407 European-African Tree News

–Today for you 38 new articles about earth’s trees! (407th edition)
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In this Issue:

Europe and Africa

Index:

–EU: 1) Have a seat on my new nuked Chernobyl chair!
–UK: 2) Airport tree cutting protested, 3) £25,000 locally towards buying a new piece of woodland in north Essex, 4) Help save a scenic wood in Norwich from being turned into a quarry, 5) Aberdeen bypass bosses fail to fully understand road’s impact, 6) Autumn’s Acorns to Ancients project, 7) Destroying the forest for a “woodland adventure park,” 8) Felling “invasive” birch trees is necessary, 9) Acorns for Ancients cont., 10) Drogheda Borough Council failed to protect 300-year-old Beech trees, 11) Required to submit a management plan for decade-old forest they planted
–Finland: 12) Boreal, 13) Deep in the Patvinsuo tree-farm
–Norway: 14) Cancer researchers guided by trees
–Germany: 15) Largest ever conference of ecologists
–Bulgaria: 16) Municipalities with over 2.2 million decares of forests to form management union, 17) In the “Chuprene” biological preserve entering is prohibited since 1973,
–Turkey: 18) Questions about military fighting terrorists with forest fires
–Africa: 19) Dependency on bushmeat a threat to forests
–Rwanda: 20) Canadian carbon offset company to invest US$17M
–Botswana: 21) 80% of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve burned by fire
–Nigeria: 22) Catastrophic phenomena of this degradation is desertification
–Niger: 23) Obstacles working against reforestation
–Zambia: 24) Water flows correlate to forest loss
–Kenya: 25) Malaria more common in deforested areas? 26) Lake Bogoria nature reserve, 27) More on Mau forest, 28) Laikipia and Nyandarua form Community Forest Associations,
Uganda: 29) Losing millions of tonnes of fertile soils, 30) Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, 31) Agreement to conserve and manage Katsyoha-Kitomi forest, 32) Minister wants to demark reserves in Kooki and Rakai, 33) Gov. warns timber dealers of crackdown on illegal logging in Gulu and Amuru,
–Liberia: 34) Community rights law
–Tanzania: 35) UN selects ‘em as a pilot country to fight climate change,
–Ghana: 36) Kakum National Park a 350-square-kilometre remnant
–South Africa: 37) Corporate timber land leasing

Articles:

EU:

1) Fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 settled into the ground and on to the trees in major timber-exporting countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Finland and Sweden. Those countries export wood to furniture retailers around the world. While logging in many areas affected by Chernobyl fallout is against the law, the region is prone to illegal logging. It is especially rampant in the Russian-Ukrainian region where fallout was heavy, the World Wildlife Fund said in a report released in July. WWF says as much as 40% of global wood production comes from illegal timber operations, and Russia likely produces the largest quantity of illegal timber. Illegal timber, you can bet, is not held to high environmental testing standards, if any. The government of Ukraine, at least, has enacted laws to crackdown on illegal harvesting: 13.7% of forest lands are reserved, and almost half of Ukrainian forest (47%) has prohibition on final felling, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. But many first-hand reports and documentation can also be found of unethical logging practices in the affected areas. It should be noted that until May of this year the U.S. did not impose bans on illegal timber (the Combat Illegal Logging Act was attached to the farm bill passed in the spring). “Everybody knows the consequences of [the] Chernobyl catastrophe. Great damage was caused to Ukrainian forests. Forests of [the] Polissya Region, where the catastrophe happened, constitute 40% of Ukrainian forests. More [than] 50 forestry enterprises are situated there. Workers of these enterprises work in radiation area(s) and are exposed to radiation,” according to a recent official report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. That means timber operators in the region are distinctly exposed. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/your-furniture-could-radioactive/story.aspx?guid={8E3AE5BF-122D-41D6-912E-0E1FC6C0053E}

UK:

2) Group dress up for airport protest: A group of “trees” have gathered outside BAA’s offices in London to protest against the loss of ancient woodland which a second runway at Stansted Airport would cause. The campaigners from the Woodland Trust dressed up as the trees of ancient Philipland Wood, one of five ancient forest sites which would be lost if the second runway goes ahead. The Trust is concerned that nearly 20 hectares of ancient woodland – which it describes as the UK’s equivalent to rainforest – will be cut down under BAA’s plans. http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iOf6sA1QRHh9dSFGpNmCHxw3hiNQ

3) An appeal has already raised £25,000 locally towards buying a new piece of woodland in north Essex. The Woodland Trust announced in July it was planning to buy 260 acres of land near Elmstead Market and needs to raise about £2 million. So far a total of £750,000 has been raised through grant funding for the woodland, but regional development officer John Brown said there was still a long way to go. He said: “We had a public meeting, which was really well-attended, to tell people about our plans. “Everyone seems to be really enthusiastic and the local fundraising effort is great. “We spoke to people about what our plans will be for the woodland, but until we’ve bought the land we can’t make firm plans.” He explained that the public meeting had been very useful in helping them to develop ideas for the site. “We were discussing one area of land where barn owls nest which falls below the level of the road,” he said. “The people told us the owls were swooping low across the road and being hit by cars. “Now we know we need to plant that land a bit higher so they can’t do that – that’s why we like talking to local people.” http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/3700315.North_Essex__public_rally_to_help_buy_village_woodland/

4) Protesters are being asked to descend on County Hall in Norwich to help save a scenic wood from being turned into a quarry. On Friday, campaigners will present a petition of more than 10,700 names to Norfolk County Council in an attempt to persuade it to remove Waveney Forest from a list of potential quarry sites. The forest, at Fritton, near Yarmouth, is one of 100 sites that have been identified as a potential mineral extraction site to provide three million tonnes for house, school and roadbuilding material in the next 15 years. The council is expected to submit a shortlist of preferred sites early next year, and it is hoped that the forest, a popular haunt for walkers, will be dropped from this. Fritton Action Rescue Group will present the petition and wants people to turn up waving banners and placards. Jan Burton, from the group, said: “When we told the council that we would be handing in a petition with so many names they said they were astonished. Waveney Forest is a beautiful woodland that is a haven for rare wildlife and is loved by so many people. “We have had a lot of holiday- makers signing our petition as they enjoy taking their families for a day out in the forest. Instead of considering destroying it, the council should be helping to plant more trees there to make sure we can keep enjoying it.” http://www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/content/lowestoftjournal/news/story.aspx?brand=LOWOnline&category=NEWS&tBrand=lowonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED01%20Oct%202008%2010%3A46%3A37%3A580

5) Aberdeen bypass bosses were accused today of failing to fully understand the road’s impact. Ecologist Carol Crawford told a public inquiry they had not properly surveyed how it would affect ancient woodland. But Transport Scotland QC Aisla Wilson rejected the accusation – and said the proposed design met all “legal requirements”. Ms Crawford, representing the Woodland Trust charity, told the inquiry: “The impact assessment has been carried out with a limited vegetation survey, simplistic systems of evaluation and impact assessment. “Long-established and ancient woodlands have not been adequately assessed at any stage of the process.” Ms Crawford, a principal ecologist at the Natural Resource Consultancy, said: “The areas I sampled, data has errors in habitat classification and mapping, inadequate and at times misleading recording and description of habitats, and habitats missed altogether.” She claimed woodland at Craibstone and Kingcausie had been “undervalued”. But under cross- examination from Ms Wilson, she agreed her own survey had not been as rigorous as that carried out by the bypass team. Planting by trunk road agency Transport Scotland would almost double the amount of trees in the countryside around the city. Its witness Simon Jacyna had told the inquiry the scheme “would result in an increase in the area of woodland, and that woodland would consist predominantly of native species”. He also warned that alternative routes “do not offer any improvement to the proposed scheme”. Ms Crawford branded the mitigation measures as “optimistic”. The “preferred” route for the 28-mile dual carriageway leaves the A90 at Stonehaven and at Charleston, meets at Maryculter, and rejoins the A90 at Blackdog north of the city. http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/856628?UserKey=

6) The Woodland Trust and the Tree Council is appealing to members of the public to take part in this autumn’s Acorns to Ancients project by collecting seeds from ancient trees to grow into new trees and help to ensure the UK’s ancient trees have plenty of healthy descendents. Participants are also being asked to write about their experiences on the Ancient Tree Hunt website. Anyone wishing to take part can find their nearest ancient or veteran tree on the Ancient Tree Hunt website www.AncientTreeHunt.org.uk, where there are also tips for collecting and growing seeds into new trees. According to the trust, acorns from oak trees, ash keys from ash trees, and beechnuts from beech trees are easy to grow and will be big enough to plant outside after a year or so. Project manager Nikki Williams said: “Looking for ancient trees in your area from which to gather seeds is really important. Seeds that come from local trees belong to a tree family that’s already accustomed to the type of soil and climate where you live. http://www.thelancasterandmorecambecitizen.co.uk/visitlancs/lakesguide/lakeswalks/3692407.Walkers_urged_to_pick_up_an_acorn_from_ancient_trees/

7) A walker is angry that trees are being chopped down to make way for a woodland adventure park. The felling is taking place in Lever Park, Rivington. United Utilities, who own the land, say they are not doing anything wrong. But a rambler has accused the company of “hypocrisy” and “destroying” the beautiful environment. Robert Dootson, who lives in Adlington, said: “It is upsetting to see fully grown and healthy trees being chopped down. “I understand it is only the start of it so an adventure park can be built.” “Nobody knew about the implications of this park and people I have spoken to, many of whom are from Horwich, are angry at what is happening.” He added: “How hypocritical of United Utilities when the use as an argument for a new car park and parking restrictions is because cars are damaging tree roots.” Go Ape, a tree top adventure course, is due to open at Rivington next spring. Earlier this month, Horwich Town Council said it had not been properly consulted about proposed developments. It is understood the proposal required the felling of three oak trees to allow a two metre-wide safety zone either side of the route for a proposed zip wire. None of the trees are covered by a Tree Preservation Order. A spokesman for United Utilities said: “Parking is being reviewed for a number of reasons. Tree root damage is one problem, but others include verge erosion and access for emergency vehicles. http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/boltonnews/3688214.Anger_over_tree_felling_at_park/

8) A row has broken out over tree felling on Sheffield heathland which campaigners claim has “devastated” the area. But council chiefs and nature experts insist felling “invasive” birch trees is necessary to preserve the landscape at Wadsley and Loxley Common, part of which is registered as a Linear Nature Reserve and deemed a rare habitat. Sheffield Council, backed by conservation agency Natural England, believes the work is necessary to prevent the site being taken over by woodland, which would mean heathland and its wildlife would be lost forever. Species on the land include the nightjar, a nocturnal bird whose numbers are in steep decline, reptiles and invertebrates. Wadsley and Loxley Commoners, fromed 17 years ago, an organisation of local residents who care about the site, also back the work. But a more recently-established users’ group called Friends of Loxley Common have complained. Its members said they had “grown to treasure” young birch and oak woodland on the site, claimed they were unaware of a consultation process carried out before felling started and that work had left a “sense of devastation”. They claimed that, rather than increasing heather and bilberry, removal of trees would lead to more bracken. They were unhappy trees were cut down in the nesting season. But Hannah Isherwood, secretary of Wadsley and Loxley Commoners, said: “The commons used to consist of a beautiful expanse of glorious heather, together with open grassland and fine mature trees. In recent years, birch, regarded as a highly invasive tree, has gained a strong foothold and is destroying the heather. “The only way of stopping it is by felling and replacement with heather and gorse. “This work is being carried out with the warm support of the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners.” She said they organised a series of public meetings since management work was first proposed in 2004. Bradfield Parish Council confirmed the meetings were well-attended, one attracting 138 people. Public consultation included roadshows and people in the area were asked to complete comment cards. Vivien Cheetham, land management and conservation adviser for Natural England, said: “The site should be managed and conserved, primarily because of the national and international scarcity of this habitat and the associated threat to species on heaths.” Tree felling was proposed as part of an ongoing 10-year management plan for the site costing £24,000 over the decade. The controversy over the work is to be debated by Sheffield Council’s culture, economy and sustainability scrutiny board on Tuesday. http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Devastation-of-trees-at-nature.4519021.jp

9) Anyone who walks through their local forest or woodland at this time of year will be familiar with the temptation to pick up conkers, acorns and ash keys to play games like conker fighting and helicopters. Now Britain’s leading woodland charity, the Woodland Trust is launching the Acorns for Ancients project to encourage people to keep these seeds and plant them, ensuring Britain’s ancient trees have healthy descendents. As part of National Seed Gathering month, beginning on September 23 2008, the Woodland Trust and the Tree Council have launched the scheme alongside the Ancient Tree Hunt, an initiative led by the Trust along with several other environmental and heritage charities. “Looking for ancient trees in your area from which to gather seeds is really important,” said Ancient Tree Hunt project manager Nikki Williams. “Seeds that come from local trees belong to a tree family that’s already accustomed to the type of soil and climate where you live. Ancient trees have already proved they can live for a long time, so it’s a good idea to collect from them.” The Woodland Trust has over 300,000 members and aims to prevent any further loss of ancient woodland and increase people’s understanding and enjoyment of forests and wooded areas. There are three main threats to the survival of ancient trees in Britain. Many are cut down as they are seen as dangerous or untidy, trees are also often removed for development and agriculture. There is also competition from surrounding trees, both planted and naturally occurring. Through the Ancient Tree Hunt, the Woodland Trust aims to record 100,000 ancient trees within five years. Already 20,000 have been recorded on the Ancient Tree Hunt website. It is hoped, by keeping track of the location and other details of the trees the trust can become even more effective in protecting them. http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART60921.html

Ireland:

10) The minister for the Environment has been asked to investigate why Drogheda Borough Council failed to protect 300-year-old beech trees felled early last Saturday morning by a property developer. The trees were on Cromwell’s Lane, believed to have been on the route Oliver Cromwell took to the town. The trees are on the grounds of Bayview House, which is recorded in the National Inventory of Architectural History . It is owned by Eugene O’Connor of Keal-Ryan developers in Meath, a director of Drogheda United FC. The club has its offices in Bayview House. Mr O’Connor defended the felling and said it was done following a tree survey and was necessary for public safety. As a result of the survey his insurance underwriters said any liability relating to the trees was excluded from his cover. He said his legal advice was that: “I had a duty of care to have the trees removed as soon as possible, and if any trees fell on to the public road, I would be liable for any damage or loss of life or limb that would result. They were felled due to the genuine threat that they would split, or even snap, and fall out on to the busy Dublin Road in the near future,” he added. However the felling was described as “wanton vandalism” by local resident Kevin Tiernan. “People here are infuriated. Three hundred years of living history is gone.” http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0919/1221690003368.html

11) The oak wood plantation that came with our house is nearing ten years old and as part of the forestry scheme it was planted under we are now officially required to submit a management plan. Getting our medium and long term aims down on paper is something we wanted to do anyway and so to receive formal notification was a great motivator to get moving. Having done some research on various management techniques the one that appealed to us the most was a continuous cover ‘close to nature’ approach. There are only two or three professional foresters actively practicing this technique in Ireland. We enlisted the help of forester Paddy Purser and rather than just ticking the boxes on the required official forms he agreed to come and spend a whole day with us and a friend in our woods training us in the first steps of ‘close to nature’ silviculture. Although it piddled rain for the duration we were enthralled and hardly noticed being soaked to the skin. Paddy taught us how to prune, how much to prune and what to prune. He showed us how to select ‘frame trees’ which are the ones we will favour in the long term for the timber trade. We marked the frame trees with yellow tape, we also marked special interest trees with blue tape and in a few years time others will be marked with red tape for thinning. We identified small areas of poor quality trees that could be cleared to allow naturally germinating saplings grow and thrive, thus encouraging natural regeneration and increasing the biodiversity of the plantation. In our woods there are plenty of ash and sycamore saplings just waiting for a spot of sunlight to race up through the canopy. By allowing more species to grow the crop becomes more like nature intended and is consequently resilient to disease and natural disasters such as storms which can wipe out vast tracts of forests of a uniform age. http://sallygardens.typepad.com/sallygardens/2008/09/a-plan-for-the.html

Finland:

12) For the past week, I’ve been staying in northern Finland, just south of the Arctic Circle and a few kilometers shy of the restricted zone that marks the Russian border. This is the boreal forest, a place of almost surreal silence this time of year, when most of the birds have already migrated. The first night I was here I stood in the middle of a bridge over a broad, slow-moving river that flows into Russia. It was dusk, a clear night, and I had come out to listen to nothing. There was no wind in the trees, not even the slightest breeze. The river below me was silent, and for the half-hour I stood there I heard not a sound. I found myself checking, again and again, to see whether I had gone deaf. I popped my ears. I scuffed a shoe. I tossed a rock into an eddy along the river’s edge. I tapped the guard-rail with a knuckle. There was nothing wrong with my hearing. The human ear is not really meant for straining, and yet I was straining to hear. The silence felt more like an unnatural muffling of my senses than the porous stillness of the natural world, of which I was a part. The next week I spent in and out of the forest, listening with my eyes, so to speak, and not my ears. It has been a cold, wet summer in Finland, a season filled with the sound of rain falling through the spruces and pines. All of the Finns I met grimaced when they talked about it, as if the summer had tasted like cold, weak coffee. But the past week has been dry, and every night there has been frost. The leaves are turning fast. A fog hangs above the river in the mornings, which only deepens the illusion of silence. I say illusion because on my last night here, I went back to the bridge, again under a clear sky. There are long shadows even at midday this time of year, and dusk is still reluctant to give way to real darkness. As I stood there, I heard the faint, but quite audible roar of the rapids a half-mile downstream and around a great bend. Why had I not heard it that first night? The answer, I suppose, is that I was too busy not hearing the things I’m used to hearing, including the great roar that underlies the city’s quietest moments. It had taken a week to empty my ears, to expect to hear nothing and to find in that nothing something to hear after all. New York Times, Editorial Notebook Two Silences
By VERLYN KLINKENBORG

13) Today, Oct. 1, we found ourselves deep in the Patvinsuo forest exploring management tools, including fire, for productive forest systems. It struck me, more than ever, what a diverse range of perspectives, skills and experiences are represented among our hardy Minnesota band — it makes the learning that much more rich. Our Finnish hosts, including sociologists, economists and ecologists, led far ranging discussions on the variety of impacts of forest management practices and ownership structures on all three “baskets” of forest values – social, cultural, and ecological. They pointed out that the mechanization of forestry over the past four decades — which saw ten chain-saw-wielding loggers replaced with a single machine operator — has had profound impact on employment and lifestyles in these remote rural communities. They also described the historical and cultural factors that have contributed to Finnish private land ownership patterns and attitudes. Half-way through our time here in Scandinavia, the learning is really beginning to gel around the learning themes we developed a year ago while touring the forests of Minnesota’s Aitkin County. Tomorrow we arrive in Sweden for yet another comparison. Then it’s time to pull it all together. http://vfvc.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/the-richness-of-shared-learning/

Norway:

14) The firm’s cancer detection research started with some studies conducted at Norway’s agricultural college. Two researchers there noticed that if fir trees got sick at their roots, the sickness became noticeable in the genetic structure of the trees’ needles within a few days. They believed a similar process could occur in humans, and they founded DiaGenic, which is now listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. “The idea is that the body reacts when we get sick,” Dr Erik Christensen, chief executive of DiaGenic, told Aftenposten.no. By monitoring genetic activity, they believe they can detect onset of specific diseases, through the body’s secondary reaction. He said the firm has concentrated on finding a method for detecting breast cancer, as a supplement to mammography. “Especially in younger women, this can give more certain and precise detection,” Christensen said. One of DiaGenic’s founders is from India, and much of the research has taken place in India. Another study is needed before the test can be launched in Europe, so India is the initial testing ground. Christensen hopes the test also can eventually be used to detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease at an early stage as well. http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2675655.ece

Germany:

15) The largest ever conference of ecologists from all over Europe was taking place in Leipzig from 15 to 19 September 2008. Over 1000 participants from more than 30 countries have registered for EURECO-GFOE 2008. The conference is a joint meeting of the European Ecological Federation (EEF) and the Gesellschaft für Ökologie (GfÖ) and is being organised at the Congress Center Leipzig by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Universities of Halle-Wittenberg and Leipzig. The EEF is the umbrella organisation of the national ecological associations in Europe. Over 8000 ecologists belong to its member associations. The GfÖ is the ecological society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/10001.php?from=122000

Bulgaria:

16) Mayors of 35 municipalities across Bulgaria mull setting up a union in order to coordinate their forest management efforts and increase their control powers. This is what ]the mayor of Ihtiman Margarita Petkova announced. The planned national union will be established 25 September as municipalities with over 2.2 million decares of forests are invited for membership. Once founded, the union will be pushing for legislative amendments towards a more transparent process of logging authorization and procurement. The founding municipalities say the union will be fighting for forest preservation. They admit though, they’ve invited the mayors of Svoge and Elin Pelin – where some serious forest area swaps have been reported – for membership. http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n153227

17) Sofia. In the “Chuprene” biological preserve entering is prohibited since 1973, when the 15 000 decares of the preserve are put under UNESCO protection, the Standart Daily reports. Locals often get sore on the matter: “UNESCO is indebted to us”, they say, “The women have hide themselves even when picking berries”. “There is not even a road to the preserve, we are not allowed to build one”, people protest. What is going to happen if a wildfire occurs, no one even dares to think about. “They could at least allow us to build eco-trail, so we can show tourists the preserve”.
And there is a lot to see – rare tree species, some more than 160 years old. According to specialist some part pf the preserve bares the signs of the woods dying and drying out but Europe is still not granting the requested permission for sanitary felling as a method for keeping the forest healthy. http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n153436

Turkey:

18) Hakkari deputy for the Democratic Society Party (DTP), has submitted a question motion about the forest fires in the southeastern Turkey, which he claims are used in the fight against terror. He directed his question to Minister of Environment and Forestry Veysel Ero?lu. “They are being burned for the operations” Geylani says, in his motion, that most of the forested regions in the area have been destroyed by fires that arise because of the clashes in the eastern and southeastern Turkey over the years. “Nobody interferes in the forest fires” Geylani says, “What is worse is they do not interfere, they simple watch them burn. The same sensitivity that is shown for the forest fires in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of the country should be shown for the ones in the eastern and southeastern regions.” Geylani’s questions are briefly as follows: 1) How many hectares of forests have been destroyed in eastern and southeastern regions between 1990 and 2008? Do you have some ideas about the causes of these fires? 2) What do you know about the allegation that the forest fires in the region are being set by the security forces? 3) Do you have information about the forests burned by the military operations up until today? 4) Why nobody tries to put out these fires? Why the authorities watch them burn? 5) Why no legal actions are taken against those who burn these forests? 6) Are certain regions discriminated when it comes to the forest fires? 7) Are the authorities trying to reforest these areas destroyed by fires? If yes, then how much reforesting have been done? 8) Will you do anything about the land going bad in the eastern and southeastern Turkey? http://www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109808/are-the-forests-fires-in-eastern-and-southeastern-turkey-set-intentionally

Africa:

19) The dependency on bushmeat in Central and West Africa is higher compared to East Africa where the more open Savannah’s gives more room for livestock production and crop farming. In the Congo basin, most communities have relied on wild meat for food for centuries but the situation has been compounded by rising human population, opening up of the forests by logging companies and commercialization of the commodity. Across West and central Africa, the trade is worth as much as $200 million, and $175 million in Latin America’s Amazon basin. In East Africa, the trade is worth far much less but we cannot afford to continue ignoring such a serious problem especially now that research has shown that bushmeat is no longer a subsistence activity but a source of thriving illegal trade that involves more people than previously thought. According to a report by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (Read the report below) “blanket bans on wild meat consumption is bound to fail and, if enforced, deprive poor families living in forest regions of much-needed nutrition and cash earnings. Legalizing parts of the bushmeat trade could dispel the stigma attached to it, aid regulation and help efforts to save endangered species”.http://bushmeateastafrica.wildlifedirect.org/2008/09/18/food-or-slaughter-bushmeat-fuels-wildlife-debate/

Rwanda:

20) A Canadian carbon offset development company plans to invest US$17m on reforestation projects in Rwanda over the next 20 years, one of its senior officials said. Ecosystem Restoration Associates (ERA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rwanda’s Multisector Investment Group Ltd, which finances small-to-medium sized companies and will act as the local implementer of the offset programme. ERA Chief Operations Officer Bart Simmons told IRIN that his company would pay Rwandans to plant trees using money paid by companies in the west to offset their carbon emissions. “This will be our first project in Africa. Money paid to locals is an incentive to motivate them to plant more trees. We are already implementing similar projects in Canada and South America,” he said. ERA has to sign a carbon offset agreement with the Rwandan government before the scheme goes ahead. An official at the ministry of natural resources told IRIN that talks were already under way and that approval was expected to be granted before the end of September. According to the MOU seen by IRIN, the Canadian company will invest $1m in its first year of operations in Rwanda and subsequently between $0.5 million $0.8 million every year till 2038. In 1962, Rwanda boasted some 634,000 ha of forest cover. By 2004 this had fallen to 200,000 ha, according to government data. The quadrupling of Rwanda’s population over the last 50 years has played a significant role in the deforestation. Recent years, however, have seen several reforestation programmes in Rwanda, whose government is working to ensure that 30 percent of its surface is covered by forest by 2030. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80435

Botswana:

21) More than 80 percent of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana, the world’s largest wildlife park, has been destroyed by fires in the past two weeks, a government official said. “It is a huge, huge chunk of land,” Gantsi District Commissioner, Jefferson Siamisang told AFP late Wednesday. Aerial tours had shown that animals had fled into safe zones and no wildlife deaths have been reported. But the vegetation, which offers shelter from the scorching desert heat and grazing, had been greatly affected. “Vegetation is their source of life. The wildlife will struggle,” Siamisang said. The reserve, which covers 52,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles), is the pride of Botswana, boasting hundreds of wildlife species and a serene environment that attracts tourists from around the world. Siamisang said past fires had not been this bad. “The CKGR is a very huge, huge area. It is difficult to determine the causes of the fires. Some fires started from within the park, some started outside the park.” Botswana Tourism Board spokesperson, Keitumetse Setlang said the whole industry was “worried” about the fires because of the damage to tourism. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Fires_ravage_worlds_largest_wildlife_reserve_in_Botswana_999.html

Nigeria:

22) Nigerians have consistently failed to place environmental issues on the front burner of national priority and have over the years, proved to be poor managers of the stupendous resources the nation has been blessed with. Few Nigerians appreciate the importance of maintaining a stable relationship between the people and the environment which is an anchor to the socio economic development of the country. This nonchalant attitude has manifested in the varied ecological problems that are capable of turning this land of opportunities into a wasteland. There is no gainsaying the fact that land degradation, either through deforestation, pollution, erosion or other extraneous factors, are gradually narrowing the confines of agricultural land and creating conflicts among communities. One of such catastrophic phenomena of this degradation is desertification, which experts say is moving inwards at the rate of 10 kilometers annually and has already devastated more than 38 per cent of the country’s land mass with an equal percentage of Nigerians already displaced. The borders of the desert have continued to expand from Borno through Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto States, forcing thousands of people to move southwards each year. This movement exposes the green belt of the savannah to more exploitation and degradation. In 1994, Nigeria ratified the UN Convention to combat desertification but has so far shown very little commitment to check the menace. Today, the reality is that the desert has overtaken villages in places like Tulwatulwa, Damasak, Kaska, Issa, Birnin Kuka, among others, all in the northern part of the country. Experts say more than N400billion is lost annually in agricultural produce, fisheries and livestock while thousands of people die yearly or suffer from life threatening diseases due to desertification. Human activities are said to be largely responsible for the desert condition existing in the country, coupled with the government’s nonchalance in enforcing existing laws against practices that encourage it. http://allafrica.com/stories/200809180436.html

Niger:

23) Conventional methods of reforestation in Africa have often failed. Even community-based projects with individual or community nurseries struggle to keep up the momentum once project funding ends. The obstacles working against reforestation are enormous. But a new method of reforestation called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) could change this situation. It has already done so in the Republic of Niger, one of the world’s poorest nations, where more than 3 million hectares have been re-vegetated using this method. Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration involves selecting and pruning stems regenerating from stumps of previously felled, but still living trees. Sustainability is a key feature of the programme which requires very little investment by either government or NGOs to keep it going. The story in Niger can offer valuable insights and lessons for other nations. The almost total destruction of trees and shrubs in the agricultural zone of Niger between the 1950s and 1980s had devastating consequences. Deforestation worsened the adverse effects of recurring drought, strong winds, high temperatures, infertile soils and pests and diseases on crops and livestock. Combined with rapid population growth and poverty, these problems contributed to chronic hunger and periodic acute famine. Back in 1981, the whole country was in a state of severe environmental degradation, an already harsh land turning to desert, and a people under stress. More and more time was spent gathering poorer and poorer quality firewood and building materials. Women had to walk for miles for fuel such as small sticks and millet stalks. Cooking fuel was so scarce that cattle and even goat manure was used. This further reduced the amount of fodder available for livestock and manure being returned to the land. Under cover of dark, people would even dig up the roots of the few remaining protected trees. http://permaculture.org.au/2008/09/24/the-development-of-farmer-managed-natural-regeneration/

Zambia:

24) Deforestation has affected the water cycle in one of Zambia’s largest charcoal-producing regions, forcing residents to adopt unsustainable farming practices in the wetlands, say experts. Since the 1990s, several perennial streams in the Kaoma district of Western Province have become seasonal and some have even dried up, while the water level in the Luena River, which flows through the town of Kaoma, has dropped, say residents. Morris Muchinda, director of the Zambia Meteorological Department, said there was a correlation between the streams drying up and charcoal production, which began in the district on a fairly large scale in the 1990s. Zambia is one of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s top ten countries with the highest annual deforestation rates. Most of the trees are used as firewood or to produce charcoal. Trees draw ground water up through their roots and release it into the atmosphere, so when forests are removed the region cannot hold as much water, which could lead to a drier climate, said Muchinda. Deforestation also affects the carbon cycle warming up the atmosphere, and is responsible for 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year, amounting to one-fifth of the global total. According to the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research, this is more than the combined total contributed by the world’s energy-intensive transport sectors. Some estimates put the contribution of deforestation to climate change at almost the same level as fossil fuel use in the United States. Rainfall in Kaoma town has declined over the past three decades. Between 1960 and 1970 the town recorded an average rainfall of 945mm; from 1971 to 1980 this declined slightly to 943mm, before slumping to 839mm between 1981 and 1990. By 2000, the figure had fallen to 823mm. “Judging by these trends, we are able to see that the rainfall pattern really got worse in the 1990s, and that’s the time when Kaoma town started doing a lot of charcoal burning. It was a few years before the streams and tributaries started drying up,” Muchinda said. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80700

Kenya:

25) Malaria “vectorial capacity was estimated to be 77.7% higher in the deforested site than in the forested site” in western Kenya according to a new study by Afrane and colleagues. Deforestation created micro-climates and micro-habitats. They concluded that “deforestation in the western Kenyan highlands could potentially increase malaria risk,” and unfortunately, “In African highlands where temperature is an important driving factor for malaria and the human population generally has little functional immunity.” Generally, “Kenya’s forests are rapidly declining due to pressure from increased population and other land uses,” as explained by the World Rainforest Movement (WFM). The process has been long standing from including early establishment of large agricultural plantations in the last Century to continued agricultural expansion based on population growth and logging. WFM advocates for community involvement in forest conservation. Kenya is making progress on reducing malaria deaths through successful LLIN and treatment efforts, but this may be offset if communities do not see the connection between malaria and their environment. Intersectoral collaboration in malaria control is crucial so that gains in malaria intervention coverage are not counteracted through expanding endemic areas. http://www.malariafreefuture.org/blog/?p=553

26) Lake Bogoria is a fascinating nature reserve in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Set in a strange arid landscape, the lake attracts tens of thousands of flamingos. The multitudes of bright pink birds contrast with the grayish-blue landscape. The lake itself is shallow and saline; boiling hot springs and geysers can be found along its western shore. Fish eagles and marabou storks haunt the waters, seeking out flamingo for dinner. Antelope, even the greater kudu, can sometimes be seen, while hyraxes make their homes in the surrounding bare rock. However, the strange beauty of this reserve comes with a grim reality not shown to tourists. For centuries the Endorois people lived as pastoralists, raising cattle and bees, near the shores of Lake Bogoria. Frequently they migrated between Lake Bogoria and Monchongoi Forest, about 45 kilometers apart. In 1974 after a portion of their traditional lands was designated the Lake Bogoria Nature Reserve, the Endorois people were evicted to a small parcel of semi-arid land on their migration route. They became what is known as conservation refugees. Usually when we hear the term “refugee,” we think of conflict, famine, or, increasingly, climate change. But conservation has created its own form of refugees: people forced from their homelands for the establishment of a reserve or park. “The Endorois have practiced a sustainable way of life on the shores of Lake Bogoria and in the Monchongoi forest for centuries,” says Emma Eastwood from Minority Rights Group International (MRG), which is currently running a campaign to aid the Endorois people in achieving more recognition and ultimately a better life from Kenya’s government. “They assert that these are their ancestral lands and claim their right to the land as a collective and not as individuals. They are seen by many to be the trustees of the land for future generations.” Promised appropriate compensation and 25 percent of the proceeds from the Lake Bogoria Natural Reserve, the Endorois community received neither. The money was meant to aid the Endorois in building water management systems for the arid landscape, schools, roads, and hospitals. Instead, the Endorois have suffered from poverty and lack of resources, while the Kenyan government has ignored their plight. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0922-hance_endorois.html

27) It is appalling to hear the pessimistic comments from the legislators at a time when the authorities have noted with great concern the destruction in Mau and even proposed mechanisms to rehabilitate the country’s leading water tower. The United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) has been calling for concerted efforts to stop logging in the forest. And the UN arm resounded a severe warning recently about economic implications should the encroachment of the Mau Forest continue. Unep says over $300 million from the tea, tourism and energy sectors could be lost if the Mau Complex continue to be degraded and destroyed. According to Unep Executive Director, Achim Steiner, the body has been documenting continued destruction and erosion for the past few years of this vital ecosystem for Kenya and the people of Kenya. “It has reached a point where if no measures are taken, Kenya will lose one of its fundamental assets,” he said. Mau Complex is not only an asset of national importance that supports key economic sectors in Rift Valley and western Kenya, including energy, tourism, agriculture and water supply, but it is also the single most important water catchment in the Rift Valley and western Kenya. It is wise to inform the legislators that safeguarding natural creation will be one of the new virtues of a good leadership from now on. The leadership and the inspiring environmental conservation words of the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai a few years ago should guide the leaders in supporting such task forces as that of the Mau Complex formed by the PM. It is a way of reviving the stakeholders’ commitment to protecting creation and the environment.Some conservationists have spoken against the destruction caused by the ravages of the irresponsible logging cartels. They seem to have the protection of rich political families and they plunder natural resources at will. The issue is becoming a point of antagonism between the local leaders and the Government. The plunder caused to the tower by companies and cronies raping the forests will stand trial also. Loggers with political protection and influence have been able to get exemptions from the logging ban thus the continued evil of destruction of Mau Forest. They are cutting and felling the last of this exotic and beautiful tropical primary forest. The buzz of the killer chain saws echoes through the dense forest. It is the new scythe of death. Armed to destroy with the high-pitched sound machines that send shivers down ones’ spine, it is the killer machine deployed by those with no love of nature or creation despite its valuable benefits. These people are collaborators and cronies of millionaire who put profits above the nation or its people. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10169&Itemid=5821

28) The enactment of the Forest Act 2005 has opened up business opportunities for communities living close to woodlands. By taking a bigger role in the conservation of the forests, the communities are saving the Government money that would be spent on hiring more forest officers. In exchange, the community groups nurture and sustainably harvest forest products which fetch high prices in the market. The groups in Laikipia and Nyandarua have formed Community Forest Associations (CFAs) in Ndaragwa, Shamanek, Olborosat, Rumuruti and Lariak that have started forest derived income generating projects. The associations bring together the Kenya Forest Service and stakeholders ranging from grazers to fuel and honey collectors. Under the Lainya Environmental Alliance, the five CFAs have been able to attract funding including Sh22 million from the Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF), a European Union donor. The funding targets self sustaining projects that will long outlive donor assistance, said Moses Kambo, a projects manager with the Nyahururu based alliance. The funds have helped the group germinate seedlings for replanting in government forests at a fee. “We have raised 25,000 seedlings to be planted on denudated areas within the forest. We plan to have 25,000 more seedlings within the year, said Mr Josphat Wagura, the secretary of the Ndaragwa community forest association. The government forest service oversees the activities of the CFA. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10213&Itemid=5880

Uganda:

29) UGANDA loses millions of tonnes of fertile soils to lower Nile riparian countries of Sudan and Egypt through erosion, Parliament has heard. Environment state minister Jessica Eriyo said this on Thursday. Quoting the National Forestry Authority National Biomass Study Report 2007, Eriyo also said Uganda’s forests had been depleted at a rate of 92,000 hectares annually from 1990 to 2005. She noted that the forest cover had reduced from over 4.9 million hectares to 3.5 million hectares. Eriyo explained that her ministry is faced with the challenges of a growing population in its fight against deforestation. She noted that unless the country had a good land use policy, it would be difficult to control deforestation. Eriyo said forests contributed about $546.6m annually to the economy. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/652008

30) Jeffrey Sachs has a new book out. The renowned author and economist, in a follow-up to his 2005 best seller, “The End of Poverty,” continues his assessment of the global economy and what it will take to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the book titled, “Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet,” Sachs argues that unless the world comes together to face the four major challenges of global poverty, stabilising the global population, narrowing the gaps between the rich and the poor and protecting the environment in a spirit of global cooperation, it will not be possible to engage in sustainable growth and development. These challenges are too huge for individual countries to go about solving on their own, and if the world’s leaders continue in the current mode of unilateralist attempts at piecemeal solving of these challenges without the joint global effort that is really required, by the turn of this century, the problems will be insurmountable. And that the consequence will be devastation of the human population, of the entire global eco-system and an end to the efforts of the past two centuries to increase prosperity, develop new technologies and meet human needs satisfactorily. Without this global effort, current attempts to stop the harmful effects of climate change, to bring in more and more of the earth’s population into a share of global prosperity and to find manageable and efficient ways to use the earth’s ever dwindling natural resources will be futile. This analysis of the current state of the global economy offers a new and important framework to take a fresh look at why the less developed countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America have failed over the past half century to make much progress in the march towards greater prosperity and sustainable development. It offers an opportunity to go beyond the usual scapegoats of poor leadership, corruption, mismanagement, politics and greed. It shifts the focus to the more useful notion of the interconnectedness of the world, and the need to make that interconnectedness more permanent as humanity struggles to deal with these four paramount global issues. It is going to require a massive change of attitude on the part of all people. Take for example the issue of the dwindling natural resources of the entire world. If Ugandan policy makers think that in order to develop further they need to encourage industrialisation and by that they essentially mean increasing production of sugar cane in order to increase sugar exports and thereby increase marginally foreign exchange earnings, then it will not matter how much people complain about how harmful it would be to do this by destroying one of Uganda’s major natural resources, Mabira Forest. http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=107328

31) The National Forestry Authority (NFA) has entered into an agreement with four community-based organisations in Bushenyi district to conserve and manage Katsyoha-Kitomi forest. The organisations’ activities will include tree-planting. They were connected to NFA by Nature Uganda, which is implementing the Participatory Environ-mental Management (PEMA II) project in Bushenyi, Ibanda and Kamwenge districts. Paul Musamari, a representative from NFA, said they could not manage the forests without collaboration from the communities living near them. He was speaking at the signing of the agreement at St. Francis Vocational School in Kyamuhunga sub-county, Bushenyi recently. Musamari noted that the increasing population in the country was hurting natural resources, especially the forests, because communities carry out illegal deforestation to clear land for settlement and agriculture as well as get fuel. He explained that NFA would work with the communities and give them tree seedlings and beehives. “The forests are facing pressure from all corners. That is why we are coming up with programmes to promote their sustainable use,” Musamari said. He added that the increasing demand for timber because of the boom in the construction industry had also led to the reduction in forest coverage in the country. PEMA II project manager Alex Aruho said the project targeted over 3,000 households living near forests. These households have been encroaching on the forest because of lack of alternative sources of income and fuel. “We are sensitising the people on how they can earn from the environment and conserve it at the same time,” Aruho said. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/18/650912

32) The Minister of water and environment, Maria Mutagamba, has asked Parliament to degazette areas which were marked as forest reserves in Kooki and Rakai. She said by the time these areas were marked, there were few people. “The population has grown yet the land does not expand. We need to degazette some of the forest reserves to accomodate our people,” she said. Mutagamba made the appeal during the committee’s tour of Kooki county in Rakai district. Members of parliament met the residents who are on the verge of being evicted. Mutagamba said 70% of the land marked as forest reserve is occupied, adding that there was need to sensitise the occupants on how to preserve the forests. The people of Kooki, however, attacked the government for threatening to evict them. “We thought that the NRM government was the best but it is surprising to learn that the very government we are praising is trying to evict us from our ancestral land,” Wilson Byaruhanga of Kasula Lwembajja village said. Kyalulangira sub-county chairperson, Erisa Semanda, told the MPs that roads, schools, non-governmental organisations and the sub-county headquarters had been constructed in the so-called forest reserves, adding that he wondered what would happen to them. The committee was shocked to learn that most of the people had land titles in the forest reserves. Mutagamba said the problem had been created by former President Idi Amin’s double standards. Mutagamba assured the people of Rakai districtthat her committee would come up with a decision after the tour. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/19/649909

33) The National Forestry Authority has given timber dealers in Gulu and Amuru districts up to two weeks to clear all the timber sheds with illegal wood. NFA’s Aswa range manager Denis Oyiro said 80 per cent of timber sold in Gulu is illegal and should be impounded. “Most of the timber is power sawn, something that is against the law. Using the power saw is wasteful,” Mr Oyiro said. “Legal timber should posses a legal hammer mark and forestry declaration form.” Mr Oyiro was on Thursday speaking during a meeting to sensitise timber dealers on how to conduct their business legally. “We are going to put hammer marks on the timber in the shades and nobody should bring in illegal timber after the two weeks of amnesty,” he said. Mr Pope Onen, a representative of the dealers, said they use the power saw because they sometimes get their timber near streams. He said the logs sometimes fall in the water and the only way of getting them out is using the power saw. “We pay a lot of money in taxes to various authorities and are most of the time left with meagre profits,” Mr Onen said. “Before you start to cut timber in an area, the local councils will ask you to pay some money,” he said. “We are not issued with receipts for the payments we make.” Timber dealers in Gulu and Amuru buy their timber from Hoima and Masindi, as there is no high quality timber in the sub-region. Mr Oyiro said there is a challenge of counterfeit hammers especially in Masindi District. He said the last time Masindi had a genuine hammer was five years ago. http://allafrica.com/stories/200809230149.html
Liberia:

34) Citizens of Grand Bassa County, at a mass meeting on Friday, expressed support for the passage of the Community Rights Law, an Act which seeks to give ownership of all forest land to the local communities, a release over the weekend said. The Community Rights Law was adopted by the Liberian Senate on September 11, 2008 and unanimously concurred with by the House of Representatives on September 19, 2008. According to the Act, all forest lands in Liberia are owned by local communities. The Act also establishes the rights of local communities or forest dwellers to receive and control revenue from commercial activities on their forest lands and that commercial activities on community forest lands will only occur after they have negotiated and agreed a revenue-sharing agreement with the forestry authorities.In expressing their support for the legislative action, the citizens of Bassa urged President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to approve the law for the benefit of the locals and other Liberians. The citizens said the law is in the interest of the people and should not be disapproved by the Executive. The mass meeting was attended by the Bassa Advocacy Group, Bassa Youth Caucus, Bassa Women Development Association (BAWODA), Women of Peace, the Teacher’s Association and several other organizations and prominent citizens. The citizens said they support the law because it will bring development to their area and also allow them to participate in community forest activities. They believe the Community Rights Law will also change the behaviors of logging companies because, according to them, the operations of logging companies will largely depend on the approval of the communities. Since the enactment of the law, community radio stations in Grand Bassa have been broadcasting summaries of the Act and commentaries in the local vernacular. The citizens said law, although belated, will help to address some of the issues they faced in the past including lack of development in their areas.Grand Bassa County hosted the Oriental Timber Company (OTC), a company that was constantly accused by NGOs of being involved in human rights abuses and illegal logging. Although the company allegedly made millions of dollars during its three years of operation in the county, the company is said to have failed to carry out any development project. http://thenews.com.lr/story.php?record_id=3950?=News

Tanzania:

35) The United Nations collaborative programme of FAO, UNDP and UNEP agencies on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD Programme) has selected Tanzania as a pilot country for the UN efforts to fight climate change through reducing deforestation. The UN-REDD Programme aims to assist forested developing countries to make significant progress in reducing deforestation, forest degradation, and associated emission of greenhouse gasses. Tropical forested countries are stepping up the efforts to combat climate change via a pioneering new initiative called the UN-REDD Programme announced in New York yesterday (September 24th). The Programme, to be carried out by three United Nations agencies, was unveiled by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg whose government is providing the necessary initial funding of US$35 million. Tanzania has expressed interest in participating in this initiative, as a part of its already established partnership with Norway on climate change. Only two other countries in Africa, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo are among the nine countries initially included in the program. http://appablog.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/tanzania-un-and-norway-un-ite-to-combat-deforestation/

Ghana:

36) This primeval forest in southern Ghana boasts 300 species of birds, unique monkeys and the highly endangered forest elephant and bongo antelope. But the only wildlife I saw was one very long worm. The tropical rainforest of Kakum National Park is so thick that light barely breaks through the treetops. Spotting animals, often shy night-wanderers, is an uncommon joy, won with great patience and luck. Regrettably, the group of visitors that I was part of had neither. Kakum’s “canopy walk” tries to better the odds of glimpsing the park’s leery inhabitants. The rope bridge suspended 30 to 34 metres off the forest floor yields an extraordinary sweep of nature from what feels like just below cloud level. A 20-minute climb from the reception and restaurant area on a trail through the dank thicket takes you up 183 metres to the edge of the valley. At the top of the ridge you step onto the bridge, with only a narrow plank of wood underpinned by a few steel bars and a netting of rope separating you from the abyss. The thrill of skywalking can be tempered for an acrophobe like me, who is reluctant to even board a ferris wheel. Knowing that there is nothing to fear does little to settle nerves or steady shaky knees. But with a deep breath and a determined look ahead (not down), I walked the plank and pulled myself along the rope handrails to the first wooden platform, a circular treehouse that serves as a way station on the 305-metre-long walkway. Kakum, which became a national park in 1990, is a 350-square-kilometre remnant of the vast forest that once stretched near the Atlantic Ocean shore of West Africa, from Guinea through Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Today, 90 per cent of Ghana’s rainforest is gone, felled by agriculture and mining. Kakum stands amid small plots of maize, cocoa, cassava and palm oil and tracks of degraded scrub land that were farmed and abandoned when the soil became depleted. http://www.times-standard.com/travel/ci_10530321

South Africa:

37) The managers at York seem to be getting it right, as the transformation of the former Tucker family-controlled forest-products business into Africa’s largest forestry and timber milling company is taking hold. A serious complication is that SA’s main log supplier is state-owned Komatiland — the break-up of which seems to be permanently on hold after three failed privatisation bids. For a business utterly dependent on logs, there was nothing else to do but grow your own or, as in the case of York, to acquire a forestry operation. Enter Global Forest Products, which came on the market after its bid for Komatiland failed. Now land claims on 45% of York’s forestry operations mean it faces a new threat to its carefully constructed vertically integrated operation. But corporate services director Gay Mokoena has a plan. He says York’s model will result in it leasing back land handed over in terms of land claims for three growing cycles, that is, about 75 years. The new cost will be covered by interest earned on the market-related compensation paid to the company by the state. It sounds like a great plan, provided everyone, particularly a government under pressure to deliver on land reform, co-operates. York should ensure it does indeed receive market-related prices, preferably recalculated after the terms of land hand-over deals have been struck. http://allafrica.com/stories/200809180683.html