383 - Earth's Tree News

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In this issue:

 

Latin America

Asia-Pacific-Australia

 

Index:

 

--Latin America: 1) Stopping deforestation when it's how we set up our countries

--Haiti: 2) Get involved online, help reforest Haiti!!!

--Panama: 3) Forest vines and climate change

--Guyana: 4) Money to save forests is not going to the people who care

for the forest

--Brazil: 5) Veracel must uproot 96,000 hectares of eucalyptus, 6)

Violent conflict between rice farmers and Indian tribes,

--Chile: 7) Illegal logging for construction of a road to a dam on the

Cuervo River

--Peru: 8) Coffee farms transformed into partial forests to earn

higher bean prices

--India: 9) Bangalore high court quashes all mining leases, 10)

Compensatory Afforestation Bill, 11) Forest cover of India is falling

fast, 12) Court to decide on road building in Squirrel Wildlife

Sanctuary, 13) Leopords trying to survive in forest turned into Tea

plantaions,

--Vietnam: 14) Orchid craze strips forests bare

--Thailand: 15) State authorities must stop their misguided policies

--Philippines: 16) Overweight log trucks, 17) Illegal logging charges

are being readied, --Malaysia: 18) Forest Research Institute of

Malaysia, 19) Plastic nets save forests & time, 20) Save the

Hornbills!

--Indonesia: 21) Greenpease protest

--Sumatra: 22) Orangutan in serious decline, 23) Orang Rimba people,

--New Zealand: 24) Gov to buy 20-year forestry right over the Matahi

and Oponae trees owned by Matariki Forests for $11.83 million

--Australia: 25) Launching the first tropical biodiversity credits

scheme, 26) Landmark report on Green Carbon will help save ancient

forests, 27) Cont. 28) VicForests' new harvest and haulage tendering

process show logging of native forests is unsustainable, 29) Don't

allow housing in Shoalhaven State Forest, 30) New national park on

Cape York Peninsula, 31) Rainforest at McPhersons Crossing have been

damaged, 32) Industry plans for more hardwood instead of softwood, 33)

Call for the creation of new national parks, 34) Timber industry

rejects claims for native forests lock up, 35) Enviros back down on

ending logging in Melbourne's water catchments, 36) New Forest Unity

Network,

 

Articles:

 

Latin America:

 

1) One problem with trying to stop deforestation in developing

countries is that the developed countries cleared forests right and

left in setting up their countries. The reason we're talking to other

countries about deforestation now is that we did not know about the

environmental hazards before, or understand what that meant. Now we

do, and it is essential that the deforestation of the Amazon rain

forest be stopped. But we have a credibility problem, because it seems

like the big, industrialized (and largely white) countries are coming

in and telling the poor South Americans what to do. There may be a

little of that going on, but mostly, we're really concerned about the

deforestation, and we have that credibility problem. Not only do we

not sound particularly sincere; these people benefit from

deforestation. They have clear land to raise cattle, farm, build

homes, and build roads. As far as they're concerned, it's " their "

forest, and they're doing what it takes to improve their lives. Yes,

there are many negative consequences. In addition to the climate

issues, soil erodes and nutrients are lost, so that the ground quickly

becomes unusable. Lack of trees to hold water and support watersheds

results in floods, which can cause landslides. On top of these

difficulties, indigenous people, plants and animals are driven out,

and many plants and animals may become extinct. It is definitely not a

good situation, and even the " benefits " that the local residents

receive are paltry in comparison to what they lose. But they believe

that they have the right to make the decision, and so far they see no

other viable solutions. Stopping deforestation and reforesting the

area depends on finding a way to offer them more, for not tearing down

the trees, than they get by doing it. And the offer will have to

appear as more to them, not just to the countries helping them find

solutions. http://edu.udym.com/pros-and-cons-of-deforestation/

 

Haiti:

 

2) It has been said that some stories need to be told; ache to be

told. As empty stomachs ache for food, as bare mountains ache for the

forests that used to cloak them, as the oppressed ache to taste

freedom, so this story aches to be told… Forgotten by most of the

world and considered by experts as one of the most impoverished and

ecologically devastated countries in the world, Haiti is in the midst

of a truly remarkable grass-roots movement toward ecological

restoration, through socially-embraced democratic processes. To find

out more about this exciting new documentary, please visit:

http://www.HopeMakesUsLive.org - http://www.myspace.com/reforesthaitidocumentary

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=507940296#/pages/Espwa-Fe-Viv-Hope-Makes-\

Us-Live-A-film-

about-reforestation-in-Haiti/64522585429?ref=mf

 

 

Panama:

 

3) Among the hundreds of species of woody vines that University of

Wisconsin–Milwaukee ecologist Stefan Schnitzer has encountered in the

tropical forests of Panama, the largest has a stalk nearly 20 inches

in circumference. " That's like a large tree, " says Schnitzer. " And

because it winds itself up to the forest canopy and spreads, it can

cover as much canopy area as a community of trees. " Such vines, called

lianas, concentrate their energy on extending high and wide, and

plunging their roots deep into the earth, rather than on building a

thick trunk, says Schnitzer, an assistant professor of biological

sciences at UWM who specializes in the vines and forest diversity.

They are essentially structural parasites, he says. But tropical

lianas, even more so than their temperate counterparts (like kudzu,

grapevine and poison ivy), are important players in tropical forest

dynamics. Growing evidence suggests that lianas are becoming more

abundant with rising levels of carbon dioxide (C02) in the atmosphere,

choking out trees. While all plants remove C02 from the atmosphere and

store it, vines do not sequester as much as trees do – so vines may

cause a net forest-wide loss in carbon. Scientists would like to know

if lianas really are becoming more numerous in tropical forests and

what – if any –effects that would have on C02 and climate change. One

problem in testing the theory of lianas on climate change, says

Schnitzer, is that scientists aren't sure whether C02 is acting on

lianas or the other way around. To find out more, he is involved in

one of the most comprehensive community-level studies on liana-tree

interactions ever conducted.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/08/06/vine.invasion.uwm.ecologist.looks.co\

existence.tre

es.and.lianas

 

Guyana:

 

4) In an article appearing in the Caribbean Net News about financial

aid for combating tropical deforestation, the President was reported

to be unhappy about the way payment will be done. All about money.

What about the Indigenous peoples who have tremendously contributed to

the preservation of the forest where they live? There has been no

mention about how these people will benefit and how this will affect

their lives. In the meanwhile concessions to loggers and miners

continue to be dished out lavishly on ancestral lands occupied and

used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and these very

activities contribute to deforestation and permanent damage to the

environment as well as people. Most times if not all, there is only

talk about preserving and conserving and protecting the environment,

and the people component of the environment is always forgotten or

down-played. When will we ever be allowed to participate meaningfully

in activities which will affect our very lives and the future

generation of our peoples, through our own representatives and

institutions? Where are the government's international obligations

which speak about the meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples

and which they have ratified? We need to know much, much more about

this selling of forest or what is being done to the forest and other

issues affecting other Guyanese.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/letters/we-need-to-know-more-about-forest-issues-as-\

they-relate

-to-indigenous-peoples/

 

Brazil:

 

5) A Brazilian Federal Court ruled in June 2008 that Veracel must

uproot 96,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations and replant the land

with native trees. Veracel was also fined US$125 million for

deforesting areas of the Atlantic Forest with bulldozers and tractors

during its first years of operation. Veracel removed forest by

fastening chains between tractors and driving them through the

Atlantic Forest. In February 1993, the Brazilian authorities

temporarily suspended Veracel's operations after local NGOs and the

Union of Forestry Workers documented how the company was clearing the

Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) to make way for its tree plantations.

Greenpeace also demonstrated against Veracel's forest destruction.

This ruling is significant on several different levels. First, it

upholds the arguments that local groups such as Socio-Environmental

Forum of the Extreme South of Bahia and the Alert Against the Green

Desert Network have made against Veracel for the past 15 years.

Second, it shows that the FSC-certification of Veracel was a sham. The

certificate should never have been awarded - particularly as it took

place while FSC is carrying out a review of its certification of

plantations. And third, it shows that banks that lent to Veracel,

including the European Investment Bank, failed to carry out sufficient

due diligence. The Socio-Environmental Forum of The Extreme South of

Bahia is asking for signatures to a motion of support to the Federal

Public Prosecution Service and the Federal Court in Bahia for its

decision against Veracel. Please sign on to the motion by clicking

here.

http://pulpinc.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/federal-court-rules-that-veracel-must-up\

root-its-trees/

 

6) A violent conflict between rice farmers and a handful of Indian

tribes in the northernmost reaches of the Brazilian Amazon has the

country's Supreme Court warning of civil war and top generals openly

challenging the civilian government for the first time since the

dictatorship. Its resolution could redefine Brazil's indigenous policy

and the future of the Amazon — whose remaining jungles provide a

critical cushion against global warming. The court is expected to

decide in August if the government can keep evicting settlers from 4.2

million acres (1.7 million hectares) for an Indian reservation decreed

by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2005. The evictions were

halted in April when rice farmers turned violent, burning bridges and

blockading roads. Justices said they feared a " veritable civil war "

and decided to study the constitutionality of the reservation. While

Indian tribes have fought for decades to regain their ancestral lands,

there has been increasing pressure on the government to limit the size

of reservations as logging, ranching and farming expand into the

Amazon. " The question here is much bigger than the state of Roraima.

It's a question of national integration, " said rice farmer Paulo Cesar

Quartiero, who has been jailed twice for resisting eviction — once for

blocking a federal highway and again on weapons charges after his

ranch hands shot and wounded 10 Indians. Roraima state Gov. Jose de

Ancieta sued to stop the evictions, arguing that the reservation is

strangling economic development in a state where 46 percent of the

land is already in Indian hands. And many Brazilians — including some

military leaders — are beginning to criticize the nation's indigenous

policy as isolationist and even a threat to national sovereignty. But

Paulo Santilli of Brazil's National Indian Foundation says a court

ruling in favor of the settlers would spell havoc in the Amazon, " not

just on the part of Indians, but from land grabbers, prospectors and

loggers who would take it as a signal that reservations could be

invaded. "

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/04/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-Indian-Conflict.\

php

 

Chile:

 

7) The investigative police in Chile are looking into a report of

illegal logging in a native forest for the construction of a road to a

dam on the Cuervo River, a project of the Energía Austral company.

Peter Hartmann, regional director of the National Committee for the

Defense of Flora and Fauna, filed a complaint with the regional

attorney general's office. It involves 10 to 20 hectares of native

forest, " including the protected cypress of Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron

uviferum), which is environmental harm against the heritage of all

Chileans. The government must uphold this right and apply the

corresponding sanctions, " Hartmann told Tierramérica. Energía Austral

has an agreement with the Ministry of Public Works for the

construction of the road, despite the fact that the proposed dam has

not yet been approved by the Regional Environmental Commission.

http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refID=103562

Peru:

 

8) QUILLABAMBA — Once bleak and lifeless places degraded by years of

high-impact farming, Peruvian coffee farms are being transformed by a

growing trend for certification schemes offering ethical and

environmental guarantees to western consumers. One scheme run by the

Rainforest Alliance has helped farmers in eastern Peru return to

traditional ways of farming, finally laying to rest the damaging

maximum production techniques of the 1970s. " My parents systematically

deforested in order to plant more coffee plants. Now we know that this

was a mistake, " said Evangelino Condori Rojas who has a small

plantation near Quillabamba in the east of the country. The plantation

was one of the first to be certified by the New York-based

organisation. Its seal of approval gives consumers an assurance that

the coffee they buy has been produced according to a range of criteria

that balance ecological, economic and social considerations. Coffee

certified by the Rainforest Alliance is guaranteed to have been

produced on farms where rivers, soil and wildlife are protected. " The

certification is a mechanism to avoid the slide towards

deforestation, " said Gerardo Medina of the Rainforest Alliance in

Peru. Such schemes are increasingly popular worldwide as a way of

bolstering consumer concerns.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gY2_c6xAmM2JVaFD79F4r1mg43gQ

 

 

India:

 

 

9) BANGALORE: The high court on Thursday quashed all mining leases

(for forest areas) issued by the government pursuant to the March 15,

2003 notification and thereafter. It suggested to the state and

central governments to bring about legislation to nationalize mining

so the private/profit motive doesn't come in the way of protecting

environment. Justice D V Shylendra Kumar, in his 209-page verdict,

told the state to put on hold all mining leases in forest areas. " The

government has neglected the Karnataka Forest Act and Forest

Conservation Act. The government should make a distinction between

forest area and non-forest area, while giving mining leases or

licence. Mining activity should be avoided in forest area.. Even in

non-forest areas, the government should conduct a scientific study and

evaluation to avoid ecological imbalance.'' the court said. The

government notified 36 blocks in the state for mining in the

notification. These areas come under Bellary, Sandur, Donimalai,

Kumaraswamy range, Hubbalagundi, Kudligi, Hospet (all Bellary

district); Malur, Mulbagal, Shrinivasapur and Chintamani (Kolar);

Channapatna, Doddaballapur, Nelamangala and Magadi (Bangalore Rural);

Mysore, H D Kote, Nanjangud, Mandya, Maddur, Malavalli and KR Pet.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Mining_leases_in_forests_quashed/ar\

ticleshow/33

39537.cms

 

 

10) The Union government has drafted the Compensatory Afforestation

Bill, 2008 to establish a compensatory afforestation fund. Revenues

collected from agencies that divert forests (even protected ones) for

non-forest use will be pooled into this corpus. Net present value

(npv) has been adopted as an economic tool to calculate the

compensatory fiscal value of diverted forests. But there are two

question marks over the move. Firstly, can forests, especially the

protected ones, which provide vital ecological and cultural services,

be assigned an economic value in lieu of their diversion? Second, is

npv an appropriate fiscal tool to calculate the 'compensatory' value

of functioning physical entities such as forests? Let us first

consider the issue of assigning economic value to forests. The issue

at hand here is assigning a monetary value to goods and services

provided by forests. Forest products mentioned in the bill include

non-timber forest produce and water, and the services mentioned

include grazing, wildlife protection; carbon sequestration and flood

control. The bill also takes note of the cultural and educational

services of forests. But can monetary compensation make up for the

diversion of these services? Take the Shola-grassland ecosystem of the

upper Nilgiri Plateau. Here evergreen forests occur amidst the folds

of vast undulating stretches of grasslands. Post monsoons these Sholas

release stored rainwater and regulate its flow to the Kongu plains

below. If these grasslands or sholas were diverted for development

could their complex structure and functions be compensated for by

money alone?

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20080815 & filename=croc & sec_id\

=10 & sid=1

 

11) As per latest forest survey of India, forest cover of India is

falling fast. The country has lost about 728 sq km of forest in dam

erection and tsunami. Forests have suffered the greatest loss of 1409

sq km while impenetrable and unfasten forests showed an insignificant

augment of swathe between 2003 and 2005. Well, running down of forest

is still going on. More than a few reasons are accountable for present

situation. Development is one of the reasons for depletion of

woodland. Lack of awareness is also a big cause in this context. The

depleting Indian forest countenance additional obliteration in view of

the fact that the privileges given to ethnic and forest dwellers over

woodland and bring into being. As per experts, accomplishment of the

law on ancestral and forest dwellers rights would denote unambiguous

bereavement of Indian forests. (The government would unswervingly

bestow two million hectares land to them.) Even after that, the law

does not enforce any precincts on the beneficiaries using the nearby

forests. The national surroundings force would be more because the

forest wrap in tribal area is much higher than the national middling.

In the present circumstances, natural calamity, power project nearby

forest, construction of road, dam on rivers etc are imperative reasons

of forest depletion. Presently India's wooded area is 20.60 percent of

its geographical vicinity. The statistics undoubtedly demonstrate that

India may not realize its 10th plan objective. (The plan epoch will be

over in 2007-2008) To increase its forest cover up to 25 percent,

great efforts are needed. I don't think it will be achieved. In this

connection forest growth up to 33 percent is also colossal task for

concerned authorities. (This is the target of 11th plan.) Exhaustion

of forest for commercial purpose is in full swing nowadays.

http://www.centralchronicle.com/20080807/0708304.htm

 

 

12) CHENNAI: The Supreme Court's central empowered committee will take

the final call on the forest department's proposal to lay a road

inside the Srivilliputtur Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Virudhunagar

district. The road will involve the cutting of hundreds of trees

inside the sanctuary, which is home to the grizzled squirrel. The

forest department has been proposing an 8.66-km approach road in the

sanctuary, from Kilavan Koil to Kodikulam Kudisai, for over five

years. The department has said the road was necessary for conservation

as movement within the 480 sq km sanctuary was difficult. The proposal

was placed before the standing committee of the National Board of

wildlife (NBWL) during its last meeting in May 2008. The state chief

wildlife warden informed the committee that the width of the road

would be 10 metres. Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS), was against

any opening in the tree canopy as the grizzled squirrel is an arboreal

species. But the state chief wildlife warden said that the trees to be

felled were scattered over a large area and assured the committee that

there would be no damage to the squirrel's habitat. The committee

unanimously recommended the proposal, subject to the condition that

the total width of the road be only 6 metres. The committee directed

the state forest department to take all precautions as per the

guidelines of the Wildlife Institute. In the wildlife census conducted

last March, the number of grizzled squirrels in the sanctuary was

estimated to be 785. About 385 elephants, both residential and

migratory, were also counted. The home range of the grizzled squirrel,

an endangered species, is between 0.197 and 0.611 hectares. The

species is restricted to mixed deciduous forests and riverine forests,

and the drey (squirrel's nest) is usually built on forked branches.

Each grizzled squirrel has two nests within its home range, said a

conservator of forests. Environmentalists said that the road, if

opened to the public, would see heavy traffic as the route would

reduce the travelling time between Theni and Srivilliputhur by over a

hour. " It is one of the most protected sanctuaries in the western

ghats, " said Jayachandran, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Green

Movement, who has been working on forest issues in Theni.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Road_planned_through_sanctuary_for_co\

nservation/arti

cleshow/3326223.cms

 

 

13) Degradation of forest cover has brought animals out of their

habitat in direct confrontation with human beings. NDTV travelled to

the tea gardens of Upper Assam to find that leopards have taken refuge

in tea bushes spreading panic amongst the workers. A leopard was

slaughtered in Sapekhati in Sivsagar district of Assam after the

animal attacked children.The meat was later consumed in a community

feast. Incidents like this suddenly on the rise in Assam. Upper

Assam's tea estates are the new sanctuaries for tigers and leopards in

Assam. Four children have been killed so far in leopard attacks. Gita

Kurmi lost her 7-yr old daughter Naina who was dragged out from her

home. " I was also attacked once. It couldn't take me but my daughter

was taken, " said Gita. Trapping the big cats was the only way out.

Joydhan is the local Jim Corbett of Dikom tea estate , he actually

managed to capture 6 leopards in a cage which he prepared himself .

" Leopards could be captured and released but where do you release,

there are no forests left or habitat for leopards and the animal is

highly adaptable. More closely they stay to human habitation they can

get easy prey, " said Bibhab Talukdar, Secretary, Aranyak. The

man-animal conflict seems inevtiable.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080059852

 

 

Vietnam:

 

14) Doi Can Road in the centre of Thai Nguyen gets more and more

crowded every weekend, as city dwellers head out to pick up popular

forest orchids. While the growing adoration of orchids is great for

mountain dwellers who make a living off collecting the flowers, the

movement is proving devastating for the health of orchids in the wild.

According to the locals, the orchid trend sprung up rather

spontaneously. The market started just 10 years ago but has grown

enormously as people have become increasingly interested in forest

orchids. On weekends, hundreds of species of forest orchids are

brought from different mountainous regions including Cao Bang, Bac

Kan, Yen Bai and Thai Nguyen. The rough-looking sellers are on hand to

answer questions, usually knowing first hand where the orchids came

from. With orchids not growing very well in the city, city dwellers

are dependant on the Doi Can market, counting on hard-working farmers

willing to make the trek into the city to sell the flowers. For 10

years Tran Thi Tham from the small town of Du, nearly 12km from Thai

Nguyen centre, has been bringing orchids to sell in the city. " The

flowers that I sell here are collected by my husband from Ba Be (Bac

Kan), Cao Bang and Yen Bai, " said Tham, noting that the Ba Be National

Park is a great place to hunt for flowers. " There are times that my

husband finds a precious orchid worth millions of dong. " Since its

prohibited to collect flowers from Ba Be, Tham's husband has to hunt

for the flowers at night. With their growing popularity, collecting

orchids has become an occupation for many mountainous region

inhabitants. The Voi forest, in Dong Hy, Thai Nguyen, was once famous

for its many kinds of precious orchids. It is now nearly empty as the

precious forest orchids have disappeared.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02CUL070808

 

Thailand:

 

15) To save Thailand's fast diminishing forests and biodiversity,

state authorities must stop their misguided policies which destroy the

green cover, instead of making poor villagers the scapegoats of

deforestation. Here is one disastrous policy which needs to be halted

immediately. To qualify for land ownership rights in forests,

villagers are required to provide evidence to forestry officials that

they have been farming in that same place for an extended period of

time before the areas were officially demarcated as national parks.

This has been the cause of deforestation at Lam Klong Ngoo in

Kanchanaburi province, as has happened previously in countless other

forests around the country. Before Lam Klong Ngoo was designated as a

national park, the ethnic Karen forest dwellers there were primarily

engaged in their traditional field rotation system, or rai mun wian in

Thai. Under this system, the peasants will leave the field for five or

10 years to let fallow land regenerate naturally before they return to

till that plot of land again. Research has shown that this ecological

farming system has actually contributed to a rich biodiversity in the

area. But that is not how the forestry authorities see it. It is a

fact that government policy has been the main reason for the massive

loss of forest cover in Thailand, e.g. state promotion of mono cash

crop agriculture, the military's counter-insurgency drives in the '60s

and '70s, and the construction of roads and hydro-electric dams in the

heart of forests. Yet, the poor are blamed for deforestation. To

protect the dwindling greenery, forest authorities keep announcing new

national parks. When it so happens that there are already indigenous

people or small farmers living there, the authorities are legally

empowered to arrest, evict and send the forest villagers to jail. The

problem has been compounded by a 1998 cabinet resolution which states

that unless the farmlands appear in aerial photographs or there exists

evidence of intensive farming before the areas were declared national

parks, the villagers must be evicted. The ethnic Karen forest dwellers

cried foul when the authorities refused to recognise their different

plots of fallow land which were covered with greenery as part of their

rotation farming. For the officials, those plots were proper forest

land and if cleared again, the villagers would be sent to jail. In

line with that cabinet ruling, forestry officials have also insisted

that villagers must routinely till the same fields to get rights to

that land. http://www.bangkokpost.com/080808_News/08Aug2008_news19.php

 

 

Philippines:

 

16) Local executives in the 14 towns of Agusan del Sur including the

provincial government have braced for strong political will in the

enforcement of ordinances in their respective political jurisdiction

to protect the roads from severe damages caused by heavy trucks that

are transporting with over-loaded forest, agriculture and other

industrial products. This was the consensus of the local officials,

tree farmers, tribal leaders, top executives of the wood processing

companies, owners of private plantations, heads of government and

non-government offices and the DENR field officers headed by PENRO

Sixto S. Badua during the DENR-sponsored " Salugnayan " program at the

Provincial Training Center in Patin-ay, Agusan del Sur on Thursday,

July 31, 2008. The forum was presided over by the DENR OIC, Regional

Executive Director Edilberto S. Buiser and Agusan del Sur Provincial

Governor Ma. Valentina G. Plaza represented by her Vice Governor

Santiago B. Cane, Jr. CENR officers Jovencio V. Munoz of Talacogon,

Jaime C. Acebu of Bayugan, Edgardo E. Bacumo of Loreto and Eutiquio M.

Bade, Jr of Bunawan were also present to assist PENRO Badua and OIC,

RED Buiser to immediately address the issue at hand. The mayors have

stressed that only those logging trucks carrying the maximum weight

capacity as specified in the ordinance shall be allowed to pass

through the provincial and municipal roads in the province to protect

the roads from deterioration. Excess loads shall be confiscated and

impounded at specified depository area that is managed by the

provincial government.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12 & r= & y= & mo= & fi=p080804.htm & no=34

 

17) SAN MARIANO, Isabela – Illegal logging charges are being readied

against a barangay chairman of this remote town and nine others for

the shipment of high-grade wood products earlier this month. Gov.

Grace Padaca yesterday July 26 said that the province's anti-illegal

logging task force is set to file charges against barangay chairman

Floriano Dichoso of Macayocayo, San Mariano and nine others for

violation of the anti-illegal logging law. " We have prepared cases

against them, " Padaca said. " The law is the law. If you violated it,

then you have to be arrested. " Dichoso was reportedly included in the

case after he reportedly owned responsibility over the more than 4,000

illegally-cut forest products worth more than P500,000. The task

force, also composed of Army and police, discovered the narra lumber

while they were being shipped across the Pinacanauan River in remote

Benito Soliven town with the use of floaters. The charges against the

illegal logging suspects came in the wake of Padaca's two-week

ultimatum to all illegal loggers and timber poachers to voluntarily

surrender the equipment they were using in their illegal activities or

face appropriate charges. " Bring down your chainsaws now and we won't

arrest you, " said Padaca, whom Department of Environment and Natural

Resources Secretary Joselito Atienza have given a special deputization

order to go after illegal loggers and timber poachers here. The

ultimatum, which took effect July 21 until Aug. 4, was issued during a

meeting of the provincial government-led anti-illegal logging task

force whose recent revival came amid reports of rampant illegal

logging in the province's protected forest zones. Padaca said no

apprehension, arrest or charges will be made on persons who would

voluntarily turn over their chainsaws and other equipment being

utilized in the illegal cutting of trees. In related developments,

mayors from the province's forest zones led by Mayor Jose Mari Diaz of

Ilagan said some constituents had to resort to cutting of trees to

sustain their basic needs. Any alternative livelihood for them, they

said, would lead to curbing the age-old problem of illegal cutting of

trees here. " We understand their (mayors) concerns for some of their

constituents engaged in illegal timber poaching out of poverty, " said

provincial environment and natural resources officer forester Felix

Taguba. " We have been implementing alternative ways for their

constituents to legally make use of their forest resources. "

http://northphiltimes.blogspot.com/2008/08/front-page_749.html

 

Malaysia:

 

18) Just an orange little shack with a pile of logs at the side.

Framed by tall trees with autumn coloured leaves right smack in a

forest. Whereabout is this place? Welcome to MBL's Day At The Forest

Series at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia(FRIM), the

country's foremost tropical forestry research institution founded by a

British colonial forest scientist in 1929. FRIM is a body governed by

the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. FRIM spans an area

of 600 hectares in Kepong (about 16km northwest of Kuala Lumpur). The

institution promotes the use and management of forest resources

through education and it generates technology through research and

development. FRIM has earned a name for itself in terms of its

expertise in tropical forestry. FRIM is not just a place for forestry

research. It also offers outdoor recreational activities such as

camping, cycling, jogging, nature study groups, touring groups, jungle

trekking, bird-watching, treasure hunts, family day events and not

forgetting photography for shutterbugs like me! I made my way around

the forest..enjoying my walk and checking out the scenes - the

gigantic trees and plant life. I stumbled upon this bright orange

shack somewhere in the forest...and I started to click away. For some

strange reasons, I was all alone then. But after a couple of minutes

of solitude shooting, a group of serious shutterbugs (all armed with

DSLRs) descended upon this orange shack and they ended up shooting

away as well. I took a short break and waited for the scene to clear

so that I can have the liberty to shoot and practise shooting with my

tripod (see MBL striking silly pose). More coming up from my Day At

The Forest series.

http://foodientravelbug.blogspot.com/2008/08/just-orange.html

 

19) Two more villages within the Lower Kinabatangan have adopted a new

way of making their traditional fish trap that ensures the trees

within the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary are not affected. This

method which employs the use of plastic wire mesh instead of the bark

of trees within the protected forest has been winning over fishermen,

village by village, since it was launched by the Kinabatangan Orang

Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) in 2004. " It usually takes us a week

to make one traditional bubuh (fish trap) as we have to walk a day or

two into the forest to get the material from the trees, " explained

Kampung Sangau village head, Damsi Sabtu. Using the plastic

alternative only takes a few hours compared to a few days when making

them out of wood materials, he said. " Everyone in this village is

interested and even the women are trying their hand at making this new

type of fish traps, " said Damsi who was thankful to KOCP for providing

loans to three fishermen from Kampung Sangau and Kampung Lokan. This

new method of making the traps, which was designed and launched at

Kampung Sukau in 2004, was prompted by the need to save the trees. " We

need to protect the forest and find other alternatives, " said

organising chairperson of the programme, Johry Bakri of KOCP. KOCP,

which was jointly established by the Sabah Wildlife Department and the

French non-governmental organisation Hutan, provided the expertise and

loans to the fishermen to cover the cost of materials needed to make

the plastic wire mesh fish traps.

http://thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2008/8/5/nation/2199653\

9.asp & sec=nation

 

20) In what might deceivingly seem like an encouraging indicator to

the casual bird watcher, hornbills have been spotted flying in

clusters over certain areas in Malaysia. But don't be fooled. Those

familiar with the behavioural tendencies of this enigmatic bird know

that the unusual sightings may be a sign of disturbances in the forest

ecosystem. " Hornbills typically fly for miles and miles foraging for

food, but now that large tracts of forests have been removed, you see

more clusters of them concentrated in specific areas, " explains avid

birdwatcher Mohd Rafi Abdul Kudus. " This is not a good sign. It

suggests that hornbills have been robbed of their food source and

large trees that they need for nesting. " Rafi spends his weekends

exploring various well-known birding spots in Malaysia, which include

Lake Kenyir, Pulau Pangkor, Langkawi, Genting Highlands, Taman Negara

and the peat swamps of Lanjut in Pahang. " I've noticed the number of

hornbills dwindling in all these places. It's not easy to see them

anymore, " he laments. Malaysia is home to 10 of 54 known species of

hornbills worldwide, eight or nine of which are found in most parts of

the country. Only the plain-pouched hornbill is exclusively seen in

Perak's Belum-Temenggor forest, where all 10 species can be found and

five are known to nest.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/8/5/lifefocus/1537262 & sec=l\

ifefocus

 

Indonesia:

 

21) During the protest,the Greenpeace activists donned masks and

" armed " themselves with mock chainsaws. They positioned themselves

outside the Forestry Ministry to urge the Indonesian government to

stop deforestation. Hm… the activists do remind me of the movie Texas

Chainsaw Massacre. Deforestation in Indonesia is so widespread that

around 300 football fields of trees in Indonesia are destroyed every

hour due to illegal logging, mining and slash-and-burn land clearing

for highly profitable palm oil plantations. According to a newspaper

report form 2007, Greenpeace has cited that Indonesia had become the

third largest carbon emitter in the world after the U.S. and China,

due to the destruction of its peatlands and forests. The effect of

deforestation in Indoneisa can also be felt by its neighbouring

countries like Malaysia and Singapore in the form of haze. These haze

contains pollutants and dusts particles which are harmful to health

and may trigger asthma attacks. Hopefully, the Greenpeace protests can

send a strong message to the government body regarding the seriousness

of this matter.

http://www.maple3.com/2008/08/06/protest-against-deforestation-in-indonesia/

 

Sumatra:

 

22) We are learning that the number of the magnificent Sumatran

orangutan is now in such serious decline that it is going to take

extraordinary efforts to save the species from total annihilation. A

new study published in a leading international conservation journal

called Oryx, which analyzes the loss of natural forest, shows that

only about 6,500 orangutans now remain on the island. It also cites

similar problems facing the species in neighboring Borneo. Up-to-date

information on populations is vital for drawing up a strategy to

ensure their survival. Although the situation is extremely serious,

the report does highlight some reasons for cautious optimism.

Ironically, the report finds that the relatively small population of

the Sumatran orangutan is stable, due to human conflict in the Aceh

region which has resulted in less forest loss. But overall, the future

of this impressive mammal is bleak. Indonesians should be proud of

this amazing creature. Orangutans are the only great apes found in

Asia and today they are only to be found in Sumatra and Borneo, with

those on each island regarded as unique species. They are particularly

vulnerable to extinction due to the long interval of about seven years

between offspring. Furthermore, orangutans are increasingly restricted

to smaller forest fragments.

http://redapes.org/news-updates/indonesia-saving-the-endangered-orangutan-must-b\

e-a-national-

priority/

 

23) The Orang Rimba people have inhabited the jungles of Sumatra for

centuries, traveling in tight-knit family groups in the Indonesian

forests, hunting, fishing and collecting non-timber forest products on

their traditional lands. Members of this indigenous tribe occasionally

trade goods with villages on the edge of the forest, but prefer to

keep to themselves. Now, as Sumatra's forests disappear under the

relentless onslaught of chainsaws and bulldozers, even keeping to

themselves is becoming impossible. Experts who have studied the

culture of the Orang Rimba, which literally means " forest people, "

estimate that there are fewer than 3,000 individuals. They are one of

two indigenous tribes that live exclusively in Jambi Province in

central Sumatra. The Orang Rimba are nomadic and dependent on forest

resources. And like much of the wildlife that inhabit the same

forests, the Orang Rimba's survival is endangered by logging that is

clearing Sumatra on a scale unseen almost anywhere else in the world.

WWF researchers have long encountered Orang Rimba people while in the

forest. And occasionally, WWF camera traps set up to to record the

comings and goings of wildlife have snapped candid photos of families

as they move through the forest. Recently, a team from WWF and

Jambi-based NGO WARSI met with a group of four families trying to

survive on land that is being logged under legally questionable

circumstances by companies affiliated with Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

The head of the group, Bujang Rancak, recalled that they used to be

very prosperous, when the forest still provided them enough food and

other resources to sell or trade. " Now, a greedy PT (company) took

away our forests. We can no longer live in our own forest because the

PT forbids us to use or plant it. Anything we do is wrong to them, "

said Rancak. http://www.panda.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=143141

 

New Zealand:

 

24) The Crown is to buy a 20-year forestry right over the Matahi and

Oponae trees owned by Matariki Forests for $11.83 million. Treaty

Negotiations Minister Michael Culllen and Forestry Minister Jim

Anderton said today that the underlying land was the subject of a

complex grievance dating back to the original purchase by the Crown in

1896. " The purchase will allow an opportunity for the grievance and

surrounding issues to be dealt with. " Jim Anderton said the forests

would be managed for the Crown by the Agriculture and Forestry

Ministry's Crown Forestry division. Crown Forestry currently manages

the Crown's interest in 25 forests around the North Island with

revenues in excess of $85 million a year. " Crown Forestry's role is to

manage the forests and the leases to best effect pending the

resolution of outstanding Treaty of Waitangi claims and other issues.

It works with other Crown agencies such as the Office of Treaty

Settlements. " The combined title area of the two forests is 3,483

hectares, comprising a range of age classes. Under the terms of the

agreement, during the twenty year term of the forestry right, the

Crown or Matariki Forests may purchase the other's interests in the

property. The Crown's option to purchase the land is assignable to Te

Kotahi a Tuhoe, the Tuhoe entity mandated for Treaty negotiations.

Matariki Forests is New Zealand's third largest forestry company. It

is a joint venture company owned by a consortium of international

investors and managed by Rayonier New Zealand.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0808/S00131.htm

 

Australia:

 

 

25) An investment firm has launched the first tropical biodiversity

credits scheme. New Forests, an Australia-based company, has

established the Malua Wildlife Habitat Conservation Bank in an attempt

to monetize rainforest conservation. The " Malua BioBank " will use an

investment from a private equity fund to restore and protect 34,000

hectares (80,000 acres) of formerly logged forest that serves as a

buffer between biologically-rich forest reserve and a sea of oil palm

plantations. The conservation effort will generate " Biodiversity

Conservation Certificates " , the sales of which will endow a perpetual

conservation trust and produce a return on investment for the Sabah

Government and the private equity fund. New Forests believes the

certificates — each of which represents 100 square meters of

rainforest restoration and protection — will be purchased by companies

looking to bolster their environmental credentials for the

marketplace. Customers are expected to include oil palm producers and

forestry companies. New Forests says that it hopes the sale of

biodiversity credits will boost conservation where government efforts

and philanthropy have fallen short. " To date, public and philanthropic

funding sources for conservation have not kept pace with the rate of

biodiversity loss, " said New Forests. " Attaching value to conservation

will harness private sector finance to help fill this funding gap. "

The wildlife banking deal comes shortly after New Forests unveiled an

" avoided deforestation " investment in an area of rainforest on the

island of New Guinea. The conservation initiative would generate

carbon credits that will be sold in voluntary markets to firms and

individuals looking to offset their CO2 emissions. This year has also

seen London-based Generation Investment Management — Al Gore's

investment firm — take a minority investment stake New Forests.

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0806-malua_new_forests.html

 

26) The Tasmanian Greens today said that the release of the Australian

National University's landmark report Green Carbon: The Role of

Natural Forests in Carbon Storage provides a strong scientific

imperative to protect Tasmania's threatened unlogged native forests.

Greens Leader and Climate Change spokesperson Nick McKim MP said that

the report found that the carbon storage capacity of native forests

had been underestimated by up to ten times in some forests, which he

said explodes spin from the forest industry that the sector is carbon

positive. " The science is now in, and as a result here is now an

urgent and unarguable need to protect Tasmania's remaining threatened

unlogged native forests, " Mr McKim said. " The latest science now

clearly shows that there is up to ten times more carbon embedded in

some Tasmanian forests than was previously thought, a fact that

clearly demands a significant policy shift from this government. " " For

our self-described data driven Premier, there is no other option but

to place Tasmania's remaining threatened unlogged forests off limits

to the forest industry, and to fund a transition package to assist the

industry into the future. " " This report explodes industry spin that

current public policy settings in the forestry sector are sustainable,

and massively increases the pressure on Mr Bartlett to act to protect

Tasmania's remaining threatened unlogged native forests. " " This report

shows that protecting Tasmania's unlogged forests could have a crucial

role to play in addressing climate change – all that is needed now is

for the Premier to demonstrate that he has the political will to act. "

Mr McKim said that Mr Bartlett should now also withdraw his support

for Gunns Ltd's proposed pulp mill as it will emit significantly more

carbon than previously thought.

http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=3192

 

27) An important new Australian study finds that " untouched natural

forests store three times more carbon dioxide [ark] than previously

estimated and 60 percent more than plantation forests " and that

first-time " logging resulted in more than a 40 percent reduction in

long-term carbon compared with unlogged forests. " They conclude that

" in Australia and probably globally the carbon carrying capacity of

natural forests [search] is underestimated and therefore

misrepresented in economic valuations and in policy options. " This

resoundingly confirms Ecological Internet's forest campaign's key

principle: sustaining intact ancient primary forests, by virtue of

their holding of carbon and species, is a requirement for global

ecological sustainability. This Earth Action Network's shared

commitment to ending ancient primary and old-growth forest logging has

been validated by the emerging ecological science. And we hope this

motivates you to continue taking action at

http://www.ecoearth.info/alerts/ and to participate regularly in

future email protest campaigns.

http://forests.org/blog/2008/08/untouched-natural-forests-stor.asp

Australian National University (ANU) scientists said that the role of

untouched forests, and their biomass of green carbon, had been

underestimated in the fight against global warming. The report said

southeast Australia's unlogged forests could store about 640 tonnes

per hectare (1,600 tonnes per acre), yet the IPCC estimate put it at

only around 217 tonnes of carbon per hectare. The scientists estimated

that around 9.3 billion tonnes of carbon can be stored in the 14.5

million hectares of eucalypt forests in southeast Australia if they

are left undisturbed. The IPCC estimates only one third of this

capacity and only 27 percent of the forests' biomass carbon stock. Not

only did natural forests store more carbon but because they remained

untouched, they stored the carbon for longer than plantation forests

which were cut down on a rotation basis. The report found that

" natural forests are more resilient to climate change and disturbances

than plantations " .

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP255954

 

28) Environment groups say recent strikes over VicForests' new harvest

and haulage tendering process show logging of native forests is

unsustainable. VicForests has so far awarded just 65 per cent of

available timber harvest and haulage contracts to Gippsland workers,

as part of a reshuffle. Environment East Gippsland's Jill Redwood says

VicForests is going broke because it was set up to make profit from

native forest logging. She says if VicForests does not stop selling

logs for woodchips, there will be no future for the industry without

Government handouts. " This whole scenario just points to one thing and

that's that it's uneconomical, the logging contractors can't afford to

work for less than they are and VicForests can't afford to pay them

the price that the logging contractors want, " she said. " The main

charter of VicForests was to be profitable, as a commercial manager of

public forests, but they've failed dismally. "

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/05/2324523.htm

 

29) Cabbage Tree Lane residents have been vocal in their protest at

potential impact of the proposal for a future living area on a parcel

of Shoalhaven State Forest. Now they have reason to be vocal in

council's decision to protect that land. Council's director of

strategic planning Ernie Royston said council was not prepared to make

a recommendation on how the land would be treated until an independent

consultant had assessed the area. Mr Royston said the consultant

looked at the whole area and what was found in certain sections was

sufficient to say " look elsewhere " . " We will be recommending it have

an environmental protection zone placed on it. " Mr Royston said an

alternative could be a cleared area north of Yalwal Road. Justin Van

Hoven, who has led the community action to save the parcel of

bushland, said he was glad that recommendations put forward by the

Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) over 18 months ago

had been adopted by council. " And that they have respect for the

importance of that environment and have adhered to their own policy

decisions regarding conservation issues, " he said. " We believed that

council was pursuing a bio-banking option, but we are glad they're not

pursuing that now, " he said.

http://nowra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/a-win-for-the-community-an\

d-a-win-for-t

he-environment/1229990.aspx

 

30) Conservationists and traditional owners have welcomed a new

national park on Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland. It is

the second time the Queensland Government has returned land to

Indigenous owners since the Cape York Heritage Act was passed last

year. More than 180,000 hectares of land in the McIlwraith Range near

Coen, north of Cooktown, has been handed back to traditional owners,

who will run almost 160,000 hectares of that as the Kulla National

Park. Premier Anna Bligh says today's ceremony follows years of

negotiations between the State Government, the Cape York Land Council,

the Conservation Foundation and the Wilderness Society. " Today marks

the end of 30 years of work to see this rainforest preserved as a

national park, " she said. Green groups say the region is the largest

area of tropical rainforest wilderness in Australia.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/06/2325823.htm?section=justin

 

31) With just weeks to go before a planned Tidy Towns assessment, an

area of rainforest at McPhersons Crossing has been damaged. " I was

shocked to find someone had cleared some of the forest for a camping

area, " Coutts Crossing Tidy Towns committee president Greg Clancy

said. " A turning circle had (also) been constructed and someone has

laid down crushed gravel. This forest is a rare rainforest

sub-alliance of silky oak and black bean and is part of the Coutts

Crossing Tidy Towns committee's wildlife corridors project. " The

rainforest is wedged between the Orara River and Burragan Road. Mr

Clancy said the tree clearing took place about 100 metres from the

established car park area, with other trees closer to the river also

damaged. He said the tree removal was a set back for the Tidy Towns

committee. " It puts us a bit further behind, " he said. " The assessors

like to see the community supporting a campaign, not working against

it. " It certainly doesn't help. " The area is a popular spot for

camping as well as other recreational visitors. Mr Clancy said the

spot's popularity meant litter was also a problem. " Unfortunately, the

area is loved to death, " he said. " It puts more pressure on an area

already under pressure. " Mr Clancy said the Coutts Crossing Tidy Towns

committee wanted people to use the area, but in a sustainable way.

" It's a wonderful place for people, but it's a shame people don't look

after it, " he said. Mr Clancy said while the area of cleared land was

not large, it was still cause for concern. " Because the land is so

small, any clearing is significant, " he said. " Particularly on the

river bank, there are some beautiful old rainforest trees. "

http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3780847

 

32) The Victorian Government is preparing a timber industry strategy

to replace the 1986 plan that the Cain Labor government put in place.

Attention will focus on policy towards native hardwood forests, the

area directly under government control, as the vast majority of the

state's forests are on Crown land. Victoria's extensive softwood

(pine) plantation sector operates almost independently on normal

commercial lines. Forestry remains a key part of manufacturing.

Victoria's industry — hardwood and softwood — has an output valued at

about $6 billion and directly employs about 25,000 people, according

to an analysis by consultants URS for the Department of Primary

Industries. Employment has grown at about 2.5% over the past decade,

and will be boosted as harvesting of the industry's new arm — blue gum

plantations from managed investment schemes — starts producing large

volumes of hardwood woodchips. The state's five regional forest

agreements (RFAs) increased parks and reserves by 960,000 hectares, or

36%. The RFA philosophy was basically common sense: put in place

science-based conservation reserves while using a small proportion of

native forest (now 10%) on a sustainable basis for wood products.

Three-quarters of the world's forestry products still come from native

forest. In Victoria, native forest timber is used in appearance-grade

products such as furniture and flooring, and load-bearing functions in

housing. While the Bracks government — and other state governments —

have been cutting back the timber industry, products from illegally

logged forests in South-East Asia, valued at more than $400 million,

have flooded into Australia. One good defence against these imports is

a prosperous, viable domestic timber industry. The industry needs more

hardwood timber. The Victorian Government should set up a specialist

body, or create such a body within VicForests, to encourage and

co-ordinate private forestry. It could start by conducting an

inventory of what native forestry is available on private land, and

give strong support to farm forestry, which has enormous potential.

Finally, the Victorian Government could build on the Federal

Government's green paper on emissions trading, which highlights

forestry's potential in cutting greenhouse gases.

http://business.theage.com.au/business/victoria-plans-new-strategy-on-timber-200\

80803-3pd8.html

?page=3

 

33) The call for the creation of new national parks including Barmah

State Forest would be a key test of Victorian Premier John Brumby's

conservation credentials, according to an environment group. Victorian

National Parks Association spokesman Nick Roberts said the Victorian

Government must honour its key election promise to establish major new

red gum national parks in the state's north. Mr Roberts said the

implementation of the new red gum parks was likely to be the most

significant nature conservation proposal in the Brumby Government's

current term. " Victorians now expect the promise to be fully and

quickly implemented, " Mr Roberts said. " After three years of

independent investigation and extensive community consultation, the

case for new parks is overwhelming and there are no excuses for delay

in implementing VEAC's recommendations and delivering on the election

commitment. " He said the logging industry was declining anyway with

the prospect of a reduction in jobs from one third to one half. " The

VEAC report indicated that as far as commercial impact, logging

represents only about 0.8 per cent of the economy. " Asked about the

lack of an environmental flow figure in the latest report, Mr Roberts

said the VEAC role in pressing for better environmental flows had

largely been overtaken by state and federal government policy

announcements. " The Federal Government has committed to flows a lot

higher than that (4000 Gl) and has already announced a $3 billion

water buy-back scheme. " Mr Roberts said while environment groups were

disappointed at the small reduction in total area of proposed parks

from the draft report, they welcomed the bulk of the report's

recommendations.

http://www.countrynews.com.au/story.asp?TakeNo=200808049811087

 

34) A peak timber industry body has rejected claims native forests in

south-east New South Wales should be locked up as a way of combating

the effects of climate change. Anti-native forest wood chipping group

Chipstop says the results of a study, showing natural forests are

three times more efficient than first thought in soaking up greenhouse

gases, should prompt governments to change their policies on timber

harvesting. But the chief executive officer of the National

Association of Forest Industries, Allan Hansard, says while he agrees

with the report, taking a hands-off approach to forests is not

practicable. He says long-term sustainable management for timber,

fibre and energy production produces the largest carbon mitigation

benefit from forests. " In the sustainable management of our forests we

maintain local jobs such in regional communities and that is really

important, " he said. " What we also do is provide Australian grown and

manufactured products rather than importing them from forests that do

not have the same standard of forest management that we have in

Australia. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/07/2327098.htm

 

 

35) Environmental groups have turned their backs on a Victorian

Government investigation into the future of logging in Melbourne's

water catchments. The groups, including Healesville-based The Central

Highlands Alliance, The Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation

Foundation and East Gippsland Environment, chose to distance

themselves from the project as logging in catchment areas was no

longer a criterion under this initiative. These groups claimed that

logging had an impact on water supply and that any investigation into

the water catchments would have to seriously consider an end to

felling. The move follows a change in government policy on the issue

pledged by the Victorian Government in its Water White Paper to

investigate a phase out of logging and find alternative plantation

resources for industry. The study, by the Department of Sustainability

and Environment and URS Consulting, will now investigate a range of

possible alternative scenarios. The Wilderness Society's Victorian

forest campaigner Amelia Young said she could not understand why the

Brumby Government would not act when they were aware there was a

problem. " How can a responsible government allow logging in

Melbourne's forested water supply catchments when the science has

shown for years the dramatic impact this will have on future water

supply? " questioned Ms Young. " We need to secure our water future and

introduce a 20-year-plan to solve the water crisis. One of the first

and easiest things, the government can do to achieve this is rapidly

move logging out of high yielding water supply catchments. " Sarah Rees

from the Central Highlands Alliance said the groups now had conclusive

evidence to reveal the State Government's own studies showed logging

reduced water supply by 50 per cent.

http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/62320

 

 

36) Forest Conservation Groups forming a new Forest Unity Network have

come up with a plan to reduce the need for logging, thinning and

clearing of WA native forests and woodlands. Bridgetown-Greenbushes

Friends of the Forest group president Jim Frith said it was possible

to produce all the commercial timber needs on farmland which has

already been cleared. " We can do it simply by agroforestry, " he said.

Mr Frith said there were three million hectares of cleared, pastured

farmland in the 600-1000mm rainfall belt on which trees could be grown

in two row belts. " In plantations, outside trees grow at twice the

rate, " he said. " So if you have two row belts, the whole lot will grow

at twice the rate of a plantation tree. " According to the group's

plan, the tree belts would provide a 15 percent cover of the farmland,

with the rest to remain as crop and pasture. Mr Frith said the

distance between the belts would depend on the area's rainfall. Belts

in high rainfall areas would be 30 metres apart and belts in low

rainfall areas could be as much as 100 metres apart. " What the trees

are doing is using water the annual crops and pasture are not, and

that is why they grow so fast, " Mr Frith said. " If all that land were

agroforested, you could produce what the commercial timber industry

needed. " It gives the farmers a return and saves us from having to

clear native forest to provide timber. "

http://bridgetown.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/plan-to-reduce-loggin\

g/1237874.aspx