148 Earth's Tree News

[Guest guest]

Today for you 36 news items about Mama Earth's trees. Location, number and subject listed below. Condensed / abbreviated article is listed further below.--Washington: 1) Spotted owl litigation on private lands, 2) Wildsky wilderness bill, 3) Treaty of Point Elliott affects forest practices, 4) Storm damage, 5) Big Gravel mine,--Oregon: 6) Lots of Umpqua timber sales, 7) History of Eugene tree defense, 8) Eco-terrorists are heroes, 9) Liquid Natural Gas pipeline and facility challenged by locals,--California: 10) Fern Gully tree-village continues, 11) Logging in Nanning Creek, --Idaho: 12) Judge reopenes popular snowmobile trails--Vermont: 13) Congress to vote for wilderness in White Mountain National Forest--Georgia: 14) Lawsuit to halt Cypress logging--Canada: 15) Direct action for the Boreal, 16) Save the last woodland caribou,--Uganda: 16) Mabira Forest land lease proposal to a Sugar Cooperation,--Ghana: 17) State has lost $33 billion in royalties to illegal logging,--Panama: 18) Forest Canopy research, 19) Funds for research on Barro Colorado Island,--Ecuador: 20) Save Yasuní National Park from oil development--Brazil: 21) New tracking system for legal timber is too technology dependent--India: 22) Illegal logging, 23) Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, 24) Orissa turns to desert,--South East Asia: 25) Association of Southeast Asian Nations to fight eco crime--Philippines: 26) Photo exhibit of Cordillera Mountains, 27) How politicians smuggle logs, 28) Calderon insists no politicians are involved in log smuggling, --Indonesia: 29) Forest minister caught intervening in illegal logging investigation--Australia: 30) Save Weld Valley, 31) Wilderness society says stay in plantations, 32) Coalition to dismantle State Government's forest management polices, 33) Bike ride to Minyon Falls part of tree saving history, --World-wide: 34) FSC is a scam, 35) Only 22 countries have an increase in vegetation cover, 36) UN works reduce emissions from deforestationWashington: 1) Citing a " prolonged and accelerating decline " that halved Washington's spotted owl population since the early 1990s, a Seattle environmental group asked a federal judge Monday to bar logging on about 50,000 acres of private timberlands in Western Washington. The Seattle Audubon Society targeted four sites owned by the Weyerhaeuser Co. in southwest Washington where spotted owls have been seen. The group says these are examples of Western Washington sites where the court should order the state Forest Practices Board to halt all logging. Joined by the Kittitas Audubon Society, the Seattle group said state rules " offer no meaningful protection " for owls outside 13 " special emphasis " areas where the state chose to better protect the reclusive birds. A spokeswoman for the Forest Practices Board said the board tightened some rules affecting owls last year and is awaiting a new federal plan to restore owl populations. Weyerhaeuser said no owls have been seen for some time at two of the sites targeted in the suit, and the company does not plan to cut any timber at the other two sites. The suit could prove important if the plaintiffs are able to show that the state's rules violate the Endangered Species Act. Owls have been declining about 7 percent per year in Washington, far faster than in Oregon and California. " We're saying, as to these owls that are still hanging on, don't kill them, " said Peter Goldman of the Washington Forest Law Center, which represents the environmentalists. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/292266_owlsuit14.html

2) The Wild Sky Wilderness bill - a proposal to set aside 106,000 acres of forest north of Index and Skykomish - long lingered on life support. It's been resuscitated with the Democratic takeover of Congress. Washington lawmakers are gearing up in January to renew an effort to preserve the land. " The Wild Sky Wilderness is my top environmental priority going into the next session of Congress, " said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. " The importance of Wild Sky is it will give people for generations a clean place to hunt and fish. " Measures to create the wilderness were approved three times in the U.S. Senate but languished in the House. The chief opponent, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., failed to win re-election after environmental groups spent $1 million to oust him. As chairman of a key House committee, Pombo refused to let proposals to create the wilderness area get to the floor for a vote. Opponents of creating the first new wilderness in Washington since 1984 were disheartened by the Democratic leadership takeover. " I figured on Tuesday we'd be hearing a lot about Wild Sky, " said David Hurwitz, chairman of the Snowmobile Alliance of Western States. " I say now it's a done deal. We've stopped it for this long and now it will go straight through. The gatekeeper (Pombo) is gone. " A wilderness designation is the federal government's most restrictive land use regulation. Motorized vehicles and bicycles are prohibited, and the designation also prevents logging, mining and the building of any new roads. Hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, canoeing and similar activities are allowed. The proposed Wild Sky Wilderness is nestled around the Beckler and North Fork Skykomish rivers. The proposal would protect 25 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat and about 80,000 acres of old-growth trees - including 14,000 acres of rare low-elevation old growth, proponents said. Lawmakers said the new plan probably won't be too much different than the original 106,000-acre proposal. http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/11/13/100loc_a1wildsky001.cfm

3) EVERETT - Tulalip Tribal elder Ray Moses keeps the stories his ancestors gave to him. He tells how the whale pushes the reluctant salmon back into the rivers, how the beaver tried to woo the field mouse. Moses, 75, saves these old stories, passes them on. In his pocket he keeps another story. It too is from the past, but this, he explains, is also the future. It is a folded, dog-eared copy of the Treaty of Point Elliott. He takes it out, holds it up in the sunlight, waves it at passers-by. " People don't know that we have these rights, " he says. " They need to know this. " People still debate the treaty's Indian fishing rights and fight over property lines. They argue with tribal police over their authority, and over whether non-Indians can build docks in Tulalip Bay. The tribes are taking the next step. Now, they say the 151-year-old treaty guarantees their world patent rights on native trees, flowers, shrubs and even weeds - the DNA of every plant that naturally grows here. If that's true, the tribes could gain trademark control over all future use of native plants. Tribal permission would be needed for pharmaceutical companies and other businesses to use the plants to make medicine, cosmetics or even herbal tea. The treaty tribes also are pushing for more control of the environment. They call it the Habitat Claim. They sued the state in August for control over the region's culverts, which carry runoff along and under roads. Control over the culverts, they say, is crucial to keeping pollution out of creeks, streams and rivers. Tribal culture requires healthy salmon runs, thriving forests and water that is free from pollution, they say. Unless there are strict environmental regulations, they believe, their salmon-centered culture could be lost within a generation. " Economic survival is different than cultural survival, " said Terry Williams, a Tulalip tribal leader on environmental issues. " If you survive economically only to find that you can no longer practice your culture, that's devastating. " http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6600AP_WST_Tribal_Treaty.html

4) Nearly 60 years ago, a massive mudflow closed Mount Rainier National Park. The eruption of nearby Mount St. Helens did it again in 1980. And this week, the entire park closed for the third time in memory. Flooding obliterated the Sunshine Point Campground near Mount Rainier's southwest entrance, took out a quarter-mile of Nisqually Road and affected nearly every other road, cut the park's west-side power line and stopped the sewer system. At Olympic National Park, surging water dug out a 65-foot-long, 25-foot-deep section of the only road into the Hoh Rain Forest. In some parts of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, " the trails are gone -- the river ate it, " Gary Paull, wilderness and trails manager, said Friday. How much damage the national parks and forests sustained won't be fully known for a while, not until crews can gain access to all roads and trails. The weather was cooperating in terms of easing pressure on the swollen mountain rivers. Rain is likely at times through Tuesday in the Seattle area, with a high temperature of about 50 degrees, the National Weather Service said. Heavy snow warnings also were in effect Friday in the north and central Cascades, with about 5 to 10 inches of snow, on average, expected to fall, turning to showers by midnight. Mount Baker received about 18 inches. The snow, however, could make cleanup of flood damage more difficult. At Mount Rainier, " we've got damages in every corner of the park, " park spokeswoman Lee Taylor said. " Our focus is to do repairs from the Nisqually entrance up to Paradise, the areas that are usually open (in the winter). Other campgrounds and other roads will wait until next spring because of the weather. " http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/292033_weather11.html

5) On the shores of Puget Sound in a marine reserve area, we're looking at the potential construction of the biggest gravel mine in the United States, based on annual extraction. Seem ugly? It is. And the push to expand this gravel mine on the south side of Maury Island would have repercussions not just for chinook salmon and nearly 25 bird species when their habitat is destroyed, but for all undeveloped shoreline in our area. Glacier Northwest is proposing the mining expansion and industrial barging operation. The company is trying to secure permits to extract up to 40,000 tons of gravel per day and reconstruct its barging facility to ship gravel off the island, within the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve. We want to know how a project of this sheer size and scale can have a chance of moving forward, when Gov. Christine Gregoire and the federal government have earmarked millions of dollars toward Puget Sound recovery over the coming years. A University of Washington scientist, David Bain, has noted the barge traffic from the mine could wipe out the endangered orca population in south Puget Sound, while a 2004 King County study has found it will devastate critical chinook salmon runs and eelgrass beds. The mining operation will deposit tons of arsenic and lead-laden topsoil in a berm right above Puget Sound, destroy one of the largest stands of madrona in the West that is home to 25 species of birds, and excavate within 15 feet of Maury and Vashon islands' sole drinking-water source. Glacier Northwest has put its enormous political and financial weight behind a project that will be extremely profitable, yet offers no benefit to the affected community. So far, there are no legal assurances that we would be protected from health hazards or from damage to water sources. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003383113_vashon10.html

http://www.preserveourislands.org/Oregon:6) Timber sales on the Umpqua National Forest have gained momentum and aren't expected to slow any time soon, said Cliff Dils at the Douglas Timber Operators' breakfast meeting Thursday morning. The forest supervisor also said a newly elected Congress will not have any immediate effect on the finances of the U.S. Forest Service. "This year, like any election year, is just weird," Dils said of the midterm results. Focus for the Umpqua forest, he said, must stay on working timber sales through the National Environmental Policy Act so when a sale gets bogged down, the entire forest doesn't stop production. "We've got to get ahead of NEPA," Dils said. The national policy requires public review of any major action taking place on federal land. When momentum in the NEPA process is gained, Dils said it's easier to work on projects like thinning and fuels reduction and habitat improvement for wildlife. "I think you guys are improving" in the NEPA process, said Jake Groves of the American Forest Resource Council office in Eugene, who noted an upward spike in sales. Earlier this week a federal appeals court sent a message for what happens when the NEPA process isn't followed. Two old growth timber sales offered by the Medford-based Bureau of Land Management office were blocked after circumventions of NEPA and the Federal Land Management and Planning Act, the primary law governing BLM lands, were found by the court. One of those sales, Cow Catcher, was bought by D.R. Johnson Lumber Co. of Riddle and is located just south of Riddle. No one at the DTO meeting brought up the appeal. Dils said more timber sales on the Umpqua will be offered in the form of stewardship contracts, which require an exchange of some services for timber sold, such as culvert repairs or invasive weed eradication. Receipts from those projects will come back to the Umpqua, which in turn will give the forest more money to prepare other sales and offer more work to local industry. http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20061110/NEWS/61110014

7) It was the morning of June 1, 1997, and hundreds of Eugene citizens had gathered downtown to witness the cutting of 40 large trees to make way for a parking garage. Inside the fenced-off lot, Earth First!ers and Cascadia Forest Defenders perched in doomed trees: sweet gum, bigleaf maple, black walnut, redwood. While the cops outside the fence pushed back the crowd, those inside plucked the protesters out of the trees with a fire truck lift, blinding them with pepper spray. Down came Lacey Phillabaum, Jeff Hogg, Mick Garvin, Josh Laughlin and others. A logger followed the fire truck, cutting each tree after its occupant descended. Jim Flynn, about 30 feet high in an old sweet gum, was the last one left. A fireman and two police officers emptied about a dozen canisters of pepper spray on him in roughly an hour, twisting his foot, pulling his hair, cutting his pants to spray his bare leg. When he finally came down, Flynn peeled off his chemical-drenched clothes and stood with his arms outstretched as the cops blasted his body with a fire hose. The water just spread the burning oil; every inch of his skin was on fire. Tim Lewis peered at the scene through a video camera, digging Flynn's Jesus Christ-like pose. He would air this footage on Cascadia Alive!, a public access TV show that he and fellow activist Tim Ream had started up 10 months ago, in the last weeks of the Warner Creek road blockade. The eco-radicals would gain some major public sympathy points from the protest — and the city would think twice before taking out a swath of old trees again. http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/11/09/news1.html

8) The courtroom filled with supporters during these hearings; unfortunately, court staff turned away many additional people at the door. A press conference outside the court followed the four change of plea hearings." The FBI/Homeland insecurity and about a bazillion tax dollars were spent on grabbing these people—putting a wire on one of them, arresting them all and pushing a THOUSAND YEARS IN JAIL sentence for burning down some empty structures where folks were torturing animals and the earth for fun and profit. It's ironic that the state in its wave of oppression grabs people who love the outdoors—environmentalists—and entombs them in cages of rusty steel and concrete. Think about it—these people were threatened with over a 1000 years of jail, a sentence way disproportionate with the punishment for the crime of criminal arson. Their real crime was they acted out of conscience rather than the motives of most people who commit arson in this country. If they had burnt a building because they were doing it for money, hate or in a personal vendetta they wouldn't of faced such a high sentence—their crime was they burnt these empty structures out of love rather than hate. Love that homeland security and the fbi dubbed "terrorist" in nature. These people who didn't turn states evidence even when half their comrades pee'd all over themselves in their rush to turn states evidence and rat everyone out. Not only did they rat—they agreed to be rats for the rest of their lives. They must of felt like their "family" had completely deserted them—yet they didn't turn to the dark side. These folks didn't rat out their comrades. When the majority sold their souls to the devil looking at long sentences these people threw the dice with their lives and stayed to principle. I think that's what the victory here is. I think our movement has reached a watermark—and that mark is these people who even when scared refused to yield to any wind. And the word for such people who stick to principle even under oppression, unfair sentencing, while their comrades are splitting—is heroes. mountainjusticesummer9) Coalition, joined panelists from Southern Oregon and Northern California in unveiling some of the negative environmental and economic impacts of the huge California-driven energy projects. Opponents addressed both on the LNG import terminal and the 223-mile Pacific Connector pipeline. At the terminal site, Jordan Cove Energy now proposes to carve out a dock in North Spit of Coos Bay next to the ecologically sensitive Henderson Marsh area (see below). The terminal will receive multiple shipments per week, with large LNG vessels entering Coos Bay and limiting other users of the Bay during their transit. The development would also require extensive dredging for a turning basin, huge excavation of the North Spit for the facility, and dozens of major stream and river crossings for the natural gas sendout pipeline. FLOW focused on the impact of the pipeline, in particular, and noted that its ambitious 223-mile path to California crossed rugged, erosive terrain, old-growth reserves, and over 150 miles of private property. The impacts of a 100'-wide cleared right-of-way to landowners and the ecological integrity of SW Oregon clearly renders the project contrary to the public benefit. Furthermore, as Oregon derives only 7 percent of its electricity from natural gas (and uses 1/10 as much as California, destination for the imported natural gas), the project does not appear to serve a "public need and necessity." This has raised basic questions about the fairness of using eminent domain and damaging sensitive areas in Oregon. Participants in the forum clearly opposed the project, with a show of hands indicating a 7-to-1 margin of opposition in the most recent North Bend forum. http://www.oregonwaters.orgCalifornia:10) The Fern Gully tree-village continues, after being extended for another year last month, as we enter another wet Humboldt winter . Located above the Garfield Elementary school, Fern Gully contains at least a dozen Old Growth Redwood trees, and should be protected, not only for the endangered species of plants and animals who live there, yet also for the generations of children who will be cycling through Garfield Elementary School. Should the children of today and tomorrow have to look at another clearcut every day, or should they have the rare opportunity of seeing one of the last ancient old growth forests left on Earth alive on the hillside obove their school? Call Pacific Lumber Co., at (707) 764-2222, and encourage them to save Fern Gully, Timber Harvest Plan #01-446. A substantial offer might convince Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Co. to sell the grove, as they did with Julia Butterfly and the " Luna " grove. Maxxam/PL have not been " willing sellers " since the Luna tree-sit, yet a real offer might tempt them to do so again. If you're not in a position to make such an offer, then you can always send wool and other donations, and help carry the folks in Fern Gully through another wet and cold Humboldt County winter! Earth First! http://ferngully.wesavetrees.org/11) Logging has resumed in the Nannig Creek Timber Harvest Plan #05-079, named " Bonanza " by Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Co., most likey due to the huge amount of money they anticipate making by clearcutting these ancient trees. Located near Nanning Creek, just above the timber-town of Scotia, CA, activists have been residing in the " Spooner " and other surrounding trees, in efforts to save some of the oldest trees local activists have ever seen! The folks in the Nanning Creek tree-village need your support, so please help if you can! http://spoonerdirect.org/Idaho:12) COEUR D'ALENE - A federal judge has reopened popular snowmobile trails in northern Idaho surrounding Priest Lake that had been closed to protect caribou. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley in Spokane lifted the snowmobile ban from the caribou recovery zone in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. " I've never seen anything like this, " said Mark Sprengel of the Conservation Alliance. " This blindsided us. It contravenes all available science. " Craig Hill, a resort owner on the west shore of Priest Lake, said he was ecstatic with the ruling. " This couldn't have happened at a better time, " he said. " It's something that's going to save the winter economy at Priest Lake. " Whaley banned snowmobiles in September on nearly 470 square miles of national forest land in northern Idaho after conservation groups argued the last mountain caribou herd in the contiguous 48 states needed protection. The machines, they argued, were able to penetrate far into the area and force caribou to expend energy they couldn't afford to lose to survive the winter. They also said the compacted trails the snowmobiles left made it easier for cougars to reach caribou calving grounds. Up to 40 caribou are believed to inhabit the caribou recovery zone in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. http://www.theolympian.com/107/story/49907.html

Vermont:13) The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as today on expanding wilderness in the White Mountain National Forest when it comes back into session. Both Republican Congressmen Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley support the measure, which would designate 34,500 acres of the White Mountain Nation Forest in the Wild River and Sandwich Range areas as " wilderness. " The Wild River is to the north and east of Gorham near the Maine state line and the Sandwich Range is just north of Squam Lake. The Congressional action would mean there would be no opportunities for logging, road building or motorized recreational use of the properties. The latest White Mountain National Forest plan, which governs the use of the 780,000 acre forest, supports the proposal in its 2005 document. Wilderness designation also has support from the state's logging industry lobby, recreation and conservation groups who worked to craft the 10-year plan for the " land of many uses. " Still more than 50 percent of the White Mountain National Forest is considered for logging. The U.S. Senate voted on a similar measure in the fall, with Republican Senators John Sununu and Judd Gregg's support. The matter got bogged down in the House when it was tied with a similar measure on the Green Mountain National Forest. Vermont's delegation and its governor disagreed over size and scope. With a compromise in the Green Mountain state that eliminates an 11,000-acre section of the proposed designation, Congress is poised to vote on the " New England Wilderness Act of 2006. " It is on the House calendar for action today.In New Hampshire, Friends of Wild River and Sandwich Range are encouraging Bass and Bradley to complete passage. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=House+to+vote+soon+on+expanding

+'wilderness'++in+White+Mountains & articleId=630d923a-371b-4e09-922b-0fe29ddbe2f2Georgia:14) Environmentalists have sued to halt logging of cypress and other trees growing in a privately owned lake in southeast Georgia. The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Statesboro argues that Army Corps of Engineers wrongly determined no permit was required. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper, says the Corps failed to enforce the Clean Water Act by granting a permit exemption to landowners of Cypress Lake near Statesboro. Chandra Brown, executive director of the riverkeeper group, said there's more at stake than just the 60 acres of cypress, swamp blackgum and water tupelo trees Cypress Lake's owners want to harvest for pulpwood and mulch. Brown says the says that if this type of timber operation is exempt, there is the possibility of losing thousands of acres of habitat that make up the Ogeechee basin. The suit asks a judge to halt the logging proposal and send it back to the Army Corps' Savannah District for permitting. A spokesman for the corps was not immeditately available for commetn on the lawsuit. http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5673092

Canada: 15) The giant tissue box blocked the main entrance of the mill, which Greenpeace revealed to be a key processing facility for trees from the Boreal forest. The activists are refusing to move until the company meets with Greenpeace representatives and sets a timeline to stop obtaining wood fiber from destructive logging operations in such provinces as Ontario and Alberta in Canada's Boreal forest. The protest followed on a blockade set up last week at the company's headquarters in Turin, Italy. Canada's Boreal forest is considered one of the best defenses against increased global warming pollution because it stores large amounts of land-bound carbon. When the forest is clearcut for products like Kleenex, carbon is released adding to global warming pollution. Greenpeace has been actively campaigning to expose and change Kimberly-Clark's practices since 2005. " This company is destroying ancient forests in Ontario and Alberta to make disposable tissue products for U.S., European, and global markets, " said Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada forest campaign coordinator. " Our air and water are being ruined, and wildlife species are going extinct - for little more than toilet paper and facial tissue. " Stretching from Newfoundland to the Yukon, Canada's Boreal forest represents over 25% of the world's remaining intact ancient forests. It is home to numerous aboriginal communities, and nearly 50% of all North American bird species use this forest for nesting and breeding grounds. http://kleercut.net/en/16) They have big, warm brown eyes. Oversize feet help them to trot across bottomless muskeg and deep snow, and to dog paddle choppy lakes. Hollow hair keeps them warm through brutal winters and afloat on the water. They eat a monotonous diet of lichen, and those big feet feature sharp edges that dig through icy drifts to the ancient plants. Like Greta Garbo, they prefer solitude. And sensitive! Chances are, if you venture into their territory, the wild boreal forest of Ontario's far north, you'd neither hear nor see them. They'd have fled deep into the jack pine and black spruce before you got close. Scientists estimate there are several thousand, but even experts with years of experience in the bush achieve too few sightings for an accurate count. Still, these elusive animals, without having a clue they're doing it, are causing quite a fuss. They're woodland caribou. They'll go extinct within 80 years if northern development continues at its current pace and style, says Trevor Hesselink, of the Wildlands League conservation group. " Without decisive action, this species is doomed. " While nothing decisive has happened yet, the animals have generated much activity: 1) The province has announced a cautious strategy to protect them, and promises to strengthen its Endangered Species Act. 2) A coalition of 13 environment groups said this week it would make protecting caribou, and their home turf, a priority in the comng provincial election campaign. 3) The Wildlands League — the Ontario branch of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society — and Sierra Legal Defence Fund recently petitioned Ontario's environmental commissioner for better policies to protect caribou, and called for a moratorium on logging and road building in key territories. 4) Several North American and European groups are urging consumers to boycott products from logging operations that damage caribou. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1 & c=Article & cid=

1163199011602 & call_pageid=968332188774Ireland:15) MANY of Ireland's remaining natural woodlands are under threat from overgrazing by a species of deer originally imported from Japan almost 150 years ago. A 32-year study conducted by botanists from Trinity College Dublin has found that sika deer in Killarney National Park are eating vulnerable seedlings and saplings of native trees, preventing them from regenerating. With mature trees dying off, the rare woodlands will gradually disappear unless numbers of the animals are reduced by culling, the botanists say. The research, carried out in the woodlands of the Muckross peninsula, found that chronic heavy grazing is "strongly suppressing natural regeneration". "The extreme scarcity of natural tree regeneration is distorting the natural ecology of the Killarney woods," said the study, which is published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management. High levels of grazing are favouring the regeneration of species that are unpalatable to the sika deer. Unfortunately, these happen to be invasive, non-native trees. As a result beech and rhododendron, which are spreading widely in the area, now dominate against native plants. Semi-natural woodland now accounts for just 1.1% of the country, with some of the best examples of yew and oak forest found in Killarney National Park. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2449932,00.html

Uganda:16) Two issues continue to occupy the minds of a significant section of the Ugandan public: the Mabira Forest land lease proposal to Sugar Cooperation of Uganda Limited (Scoul) and the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of shillings from Uganda's grant of the Global Fund (GF) to fight HIV/Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Considerable amounts of emotion can be read in the responses from the people who have spoken on this issue. They object to leasing of Mabira land. They are worried about the environmental consequences if it's leased. It is five months since Principal Judge James Ogoola handed over the report of his commission's findings to the President. Amidst the biting poverty, high cost of living and daily hassles, it is within reason that many Ugandans should be getting restless when 'nothing' is being done in this matter. Even for those implicated in the Ogoola report, sacrosanct principles of natural justice demand that their case be heard in court. Justice delayed is justice denied. The loud voices in the court of public opinion simply will not quieten down. Silence isn't golden in circumstances like this. And, therefore, because of this 'deforestation', no new destruction is going to occur. Wouldn't the sensible thing be to replace the lost tree cover other than surrendering the environment to officialised rape? The people want to know what would happen if Scoul obtained land elsewhere. http://allafrica.com/stories/200611071038.html

Ghana:17) An audit commissioned by the Forestry Commission has revealed that the state has lost an estimated ¢33billion in royalties as a result of illegal trading, underpayment of Export Levy to Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission and understatement of quantity of teaks shipped by two timber companies, Olam Ghana Limited and Gye Nyame Exports Limited These were the findings of a special audit on lumber exports ordered by the Commission in line with President J. A. Kufuor's objective of ensuring probity, accountability and transparency in the conduct of business in the timber industry. The Chronicle gathered that the debt owed by the two companies, were likely to be a fraction of the indebtedness likely to be discovered from over 40 teak exporting companies in the country who are still being audited by the Commission. " There was a clear attempt by Olam to conceal the quantities actually shipped, these were evident from the fact that the company prepares their own packing list and also there were no CDC documents from CEPS, " it further stated. The audit report cautioned that the Commission should take the necessary actions to recover an amount of $77,438 (¢720million) being revenue due to TIDD and FPIB as a result of understating of quantities actually shipped by Olam. http://allafrica.com/stories/200611080678.htmlPanama:

18) To get to work most mornings, Klaus Winter steps into a steel box no bigger than a telephone booth, raises a dusty walkie-talkie to his lips and directs his driver: " Vamos arriba. " The man at the controls of the giant crane shifts gears and maneuvers Winter nearly 150 feet off the ground. There before him is a million-dollar vista. To the west stands the Bridge of the Americas, greeting a queue of ships awaiting passage through the Panama Canal. Beside the bridge is the neighborhood of Casco Viejo, or " old compound, " with its distinctive colonial plazas and crumbling stone churches. And straight ahead, glistening in the placid Pacific Ocean, are the reflections of a dozen glass-and-steel skyscrapers. Though he makes the trip regularly, Winter is thrilled by the scenery. " That's an iguana, " he exclaims as a three-foot-long creature waddles along a thick branch. " And that is a perezoso, one of those lazy animals, " he says, pointing to a massive furball also known as a sloth. He spots a Cecropia tree, the Ficus insipida and best of all, a new discovery. " This vine, " he says, dangling over the side of the basket, " I haven't seen this before. " Oh, yes, he agrees, the skyline and ocean are lovely; the animal sightings a rare treat. But what keeps Winter coming back to this urban rain-forest perch, despite the queasiness he experiences high in the air, are the plants. " This is the best place in the tropics to do research, " he declares. As a plant physiologist on the isthmus of Panama, Winter is uniquely positioned to delve into one of the most complex tropical ecosystems on Earth. And he does it from a unique observation deck -- a massive construction crane installed by the U.S. government in Panama City's Metropolitan Natural Park. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110901681.html

 

19) From a research perspective, Panama is like " no place else on the planet, " said STRI Director Ira Rubinoff, a biologist who arrived here as a student 40 years ago and never really left. When the isthmus was formed some 3 million years ago, he said, it created a " bridge for animals and humans " to travel between North and South America, and a " barrier for marine organisms " that had moved freely between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. About $7 million in trust funds helps insulate STRI researchers from budget wrangling in Washington and gives them flexibility to study " serendipitous " events such as the El Ni?o phenomenon, he said. About $7 million in trust funds helps insulate STRI researchers from budget wrangling in Washington and gives them flexibility to study " serendipitous " events such as the El Nino phenomenon, he said. For more than 20 years, the STRI has compiled a detailed census of a 123-acre undisturbed plot on Barro Colorado Island. The survey, updated every five years, enables researchers to track long-term shifts in the forest. Identical projects are underway in 16 other locations including Malaysia, Ecuador and Colombia. The teams have identified some 6,000 tree species, all compiled in a database. " The rain forests of the world are our lungs, " Rubinoff said. " If we are worried about global warming, we need to understand the carbon cycle. And you can't know there's a 10-year cycle until you observe it. Some things can't be rushed. " And that is why Winter spends so much time with his head in the trees. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/09/AR2006110901681.html

Ecuador:20) In two separate letters delivered to the Ecuadorian government, a group of over 40 Yasuni scientists (known as the Scientists Concerned for Yasuni) and 6 international NGOs have criticized Petrobras' new Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of their new " roadless " plan to build oil production facilities in Ecuador's world class Yasuní National Park. Although both letters praise Ecuador for stopping Petrobras from building an access road into Yasuni National Park, they emphasize that the new project design (construction and operation of 2 drilling platforms, flow lines, a processing facility and pipeline) will cause major impacts to the region's biodiversity and indigenous peoples. A massive new processing facility would be constructed on the alluvial plain of the world renowned Tiputini River. Sixteen hectares of mature, inundated forests along the Tiputini would have to be cleared and drained, completely destroying the habitat. And the rainforest surrounding the proposed sites for the two drilling platforms is home to large mammal species considered indicators of high quality rainforest, such as tapir, giant armadillo, giant anteater, and large monkey species. The Waorani representative organizations were never consulted about the project, nor did they grant consent for activities on their ancestral territory. The Ecuadorian government must be urged to NOT approve the study and to cancel the project, as oil exploration and protected area status are simply incompatible. Tell them by taking action now:http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=ecuadorBrazil:

21) The success of a new tracking system for legal timber in the Amazon is threatened by poor technological implementation Brazil has introduced online documentation for the legal transportation of timber from the Amazon. The new system, which began in September, replaces paper licences that non-governmental organisations say are easily forged and fuel the illegal logging trade. Also in September, Brazil announced that the rate of deforestation had already dropped 11%. According to satellite images, 6,450 square miles of forest were destroyed from August 2005 to August 2006, down from 7,255 square miles in the previous year. Bare figures, however, do not give the full picture. "Complete deforestation is generally for cattle grazing and crops, whereas illegal loggers practise selective logging," says Estavao Do Prado Praga, of WWF Brazil. "They select and cut down the trees they intend to sell, regardless of the forest's ability to replenish itself. The area being selectively logged is twice the size of the area being 'deforested', and though significantly damaged, is not included in the deforestation figures." The Brazilian government announced in August last year that 63% of the wood produced in the Amazon was believed to be illegal. Law enforcement via the online logging database also seems to be seriously flawed, as the data is not yet easily accessible. Marcelo Marquesini of Greenpeace Brazil is concerned that no internet or Autrotac system (a satellite system installed in inspectors' cars, offices based on roads and police barriers) has been established in remote parts of the Amazon nor on many roads and highways. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva recently proposed, in Washington, the establishment of an international rainforest fund, contributed to by wealthier western countries. If set up, the fund would offer some hope that the much needed money to finance better law enforcement in the Amazon will become available. http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4632

India:22) Kanpur - The Forest Department on Saturday lodged an FIR against three officials of the National Textile Corporation (NTC) for their alleged involvement in felling over 100 trees and then selling off the timber. According to the FIR, the trees were felled in the compound of two bungalows owned by the NTC in Civil Lines area here. The NTC's five mills have been closed for the past several years but the corporation owns acres of land and property — including 24 bungalows in plush localities — in the city. In the absence of NTC officials these bungalows, with hundreds of trees in their compounds, are at present occupied by administrative and government officials. According to reports, A K Pandey, an NTC security official, caught some persons carting away logs from the two Civil Lines bungalows earlier this month. Interrogation later, it was found that Govind Singh, the Officer on Special Duty at NTC, his predecessor A K Srivastava, and one Fahimuddin, son of a security officer at the NTC-owned bungalows, were responsible for felling trees. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=20923623) The forests in Tamil Nadu are greening and technology has played a pivotal role in this regeneration. A review of the forests in 1997 showed that a third of Tamil Nadu's 22,800 sq.km of forests was degraded due to illicit felling, overgrazing and forest fires. Almost a decade later, large areas of the degraded forests are regenerating, thanks to the Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project (TAP). C.K. Sreedharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Tamil Nadu says one of the reasons why the forests in India had degenerated is wrong land use policy. Forests were seen as a source of non-tax revenue for the State. The change in thinking happened in the early nineties, and forests were no longer seen as a source of economic or commercial benefit but as a resource for the ecological benefit of the State. Serious thinking at the national and state level on how to reverse the damage to forests resulted in the Joint Forest Management programme, which was started for planning, conservation, afforestation and benefit sharing. The State forest department launched the TAP funded by a soft loan of Rs 688 crore from the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC) for a period of eight years starting from 1997-98. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2006/11/13/stories/2006111300130300.htm

24) The whole of Orissa state in India will turn to a mass of barren and desert like lands in another 150 years, warned Water Initiatives Orissa (WIO). This is an alarming finding considering that the whole world is observing this year as the year of deserts and desertification with the theme, " let's stop dry lands from turning deserts " . Many parts of Orissa, specifically the western and southern uplands, have developed symptoms of desertification; they have further degraded from drought prone to desert prone areas. The findings of this study has been reported in the cover story of WIO's bi-monthly newsletter Panira Dagara'(the Water Messenger). This report claims that in just 13 years, from 1991-92 to 2004-05, severely degraded land in the state has increased by 136 percent, barren land has increased by 69 percent and land converted to non-agricultural uses has increased by 34 percent. This is about 7 percent of Orissa's total geographical area. By 2004-05, as high as 17.5 percent of Orissa has turned barren or unsuitable for agriculture. According to state agriculture department statistics, about 4.33 million hectares of Orissa's 6.56 million hectares of agricultural land suffer severe erosion and declining fertility. That is as high as 66 percent of total agricultural land. The rate at which Orissa's climate is changing is worrisome. A study by respected meteorologist Prof. U C Mohanty has revealed that rainfall days are reducing by a day in every 5 years in the state. Pattern of rainfall is adding to the pains. Information gathered from Government's rainfall records have revealed that rainfall in coastal districts of Baleshwar, Puri and Ganjam has increased, while in the Western and Southern parts of Orissa it has decreased drastically. The recent rainfall averages in Balangir and Nuapada districts are hovering at threatening level of around 1000 mm. ranjanpandaSouth East Asia:25) Japan, China, South Korea and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to combat environmental crime in the region. Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes of the Philippines unveiled the document immediately dubbed the Cebu Resolution. He said it wsa the result of a three-year work by environmental agencies in the region. Reyes said the member countries agreed to recognise the importance of strengthening national efforts and regional cooperation for effective environmental law enforcement and address issues such as illegal trade in wildlife. He said that like illegal logging, there is a need to effectiveley enforce forestry laws and other related laws. Reyes said the intercountry collaboration would entail information exchange, networking and strategic planning to ensure the enforcement of environmental laws. He said member countries would be setting up technical working groups to thrash out the operational aspects of the agreement. Reyes said Japan, China and South Korea promised to collaborate through environmental education, sharing of environmentally sound technology, urban environmental governance and planning, climate change, biodiversity, and integrated water resource management. The Asean members also expressed concern over the annual haze pollution from Indonesia, which is aggravated at times by the El Nino phenomenon. Reyes said the members have committed to continue assisting those who were affected by land and forest fires through the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and subsequently push for its ratification. He said a subregional ministerial steering committee consisting Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand would be formed to oversee concrete actions to address land and forest fires. "Sometimes we think that when we eliminate one species, we only affect one species. We do not see that it affects the entire ecosystem," he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114170

Philippines:26) The Cordillera Mountains offer a wealth of diversity and color. Not only in its living environment but in its people as well with the many varied ethnic groups that make the colors of the mountain environment ever more vivid with life. JP Alipio's Photographic Exhibit of the Mountains seeks to portray this life in vivid color, invoking a feeling of belonging to the mountains he calls home. Most of the images were taken during the Cordillera Traverse, an expedition supported by the National Geographic Society to cross the range through the ancient trails that still connect the region. The Images here represent some of the most remote areas in the Cordillera mountains where time, the environment, and the people seem to have taken a different path from the rest of the world, a path which JP advocates to protect and nurture. A Passionate Environmentalist JP is a National Geographic Society Grantee and holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from USF and Ateneo, he works with Indigenous Peoples on Natural Resource Issues and developing Sustainable Solutions for environmental problems affecting the mountain regions. The Images he shows are in fact a mirror of his views on the environment and development. An environment where people are as much a part of the landscape as the flora and fauna that fill these mountains with life. -- jpalipio27) He said politicians avoid being caught or detected by being involved financially and not directly. Delos Reyes said in police investigations, the names of politicians and DENR personnel keep coming up as being behind illegal logging activities. He said in all areas in Davao Oriental where illegal logs pass like Boston, Cateel, and Baganga, "there are local politicians and officials involved." Delos Reyes said in one of the investigations of the PNP, a barangay captain, a board member, and an ex-mayor from Boston were implicated. Delos Reyes said the PNP has already filed cases of violation of Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code or illegal logging against the ex-mayor and the barangay captain of Boston. Cases of bribery have also been filed against them for attempting to bribe police officers, he added. Delos Reyes said earlier this week a truck owned by DENR personnel was apprehended by the PNP for transporting 17.25 cubic meters of red lawaan equivalent to 705 slabs with no proper permits. Delos Reyes said the case, along with the logs, were turned over to the DENR but the PNP still made its own documentation and tally for counter checking. He said this week alone the police have apprehended three trucks with full loads of falcata. He said one of the trucks apprehended had a transport permit for copra, but it when the police inspected the load it turned out to be logs. http://bond.lanesystems.com/sitegen/article.asp?wid=125 & cid=450 & aid=39871

28) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) OIC regional executive director Ricardo Calderon yesterday insisted that no politicians are involved in illegal logging activities in Region 11. Calderon said he suspects the reports about politicians being involved in the illegal logging trade are now surfacing because of the political climate with the coming May 2007 elec-tions. Meanwhile, Calderon said as of last week the DENR has made five confiscations of logs in Cateel and Baganga, both in Davao Oriental. He said some of the logs came from titled properties without harvesting permits from the City Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO). Calderon said currently, there are six logging companies with harvesting permits from DENR, five under the Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA), and one under the Integ-rated Forestry Management Agreement (IFMA). Calderon said there are logs being transported that have permits coming from DENR because Region 11, along with the Caraga Region, are not under a total log ban. He said on November 15, 2005 then-Environment Secretary Michael Defensor lifted the total log ban and allowed 10 percent of the country's forestland to be utilized. Calderon said these regions are under the sustainable forest management program of the DENR and logging in these parts of the county is allowed as long as necessary permits are secured. http://bond.lanesystems.com/sitegen/article.asp?wid=125 & cid=450 & aid=39742

Indonesia:29) JAKARTA: An alliance of activists, politicians and experts has accused Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban of intervening in the police investigation into an illegal logging case against wood businessman Adelin Lis. Adelin was arrested in September in China for his alleged role in illegal logging in Indonesia. Speaking in a seminar on illegal logging here Thursday, the alliance said a letter sent by Kaban to police in North Sumatra was an indication that the minister was trying to interfere in the investigation. The minister sent the letter to North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Bambang Hendarso on April 21, 2006, asking him to stop the investigation into administrative violations allegedly committed by PT Mujur Timur Timber, owned by Adelin.Greenomics Indonesia coordinator Vanda Meutia Dewi said she was also disappointed with the police's move to auction all illegal logs confiscated from the company as material evidence in the case. Bambang Suharis, a legislator with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said the letter showed the government lacked coordination in combating illegal logging cases in the country. --JP http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20061111.H12 & irec=11

Australia:30) The Weld Valley is one of many wilderness areas in southern Tasmania, Australia, that are slated for destruction to produce wood chips for export, pulping or power. But residents are putting up a hell of a fight. For more than five years, the valley has been a site of direct-action, ecological resistance to a proposed logging road, which would enable the felling of nearly 5,000 acres of pristine, ancient eucalyptus forest. In January 2005, forest defenders established a blockade that eventually helped win a six-month moratorium on road construction by Forestry Tasmania - a government business enterprise that manages 3.7 million acres of the state's public forests. When that moratorium expired in September 2005, activists returned to Camp Weld, where they remain one year later. The camp is a constantly evolving entity; activists and artists have built a fort, treesits, monopods, tripods, dragons, living quarters, artistic sculptures and the Weld Ark, a magnificent full-size, road-blocking pirate ship! More than 50 people helped defend the camp during the Summer of 2005-2006, and over the last 18 months, the Weld blockade has attracted activists, artists, researchers, media and travelers from more than 20 countries. It's a powerful local response to a state-wide problem. Tasmania, the wild southern island, is Australia's poorest and smallest state. It is a place where government and its corporate friends are in the throes of industrial colonization, where forestry rights for 20 years are sold to Malaysian logging companies at today's prices, where the wholesale destruction of ecosystems and grave loss of habitat continue to rob Tasmania of its world heritage values. Tasmania is the only state in Australia that clearcuts rainforest; most other states are phasing out native forest logging altogether. Tasmania also exports more wood chips than all other states combined, even though the demand for the export is falling as Indonesia and South America become sources of cheaper wood chips. http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20061110133036682

31) The Wilderness Society yesterday renewed calls for the Bracks Government to restrict logging to plantations after the British Stern Review last week identified deforestation as a major cause of climate change. Australian National University fellow James Watson, a Wilderness Society lobbyist, said Government figures showed that 8995 hectares of Victorian forest and woodland were logged in the past financial year. That amounted to 9.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of 2.3 million new cars, Dr Watson said. But Environment Minister John Thwaites' spokesman said there were " vastly differing scientific opinions about the impact of logging " . The Government would release a report next year that evaluated logging in catchments against economic, social and environmental criteria, the spokesman said. Dr Watson said recent Government initiatives to tackle climate change were welcome but were not enough. " They cannot be seen to be seriously addressing dangerous climate change without also stopping logging in old-growth forests and water catchments, " he said. Clearing trees releases back into the atmosphere carbon that has been stored, often for many centuries. Dr Watson said it took up to 150 years for new trees to absorb the carbon released through logging of old trees. In February 2002, the Bracks' Government's Our Forests Our Future policy committed to a 31 per cent reduction in logging across the state's native forests. There is no date yet for a new Labor policy on logging. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-logging-greenhouse-warning/2006/11/07/1162661685166.ht

ml#32) Conservation groups from around south-west Western Australia have joined forces in an effort to dismantle the State Government's forest management polices. The Forest Products Commission was set up to log and manage the state's forests and create new industries for timber products. But Mark Shean from the Northcliffe Environment Centre says the commission's work is turning many established forests into plantations. Mr Shean says conservation groups from around the region have formed the Global Warming Forest Action Group to push for the dismantling of the commission and the stronger protection for the state's forests. " What we want to do is get any political party that's sympathetic to our view to come on side and if they won't support us then we plan to run candidates against those sitting members and try and force their hand that way, " he said. Meanwhile, four more anti-logging protesters have been arrested for attempting to disrupt a tree felling operation in the Arcadia forest near Collie. The Forest Products Commission is using chainsaws and axes to cut down selected trees in the forest. But the protesters say the operation is destroying the area and have been chaining themselves to objects in the forest to get in the way of the loggers. Two men and two women were arrested for locking themselves on to trees and machinery - it took police several hours to cut them free. The commission says its logging operation is on track, but the protesters have promised to continue their campaign. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1783685.htm

33) All around red and white cedar trees soar skywards, towering over a dense, lush green undergrowth of ferns and shrubs. The place has a prehistoric, Jurassic Park feel about it and as we hurtle along winding, puddle-riddled trails, my overactive imagination interprets every twig snap as the sound of a bike-riding Tyrannosaurus rex peddling furiously in hot pursuit. That there are still any tracks left to ride on is nothing short of a miracle given that only 1 per cent of the original rainforest remains. Fierce protesting back in the 1970s finally stopped the logging of the area's red cedar trees and it became one of Australia's 16 World Heritage sites in 1986. Our ride starts deep in the park at Minyon Falls, where a boardwalk provides incredible views into the densely vegetated valley below. Metres away a cascading waterfall plunges 100 metres down a sheer rock face while eerie wafts of mist drift up from the forest floor. The tour uses high quality, 24-speed Cannondale mountain bikes and, after being fitted with helmets and given some simple instructions (apparently, it's as easy as riding a bike), our small group of four is ready to go. http://www.smh.com.au/news/new-south-wales/prehistoric-ride-of-passage/2006/11/09/1162661833541.ht

mlWorld-wide:34) One of the underlying reasons for the existence of this site is that it is difficult, or impossible, even for the FSC members, to pick their way through the relentless 'public relations' output from the Secretariat, and to know what is really going on within the organisation. For example, whilst we hear repeatedly about the expanding area of the Earth's surface under FSC certification, we never seem to hear about the complaints that have been filed about any of these certificates. We never seem to hear that, for example, almost the entire Indonesian NGO community has, for several years, been calling for a cessation of the issuing of any new FSC certificates in their country (and which has been completely ignored by a number of certifiers and by the FSC itself). Given that the Secretariat is keen to constantly remind us of how many hundreds of certificates have been issued, how many thousands of products now carry the FSC's logo, how much the trade in these products is worth etc etc, one of the basic questions that largely remains unaddressed is 'what exactly is the FSC certifying?' In order to get an answer to this, it is necessary to wade through the many pages of FSC's list of certified forests and to spend many hours doing arithmetic... So, FSC-Watch is here presenting some 'key facts', and our own interpretations, of what the FSC is actually certifying. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2006/11/09/What_is_the_FSC_certifying_

35) While forests are still being lost in some countries, the volume of forest trees is increasing in many others, according to a new study. Conservationists have long raised alarms about deforestation in such countries as Brazil and Indonesia, where cutting continues. But new research which looks at not just forest area, but also the density of trees, found increases over the last 15 years in forests in 22 countries that have large forested areas. The research, led by Pekka E. Kauppi of the University of Helsinki in Finland, is reported in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers studied the 50 nations with large forest areas. From 1990 to 2005, total forest stock fell fastest in Indonesia, Nigeria and the Philippines and increased fastest in Ukraine and Spain. Countries with increases in forest stock, according to the report, were: Austria, Belarus, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United States and Vietnam. The research was funded by the Academy of Finland and the National Science Foundation of China. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Reforestation.html

36) On Thursday at the UN Convention on Climate Change Contact Group of The Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) met to discuss the next steps in achieving their two year mandate in 'reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries'. The chairs of the contact group, Mr. Hernan Carlino from Argentina and Mr. Audun Rosland from Norway, presented a draft text to work from. This text sought a compromise between the positions expressed earlier this week in the SBSTA plenary, mainly between the US wanting to take more time whereas most parties wanted to work on goals and policies. In his opinion there isn't much time left, we need a framework to address deforestation by the next COP. Under their proposal financial incentives are to be provided, outside of the Kyoto Protocol, to countries that voluntarily reduce emissions from deforestation. This would involve extrapolating and compiling historic deforestation trends in order to determine a "pre-defined deforestation reference rate". The potential exists of creating a perverse incentive to increase deforestation rates in order to be eligible for greater funding to later reduce deforestation emissions. Taken to an extreme level any sink that could become a source, like a forest or an oil field, could be held hostage in demand for funding to prevent unleashing the Carbon they contain. Also, representatives of The Congo Basin have argued that such a financing system is flawed as it would leave out countries, like theirs, that have not been actively deforesting their land thereby offering them no incentive to continue conserving their forests. Back to the UNFCCC: when the SBSTA contact group rejoined countries stated their views on the draft text. Papua New Guinea spoke first followed by Brazil both emphasizing the need to focus on specific policy approaches and incentives at the next workshop. Japan talked about the need to deliver from the next workshop to SBSTA 26 (next year) a report that is "practical, feasible, and implementable." http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/695