Guest guest Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 429 - Oceania Tree News --Today for you 37 news articles about earth's trees! (429th edition) http://forestpolicyresearch.org --To Subscribe / to email format send blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- --Deane's Daily Treeinspiration texted to your phone via: http://twitter.com/ForestPolicy Index: --Papaua New Guinea: 1) They want economic value for unlogged forests, 2) Court takes back logging concession, 3) Observatory expands, 4) Smell of leaves draw fish inland, --Indonesia: 5) Greenpeace shuts down palm oil ship with just one protester, 6) 500,000 trees to be cut in jakarta, 7) Greenpeace banner in a clearcut, 8) National Geographic Video: " Deforestation Fear, " 9) Prince Charles stakes his treehugging claim, 10) Palm oil is the primary cause of deforestation, 11) Cont. --Pacific Island Countries: 12) Interview with region's Nature Conservnacy representative, --Solomon Islands: 13) Tree planting money spent on chainsaws and sawmills --New Zealand: 14) Environmentalist honored with award, 15) Greenpeace activists take action to stop corporate dairy's assault on forests, 16) Another Greenpeace protest, 17) Gov. creates rules for illegal Kwila wood, --Australia: 18) Koala extinction effort may be successful, 19) Gov. logging forests they promised to protect, 20) Illegal logging protesters monitiored to make sure they don't do anything illegal, 21) Expansion of Gondwana World Heritage area, 22) Premier refuses to visit ancient forests that are being logged. 23) Protest camp rebuilds, 24) State plans 9-month review of logging's future, 25) Vehicle burned out by loggers put on display, 26) Let us leave the industry with out " dignity " intact? 27) They will stop protesting if there is a moratorium on logging, 28) Gov responds to protest moratorium, 29) Molong woodland protection effort, 30) Book: Life in cape York rainforest, 31) Update: Walk against woodchips, 32) Tassie protesters and government to sit down and talk, 33) Rare Koalas sighted near logging area, 34) NSW protests hit the road, 35) Postman's Track is a dividing line, 36) Global economic crisis affects logging, 37) Timber harvesting at Brown Mountain Articles: Papua New Guinea: 1) Papua New Guinea's prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, has called for the rich world and the developing world to come together to stop deforestation by putting an economic value on unlogged forests. Sir Michael made the call in a speech to the Lowy Institute in Sydney. He said climate change is real and that a major re-think of economic theory is needed. It is estimated that the carbon stored in the developing world's forests is subsidisng the rich countries greenhouse emmissions to the tune of $100 billion a year. Sir Michael said, at the moment, poor countries get no economic benefit from providing service. " Without true valuation of our vast environmental assets we have struggled with schools that cannot afford the best teachers and health centres with only basic medicine, " he said. Sir Michael said the developed and developing world should work together to create new markets so that poor countries can release the value of their forests. http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=110165 2) The Supreme Court has quashed a decision granting logging rights over the huge Kamula Doso forest area in Western Province to Rimbunan Hijau (RH) in a court case brought by the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum, and ordered the company to pay costs to the Forum. " This is a major victory for good governance, " said Kenn Mondiai, Chairperson of the Forum. " This decision demonstrates to the whole world what has been going on for far too long, and legally reaffirms the Forum's claim of widespread illegal logging in PNG facilitated by the government and the logging industry. This is only a tip of an iceberg and there is more to be uncovered of unlawful acquisition of resources and unequal benefit distribution. The PNG Eco-Forestry Forum has been fighting through the Courts for over two years to overturn Rimbunan Hijau's rights to log in Kamula Doso which was granted by the National Court in 2007. When the Forum decided to challenge the decision, the government amended the Forestry Act to remove the Forum from the National Forest Board " .The matter was listed for trial in the Supreme Court this week, but minutes before the hearing began, Rimbunan Hijau conceded that their logging rights were illegal. A 3-men Supreme Court bench recorded its displeasure at the conduct of Rimbunan Hijau in fighting the case for two years when it knew its logging rights were illegal by ordering the company to pay indemnity costs to the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum. " This is a great victory for civil society and non government organisations in general, " added Thomas Paka, Executive of the Forum. " Our judges have shown that the ordinary people of PNG can stand up to corruption and win " . http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0810/S00583.htm 3) Just getting there takes hours of hot, sweaty hiking through lowland Papua New Guinea forests: three hours from the road to the base camp, then another seven to the site. That's when the real work begins: tagging, measuring, and identifying 250,000 trees scattered over 50 hectares. Stuart Davies estimates there's between 600 and 700 different tree species among those quarter-million trunks, between 5 and 10 percent of which will be new to science. But the effort isn't being expended solely to discover new trees. Davies and colleagues at the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS), which he directs, are building an observatory — pointed at planet Earth — out of trees. The center is an unusual partnership between Harvard's Arnold Arboretum and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Headed by Davies, who is the Arboretum's director of Asia Programs and who holds a joint appointment at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the center was established in the early 1990s to provide a stable, long-term scientific framework for tropical forest study through a series of forest plots — exhaustively documented and regularly censused — across the tropics. Trees are natural climate-monitoring stations. They are stationary and long-lived, allowing monitoring of a single spot over time. Their growth is sensitive to changes in sunlight, rain, temperature, and other environmental factors. They're also sensitive to the global warming gas carbon dioxide, which they use in photosynthesis. http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/10.30/11-newguinea.html 4) Coral reef fish rely on the smell of leaves to find their way home, according to research published in the most recent issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Danielle Dixson and coworkers studied the clownfish Amphiprion percula in the coral reefs surrounding offshore islands in Papua New Guinea, noting from their survey results that host anemones and the clownfish are particularly abundant in shallow water beneath overhanging rainforest vegetation. Basing their work in the island of New Britain, the authors carried out a series of experiments using paired-choice flumes (in chambers) to evaluate the potential role of water-borne olfactory cues in finding islands. Newly settled juvenile clownfish were used in the experiments and in each experiment, a single individual was placed into the centre of the downstream end of the choice flume. The fish were allowed to acclimate for five minutes before the researchers recorded the position of the fish on each side of the chamber at five-second intervals for a period of two minutes. The procedure was then repeated with the position of the flumes within the chambers reversed. Testing the effects of: (i) water samples from reefs with and without islands; (ii) water samples from island reefs at three different distances (one metre off shoreline, at reef crest and one kilometer offshore) and (iii) untreated offshore water and offshore water treated with either anemones or rainforest leaves, the authors found that juvenile clownfish exhibited a strong preference for: (i) water samples taken from reefs with islands; (ii) beach water (water taken one metre offshore) and (iii) water treated with anemones or rainforest leaves. An experiment using laboratory-reared (instead of wild caught) clownfish larvae yielded similar results. http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1878 Indonesia: 5) A Greenpeace climber has made his way up the chain and positioned himself so they can't lift the anchor. This means the ship can't leave the port and this will cause considerable inconvenience to Wilmar, the company that owns the cargo of palm oil. It's exactly what we want because, although Wilmar is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, there's nothing sustainable about the company's practice of tearing up forests and peatlands to grow its oil palms. Given how enthusiastic the Gran Couva's crew were with the hosepipes earlier on, it was no surprise that he got a good drenching but the sustained barrage went on for 30 minutes. Never the less, he's still hanging on and that's in no small part thanks to the incredible negotiation skills of our electrician Paul. He'd gone along to assist in the boats but it was his ability to speak Hindi which persuaded the Indian crew members manning the hoses to turn them off. Meanwhile, we've heard from the harbour master who has us to stop our activities and the police have just arrived at the tanker to see what's going on. We'll see what comes of that, but for now our climber is still on the anchor chain and the Gran Couva isn't going anywhere. http://forest4climate.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/it-takes-only-one-person-to-stop-\ a-giant-palm-oil-tanker/ 6) To avoid trees falling due to hollow branches and feeble roots, the Park Agency will replace around 500,000 trees throughout South and West Jakarta. The agency's head Ery Basworo said Jakarta had around five million trees, with 10 percent of them being Burmese rosewood, locally known as angsana, which have hollow roots and can easily topple. " Most of them are aged between five and 10 years. We will replace them with mahogany, tamarind and rain trees that have stronger roots, " he said. He explained the administration planted angsana because they grew quickly. At the time, he said, the city wanted to boost the number of trees in the city. Up to October, the city administration received 40 insurance claims this year over fallen trees. Ery said the insurance payments ranged between Rp 1 million (US$91.53) and Rp 2 million for each case depending on the severity. http://old.thejakartapost.com/misc/PrinterFriendly.asp 7) I've scrubbed and showered but there are still traces of mud sticking to me. It's my own fault - I guess I shouldn't have gone tramping around the peatlands here in Riau. But the picture above, that's us: some of the Esperanza's crew and several Indonesian volunteers pulling our banner tight against the forest wall, the straight line that separates the thriving ecosystem from the barren areas which have been cleared of trees. In case you're wondering, I'm at the top of the P in 'STOP'. It was an early start and a long drive to get to the site on the Kampar peninsula, chosen because PT Arara Abadi-Siak has permits to set up plantations for acacia trees, used for making pulpwood and paper. The company is a subsidiary of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), which is in turn owned by our old friends Sinar Mas - as well as having fingers in pulpwood, Sinar Mas is also one of the largest palm oil producers in Indonesia (not to mention a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), and many of the nearby palm oil plantations have their name above the gate. Driving along the road from Sungai Pakning was deceptively pleasant - elegant wooden houses were nestled amongst lush green foliage, and kids were cycling to school. But after crossing the Siak river on the ferry, we were deep into plantation country. Rows of oil palms lined the way with their shaggy coats of ferns, and bunches of palm fruit lay by the roadside. Along one stretch, intact forest sprawled to the right while regiments of young oil palms were springing up on the left, the forest wall a thick blue line on the horizon, and a pipeline followed us all the way from ferry. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/alongside-forest-against-wall-20081107 8) National Geographic has published a video called Deforestation Fear In Indonesia on their website: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081021-forest-video-ap.html In it, Greenpeace campaigner Bustar (who is currently on the Esperanza) tells how Papua's forests are under threat. He explains how companies are destroying Papua's forest, including palm oil producers. If the government can't stop deforestation, it could all be gone in 10 years. What's very interesting is the appearance of director of the Indonesian forestry ministry, Tony Suhartono. He said: " If all the stakeholders agreed to a moratorium, with minimum impact for economic and regional development, than let's find the way for that. If the only solution is just a moratorium without having any options, that will be difficult. " For me, it's important for the government to make a decision for the nation and their people who live in the forest. That's why we're asking Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to declare a moratorium on all deforestation. Write to him now and tell him to make the right decision. http://forest4climate.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/national-geographic-features-papu\ a-forest-threats/ 9) Britain's Prince Charles met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here Monday and presented his ideas for saving the world's rainforests, officials said. Speaking at the presidency after the meeting, the heir to the British throne suggested a scheme to determine how much funding rainforest countries needed to re-orientate their economies toward preservation and reforestation. The plan demands emergency aid from developed nations to fund and protect jungles in the developing world. " The rainforest nations would need to consider how much they should be paid so that they can continue to grow and develop their economies without cutting down the forest, " he said. Yudhoyono, who said 25 percent of global carbon emissions was caused by deforestation, welcomed the prince's strategy to save the forests. " We share a similar passion, " he said. Charles, who arrived in Indonesia on Saturday, also encouraged interfaith dialogue in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. The visit is the first time in nearly two decades that he has visited the Southeast Asian nation and comes on the back of trips to Japan and Brunei. He will later travel to Yogyakarta on Java island to meet the city's hereditary Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Charles_presents_forest_plan_to_Indonesian_pre\ sident_999.html 10) " In the last 17 years, the rate of forest conversion to palm oil plantations increased by 400 times to 461,992 hectares (per year) in 2007 from only 1,163 hectares (per year) in 1991, " the study said, quoting data from the Central Kalimantan administration. " Our finding shows that about 816,000 hectares of forest (there) was cleared for palm oil plantations in 2006. " He said 14 percent of the 3 million hectares of peatland in the province had been converted into palm oil plantations. In Riau, the local administration allocated 38.5 percent of its total forest area for conversion into plantations. " As of 2006, there were 2.7 million hectares of plantations, including 1.5 million hectares of palm oil plantations, " he said. Wirendro said that out of the 550,000 hectares of forests felled for plantations in Papua, 480,000 hectares had been allocated for growing palm oil. The Forestry Ministry has said total palm oil plantations increased to 6.1 million hectares in 2006 from 1.1 million hectares in 1990. The ministry has claimed the rate of deforestation between 1987 and 1997 remained constant at 1.8 million hectares per year before spiking to 2.8 million hectares per year by 2000 mainly because of severe forest fires. However, between 2000 and 2006, the rate fell to 1.08 million hectares per year, it added. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20081030.H04 & irec=3 11) The study by the Indonesian Forest Watch (FWI) categorically blamed deforestation on forest conversions into palm oil plantations conducted by big companies. " We find palm oil companies prefer to convert forest areas rather than utilize idle land for their expansion as they get extra incentives from trees in the cleared forests, " said Wirendro Sumargo, FWI coordinator for public campaign and policy dialogue, on Tuesday. The field study was conducted in Central Kalimantan and Riau and Papua. It said Central Kalimantan was seeing the fastest rate of conversion of forest area into palm oil plantations. " In the last 17 years, the rate of forest conversion to palm oil plantations increased by 400 times to 461,992 hectares (per year) in 2007 from only 1,163 hectares (per year) in 1991, " the study said, quoting data from the Central Kalimantan administration. " Our finding shows that about 816,000 hectares of forest (there) was cleared for palm oil plantations in 2006. " He said 14 percent of the 3 million hectares of peatland in the province had been converted into palm oil plantations. In Riau, the local administration allocated 38.5 percent of its total forest area for conversion into plantations. " As of 2006, there were 2.7 million hectares of plantations, including 1.5 million hectares of palm oil plantations, " he said. Wirendro said that out of the 550,000 hectares of forests felled for plantations in Papua, 480,000 hectares had been allocated for growing palm oil. The Forestry Ministry has said total palm oil plantations increased to 6.1 million hectares in 2006 from 1.1 million hectares in 1990. http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/?p=1193 Pacific Island countries: 12) Geoff Lipsett-Moore, conservation planner for pacific island countries with The Nature Conservancy, tells Business Spectator's Giles Parkinson about the best hopes for saving the world's forests, including what industry is doing to help the cause. Giles Parkinson: So Jeff, what's the best hope of saving the world's forests? Geoff Lipsett-Moore: I guess we're just in a time where there are both great opportunities, but also potentially great disasters and for us, at the moment, we see great opportunity and reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation mechanism as being probably one of the greatest incentives we've ever had to retain forests intact in perpetuity. GP: So that's basically using the carbon market as it were to sort of put a value on the forests, isn't it? GLM: It is. At the moment REDD, (reintroduced emissions from deforestation and degradation) is not on people's radar. It wasn't included in the original Kyoto Protocol. We're hoping it's a part of the post 2012 agenda, so I guess for The Nature Conservancy it's a powerful mechanism. It was an extremely powerful mechanism to try and deal with probably as much as 20 per cent of the solution of the climate change problem, so at the moment deforestation and degradation results in about 20 per cent of emissions, so it helps us deal with potentially as much as 20 per cent of that issue. GP: So specifically then, if an agreement is struck then how does that actually help save a forest? Could you explain exactly how that works? GLM: Well basically, areas that would have been cleared, so flat, fertile, arable or accessible lands are those lands that are likely to go under the blade or be converted to river, might be oil palm, it might go under as forestry arrangements, might be cleared for livestock. There're all sorts of opportunities in the developing countries and of course many developing countries want to develop and so they're looking at industries. It's trying to find that right balance between those sorts of developments, but also the retention of forests in some sensible way, so they still retain their biodiversity benefits and ecosystem services that the communities depend on. So the way it would notionally work is that those areas that would have been cleared if retained result in the capture of a certain amount of carbon. That actually is worth a dollar value, not to be traded to actually determine what those values would be. This will be determined by the carbon pricing that's established at the time of the negotiations of whatever the arrangement might be, but certainly The Nature Conservancy's very keen to pursue this in the light of the establishment of the national framework. So each country will establish its own national framework. That national framework will then determine the nature of the arrangements in each country and that's probably the most powerful way post 2012 to actually secure forests across multiple sectors. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Geoff-Lipsett-Moore-L5VAB?Ope\ nDocument & src=sph Solomon Islands: 13) Government funds earmarked for replanting the diminishing tropical forests in the Solomon Islands were diverted to buying sawmills and chainsaws to fell more trees, the country's auditor-general has reported. The funds were disbursed last year under a previous government through half the members of the 50-seat parliament, five of whom are ministers in the present government, including the Finance Minister, Snyder Rini. The report, by the Office of the Auditor-General, is among a pile of hard-hitting documents shown to the Herald which detail irregular and inflated payments for projects in the key forestry and fishery sectors, as well as in relief operations for Gizo Island's tsunami disaster in April last year, the inquiry into the 2006 Honiara riots, and support for national athletes. Although the scandals occurred under the previous prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, toppled in a no-confidence vote last December, they are causing embarrassment to his successor, Derek Sikua, because individuals named include MPs who crossed sides to his government. In the forestry scandal, the difficulty is deepened because Mark Roboliu Kemakeza, the forests minister for most of last year and a first-term MP, is the younger brother of the former prime minister Allan Kemakeza. He became forests minister under Dr Sikua, who is serving a jail term for convictions related to political violence in 2002. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/lop-chop-and-pork-barrel-forest-funds-row/2008/\ 11/10/1226165481965.html New Zealand: 14) Veteran campaigner for the environment, Pakuranga's Rosaleen Nicholson, is " astonished " and " honoured " to be the recipient of a Certificate of Recognition awarded by Manukau City Council. The certificate recognises 35 years of voluntary service to eastern communities as an advocate for the environment, particularly her work with the Tamaki Estuary Protection Society, the Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Tree Council. She refers to the comic character Charlie Brown, whose catchphrase was: " You win some, you lose some. Sometimes we save trees, sometimes we lose them, " says Mrs Nicholson. Last year she was in the thick of a Tree Council protest when a contractor chopped down a non-notified 200-plus year-old puriri tree during a road-widening project for the Flat Bush Town Centre development. " Now we have regular meetings with the council's environmental management officers to find out which trees are notified for chopping down, which are not and we can put in a word for their protection. " Since Mrs Nicholson and her husband Douglas moved to Pakuranga in 1973, she says she has seen a change in attitude by the authorities, " not always good. " We have had to fight for things. " She reflects on the 10 years it took to get the 10km stretch of Mangemangeroa Reserve between Somerville Road and Shelly Park saved from housing subdivision. " I have great pleasure in going there, " she says. " I take people there often. The reserve contains important remnants of coastal bush including the only remaining kohekohe and tawa in this district. " Her favourite place, however, is Tahuna Torea, on the Tamaki Estuary at Glendowie, saved from being turned into a rubbish tip by the Tamaki Estuary Protection Society. She especially enjoys visiting with children. Brought up on the South Island West Coast surrounded by untouched forests, Mrs Nicholson was taught about trees, water and wildlife by her mother and these days takes every opportunity to talk to children about conservation. http://www.times.co.nz/cms/news/2008/11/environment_champion_recognised_for_serv\ ice.php 15) Early this morning Greenpeace activists took action to stop corporate dairy's assault on New Zealand forests and the climate. In the central North Island huge swathes of forest are being cleared to make way for industrial dairy mega farms. Well before dawn this morning, in the forest near Tokoroa, several activists halted the sharp end of the logging operation by locking themselves to heavy equipment. Meanwhile, on nearby land recently converted from forest to dairy pasture, another team have used rotary hoes to write CLIMATE CRIME in 5m-high letters into the fresh pasture. We are calling for the main political parties to commit to an immediate halt to forest conversion for intensive dairy in the face of the worsening global climate crisis. New Zealand's agriculture sector already emits 50 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions - more than double the emissions of all transport combined. Deforestation releases huge amounts of greenhouse gas. We estimate that annual emissions from the two largest corporate conversion projects in the Central North Island alone equate to the annual emissions from the Huntly coal fired power station. Forests trap carbon beneath the soil and in trees. Like a sponge, they soak up carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere - the main greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Dairy conversion of forestry land functions as a 'double whammy' on the climate destroying forests and replacing them with one of the most greenhouse gas intensive forms of land use. This chainsaw massacre and the ongoing expansion of corporate, intensive dairy farming in New Zealand has got to stop. http://weblog.greenpeace.org.nz/climate-change/fighting-climate-crime/ 16) Another inappropriate dairy conversion has occurred in New Zealand - this time on John Key's front lawn. A dwindling pine forest, some dairy cows, several stumps and a truckload of Ready Lawn now adorn the land at Mr Key's Helensville electorate office. A large billboard reads: " Would John stop this climate crime? " Greenpeace - who installed the new vista - called on the National Party leader to front up to the issue of deforestation for intensive dairy farming. " The National Party has consistently failed to meet the mark over climate change, " said Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner Simon Boxer. " The party rates badly on this issue when compared to almost every other political party. " Yet this global crisis is escalating, and so is New Zealand's contribution to it. We want to know where John Key's commitment to tackling climate change is and how he and his party would deal with agriculture's growing emissions. " Today's activity follows non-violent direct action taken by Greenpeace yesterday in the Central North Island, in which four activists locked themselves on to logging equipment and another team rotary hoed 4-metre high letters reading " climate crime " into freshly cleared pasture (1).Agriculture makes up half of all New Zealand's emissions and these continue to rise as more and more forest land is cleared to make way for corporate farms. " We're seeing deforestation for corporate dairy on a scale not seen before in New Zealand. Tens of thousands of hectares of forests have already been cleared. Government figures suggest another half million hectares is at risk; a quarter of the nation's total plantation. " Not only is the deforestation causing annual carbon emissions equivalent to the Huntly Power station, but the forests are being replaced by industrial, intensive farms. This is one of the most greenhouse gas intensive forms of land use. It's killing the climate and destroying New Zealand's forestry and tourism sectors. " If ever there was a climate crime, intensive dairy farming, with the associated chainsaw massacre, is it. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0810/S00491.htm 17) A government plan to require all lumber and wood products made from kwila to carry labels verifying that they come from legally-logged forests is strongly supported by the NZ Forest Owners Association. The plan, announced by forestry minister Jim Anderton on Friday, follows calls for the government to prevent products from illegally logged forests being imported or used in New Zealand. In August this year, 10 forestry, wood product and environmental organisations signed a joint statement calling for urgent action in the face of widespread illegal logging in tropical rain forests. Kwila (also known as merbau) is a tropical hardwood tree species used widely in New Zealand for decking and outdoor furniture. The species, which is native to South East Asia and the Pacific Islands, has been targeted because it is thought to make up about 80 per cent of illegally-sourced timber imported into New Zealand. NZFOA chief executive David Rhodes says the government plan will not capture all illegal imports, but is a practical first step that has forest owners' support. " It will put a severe brake on the trade in the material that we know comprises most of the problem, while allowing officials time to work with their counterparts overseas to develop more comprehensive international controls. " http://naturealert.blogspot.com/2008/11/andertons-stand-against-illegal-logging.\ html Australia: 18) Bulldozers rolled in to some of the last remaining koala habitats on the South Coast yesterday, marking the start of what police fear could be a divisive logging operation. Forests NSW workers plan to log about 180 hectares of native eucalypt forest from the coast north of Bermagui, for a mixture of wood veneer products and woodchips. But environmentalists and local residents are planning a long campaign to keep the forest undisturbed. New studies by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change show only a handful of koalas remain in the district - perhaps a dozen out of a Far South Coast population once counted in the thousands. None have been found within the logging zone itself, although the discovery of koala droppings suggest the animals may move through the area from time to time. The NSW Government said logging in the two zones north of Bermagui would not affect the koalas. " Extensive surveys have shown there are no koalas in the two compartments involved in the current harvest and few in the South Coast area, " the Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, said in a statement. A coalition of local environment groups, called the South East Region Conservation Alliance, said that koalas may still use the logging zone, and said a koala management plan for the district was not yet complete. " These public forests are of critical importance to the survival of the remnant of the koala population, " said a spokesman, John Hibberd. " The remnant here is thought to be about 10 to 12 individuals, and there's a very real chance that the loss of this habitat, together with the pressures of climate change and drought, could see them die out, " Mr Hibberd said. Koalas are known to travel up to 50 kilometres in search of mates or food. Protesters, some of whom volunteered in a koala-spotting survey over the past two years, believe the logging would make the few remaining animals more isolated and vulnerable to bushfires. Workers from Bruce Mathie and Sons, the company that has a contract from Forests NSW to carry out the logging operation, have been instructed to halt work if any koalas are sighted. http://earthhopenetwork.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=1390 19) Environmental protesters are accusing the Government of logging old growth forest areas in East Gippsland that it promised to protect. Several protesters have been arrested and charged on summons in the last two days for chaining themselves to logging equipment at Brown Mountain, near the Errinundra National Park. Dozens of protesters are camped near the site, and have vowed to stay, despite authorities setting up an exclusion zone. The group's spokeswoman, Lauren Caulfield, claims the areas being logged this week are part of a State Forest area earmarked for National Park. " At the last state election nearly two years ago now, Premier Brumby was elected on a promise that his government would protect 40,000 hectares of old growth forest through East Gippsland, " she said. " We're still yet to see one iota of that area protected, and while we're conducting and continuing to conduct these negotiations with Government to secure these areas, the areas themselves are already being logged. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/29/2404689.htm 20) Police have begun operations to monitor and act on any protest activity deemed illegal in the Bermagui State Forest. Inspector Garry Huard from Batemans Bay police confirmed extra police from the southern region including a rescue team have arrived in the area as the logging activity began this week. Forest NSW has begun logging compartments 2004 and 2005 to the southwest of the intersection of the Cobargo and Bermagui roads. Police say they are in contact with logging contractors and in discussion with protestors. " We will be posted out there on site for as long as they are required with their role to ensure any protest activity takes places lawfully and the logging contractors can do their work, " Inspector Huard said. The police presence did place a strain on local resources but every step was being in put place to ensure service for normal duties was not interrupted, he said.Police said the protestors had a right to protest but police were taking a zero tolerance approach to any illegal activity and would prosecute anyone found to be doing the wrong thing.Whether the protestors would be setting up a camp as they did with the Gulaga compartment last year was unclear but police would continue discussion on a designated site and the Bega Valley Shire Council was also being consulted. " Protestors on site so far have been well behaved, " he said. Forest protest at bus stopMore than 40 community members from all walks of life took time off to meet at the Bermagui-Cobargo turnoff on Monday morning. They were gathered in a peaceful protest against the logging of the Bermagui State Forest for woodchips. " There is a perception amongst the forest conservation community that there is a concerted effort across the eastern states to mount a co-ordinated pillage of contentious native forest areas " said Tony Whan, forest activist with South East Forest Rescue. " The Upper Florentine in Tasmania, Valley of the Giants in East Gippsland, and Bermagui in the South East of NSW are being simultaneously logged. " http://narooma.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/police-praise-forest-pro\ test-so-far/1346761.aspx 21) The NSW government is negotiating to have more of the state's rainforests added to the Gondwana World Heritage area. NSW Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt said the government was in talks with the commonwealth to add more rainforest reserves to the World Heritage Tentative List. The list would be a compilation of all the sites the federal government considers worthy of a World Heritage listing, which would then be considered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2010. The existing 366,500 hectare Gondwana heritage site, which covers rainforests in NSW and Queensland, was originally added to the World Heritage List in 1986, with further additions in 1994. " Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals which remain relatively unchanged from their fossil ancestors, " Ms Tebbutt told parliament. http://news.theage.com.au/national/nsw-rainforests-may-be-heritagelisted-2008102\ 8-5adi.html 22) The Tasmanian Greens today expressed disappointment at Premier David Bartlett's apparent refusal to consider visiting and walking through the high-conservation value forest in the Florentine Valley that is at the centre of the current disputes between environmentalists and loggers. Greens Leader Nick McKim MP, who made the offer to visit the Florentine Valley to the Premier in Question Time today, said although the Premier had appeared to rule out visiting the area with Mr McKim, he had in fact issued a challenge by stating that he didn't believe the Mr McKim could keep up with him on his mountain bike. " I'm not sure whether I could beat the Premier on a mountain bike or not, but I'm prepared to try if it gets him into the threatened areas of the beautiful Florentine Valley. " " I would be prepared to walk, fly, drive, ride or even crawl if it would expose Mr Bartlett to the magnificent carbon-rich forest that is being trashed under his government. " " It's now up to Mr Bartlett to put his legs where his mouth was and accept the challenge. " " The current protest in the Florentine is an attempt to prevent the construction of a logging road into pristine areas of the forest – for David Bartlett to say he has already ridden his bicycle through the area completely misses the point. " http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=3364 23) The sound of hammers banging and paint brushes slapping echoes around the tall trees and ferny glades of the Upper Florentine wilderness. Anti-logging activists at Protest Camp Florentine -- or Camp Flozza, as it is known locally -- on the main tourist route to Lake Pedder, are busy rebuilding their roadside information shed, destroyed by fire last week in a late-night attack. Nearby is the burnt-out shell of a car -- axe holes still visible in its roof -- from which a sleeping member of the Still Wild Still Threatened protest group escaped before his vehicle was allegedly torched last Thursday night. Police are investigating if there is enough evidence to lay charges relating to the late-night visit by unknown parties to Camp Flozza. Not that the 15 activists living at the bush camp 100km west of Hobart near the timber town of Maydena are unprepared for such assaults. But their vigilant focus remains on the dawn when they believe Forestry Tasmania will move in to destroy their protest camp, complete with its tree-sits, suspended platforms, wintering hut and outside bush kitchen. After two years of protests -- the anniversary party is on Saturday -- camp residents are preparing for new conflicts between protesters and Forestry Tasmania, police and loggers in the Upper Florentine Valley. Miranda Gibson, a fragile-looking teacher from Brisbane who specialises in caring for special-needs pupils, has been living rough in the Florentine Camp run by the Still Wild Still Threatened group for the past year. She endured a hard winter, with snow on the ground, during which the activist presence at Camp Flozza shrunk to just four cold and bush-bound members enduring icy winds off The Thumbs and Sawback Ranges. But that experience did not prepare quietly spoken Ms Gibson, 27, for the alleged confrontation with timber workers eight days ago in an immobilised car blocking access to a nearby logging coupe. http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2008/10/29/35261_tasmania-news.html 24) Resources Minister David Llewellyn yesterday said a new strategy was being drafted, looking at the future of forests and the industry. Mr Llewellyn said former Premier's Department head Evan Rolley would play a key role in the nine-month review. Mr Llewellyn said the review, to be conducted by the Forests and Forest Industry Council, would consider the views of stakeholders, including environmentalists, and look at the availability of timber from plantations and native forests. Mr Rolley, a former Forestry Tasmania chief executive, is expected to help assess the impact of future carbon trading credits on resource availability, and on global opportunities for new forest products. Mr Rolley remains on the government payroll despite resigning in May, when then Premier Paul Lennon, who had appointed him nine months earlier, quit. Mr Llewellyn said a review of the role and function of the Private Forests Tasmania (PFT) was also started. " The review is in response to changing priorities in the forest sector and had been strongly endorsed by the PFT board, " he said. The row continued yesterday over attacks allegedly carried out by loggers last week. In Parliament, Liberal resources spokesman Jeremy Rockliff called on the Government to " get serious " about addressing inadequate legislative protection for loggers. http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2008/10/30/35461_tasmania-news.html 25) Visitors to Hobart's Salamanca market today are being confronted with a burnt out four wheel drive that was at the centre of a recent violent dispute in the Florentine Valley. Forest activists claim the car was doused in petrol and set alight during a confrontation in the disputed forest coupe last week. Supporter Bill Harvey says the car's on show at the market to raise awareness of the logging of old growth forests. Mr Harvey says many people at Salamanca Market are stopping to look at the car. " Salamanca is a very busy area thousands of tourists are coming past here and they're very interested in what's happening in Tasmania, " Mr Harvey said. " People come to Tasmania to see the forests and they're very upset at the continuing destruction of high conservation value forest here, " he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/01/2407599.htm 26) In Tasmania, hard-hit forest contractors are seeking a federally funded exit package to allow them to leave the industry " with dignity " and to foster the creation of larger, more sustainable businesses. Tasmanian forest contractor Rodney Bishop said the industry was " in limbo " with the Gunns mill stalled. Contractors had to battle low prices and short-term contracts. " It's tough; people are struggling -- really, really struggling, " Mr Bishop said. As chairman of the Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association, Mr Bishop has asked the Rudd Government to help contractors leave the industry, thereby strengthening the position of those who remain. " We want to give people a choice, rather than being pushed out, " he said. Greens leader Bob Brown said a national forest industry plan would be throwing good money after bad. Senator Brown said $1 billion had been given to the Tasmanian forest industry alone in the past two decades, while it continued to shed jobs and failed to develop downstream processing. " The industry has simply gone and plundered every potential for making profit without the diversification (out of native forests and into plantations) that was always promised, " Senator Brown said. The CFMEU's Mr O'Connor said a national industry plan would be justified on the basis of the benefit to the current account deficit alone. He appeared to back government funding for infrastructure to kick-start stalled investments, such as the Gunns pulp mill. " If a proposal stacks up in terms of environmental standards and economic sustainability, you would be foolish to sit on your hands, " Mr O'Connor said. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24598700-2702,00.html 27) Forest activists have outlined a deal to end their high profile blockade in the Tasmania's southern wilderness. They have promised to halt the protest in return for a moratorium on logging what they describe as high conservation areas. The blockade in the Upper Florentine Valley has been at the centre of some violent disputes. The forest fight escalated last week when seven people were charged with assault and trespass after activists were allegedly attacked by contractors. Police are also investigating another incident in which two protesters' cars were torched. Ula Majewski from Still Wild Still Threatened has today outlined a truce deal. She wants all logging and road operations in the Huon and Derwent Valleys to cease while a lasting compromise is nutted out with the State and Federal Governments. " The current status quo is ripping apart forests, it's ripping apart communities and it is ripping apart contractors, " Ms Majewski said. The Forest Industries Association has dismissed the proposal as a media stunt. The Chairman Julian Amos is calling on the State and Federal Governments to reject it. He says the terms of the deal are unacceptable. " This is nothing more than a media stunt, they know the Government will not agree to such conditions, " Mr Amos said. " These conditions are 'we are breaking the law, we will agree not to break the law if you agree to our demands'. " " No government can agree to those sort of pre-conditions being set. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/03/2408470.htm 28) The Tasmanian Government has ruled out re-negotiating any forest agreements in response to a call for a truce by protesters. Some southern forest activists have promised to wind up their blockade in exchange for an end to all logging operations in the area. Forest activists say they'll end a two year blockade in the Florentine Valley if the State Government is willing to negotiate. They want a new agreement brokered ending logging in parts of the Derwent and Huon Valleys. Ula Majewski from Still Wild Still Threatened says there's no time to waste. " The time is now to find a solution to this problem, " she said. Julian Amos from the Forest Industry Association says the agreement would have catastrophic consequences. " The saw mills will close down, material for vaneer plants will no longer be available, pulp wood will no longer be available, " he said. The State Government says it doesn't deal with people who break the law. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/03/2409116.htm?section=business 29) A conservation program aimed at protecting endangered woodland areas has been launched at Molong. TransGrid staff from across NSW gathered with the local community and Greening Australia representatives to launch the environmental initiative. The Molong Grassy Woodland Community Restoration Project will involve revegetation experts, school students, Landcare groups and staff from TransGrid and Greening Australia. In the next three years, the program will aim to protect and enhance a 25-hectare Grassy Box Woodland remnant on the TransGrid property adjacent to its Molong substation. At the launch, Toby Jones from Greening Australia presented TransGrid manager, Paul Phillips, with a new plan of management for the remnant woodland, prepared by environmental consultant Donna Johnson. " This is a timely project for a special place, " Mr Jones said. " It's great to see TransGrid committing to the care of its natural assets through practical action involving the local community. " When you look around it's easy to see that the area has been given the tick of approval by Superb Parrots and a whole host of other birds. " " People at the launch planted 60 trees and then went for a plant identification walk through the woodland. " They saw firsthand the amazing understorey and great potential for enhancement, enjoyment and understanding promised by the site. " Grassy Box Woodland is classified as endangered in NSW, with 95 per cent of it gone in the Central West. The Molong Grassy Woodland Community Restoration Project is part of the award-winning GreenGrid project. http://wellington.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/environment/protection-for-wo\ odlands/1351010.aspx 30) The remote, beautiful and poorly known rainforests of Cape York Peninsula tell a special story about Australia's historic and present-day connections to New Guinea. Life in the Cape York Rainforest highlights these connections by examining the fascinating biology of some of the most spectacular animals shared between the two regions. The author recounts his own ground-breaking research on 'cross-dressing' Eclectus parrots, musical palm cockatoos and multi-coloured pythons, together with the exotic lifestyles of other animals, while painting the bigger picture of the past when Australia and New Guinea were joined by extensive land bridges. Australia's disconnection from New Guinea is probably only temporary, and even today many bird species continue to fly the short distance between the two landmasses. Whether just browsing the beautiful photos and informative captions, or reading it in its entirety, readers will gain a greater understanding of the unique attributes of our Cape York rainforests. http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/20/pid/5972.htm 31) Forest campaigners are proposing a concrete step towards the resolution of the divisive Tasmanian forest debate and the protection of our old growth forests and we need your help ASAP! Before November 10th, please follow the links to the politicians below and tell them that you are urging them to put a moratorium on logging and roading in old growth and high conservation value areas in Tasmania's Southern Forests and enter into urgent negotiations to secure the future of these forests as well as an equitable outcome for forest logging contractors. The Australian (4/11/08) reports In Tasmania, hard-hit forest contractors are seeking a federally funded exit package to allow them to leave the industry " with dignity " . The time is right to secure the future of our forests and forest workers. There are great examples where stakeholder discussions between conservationists, industry and government have delivered win-win solutions to long-running forest conflicts. PLEAE EMAIL OUR LEADERS TODAY!!!! http://woodchipwalk.com/2008/11/05/a-solution-to-the-forest-debate/ 32) Forestry Tasmania says it is prepared to meet conservationists to try to resolve tensions in the Southern Forests. Forestry wants activists to abandon their protest camp which has been the site of several confrontations. The tension in Tasmania's Upper Florentine Valley escalated last week when seven people were charged over an alleged attack by forest workers at a protest camp. Police are also investigating the torching of two of the protesters' vehicles. The activists have offered a truce with Forestry, if it agrees to a moratorium on old growth logging. The company has dismissed the call but its Managing Director, Bob Gordon says he is prepared to meet protest representatives, if they leave their camp. " It's an illegal structure, a safety risk, a health hazard, " Mr Gordon said. Mr Gordon says he has contacted the Commissioner of Police, Darren Hine, requesting that he also attend the meeting. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/05/2410461.htm 33) New evidence has come to light of koala activity less than two kilometers of the current logging activity in the Bermagui State Forest. National Park ranger Greg Watts, who also is a part-time Landcare officer for the Eurobodalla Shire Council, was conducting surveys in Gulaga National Park 10 months ago when he came across a young male koala on a track. He was able to photograph the koala before it wandered off casually into the forest, and he said its parents would probably also be in the area. The sighting took place just north of the Bermagui-Cobargo Road within close proximity of the current logging activity in the Bermagui State Forest. Surveys conducted by the Five Forests groups had also located Koala scat and tracks as far south as the Murrah and Tanja. " They are very secretive and males like this are quite territorial, " Mr Watts said. Koalas have historically been quite common in the area according local Mal Dibden of Tilba Tilba, who serves on the Gulaga National Park board of management. Mr Dibden has lived in the area since 1948 and said sightings were reasonably common in the Dignams Creek area as well to the west in the Kooraban National Park, which gets it name from the Aboriginal word for Koala. Koalas also used to be common within the township of Bermagui including on Aub Hosking's property on the Bermagui River downstream from the school, as well as further down the river at the Crossing education centre. Mr Dibden said he had concerns about the impact of the logging on erosion that could impact on the Bermagui River and its tourism and oyster farm, while the sanctuary zones at Meads Bay could also be impacted on as did the Long Swamp significant wetland. He said he was not against logging but that he failed to understand the merits of logging an area that should be a wilderness gateway to the area. http://narooma.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/koala-sighted-near-loggi\ ng/1352827.aspx 34) People opposed to controversial logging work in a New South Wales far south coast forest have taken their fight to Sydney today. Harvesting began last week in the Bermagui forest where police have set up an exclusion zone to keep protesters away from the logging work. Conservationists say the Bermagui forest is koala habitat and should also be retained for its value as a carbon sink. However, the Department of Primary Industries' Forestry division says the forest is regrowth and provides an important log supply. John Hibberd from the South-East Region Conservation Alliance says a deputation will meet Government representatives in Sydney today to put the case against logging, not only at Bermagui, but in native forests throughout the region. " As they get older more and more carbon is stored in them and we believe if native forest logging is stopped in Australia, a massive saving in carbon emissions could be made at the stroke of a pen, right now the state and federal governments across Australia could massively reduce the carbon emissions of this country, " he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/06/2411726.htm 35) Wilderness Society forest campaigner Luke Chamberlain says the equation is simple: 92% of Victorian old-growth forest has been lost since European settlement. Brown Mountain is among the best still standing. POSTMAN'S Track is a dividing line. Heading down into what locals call the Valley of the Giants, about seven hours drive east of Melbourne, thick old-growth forest soars up to 50 metres on both sides of the skinny trail. But there is an arbitrary distinction. On the right is Errinundra National Park. On the left is forest available to the timber industry. In the view of conservationists, it is soon to be " smashed into oblivion " . The low grumble of a chainsaw can be heard about a kilometre away. Before the last state election the Victorian Government made what reads like a landmark pledge: no more logging in significant strands of old-growth forest, effective immediately. About two weeks ago, bulldozers moved into Brown Mountain in far East Gippsland, a small pocket of forest containing trees estimated to be more than 300 years old, and began clearfelling. How does this add up? While the ALP's pre-election rhetoric said old-growth logging did not make sense from an environmental or a commercial perspective, Brown Mountain did not make the cut as a " significant strand " , and was left out when maps of protected areas were drawn. Environmentalists were dismayed — and not just because they believe Brown Mountain is the heart of East Gippsland old growth. They found that some areas mapped to be protected in East Gippsland were not actually old growth, but regenerating young forest and, in one case, a cattle paddock. The boundaries are now being revisited. Just as significantly, they cite a recent Department of Sustainability and Environment corporate plan that says old-growth forest will potentially be worth a truckload of money under emissions trading, and should be managed accordingly. This was backed by Australian National University research that found Gippsland old growth is extraordinarily carbon rich. 36) The global credit crisis is hitting the Green Triangle's economic backbone with the forestry sector feeling the pinch. ABARE's Australian Forest and Wood Products Statistics Report, released yesterday, showed a 5pc growth in the nation's forest exports to $2.5b for 2007-08, driven by woodchip export growth. But Timbercorp's forestry general manager Tim Browning said while the sector had performed strongly, " the world changed about two months ago " . " Whatever statistics happened up until September 30 are totally irrelevant going forward because of the credit crisis emanating from America that has now taken control of the whole global economy, which has depressed consumption and business credit, " he said. " It will have a big impact on the whole economy and that doesn't matter what sector you are in, unless you are a lawyer or accountant, in which case I think you will do very nicely. " Mr Browning said raw material producers in all sectors would be hit hard as downstream processors reduced production. " The redeeming factor for Australian exporters is the Australian dollar has collapsed by about 40pc, which has made our exports a lot cheaper to our principal trading partners, " he said. " It's not going to appease the impact of manufacturers needing to reduce production, but what it will do is take Australia from being a high-cost seller when the Aussie dollar was almost one for one to the American dollar to being a very low cost supplier. " Mr Browning said a modest prediction of the impact on Timbercorp next year would be a 10 to 20pc cut in exports, but it was hard to quantify how the market would act. He said the downturn in harvesting was unlikely to cost jobs. " We need to look at the efficiency with which we use staff, but are not looking at shedding staff - however no-one's job is ever guaranteed in these types of times, " he said. Mr Browning said the key factor delaying employment of forestry staff was the lack of export facilities, with blow-outs in construction of infrastructure at the Port of Portland and the Penola Pulp Mill project still being four years away from accepting chips, if it is built. http://www.borderwatch.com.au/archives/1736 37) Surely, the aims of " environmentalists " in their outcry over timber harvesting at Brown Mountain would fall within the " wise use principles " of conservation? Full protection for a portion of the forest for all time, sustainable use of a portion of the forest for human endeavour and the regeneration of harvested forest. This is what happens now. Australian forestry is among the best and most regulated in the world and we should all support the good environmental outcomes that flow from that. We do not have to look far to see the alternative. The emotional claptrap put forward by various writers (Letters, 12/11), — failing to recognise that more than 90% of Victoria's forests are permanently reserved — does little to foster the integrity of the environment movement. The fact is fire is the ultimate determinant of forest structure in Victoria; therefore the environment movement should be bringing pressure to bear on land managers to better manage our forests for fire, rather than campaigns based on ideology that aim to have the remaining 9% of forest locked up. Sustainable use with adequate protection, not preservation, is the key to conservation. Max Rheese, executive director, Australian Environment Foundation, Benalla http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/letters/conservation-not-preservation-20081112-\ 5ny2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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