069OEC’s This Week in Trees (cint.)

Canada:

20) Global Forest Watch Canada has released the first complete survey on the impact “human disturbances” have on Quebec’s boreal forests and the results are not good. Using extensive satellite imagery, the study, “Recent Anthropogenic Changes within the Northern Boreal, Southern Taiga and Hudson Plains Ecozones of Quebec,” confirms massive devastation of boreal forests in central and northern Quebec largely due to logging and hydroelectric development. The report shows more than two million hectares have been severely impacted. “The information is frankly terrifying,” said Greenpeace campaigner Steven Guilbeault. “We’re fragmenting and losing the last remaining ancient boreal forests in North America and Quebec is leading the charge.”The report’s negative findings sharply contrast with more positive developments in other parts of Canada. The B.C. government recently announced plans to protect their six-million-hectare Great Bear rain forest. “Here in Quebec,” said Guilbeault, “the government’s stuck its head in the sand – it’s an embarrassment.” http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=8481

21) MONTREAL – One week only after the launch of the outreach campaign ‘Sleeping like a log!’ with actress Sophie Cadieux, the Réseau québécois des groupes écologistes (RQGE), Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Nature Québec / UQCN and World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF- Canada), partners in the Initiative Aux arbres citoyens! are proud to announce that the online petition for the protection of the Boreal Forest already gathered more than 100 000 signatures. And numbers are still growing! The initial objective of 10 000 signatures was attained within 24 hours only. As of February 22nd, seven days only after the launch of the ‘Sleeping like a log!’ campaign, 100,000 citizens voiced their opinion in favour of the increased protection of Quebec’s territory. Statistics show that among the petitioners, 96% are Quebeckers interested in the conservation of their natural heritage, and willing to wake up the government so that concrete steps are taken regarding protected areas. More than fifty provincial, national and international organizations are supporting this campaign. Among the most recent supporters are CRE-Mauricie, the Regroupement national des conseils régionaux de l’environnement du Québec (RNCREQ), the Union Paysanne as well as Friends of the Earth, Quebec chapter. The complete list of supporters can be found in the press release on the following web site. http://www.sleepinglikealog.com
http://www.auxarbrescitoyens.com

Malawi:

22) Conservationists today expressed concern that at the present scale it is going the elephant migratory route and habitat from Liwonde National park passing through Namizimu forest to Mozambique frequently used by Jumbos once destroyed will lead to serious repercussions among other things loss of human life, local residents hard own property and agricultural production they warned. The Forest Act prohibits clearing of indigenous forests, but a tour of the land, hills and forests along the Namwera shows that areas once covered with indigenous woodlands just a few years ago, are now completely bare. The brachystegia trees, their pale golden heartwood striped with dark brown, are gone and environmentalist says this is a recipe for increased erosion in the affected areas leading to massive environmental degradation in the long term. Conservationists are also alarmed at the rate of land clearing by those intending to open new farms and the continued reliance of indigenous trees for curing tobacco barns in the area. Mangochi and Namwera area has several commercial farms growing the country’s principal foreign exchanger earner Tobacco and one of the worst affected areas according to findings. During a reconnaissance visit that was organized by David Bradfield, former project manager for the German funded Frankfurt Zoological Society and this reporter in the area. Large chunks of woods were seen lying near tobacco barns and in some cases the wood piled on collection sites with casual labourers doing much of the cutting for some few kwachas. http://www.andnetwork.com/app?service=direct/0/Home/$StorySummary$0.$DirectLink$1&sp=l19975

Sierra Leone:

23) Here in Sierra Leone, much of our coast is protected from storms and waves by long stretches of mangroves. The seeds of mangrove trees are long pods that float vertically in the water, bobbing along until they drift into a shallow area and stick in the mud or sand. Then the pod sends out roots that quickly take hold and a new mangrove tree begins to grow. Many areas of mangroves appear to just be growing out of water, with no land under them! These trees hold the mud and sand along our coastline in place, and stop the waves at high tide from washing away the land. Many trees also provide food. Bananas, mangoes, oranges, apples, avocados (pears), plums, coconuts, plantains, breadfruit, soursap, pawpaw, tombi, black tumbla, cacao, coffee, palm oil the list goes on. What about when we get sick? Where does Gbangba come from? Broomstone? Quinine? Many of our traditional medicines, as well as the active ingredients in medicines from other countries, come from trees. Trees also provide us with much needed shade. When you look down Lumley beach, where are most people sitting? Under trees. After a long morning working in the fields, or doing construction under the hot sun, a tree is the best place to find a shady place to rest. Trees also provide shade to animals, and especially to streams. Shallow water can get very hot very quickly in the sun, but trees along the riverbanks keep the water shaded and cool. This is better for the fish, and helps keep some levels of bacteria from getting too high. A tree or two beside your house can help keep it cool in the daytime. Trees can also help protect your house, village or crops from wind damage. Strong trees and trees in groups help block the wind, although if you cut down a lot of trees and leave one standing, it may not be strong enough on its own if the wind is very forceful, and could fall over. Trees are so important to our lives. Without trees, we would not have clean water, clean air, wood, many medicines, many fruits, very much shade, or good soil to grow food in. http://allafrica.com/stories/200602240438.html

Uganda:

24) Trees are a great witness to the history of the people. Their different shapes, foliage, uses do not only add to the linguistic beauty of the people but also offer educative messages. In Madi, the sacred Ewi tree stands near the homestead shielding it from whirlwinds and evil spirits. Our Ewi tree stands not far from my grandfather’s hut. It is the only gigantic tree in our neighbourhood to have survived the charcoal burner’s axe. At this time of changing political climate, trees provide an evocative reminder of our political and cultural heritage, making the tree an invaluable instrument of education. As palm tree leaves evoke the passion of Christ and Easter to Christians, to the Madi it is a tree of royalty and elegance. Sitting in the shade of a palm tree in our neighbour’s compound, my grandfather Mzee Ali had a lot to say. “Its gentle sway tells us how tranquil nature is and how we must respond to the call of nature as the palm tree does to the wind. If carefully handled nature cannot be destructive to us,” he reasoned. Being the tallest tree does not make it prone to being broken by wind or burned by its “nearness” to the sun because it abides by nature’s laws. This is typical of a leader who by virtue of his position is the tallest person in the community; if he abides by the rules of the community, the forces of political destruction will not affect him. When the palm tree shade shifted with the movement of the sun, the Mzee said, “like a good leader, the shade benefits everyone around it” A good leader must serve everyone equally. With the crackle of a dry leaf falling arose a new dimension of our discussion. “Hwe bi ede diri ka olobo ebe oru si ni” (the crackle of a falling leaf is a message to those it leaves up). The message is “I was young and energetic like you. You will become as old as me and you will die and fall down like me.” (No one remains at the helm forever). Trees provide vivid imagery in our languages. For instance, the Baganda say, “Emiti emito emiziwa” (it is the small trees that make a forest). Just as the survival of the community depends on their children, that of the forest on younger trees, the survival of a nation depends on its youth. The tamarind tree which the Ateso call (Apedu) could be the most important tree in Teso as the juice from its sour seed coating is an important ingredient for atap (millet bread). It is tiny leaves in their millions make some of the coolest shades. http://allafrica.com/stories/200602240565.html

Panama:

25) Gamboa—Until recently, Panama conjured up just two images — a hat style and a huge ditch that connects two major oceans. But Panamanian tour guides now like to boast about the wildlife (it tops the New World in number of species found), the species of birds (Panama has more than Canada and the U.S. combined), and the flowers (including 1,500 types of orchids). “Almost three-quarters of life in the rain forest lives in the trees,” explained guide Carlos Ortego as we hopped onto the amazingly silent aerial tram at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Soberanía National Park. Just 40 kilometres from Panama City, the park is one of the most accessible rain forest areas in the country. Besides being home to the legendary Pipeline Road Trail (a world-class site that has birders salivating), Soberanía hugs the Chagres River, the jungle-flanked waterway that feeds the nearby Panama Canal. The result is a rich and complex ecosystem of dark, earthy smells and humidity that hangs in the air like a constant rain and, since most of rain forest life is found in the trees, the canopy is the place to be. Naturally, it had just finished raining (it is the rain forest after all — at least 250 centimetres of rain falls annually) and the drizzle continued as the rivulets of water slid from oversize leaves and trickled down the long, twisted stems of plants like the native vanilla vine. Everything in the rain forest seemed gargantuan and out of proportion. The aerial tram starts from the tame scope of the forest floor, but within minutes crossed into the canopy of secondary forest vegetation. “Most of the forest near the canal is secondary. Lots of palm trees,” said Ortego. “The primary forest was cleared away to create the living quarters for the workers during construction of the Panama Canal in the early 1900s.” To find primary forest vegetation, like rosewood, kapok and mahogany trees, you need to hike deeper into the forest, away from the Canal Zone, or you can ride the tram two kilometres up the slopes where the growth is even more superlative: thicker, taller, more shades of green. Ortego provided commentary as we passed an enormous triangular ants’ nest, hanging downward from a tree branch. A flock — an entire flock — of several dozen rainbow toucans skimmed overhead, making a loud, repetitive squawking. Only being acclimatized to seeing one at a time on the box of Froot Loops, this took some getting used to. When the tram reached the peak of the ride and I thought it wouldn’t be possible to sit any higher above the rain forest canopy, we got off and circled up the stairway of a nine-storey lookout tower. The reward was a 360-degree view of the greenery of the wet, dripping tropical forest as far as the eye could see, the Chagres River as it cut through the jungle and filled the channel of the Panama Canal, and the canal itself. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1140608
231362&call_pageid=970599119419

Brazil:

26) A massive pipeline through the Amazon is proposed to carry natural gas from Venezuela to Brazil and Argentina. Project approval for the 9,000+ km pipeline, at a cost of over $US 20 billion, could come as early as mid-March. The pipeline would pierce the heart of the Amazon and ensure its destruction as a large, operable whole. This questionable project is the latest industrial monstrosity to threaten the world’s remaining life-giving large rainforest expanses. The world’s leaders must be made to understand that all remaining large rainforests must remain intact and protected if the Earth is to be sustained. This project bears watching and must be laid to rest now, in the planning stage,rather than as construction commences. If you have additional information, please contact us for an eventual action alert. g.b. Comments:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2006/02/questionable_gas_pipeline_to_p.asp

Solomon Islands:

27) THE aftermath of a logging operation and its negative impacts to the environment is regrettable. After two years of logging at Buroku in Marovo Lagoon, what Bulakan Logging Company had left “is tales of con deals with the landowners, environmental destruction, ghost roads, bare log ponds, infertile land, dried up streams and lack of development”. This was the comment of Buroku village women when Solomon Star visited the area recently. “We are really suffering the consequences of the logging operation,” the women said. They said logging had caused many changes to the lives of the people in the area. An elderly woman said her community have regretted what logging had done to them. She said the operation came and went within a snap without doing anything good for the locals. “Logging had caused social and land dispute, close families are not in good terms anymore with each other and compensation had to be paid by the companies to settle their differences,” the elderly woman stated. She pointed out that life is harder than before because while they used to make an easy catch just by fishing in front of their houses today fishermen had to travel further to make a good catch. “Our lands have been infertile because the fertile lands have been used up by roads and log ponds. “Most of the forests have been cleared when logs are dragged out along the ridges and mountains,” the woman stated. She said during rainy weather the land eroded washing away food gardens. “We had to walk for long distance to do gardening.” She pointed out that fish, animals and birds have migrated to other areas because the forest and mangroves have been cleared off. “The streams have dried up as a result with the coastline being eaten away by strong waves,” the concern woman said. Visiting Forestry Officer Peter Keni also admitted that logging had really affected the livelihood of the people because the life that these locals have once enjoyed is gone. Landowner Rumales Paoni expressed regret over the operation because after two years of operation there was nothing left for the people except ghost roads and infertile land.
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/drupal-4.4.1/?q=node/view/7192

India:

28) Balda Village — The lush greenery surrounding a remote village in Orissa owes its existence to the blazing dynamism of a small group of tribal women, a movement that began more than 15 years ago and is today reaping the fruits of their labour. Balda village, with its mud huts and stone pathways, stands as a testimony to the unwavering grit of their womenfolk. The docile-looking women, who roam around the village pathways in their traditional attire, have snatched axes, fought with the hardened wood mafia and even kept night vigil to save their forest cover. The movement began in 1995 by Radha Pandia almost by chance. “We did not have much forest area because very often the mafia were cutting the trees that had affected the area. Now we protect forest ourselves and are able to earn our livelihood also from it. We get firewood from the fallen leaves and branches,” says Pandia. Pandia’s group, which has now grown to encompass nearly 100 other tribal women, educates people on the importance of saving their environment. Earlier, these villagers used to cut down trees. But they realized that it was infact harming themselves. They often had to go to distant villages for work. Soon, they decided to start saving their forests. This initiative began with the women of this area, particularly the members of SHG or Self Help Group. This movement began 15 years back and is only growing,” says Luna Panda, a social worker, who along with some other members of a voluntary organisation gave the necessary direction to the small movement. Panda says they never needed the help of the police, as the women were able to take care of themselves. The women often leave for their “work” after completing their daily chores and meet up at the forests to keep vigil. Some of the women are even involved in keeping shifts for the vigil. Pandia’s Self Help Group now has more than 15 group working around the Nandpur block of the region. Now, the villagers frequently attend workshops and seminars to understand the worth of the forests. http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=15201

29) The need of the hour is a concerted effort to protect Goa’s environment. There are laws against the cutting down of trees but are they adhere too. Similarly there are strict laws about building on hill slopes but everyone knows they are being flouted openly. It is high time the people get together to coerce the government to do something about this. Take a look at the Betim slope opposite the Old Secretariat Panjim. Apart from the huge white construction monstrosity, which has damaged the hillside, the hill has also been disfigured by huge hoardings. In 2004, the BJP government happily went and cut numerous rain trees on the D B Bandokar stretch in the name of development. Panjims mangroves are being choked with garbage. This too is happening all over Goa and Goans better wake up to this disaster before it is too late and the future is black with pollution. The time is ripe now for the government and the courts to pass strictures against anyone destroying Goa’s green cover under the guise of development or tourism. And if anyone is found guilty of doing so then the severest penalties should be imposed on them. Afterall what is at stake is the lungs of Goa, which is slowly being destroyed, and the lifeline to Goans is being cutoff. http://oheraldo.in/comment/reply/10271

Philippines:

30) To feel the pain and terrible evil that the corruption of government and the greed of rich loggers visit upon the poor of the Philippines just try to imagine a million tons of rocks and mud burying you or your family in an instant. One minute you are happily joining a meeting with your neighbours at home or in the school then in an instant, you are plunged into a dark dungeon of death. The sound of the roof crashing and collapsing around you is terrifying. There are cries and screams and then silence. The weak moan of a few begging for help nearby tells you some are still alive in the dark. The metal creaks and only moments remain before you are to be crushed to death by a hundred tons of rocks and dirt. You are saved temporally by the steel frame of the school roof. All you have is your cell phone, its weak light shows there is still a signal but also how impossible is your plight. Yes you weep uncontrollably and punch out a last message, a plea for help, a faint hope and send the text message as one teacher did to her supervisor as she lay dying, the oxygen running out. “Ma’am, we are still under the school. Please help us Ma’am. This is Edilio Coquilla. Please ma’am.” Then begging to be saved – you die. Don’t blame God nature or fortune -blame those who had the power to cut the trees and plant the coconuts. There is now a vanished village of Guinsagon outside the town of St. Bernard, Leyte. The hundreds buried alive, ten meters below, breathed their last and expired and no one could reach them. Rescue teams rushed to this remote place and they were astounded. It looked like half the mountain had avalanched down to bury the entire population. There were at least 300 children and their teachers in the school. About a hundred women were at a meeting to discuss the future of their village. Little did they know that it was to be no more. Housewives were preparing the next meal and then it happened. The earth moved, the mountain shook and the rain soaked soil had nothing to hold it back. The deep rooted trees had long been logged out. Nature had been raped, abused and left lying prone to the typhoons and torrential rain that is the climatic lot of this central part of the archipelago. Without nature’s network of roots, and rocks disaster was inevitable. The almost rootless coconut trees planted by other wealthy families to exploit the denuded earth were no match for the massive rainfall, the weight of soil and rock and the pull of gravity. http://www.preda.org/home.htm

31) “The Philippines is a good example,” Mr Dennis said. Hugh Speechly, a forestry consultant who lived in the Philippines for 12 years, said that in fact much of the logging in the country had already taken place. “The Philippines has gone from a major timber producing country to one where they import timber,” he said, adding that in the 1930s, before it began serious logging, the nation had several million hectares of forest cover, compared with only about 600,000 untouched hectares today. “Certainly in Leyte, a lot of the forest cover has gone,” he said. “Because of population pressures, people push more into the upland areas to grow food and to do this they clear land.” Philippine authorities says in the case of last Friday’s events in Guinsaugon, Southern Leyte province, it seemed unlikely that logging was to blame. Local officials and eyewitnesses said the surrounding area was well forested, and the governor’s office said deforestation was not the causal factor this time, despite having admitted that was the case in a devastating landslide in Leyte in December 2003. But Philippines Congressman Roger Mercado, who represents Southern Leyte, has blamed the disaster, to some extent, on mining and logging in the area three decades ago.Rainfall What experts did agree on was the probable impact of heavy rain in the area for up to two weeks before the landslide. “All these extreme disasters are multicausal but there’s usually some single trigger at the last minute,” said Hazel Faulkner, senior research fellow at the Flood Hazard Research Centre at Middlesex University, London. The area received about 200cm of rain in the last 10 days prior to the disaster, officials said. Heavy rainstorms are frequent in the Philippines, and were also thought to be the trigger for the December 2003 landslide. But Mr Speechly said he was surprised by such weather in February. He said that severe storms normally ran between June and December. Prof Dave Petley, professor at the International Landslide Centre, Durham University, agreed. “This sort of rainfall and landslide action in the Philippines at this time of year is quite unusual,” he said. http://www.solomonstarnews.com/drupal-4.4.1/?q=node/view/7199

Indonesia:

32) PANGKALAN KERINCI — The accord between WWF and Asia Pacific Resources International, known as April, would greatly expand a recently designated national park within the rainforest and commit April to preserving ecologically sensitive forest in future logging. Now, after years of quiet negotiations, the Singapore company is on the verge of signing a landmark agreement with one of its antagonists, WWF, known in the U.S. as World Wildlife Fund. WWF says the deal would preserve one of the last large stands of natural forest on the big Indonesian island of Sumatra, an expanse that has been compared to the Amazon for its richness of species. The Sumatran rainforest once was a vast canopy of exotic hardwood trees, home to tigers, elephants, tapirs, gibbons and myriad kinds of orchids and tropical flora. Over 20 years, more than half of this vibrant jungle has been cut down, a lot of it illegally by organized gangs, who sell the wood to paper companies and local sawmills. The focus of WWF’s engagement with April is Sumatra’s Tesso Nilo rainforest, a tract that WWF says has the highest density of diverse plant species ever recorded in a tropical forest. It also is home to about 80 endangered Sumatran elephants and 10 tigers. Years of logging have reduced Tesso Nilo to 500 square miles. In 2000, WWF began a campaign that eventually got more than a quarter of what remains declared a national park. That same year the group began talks with April, which had logging rights to large sections of Tesso Nilo. Both April and WWF held talks with Procter & Gamble, the producer of Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels, which is considering buying pulp from April for a new line. Mr. Foead says P&G “needed WWF to ensure that they’re not attacked by NGOs.” A P&G executive confirms his account. To make sure it isn’t buying illegally harvested pulp, “we decided that before we would even consider going into an area like that…we would want the support of NGOs behind us,” says Celeste Kuta, an executive of P&G’s family-care business. She adds that the company hasn’t made a commitment to buy from April.The April-WWF deal still faces hurdles, such as the side agreements to be worked out with smaller holders of rainforest logging permits. And not all the other activist groups here like the deal. It means April can keep turning natural forest into plantations elsewhere in the island, complains Elfian Effendi, executive director of Greenomics, an Indonesian group: “If they want to change their attitude, why don’t they end their use of natural forest 100%?” He vows to campaign against the pact if it is signed. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114066232214180908.html

33) SUMATRA,INDONESIA: This week in Sumatra nationwide efforts to eradicate poaching and illegal trade of tiger, rhino, elephant, orang-utan, made progress with the initiation of an intensive “boot-camp” training course focused exclusively on enhancing wildlife protection. Designed to increase the role of local villagers and communities, the course is unique in that trainees are supported by, not only Government and non-governmental conservation organisations, but also by private industry. Organised by the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program and hosted by the Department of Forestry (Bukit Tigapuluh National Park), the course brings together a diverse group of twenty-nine dedicated individuals from across Indonesia, united by a common mission to conserve some of the world’s most endangered wildlife. The training board also includes 8 members of Indonesia’s new and elite Forest Police Rapid Reaction Force – only recently formalised by the Minister of Forestry in January 2006. Class-based training, starting on the 2nd February, runs for 15 days. This is followed by 10 days of practical field exercises. A final 5 day “live” exercise places 8 widely dispersed protection units deep in the mountains of Bukit Tigapuluh with the task of, through radio coordination between teams, designing and executing the strategic interception and safe arrest of an “evading” 9th team. The wildlife protection system being promoted is one which relies on recruitment and intensive training of personnel from local communities surrounding the protected area, each unit lead by an armed ranger from the Department of Forestry. The participation of villagers in this has, in practice, seen a significant increase in the local acceptability of park and wildlife law enforcement efforts. It has also increased the perception of community ownership of nearby forests, developed a stronger sense of stewardship, and greatly facilitated the delivering of conservation messages to the heart of surrounding villages. A goal of this year’s training is to break-down barriers and develop closer cooperation between NGOs working throughout Indonesia, and the building of bridges between Government, non-government and industrial partners with a concern for wildlife conservation. A unique and welcome addition to the group this year is the attendance of staff from Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (APRIL – Asia Pacific Resources International Ltd) – a major forestry plantation company that operates close to several high biodiversity sites within Riau province. http://www.clickpress.com/releases/Detailed/9405005cp.shtml