Guest guest Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 Today for you 36 new articles about earth's trees! (328th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --Alaska: 1) Another logging show on the history channel --British Columbia: 2) First Nation asks court to stop land give away, 3) Deforestation stats., 4) Deforestation stats. cont. 5) Protest at Chong's office, --California: 6) Send Faxes to reduce clearcut size, 7) Sudden Oak death origins, 8) Bohemian grove logging has nothing to do with reducing fire hazards, 9) Forest defender gathering in Humboldt in early May, --Montana: 10) Complaints about Plum Creek's secret deal making, 11) Save B-D NF, --Michigan: 12) Catching the mastermind of illegal logging scheme --North Carolina: 13) Deforestation for multi-thousand acre resorts --American Samoa: 14) Save rare Tutuila forest --USA: 15) National Landscape Conservation System Act passes house, 16) National Conference on Urban Ecosystems, --Canada: 17) People care about forests they know nearly nothing about, 18) Kimberly-Clark's lies about destruction of Kenogami Forest, --UK: 19) Biofuel protest, 20) Too much Palm oil in our fuel, --Netherlands: 21) 27,000 respond to Greenpeace survey --Azerbaijan: 22) Seizure of lands and cutting of trees in Jeyranbatan forest --Liberia: 23) New Forestry Initiative will be the ruin of the nation --Guatemala: 24) CBM protects forests --French Guiana: 25) Online social networking saves trees --Guyana: 26) Transparent, objective, equitable and consistent application of legislation --India: 27) Nagarhole National Park, 28) Trees in Kolkata suffer from car exhaust, --South East Asia: 29) Last of the sun bears --Vietnam: 30) Industry lies about illegal logging evidence --Thailand: 31) Ministry deeply concerned about widespread forest encroachment --Fiji: 32) Nukurua Mahogany Trust fails --Philippines: 33) Last lowland forest area on Negros island --Malaysia: 34) Palm oil empire, 35) Political economy and social ecology of Palm oil, --Indonesia: 36) 70% of 9.4 million hectares of mangroves are in damaged condition Alaska: 1) Logging is a difficult profession anywhere, but in Alaska's Southeast Panhandle, unforgiving coastal mountains, steep valleys, and ugly weather make this work even tougher. Host Geo Beach will learn first-hand about it when he embeds with veteran loggers in Ketchikan, located in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest. They'll teach him how to fell giant spruce trees with a single chainsaw, " choke and chase " them with a cable-logging machine, and deliver them on teeth-chattering logging roads and rocking barges to the mill. And he'll join the most extreme loggers of them all -- heli-loggers -- who fly deep into rugged stretches and steep areas where no roads can go to haul the valuable logs out of the wilderness. Other topics covered include: Railroading ... Roads ... Forces of Nature ... Garbage ... Salvaging ... Fairbanks Winter ... Disconnected .... Policing ... and Frozen Freeway. In these episodes, Geo struggles against bitter winter weather to keep the electricity flowing to Alaska's second largest city, triggers a " controlled " avalanche, and tempts fate in one of the most active seismic zones in the world. As always, Alaska dishes up lots of real work, risks, and excitement. The new series TOUGHER IN ALASKA is produced for History by Moore Huntley Productions. Executive Producer for History is Carl H. Lindahl. Executive Producer is David Huntley. The official mini-site for the TOUGHER IN ALASKA series, http://www.history.com/tougher-in-alaska , will feature images and video, including our host Geo Beach, who will share insights about the Alaskan lifestyle and daily activities in the last American frontier. The site will also include interactive maps, history content on Alaska, and background information to supplement the programs. A teaser page with on-air promos will launch first, followed by the official mini-site on April 23. http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/tougher-alaska-new-weekly-series-historytm-pr\ emieres-thursda y-8-10-pm-et2fpt_563277_1.html British Columbia: 2) A Vancouver Island First Nation is asking the courts to put a stop to a deal that would give a private forestry company control over land it says has been used by its people for millennia. The B.C. government agreed last year to allow Western Forest Products (TSX:WEF) to remove more than 28,000 hectares of private lands from three tree farm licences, two in the north and one in the southern region of Vancouver Island. The tree farm licence offers the private land some of the same protections as Crown land. The agreement means the company can now sell the land - located on some of the most prime property of the southwest coast - to developers and eventually even sell raw logs out of the province without penalty. In the north, the Kwakiutl First Nation is concerned that the company won't have to consult the community or government when cutting trees or even building a logging road over a sacred aboriginal site. " Western Forest Products has stated very clearly that, in this case, they're not in it for logging, they're in it for real estate, " said Ray Zimmerman, spokesman for the environmental group Sea-To-Sea Greenbelt Society. Along with the current First Nations court petition against the company and the federal and provincial governments, the decision has already prompted an investigation by the B.C. auditor general. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4i23ZC-g8bgqv2WuS-f0HR8RT9Q 3) Land from North Saanich to Sooke lost eight per cent of the overall tree coverage between 1986 to 2005. That's about 2,588 hectares or 6-1/2 times the area of Goldstream Provincial Park. Greater Victoria, at 58,000 hectares, still retains 53 per cent of its ground covered in forest. Using aerial photographs, Caslys Consulting Ltd. compiled the report for Habitat Acquisition Trust on behalf of UFSI. Caslys also compared the area of surfaces impervious to water, including roads, sidewalks and roofs. In 19 years, the Capital Region added 922 hectares of such hardtop for about 7,900 hectares impervious surfaces. Predictably, Langford and Colwood have taken the biggest hit on tree cover. That's expected since they have had the largest boom in development, Cullington said. Langford lost 507 hectares, whereas Colwood lost 536 hectares of forest. That accounts for 16 and 46 per cent of the city's overall tree coverage respectively. Perhaps not surprisingly, the District of Highlands has seen 14 hectares added to its forests. Rural Metchosin, though, lost 505 hectares of forest over the study period. Some of that is related to farming than to development, Cullington said. View Royal lost 186 hectares or about 15 per cent its tree coverage. The West Shore in total lost some 1,700 hectares of tree cover or more than 12 per cent over less than one generation. The report isn't meant to single out municipalities for not preserving their tree base, Cullington said. Rather, it is meant to allow them to make smart planning decisions in the future. The maps show green belts and other significant forested areas. When it comes to city planning, the maps have varied uses. An overall picture shows the forest through the trees so to speak, Cullington said. Wildlife corridors become more obvious and community planning can extend beyond the property line. If you look at areas like Cook Street Village in Victoria, trees have a positive impact on economics too, she said, since trees and landscaping make a place more pleasant to live. " (We need) an ecosystem-based landscape level of approach to the way we (develop), " she said reporter 4) Anyone who has been around Greater Victoria for a decade or more knows these truths to be self evident: there's fewer trees overhead and more blacktop underfoot. Within the past two decades, the Capital Region has shed enough forests to cover more than six times the size of Goldstream Provincial Park, according to a report released by Urban Forest Stewardship Initiative (See story page A1). Agriculture has displaced some trees, but the main culprit is residential development. More than 2,500 hectares is a lot of greenspace, but with the kind of growth in the CRD within the past decade, it probably could have been worse. The consultants working for the Habitat Acquisition Trust and UFSI analyzed ariel photos to get a sense of tree density in 1986 verses 2005. Back when Bill Bennett was premier and Vancouver hosted its world exposition, the Capital Region had 255,000 people. Two decades later that's 345,000 residents, with many of them flowing to the West Shore. That's not to point fingers at the West Shore's two cities. Victoria, Oak Bay and Esquimalt chopped down all forest of note a long time ago — the three barely registered 200 hectares of remaining canopy cover. In 20 years Saanich lost 583 hectares of significant forest, the largest absolute number of any CRD municipality. Metchosin too showed an odd loss of more than 500 hectares of significant forest, but as the report notes all but six hectares were converted to fields and farmland. Pressure for local produce is growing and Metchosin has a good opportunity to fill that niche. Environmental activists will likely seize on the report to further condemn Langford, its under-construction interchange and rapid urbanization. Langford will point out its population has ballooned almost 20 per cent in five years and the West Shore is the CRD's main sponge for people looking for a marginally more affordable place to live. In an era where greenhouse gasses and carbon footprints are common concerns, the forest canopy report should grab the attention of CRD and municipal politicians and planners. Trees sequester carbon, filter pollution and help regulate ground temperatures for ecosystems. That's not to mention their value to communities. People will keep moving to Greater Victoria, especially Colwood and Langford, creating continual pressure to densify and grow. The report is a good springboard to think how that will be managed. Losing another 2,500 hectares of forest by 2028 is a price we don't need to pay. reporter 5) On April 14 some 50 protesters gathered outside cabinet minister Ida Chong's community office in Victoria's Oak Bay neighbourhood. They included environmental icon Vicky Husband, the Sea-to-Sea Greenbelt Society's Ray Zimmermann and representatives of the Dogwood Initiative, who delivered Chong a giant pen. The immediate issue was Chong's failure as of April 11 to sign a Capital Regional District bylaw that would limit development of a large area of southern Vancouver Island that the provincial government released from governance under the tree farm licence system in January 2007. The bylaw will make the minimum lot size 120 hectares in the area, staving off the building rush many locals fear. " Everyone has the right to protest, " said Chong. " Maybe it all could have been avoided. " A few hours before the protesters gathered at noon, Chong had approved the bylaw. " On Friday the last item that needed to come to my attention did, and so this morning I signed off on the bylaw, " she said. She'd been waiting for clarification from the CRD about what the bylaw would mean for existing land owners. Meanwhile, Western Forest Products Inc., which owns the released lands, announced last week it got an application into the Transportation Ministry to create 319 lots on the land, ranging between two and five hectares, under the old bylaws. If approved, critics say, the change will create rural sprawl along some 45 kilometres of western Vancouver Island, stretching from Sooke, through Shirley, Otter Point and Jordan River to almost Port Renfrew. http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/04/16/IdaChong/ California: 6) This is Addie Jacobson from Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch in Calaveras County. I have been asked by Jodi Frediani to tell you something more about the faxes we have been asked to send today to Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes' office. These are very simple-- putting a short request on letterhead: asking him to " please support AB 2926 on reconsideration. " Then saying thank you and signing it. Best not to give reasons for supporting the bill, as we may pick a reason that might push him over the fence onto the wrong side. Just keep it simple and to the point as a request for support. Reconsideration will be happening probably early tomorrow (Thursday) morning, so this needs to get done today. Any groups in Assemblyman Fuentes' region that might write him will be very useful. Thanks so much. California State Assembly Committee on Natural Resources Thank you's need to be faxed to the following Assemblymembers: Loni Hancock - Chair Fax: (916) 319-2114, Julia Brownley Fax: (916) 319-2141, John Laird Fax: (916) 319-2127, Lori Saldaña Fax: (916) 319 – 2176. A request to support on reconsideration needs to be faxed to: Felipe Fuentes Fax: (916) 319-2139 7) he Sudden oak death epidemic that has killed more than a million trees throughout coastal California started in two sites: Scotts Valley and on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, a new genetic analysis reveals. Through genetic sleuthing, scientists found that pathogens at both locations -- separated by 62 miles -- share identical DNA footprints, indicating that they are related, probably through the nursery trade, said lead investigator Matteo Garbelotto of UC Berkeley. " Our study reconstructs the sudden oak death epidemic, " Garbelotto said. " Having multiple introductions explains why it is so extensive. " The discovery sheds new light on a horticultural murder mystery involving a pathogen found in Asia that is now devastating swaths of California forests. The finding does not lead to a cure for the epidemic. From a Scotts Valley rhododendron nursery on Bean Creek Road, the pathogen escaped into nearby forests, he said. People accelerated its spread by buying infected plants and planting them throughout the region. It now ravages parts of Monterey County's Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, and has killed thousands of trees in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Alameda counties. Although there is no nursery near the Mount Tamalpais site, there are several large homes with extensive landscaping. Once established, the pathogen -- Phytophthora ramorum -- spread north into Sonoma and Humboldt counties. The research team does not know if the infected plants in Marin came from Scotts Valley -- or whether both sites independently acquired their plants from the same infected shipment. Similarly, researchers have not identified the source of the infected plants at the Scotts Valley business, which is a wholesale nursery. " There is an incredibly complex pattern of plant trading between nurseries, " Garbelotto said. " It is not easily reconstructable. " http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8947730 8) As UCLA biology professor Philip W. Rundel wrote last May in a letter to CDF concerning the Bohemian Club's proposed logging plan last year: " This is clearly a logging project, not a project to reduce fire hazard. Old growth redwood forests have very low flammability. It is only when these forests are thinned and light openings are present in the canopy that flammable shrubs and tanbark oak can invade these stands. As a result, fire intensity, the spread rate of fire, and flame lengths will be much higher than if these stands were left in their natural state. Once a cycle of thinning is established, reduction of fire hazard inevitably involves heavy regular applications of herbicides to reduce shrub establishment and prevent the growth of ladder fuels with all the negative aspects of such herbicide treatments. " The Bohemian Club began logging its property commercially in the mid-1980s under the authority of some 18 consecutive timber harvesting plans. Since that time, more than 11 million board feet of redwood and fir (500,000 board feet per year) have been sold from the Bohemian Grove. The net result of these damaging two decades of logging has been, as admitted in the draft timber management plan, an increase in fire hazard across the property. The plan in question will double the rate of commercial logging. How this dramatic increase will improve the situation has never been made clear. In conclusion, the Bohemian Grove is not an ordinary logging tract. It includes the largest remnant stands of old growth redwood in Sonoma County, twice as big as the old growth component of Armstrong State Reserve. Even the second growth component of the forest is in the 100- to 110-year-old range and well on its way to becoming reestablished as old growth habitat. UC Berkeley wildlife management professor Reginald H. Barrett wrote in a September letter to CDF: " Department of Fish and Game (DFG) concluded that the NTMP could adversely affect a number of wildlife species, because it will substantially reduce the stands of larger, older trees with dense canopies . . . I agree with DFG's concerns about the plan's impacts on wildlife, and I do not believe these impacts have been mitigated. " We urge all citizens of Sonoma County to speak out for protection of the Bohemian Grove. It must be understood that fire hazard can be reduced by removing hardwoods without jeopardizing one of our great forest legacies. http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080416/NEWS/804160321/1307/OPINION05 & tem\ plate=kart 9) We'll be rendezvousing in the Ancient Redwoods here in Humboldt. More details will be out shortly. Join us May 2nd through May 9th to share and acquire skills for non-violent direct action focused on defending our forests! Inviting old-timers and newcomers alike! Humboldt Forest Defense is celebrating two major victories this Fall! Both Fern Gully Tree-sit and Nanning Creek Tree-sit will have successfully saved two majestic Old-Growth groves as their THPs(Timber Holocaust Plans) expire this fall! Who says Tree-sitting doesn't work? For decades, Humboldt has been at war with Pacific Lumber after the ill-faded company's hostile take-over by MAXXAM. Recently, Pacific Lumber has filed for bankruptcy. Read more about Humboldt County's chance to rid our forests of Charles Hurwitz: Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, Trees Foundation, Environmental Protection Information Center, NorthCoast Environmental Center. Local Forest Actions will most likely be affected by the bankruptcy decision! It is our intent gather and discuss what these changes may bring to local Forest Defense, and to discuss ideas and tactics with local environmental groups. We invite everyone to come join us and speak about these changes on behalf of their group/affinity. Campaigns for Forest Defense are starting up everywhere along the West Coast: UC Berkeley Action, UC Santa Cruz Action, Bear Mountain in Victoria, BC. Come join us to both learn and share how to defend trees in your neck of the woods(or city)! Non-violence trainings, climb trainings, and backwoods survival trainings will be offered and shared. Have a skill? Please come and share it so others may inspire and participate in safe, non-violent forest actions around the planet! This will be a campout, so please come prepared for sleeping outdoors. It is recommended that you bring food, etc. to share with others. This is a rainforest setting, so please be prepared for the possibility of wet weather. Stay tuned at our blog http://humboldtforestdefense.blogspot.com/ Montana: 10) KALISPELL - Months of closed-door talks between the U.S. Forest Service and Plum Creek Timber Co. have some Montana leaders worried the company is quietly paving the way toward wholesale conversion of forest land into residential real estate. The Forest Service, however, insists the private negotiations have served only to " clarify " decades-old road easements, and do not create any new access rights. " But you can't get anywhere without a driveway, " said Aaron Murphy, " and it does appear that the reason they're doing this is to open opportunities for residential development. " Murphy, a spokesman for Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the senator has fired a letter to Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, asking that the access negotiations stop until local stakeholders can be included. That letter, Murphy said, was prompted by concerns initially raised by county governments, among others. All three Missoula County commissioners signed a letter to Tester earlier this month, saying they had caught wind of talks between Plum Creek and the Forest Service aimed at amending long-standing road easements. Since the 1960s, the Forest Service has engaged in reciprocal agreements with adjacent landowners, hammering out shared use and maintenance obligations for forest roads that crisscross property lines. Many have long assumed those agreements to allow only " limited " access - the right to haul logs, for instance, but not to develop real estate. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/04/16/news/local/news02.txt 11) The Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest, at over 3.3 million acres, is bigger than Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks combined. This magnificent Montana forest sprawls across 18 mountain ranges and 450 miles of the Continental Divide. It's hard to imagine a more diverse, spectacular landscape in the lower 48 states. Here in southwest Montana you can still find remote, wild country to satisfy the need to get away from it all. As the Forest Plan stated in 1986, " The Forest is characterized by remoteness and limited vehicular access. " Mount Jefferson, the Italian Peaks, the Sapphires and West Pioneers Wilderness Study Areas, the East Pioneers, the Gravelley Range, Cowboy Heaven, Whitetail Meadows, the Snowcrest Range, the Tobacco Root Mountains, the West Big Hole. I've been to a few of these places, and am laying plans to see more of it. You should do the same. But don't assume it will remain wild and remote. There's been an ongoing, incremental assault on these lands for the past couple of decades, in the form of motor vehicles. Ever more powerful (and expensive) vehicles take riders into country that until recently was accessible only to people willing to take some time and expend some energy to get there. Now even the remotest, wildest mountain cirques are the playgrounds of the rich and motorized. Only six percent of the forest enjoys permanent protection as designated Wilderness, leaving much of it open to motor madness. The Forest Service has recently released their final forest plan, which will guide management of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge for decades to come. NOW is our chance to let the Forest Service know what we want to see happen on our precious public lands. Get your letters in before April 30th!!! Emphasize how important the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest is to you, your family and friends. Let them know that quiet use areas are extremely important to you. Tell them where you like to go on the forest and what you like to do, and that you do not wish to share your public trails with motorized vehicles. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1537/blog/comments.jsp?key=333 & blog_entry_K\ EY=23092 & t= Michigan: 12) A Flint man could face prison time for allegedly masterminding a plan to illegally chop down valuable trees. John W. Harding, 44, is charged with two counts of tree larceny for two separate incidents last year in Flint in which valuable black walnut trees were cut down. Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton said Harding is charged with stealing trees from a vacant lot on Van Lue Court Nov. 12 and more trees on Dec. 21 from a spot on Church Street. The black walnut trees were worth an estimated $3,000 each and are popular among furniture makers, said Leyton. Police arrested six people the day after the December incident and police seized two semitrailers, a front-end loader and chainsaws. Leyton said Harding was the only one charged because investigators believe he had told the others it was OK to cut down the trees. " This is the guy who provided information to others that trees could be cut down, " said Leyton. Investigators believe Harding planned to sell the wood, said Leyton. In January, a tree expert told the Journal that increased demand in Asia has driven up the demand for black walnut wood. An arrest warrant for Harding was sworn out Tuesday charging him with two counts of larceny of trees and shrubs more than $1,000 but less than $20,000. It was unknown if Harding has an attorney or when he will turn himself in for arraignment. http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/04/charges_filed_in_thefts_of_b\ la.html North Carolina: 13) Western North Carolina mountains are being deforested to accommodate multi-thousand acre resorts. Are these treeless slopes safe? Tyler Clark, the former chief geologist with the North Carolina Geological Survey, stated in an interview: " There have been landslides in the North Carolina mountains since prehistoric times, but now more people are vulnerable because more people are choosing to live in areas that may be prone to landslides. When you add to that hurricanes or other storms that could start a landslide you have a really dangerous situation. Our studies of landslides across North Carolina over the last year and a half indicate that a large number of them occurred because of things that people have done to alter the landscape. These activities have included construction of roads, house building, and the cutting of trees. When you try to develop land on a steep slope, you can change a stable condition to an unstable one. " http://wncsos.blogspot.com/2008/04/western-north-carolina-mountain-resorts.html American Samoa: 14) The High Court in American Samoa is to decide how privately owned land that includes one of the last remaining stands of rainforest on Tutuila can be used. The government and the Haleck family, which owns the 25 acre property that includes the forest, are to meet in court on April 21st. The government has asked the court to impose a temporary moratorium on any land development, and claim that any development needs a land permit. Our correspondent Monica Miller says businessman, Avamua Dave Haleck, wants the government to buy the land now, or he'll proceed with his development plans. " The government has wanted to preserve this forest area for some time now, but it hasn't been able to come up with the value of the money that the Haleck family wants the government to pay. So the Haleck family has said really its up to them to decide how they want to use their land but there are laws in place that regulate certain types of land uses in certain areas. " http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read & id=39180 USA: 15) In a victory for America's public lands, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 277-140 on April 9 to pass HR 2016, the National Landscape Conservation System Act. The Act formally recognizes and protects 26 million acres of Bureau of Land Management terrain, including 15 national monuments, 13 national conservation areas, thousands of important cultural sites, and historic trails, mountains, wild and scenic rivers, and Wilderness areas. National treasures such as Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Sonoran Desert, Oregon's lower Deschutes River, and stretches of the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails are part of the System. In another Wilderness victory, the Senate voted 91-4 to pass a public lands package that preserves America's natural and cultural heritage for generations to come. The package includes a provision to honor labor and environment leader César Chavéz, as well as a landmark Wilderness bill that will protect Washington State's Wild Sky Wilderness. bigraccoon 16) Everyone expresses interest in developing programs that improve the environment. Every sector of society: business, industry, government, non-profits, research institutions, private citizens want to be GREEN. As a result, lots of organizations have lots of good plans to address our many environmental woes. The problem is this: These myriad efforts will not likely achieve the fundamental change that the current crisis demands. Why? Business, industry and government do not have a framework for coordinating their efforts. Our society does not have a method for bringing together many little plans into a big effort that embraces both nature and economic development in a strategic way. Coordinated, landscape-scale programs are possible. The National Conference on Urban Ecosystems will show how. The opening presentation of this conference will outline a method for building a framework that makes effective regional action a reality. Using data from a recent research project on the Piedmont Crescent region of the southeastern United States, we will show that the first step is creating a context for decision-makers. We need to be asking these questions: What basic metrics can create a broad picture of a region?s Natural System? At the landscape scale, how does nature operate? How has the Human Network?the means for moving people, goods, resources and information?been constructed over the region?s Natural System? How can we make the Human Network efficient? How do these two systems, the Natural System and the Human Network, interact? How does the Natural System support, or hinder, human efforts? How do humans impact nature? Where and how do these two systems, Natural and Human, intersect? Other Topics To Be Presented: 1) Planning the Urban Forest, 2) Better Mapping for Urban Forestry and Planning, 3) Measuring and Monitoring Green Infrastructure, 4) Landscape Conservation in the Northeast, 5) Integrating Restoration Needs in the Northern Everglades, 6) Assessing Canopy and Impervious Surface Changes in Metro Areas, 7) The Southern Piedmont Crescent: the Evolution of an Urban Region, 8) Opportunities and Challenges for Urban Natural Resources. http://www.americanforests.org/conference/conf_08.php Canada: 17) A survey of 2,502 people selected randomly from telephone directories showed that 77.7 were likely to vote in referendums on forest policy. Slightly fewer said they would participate in future public surveys. At the other end of the spectrum, only 22.9 per cent said they would likely become members of advisory committees and only 11 per cent would give presentations at formal public meetings. As Wyatt said, this shows that people are willing to use the methods that involve the least effort. The survey showed that New Brunswickers value their forests. Almost everyone (99 per cent) said it was important to maintain forests for future generations. Three-quarters said that they agree that other species have the right to exist. There was far less support for economic and utilitarian uses of the forests, at least as the main priority. This opinion was most common in urban areas. Most people in New Brunswick, no less than 94 per cent, visit a forest each year, but the uses they make of forests are divided. Most people support the Department of Natural Resources' forest management goals, but they listed environmental concerns as most important. Maintaining the wood supply had the lowest score, but was still rated as important by 77 per cent of respondents. They do not, however, support the present system of having Crown licenses managed by forestry giants. They indicated that the would prefer to have the forests managed by conservation groups or similar organizations. Wyatt pointed out that this survey was conducted before some of major closures of provincial forestry operations, particularly those in Miramichi and Dalhousie. These, he said, might have had an effect on the responses. The survey also showed that most New Brunswickers actually know very little about how the Crown forest lands are managed. http://tribunenb.canadaeast.com/news/article/268799 18) A Greenpeace investigative report into Kimberly-Clark's (KMB.NYSE) role in the devastation of Ontario's Kenogami Forest has found the company ignored its own environmental policy and misinformed its shareholders about aspects of its sourcing from the Boreal Forest. The tissue giant and maker of Kleenex and Cottonelle meets with its shareholders today in Irving, Texas. The report, Cut and Run, uses government information, independent audits, public records and satellite mapping to document Kimberly-Clark's management and logging of the Kenogami Forest near Thunder Bay. It alleges the company violated its previous policy not to use " environmentally significant " old-growth fibre in its consumer products. Its executives have repeatedly claimed the boreal fibre used in the company's products comes primarily from " waste, " despite healthy forests being logged to produce their pulp. Since Kimberly-Clark began logging in Kenogami in 1937, 71 per cent of this forest has been fragmented and woodland caribou have been driven from 67 per cent of the area. Wolverines have been driven out of the forest completely. Over 80 per cent of the Kenogami Forest has been classified by a provincial government task group as inadequately protected, and 78 per cent as high priority for conservation. " When Kimberly-Clark arrived in the Kenogami Forest, it was a healthy, vibrant ecosystem, " said Christy Ferguson, a forests campaigner with Greenpeace. " Today it is unable to sustain healthy wildlife populations and its old-growth is projected to collapse-largely because of products that are used once and then thrown away. " Even though Kimberly-Clark has not directly managed the forest since 2004, the company still buys large amounts of fibre from Kenogami. Kimberly-Clark's updated policy, adopted in 2007, adds new disappointment by permitting the purchase of fibre from old-growth forests. Fibre from intact forests, the habitat of threatened species, continues to be permitted under the new policy. Brian.blomme UK: 19) GREEN campaigners are to hold a protest outside Bolton MP Ruth Kelly's constituency office tomorrow. The protesters are taking part in a national day of demonstration against the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. The European Union directive will require fuel companies to include biofuels in their products. From tomorrow, 2.5 per cent of petrol and diesel sold in the UK will include fuel from crops such as palm oil and maize. The EU hopes it will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However, activists claim the reverse will happen. Green party member James Alden said: " There is a proven direct link between biofuels and climate change, deforestation and the degradation of local communities. The directive will only fuel these problems as there is no safeguard ensuring that the biofuels come from a sustainable source. " http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2194862.mostviewed.green_prote\ sters_to_target_ mp_ruth.php 20) Greenpeace campaigners bought biodiesel from a Tesco forecourt in North London last week and lab tests revealed that 30 per cent of the biofuel mix was made up from palm oil. Activists claim that palm plantations are grown at the expense of bio-diverse tropical rainforests and argue that the change of land use releases more carbon into the air than is saved by reducing the use of fossil fuels. Tesco rebuffed the Greenpeace accusations and said that palm oil used in their fuel production was subject to strict sustainable criteria. From yesterday (Tuesday, April 15), the Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation (RTFO) require all fuel suppliers to add at least 2.5 per cent biofuel to petrol and diesel in an attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Palm oil has a higher yield per hectare than any other oilseed crop and Greenpeace senior forests campaigner Belinda Fletcher fears that the obligation could lead to the destruction of more rainforests to make way for the crop. " It's madness that when you buy diesel at Tesco you are now pumping palm oil into your tank. Palm oil is the leading cause of rainforest destruction in countries like Indonesia. Here is the proof that the Government's biofuels policy, designed to tackle climate change, could end up making it far worse, " she said. Fuel company Greenergy, the UK's leading biofuel producer and Tesco supplier, are participating members on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). " We buy all of our palm oil from RSPO members, " said a Greenergy spokesman adding that by the end of 2008 there would be a rigorous auditing system to make sure all imports were from sustainable plantations. http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=19 & storycode=17777 Netherlands: 21) Thank you for taking the forests campaign survey. Over 27,000 people responded, and while we don't want to give away all the details yet, we can let you know that you're in very good company! Asked did they agree to this statement " Companies must help us stop the causes of climate change -- especially their own activities, and activities of their suppliers, which produce greenhouse gas emissions. " -- an overwhelming 97% of Greenpeace supporters said they agreed or strongly agreed. As you might expect, Greenpeace forests campaigners couldn't agree with you more. Please watch your inbox in the coming days and weeks, and help us set things right for the planet. Take a break, and get ready for action! http://www.greenpeace.org Azerbaijan: 22) Territorial Division #4 of the Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources of Azerbaijan have applied to the Sumgait Police Department to reveal facts of seizure of lands and cutting of trees by individuals in Jeyranbatan forest and Green Valley wildlife area. The Ministry's press service said that the Department investigated and took administrative measures towards Lachin region's resident R.Ismayilova that was detained for tree cutting in October 2007. " Last year for violation of environmental legislation on various articles of Administrative code (breach of land integrity law, cutting and illegal use of trees and bushes, violations during construction of summer cottages, etc) 21 people were brought to administrative responsibility, " the Ministry reports. The Sumgait Police Department's Investigation Office is now investigating the act of cutting of 81 trees on the " Green Valley " territory. http://abc.az/eng/news_14_04_2008_23103.html Liberia: 23) The Liberia Forest Initiative, which is an international coalition of Liberia's development partners including the World Bank and US for International Development (USAID) has put in place systems to track logs and to avoid illegal logging and loss of revenue. With mechanisms now in place to resume logging operations and three companies awarded tenders, revenues from the lucrative industry will soon start creating jobs and funding basic social services, the Liberian government and its international partners say. " This time around logging will allow greater participation by the rural population in the benefits of log exports, " Blamo Robinson, spokesman of the Liberian government's Forestry Development Authority (FDA) told IRIN. The forestry expert for the World Bank's Liberia office, Peter Lowe, told IRIN that forestry has " huge economic potential " for improving the lives of people in Liberia. " The Liberian forestry sector will contribute 14 to 15 percent of the gross domestic product and will be the main engine of rural economic growth, " Lowe said. The UN Security Council banned exports of Liberian timber in July 2003 after determining that proceeds from the industry were providing local warlords with cash to buy weapons that were fueling civil wars in Liberia as well as neighbouring Sierra Leone. Timber accounted for 6 per cent of the national GDP before the civil conflict started in 1990 and swelled to 20 percent at the time of the Security Council imposed the ban, the FDA said. Liberia has since been losing US$17 million per year in taxes from log exports, a report by the UN panel of experts on Liberia issued in August 2003. Lowe said it will take at least five years before commercial forestry reaches its potential output levels but benefits will start trickling in before then. " Logging will help fund overall development needs such as roads, schools and hospitals through increased government revenue, which are projected to grow from $1.77 million in 2007/08 [fiscal year] to $26 million in 2009/10 [fiscal year], " he said. http://allafrica.com/stories/200804151124.html Guatemala: 24) Community-based, sustainable forest management creates healthier forests that are less susceptible to wildfires and less likely to be cut down by locales. That's the conclusion of a recent Rainforest Alliance (RA) study conducted in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve, which compared the health of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests with completely protected forests. For many years, NGOs such as Rainforest Alliance and Conservation International have been preserving forests by giving communities an economic stake in their preservation. The theory is when locales can make a living by preserving forests they are less likely to clear the land for cattle grazing, farming and other less sustainable activities. RA's study shows the strategy is successful. From 2002-2007, the average annual deforestation rate for the entire reserve was 20 times higher than the deforestation rate for the FSC-certified concessions. Since 1998 the incidence of wildfires in the Reserve has ranged from 7-20%, while wildfires on FSC-certified concessions have steadily dropped from 6.5% in 1998 to 0.1% in 2007. " Nearly two decades ago, the Rainforest Alliance pioneered the strategy of using market forces to conserve forests knowing that economic incentives are key to protecting biodiversity and curbing deforestation, " says Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. " These findings confirm that communities will indeed manage their land responsibly rather than destroy it if it makes economic sense to do so. In this case, that incentive is a market for responsibly harvested timber and non-timber forest products. " The government of Guatemala created the Maya Biosphere Reserve on about 5 million acres (2 million hectares) of land in 1990. The reserve is rich in biodiversity and home to hundreds of species of animals including jaguars, brocket deer, scarlet macaws and ocellated turkeys. http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1549 French Guiana: 25) The French government was scheduled to start gold mining in a nature reserve in French Guiana, but an email campaign started by a concerned scientist and his student made all the difference in saving the ecosystem in this South American protectorate. The duo started the campaign with organization Ecological Internet weeks before the French Government gave the final contract to Canadian gold corporation Cambior. Scientist Pita Verweij and her student Liesbeth Fontein researched consequences of gold mining, like deforestation and water pollution and took action. (Digital Activism tools: website, e-petition campaign) How These Tools Are Being Used: An action alert was post on Ecological Internet's website in September 2006, describing the detrimental effects of industrial mining on the area's environment and indigenous people. Below the action alert is space for activists to co-sign their names to a pre-generated protest letter that would automatically be emailed to then French President Jacques Chirac. Outcome: According to Verweij, ten thousands of protest mails were sent to the French government. The project stalled in October 2006 due to the volume of emails. The government finally decided not to grant the contract and cancelled the project in February 2008. http://www.digiactive.org/2008/04/16/e-petition-campaign-saves-rainforest-in-fre\ nch-guiana/ Guyana: 26) The murky case of Aurelius Inc. is a good illustration of why we need the transparent, objective, equitable and consistent application of that GFC legislation (the Forests (Amendment) (Exploratory Permits) Bill which amended the Forests Act 1953 in July 1997 and the GFC associated procedures updated in April 1999. This law provides opportunity for potential investors to bid for the rights to explore in detail the possibilities of commercial and large-scale logging of our natural tropical forest and prepare logging and business plans. It provides opportunity also for the GFC to check on the capacity of the enterprise to undertake forest management for sustained yield over 25 years. The State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEPs) are for areas advertised by the GFC for competitive bidding, and GFC procedures manual tells its staff how to evaluate the bids. The GFC manual says that exploratory permits will not be issued for any area that is occupied, claimed or used by Amerindians. In this murky case, the GFC advertised areas (designated by the GFC as A, B, C and D) which had been claimed during the hearings of the Amerindian Land Commission 1966-69. Also these areas south of the 4th parallel of latitude should not have been opened by the GFC for logging and exploration in the absence of a national land use plan (President Cheddi Jagan to Nigel Sizer of World Resources Institute in 1996, and SN editor's note to GFC letter October 21, 2005). Curiously, there was just one bid for each of three of the four areas A-D, and the extensive checking which the GFC procedures required were completed apparently in only two days (May 30 and 31, 2005). These procedures should have included checks on the financial status of applicants, and the GFC procedures manual provides the names of international auditors able to advise on investor credibility. Those names had been requested by Prime Minister Sam Hinds in 1996. The substantial application fee for an SFEP, US$20,000, was calculated to cover the cost of international scrutiny of investor finances and probity. The application evaluation noted that Aurelius, a new company registered in Guyana in April 2004, had no experience of logging in Guyana and little technical skills (SN March 18, 2006) but was proposing to open a 25-year logging operation over 119,000 hectares. http://propagandapress.org/2008/04/16/guyana-foretry-commission-approves-permit-\ for-cocaine-smu ggler-roger-khan/ India: 27) NAGARHOLE NATIONAL PARK, India — At sundown, as the air began to cool and the beasts came out of the shade, K. Ullas Karanth drove slowly through this sprawling park in southern India. Elephants nibbled on the grass. A sunbird dashed across the sky. Then, Mr. Karanth nearly froze in a start. " Tiger, tiger, " he whispered. Just ahead, a large male lumbered across the path, stopping to turn and look at Mr. Karanth's jeep and its passengers before continuing his languid march into the bush. The research by Mr. Karanth, a wildlife biologist who runs the India program of the Wildlife Conservation Society, suggests that this and its neighboring nature reserve hold one of the largest concentrations of tigers in the world. But to make these wilds healthy for the fabled tiger is a success 20 years in the making, with crusading forest officials driving out hunters and loggers and ultimately trying to resettle hundreds of families who have lived in these woods for generations. That fact has earned Mr. Karanth as many enemies as friends. And it is raising an increasingly pressing question for this crowded nation of 1.1 billion people: What price should India pay to save its rapidly diminishing forests, and for whom — a trophy animal like the tiger, or its original inhabitants? That debate has taken on new urgency with a long-contested law that went into effect this year granting formal land rights to those who have lived in the forest since 2005, including but not limited to the indigenous people known as tribals. Advocates for forest people seized on the law as overdue redress for communities denied rights to their traditional domain since the British colonial era. Conservationists saw it as a threat to the country's vanishing wildlife. It is a debate that affects not only the tiger, which needs precisely what India has little of — large, empty swaths of land in which to roam and hunt — but also those who have shared these woods with them for generations. Mr. Karanth insists that their presence inevitably produces " incompatible human uses " that leave tigers no chance to live: logging, gathering of forest produce and especially hunting. In the end, the government included in the land rights law a measure that allowed for the expulsion of settlements from areas deemed " critical wildlife habitats, " but with the explicit consent of villagers. Like many compromises, it left neither side happy. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/world/asia/16tiger.html?_r=1 & ref=world & oref=sl\ ogin 28) Trees and plants in Kolkata are suffering the brunt of automobile emission. They are emitting less oxygen and absorbing less carbon dioxide, eventually shrivelling and dying early. What it means for Kolkatans is not only a loss of precious greenery, but also the shrinking of the only protection they have from pollution. With emission reaching alarming levels and the oxygen content already very low, it is even more dangerous when trees and plants start giving out less oxygen. It doesn't take lab tests to see the impact of pollution on trees. Walk down any road in Kolkata and you would find the leaves and branches of trees covered in a thick layer of dust and soot. It only gets worse in winter. The dust on trees adds to the greyness of the surroundings. A study carried out by Kalyani University for the first time has laid bare how pollution plays havoc with the life of plants. The study shows that automobile emission hinders growth, shortens life span of trees and even leaves them " breathless " . " Pollution is affecting the photosynthesis process. The tree is getting less food and we are getting much less oxygen than what a tree is supposed to supply. In the same process, it is absorbing less carbon dioxide, " said Dipanwita Das, who has done the study. Her study on air pollution tolerance index clearly marks out the tree's vulnerability to pollution. Some trees have better resistance to auto emission, " said Das, adding that the study can help the government choose trees and plants for urban forestry schemes. By planting more resilient trees, the state can make roadside plantation more effective. The test results show that mango, bougainvillea and neem are the most air-pollution resistant trees. For her study, Das chose three most polluted zones, one area with near-zero pollution and eight plant species to assess the impact. " I chose Salt Lake PNB area, Ultadanga Muchibazar, and Shyambazar as three polluted zones and compared them to a near-zero pollution zone in the remotest area of Kestopur where there is no source of emission. The eight plant species chosen were mango, peepul, jarul, neem, kanchan, bougainvillea and debdaru. These are the commonest streetside variety of trees, found in almost every corner of the city, " Das said. The results were startling. She examined the content of chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, peroxidase and phonolic of trees — the most important ingredients for life sustaining photosynthesis. In polluted zones, these ingredients were found to have sharply declined. " The components at Salt Lake PNB were much less than what a plant should have in a pollution-free zone. It started dropping even further as I moved from PNB to Muchibazar in Ultadanga and Shyambazar five-point crossing, " said Das. South East Asia: 29) Currently, the sun bear can be found primarily in the lowland forests of Borneo, southern China, the Malay Pennisula, Myammar, Sumatra, and Thailand. Historically, the sun bears could be found in the forests of southeastern Asia, and India. There have been several unconfirmed sightings of sun bears in India over the years; however, the last verified sighting was in 1964, when a sun bear was found around the Brahmapretra River, and was captured and sent to the Trivendrum Zoo. Since none of the recent sightings of sun bears have been verified, the sun bear is still considered to be extinct in India. Even though scientists know very little about the sun bear, they have been able to single out a few key reasons as to why the sun bears are endangered. One of the big reasons for the decline in the sun bear population is because of loss of habitat. A good majority of the land they used to inhabit is being cleared for coffee, rubber, and oil palm plantations. One of the other big reasons the sun bears are endangered is due to illegal hunting and trading of bear parts in the Asian marketplaces. The sun bear is protected in Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia, and this protection prohibits killing, trade in dead or live animals, and keeping the bears as pets. Despite being protected from hunting in Indonesia, the effectiveness of this protection is questionable. Most people who find sun bears on their property will still shoot the bears, fearing for their livestock. In actuality, sun bears have very little interest in killing and eating domestic animals. True, they are omnivorous (as are most other bear species). In other parts of the world, including Malaysia, the sun bear is listed as a game species making it legal to hunt and kill this bear. In China, the sun bear is listed as a " first class conserved animal " ; however, according to the IUCN, very little protection is offered to the sun bear outside of the nature preserves in China. In Thailand where the bear is reported as numerous, legislation is only just now being proposed to protect this species from hunters. (Endangered Species Report #35, by Holly L. Koppel) http://amanda-christi.blogspot.com/2008/04/currently-sun-bear-can-be-found.html Vietnam: 30) " Vietnam does not use illegally-exploited wood as mentioned in the EIA report. Local processors not only abide by the Vietnam law on timber logging, but also observe international conventions on protecting the environment, " Hanh said. He was talking to the Daily after a meeting between Hawa, the Vietnam Timber and Forestry Products Association (Vietfores) and relevant organizations. Over 80% of material wood supplied to Vietnam is imported from around the world, mainly from New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and within the ASEAN region. Last year, the country imported around two million cubic meters of timber. Local enterprises import timber not only from legal sources, but also from suppliers with certificates of environmental protection, Hanh said. " Most furniture makers in Vietnam import timber from suppliers with certificates issued by the Forest Stewardship Council, " Hanh said, adding the meeting on Saturday was also attended by SGS, which was entrusted to issue FSC certificates on the Vietnamese market. EIA in its report jointly conducted with the Indonesia's NGO Telapak said Vietnam's wood processors are using huge quantities of timber illegally exploited in Laos, but the report conducted by undercover investigators did not point out how the timber is branded illegal. " At one border crossing on one occasion alone, 45 trucks laden with logs were filmed lining up to cross the Laos border into Vietnam, " according to the report. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2008/04/778688/ Thailand: 31) The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is deeply concerned about widespread forest encroachment in the South, where land is being cleared for lucrative cultivation of oil palm and rubber. Ministry spokesman Pichet Wongthepanukroh said at least 700 rai of forest had been heavily encroached upon by influential figures and local villagers in the southern provinces, particularly Phangnga, Surat Thani and Ranong. ''We found that both forest and mangrove areas have been heavily damaged, he said. ''We are pinpointing the exact location of these damaged areas so we can ask the appropriate agencies to deal with them.'' The agencies involved in forest protection and preservation include the Department of Forests, which takes care of forest reserves, and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, which oversees forest and wildlife in all national parks and wildlife protection zones. In most forest encroachment cases, local people are hired by influential figures to clear forested areas, which then are planted in lucrative cash crops such as oil palm and rubber trees. These plantations are usually kept small, 50-100 rai, to escape detection by the authorities. The ministry spokesman said more than 200 rai of land in the Mae Nang Khao forest in Phangnga province had been cleared by burning to pave the way for cultivation of economic trees. Also, mangrove forests in Ranong province were facing serious encroachment problems. Mr Pichet said rapid action and tougher measures were urgently needed to contain forest encroachment throughout the country. Thailand has only 104.7 million rai of fertile forest left out of a total of 320.7 million rai of forest land. However, cases of forest encroachment are rising each year due mainly to delays in the process of land ownership verification, he said. The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry recently transferred 15 of its helicopters to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry for use in monitoring forest encroachment. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/16Apr2008_news01.php Fiji: 32) MEMBERS of the Nukurua Mahogany Trust are upset that no replanting of mahogany trees has taken place even though over 70 per cent of mahogany was planted in Nukurua. Chairman Ratu Netava Tagi said mahogany had been planted there from 1964 and ever since harvesting started eight years ago, no replanting had taken place. He said mahogany took about 40 years to mature. He said the members of the mataqali or landowning units who were members of the trust were upset because it has now been eights years since harvesting started and no replanting has been done. He said the replanting of mahogany was supposed to be done by the Fiji Hardwood Corporation Limited which was the business arm of government. He said the remaining mahogany trees could last another 15 years. Ratu Netava said members of the Trust were worried because they had 99 year leases and with mahogany taking 40 years to mature, replanting was essential. He said mataqali members were also worried because mahogany earned good money and they were worried about the future generations. Ratu Netava said he had written to the interim Prime Minister and other interim ministers as well as the Fiji Hardwood Corporation Limited regarding the predicament Nukurua Trust faced in terms of replanting mahogany. He said the only response he received from a government official was that this was a matter for FHCL to sort out. He said apart from not replanting mahogany, government was supposed to pay landowners stumpage fees prior to harvesting the trees but this was not the case as they were being paid after the trees had been logged. Ratu Netava said there was 18,000 acres of land where mahogany was planted in Nukurua. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=86512 Philippines: 33) The Tabucol Sanctuary in the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon is possibly the last lowland forest area on Negros island hosting a large variety of plant and wildlife. Pristine streams wind throughout its 140 hectares of towering narra, balete, gmelina and mahogany trees.The land was not always so luxuriantly green or as thickly canopied with trees as it is now. Decades of illegal logging and slash-and-burn methods had left it barren. Reinhard and Corazon Sagemuller began reforesting the property when they acquired it in the 1960s, turning it into a zone of biodiversity and providing free water to dozens of communities in the area and irrigation to 80 ha of rice fields. " My mother inherited the land but it was unfit for agriculture. The soil was dry and infertile because all the trees had been chopped down, " explains Josef, the youngest of the Sagemuller brood as he pointed out the Tabucol Sanctuary, a thick green patch on a distant hill that contrasted dramatically with the baldness of the surrounding land. " Instead of abandoning the land, my parents painstakingly reforested every hectare to rehabilitate the area and provide a refuge for the province's endemic bird and animal species, " said Josef. Because of the thick foliage, the temperature in the sanctuary is much lower than any other area on the island and there is water everywhere. The hush of the jungle is broken by the sounds of Negros owls, Visayan taritic hornbills and Philippine Leopard cats which are all temporarily cared for in cages. The wildlife are the products of a conservation breeding program run by the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation (NFEFI) in Bacolod. " We're preparing to release them into the jungle but I'm afraid they won't be joining too many of their kind. They're on the verge of extinction. Perhaps they're the last of the Mohicans since the wildlife here have been for years innocent victims of forest destruction and poachers, " said Josef. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080413-130025/Fores\ t-sanctuary-is-f amilys-labor-of-love Malaysia: 34) Palm oil and Oil Palm estates are everywhere in this country. As a Malaysian, I am very proud of this fact. Recently, I had heard that by planting Oil Palm trees (of course we need to clear out the rainforest), it will have some serious impact to the environment especially related to CO2 and O2. From what I know, basically, rainforest produces oxygen naturally and for sure Oil Palm trees also produces oxygen(photosynthesis), am I right? I don't see why there is something wrong of replacing the rainforest with oil palm trees. If there are some good explanation on this, I would really like to know and I bet all Malaysian also would like to know about it even. We do not want to be marked as the 'spoiler' of our greenhouse as a whole. Hopefully, someone would sincerely enough to explain about this. Environmentalist? NGOs representative? Oil Palm Organization? Greenpeace spoke-representative? http://eriboy.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/palm-oil-estate-vs-natural-rainforest/ 35) Deforesting Malaysia: The Political Economy and Social Ecology of Agricultural Expansion and Commercial Logging -- This study of deforestation in Malaysia's three regions examines the different factors which shape them, the institutions and policies which determine forestry development, the ecological impact of deforestation, and sustainability. Much Malaysian deforestation reflects agricultural expansion or rural development and poverty alleviation projects, while logging became more significant after independence. Sabah and Sarawak have relied increasingly on the exploitation of their timber resources, and private greed and corruption at state level have overridden federal policies of sustainable management. The contributors take a hard look at the economic and political forces in the international tropical timber trade. An ecologically rapacious emphasis on growth, coupled with politically powerful distribution coalitions, give little chance for policy reforms and no hope of radical change. The only pressure that has the slightest effect, it seems, is international criticism. http://sarawakheadhunter.blogspot.com/2008/04/deforesting-malaysia.html Indonesia: 36) Banda Aceh - Forestry Minister MS Kaban said here on Tuesday Indonesia had 9.4 million hectares of mangroves but about 70 percent of them were in damaged condition. " We have limited human and funding resources to rehabilitate and restore the damaged mangroves and to stop the process of their destruction, " the minister said when inaugurating a mangrove information center building here on Tuesday. He said lack of understanding among local people about the importance of the mangrove ecosystem had helped speed up mangrove forest degradation. The minister said mangrove forests were performing an important function in preventing land abrasion by sea waves and tsunamis. " Mangroves can also serve as a source of wood for human beings and as habitats for other creatures, " he said. South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Sun Jin Lee, Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, Aceh Military Commander Maj Gen Supiadin, Aceh Police Chief Insp Gen Rismawan, Head of the Aceh Prosecutors` Office Abdul Jalil Mansur and other local government officials attended the function. http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/4/15/seventy-pct-of-ris-mangrove-forests-dam\ aged-minister/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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