157 - Earth Tree news

[Guest guest]

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=