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Anonymous — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:30:52 CDT

194th edition

Today for you 37 news items about Earth’s trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below.

Can be viewed on the web at http://www.livejournal.com/users/olyecology or
by sending a blank email message to earthtreenews-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.

--British Columbia: 1) 300 people protest –> “Export-logs means export-jobs”
--Washington: 2) Rural forest communities are taking over, 3) Enviros save 8% this year,
--Oregon: 4) wood sellers make ending protests easy, 5) 28 million acre forest,
--California: 6) Special logging restrictions in Santa Cruz,
--Montana: 7) Crazy mountain victory -180 acres withdrawn,
--Colorado: 8) Beetle-based urban logging
--USA: 9) Women who rewrote forest science resigns
--Canada: 10) WWF certifies Domtar/Weyco, 11) Beetlemania heads to the Boreal,
--EU: 12) Slow in stopping illegal logs
--Georgia; 13) Protests of the government selling off its forests
--Russia: 14) Save the Amur leopard
--Uganda: 15) WANTAI and Katabalalu forests are no more
--Ghana: 16) Forest into farm
--Kenya: 17) Restoring Lake Nakuru
--Brazil: 18) Xingu River Blues, 19) Paved road - clashes over land tenure, 20) Summary,
--China: 21) A job planting eucalyptus seedlings
--India: 22) satellite monitoring, 23) short-staffed by thousands, 24) Gov lacks forest Data, 25) Genocide-Ecocide denials,
--Laos: 26) Three days living in treehouses for conservation
--Philippines: 27) Protection of remnant forests
--Malaysia: 28) Crocodiles with less and less habitat adapt by eating humans,
--Indonesia: 29) Forest Ransom, 30) Judge keep loggers out of jail, 31) smoldering peat, --Australia: 32) Save Tasmania, 33) $500 million for Catchment management, 34) Conservationists blockaded the South East Fibre Exports chipmill, 35) Salvage logging, World-Wide 36) Landmark agreement on international forest policy, 37) WWF says 36 million acres a year lost to logging,

British Columbia:

1) The protest was loud and clear and aimed at the provincial and federal governments. Exported logs mean exported jobs, affecting hundreds of people in the forest industry. Close to 300 people took to the streets of Nanaimo last Monday, demanding a ban on log exports and promoting sustainable forestry practices. Organized by the Pulp and Paper Workers of Canada and supported by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, United Steelworkers, Hospital Employees Union and B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, the protest drew people from as far away as Campbell River, Youbou and Victoria. “It’s been a battle over the last five years, a battle we can’t afford to lose,” said Arnold Becov, PPWC forest resource officer. “We understand at the end of the day it is going to take a political solution, so we are here to put pressure on both the provincial and federal governments.” Becov said the industry has the ability to sustain good paying jobs, but also has a ton of problems. “But without logs, without fibre, nobody has a job,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.” Ken Wu of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee said it is critical to take a stand on the export of raw logs. “If we don’t, in 10 years time, we have little old growth forests, little mature second growth and destroyed salmon streams. “All of this is on the shoulders of the B.C. Liberals.” http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=18&cat=23&id=974089&more=

Washington:

2) On the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington -- home to Mount St. Helens -- since 1992 there has been a 74 percent reduction in full-time staff and its overall budget plummeted 61 percent. This bleak budget outlook is echoed in national forests across the Northwest. Fortunately, regular folks from around the region are creating a path forward. Rural forest communities, conservationists from the cities, loggers, tribes and other leaders have stitched together an elegant and simple solution: Fund restoration on national forest lands, which will create jobs you could raise a family on and return salmon to streams and wildlife to the woods. Recognition is growing that we can protect wild salmon and steelhead streams, fragile areas such as those recovering from Mount St. Helens' blast, and sensitive wildlife habitat while still providing economic opportunities for rural, forest-dependent communities. There is broad consensus that careful restoration-based thinning of young forest plantations can help create more wildlife habitat. There is agreement that weed eradication and other restoration work such as road maintenance and removal should also be a part of this emerging restoration economy. A diverse coalition of interest groups has developed a "Restoration Funding Package" that highlights just five budget priorities that support the Forest Service's capacity to plan those types of common-ground projects. The budget priorities support fisheries and wildlife programs; they allow the Forest Service to address its multibillion-dollar road problems that affect wildlife, fish and recreational users every day; they support the Forest Service's growing mandate to collaborate with the public; and they advance the development of restoration businesses in rural communities that can make restoration work a reality on the ground. We need Congress and the Bush administration to align their budget priorities with American values and prioritize investments in our nation's forests and rural communities instead of tax cuts for multibillion-dollar corporations; the Restoration Funding Package is the best place to start. –Emily Platt, GP Task Force http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/313743_gifford01.html

3) The state Board of Natural Resources received a recommendation Tuesday from state foresters to reduce the annual harvest by about 8 percent, from about 600 million board feet down to about 550 million board feet. The board asked the Department of Natural Resources for more information in June and is expected to take final action in July. The panel, which tries to balance forest income with sustainable harvests, agreed with DNR foresters that a new lower harvest level is advisable, given last year's settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Washington Environmental Council and other groups. The state has agreed to restore streamside forests and to protect the northern spotted owl and the marbled murrelet. Land Commissioner Doug Sutherland said the state is committed to a "science-based approach to active, sustainable forest management that develops healthier (forests) while generating income for public schools and other beneficiaries. "We expected that an adjustment may be appropriate to incorporate new scientific information and refine management of state trust forestlands to meet many goals." The board also approved the transfer of 1,124 acres of native forest near Enumclaw in King County from income-producing for schools into a status to protect it as a natural area preserve. The forest includes trees more than a century old and is habitat for the northern spotted owl. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/313987_timber02.html

Oregon:

4) Rainforest Relief's protest on April 28th is postponed because Restoration Hardware has . agreed to talk with us Last Wednesday, (several years after we first called them) Williams Sonoma (which owns Pottery Barn) agreed to meet with Rainforest Relief's executive director, Tim Keating, to discuss our demand that the company stop selling outdoor furniture made with nyatoh wood from Indonesia's highly endangered rainforests. The company also said they are looking for alternatives to this furniture, so we decided to postpone our protests planned for Saturday and Sunday in our National Days of Action on Outdoor Furniture. We're going to give them a chance to get serious about ending the use of woods from all endangered forests, and can always go back to the streets if necessary. We decided to switch to our backup target, Restoration Hardware, which sells similar items through its catalog, although not currently through its mortar and brick stores. To our suprise, the company's senior vice president and chief marketing officer called us late this afternoon (we're not sure how they found out about the planned actions!). According to Tim, the company offered to work directly with us and really sounded like they wanted to act responsibly on this important issue, so we are also calling off our protests against Restoration (interestingly, the company seemed particularly concerned about the potential Portland protests - we've no idea why, but way to go, Portland!). Without having to hand out a single flyer, we made real progress this week on this issue. Thanks for your interest, and please watch our website for further developments! http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/04/358464.shtml

5) Forests are one of Oregon’s signature ecosystems. They cover about 28 million acres, nearly 45% of the state’s land area. They form the headwaters of all our major river systems. They directly support over 85,000 jobs and contribute over $12.5 billion annually to our economy. About a third of our forests are dedicated to protecting natural forest values, a third to growing the wood we use and trade to other states and nations, and a third are managed and conserved for multiple resource values and uses. That’s a fine balance that most states do not and cannot enjoy. But we have a concern about Oregon’s forest future. Global and national economic forces coupled with rising demand for residential land threaten the future of private forestlands. In Oregon, conversion to non-forest has been held in check by land use laws and owners who have been able to keep their forest lands working as forests. The future may not look so bright for forests if we lose those advantages. Our vision for Oregon’s forests is that they will be highly valued and richer contributors to the quality of human life because they are: 1) Managed, protected, and conserved to meet the changing needs of society 2) Vibrant, resilient and dynamic ecosystems that sustain the diversity of all life 3) Living laboratories for learning… We offer this vision for richer forests to stimulate dialogue on creating a new pathway toward the future – a pathway that must lead to a renewed social contract between people whose well-being depends on the many products, values, uses, and services of forests, and people who manage and provide forest-based products, services and uses. It is in all of our best interest to keep Oregon’s forests diverse, intact, and productive. http://envisionoregon.org/guest-columns/forests-for-a-richer-future

California:

6) Currently, according to rules drafted a generation ago, logging is allowed on parcels five acres or larger. Supervisors are discussing raising that standard possibly to 80 acres, which would unreasonably restrict timber operations. Putting a stop to logging seems to be what this measure is all about. County supervisors and anti-logging forces are frustrated because the jurisdiction on logging resides not with them, but with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. In an effort to exert control locally, the county ultimately sued — and won, at least in theory. What they won was a ruling that although local jurisdictions can't regulate logging, they can control zoning. But zoning only goes so far, and the county now has been encouraged to pass an ordinance limiting timber operations on parcels below a certain size. Current law sets the standard at five acres. Supervisors last week considered raising it. The problem is that the acreage requirement has little to do with the wisdom of allowing — or not allowing — Santa Cruz County forests to be logged. Logging is not in itself good or bad. Some timber operations actually help the forest by thinning out overgrowth and letting in more sunlight. Also, some operations are necessary for fire control. Obviously, there also are some timber operations that have hurt the environment and never should have been allowed. But the good and bad of these has little to do with the size of the parcel. Supervisor Mark Stone pushed the idea of an 80-acre limit. Stone said at the most recent board meeting, "If we go to 80 acres we're making sure we push timber harvesting out of the neighborhoods" That argument makes little sense, because many parcels less than 80 acres are nowhere near neighborhoods. There's a lot of pressure on supervisors to find a way to make logging more difficult in Santa Cruz County than in other counties in California. Unfortunately, doing so will mean forcing a decision that may not be backed up by data on good forestry practices. The county doesn't even have its own forester, a position it once filled when the law allowed local control. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/April/29/edit/stories/01edit.htm

Montana:

7) A Forest Service plan to thin trees on about 180 acres in the Crazy Mountains north of Big Timber has been withdrawn, following an appeal by the Native Ecosystems Council and WildWest Institute. The Big Timber Ranger District said Tuesday that the project proposed as a way to control the spread of bark beetles in Douglas fir will undergo a broader analysis, and a new decision may be issued this fall. The Big Timber Canyon Vegetation Treatment Project called for thinning Douglas fir, by helicopter. "Small forest-health projects like this one have been done for years on national forests without significant impacts," but the Forest Service faces increasing court action as the agency goes about its work, and "we need to ensure our analysis can withstand that type of challenge," said Bill Avey, the district ranger. Jeff Juel of WildWest said the project was objectionable because part of it involved removing trees from an area of old-growth timber. "That was the one WildWest had the most heartburn over," Juel said. "They were focusing on logging old growth, and it looked like a timber sale more than an actual (fire) fuel reduction. Getting those purposes mixed up is not a good idea." The project area is about 15 miles north of Big Timber. The beetles were found in certain areas but did not constitute an epidemic, Foster said. The insects _ an adult is about a quarter of an inch long _ feed on an inner layer of bark, and often kill trees. Wood from infested trees is left with a bluish stain. http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/05/02/ap-state-mt/d8ortpo81.txt

Colorado:

8) BLUE RIVER - Last year, the homeowners in Blue River removed 200 to 300 trees killed by the mountain pine beetle; this year that number could grow by as much as five to six times, and the small town doesn't want to see the same trend continue. "We know if we don't do something this summer it could be substantially worse next summer," said Blue River Mayor Pro-tem Howard Smith. Armed with a $19,500 budget and the hopes of winning a matching grant from the Board of County Commissioners, the town board is heading up a major fuel reduction project this spring. With permission from homeowners, volunteer students from Colorado State University's forestry program started marking the affected trees, which are all on private property, last Sunday. Once that job is completed, property owners will be responsible for cutting down their infected trees. Bob's Excavating, which does the town's snowplowing in the winter, will then collect the slash, chip the wood and haul it away. http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070429/NEWS/104290054

USA:

9) "I woke up this morning, and I thought I heard the birds and wildlife cheering," Seattle-based Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said. "Now I know why." An Interior Department official accused of pressuring government scientists to make their research fit her policy goals has resigned. Julie MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, submitted her resignation letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a department spokesman said Tuesday. MacDonald resigned a week before a House congressional oversight committee was to hold a hearing on accusations that she violated the Endangered Species Act, censored science and mistreated staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. MacDonald recently was rebuked by the department's inspector general, who told Congress in a report in March that she broke federal rules and should face punishment for leaking information about endangered species to private groups. Interior Department spokesman Hugh Vickery confirmed MacDonald's resignation. Environmentalists cheered her departure. They say she tried to bully government scientists into altering their findings, often without scientific basis. "As the inspector general showed, she bullied agency scientists, and she improperly released documents to industry attorneys and lobbyists, and so there's no question it's a good day for endangered species and for Fish and Wildlife Service biologists," said Noah Greenwald, Pacific Northwest representative of the Center for Biological Diversity. McDonald had an influence in the Northwest. She played a strong role in reducing the amount of area protected for the bull trout, according to internal Interior Department e-mails environmentalists obtained, Greenwald said. She also was part of an unusual multiagency "Washington Oversight Committee" of Bush administration political appointees who refused to accept a Northwest-based team of state and federal officials, environmentalists and timber-industry scientists on how to rescue the spotted owl, the Seattle P-I reported last week. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/313969_interior02.html

Canada:

10) WWF-Canada and Domtar have taken their partnership to new heights with an ambitious agreement that solidifies their joint commitment to ensuring the long-term conservation of the Canadian boreal forest, a globally significant forest region. Through this agreement, WWF-Canada – one of the world’s leading conservation organizations – will work with Domtar on the following areas: 1) To pursue FSC certification, the highest forest certification standard globally, for all Domtar-managed forestland in Canada; 2) To identify important areas for protection on Domtar-managed lands; 3) To promote FSC-certified environmentally responsible papers, such as Domtar’s EarthChoice® line. .. This agreement marks an important milestone for both organizations that serves as a testament to the impact of collaborative business-NGO partnerships, which benefit both business and the environment. http://www.wwf.ca/NewsAndFacts/NewsRoom/default.asp?section=archive&page=display&ID=1533⟨=EN

11) Now that the mountain pine beetle has breached the Rocky Mountains, the next big target for the tiny forest-killer is the northern boreal forest, predicts a leading Canadian bug expert. “The absolute reality of it is that the pine forests east of the Rockies are now pine beetle habitat,” forestry scientist Allan Carroll told an Edmonton audience Saturday. “It looks like large areas of the boreal forest is where pine beetles will arrive next.” Billions of the tiny, grain-sized pests crossed into northern Alberta last summer, inflating the number of infested trees to three million from 20,000 in only a few months. The bark-burrowers colonize and destroy a tree; the only solution is to harvest and process or burn the beetle trees. The mountain pine beetle has never historically been this far from what has been considered its natural habitat of lodgepole pine of the western mountains. It is now as far east as Swan Hills and is set to feast on the jackpine forests of the boreal that stretch across every major province to Newfoundland. Carroll, who is with the Canadian Forestry Service at the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, is considered Canada’s leading mountain pine beetle expert. He said it could take decades for the beetle to infest the boreal forest. To what degree is impossible to say, but there is no reason to expect that the beetle pestilence will not find jackpine hybrids and jackpine forests on northeastern Alberta to their liking. http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=05a6382f-08ce-478a-990c-999c866793a0&k=
77886

EU:

12) European governments are dragging their heels on a key EU initiative designed to tackle illegal logging, according to a new assessment released by WWF today. The Illegal Logging Government Barometer shows that the UK and Austria are doing the most and Ireland and the Czech Republic the least to prevent unsustainable timber coming into the EU. The Barometer assesses the efforts of European governments to implement the EU’s Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement Governance & Trade (FLEGT), which encourages voluntary partnerships between EU countries and timber producing countries to reduce illegal logging. Each EU government has also committed to devise a national action plan to eliminate the trade in illegal and unsustainable timber and wood products. Four years after the Action Plan was approved, the assessment shows that 19 of 27 European governments included in the survey – or 70 per cent – are failing to take any real action to implement it successfully. Eight countries are taking limited action and only one country, Austria, has implemented a time-bound plan with the explicit aim of eliminating illegal logging and corruption from domestic wood production as well as timber and wood product imports. http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=100200

Georgia:

13) The Georgian Ministry of Environment said it held an auction on May 1 and leased large tracts of forested land for 20 years. The announcement sparked protests by environmentalist groups. The auction has raised a total of GEL 7.7 million (about USD 4.5 million). Licenses were issued for timber manufacturing in the regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Kakheti. Recipients were Georgian-Italian, Georgian-Belgium and Georgian-Chinese investors, according to the Ministry of Environment. Meanwhile, activists from the Green Alternative, Greens Movement of Georgia and Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) rallied outside the Ministry of Environment on May 1 to protest against the auction. Environmentalist groups claim that although the country’s forestry management is in need of urgent reform, hasty decision aimed only at “a short-term fiscal effect” is unacceptable. “We think it is inadmissible to start reform in the sector until the National Forest Policy and Strategy are developed in a participatory manner and agreed upon with all stakeholders. These documents should serve as a starting-point for the development of environmentally and economically feasible reform,” a statement issued by CENN on April 30 reads. http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=15044

Russia:

14) "The recent census confirmed once again that the Amur leopard survives on very shaky ground," said Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation program coordinator at the Far-Eastern branch of WWF in Russia. Fomenko said encroaching civilization, new roads, poaching, exploitation of forests, and climate change had contributed to the leopards' plight. "From my perspective, the leopards' exact number is not the big question." Fomenko said, "What is really important is that the predator is on the brink of extinction. And still a unified protected area with national park status has not been established, which is the most important thing for the leopards' survival." At least four leopard litters were encountered during the census. This is a good sign because it means that the population is not completely depressed and is still able to restore itself. But for long-term survival, at least 100 animals are needed. "Conservation of large predators needs vast territories with minimal anthropogenic changes, which is difficult," said Dr. Dmitry Pikunov, the coordinator of the 2007 leopard census and head of the laboratory of animal ecology and conservation of the Pacific Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Science. According to Dr Pikunov, a mature leopard needs 500 square kilometers of habitat with good forests and high and stable amounts of ungulates, including deer. Two to four female leopards would live in the same amount of land, reproduce and nourish their cubs. http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/umwelt_naturschutz/bericht-83032.html Hunters in Russia’s far East have shot and killed one of the last seven surviving female Amur leopards living in the wild, WWF said on Monday, driving the species even closer to extinction. Last week environmentalists said there were only between 25 and 34 Amur leopards — described as one of the most graceful cats in the world — still living in the wild. A hunter shot the leopard through the tail bone. It tumbled over and was then beaten over the head with a heavy object, WWF said. Amur leopards have not been known to attack humans. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/Hunters_kill_one_surviving_Amur_leopard/
articleshow/1951598.cms

Uganda:

15) WANTAI and Katabalalu forests in Mpigi district are no more, while half of Buvuma forest has been destroyed. The 236 ha of Wantai and the 1,025 ha of Katabalalu, that were once a hide-out for the National Resistance Army, have almost totally disappeared.
“When I took up my position last year, Wantai was already degraded. Now, only 25ha is left of Katabalalu, while half of the 1,900 ha of Buvuma is gone,” said Esther Nekesa of the National Forestry Authority (NFA). Nekesa is the supervisor of the Lwamunda Beat Central Forest Reserve. Located in Kiringente and Muduma sub-counties, Lwamunda Reserve is made up of four forests: Lwamunda, Buvuma, Wantai and Katabalalu, totaling 7,255ha. Of those, 5,400 ha of forest cover have been destroyed, according to NFA. The forestry body claims the widespread forest degradation has been facilitated by the arrival of the mobile phones. Both the illegal loggers and the extractors of sand – used as clay to make bricks – carry out their activities at dusk and dawn, keeping each other informed by telephone. “The loggers and the community have created a network that monitors the movement of NFA officials. They know our means of transport and the routes we use,” explained Nekesa. Children, youngsters and old people take turn standing on the outlook for officers, communicating to each other by yelling when an officer is in sight until the alarm reaches the poachers. “At times, a bodaboda man with a loud engine is put on standby. As soon as he spots an officer, he rides along the forest village trail as the noise signals to the poachers to take off,” added Nathan Mubiru, one of the patrolling officers. “It’s a well organised community cartel.” http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/562267

Ghana:

16) Vast stretches of virgin forest reserves could be seen cleared and burnt ready for the cultivation of food crops, especially maize and vegetables in the catchment area while chainsaw operators were logging economic trees with impunity. Local farmers have started intensive farming activities within the catchment area of the Barekese dam at Ayensua-Kokoo and Ayensua-Fufuo in the Offinso district and around the Offin river between Old Offinso and Ahenkro area in the Afigya-Sekyere district of Ashanti. Local farmers have started intensive farming activities within the catchment area of the Barekese dam at Ayensua-Kokoo and Ayensua-Fufuo in the Offinso district and around the Offin river between Old Offinso and Ahenkro area in the Afigya-Sekyere district of Ashanti. Vast stretches of virgin forest reserves could be seen cleared and burnt ready for the cultivation of food crops, especially maize and vegetables in the catchment area while chainsaw operators were logging economic trees with impunity. This came to light when Madam Cecelia Abena Dapaah, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing on Friday paid a working visit to the area to ascertain the extent of damage farmers were causing to the Dam which provides water for people in the region. She was accompanied by the officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) led by Mr Samuel Mensah, acting Ashanti Regional Chief Manager. Madam Dapaah stressed the need for management of GWCL to continue to sensitise the farmers and other stakeholders on the need to stop depleting the forest. She said the issue of compensation which has been the bone of contention was being handled at high levels and they should therefore exercise restraint and help to protect and preserve the dam and other river bodies in the area. Madam Dapaah, who is the Member of Parliament for Bantama, said there was the need for people in the area to sacrifice for the good of the nation, adding that the destruction of the dam and the river bodies would go to affect all Ghanaians now and those yet unborn. Some of the farmers who happened to meet the Minister on the farms said their continued farming on the same piece of land had rendered those lands infertile and they had no option than to shift cultivation to feed themselves and their families. http://www.myjoyonline.com/archives/news/200705/4091.asp

Kenya:

17) Five years ago, dead flamingos littered the drying shores of Lake Nakuru in Kenya's scenic Rift Valley. Sickly birds struggled to stand upright while stray dogs scavenged on the depleted flock. The once world-renowned heartland of the majestic birds - with their long necks and striking pink, scarlet and black plumage - was yet another depressing symbol of deforestation, pollution and global warming in Africa. But now, after two years fighting to reverse their role in the damage, Nakuru's local community has set itself the task of replanting a whole forest they had razed as a measure of desperation in times of poverty. They hope that as the flamingos return, so will the tourists. "It was wrong to cut the trees but we had to. We burnt them all when we started farming," said Jane Macharia, who like so many others slashed the forest to make farmland when she came to Nakuru 10 years ago with no work or means to produce food. "I needed land to survive," she explained, kneeling in the wet mud with a group committed to turning back the clock by planting saplings in the hills above the lake. As the forests receded, the rains left too. Erosion from farming, and global warming combined in the late 1990s to leave Lake Nakuru virtually uninhabitable for its famous birds. Nakuru community groups have already planted some 3 000 trees since January alone, but they say it will take decades to fully reverse the harm already done by cutting the forests. Still, below the hills where locals toil between thick forest and open plains dotted with tree stumps, planting sapling after sapling, flamingos have begun returning in droves. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=73704

Brazil:

18) “All around the Xingu there is the great soya monoculture, and deforestation increases every year with timber being felled and sold illegally. The rivers are being polluted by pesticides and burning. The gallery forests are being cut down causing silting, and now with this dam the problem is more serious. It will put our lives, the lives of the animals, of the fish, of biodiversity, the fauna and flora, all at risk. We are indigenous people of the Xingu and we don’t want this dam on the river. We want the fish and the fauna and flora, we want the river to be clean, we want water that feeds us and quenches our thirst, water that fills our bodies, the lakes with their fish, the forest with animals, water for everyone. In 1500 Brazil was invaded and the Indians exterminated but we still exist. Brazil was not ‘discovered’ because we were already here. We’re not holding back the country’s progress. We’re defending our rights to life, to our land, to our river ecosystem, to respect for indigenous peoples and our way of life, to our culture and our language. We want this dam to be stopped. We don’t want to be tricked. We want our territory to be an example of environmental, cultural and linguistic preservation.” http://szamko.gnn.tv/blogs/23075/Xingu_River_Blues

19) The side road we chose took us to the headquarters of Maflops, a forest management company that uses sustainable wood exploitation techniques and supports community forest management. “We think in the long term and work in previously defined areas,” stresses company manager Antonio Abelardo Leite. “We always leave a certain number of trees remaining, especially seed-producing trees. They will be our future trees to explore in the cycles to come.” After lunch at the Maflops headquarters, the next stop is Santo Antônio, a small village in the Moju Agrarian Settlement. On average, a settlement plot of land consists of 100ha, of which 20 per cent can be cut for housing material or cleared for small vegetable gardens. The remaining 80 per cent is managed by Maflops. “Maflops has already harvested parts of my plot. Now they won’t be back here for another 20 years,” said Seu Neguinho, president of a local residents association in Santo Antônio, who moved to Pará in 2001 to work in the gold mines of the Itaituba region. “Before, I used to go from one place to another and had nothing,” Neguinho said. “Now I’m settled down. I have my home, family and plot of land with 2,300 pepper plants.” Seu Neguinho added that settlers often face pressure from developers interested in buying their land. “People come here and offer 100,000 Reais (U$52,000) for our land. Many sell because they think it’s a lot of money and that the amount will solve all their problems. But when they get to the city they see that it’s not enough money and end up going hungry.” Given the fact that the value of the land surrounding the highway is set to increase once BR-163 is paved, clashes over land tenure and development are expected to increase. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/plos-mtf043007.php
20) Despite its natural richness, the Amazon ecosystem is fragile and in peril. In Brazil, for instance, illegal logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and other human impacts are consuming the forest at the rate of over 9,000 square miles per year. WWF’s focus is on two conservation priorities: the Southwestern Amazon ecoregion, a last refuge for highly endangered species like jaguars, harpy eagles and giant river otters; and ARPA one of the world’s most ambitious conservation projects that will result in more than 190,000 square miles of Amazonian rainforest - an area larger than the state of California - under protection by 2010. http://www.print.duncans.tv/2007/world-wildlife-fund-leaves-for-forests-conservation/

China:

21) Thousands of eucalyptus seedlings are being planted on barren hills in China's Guangxi Province by local employees of the paper manufacturer Stora Enso. The Finnish and Swedish-owned company has acquired large areas in the southern province to serve as local raw material to satisfy China's growing need for paper. Paper manufacturers are are tapping into the massive Chinese market, where demand for paper is growing faster than anywhere in the world. While paper itself was a Chinese invention, China is now having problems in its production. There is not enough pulp or fibre, which means that paper manufacturers either have to import their raw material from other countries, or produce it themselves. Stora Enso set up a plantation for fast-growing eucalyptus in Guangxi in 2002. Now it has a long lease on an area of 90,000 hectares, half of which already has trees on it. The company hopes to get control of 160,000 hectares. Plans are to eventually build pulp, paper, and cardboard factories near the plantations. No decisions have been made yet on building a factory, but if Stora Enso's project expands into production, it will have great economic implications for the whole of Guangxi, which is one of China's poorest provinces. The average annual income of rural residents in the area is about EUR 340 a year. On top of one hill, the leader of one group, Pei Lianfeng, says that the contract that she signed with Stora Enso guarantees work for the group for a full year. The company pays to make sure that the workers get one day off a week. The workers in the experimental project are also given suitable clothing and special shoes. The camp remains primitive, but Pei says that things are better now than before. Now the men sleep in proper tents, and not under plastic sheets, as they did before. There is a cook in the camp, who prepares meals comprising more than just rice. In this pilot programme, wages are higher than the normal level for the area. The men on the slopes earn EUR 4 for an eight-hour working day, which is twice the minimum wage in the area. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Stora+Enso+planting+forest+in+China/1135226921518

India:

22) Under the Rs4.5 billion Green Punjab Programme, satellite monitoring would be introduced to protect forests. The objective of the programme is to bring 25 per cent area of the province under forests. New species of plants would be introduced with the cooperation of Spain and France. To add to this, plantation of teak tress would also be carried out. In this context, it is essential to visualize different types, extent, importance, problems and management of various forests in the country. Sustainability of agriculture is linked with forests since trees control soil erosion, regulate water supply, keep climate moderate, stabilize canal embankments and prolong the lives of dams and reservoirs. Besides these benefits, forests are a valuable source of various products and by-products including timber, charcoal, firewood, pulp, tannin, lignin, cellulose and wax. Wood and timber constitute raw material for wood-related industries. Wood is also used in manufacturing of agricultural implements. Livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people is linked with such industries. http://pakistanieconomist.wordpress.com/2007/04/23/by-bilal-hassan/

23) With staff shortage in the state forest department running into thousands, poaching and illegal tree felling might go on a steep northward curve unless the government undertakes immediate recruitment drive. The shortage is particularly acute for subordinate cadre posts like Forest Rangers, Deputy Rangers or Beat Officers, Head Forest Guards and Forest Guards, Newsline has learnt. There are, for instance, 1,053 vacancies for the post of forest guard — a key position, directly responsible for protecting the state’s green cover. State forest minister Ananta Roy admitted that the authorities cannot rule out the possibility of loopholes in patrolling due to the severe staff crunch. “We are aware of the vacancies,” Roy said. “The staff crunch is bound to take a toll on protection of forests.” Newsline has collated details on the acute staff shortage from department insiders. As many as 126 vacancies are plaguing Head Forest Guards, sanctioned 231 posts by the state. The crunch is no less for Deputy Ranger — 320 vacancies out of the required 1,277 — while Forest Rangers face a paucity of 115 personnel out of 580 sanctioned posts. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=234074

24) Despite its professed concern about the country's forest cover, the government seems to be lacking adequate data to know the real health of its forests. This came out when the director-general of the Forest Survey of India, Devendra Pandey, made a candid admission that India has limited data on its forests and the value of the products derived from it. He was speaking at a two-day meeting on the economic benefits of forests held here. He admitted that data on production and consumption of wood as well as non-wood products from all possible sources was yet to be tabulated at a national level. Even though the Forest Survey of India has been constantly improving the method of surveying the forest cover since 1981, there have been major lacunae in collecting other as valuable data by the government on the forest sector. Pandey pointed out that the country had limited knowledge of the production of non-wood timber produce like leaves, honey, tubers and grass. In the light of the fact that more than 400 million people living in and around forests are estimated to depend on non-timber forest produce for income generation, the contribution of forest to the economy is grossly underestimated. In the same meeting, the additional director-general of the Central Statistical Organisation, Ramesh Kolli, said that there are several problems with incorporating forestry statistics in the national accounts. He pointed to the non-availability of species-wise production and prices of timber, incomplete coverage of total forest production and the non-availability of data on production and prices of other forest products besides timber. Pandey too admitted that the area under plantations (as different from natural forests) and details of such plantations are not known. “We believe that 1.5 million hectares of plantation is done annually. By now, we have planted 42 million hectares of forests but one does not have any knowledge of what has really happened really to these plantations,” he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/TOIonline/India/Govt_lacks_data_on_green_cover/articleshow
/1974257.cms

25) GUWAHATI – The DFO has staunchly denied felling of any trees in the said area, thereby rejecting the allegation that the state government felled 4,00,000 trees of dense forest, the statement added The Arunachal Pradesh Government has denied allegations of deforestation and displacement of villagers in the process of establishment of Hawai as the headquarters of the newly created Anjaw district. In a press release issued by the government to rebut the allegations that appeared in a news item ‘Kamlang forest in Arunachal facing serious threat’ published in The Assam Tribune, the government statement said that the DFO, Namsai, has communicated to the PCCF that ‘the area earmarked for the establishment of the district headquarter is almost a barren land except 8 to 10 small trees scattered over the area that too of no economical use’. The government had signed a deed of agreement for acquisition of 185 acres of private land on April 18, 1996 with 37 villagers of Ngi, Changung, Walla and Hawai for establishment of the administrative headquarters, subsequently the government duly acquired 142.74 (0.57 sq km) of private land by government notification on June 29, 2004 for establishment of the district headquarters at Hawai for newly created Anjaw district. All the villagers willingly donated their land in which they cultivated crops like maize, paddy, cardamon and vegetables for decades, while some of the land being rocky is barren, the statement said. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=apr2607/at06

Laos:

26) The Gibbon Experience is an innovative forest conservation project in northwestern Laos, where visitors spend three days living in treehouses built 40 meters above the ground, reachable only by a network of ziplines and a few short hikes. The lucky ones get to catch glimpses of Black Gibbon apes who live in the forest. A few months ago in ‘nam I met a guy from Montreal named Liel who said The Gibbon Experience had been one of the highlights of his trip so far, so I put it on my things-I’d-really-like-to-do list. He had done it months earlier when the road and trails were much wetter so much of the adventure was just getting there — hiking barefoot through thick mud, etc — but after reading more about it online I knew it would be fun whether it was muddy or not. It takes place in the Bokeo Nature Reserve, a 123000 hectare area in the province of Bokeo, which shares a border with Myanmar and Thailand. There were two trip options when I went: the Classic Experience and the Waterfall Experience; the Waterfall option takes you further into the forest and has more required trekking, 2-3 hours/day. I tried to book the Waterfall trip and even planned my travel dates around it since the trips leave on alternating dates, but due to a miscommunication with the office ended up on the Classic. It turned out that all the Waterfall trips were fully booked for weeks by the time I tried to reserve a spot so there’s no way I could have done it anyway. http://impressive.net/people/gerald/blog/2007/04/25/gibbon-experience/

Philippines:

27) “The rape of our forests has been going on for too long and we hope it is never too late for our never ending campaign to protect what’s left of it. In launching this campaign, we believe effective protection of remnant forests does not only depend on conventional domestic and global conservation projects or programs,” the advocates said in a declaration of commitment that spelled out their moves to defend the island’s forests. “The most crucial part is community's conviction to defend their survival associated with the forest and the support and cooperation of relevant actors in society,” the declaration stressed. “Diplomatic efforts will be made to reach out to and encourage the contribution of armed groups like the New People’s Army, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front which exercise political and strategic control or influence over some forest territories,” it added. “It has become practical to involve armed groups in this campaign because we cannot deny their presence in Lumad territories and forest areas,” Butch Dagondon, executive director of Green Mindanaw, explained. Dagondon said the presence of armed groups stemmed in large part from the “unbridled exploitation of forest resources by the colonizers and the beneficiaries of successive administrations and the subsequent dislocations of tribal communities.” http://mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2264&Itemid=50

Malaysia:

28) Logging and palm oil ventures are coming too close for the comfort of river-dwelling crocodiles on Borneo island, possibly resulting in more attacks on humans, a U.N. environmental expert said Wednesday. Alexander Sayok, a scientist in charge of the U.N. Development Program's forest management project in Malaysia's Sarawak state in Borneo, said he has noticed increasing reports of crocodile attacks since early 2006, raising fears that the reptiles are becoming more violent. "The habitat of the crocodiles has been threatened because land development activities for logging and palm oil are being taken right to the river banks," Sayok told The Associated Press. "There are fewer areas left now for the crocodiles to roam, bask or hide from humans." Crocodiles are common in Sarawak's long, winding rivers, and they are protected under Malaysian wildlife laws, which outlaw them being hunted or killed. In previous years, attacks on humans averaged about one every four months. However, two crocodile attacks have been recorded in separate districts this month alone. A timber worker was reportedly snatched and killed on April 18 while he was bathing near a logging camp, while a villager had his hip bitten while paddling a boat early this month. Crocodiles generally do not attack people unless they are disturbed or hungry, Sayok said. He noted that development has jeopardized their food sources, with monkeys and deer dwindling because of deforestation and fish being killed by water pollution. http://the-malaysian.blogspot.com/2007/04/sarawak-government-greed-responsible.html

Indonesia:

29) The governors of Aceh, Papua and West Papua provinces appealed for the government and the international community to provide financial incentives through carbon trading schemes. "We are determined to implement environmentally friendly policies, sustainable development and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," the governors said in a statement after the World Bank sponsored meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. They said the policies would also help reduce poverty, create jobs and attract investment. Aceh governor Irwandi Yusuf said his administration would enforce a moratorium on logging pending a review of forest sustainability. Papua governor Barnabas Saebu said he would revoke licences of timber companies unless they were proven to have contributed to the preservation of the regions' forests. Thousands more forest rangers would be recruited as part of the effort, the statement said. Environmentalists say illegal logging in Indonesia strips 2.1 million ha (5.2 million acres) of forest every year in a trade worth US$4 billion. Indonesia wants rich countries to pay developing nations to preserve their forests and plans to push this proposal at a UN conference on climate change in December. http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41590/story.htm

30) Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban has proposed that the Supreme Court investigate judges who set illegal logging suspects free from charges. The minister responded Friday to several court decisions to acquit illegal logging suspects across the country of all charges. "Judges who release illegal logging suspects should be investigated by the Supreme Court. I'll propose this to the Supreme Court," he told journalists in Medan. On Thursday, North Sumatra's Mandailing Natal District Court acquitted Lingga Tanurdjaja, alias Aleng, a base-camp manager for PT Inanta Timber and Trading Co. Ltd.'s Sikara-kara Natal unit, of all charges. In West Sumatra, the Padang District Court freed illegal logging suspect Thedy Anthony on Wednesday after deciding the prosecutor's charges were groundless. The court acquitted Thedy, director of PT Andalas Terang Nusantara, who was a suspect in an illegal logging case on Sipora Island, in the Mentawai Islands, of all charges. He was accused of felling trees in a state-owned forest and causing Rp 7.3 billion (US$793,478) in state losses. Kaban said he could not accept the illegal logging suspects' release from all charges, insisting that police and prosecutors would not indict them unless there was strong evidence. He said that if prosecutors demanded the suspects be jailed for six years, the court should imprison them for three to four years instead of acquitting them. http://www.thejakartapost.com/misc/PrinterFriendly.asp

31) It is estimated that during 1997 and 1998 smoldering peat beneath the Borneo forests released between 0.8 and 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. That is equivalent to 13 to 40 per cent of all global emissions from burning fossil fuels, and contributed to the CO2 peak in 1998. Peat fires are a two edged sword. A natural peat bog is actually a carbon sink, so its destruction not only releases the sequestered carbon to the atmosphere, it reduces the earth's capacity to regulate the carbon balance. Why isn't Al Gore doing something about this? Maybe it's because there's more political mileage to be gained by promoting feel-good solutions to college students and soccer moms than there is on tackling the thorny issue of international land-use. It's much easier (and politically rewarding) to play on the guilt and self-doubt of bourgeois Americans than it is to get the Indonesian rice farmer (or politician) to put down his machete & listen to reason. Not to mention the potential reward of turning control of the American economy to an AGW Politburo.... reward, that is, if you're a member of that AGW Politburo. http://www.redstate.com/blogs/vladimir/2007/apr/24/for_peats_sake_worlds_largest_carbon_footpri
nt_revealed

Australia:

32) The winter cold is sweeping into the Upper Florentine, a seasonal change that makes this remote Tasmanian valley seem even more forbidding. The Florentine is on the fringe of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It's where tall, old-growth forest borders the island's uninhabited south-west. And on some of the valley's upper slopes, logging is under way as it has been in more accessible reaches of the Florentine for generations. Since October, Ula Majewski's friends in the group Still Wild, Still Threatened have been blockading in the Upper Florentine. There have been 23 arrests so far. And loggers, supported by Barry Chipman's Timber Communities Australia, have been cutting it. They are extracting high-value sawlog and veneer timber, along with a great weight of logs for woodchips. These people stand at opposite poles of Tasmania's intractable forests dispute. Neither Majewski nor Chipman are happy with Labor's new forests platform. But it is in a domain such as the Upper Florentine that this reinvented strategy will be tested. Tasmanian forests policy came to symbolise the collapse of Mark Latham's Labor at the last federal election. It split the ALP in the final days of the campaign, was rejected and then ditched. Nearly three years later, the ALP appears to have learnt a lesson. Last weekend the party's national conference agreed to a resolution with enough broad support to allow hope within the party that it could succeed. The state agency, Forestry Tasmania, describes this forest as an important source of valuable eucalypt sawlogs, veneer and special species timbers. "Ninety per cent of the Upper Florentine remains unavailable for harvesting," says assistant general manager, Steve Whiteley. But groups such as Majewski's are arguing for an end to all old-growth logging, not only for these forests' physical attractions, but because as carbon sinks they enter the climate-change equation. Against them stands the industry group Timber Communities Australia. "TCA said loud and clear that the boundary has been achieved," says Chipman, the organisation's Tasmanian manager. "There is no room to rejig. We cannot accept one more hectare of forest being reserved." As they absorbed the new Labor platform, each side focused on the role in its development by Michael O'Connor, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's forestry division national secretary. http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/ghost-in-the-machine/2007/04/30/1177788056520.html?page=
fullpage#

33) More than $500 million is to be spent on the most ambitious environmental program attempted in the Hunter. A catchment action plan, extending over 10 years, has been launched by the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority to manage land, vegetation and water resources in the area. General manager Glenn Evans said $40million would be spent over the next year and about $500million in the next decade as part of a "whole of government" approach - local, state and federal funding plus private sponsorship - to the region's ecological problems. Thirty-one programs will cover everything from the regeneration of vegetation and protection of wetlands to property planning, flood management and salinity and climate change. Dr Paradice said the plan examined environment pressures on threatened species, water supplies, rivers, seas and soil. "Over 10 years we will guide where the money will go," he said. The plan involves a survey of threatened and endangered species in the Hunter and will investigate ways to stabilise animal and plant populations. There are 130 threatened types of animals, 94 threatened plants and 20 threatened vegetation communities within the area. Climate change, clearing and development, unsustainable land management and grazing of animals near rivers are threats to hundreds of species. There are 13 types of birds, four amphibians and the giant dragonfly included on the endangered list in the Hunter, and 15 shrubs and six species of orchids under threat, with colonies of emus in Port Stephens, koalas in Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens and the broad-tailed rat in the Barrington Tops. http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=73877

34) Conservationists blockaded the South East Fibre Exports chipmill at Eden last Thursday, stopping log trucks from entering the mill for over 11 hours. The blockade lasted from 4am to just after 3pm. Spokesperson for the conservationists, Ms Harriett Swift said that the group was concerned about the role of the woodchipping industry as a generator of greenhouse gasses. “Woodchipping of native forests is an enormous generator of greenhouse gasses and this must be recognized by policy makers,” Ms Swift said. “The destruction of native forests from Victoria and SE NSW for South East Fibre Exports (SEFE) is a major cause of climate change.” “Each year it generates about 18 million tonnes of CO2 or equivalent. This is huge by any standards and is more than 20 times the amount saved by the whole of Australia by banning the incandescent light globe.” “It is more than 250 times what the Bega Valley Shire Council will save by changing to green power.” “And from NSW forests alone, the CO2 produced is roughly equivalent to that produced by every car in Sydney in a year,” Ms Swift said. During the blockade, Mr Peter Rutherford, Forestry Manager of SEFE unsuccessfully attempted to invoke a 2005 Supreme Court injunction against a group of 8 Wandella forest activists which sought to prevent them from blockading the logging company, Bruce Mathie and Sons. Mr Rutherford arrived at the blockade site with a Mathie log truck under police escort, and driven by Mr Quentin Mathie. The truck and driver remained present while Mr Rutherford read out the injunction. The conservationists who formed the blockade were from the region affected by woodchipping, as well as some international visitors.” We were especially pleased to have a crew member from the Sea Shepherd who has recently been saving whales in the Southern Ocean as well as some other overseas visitors who had been amazed to discover that Australian Governments were still subsidizing the destruction of our most valuable carbon sinks. “With climate change upon us, we need these forests more than ever. It is no longer just a regional or even a national issue. It is a world wide concern,” Ms Swift said. http://sydneyalternativemedia.com/blog/index.blog?entry_id=1683561

35) Gerard Callinan was invited to a salvage logging coop by VicForests, the State Government body charged with managing timber harvesting in Victoria. Gippsland based environmentalist, Jill Redwood, also joined the trip to Mount Baldhead, 90 kilometres north of Bairnsdale at an elevation of 1200 metres. Environmental campaigner Jill Redwood says the idea that salvage logging is good for the environment is incorrect. "If you look at this from an environmental perspective, its all wrong. After the destruction of the fire it’s a double whammy ... True, the ash is a very valuable tree, but I think our environment is more valuable than a couple of years logs out of these forests.” Brad Fisher, Forests Operations Manager for Vic Forests, say the financial value of the timber makes it essential to harvest the resource before it loses value. "If we [don’t salvage logging] there’d be an enormous waste of a highly valuable resource," claims Brad. Brad also says that while the industry is busy at the moment, the domino effect of these fires means that less resources will be available in coming years leading to more restructure in the sector. http://www.abc.net.au/gippsland/stories/s1910308.htm

World-wide:

36) After 15 years of discussions and negotiations on a global approach to protect the world's forests, countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York have adopted a landmark agreement on international forest policy and cooperation following two weeks of intense negotiations. The final agreement was reached after delegates to the UN Forum on Forests worked through the night, concluding just after dawn this morning. Exhausted delegates nevertheless called the agreement a milestone, noting it was the first time States have agreed to an international instrument for sustainable forest management." Forum on Forest Chair Hans Hoogeveen, hailed the agreement as an "outstanding achievement" and said it ushered in "a new chapter" in forest management. Mr. Hoogeveen earlier told the delegates that the livelihoods of over a billion of the world's poor are at stake. "We have only one planet to share, and we must ensure its health and sustainability." The new agreement, although not legally binding, sets a standard in forest management that is expected to have a major impact on international cooperation and national action to reduce deforestation, prevent forest degradation, promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for all forest-dependent peoples. http://newsblaze.com/story/20070429072132tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

37) According to the WWF Forests web site, the cutting of trees and unsustainable management of forests lead to the loss of nearly 36 million acres of natural forests each year - an area bigger than the state of New York. The world’s poorest people bear the brunt of forest loss, since forest resources sustain most of the 1.2 billion people in the world who live in extreme poverty. WWF is working locally, regionally and globally to address this threat and at multiple levels - with communities, governments and industry. In partnership we can ensure forests are protected for the people and species that depend on these habitats for their livelihoods. World Wildlife Fund worked with Saatchi & Saatchi, NZ to develop a print advertising campaign highlighting the need for protection of forests around the world. Using the veins in leaves the print advertisements demonstrated the effects of human habitation on native forests in the Amazon, Daintree and Belize regions. The ads point readers to the WWF Forests web site, www.worldwildlife.org/forests/

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