unacceptable to the Australian people. The federal government must take immediate action and put a stop to these environmentally criminal acts " said Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Ula Majewski. http://radicalcrossstitch.com/2008/06/08/craft-actions/ 32) Forestry Tasmania's recent accidental logging in areas that should be reserved is not an isolated incident according to The Wilderness Society. Similar blunders over the past few years include illegal logging in Swift parrot habitat, cutting down an eagle's nest and logging in the Arve Forest Reserve; the most recent mistake is in a coup with high conservation value on the Blue Tier. The Wilderness Society expresses concern and hopes the Forest Practices Authority will do a thorough investigation. http://ecomedia.org.au/press/2008/06/08/accidental-logging-in-tasmanias-forests/ 33) An anti-logging group has complained that Forestry Tasmania has blocked access to a road in the Weld Valley in the state's south that's been promoted to tourists. The Huon Valley Environment Centre says the road is a significant access into the Fletcher's Eddy section of the valley. Spokesman Will Mooney says several significant tourist attractions, including the Glovers' Bluff Lookout, are now locked away. " We understand that it's been locked now for about a week. Several month ago Forestry Tasmania promised to keep the area open for visitors and to develop it for tourism, " Mr Mooney said. " But now we're seeing the very areas that they suggested that they would develop being logged, and also locked off, " he said. In a statement Forestry Tasmania says the gated section is in fact a new access road that's still under construction. Spokesman Mike Farrow says the gate is there for safety reasons and to protect contractor equipment, and it will be opened to the public permanently in a few weeks. Mr Farrow says nearby Eddy Road is still open for tourists and locals. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/08/2268426.htm 34) Mr Rudd used a speech to university students in the home of the Kyoto protocol to call for more support for poorer nations with substantial forests remaining. Those countries should be helped to measure the carbon stored in their rainforests, then given credit for the greenhouse emissions avoided by not cutting the trees down, he said. The developing countries would effectively sell the carbon credits to big carbon emitting countries under an international trading scheme. Australia has already signed a forest carbon partnership with Papua New Guinea and Mr Rudd will discuss a similar deal with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono later this week. " Through our work with Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, we can support these countries (as they) move towards participating in global forest carbon markets and gain economic benefit for the emissions that are avoided,'' Mr Rudd said. " There is scope for Australia and Japan to once again work together. " We both have the high technology systems to measure and monitor the carbon stored in forests - it requires a combination of satellite monitoring and on-the-ground observations.'' Australia's National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) was widely recognised as one of the most sophisticated systems developed so far, he said. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23838411-5005961,00.html 35) The North Coast Environment Council is concerned about a surge in approvals for logging privately owned land. The council's Susie Russell says in just 10 months, the Department of Environment and Climate Change has given the go-ahead for more than 100,000 hectares to be logged. Ms Russell says it is under a new code of practice and has been done with little public scrutiny. She says approvals are good for 15 years and can lead to logging of old-growth forest and endangered species' habitats. " We have a situation where in some cases very damaging activity, breaches of the code of practice for example, are occurring, " she said. " And yet the public ability to be able to do anything about it is basically being shut down by the [New South Wales] Government who doesn't want scrutiny and who doesn't want criticism. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/12/2272232.htm Tropical Forests: 36) In a recent issue of PNAS, Grainger (1) claimed that the evidence for decline of global tropical forests is ''unclear'' and that it is difficult to demonstrate that it is happening ''convincingly using available tropical forest area data.'' We agree with most of the article, yet we feel these statements overstate the uncertainty about tropical deforestation. His assessment is based only on the national-level data in the 2005 Forest Resources Assessment, yet data from other studies designed to estimate global rates all show convincing evidence for decline in the area of tropical forests. Two studies estimated that deforestation was from 5.6 to 9.2 million hectares per year in the 1990s for the global tropics (2, 3), and another one estimated that it was 4.9 1.3 million hectares per year for the global humid tropics (4). All three are based on satellite observations and represent convincing evidence for declining tropical forest area during the 1990s. Many national studies show large areas of forest loss. Data from Brazil and Indonesia—the two countries with the highest rates—alone are enough to demonstrate that tropical forest decline has continued since 2000. The deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon ranged from 1.8 to 2.7 million hectares per year since 2000 (5). That for Indonesia averaged 0.7 million hectares per year since 2000 (6). These published data provide convincing evidence for decline in tropical forest cover. http://www.pnas.org/ World-wide: 37) One who experiences the diversity and indescribable beauty of the rain forest may be impressed with its plant and animal variety on a strictly visual and audio basis, but the rain forests are essential to human life, providing medicines, foods and climate control. Rain forests have provided enormous contributions to human well being through food, climate control and drugs obtained from, or based on, plants from the rain forest; including Rosy Periwinkle, a plant used to battle Hodgkin's disease and child leukemia. It is estimated that the Indians in Amazonia used no less than 1600 pharmaceutical plant extracts. Amazingly, it is probable that there are at least 10,000 plant species worldwide that have not yet been identified. In addition, as food crops, we only use 7,000 of about 75,000 known edible plants. Unfortunately, for all the beauty, life, life-saving foods and medicines the rain forest has provided humanity, our way of saying thank you has left much to be desired. While some may chop down the forest for purposes of logging; some clearing it for agricultural purposes and indigenous peoples who cultivate the land through lack of choice, humanity is setting itself up for certain disaster. Each year, up to 54,000 square miles of rain forest are destroyed and 500,000 trees are cut down every hour. Due to the removal of trees, we lose 20,000 to 100,000 species per year and may lose 20% of all species on the planet within the next 30 years. http://autumnsunrise.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/environmental-health-a-look-at-the\ -rain-forest/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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