398 BC-Canada
Index:
–British Columbia: 1) Wesern Forest Products get slammed by citizens, 2) Journey to a vanishing East Creek Jewel that’s surrounded by ruins, 3) One-stop information centre for rainforest visitors, 4) Producing a bumper crop of well-trained activists, 5) Makes more economic sense to conserve forests than it does to cut them down,
–Canada: 6) Pillars of nature have always performed small miracles, 7) About time the industry does some Creative destruction, 8) Formal discussions between Greenpeace and AbitibiBowater ended today,
–Non-Tropical Forests: 9) Old forests outside tropics are 15 percent of the world’s total
–Tropical forests: 10) Reduced from 15 billion acres down to 210 million acres 11) Half of all tropical timber in the past 20 years came from Indonesia and Malaysia,
–World-wide: 12) Old growth forests store more carbon dioxide, 13) Developing a workable means of forestry protection to cut carbon? 14) Climate negotiations are at an absolute crossroads, 15) FSC criticism continues to escalate, 16) Photogrammetrists and foresters on canopy calculations, 17) Paper Trails by Mandy Haggith, 18) Commonwealth Secretariat offers new series of Discussion Papers, 19) 50% of the production costs for new pulp mills is where the trees come from, 20) What do respondents think about paper production? 21) Species Invasions and Extinction: The Future of Native Biodiversity on Islands, 22) Community-based tourism, 23) We need better law enforcement to protect forests, 24) New methodologies and trading structures are needed to tackle climate change, 25) FSC conference is a farcical exercise in corporate-sponsored public relations, 26) Dr. Leslie Taylor’s Rain-tree.com, 27) Appetite for animal flesh drives every major category of environmental damage, 28) 13 million hectares of forests are lost every year, 29) Only an idiot with the foresight of a slug could ignore our current trajectory, 30) Relationship between local enforcement and forests used as commons, 31) Old growth really is a carbon sink! 32) Cont.
Articles:
British Columbia:
1) An open house organized by Western Forest Products was hijacked by frustrated opponents of the forest company’s development plans last night. About 120 people crowded into the tiny Shirley Community Hall, ostensibly to look at tables covered with plans for 319 acreages around Shirley, Otter Point and Jordan River. However, as WFP chief operations officer Duncan Kerr was surrounded by people asking questions, guerrilla organizers seized stacks of chairs, set them out in rows and sat down, demanding at least a semblance of a public hearing. “If someone has got a plan here, it’s not mine,” said Kerr, as environmental activist Vicky Husband took the microphone and offered to MC the impromptu meeting. Kerr agreed to answer questions and, during the often raucous evening, agreed with a request to sit down and talk to representatives of the communities about their wishes. “I challenge you to step back and look at the process you are undertaking and look at the desires, dreams, aspirations and passions of the people in this room,” said a woman, who would not give her name. “It is going to cost you a couple of years to do the appropriate process,” she said. Kerr replied that he would like to sit down and talk to residents, but could not agree to withdraw the subdivision application or to stop a court case challenging the Capital Regional District bylaws. The case will be heard in B.C. Supreme Court next week, together with a second challenge, based on CRD voting procedures for Juan de Fuca electoral area, launched by the B.C. Landowners Association. Residents and environmental groups are furious that WFP’s subdivision applications, which have gone to the Highways Ministry approving officer for a decision, have never gone to public hearing, even though they are contrary to official community plans and the Regional Growth Strategy. The subdivision applications also run contrary to zoning bylaws passed by the Capital Regional District limiting lot size on forestry and resource lands to 120 hectares. The applications were made during a time lag while the bylaws were waiting to be signed by the province and, under a grandfathering clause, WFP has until April to get approvals and infrastructure in place. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=d883f09a-9c2e-4324-b897-ab98ca52c5d3
2) Flying out of Coal Harbour, over Quatsino Inlet on the northwest corner of Vancouver Island, I looked down at a coastline dotted with fish farms, tree farms, and clear-cuts. We headed south along the rugged Pacific coast and flew past Red Stripe Mountain, logged from the waterline up and over its peak at 639 metres (2096 feet). Back in May I wrote of my journey by logging road into the Upper East Creek Valley where I discovered that the highest standards of logging in the province, much flaunted by government and the logging industry, are nothing short of clear-cuts and environmental destruction on a massive scale. We flew up Klaskish Inlet and over the estuary of East Creek with its beautiful tidal fields and interwoven channels. The lush forest below carpeted the valley floor and swept up the steep slopes to the tops of the surrounding mountains. It was difficult to keep track of the meandering creek as we soared higher into the watershed and the valley split into several narrow canyons. Suddenly the thick foliage was ruptured by a gapping hole that ripped open the canopy to reveal bleached stumps and crushed wood debris. The clear-cuts became more recent as we circled the upper valley of East Creek, below I could see a grapple-yarder at work, a fully loaded logging truck driving over a bridge, an excavator building a new road, and vehicles parked at the edge of a cut-block which still contained fresh cut trees. The upper watershed looked like a patchwork quilt of destruction woven together by sparse threads of trees. I was glad when we finally drifted back down over the pristine rainforest and made our descent towards the ocean. The pilot skillfully landed the Beaver Seaplane behind an island and taxied towards a sandy beach. I jumped into the water and helped position the seaplane while my friend and the pilot unlashed our kayaks. We waded onto shore and the pilot took off, leaving us alone in the wilderness of Klaskish. Having obtained permission from their descendents, the Quatsino First Nations, we entered the ancient village site of people who lived here for nearly 10,000 years prior to contact with western civilization. We spent the afternoon marveling at culturally modified trees, which had been altered by first nations hundreds of years ago. The forest was dense from the ground up into the canopy. Life flourished on every surface with diversity that boggled my mind. http://islandlens.blogspot.com/2008/09/when-wild-forest-is-cut-down-does.html
3) This website, created by the Wilderness Committee, aims to become a one-stop information centre for those wishing to visit Vancouver Island’s spectacular ancient forests. The website contains descriptions of many significant ancient forest sites and how to access them. Unlike other wilderness and outdoor recreation websites, however, it includes unprotected ancient forests in need of protection. The website currently is relatively simple but will be expanded over time to include maps, photos, and more detailed descriptions of each area, as well as covering a wider array of protected and endangered ancient forests. Satellite photos taken in 2004 revealed that three-fourths of Vancouver Island’s original, productive old-growth forests had already been logged, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow and 87% of southern Vancouver Island’s productive ancient forests (south of Port Alberni). http://www.oldgrowthplaces.org
4) It takes skill and know-how to protest successfully, and Victoria is producing a bumper crop of well-trained activists. Three events, run by different groups, offer instruction for would-be protesters in skills ranging from how to protect your communications from police to basic tree-sitting. For Zoe Blunt, an organizer of the Wild Earth conference in Bella Coola, which wrapped up last weekend, it’s about trying to slow down destruction of the environment in a non violent way. “We can discourage developers from thinking they can go in and do anything they want without consulting anyone,” Blunt said, hinting that Western Forest Products’ plans to develop former forest land saround Jordan River might be next in line for a protest. “There’s a lot of interest in trying to stop or delay that,” she said. Blunt, spokeswoman for activists during the Spencer Road/Bear Mountain interchange protests, said lessons learned from that protest will be valuable for future battles. “We were constantly surprised by the things [Langford Mayor] Stu Young and [Bear Mountain CEO] Len Barrie did. A lot of the opportunities that came to us were because they said or did things that were outrageous,” she said. The camp focused on non-violent civil disobedience and how to defuse potentially violent situations. But Blunt, of the Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network, said the most popular session was role playing police and protesters. Protesters will have another chance to learn next weekend when Greenpeace holds a three-day workshop at Fairfield Community Centre. Organizer Mark Calzavara said the training sessions are done in cities across the country and now it’s Victoria’s turn. “We need to make people understand why we are non-violent and we want to give them the tools to deal with people,” he said. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=bfa6c91e-d4ff-4dcd-bfda-48b150320b50
5) A sophisticated new study by researchers at Simon Fraser University shows that in the vast majority of cases it makes more economic sense to conserve forests than it does to cut them down. The study uses computer modelling to assess three different conservation scenarios in old-growth forests near Vancouver that are home to highly endangered northern spotted owls. The scenarios range from present-day, relatively low levels of forest conservation to two future scenarios, each involving more forest conservation and less logging. The study backed by three environmental groups – Wilderness Committee, David Suzuki Foundation, and Ecojustice – used computer modeling to look at a variety of conservation and logging scenarios in a large tract of forest near Vancouver. In almost every scenario, researchers say they found the value of the carbon captured and stored by the trees far outweighed the value of the lumber harvested from the logs. Faisal Moola, science director for the David Suzuki Foundation, called the results a clear indicator that B.C. should be protecting its old-growth forest as it works with other western provinces to reduce global warming. “The old-growth forests that we have are not only going to be a benefit in the fight against climate change, but there’s also a significant economic windfall that could be celebrated by British Columbians,” he said. As the B.C. government begins to participate in a market for carbon credits with other western provinces and states, the study suggest the towering trees and the rich soil that surrounds them could become a cash crop for their carbon-storing properties. Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide, using it as a building block in their development. When old-growth forests are harvested, that carbon is released into the atmosphere. While much of global warming is caused by the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline, Moola said 25 per cent of the carbon dioxide that hits the atmosphere is caused by destruction of carbon stores of old-growth forests. Duncan Knowler, the SFU associate professor behind the study, said the report is being conservative in its assessment of carbon prices, which are set to rise in coming years. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMlKnAkS8-el40bR9HahZGu4eL6A
Canada:
6) Carved in the trunk of a tree is an uncanny image of the Virgin Mary. She is petrified in wood, her outstretched arms and covered head carved out by the natural forces of wind, weather and time. The story, reported first by the Toronto Sun’s Brett Clarkson, has gained the tree fame around the world, with news outlets such as Britain’s The Telegraph, and United Press International picking up the story and distributing it worldwide. But whether a tree bears the image of a saintly figure or not, these pillars of nature have always performed small miracles, mostly thanklessly. According to Tree Canada, studies have shown hospital patients with window views of trees recovered faster and with fewer complications than patients without such access. Trees near homes have also been found to reduce residential heating costs by as much as 15% from the windbreak they provide. Similarly, if properly located, trees can shade buildings and reduce summer air conditioning costs. It’s for virtues like these that world leaders are now launching campaigns to rebuild what has been lost to clearcutting bulldozers and shortsighted money schemes. In November 2006, the United Nations Environment Programme launched the Billion Tree Campaign, inspired by the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai. By January of this year, 2.38 billion trees had been pledged and 1.8 billion planted. The success of the program has even given rise to a new goal of planting seven billion trees by the end of 2009. Ontario responded to the call by launching its own plan last year — the most ambitious program of its kind in North America — calling it the 50 Million Tree Program. “It’s the single largest initiative towards the UN program to date,” said Rob Keen, a Trees Ontario program manager. http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2008/09/07/6688171-sun.html
7) “Creative destruction” is a term economists use to describe a process by which innovation creates long-term value even as it destroys value for the status quo. Usually applied to individual companies, it may also be applied to whole industries. The forest industry is a case in point. It would be safe to say Saskatchewan’s forest industry has been in a tailspin during the last few years, with a number of critical shutdowns affecting whole communities. Changes in the industry are also occurring worldwide and the environment is a major factor in this change, alongside economic factors. In its recent report, Trees in the Greenhouse: Why Climate Change is Transforming the Forest Products Business, the World Resources Institute (www.wri.org) points out forestry is perhaps uniquely positioned — or exposed — to a set of environmental, political and economic forces reshaping regulatory and market landscapes. The industry as we know it is being destroyed, but this could be a creative form of destruction if industry innovators respond effectively to new opportunities found among the ruins. Future access to forest lands is shifting. WRI anticipates highly managed forests — regular forests that are routinely harvested as well as plantations — will provide an increasing share of the world’s fibre and wood resources in the future. This will occur as access to native forests becomes more restricted due to environmental regulation and production shifts to fast-growing tropical and subtropical areas. Efforts to improve protection of native forests in these regions could also intensify the demand for new, sustainably managed forests in rapidly growing markets. Governments may develop deforestation reduction strategies in regions where competition from illegal logging currently makes sustainable forestry operations uneconomic, potentially opening new markets for the industry. Competition for land with lucrative bioenergy export crops could, however, limit the growth of plantation forestry in those regions best suited to low-cost, short-rotation forestry.http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/arts/story.html?id=d969cad6-fad1-42f9-a49a-61da5aa85c4a
8) Formal discussions between Greenpeace and Canada’s largest logging company AbitibiBowater ended today following a meeting in a Toronto hotel between Greenpeace representatives and company CEO David J. Paterson. AbitibiBowater expressed an unwillingness to curb destructive logging in sensitive areas of the Boreal Forest. “We are saddened that AbitibiBowater has chosen to blame Greenpeace for the breakdown in talks when, in reality, the jointly approved mediator adjourned our dialogue because of lack of agreement,” said Richard Brooks, Greenpeace’s Forest Coordinator. “The talks may have been more fruitful had AbitibiBowater focused more on seeking solutions to Boreal Forest destruction and less on appointing blame and making excuses for their performance and lack of action.” With the support of major customers of Abitibi Bowater, Greenpeace initiated a dialogue with Abitibi-Consolidated and subsequently AbitibiBowater over 10 months ago. The goal of these discussions was to find reasonable and fair measures to protect those areas of the Boreal Forest under Abitibi Bowater management. These measures were to include a suspension of logging in ecologically sensitive intact forest areas while maintaining suitable andadequate wood supply to AbitibiBowater mills. An independent moderator was appointed to facilitate the discussions. “It is now clear that AbitibiBowater came seeking solutions to their public relations problem, rather than seeking solutions to ongoing destruction of the Boreal Forest,” said Bruce Cox, Executive Director of Greenpeace. “While Greenpeace prefers a dialogue with industry, we are always aware of the risk of companies intentionally dragging their feet in negotiations while they carry on business as usual.” During the several months of discussions, AbitibiBowater did not curtail logging operations in intact forests. Currently logging is planned in major intact forest areas in Ontario and Quebec. Less than 35 per cent of AbitibiBowater’s forestlands remain intact. Intact forests are key habitats for endangered species such as woodland caribou and help mitigate the impacts of climate change by storing more carbon than fragmented forests. “AbitibiBowater’s actions speak louder than words,” added Cox. “Unfortunately for them, a lack of action will equate to further losses of major contracts with paper and wood purchasers.” http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/04/c9765.html