Guest guest Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Today for you 40 news items about Mama 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---British Columbia: 1) The real first nations are species in the forests before humans--Oregon: 2) O & C forest land sell-off is dead on arrival, 3) Support NFC, --California: 4) Save the Mattole, 5) Comments on forest thinning requested,--Montana: 6) 2,000 acres of state land forest sold for salvage after fires--Utah: 7) roadless forest petition will remove all roadless protection --Mississippi: 8) Post Katrina Native trees will grow three times faster?--Pennsylvania: 9) 1,521-acre natural area, 10) Riverfront project to remove trees,--New York: 11) comprehensive plan for the future of eight state forests --USA: 12) Democrats want Forest Service taken to woodshed on NEPA failings, 13) Lost Landscapes and Failed Economies, 14) Potlatch to sell millions of acres, 15) permanent ban on oil, gas and mineral exploration, 16) Amphibians are an alarm system, --Canada: 17) noise affects the sex lives of birds, 18) Don't buy Kimberly-Clark,--Norway: 19) Save Southern Scandinavia's last remaining large old-growth forest,--Armenia: 20) punishing firewood gathers for large scale industrial deforestation --Austria: 21) Vienna Woods--Russia: 22) Analysts have dismissed a new Forestry code, 23) UPM gets FSCed,--Africa: 24) Tropical hardwood is a major export--Kenya: 25) While we plant trees others are busy logging too much --Uganda: 26) encroachers in Central Forest Reserves, 27) population 28) Mabira forest reserve, 29) 506 forest reserves in Uganda,--Congo: 30) German tropical logging company gets certified--Malawi: 31) fighting a losing battle against people--Brazil: 32) 150 Indians armed with bows, arrows and clubs occupy port, 33) opposition to $9 billion hydroelectric project, 34) Texas Christian ranch management, --Australia: 35) Fires caused by not enough logging? 36) Rejection of calls for a public inquiry into fires in Blue Mountains, 37) Gunns gives up attack on opponents--Tropics: 38) 7 % of land but half of all plant species, 39) deforestation greenhouses not considered enough,--World-wide: 40)UN begins drafting new agreement on international forest policy, British Columbia: 1) Just because some First nations people support clear-cutting does not make it right. I view the indigenous humans as 2nd nation's people myself. The real first nations are the species that were resident in the forests for millennium before the hominids arrived and established dominance over the land. Homo sapiens are a relative newcomer to these forests and that includes the people who refer to themselves as First Nations. Many of the original species of the forests were killed off by the first hominid invasion and others were killed by the more recent 2nd hominid invasion. The fact remains that when we destroy the forests we destroy the homes of sentient creatures and there is no justification for this. The first hominids practiced removing planks from live trees and the obscenity called clear cutting was not an evil practiced by indigenous humans prior to recent times. It matters not what the culture of the person wielding the chain saw is. The chain saw is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction on this planet. paulwatsonOregon:2) Reaction was mixed Friday for a plan to sell off half of the O & C forest lands to establish a set of trust funds that would provide revenue for counties that rely on the federal timber safety net. Francis Eatherington, conservation program director for Umpqua Watersheds, said the 2.4 million acres of O & C lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management are a " national treasure. " She said they contain the last old growth and remnant native forests in the Coast Range and are valuable for wildlife and for the people who live there. " Definitely, we don't want to sell off those lands to private interests, " Eatherington said. " These are publicly owned forests and they have a lot of public benefits. Privatizing them doesn't solve any problems, especially for the long term. " Earlier Friday, the Association of O & C Counties proposed selling 1.2 million acres of O & C lands and using the money -- an estimated $12 billion -- to establish a set of four trust funds. The proposal was developed by Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson, who also serves as president of the association. The proposal is significant in one regard, said Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild. It gives recognition that the O & C lands have value beyond tree harvesting. " The relevant counties have, it looks like, come to an understanding that these lands are important to all Oregonians, " Pedery said. " They are not simply lands that should be managed solely for logging. These lands are valuable for recreation, hunting, fishing, clean water. It's good to see them recognize as that. " Pedery's group, which formerly was known as the Oregon Natural Resources Council, supports the extension of the safety net. He said he doesn't believe the American people, both inside Oregon and outside, will want to remove such a large amount of land from federal forest management. http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20061210/NEWS/1121000693) Native Forest Council offers a variety of planned giving opportunities. Gifts of stock, real estate and other assets may offer tremendous tax savings for you and provide the Council with a greater net gift. If you are interested in planned giving, contact the Native Forest Council at ( 541-688-2600 ). The Native Forest Council remains one of the ever-fewer organizations refusing to compromise away our birthright of wild lands and waters, but we can't do it without your help. For as little as $35, you can join us in our simple and principled stand to keep our national forests and public lands Forever Wild and Free. As a member, you'll receive the Forest Voice, our quarterly publication that exposes the truth about our nation's threatened public lands and how you can do something that matters. http://www.forestcouncil.org/joinCalifornia:4) With the passing of Prop. 84 during the last election, California voters showed their will to protect rivers, prevent flooding and generally protect water quality. Included in the funds allocated for these purposes is $450,000,000 that has been made available to the Wildlife Conservation Board for "Forest and Wildlife Conservation". Please take the time to ask that some of this money be used to acquire Pacific Lumbers Mattole River holdings. Contact info for Patty Berg, Pat Wiggins and the Wildlife Conservation Board are at the bottom. Pacific Lumber owns around 18,000 acres in the Mattole River Watershed. This includes around 2,000 acres of Upland Oldgrowth Douglas Fir forest in the North Fork Mattole River Drainage. There are also large prairies throughout this drainage. In some areas of the Upper North Fork there are oak woodlands. In the past five years, PL has cut hundreds of acres of this forest. Herbicide use has followed some of the logging. PL is now working on a "watershed analysis" which will likely result in a request to log closer to watercourses. If granted this would allow them access to log more of the remaining oldgrowth forest. This region is a habitat corridor between Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the Kings Range Conservation Area on the Lost Coast. This allows for the travel of oldgrowth forest dependent species such as Pacific Fishers. Much of the remaining oldgrowth forest is in or near riparian zones. A riparian zone is the zone along a watercourse.Year-round springs contribute cold water to the Mattole River which benefits threatened and endangered fish. http://saveancientforests.blogspot.com/2006/12/450000000-available-for-forest-and.html5) BIG BEAR LAKE- the Mountaintop Ranger District is requesting additional public comment as part of an effort to improve forest health and public safety, by completing a fuel reduction project to reduce the risk of fire and restore forest ecological health to 4,594 acres. The proposed project is located on the north facing slope south of Big Bear Lake and would be consistent with the San Bernardino National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The main objective of this project is to reduce fire risk to the community. The work would include the thinning of smaller green trees and the removal of most dead and/or dying trees. http://www.bearvalleynews.com/bvn%202121206.htmMontana: 6) Charred timber on more than 2,000 acres of state land has been sold in the aftermath of this summer's wildfires and more sales are on the way. In all, more than 6.2 million board feet of timber is expected to be sold in five salvage sales by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. State officials moved quickly after the Derby Mountain, Pine Ridge and Majerus fires to assess the damage and decide whether to put any of the burned trees up for sale. Part of the urgency is getting the timber sold before the trees deteriorate further from bark beetles and other post-fire invaders, state officials said. http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/12/11/news/state/27-timber.txt Utah:7) As Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. inches closer to presenting the state's roadless forest petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, opposition is mounting to his proposal, which calls for a repeal of all roadless forest protection in Utah. Now, it is hunters, anglers and former state wildlife officials who are raising red flags. Bill Geer, a former director of Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources, says the petition Huntsman and his Public Lands Policy Coordination Office are planning to submit gives little or no regard to the impact that repealing all roadless forest protections will have on the state's big game herds and native fish populations. " It's unfortunate that the needs of hunters and anglers seem to have been ignored in the creation of this petition, " said Geer, now a policy initiative manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. " Hopefully, the governor will see the merits of keeping roadless land roadless and considerably edit his petition to include the interests of sportsmen. " Utah has 8 million acres of national forest lands; about 4 million acres have been inventoried as roadless by the U.S. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. Critics of the Huntsman petition argue that lifting the roadless designation eventually will fragment habitat that is vital for deer, elk and cutthroat trout, among other species. According to Geer, 80 percent of the state's roadless forest acreage contains critical elk habitat and 96 percent is critical habitat for mule deer. And he notes that nearly all the streams and lakes supporting self-sustaining populations of Bonneville and Colorado cutthroat trout in Utah are in roadless or wilderness areas. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4814525Mississippi:8) PASCAGOULA - Trees Katrina took away will be replaced early next year throughout the city and grow three times faster to quickly shade parks and streets. This is part of $1.2 million in federal funds allocated to restore and replant trees in the state. Another $300,000 is still available for urban forestry renewal, said Jimmy Mordica, director of conservation education with the Mississippi Forestry Commission. Live Oaks and a variety of other native trees will be planted, said Judy Steckler, director of Land Trust in Biloxi, and in just 20 years, they will be the size of 60-year-old trees. A natural process, Root Production Method (RPM), is used to grow better trees faster with no genetic modification. P.K. Marshall of RPM Ecosystems in Dryden, N.Y., said the trees will also produce nuts three times faster and seeds from " mother " trees already growing in Pascagoula can be sent to the company and within 210 days will become seven-foot-tall trees ready to plant. Etienne Melcher of Pascagoula Pride, which has planted, restored and maintained trees in Pascagoula for years, said the group is partnering with the Land Trust and Mississippi Forestry Commission to create a park-like setting in the city. Together with the Parks and Recreation Commission and garden clubs, they will meet in January to determine where the trees should be planted. http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/16200870.htmPennsylvania:9) The 1,521-acre natural area is bounded on the east by Hammersley Fork Run, on the north by the Clinton-Potter County line, on the east by an old railroad grade, on the south by the state forest boundary and on the west by Indian Camp Run. The Forrest H. Dutlinger Natural Area is not a virgin stand. White pines were logged around 1900. Stumps are evidence of that logging. The Hammersley Fork area was first logged for its white pine and later for its hemlocks and hardwoods. It is not known why the old hemlocks survived. Some surmise that perhaps it was because of a property boundary dispute by logging companies. If someone cut down the wrong trees, they could be liable for triple damages for boundary violations. The patch of old trees is dominated by ferns and areas of mountain laurel, along with oak trees. Other old-growth trees in the natural area include white pine, red oak, beech, hard maple and gum. Other species that probably came in later after the white pine was cut include black cherry, basswood, white ash, red maple, black birch, white oak and chestnut oak. Outside the old-growth area, the main trees are second-growth oak, northern hardwood and aspen-birch stands. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16213510.htm 10) WILKES-BARRE - Workers this week will begin chopping down about 100 of 150 trees along Susquehanna River, Luzerne County Engineer Jim Brozena said today. The trees will be cut down in the next three weeks because they are either disesased or unsafe, or they will be in the way of construction for the long-awaited River Common project, Brozena said. They are along the river from the Luzerne County Courthouse to South Street. The $23 million riverfront project involves the construction of an amphitheater, boat landing, fishing pier and two scenic openings in the levee near Northampton and Union streets. The 60-foot-wide portals will be the gateway to the Susquehanna River. The project is expected to done by 2009. Brozena said 250 new trees, 500 shrubs, 10,000 perenials and bulbs and 50,000 pieces of ground cover will be planted. Read more in Tuesday's edition of The Citizens' Voice. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17577583 & BRD=2259 & PAG=461 & dept_id=455154 & rfi=6 New York:11) A final draft of a comprehensive plan for the future of eight state forests in Broome County includes selective logging, possible drilling, building informational stations and protecting stone walls that have survived since settlement days. The document -- titled the Broome State Forest Unit Management Plan -- covers issues ranging from trapping to parking and stresses the importance of maintaining the public land for economic, recreational and educational uses. Highlights include: Plans to log hardwood and red pine on about 300 acres of land during 2007 and 2008 in Cat Hollow, Beaver Pond and Cascade Valley state forests in eastern Broome County. Logging is scheduled for other forests in subsequent years. Jeff Bohner, chairman of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, said he wasn't surprised to learn about logging plans because state forest lands, unlike specially designated wilderness areas, have traditionally been used to generate timber. That's a practice the Sierra Club does not oppose, he added. Drilling is another matter. That has drawn protests from grass roots groups, recreational users, municipal leaders and local residents as well as members of nationally organized environmental groups like the Sierra Club. They fear cutting and bulldozing necessary to accommodate large drilling rigs in forests will scar the land, disrupt the ecosystem and diminish recreational uses such as hunting, hiking, bird watching, mountain biking and skiing.The Broome State Forest Unit Management Plan, released in mid-November, cites the abundance of natural gas resources under the area and leaves open the possibility of drilling in other state forests in Broome County. http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061209/NEWS01/612090322/1006 USA: 12) The incoming chairman of the House Resources Committee and environmentalists objected to the rule, saying removing the NEPA study will limit the public's ability to comment and influence Forest Service actions. " The Forest Service should be taken to the woodshed, " said Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.). " The result of this new regulation is that the people will have even less ability to know about, let alone weigh in on, management of their U.S. forest lands. " Last week, Rahall and Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) ranking member of the Forests Subcommittee, wrote a letter asking the Agriculture Department to withdraw the proposed rule. " This is a fairly significant departure from past practice, " acknowledged Fred Norbury, associate deputy chief of the national forest system. The categorical exclusion proposal was shelved for nearly two years as the White House Council on Environmental Quality, USDA and Forest Service debated whether it was was legal and going too far, sources say. Norbury said the agency's experience since 1976 has shown that preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for forest plans is a waste of time. " We started out doing plans in the '70s under the assumption a plan is 15 years worth of projects, you can do an EIS and be done with it. What we discovered very quickly is that didn't work, " he said. " Even though we've done these plans, when it came time to doing the project we still needed to do NEPA analysis. " Using categorical exclusions will allow forest plans to be completed in two to three years, while current plans can take over five years. http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2006/12/12/#113) Thomas Power is chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Montana in Missoula and author of " Lost Landscapes and Failed Economies: The Search for a Value of Place. " Even as the Bush Administration and the U.S. Forest Service push forward with their plans to use timber harvests to improve the " health " of our National Forests and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, scientific evidence accumulates that thinning and logging the forested landscape is likely to increase rather than decrease fire dangers and push forests even further away from their natural ecological conditions. Almost no one disagrees with the idea that vegetation including trees immediately around homes need to be carefully managed to reduce the danger that the landscaping we do around our homes might bring natural wildfire right to our doorsteps. But the Bush Administration and some of the leadership of the Forest Service want to use logging techniques in places far removed from homes and communities to reduce the threat of wildfire. The basic idea is that most of our forests are far too dense. There are way too many trees per acre. This, we are told, not only makes them " unhealthy " but also reduces their productivity for wood production and makes them prone to frequent and severe wildfires that damage the forests even further. Cutting down many or most of those trees is the proposed solution. But the evidence is mounting that this is not the case. Studies of actual fire behavior in Northern California, Colorado, and Oregon indicate that removing trees, " thinning " the forest, by itself actually increases the severity of forest fires and the damage they do to forests. Some of the fires in 2002 were so huge that they provided a natural laboratory to study what impact previous forest treatments had on how much damage the forest fires did to trees. http://www.kufm.org/14) Potlatch management presented the company's analysis of its lands with higher values than timberland and its strategies for land value creation. " After reorganizing as a REIT earlier this year, we began a process of taking a very deep look at all of the values associated with our land holdings, " said President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Covey. " Through this intensive land value stratification process, we have identified those lands that are non-strategic to our core forestland operations. These higher valued forestlands are available to be sold over time and the proceeds may be used to fuel the growth of the company through acquisitions, or to pay down debt or execute a share repurchase program. " Potlatch's entire ownership of 1.5 million acres is located in desirable rural and mountain regions across the country. A significant portion of Potlatch lands have key attributes that make it superior recreational property. Additionally, in keeping with Potlatch's long tradition of managing forestland using the highest levels of stewardship, our forestlands are third-party certified. " Potlatch's Idaho land holdings are located in the beautiful north-central part of the state, which has long been known for its spectacular wilderness, white water rivers, salmon, trout and steelhead fishing and big game hunting, " said Vice President Land Sales and Development William R. DeReu. " Potlatch properties in Minnesota are rural, forested and located within a few hours drive from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Arkansas ownership, like Minnesota, offers exceptional opportunities for hunting and outdoor recreation in a beautiful mixed hardwood and conifer forest, " added DeReu. The non-strategic lands identified in each region through the initial stratification efforts total approximately 100,000-120,000 acres in Idaho, 100,000-120,000 acres in Minnesota and 50,000-60,000 acres in Arkansas, or 18-20 percent of the company's current holdings nationwide. http://www.potlatchcorp.com/15) A permanent ban on oil, gas and mineral exploration along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front was included in a last-minute package of tax breaks and other legislation that cleared Congress early Saturday and is headed to President Bush for his signature. " We finally got it done, we finally protected the Rocky Mountain Front forever, " said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who added the provision to the larger tax package in the final days of the Senate session. " Thirty years from now, our kids and grandchildren will thank us. " The drilling provision would make permanent a 1997 moratorium on Rocky Mountain Front exploration and make it easier to retire existing leases. Drilling on the Front has been debated passionately in Montana, for decades. Stretching about 100 miles in a part of west-central Montana where the mountains rise dramatically from the plains, the Front is home to an array of wildlife and is known for solitude. Montana's congressional delegation is split on the ban. Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana's only member of the House, opposes the ban and called it " foolhardy " when the larger tax bill was introduced Thursday. He says drilling is needed at a time when the United States is struggling to meet its energy needs. But on Friday, Rehberg voted for the larger bill, which includes $38 billion in tax breaks for businesses, higher education costs and school teachers, plus credits for alternative energy initiatives. Rehberg expressed frustration, after the vote, that there was no opportunity for debate on the drilling ban. He said he voted for a procedural maneuver that would have sent the legislation back to committee, but then voted in favor of the final legislation because " taxpayers don't deserve to be punished just because a rider was attached to a bill that puts more money in folks' pockets. " http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061209/NEWS01/612090302 16) Living just under ground, or on the ground under the leaves, almost always out of sight, they can be thought of as God's own little alarm systems. But what happens when you rip away the protection of the forest above them?: frogs and toads, salamanders, newts, mudpuppies and their relatives, have moist, porous skin - making them among the first to suffer from pollutants or changes in their environment. " They are the natural canaries in the coal mine, " says Brian D. a researcher at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), referring to the little birds that miners used to take with them underground to warn of deadly poisons in the air. Dramatic declines in amphibian populations, including population crashes and mass localized extinctions, have been noted in the past two decades from locations all over the world. Amphibian declines are thus perceived as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. A number of causes are believed to be involved, including habitat destruction and modification, over-exploitation, pollution, introduced species, climate change and disease. However, many of the causes of amphibian declines are still poorly understood, and amphibian declines are a topic of much ongoing research.Also part of the study funded by the National Science Foundation are researchers with the University of Missouri Columbia under Prof. Raymond Semlitsch, and the University of Maine Orono, under Prof. Malcolm Hunter. Todd works here under the tutelage of world-renowned herpetologist Prof. Whit Gibbons, and in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. All three states have major logging industries that support tens of thousands of jobs and mean billions to the economy. Todd explains that a major reason for the study is " to learn as much as we can to head off the decline of amphibians, which, if left unchecked, could lead to major restrictions on the logging industry. " http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/311359180356257.phpCanada:17) Loud ambient noise affects the sex lives of birds, a new study suggests. Man-made noise is increasing in the wild. Because birds communicate mainly by sound, loud environments interfere with their communications and reduces pairing by almost 15 percent. . . . . Bayne and colleagues compared the pairing success of ovenbirds, Seiurus aurocapilla—small birds named for building a domed nest with a side entrance—in noisy compressor stations with noiseless areas in the boreal forest region of Alberta, Canada. Compressor stations generate pressure in pipelines to keep natural gas and oil flowing from wells. Ovenbird pairing success was 92 percent in noiseless well pads but was reduced to 77 percent at compressor sites, the researchers note in the online early issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology. http://secoloradobirding.blogspot.com/2006/12/gas-oil-drilling-noise-harmful-to.html 18) Whether it's cold season or pollen season on your side of the planet, please don't blow your nose with Kimberly-Clark's tissue products. You might be helping to wipe away ancient forests. Kimberly-Clark is destroying irreplaceable ancient forests to create tissue products, including the Kleenex brand, that are used once, then thrown away. Send a message to Kimberly-Clark's CEO that until the company stops destroying ancient forests and starts using more recycled fibres, you won't buy its products. Be sure to put your full name and address at the end of the computer generated letter, and customize the subject line. It will get more attention if it stands out a bit and can be connected to a real person at a real address. http://digitalzen.wordpress.com/2006/12/07/kimberly-clark-wiping-away-ancient-forests/ Norway:19) In its final session before Christmas, the Norwegian government will decide how much of Southern Scandinavia's last remaining large old-growth forest is to be protected. The Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell area in Norway covers low-land forests with broadleaved deciduous trees, herb-rich spruce forests, dramatic river canyons and miles and miles of undulating forested hills covered by spruce and pine - all overlooked by majestic mountains. Within the forest scientists have discovered over 100 species that are endangered and threatened in Norway. The three-toed woodpecker, golden eagle and Siberian jay are just a few of the examples of the rich wildlife thriving in the old trees, where rare lichens and fungi conjures up a uniquely magical atmosphere. If the government fails to protect the whole of Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell in the coming weeks then the area's unique environment and precious wildlife will be under threat. Please go to mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vhq2q00d4gi0q0ts53a3 and send an email now to the Norwegian government, urging them to do the right thing and protect all of Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell! http://www.easyvegan.info/2006/12/08/wwf-help-save-one-of-norways-last-magical-places/ Armenia:20) Armen Sargsyan a young resident of the village of Arevatsag village in the Lori Marz saw that there was no firewood at home, so he and his cousins Samvel and Manvel harnessed their horse, took an axe and a two-man saw and went to collect firewood from the side roads of Arevatsag and the neighboring Mgart. What happened next was something out of Unlucky Panos, the Armenian folktale. Their cart broke down. Samvel went about fixing it, while Armen and Manvel collected the firewood. Not satisfied with what they had gathered, Armen saw two withered trees on the roadside and suggested cutting them down, too. They chopped down the trees, cut them up and loaded them on the cart, and headed back to the village. Little did they know that the withered trees they had cut down were pear trees registered in the Armenian Red Book, or what sufferings to their poor family that 0.8 cubic meters would bring. The police stopped their cart as soon as they entered the village, and several days later the Lori Marz Prosecutor's Office instituted legal proceedings against unlucky woodcutters, charging them of violating Article 296, Section 2 and Section 3, Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia by cutting two pear-trees of 22 and 24 centimeters in diameter respectively, costing the Republic of Armenia a total of 445,000 drams in lost property. The Court of First Instance of the Lori Marz, Judge Ani Mkhitaryan presiding, heard the case on September 20, 2006 and fined Manvel Davtyan and Armen Sarkissyan 448,600 drams. The law enforcement agency took an inventory of Armen Sarkissyan's house, and his property was immediately seized. "Our TV was sold at auction for 25,000 drams; the rest – the wardrobe, dresser, and several iron beds—were useless. We have 1,500 hectares of land, but we can't cultivate it. http://www.hetq.am/eng/ecology/0612-lori.htmlAustria:21) The Vienna Woods have traditionally been the maestro's muse. On solitary walks along its leafy footpaths, Beethoven found inspiration for his Pastoral Symphony. Schubert penned some of his songs on jaunts with his mates to some rustic tavern there. Johann Strauss the Younger famously wrote his " Tales from the Vienna Woods " in waltz time. And, though it didn't lighten his philosophy of life, even Franz Kafka derived joy from the symphony of these woods. The forests of beech, oak and tall black fir surrounding the capital of western classical music may since have sagged somewhat under the weight of the modern urban sprawl, but they still hold a great beauty and harmony — and that's because Austrian foresters and environmentalists have been striving to keep them so. The nodal agency for the task, the Forestry and Urban Agriculture Department of Vienna, known as the " MA 49 " , has, according to its PR chief Schwab, implemented a slew of innovative conservation initiatives in recent decades in the " Wienerwald " (German for Vienna Woods) — a 42,000-hectare octopus-like sprawl, with its tendrils reaching from the north-western suburbs of Vienna past the city's southern end right down to Lower Austria and Styria. In the Lainzer Tiergarten, a legendary part of the woods, I got a fair idea of both how the Vienna Woods looked when emperors and noblemen hunted there and of conservation work in progress. Visitors to the 25-sq. km. enclosure, three-quarters of which is thickly forested, are advised not to stray from the marked paths — because wildlife (among others, wild boar, red and roe deer and the mouflon, which is a wild sheep with long, curved horns) must be left to roam in peace and sections of the woods need to be left alone to resurrect themselves. " These sections are designated `Natural Reforestation Zones' and always closed to visitors, " explained Schwab as we look around one such zone (the media is allowed in, sorry). Here, fallen old beeches and oaks (one stout oak standing on a hillock was 350 years old) are allowed to crumble into the dust. The foresters' only intervention is to create small clearings here and there to enable new saplings to spring up alongside the antique trees. " The clearings have a diameter less than the height of the tallest tree. The sunlight in these clearings enables new saplings to spring up there. And that's how the forest regenerates itself. " http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/12/10/stories/2006121000080200.htmRussia: 22) Analysts have dismissed a new Forestry code as creating as many problems as it solves and ultimately being dependent on by-laws that are yet to be developed. The code was signed into law by President Putin on Tuesday and will come into force on Jan.1 next year. According to the new law, instead of ownership, companies are offered long-tern rental based on investment agreements. Companies will compete for these agreements at auction. The law also gives regional authorities more rights, at the expense of federal authorities who were previously responsible for the industry. Speaking at a round table at the Rosbalt news agency Tuesday, Irina Bitkova, Northwest Timber Processing Company (SZLK) chairman, said that giving more control to regional authorities is a positive step forward for the forestry industry. http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2 & story_id=1968723) UPM's Tikhvinsky Lespromkhoz in Russia has successfully passed a FSC forest management certificate audit for 184,000 hectares of forest leased by the company. The assessment was carried out by the auditing company SGS Vostok Limited according to international FSC principles and criteria. The successful efforts of the Tikhvinsky Lespromkhoz staff have been supported by several key stakeholders including researchers, authorities and local stakeholders. UPM aims at increasing the amount of certified wood in its products and ensuring credible control of the origin of wood through the whole supply chain from the forest to the customer. The basis for this is forest certification thus UPM supports all credible forest certification schemes like FSC and PEFC. UPM is one of the world's leading forest products groups. The Group's sales in 2005 were EUR 9.3 billion, and it has about 30,000 employees. UPM's main products include printing papers, converting materials and wood products. The company has production plants in 15 countries and its main market areas are Europe and North America. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki and New York stock exchanges. UPM has a global forestry and wood sourcing organization to secure wood supply to its different mills as well as to manage company forests. The company owns and manages forestry land in Canada, Finland, Russia, the UK and the USA. http://www.packagingessentials.com/indnews.asp?id=2006-12-12-16.04.42.000000Africa:24) Tropical hardwood is a major export from central Africa, and some companies in the DRC are moving beyond the areas in which logging is allowed and opening up previously untouched forest. This is bad news for the elephants, Thompson says. " Their habitats are destroyed and fragmented and they are forced to run through open areas to reach food, exposing them to poachers. " Help in spotting the spread of illegal logging could also come from a technique designed to monitor signs of climate change. NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) measures small changes in the thickness of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets using LIDAR, a laser technique that maps features in a similar way to radar but using light rather than microwaves. The LIDAR scanner creates similar 3D images of the interior of any forests it passes over, revealing damage to smaller trees that may be hidden from the naked eye. A team led by geographer Peter Hyde at the company Science Systems and Applications in Greenbelt, Maryland, which works with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, also in Greenbelt, has already found clear evidence of illegal logging by analysing data from ICESat gathered over six months. Having demonstrated the effectiveness of the technique, Hyde hopes to secure funding to fly LIDAR scanners aboard aircraft over the forests of central Africa. Thompson thinks this would be a big step forward. " Right now in central Africa, we have parks that are supposedly protected from illegal logging, but that's only on paper, because in practice it's just too difficult to monitor, " she says. " Perhaps this will help us stop logging in these so-called protected parks now. " http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225816.000-invented-for-the-military-used-to-defend-wildlife ..htmlKenya:25) It is a shame that as environmentalist Wangari Maathai embarks on the countrywide project of planting one billion trees, others are busy making fast money from cutting them down. About five years ago, the government announced a ban on logging after realizing that saw-millers were destroying forests at a fast rate. Despite the ban, the rate at which Kenya forest is depleting is alarming. A bigger threat is posed by notably illegal logging taking place in the West Mau forest of the Rift Valley. Timber traders have invaded the forest causing massive destruction of the indigenous forest in such of hardwood. Despite the government ban on indiscriminate cutting trees, illegal logging still takes place in this forest. Camphor and cedar trees, which produce prized varieties of wood are the prime targets. According to the locals, the Loggers lodge in the nearby Silibwet market in Bomet district and scout for cypress timber in the villages bordering the forest. They then use these to cover the prohibited indigenous hardwood beams in lorries as they are ferried to Mombasa, with their final destination being the Far East. Accompanied by journalists, Parliamentary committee on Environment chairman Frankline Bett toured the area and was dismayed at what he witnessed. http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=39872Uganda:26) The National Forest Authority (NFA) officials will register all encroachers in the Central Forest Reserves (CFRs) in Bundibugyo District. This was revealed by the Manager Muzizi River Range Joseph Sentongo during a press conference in Fort Portal town recently. " Central Forest Reserves in Bundibugyo District are in great danger, to save them we want to register all encroachers so that we can ascertain their number and see what to do next, " he said. Muzizi River Range Covers western, mid western and some central districts in the country like Kiboga, Mityana and Mubende. He said the encroachers occupy more than 1,282 hectares and that every day more continue to encroach on the CFRs that include Kabango-Ntandi, 361 hectares, Bundikaaki 396 hectares, Malta 159 hectares and Nyaburongwe 174 hectares. What is concerning NFA officials is the fact that encroachers have completely turned the CFRs into areas for permanent settlement and agriculture. After registration the NFA officials intend to reopen the forest boundaries following the tree stamps that can still be traced using registered surveyors. According to foresters the most destructive activities carried out in forests include charcoal burning and agriculture, because during these activities trees are cut massively or indiscriminately. Sentongo wondered what will happen in the next 30 years if forests are not saved given the rate at which population is growing. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612121301.html27) Forest officials have expressed worry at the fast growing population compared to the rate at which the natural forests are encroached. The Manager Muzizi River Range Joseph Ssentongo recently said information on Uganda's population shows that it was 3 million in the 1960's and three decades after it has grown to 30 million. Mr Ssentongo said the trends show that by 2030, the population will have grown to around 70 million. " Dangers like desertification and water loss will affect the country's fast growing population, " Mr Ssentongo said. He advised Ugandans to start planting trees for the good of the country's future. " The most destructive activities are charcoal burning and agriculture because trees are cut massively or indiscriminately, " he said. Mr Ssentongo said they will register all encroachers in the Bundibugyo Central Forest Reserves (CFRs). " CFRs in this area are under great danger and need to be saved. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612111146.html28) Bugala is the only remaining intact high canopy forest with a good standing stock, i.e. a significant number of trees that are ready for managed harvesting. Bugala forests surpass Mabira Forest in biodiversity, which is a central attraction in the growing eco-tourism sub-sector. Note that the Uganda Tourism Board recorded a $300 million inflow to the national coffers last financial year and projections are even better for this year. Technical experts have told Sunday Monitor that to harvest timber from Bugala on a sustainable basis, the " allowable annual cut volume " would be only 500 cubic metres per hectare. Bidco has already cut part of the forest and now wants even more. Before Bjella's laudable refusal to bow to the overwhelming pressure, the National Forest Authority had lost two senior members and their legal officer in early October. The trio was followed by another group in mid-November. These principled people made the rare choice of stepping aside instead of becoming accomplices to the destruction of a vital national resource. As we jointly oppose the destruction, partisan politics must be avoided. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612110309.html29) IS a tree a tree? That seems to be the key question in the wrangle between the National Forestry Authority and the Government. Can a palm tree, used for the production of palm oil, qualify as a real tree? Does it generate oxygen, create rain and protect the soil from erosion the same way a wild tree does? The Government believes so. Environmentalists are strongly opposed. Of course, there is much more to the issue. The debate is not so much about palm tree plantations versus tropical forests. Rather, it is about development versus nature, employment versus environment. This debate is not limited to Uganda. It is a pressing, if not the most pressing topic worldwide. It seems almost inevitable. With economic and population growth, pressures on the land and its resources increase in equal terms. Sadly, some of the wealthiest regions in the world have reached that level by sacrificing their forests and green pastures. Investments and jobs, which bring in income and trade, are often higher on politicians' agendas than concerns about the conservation of the planet. The National Forestry Authority defends the interests of the 506 forest reserves in Uganda because it is their duty to do so. The Government strives to create jobs and wealth for its people by attracting investors because it is their duty to do so. Poor people, they argue, might resort to illegal logging and charcoal burning to make a living, destroying the forests in their own way. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/14/537270Congo:30) In September 2006, WWF and the large German tropical logging company Danzer issued the joint press release below, announcing Danzer's intention to obtain FSC certification. Even assuming that Danzer retains all of its 1.9 million hectares, certification could prove problematic, if for no other reason than that it could be extremely challenging to determine compliance with FSC Principle 1: "Forest management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they occur and international treaties and agreements". Criterion 1.1 specifically requires that "Forest management shall respect all national and local laws and administrative requirements". The legal basis for forestry in DRC is presently in a state of total chaos. The country adopted a new framework Forest Code in August 2002 but, four years later, of the 35-40 ministerial or presidential decrees needed to properly implement the law, only one has actually been formally adopted. There seems to be little progress on developing all the other specific decrees, and thus there is almost a complete legal vacuum; simply put, logging companies don't know what legal requirements they might be expected to comply with in several years time, because these have mostly not yet even begun to be defined. One particularly problematic area is in the payment of forestry royalties and taxes. According to one estimate, there are presently no less than 155 fees and taxes payable in the forest sector in DRC. Many of these are 'para-fiscal' fees payable at the local level to various interests that may or may not actually be authorised by the central authorities in Kinshasa. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2006/12/11/WWF_and_certification_of_Danzer__all_a_foregone_conclus ion_Malawi:31) These days as the world spends sleepless nights, worrying about climatic change and its attendant natural calamities due to global warming, we seem to be very much at peace with ourselves, looking at environmental degradation as their problem. We talk loudly about HIV and Aids, gender violence, agriculture and politics but if at all there is any noise on environmental degradation, then its in inaudible whispers, the kind of tone lovers will use while on a picnic and not when you want to wake up a neighbour sleeping in a house that has caught fire as is the case with us, Malawians. I know there are NGOs out there working with rural communities to maintain a balance between people and nature for our own survival but their numbers are insignificant when compared with the enormity of the challenge they face. As for government, there must be a whole ministry responsible for the environment but God knows what it is doing to protect the green that characterised the looks of Mother Malawi. I'm reliably informed that the acreage of trees felled in a year for nkhuni (fuelwood), matabwa (timber) and makala (charcoal) hasn't decreased. Some say, it is steadily increasing. What is indisputable is that our consumption of trees is unsustainable. Of course, the signs of depletion are there for all to see. If you are in Blantyre just go and see how naked is the supposedly protected catchment area of the Mudi Dam which stores water for the city, the commercial capital of Malawi. There are gardens from the gate of Blantyre Water Board offices, all the way to the top of Soche Mountain. In Mulanje, I hear from volunteers who try to conserve the Mulanje cedar—a pest resistant hardwood unique to the mountain—that they are fighting a losing battle against people who, lulled by good money cedar logs fetch on the market, risk their lives by going up the mountain in the night to harvest for their personal benefit that natural heritage that belongs to us all. http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=19885Brazil:32) About 150 Indians armed with bows, arrows and clubs occupied a port operated by several paper and pulp companies Tuesday, shutting down operations to press demands for an expanded reservation. The Tupinquim and Guarani Indians, joined by members of the Landless Rural Workers Movement, carried out the occupation to protest delays in granting the Indians 27,181 acres of land which a government study determined belonged to their ancestors. Most of that land is part of a plantation owned by Aracruz Cellulose SA, which has contested the government study. " The port has been paralyzed, " Sandra Cola, a spokeswomen for Aracruz said by telephone from the port, some 600 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro. " We have a ship load with 27,000 tons that can't embark. " Aracruz said in a statement the port, which it operates along with the paper and pulp companies Cenibra, Veracel and Suzano handles 90 percent of Brazil's cellulose exports. The Rio de Janeiro-based company is the world's leading producer of bleached eucalyptus pulp, used to make tissue and high-value specialty paper. It owns about 645,000 acres of eucalyptus plantations. In 2005, the Indians invaded the company's factory and in September the Indians set fire to some 500 acres of forest, blocking road and intimidating workers. Brazil's Constitution grants Indians lands they can prove belonged to their ancestors, but the process is often delayed by legal battles and lack of funding to compensate those who find themselves on land destined for reservations. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8LVE74G4.htm33) Rubber tappers, fishermen and Indians in western Brazil have joined environmental groups in battling a planned $9 billion hydroelectric project that will flood one of the Amazon's main tributaries. At two public hearings last week, opponents of the plan to build two dams on the Madeira river near Bolivia clashed with the government and construction companies. A spokeswoman for government environment regulator Ibama would not give a target date for issuing a preliminary environmental license to allow construction tenders. Energy officials said the government is aiming for next May or June. At hearings near Porto Velho, capital of the remote western Brazilian state of Rondonia, the government said the project would help avert a possible energy shortage, bolster the sluggish economy and allow barges to carry soybeans, timber and minerals on the 4,200 kilometer (2,800 miles) river network.But environmental activists warned the dams would flood vast areas, including parts of Bolivia and Peru; spread malaria and other water-borne diseases; and destroy migrating fish, bird and animal wildlife and swathes of rainforest. Officials in nearby Bolivia have grown concerned, demanding full details and vowing to seek compensation for any flood damage. Satisfying their concerns could take months. Brazil's government has tried to address the concerns, scaling down the five-year project to an initial two power stations, instead of four, with combined capacity of 6,450 megawatts near the Bolivian border at Jirau and Santo Antonio. " This project will redeem the region from backwardness, " said Aldo Rebelo, a leading congressional ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who is seeking reelection as president of the lower chamber. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07448760.htm34) An alumnus of Texas Christian University's ranch management program, John Cain Carter, is on a mission to convince Brazilian cattlemen that it's good business to employ an environmentally friendly approach to producing beef cattle and growing soybeans. The rate of deforestation has dropped since 2004, some say because of a downturn in the soy market. But an area equal to about 87 percent of the size of Texas, 232,000 square miles, has been cleared for logging, ranching and subsistence farming in the past 35 years. Carter, who runs a 20,000-acre cattle ranch in the Xingu River Basin near the Amazon with his Brazilian wife, Kika, has formed Alianca da Terra (Portuguese for " Alliance of the Earth " ) to create a program that certifies producers who use environmentally acceptable production and management practices. The alliance's trained agronomists and ecologists create a balance sheet of a ranch's conditions, he said. The landowner is given a management plan that notes needed action to curb erosion, prevent wildfires and improve water resources, along with deadlines. When ecologically sustainable techniques are in place, the producer gets a " green stamp " of approval from the organization. http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/16213727.htmAustralia:35) Senator Abetz said the severity of the bushfires, which have destroyed 14 homes in Tasmania's east, called into question the value of making forests off-limits to logging and grazing. He blamed a build-up of fuel in wilderness areas for the severity of the fires. " Many Australians are starting to feel cheated that they were sold a line that you could simply lock up our forests and keep them forever, " Senator Abetz told ABC radio. " And then fire comes through and destroys the koala habitat, the alpine plant species and, in Tasmania ... those areas that people have argued to be locked up are now just there in ashes. " Firefighters have prepared a control line on the edge of the Wielangta State Forest, which is the subject of a court battle by Greens leader Bob Brown who wants to prevent the area from being logged. Senator Brown rejected Senator Abetz's arguments. " The majority of the forest that we've been talking about in the Federal Court wasn't burnt in the fire, " he told the ABC. The areas that had been burnt would recover quickly and remain an important habitat for key species, Senator Brown said. http://www.packagingessentials.com/indnews.asp?id=2006-12-12-16.04.42.000000 36) New South Wales Rural Fire Services (RFS) commissioner Phil Koperberg has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the recent fires in the Blue Mountains. The State Opposition says an independent investigation is needed into the way the bushfires were handled. Opposition environment spokesman Michael Richardson says a historic stand of blue gum trees in the Grose Valley was sacrificed due to a lack of proper fire planning. He says better remote firefighting methods are needed in the future. " There is a feeling that the backburning ordered by Phil Koperberg may have worsened the fire, destroyed biodiversity and placed several townships in the Blue Mountains at risk, " he said. But Mr Koperberg says only a proportion of the Grose Valley was burnt. " I could well imagine, had we been counting house losses or life losses today that there ought to be an inquiry, and I probably would have supported it, but such is not the case, " he said. " There are a few people around ... who believe from a vantage point well removed from the actual fire fight that we should have done it another way. " Well there may be merits in that proposal, but it certainly doesn't require an independent review. " Environmental lobby groups are also pushing for an independent inquiry into the bushfire. Colong Foundation for Wilderness spokesman Keith Muir says the blue gum forest in the Grose Valley was the birthplace of the modern conservation movement more than 70 years ago. Mr Muir says an inquiry is not a criticism of firefighters, but a way of preserving heritage areas. " The understorey of the blue gum has gone, the trees have been scarred around the base by the fire and there'll be considerable tree deaths, " he said. " If this was a row of houses there'd certainly be a thorough inquiry into what went wrong. " http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1808521.htm37) Greens leader Senator Bob Brown said Gunns had discontinued proceedings against him and Tasmanian leader Peg Putt. It had also discontinued proceedings against three other defendants: Helen Gee, Peter Pullinger and Doctors for Native Forests. Gunns first tried to sue the Greens leaders and 18 other environmental groups in December 2004, citing their " ongoing damaging campaigns and activities " against the company. But the Victorian Supreme Court threw out the claim, and two subsequent attempts to sue the protesters. In the past, the company has claimed that 20 environmentalists conspired against the company and tried to sue for almost $7 million. In November, Gunns made a fourth attempt to sue some of the anti-logging protesters, including Senator Brown, to the tune of $391,000 plus unspecified claims for damages. Other environmental groups and individuals listed on the writ, including the Wilderness Society and the Huon Valley Environment Centre, are still facing legal action. The groups have protested against Gunns' logging activities and its proposed $1.4 billion pulp mill, earmarked for Bell Bay on Tasmania's north-east coast. Senator Brown said Gunns effectively conceded it had no case to win in a notice issued by its lawyers at 5.50pm (AEST) on Wednesday. " This is not just a victory for us, it is a victory for free speech and for Tasmania's wild forests, " Senator Brown said. Senator Brown will hold a press conference in Hobart on Thursday. http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Timber-firm-drops-action-against-Greens/2006/12/13/116568575681 6.html#Tropics: 38) Tropical rainforests, which account for only seven percent of the world's total land mass, harbor as much as half of all known varieties of plants. Experts say that just a four-square mile area of rainforest may contain as many as 1,500 different types of flowering plants and 750 species of trees, all which have evolved specialized survival mechanisms over the millennia that mankind is just starting to learn how to appropriate for its own purposes. Scattered pockets of native peoples around the world have known about the healing properties of rainforest plants for centuries and perhaps longer. But only since World War II has the modern world begun to take notice, and scores of drug companies today work in tandem with conservationists, native groups and various governments to find, catalog and synthesize rainforest plants for their medicinal value. Some 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide today are derived directly from rainforest plants. And according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, more than two-thirds of all medicines found to have cancer-fighting properties come from rainforest plants. Examples abound. Ingredients obtained and synthesized from a now-extinct periwinkle plant found only in Madagascar (until de-forestation wiped it out) have increased the chances of survival for children with leukemia from 20 to 80 percent. But saving tropical rainforests is no easy task, as poverty-stricken native people try to eke out a living off the lands and many governments throughout the world's equatorial regions, out of economic desperation as well as greed, allow destructive cattle ranching, farming and logging. As rainforest turns to farm, ranch and clear-cut, some 137 rainforest-dwelling species--plants and animals alike--go extinct every single day, according to noted Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson. Conservationists worry that as rainforest species disappear, so will many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. http://www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php?current39) Tropical deforestation is one of the largest sources of human-produced greenhouse gases yet it has no place in existing climate agreements. This has been a point of contention in negotiations as the United States has objected to some developing countries -- notably Brazil and Indonesia -- to be getting an apparent " free ride " on deforestation-related emissions in addition to emissions from fossil fuel sources. Recent negotiations have looked at this issue from a different perspective, one where developing countries would be paid by industrialized countries for reducing their deforestation rates. Globally the payoff could be immense, extending well beyond helping mitigate global warming emissions to safeguard biodiversity and important ecological services. Leading scientists have called such plans a " win-win " scenario for all parties and even the World Bank and U.N. have voiced support for the concept. Under a proposal put forth by a coalition of developing countries last year, tropical forest countries would agree to set aside forest land that would otherwise be cleared in exchange for payment from industrialized countries looking to reduce their carbon emissions in order to meet targets set under international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol. http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1204-avoided_deforestation.htmlWorld-wide:40) After years of deadlocked discussions and fragmented management of the world's forests, representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society today began drafting a new agreement on international forest policy at a United Nations meeting in New York. The negotiations this week on the pact by the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) will result in a non-legally binding instrument that will be adopted by the Forum next April. It will spell out an international forest policy to promote public awareness, provide a framework for sustainable forest management, serve as a practical guide for implementation, and provide a global platform for closer cooperation. "This is indeed a giant leap forward for the international forest policy arena," according to Hans Hoogeveen, Director of International Affairs for the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food, who is chairing the drafting process. Forests cover 30 per cent of the world's land area, and over 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on the forests for their livelihoods. Ambassador Hamidon Ali of Malaysia told a press briefing in New York that more than 800 million people live in or near tropical forests and are dependent on them for their subsistence. Most of them, he said, work in the informal sector. The world is losing 13 million hectares of natural forests every year, largely because of human activities such as unsustainable harvesting of timber, unsound management of land, and the creation of human settlements, according to Pekka Patosaari, the Director of the UNFF Secretariat. The World Bank estimates that over $10 billion is lost every year due to illegal logging and trading. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20935 & Cr=forest & Cr1= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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