352 EU-Africa-Mid-East

Russia:

11) Jonathan Dimbleby’s BBC ‘Russia’ programme, recording his travels through the vast country of Russia is fascinating. Last night he headed east into Siberia. Part of this trip showed loggers at work in the huge forests, using their machines to fell the trees. In 2007 ‘Boreal Boris’ and his team felled 750,000 trees from this part of the Tomsk forest. ‘A ferocious destruction,’ according to Professor Kirpotkin. At a logging camp outside Tomsk ‘Boreal Boris’ explains, ‘I love the forest … but the forest has to be cut.’ But professor of biology Sergey Kirpotkin (beside him) says, ‘We are facing an ecological disaster’. Siberia constitutes about 20% of the total world forested area and nearly 50% of the total world coniferous-forested areas. The coniferous species are the dominant species throughout Siberia. Pine is the main species in west Siberia and in other regions larch dominates, being the most common tree. The machines above take just seconds to take out a tree. The men work continuously. Learn more about Russian deforestation. http://environmentdebate.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/russians-wipe-out-forests-with-no-replacement
-policy/

India:

12) Environment Minister Jayant Malaiya distributed gas stoves and cylinders to 93 members of Gram Van Samitis of Imliya Ghat, Jamuniya Parewa, Suhela, Majha (Manka), Kankar, Chirai Manka and Patna (Raja) villages at function organised by Forest Department on the occasion of World Environment Day at village Imliya Ghat in Damoh district. Speaking on the occasion, Malaiya said that life depends on forests and it would come to an end it forests were destroyed. He exhorted the people to conserve forests for preservation of life. He said that forests have been cut but new plantations have not been undertaken. Water has been drawn by sinking bores at innumerable places but no efforts have been made to conserve water. Bundelkhand, Vindhya and Mahakaushal are in the throes of drought. The government can distribute money. But even one hundred drops of water cannot be made to fall down on earth by spending Rs 100 crore. He expressed concern on the spectre on dwindling fuel resources. He patted the Forest Department for its efforts to inspire members of Van Samitis to adopt alternative sources of energy. http://www.centralchronicle.com/20080608/0806021.htm

13) While debates and seminars would be held across the state to symbolize the World Environment Day Thursday, the dying water bodies and vandalized forests as usual would continue to crave for practical steps by the authorities. Where the day would begin with usual official speeches stressing the importance of environment, it would end up like any other day making no difference on the ground. If experts are to be believed, all the lakes of the Valley including the once sparkling Dal and Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Wular, are in last throes. Though measures were initiated for their restoration, but they were aborted half-way mainly due to political pressure, corruption and lack of commitment. One of the glaring examples of government’s cold attitude towards conservation of environment is the transfer of 800 kanals of forest land in Baltal to the Shri Amaranth Shrine Board (SASB), despite stiff opposition by the environmentalists. Reports state the Board plans to construct hutments and lavatories for the pilgrims in the fragile zone. Environmentalists believe it would wreak havoc on the fragile environs and disturb the wild animals. Reports state that the extensive felling of trees in connivance with some unscrupulous officials is going on war footing in higher reaches of north and south Kashmir. But no effort has been made to stop the destruction of the green gold. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=5_6_2008&ItemID=42&cat=1

14) The Sri Maha Bodhi or sacred Bo tree in Anuradhapura is apparently taken from a cutting of the original Figus Religiosa where Buddha attained enlightenment. It is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world for it has been tended by an uninterrupted succession of guardians for over 2,000 years, even during periods of foreign occupation. Today it is difficult to get close to the tree which stands on a platform in a temple complex. Firstly there is the security situation. Terrorists have targeted sacred sites in the past and rather disconcertingly for what is meant to be a spiritual experience, it is necessary to be frisked and have your bag checked before entering. Then there are the constant stream of pilgrims coming to make offerings or simply to meditate near the holy tree. Squeezing past school children bearing lotus flowers or old ladies reading from sacred texts to catch a glimpse of what looked like a perfectly ordinary tree, I was soon caught up in typical temple confusion. Even after 12 weeks in Sri Lanka I have struggled to understand Buddhism or at least the complex rituals around “auspicious times”. A weekend trip to the ancient cities in the north of the country helped a little. Cycling around Polonnaruwa, the royal capital of Sri Lanka over a thousand years ago, it is possible to get an idea of the glittering dynasty that once ruled the land. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/06/06/easrilanka106.xml

South Eat Asia:

15) Von, who is now executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, tirelessly promotes and advocates environmental protection. His eye opener, or what he claims as “his baptism of fire”, was the 1991 Ormoc tragedy in Leyte province, where more than 8000 lives have perished due to flooding from the abnormal rainfall and landslides brought about by deforestation. Then a Green Coalition volunteer, he traveled to the province to participate in relief efforts. After seeing the harrows and despair of the victims, Von vowed to take a step further and become a stauncher ally of the environment. In this Greater Good Philippines interview, Von Hernandez talks about how he has become a volunteer for the environment and how his family, children especially, play their roles in pushing him further particularly in turbulent and challenging times. Von also mentions having hope despite all the bleak signs. “This is the important message, our forecast is bleak but after the heavy rain, out comes the sunshine.” All these and more only on Greater Good Philippines. Listen to the interview here: http://www.podango.com/podcast_episode/2641/76132/Greater_Good_Philippines/Von_Hernandez__Exec
utive_Director_of_Greenpeace_Southeast_Asia http://bp3.blogger.com/_lgrG2xMG3Gs/SEObSlQcKVI/AAAAAAAAB8s/q9ctr5AQHJA/s1600-h/borneo_defore
station_map.jpg

Philippines:

16) An environmentalist group has gathered some of the country’s top musicians for a different protest against the continued destruction of the country’s environment — an album launch. On Wednesday, a day before World Environment Day on June 5, the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC) will launch the album “Rapu-Rapu Atbp: Taghoy ng Kalikasan” (Rapu-Rapu and Others: Lament of Nature). Inspired by the island of Rapu-Rapu in Albay, where conflict continues over an Australian-owned mining operations, the album will be launched at the 70’s Bistro along Anonas Street in Quezon City. “Rapu-Rapu Atbp: Taghoy ng Kalikasan” contains songs by Geneva Cruz, Aiza Seguerra, Bayang Barrios, Coffeebreak Island, and Cooky Chua, among others. “The songs in the collection speak about the current state of the Philippine environment: how our forests have been laid bare by logging, how our mountains and islands have been turned into wastelands by mining, how the access to natural resources such as water, have become restricted to…a few,” CEC executive director Frances Quimpo said in a statement. The two main themes of the album are deforestation and mining. Rampant deforestation, brought by logging operations by foreign and local firms have resulted to “only 5.4 million hectares of mostly secondary-growth forests are left, covering less than 18% of the total land area in 2003,” Quimpo said. CEC also blamed the Mining Act of 1995 for “large-scale and mostly foreign-controlled mining projects on the environment,” resulting to almost 40% of the country’s land area being converted to mining. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080603-140480/Music-stars-i
n-CD-vs-rape-mining-deforestation-in-RP

17) Environmentalists of Benguet are mounting a boycott of salad vegetables grown on farms that have displaced some of the province’s vital mossy forest cover. Kenneth Kelcho, curator of the Kabayan museum that hosts the region’s only mummies, said gardens have again sprouted around Luzon’s second highest peak, Mt. Pulag, destroying forests that serve the watershed lakes around Benguet and Ifugao. Kelcho started the campaign using text messages: “Dear friends and fellow environmentalists. Let us stop buying products taken from the wild and from our watersheds. Let us boycott them, including the vegetables coming from our Mt. Pulag watershed.” “They [have been] clearing the mossy forests and mountain lakes in Barangay Tabeo and Balay in Kabayan town; Barangay Amlimay in Buguias; [and] Barangays Eheb and Impugon in Tinoc town, Ifugao.” The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had anticipated that opportunists would take advantage of the food crisis by destroying more forests to build new farms. The Inquirer documented once such activity in May at Tabeo. Unhindered by the daylight, 10 people burned a chuck of the forest and uprooted the surviving trees or the burned stumps. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080606-141017/Boycott-of-veggies-
grown-in-mossy-forests-launched

18) Is conservation in the Philippines a lost cause? We review current conservation efforts in the Philippines, considering the actions of academics, field researchers, local communities, nongovernmental organizations, the government, and other sectors of society. Remarkably, however precarious the present situation may seem, there have been some recent positive gains and signs of hope. Although there is no room for complacency, we conclude that the diversity of available indicators suggests that conservation in the Philippines, against many odds, shows signs of success, and thus deserves greater attention and increased investment. Keywords: conservation, indicators, biodiversity, Philippines, Southeast Asia. The loss and degradation of tropical ecosystems throughout the planet are threatening numerous species with extinction and thereby driving a biodiversity crisis with serious consequences for human well-being. In Southeast Asia, the threat is greatest where human populations are dense, impoverished, and rapidly increasing (Sodhi et al. 2004). The Philippines exemplifies this critical situation. It is one of the most biologically rich regions in the world, with exceptionally high levels of endemism for a country of its size. Nearly half of its approximately 1100 terrestrial vertebrates are unique to the islands, and estimates of endemism for vascular plants range from 45% to 60% (Heaney and Mittermeier 1997). The archipelago is also a center of nearshore animal diversity, most notably of corals, reef fish, marine snails, and lobsters (Roberts et al. 2002, Carpenter and Springer 2005). However, widespread environmental destruction has made this unique and megadiverse biota one of the most endangered in the world. The country is repeatedly cited as a global conservation priority-a top hotspot for both terrestrial and marine ecosystems-and there are fears that it could be the site of the first major extinction spasm (Heaney and Mittermeier 1997, Myers et al. 2000, Roberts et al. 2002). Exploitation of many vital habitats has brought the Philippines to the brink of ecological ruin. The archipelago was once almost completely covered by forest, but the harvesting of timber and agricultural expansion during the Spanish colonization, followed by rapid and extensive commercial logging in the 20th century (Kummer 1992, Bankoff 2007), reduced forest cover to less than a quarter of the land area. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1415788/hope_for_threatened_tropical_biodiversity/

Malaysia:

19) We have written this “postcard from the forest” to try and convey an understanding of the consequences behind the actions and decisions we as individuals make. Here are some images I took yesterday (1st June 2008). We were supposed to go to this well-known forest reserve to look for a particular species of bird known to be present there, but when we arrived, we were greeted with this heart-stopping sight. Sights like this are not uncommon in Malaysia. Much of the forest in South-east Asia, Africa and South America has already succumbed to such ill treatment to fuel our personal demands for timber products, and the use of products grown on the converted land. This timber is often used for: 1) Furniture (Tables, Chairs, Dining sets, beds etc…) 2) Housing materials (Doors, Window frames, Flooring) 3) Construction materials (plywood, roofing, pallets, etc.) Once denuded, the land is converted into agricultural based businesses. In the case of Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand, the land will be converted into a monoculture (single species) by planting oil palm trees. Millions of hectares of oil palm plantations are now in operation throughout Southeast Asia, fueling the demand for edible oils and bio-fuels. The oil palm tree is not native to Southeast Asia, it is an introduced species. Therefore, no animals or plants can adapt to this environment. There is nothing that feeds or lives in these vast estates except for rats, snakes and domesticated livestock grazing on the grass. Other forests around the world have been cleared for soya plantations, livestock pastures, sugar, coffee, tobacco farming, and so on. With over 6 billion mouths to feed, the demand for food has never been greater, and the land required to fulfill these requirements keeps increasing in area… to the detriment of the forests. http://magickriver.blogspot.com/2008/06/postcard-from-rainforest-by-john-and.html

Indonesia:

20) The court trying Pelalawan Regent Tengku Azmun Jaafar on corruption charges heard from more witnesses Friday of the regent’s “abuse of power” in issuing forest resource utilization permits. Tengku Zuhelmi, the former head of the local forestry agency, testified that Azmun had asked him to pass recommendations needed for the issuance of authorization letters to four companies. Government regulations require recommendations from local forestry agencies and environmental management agencies prior to a regent approving any request for a forest resource utilization permit. “I received an order from the regent to sign the recommendations. I eventually did so, knowing the companies were linked to him,” said Zuhelmi, who is a distant relative of Azmun’s. Prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have charged Azmun with abuse of authority for personal benefit. He is accused of issuing authorization letters to 15 companies for the utilization of more than 120,000 hectares of forest in Pelalawan, Riau, causing Rp 1.2 trillion (US$128 million) in losses to the state. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20080607.H04&irec=3

21) An investigative report released today by World Wildlife Fund revealed that paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and its affiliates are in the process of constructing a massive highway for logging vehicles that threatens one of Indonesia’s most important forests. The highway, described by WWF in the report as being “legally questionable,” would cut an enormous swath through one of Sumatra’s last remaining large forest blocks, home to two tribes of indigenous people and endangered elephants, tigers and orangutans. With more than 250 mammals and bird species, the Bukit Tigapuluh Forest Landscape in central Sumatra contains some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. It is also the location of a successful project to reintroduce orangutans, which now reside in an area currently proposed for protected status but that is already being cleared by APP-affiliated companies. “APP shows a total disregard for the ecosystem in their quest for cheap sources of raw materials,” said Adam Tomasek, Director of WWF’s Borneo and Sumatra Program. “Their customers around the globe should demand that they responsibly manage these forests to protect the wildlife and people that rely on them.” Construction on the highway, which would allow logging trucks easier access to APP’s pulp mills in Jambi Province, took place after APP’s forestry operations in neighboring Riau Province were halted in 2006 due to a police investigation of illegal logging. APP partners have cleared about 50,000 acres of natural forest in the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape and some of the clearing appears to be in violation of Indonesian law. http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFPresitem4905.html

21) Forestry activists have warned of a sharp increase in the national deforestation rate if the government fails to deal with overlapping permits issued for forest concessions and industrial timber forests. Greenomics Indonesia’s latest study found about 18.4 million hectares of forest concession areas and production forest had mostly been occupied by plantation and mining companies thanks to permits issued by regents. “It is an illegal practice. The regents have no right to issue permits for plantation companies to operate or occupy forest concession and industrial areas. Only the Forestry Ministry can do that,” Greenomics national coordinator Vanda Mutia Dewi told The Jakarta Post on Monday.The government has allocated a total of 60.91 million hectares for forest concessions or for production forests. “With the overlapping permits, illegal occupation of the forest concession areas and industrial forests will contribute more to the national deforestation rate than illegal logging practices,” she said. The Forestry Ministry has to change the status of forest concession areas and industrial forests before licenses can be awarded to plantation firms to dig up the forests, she said. Greenomics found the overlapping permits occurred mostly in Kalimantan and Sumatra. “About 80 percent of 18.4 million hectares of concessions and industrial forests has been deforested in Kalimantan and Sumatra. In Kalimantan alone, deforestation has reached 8.16 million hectares,” she said. In Sumatra, more than 6.04 million hectares of production forest have been illegally occupied by other parties, including plantation companies. “We found that a plantation company operating in East Kalimantan obtained a permit from a regent to occupy an area for which the ministry had issued an industrial production license,” she said. Greenomics also discovered 1.4 million hectares of production forests in West Kalimantan had been turned into plantation areas. In Riau, about 845,000 hectares of production forests have been illegally occupied and repurposed for plantation and agricultural use. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20080603.H04&irec=3

22) Forestry Minister MS Kaban said judicial officials should treat illegal logging as corruption case because the practice causes losses to the state. “I hope illegal logging will be classified as corruption because it causes losses to the state. So far, judges always link illegal logging to technical and administrative matters. This is not right because illegal logging causes losses to the state,” the minister said on the sidelines of a function to observe National Environment Day at the State Palace here on Thursday.He said trees in state forests were all state assets so that if they were stolen the state would suffer losses. That`s why such a case should be handled like a criminal corruption case. “Judges should change their perception by linking illegal logging with state losses,” the minister added. Besides illegal logging, the confiscation of such logs must also be supervised with a corruption criminal approach because the auction of confiscated logs often did not meet the target set by the government. “I agree with the idea of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) that there were potential state losses if logs are auctioned with proceeds different from the target set by the government,” the minister said. http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/6/5/illegal-logging-must-be-treated-as-corruption/

Pacific Island forests:

22) A devastating environmental issue facing many Pacific Island countries is deforestation, says Department of Environment Director Epeli Nasome. He says it is an issue countries with big areas of forest cover like Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and Fiji face. He says this is not so much the case in smaller coastal areas such as Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu. Mr Nasome says the environment plays a crucial role in the functions of daily life. This is not only because of our dependency on the environment for food, water and shelter but also because of the vast opportunities the environment is linked to. Deforestation has been an ongoing environmental issue and the need for more awareness on this environmental hazard is very important. In its simplest term, deforestation is the removal of forest trees for various reasons normally done by man. Some of these reasons include the cutting of forest trees for commercial and development needs or for subsistence use like firewood or to build a house. Whatever the reasons for deforestation, the matter is of serious concern not only for government but also for people concerned with the state of the environment. Mr Nasome says deforestation is considered an environmental problem by the department especially if the removal of trees in an area is undertaken without any control or management plans that would ensure the natural state of the area is maintained. He says the natural environment is at its most stable state if man does not invade the area for development activities. http://redapes.org/news-updates/the-pacific-islands-and-deforestation/

Hawaii:

23) Another 16,000 acres of important Big Island forest are safe from hotel and housing development, officials said. The U.S. Forest Service and the state announced a deal Friday to keep the area pristine for future generations. About 9,000 acres of native forest above Kealakekua Bay are among the lands to be preserved. John and Gussie Pace bought the property four years ago to rescue it from a Japanese company planning to develop a golf course and 500 homes. The Federal Forest Legacy program offered $4 million to partner with the Paces to save the forest. “We have been conservationists throughout our lives. It means a great deal to us to improve everything we do,” John Pace said. About 3,000 acres in Kona will also be preserved through a deal worked out with Cynthia Salley of the McCandless Ranch. “These are private landowners who have said that the preservation of these lands is more important than any profit they can make off of them, and I think they deserve a tremendous amount of credit for making that decision,” State Land Board Chairwoman Laura Thielen said. Another 4,000 acres at Honomalina in Kona will be protected in partnership with the Nature Conservancy. The conservancy said it is already there restoring native koa trees. “When you give it the opportunity, koa regenerates very quickly. If you give the koa seed bank a chance to break through, you really get wonderful koa regeneration,” Hawaii Nature Conservancy Director Suzanne Case Said. Landowners offering to preserve their forest land get hefty tax breaks.
Conservation officials said they hope other land owners will embrace the effort. http://www.kitv.com/news/16535017/detail.html

Fiji:

24) A devastating environmental issue facing many Pacific Island countries is deforestation, says Department of Environment Director Epeli Nasome. He says it is an issue countries with big areas of forest cover like Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and Fiji face. He says this is not so much the case in smaller coastal areas such as Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu. Mr Nasome says the environment plays a crucial role in the functions of daily life. This is not only because of our dependency on the environment for food, water and shelter but also because of the vast opportunities the environment is linked to. Deforestation has been an ongoing environmental issue and the need for more awareness on this environmental hazard is very important. In its simplest term, deforestation is the removal of forest trees for various reasons normally done by man. Some of these reasons include the cutting of forest trees for commercial and development needs or for subsistence use like firewood or to build a house. Whatever the reasons for deforestation, the matter is of serious concern not only for government but also for people concerned with the state of the environment. Mr Nasome says deforestation is considered an environmental problem by the department especially if the removal of trees in an area is undertaken without any control or management plans that would ensure the natural state of the area is maintained. He says the natural environment is at its most stable state if man does not invade the area for development activities. “Fiji has a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). This plan has developed an inventory of natural resources and has also identified areas that should be conserved for various reasons. Under the Environment Management Act 2005, all new development proposals are required to undertake environment impact assessments (EIA) to ensure the proposed development has minimum adverse impacts on the natural environment.” http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=91348

Solomon Islands:

25) A large fiberglass boat propelled by a 40HP engine speeds across the pristine waters of Marovo Lagoon, a double-barrier enclosed lagoon with hundreds of stunning islets. The area is on UNESCO’s provisional world heritage list. Having left Ramata, a small settlement almost at the Northwest extreme of the lagoon, it is heading for New Georgia Island, locally known as the “mainland” because of its size. A few minutes after departure, dark stains appear on the surface of the otherwise crystal-clear water. “That’s from the logging”, explains the skipper, guiding the boat towards Gerasi Camp now clearly visible from the lagoon. Red-brown gashes of exposed earth are cutting through luxuriant green tropical forest. Around noon, the heavy equipment is idle. Although some logging continues in the area, the forests around Gerasi are almost completely logged out. “Gerasi Vao Camp has had between 600 and 700 logs piled up, sitting near the jetty for 3 years”, explains Curren Rence, former government official, who now runs the local inn and is one of the elders of Ramata village. “Why did they cut down these trees, if they think they are not good for export? Local people got almost no money from these logs. And we have no idea what the government plans to do with them. They are rotting.” Polluted water of Gerasi Camp penetrates the nearby mangrove area, creating brown streams on an otherwise spotless water surface. Old logging equipment and the Malaysian speedboat Putri Anggrek are rotting near the shore. Locals offer small coconuts to occasional visitors. When the clouds move away and a brutally hot sun begins to shine, oil spills become more visible on the surface, creating a stunning contrast to the see-through water of Marovo Lagoon. “Logging still takes place upstream on the Niva River”, explains the skipper. “The Loggers use chemicals which are polluting both the river and the lagoon. It has devastating effects on animals. Crocodiles, who formerly coexisted peacefully with the local people, went mad from poisonous chemicals and the changing environment. They became unpredictable, moving between the islands, attacking people. One woman in our village recently lost her arm. The crocodiles in this area already killed at least 4 people. Our children from the other side of the lagoon commute to Ramata, to attend secondary school. They are paddling in small canoes. We see it as disaster in waiting.” http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2770

Papua New Guinea:

26) The loss of the world’s third-largest rain forest would destroy a wealth of unique flora and fauna and deprive the region of a natural defense against global warming, the study by scientists at the University of Papua New Guinea and Australian National University found. Analyzing three decades of satellite imagery, the researchers found that 19.8 million acres of forest was lost between 1972 and 2002. In 2001, accessible forests were being cleared or degraded at a rate of 1.4 percent a year, the report found. At that pace, researchers fear 83 percent of the country’s accessible forest — and 53 percent of its total forested area — will be gone or severely damaged by 2021. “PNG’s forests are a vital component of the majority of New Guinean’s lives. They’re also of national and regional significance because of their carbon storage factors,” Phil Shearman, the report’s lead author, told reporters at a press conference Monday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24932407/

New Zealand:

27) Septer Manufandu, from Indonesia, is a man on a mission – he wants to stop Kiwis from buying kwila. At a public meeting in Ponsonby tonight, the campaigner against deforestation in Indonesia’s West Papua region is hoping to win over Aucklanders to join his fight to preserve the culture of his people by boycotting the illegally logged timber. “Since the Government is not prepared for an outright ban on kwila, the only way we can win this fight is for Kiwis to stop buying it,” said Mr Manufandu, who is also the executive secretary of Foker, an NGO co-operation forum in West Papua representing 64 organisations. New Zealand imports the tropical kwila timber from Indonesian-run Papua and from Papua New Guinea mainly for the manufacture of outdoor furniture and decking. According to a World Bank report, up to 80 per cent of such logging was illegal, and Forestry Minister Jim Anderton said last week that the Cabinet had an in-principle agreement to mandatory labelling of all kwila products sold in New Zealand at the point of sale to indicate if the supplier had verification of the legality of the wood. But Mr Manufandu, who belongs to the Biak tribe in the forest region, said the proposed actions were far from adequate. “Western demand for kwila is not only killing the forests, it is also killing our people,” he said. “The forest is seen as our mother, which provides us with food, water and shelter – and when that is taken away, our people lose everything. Mr Manufandu said the illegal logging activities has caused much suffering and devastation among his people, and migrant workers of logging companies also spread diseases such as Aids to the forest people. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=144&objectid=10513979

Australia:

28) “We think it’s important that people are aware of the situation if their funds are being used in forest destruction or for the proposed pulp mill.” He said the introduction of superannuation choice legislation in 2005 meant that people can make decisions about where their contributions go. “Speaking to people in the super industry, which I have been doing over the past month, there’s a real awareness that this was coming. “At a super conference a couple of weeks ago it was talked about.” Mr Oosting said people would be looking for funds which took into account environment, social and governance issues. On Thursday the Wilderness Society presented their views on the Gunns pulp mill project to global financial services company Credit Suisse in Sydney. Mr Oosting said it was one of a number of presentations the Wilderness Society had made to investor and analyst groups. “It went well, we presented the facts around Gunns proposed pulp mill and the effect it would have on Tasmania’s economy, the environment and the community.” He claimed that some of the investors and analysts weren’t well informed on the Tasmanian pulp mill project. http://northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au/news/local/politics/wilderness-society-aims-at-super-f
unds/1245870.html

29) The new Director of Native Forests Operations for Forests NSW has extensive forest industry experience in government and private industry. He is Erle Robinson, who will initially be based at the Native Forests Operations headquarters in Coffs Harbour. “Erle has qualifications in forestry and public policy and many years of experience in managing forestry operations in New Zealand,” said Forests NSW chief executive Nick Roberts. “Prior to this he held various senior management roles with Fletcher Challenge Forests including harvesting, planning and operations management responsibility for forests in the North and South islands,” Mr Roberts said. “Erle has also had significant experience representing the forest industry most notably as President of New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association which represents 90 forest owners in New Zealand. “In that role he provided a leadership and advocacy role to government, other industry sectors, environmental groups and the public. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/recent-news/forests/new-forests-director

30) Conservationists have expressed disgust at the felling of a 500-year-old karri tree in Western Australia. The Global Warming Forest Group says it has found a logged karri tree, believed to be hundreds of years old, in the Diamond Forest near Pemberton. Spokesman Mark Sheehan says the tree is bigger than the 60-metre Gloucester Tree, which attracts thousands of visitors a year. Mr Sheehan says the Forest Products Commission has destroyed a unique piece of the region’s history. “We will never see trees of this type growing again in this area and I think it’s disgusting,” he said. “With global warming advancing on the planet as fast as it is, trees like that are not only tourist icons but are large storers of carbon. “The Forest Products Commission is ruining our tourist potential down here.” The Forest Products Commission says it only has access to about one third of native forests. Spokesman Gavin Butcher says the rest of South West’s native forests are protected under the old growth policy. “The protecting our old growth forests policy protects large areas of old growth forests and there are opportunities for individual trees to be registered, and trees like this and much bigger than this are protected in those systems,” he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/04/2264548.htm?section=justin