–Today for you 32 news articles about earth’s trees! (439th edition) http://forestpolicyresearch.com
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Index:

–Hawaii: 1) Native Wiliwii trees get african wasps for protection

–West Java: 2) Logging caused a deadly landslide,

–Fiji: 3) Fiji water company donates to protect forests, 4) See you in court says the loggers!

–Indonesia: 5) Honey supply depends on stopping loggers, 6) Road building in North Sumatra has been shut down) Mass deforestation locations identified, 7) 70% of Kutai National Park is destroyed, 8) Getting women to get men to stop logging, 9) Forest policy needs to be fixed to prevent floods and landslides,

–Sulawesi: 10) Pygmy Tarsier’s found in area that straddles the Wallace line

–Solomon Islands: 11) Illegal logging aftermath

–Papua New Guinea: 12) There’s gonna be lots of disputes between landowners and government over REDD, 13) Palm Oil is really about local family incomes / feeding the world?

–Australia: 14) Wireless forest monitoring, 15) Two protesters arrested for shutting down logging in Weld valley, 16) Tassie Tourists road threatens habitat, 17) Enviros come up with bush fire prevention plan, 18) Ban all Native Forest logging, 19) Tree defender arrested, 20) New book about history of eco-activism, 21) Gunns pulp mill plans are finally over, no really, 22) High value Tasmanian logs are being chipped because of bad market, 23) 500 rally for the Yarra range, 24) Mangroves and fish depend on each other, 25) Gunns’ sell out on another 33,000 hectares, 26) Software calculates monoculture carbon sequestration, 27) Protestors not loggers are the real safety crime? 28) New Pulp mill opening with Faux optimism for jobs, 29) Climate efforts of the conservation council of south Australia, 30) 400 gather to protect Victoria’s old-growth forests water catchments, 31) Highly localized species can persist for very long periods of time, 32) Weld River bridge may open new front in protests,

Articles:

Hawaii:

1) These are the tiny heroes coming to the rescue of Hawaii’s native Wiliwili trees. A state scientist brought the Eurytoma Erythrinae all the way from Tanzania, Africa. After breeding and testing them for several years in quarantine here, the Department of Agriculture just released 500 of the wasps onto wiliwili trees in Liliha. The Eurytoma Erythrinae will lay eggs on the leaves of the endangered tree. When they hatch, they’ll feed on the larvae of the gall wasp, the wiliwili’s enemy. “So it goes in, eats out the larvae stage and of course no new adults wasps hatched out,” said Dr. Neil Reimer, manager of the Plan Pest Control Branch of the Dept. of Agriculture. The gall wasp wasn’t discovered here until 2005. By then, the infestation was widespread. You can tell a sick wiliwili by bumps on its leaves caused by the gall wasp larvae. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of wiliwilis have been killed across the state. Scientists say, the new bugs are safe for our eco-system.”We’ve done a lot of careful research,” said Dr. Reimer. “We’ve tested against a lot of other gall forming insects, some of them closely related to this gall wasp. It won’t attack them. Wont’ attack anything else.” This is not the first attempt at ridding a damaging species with natural predators. The infamous mongoose was introduced in the 1880s as a rat hunter. Instead, it went after the nene goose. In 2007, the state released a wasp to attack the papaya mealy bug, which had been wreaking havoc in papaya, plumeria and hibiscus trees. That’s still being monitored. Right now, scientists are studying a brazilian bug that might be used to control the invasive strawberry guava tree. Public hearings should start next year. If the wiliwili bug war works, Hawaii’s dry lowland forests will be a lot thicker in the years to come. The new bugs are also to be released on neighbor islands. http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/11825/40/

West Java:

2) West Java governor Ahmad Heryawan said Saturday that the landslide in a village in Cianjur on Thursday was caused by massive deforestation in the area. “This is no longer a hypothesis, it is fact that there has been massive deforestation,” Heryawan said in a small refugee camp near the Cempaka village, tempointeraktif.com reported. Heryawan said logistics aid that had been given to the victims were a temporary solution to the problem – besides logistics each family affected by the landslide would receive Rp 2 million. In the long run, he said, the citizens of the village and other those in neighboring areas must help the government in preserving the nearby forest. He also demanded those living near the hillside to evacuate and move to a safer ground and promised to provide the best government coordination in assisting the relocation. The budget for the relocation would be taken from the province’s emergency fund, he said. (and) http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/15/governor-says-deforestation-caused-landslide-cianjur.html – http://naturealert.blogspot.com/2008/11/governor-says-deforestation-caused.html

Fiji:

3) Some environmentalists attack bottled water. Not Conservation International, a Virginia-based nonprofit that aims to protect the earth’s biodiversity When Fiji Water announced a sustainability initiative last spring to help protect forests on the remote Pacific Island of Fiji, Conservation International Peter Seligmann praised the move. “We applaud Fiji Water for offsetting the climate impact of its products, reducing the impact of its operations, and funding crucial conservation efforts that support local communities and protect some of the last remaining forests in the South Pacific,” he said in a Fiji Water press release. The endorsement didn’t surprise anyone who understands the relationships between Fiji Water and Conservation International. The privately-owned bottled water company pays Conservation International – neither party would say how much – to finance the work they do together. Stewart Resnick, who owns Fiji Water with his wife, Lynda, sits on Conservation International’s board and donates to the group. Such cozy arrangements are increasingly common as big companies work side-by-side with big NGOs (non-government organizations). Clorox secured the endorsement of the Sierra Club – and the use of its logo — for a line of eco-friendly cleaning products, called GreenWorks that the company introduced late last year. Neither will disclose how much cash is involved. When Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) last month set new targets for greenhouse gas reductions, the World Wildlife Fund offered its praise – again not unexpectedly, since the beverage giant consulted with WWF on its climate change plan and agreed to donate nearly $24 million to the environmental group to help preserve river basins. All this is a dramatic turnabout from the time, not all that long ago, when big business and the environmental movement were frequently at loggerheads. Now they often share common goals, and those on both sides of these partnerships say it makes sense for companies to pay groups like Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund for their expert help. “Judge us on what we and the companies together are able to do for the environment,” says Glenn Prickett, a senior vice president at Conservational International. http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/13/news/companies/corporate_green.fortune/?postversion=2008111409

4) “See you in court,” Fiji Sawmillers Association president Jay Dayal has told the conservator of forests. Dayal made this statement after filing its case at the High Court in Lautoka yesterday challenging royalty hikes, following failed talks recently with the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) and the Department of Forests. He said the association had proceeded with legal action with relevant filings saying this was a result of “continuous negligence”, by the interim Government, of the plight of the industry. “We have no other means to address the issue now but through legal means. We still maintain that the Government has showed a blatant disregard to our industry and the problems we are facing,” Dayal told Fijilive. The Fiji Sawmillers Association now plans to settle outstanding royalty issues in Court after the NLTB and the Department of Forestry cancelled a meeting in the last hour. “The royalty hike in certain species is as much as 470 per cent and such increases are not based on any applicable data to support it,” Dayal said. “While we have challenged the unreasonableness of the Governments actions, we have also challenged on the grounds of legitimate expectation, that is, the process of royalty assessments and reviews have been neglected and breached by the Government,” he said. Dayal said the association planned to get an injunction on the issue before applying for a judicial review. He said increased rates, which had gone up as high as 200 per cent for some native timbers, could result in companies laying off workers. He added an indirect effect would be increments in the price of local timber. The matter will be heard on the 12th December, 2008 at the High Court in Lautoka. http://www.fijilive.com/news_new/index.php/news/show_news/11075

Indonesia:

5) At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much of a relationship between honey production and forest conservation. Honey is a natural product obtained by keeping bees, which private entrepreneurs can do independently. Forest conservation, on the other hand, is part of a general effort to preserve the natural environment. However, for honey collectors in Sumbawa, honey and forest conservation go hand in hand and both are directly linked to their survival. As a consequence, communities in six villages around Sumbawa’s Batu Lanteh forest — Batu Dulang, Kelunkung, Batu Lotok, Tangkap Burit, Bau Desa and Tepal — work together to look after the forest area. “Bees make their hives in boan scores of years old. If these boan are cut down, the honey that we need will be gone,” Saparudin, 55, a resident of Batu Dulang village, told The Jakarta Post recently. “That’s why we really look after this forest area to ensure there are no illegal loggers.” Boan is a local term for a giant tree in a forest where giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) make their hives. Trees referred to as boan include binong, rimas or rajumas, banyan, kelabur, santan, kayu batu, telutuk and candlenut trees. Batu Dulang village in Batu Lanteh district, Sumbawa regency, is one of six villages located around the Batu Lanteh forest area. About 700-1,200 meters above sea level, this village is 27 kilometers southwest of Sumbawa Besar, the regency’s capital. As well as growing coffee and candlenuts, the 260 or so families in Batu Dulang village earn a living collecting honey from the forest, and have been doing so for more than three generations. http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20081201.R04&irec=3

6) The South Tapanuli regency administration will continue a number of development programs involving forest conversion despite stern criticism from NGOs over environmental concerns. NGOs have accused the North Sumarta administration of violating the law on protected forests by developing a 100 kilometer road that cuts through protected forest land in Barumun. “We have stopped the road project although it is actually aimed at increasing the prosperity of people in isolated areas,” South Tapanuli Regent Ongku P. Hasibuan said during a visit to The Jakarta Post recently. Hasibuan said the road had only gone 2.47 kilometers into the forest. “So we ended the project (there).” He said although the road project had been suspended, it had contributed to the economy in isolated areas by speeding up the distribution of agricultural produce, such as vegetables. He said farmers in isolated areas no longer needed to walk for hours through the forest area as they could now use motorcycles to transport their products part of the distance to markets in the regency. The 4,502-square-kilometer regency consists of 12 districts with a total population of 258,580. About 80 percent of the area is forest. Hasibuan, who was nominated by the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party in the first direct election in 2005, urged the central government to allow the regency’s administration to manage the forests. “Only people in the regency know about the problems involving the forests. The central government would not be able to monitor whether there was a violation or not,” said the former chief executive officer of Alsthom Indonesia, a subsidiary of the U.S. Halliburton Group. He said all forests in Indonesia were managed by the Forestry Ministry, but added that the ministry did not have enough officers to monitor the woodlands. “Don’t blame the regency administration for forest damage since we don’t have the authority to manage it. If we had the authority we would manage it well,” said the native South Tapanuli, adding that his administration would reduce illegal logging if it were so authorized. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/24/south-tapanuli-halts-road-project-dismiss-ngo-fears.html

7) Seventy percent of the forest area in Kutai National Park in Sangatta, East Kutai, East Kalimantan, has been destroyed due to unregulated conversion projects, mining operations and illegal deforestation. The rate of deforestation has increased in the region, also largely owing to preparations for the construction of the Bontang-Sangatta highway, which will cut through the area. It is crucial that other parties share the burden of protecting the forest area with Kutai National Park, including the surrounding community, the regional government, research and education institutions and the private sector. Stakeholders in the area, including contractors, should increase their efforts to support the environment. However, some stakeholders have come under fire for running ineffective programs, A scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor), Moira Moeliono, said the companies should be doing more during a recent seminar themed “Not only for Profit” held in Sangatta. “The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs initiated by a number of companies are not effective, or do not support the preservation of a conservation area. CSR programs are just a step to redeem sins committed by the companies,” Moira said. She said there was a lack of supervision of and evaluation on the weaknesses of the CSR programs to find ways to improve them. Areas surrounding Kutai National Park are being operated by a number of forest concession holders, and coal mining, gas and fertilizer companies under a partnership called Mitra Kutai. Companies included in the grouping are PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), PT Pupuk Kaltim, PT Badak NGL, PT Banpu Indominco Mandiri, PT Surya Hutani Jaya and PT Pertamina EP-KTI. It is likely the companies’ operations will increase the already rapid rate of destruction of the conservation area. “Sometimes activities carried out by the companies are not in line with forest preservation efforts, such as Pertamina which has opened a well within the park. Isn’t this the same as providing access for further deforestation,” Moira said. “That’s why we organized a regency-level symposium in East Kutai this year to ensure that company development projects benefit their surroundings so they would not only think about profits in a particular development program.” PT Kaltim Prima Coal Conservation and Agribusiness Development superintendent Nurul Karim said the presence of parties destroying forests in the area could not be ignored. Kutai National Park should have been protected, he said, but instead it was sold as plots by a number of dishonest individuals from the community and the companies. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/21/csr-programs-east-kutai-039ineffective039-helping-environment.html

8) In Lampung, officials teach women to encourage their husbands to conserve forests. Head of forest area management at the Forestry and Plantation Office in Central Lampung, Yusuf, said the involvement of women was important in the office’s forest conservation program. “Women often express their ideas to the men, who unfortunately are still felling trees in the forest. “If we told the men directly that we must conserve the forest, it would be less effective. Instead, we explain the situation to their wives, who then talk to the men. We’ve found this strategy to be more effective,” Yusuf said. He also found women were good at organizing and managing. With more spare time than men, who are mostly working out there in the fields, the women can be trained to manage the produce grown in village plantations, he said. Yusuf regularly goes on the three-hour ride along the bumpy, pot-holed road to Sendang Baru village. Sometimes, he spends the night in villages to speaks with residents and track their progress in forest conservation. During the trip, the official, who is spearheading a program to reduce conflict between the government and communities in forested areas located on the borders with villages, would also persuade the community to conserve the forests they live in. The Central Lampung forest makes up only a tenth of the total area in the regency. “That number is still far from what is required by the 1999 Forestry Law, which stipulates that 30 percent of the whole area be covered in vegetation. Therefore, after we succeed in preserving the existing forests, we will expand them,” Yusuf said. Watala, an environmental conservation organization, and the forestry office help village communities grow non-timber forest products without destroying the land they live in. Villagers are encouraged to organize themselves into farmer groups and are trained in a range of skills — from crop cultivation and animal husbandry to managerial and basic accounting skills. A former head of the regency forestry office, Isyanto, said the cooperation between the regional agency and Watala was important. “We still lack experience, knowledge, and managerial and proposal writing skills. Therefore, Watala’s role is very important to facilitate the programs for this forest area,” Isyanto said. He said he believed efforts to foster cooperation among stakeholders on forestry issues had proven successful. “If we did not collaborate with Watala, the trees in Sendang Baru forest would likely be gone by now,” he said. http://old.thejakartapost.com/misc/PrinterFriendly.asp

9) “If we do not correct our forestry policy, floods and landslides will always strike during the rainy season,” Aceh WALHI’s executive-director, Bambang Antariksa, told Tempo last Saturday. Bambang said forest clearance to make way for plantations and mining projects are no different from illegal logging in Aceh. “We will see a more damaged and denuded forests in the west, south, and southeast of Aceh,” he said. According to Bambang, from 2000 to 2006, Aceh lost 1,1 million hectares of forests. The figure was based on a data on Aceh forest area in 2000, which was around 3,5 million hectares (Source: Forestry Minister Decree). Meanwhile, based on a satellite mapping, the total forest areas in 2006 was 2,3 million hectares. This means, every year Aceh loses 193.000 hectares of forests. “It is time for the Aceh administration to find a solution to prevent floods from becoming an annual thing,” Bambang said. Deputy governor Muhammad Nazar said his office is working on the area to minimize the floods. “The current floods in Aceh is the impact of illegal logging and the forestry concession issue in the past,” he said. From Palembang, South Sumatra, heavy rains yesterday caused flooding in Kalidoni, Bukit Sangkal, Pakjo, Yuka, Sekip and Gresik. “The reason was because the Bendung River overflowed,” said Ibnu, a Sekip resident. The floods also swamped 11 villages in three sub-districts in Buol, Central Sulawesi. Thousands of villagers had to relocate to the highlands, leaving their homes and belongings inundated. http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2008/12/01/brk,20081201-149038,uk.html

Sulawesi:

10) Pygmy tarsiers are among the smallest and rarest primates in the world. The species is distinguished from tarsiers by its diminutive size (50 grams) and its fingers which have claws instead of nails, which Gursky-Doyen believes may be an adaptation to its mossy habitat some 7,000-8,000 feet (2,100-2,440) about sea level. Straddling the Wallace line, an area of biological discontinuity between Asia and Australia, Sulawesi is characterized by high levels of endemism–more than 60 percent of its mammals and more than one third of its birds are found nowhere else on the planet. So unusual the island’s biodiversity, it helped inspire Alfred Russel Wallace to independently propose a theory of natural selection that pushed Charles Darwin to publish his masterwork, The Origin of Species before he was ready to go to press. Nevertheless, despite its storied history and species richness, Sulawsi’s biodiversity is poorly known by scientists. More troubling, the island has long been overlooked conservationists. Their neglect has been costly—Sulawesi’s forests have fast been converted for agriculture, felled by loggers, and degraded by miners. A new study, published lay year in the journal Biotropica showed that roughly 80 percent of the island’s habitats have been degraded or destroyed. Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of primate on a remote island in Indonesia. Conducting a survey of Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park on the island of Sulawesi, a team led by Sharon Gursky-Doyen of Texas A&M University captured three pygmy tarsiers, a tiny species of primate that was last collected in 1921 and was assumed to be extinct until 2000 when two scientists studying rats accidently trapped and killed an individual. Gursky-Doyen’s team spent two months using 276 mist nets to capture the gremlin-like creatures so they could be fitted with radio collars and tracked. One other individual was spotted but eluded capture. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1119-tarsier.html

Solomon Islands:

11) The logging license in question was proven before the magistrate court in a criminal case against Chief Letipiko Balesi a logging partner with Kilikada that there was no timber rights hearing been conducted before the Commissioner of forest issued the logging license to JP Enterprise Limited on behalf of Milikada. Chief Letipiko Balesi was then sentenced to four years imprisonment for his part while Milikada escaped investigation by the police. After the imprisonment of Chief Letipikoi, the illegal logging operation continues until the Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Office field a Civil Case before the high court in which the court proves the license being issued was illegal, unlawful and quashed the said logging license. For unknown reasons, the same license which the high court had cancelled was reinstated on the advice of a former Minister of Forest without timber rights hearing. There was sufficient proof that money worth thousands of dollars were involved to re-instate the license although the high court had made its ruling on the cancellation. And unlawful logging activities continues. It was not until recently when the Commissioner of Forest has again been advised by the Attorney General to cancel the license because there was no timber rights hearing – a requirement in law before such license can be issued or re-instated otherwise. In the absence of these, I believe the license should not be issued to any person. The letter in which I am refer to was addressed to the Attorney General and copies to the Prime Minister, Dr Derek Sikua, Minister for Forest John Tausinga, the Chairman of Government Caucus Enele Kwainairara and Acting Commissioner of Forest. The detail of the letter was well written outlining detailed information believed to be written by a well qualified legal practitioner. As such I’m questioning why Hon Milikada with his legal type correspondence to the Attorney General questioned the sole legal decision made by the Attorney General in advising the Commissioner of Forest to cancel the license re-issued to the JP Enterprise Limited after the High Court Ruling. http://solomonstarnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5096&change=103&changeown=89&Itemid=45

Papua New Guinea:

12) A dispute between landowners and the government in Papua-New Guinea is shaping as an early warning of the obstacles confronting the push to establish a carbon trading system around forest preservation. With a global market mechanism around avoided deforestation still in the early stages of negotiation and development, the PNG government has moved to assert its authority over all carbon transactions involving forest resources, despite the fact that the vast bulk of forest land is in private landowners’ hands. There is now broad international support for a mechanism to pay developing countries and their communities not to cut down their forests. It is being coordinated under the banner of the UN programme called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The stark contribution that deforestation makes to greenhouse gas emissions – estimated at 17-20 per cent of worldwide emissions – shows that halting deforestation is a vital part of the overall fight against global warming. Theo Yasause, who heads the PNG climate change office, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that any avoided deforestation agreement struck directly with landowners would not be valid because the government is the only “legitimate authority” over forest resources. A local NGO, Partners With Melanesia, told the ABC that the official stance threatens to see government forest carbon policy follow that of oil and gas development in the country – where distribution of benefits has been inequitable. Yasuase says the government wants to control the process in order to protect the national interest. It wants to prevent landowners doing private deals with carbon traders so it can run its own due diligence checks over any deal. The dispute highlights the significant hurdles to be overcome if a REDD mechanism is going to be effective in reducing deforestation and lowering emissions while promoting the interests and livelihoods of land owners and forest users at the same time. http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1314

13) Ezekiel Asimba’s 25-acre farm lies deep within a tropical rainforest, within view of an active volcano, but the palm oil that he and other growers produce will leave this remote island on cargo ships owned by Minnetonka-based Cargill Inc., destined for grocery store shelves around the world. The quest for cheap food has helped transform palm oil from an inexpensive cooking oil used mostly in developing nations to an all-but-invisible staple of the western diet. But with an ever larger portion of our food now coming from the farthest corners of the globe, the price we pay at the grocery store is more and more tied to events beyond our control. That was made especially clear in 2008, when sharp increases in the price of palm oil and dietary staples such as wheat, rice, corn and soybeans seemed to herald a new era of higher food prices. In U.S. supermarkets, it meant the biggest rise in grocery bills in nearly two decades. Elsewhere, food riots broke out and the Haitian government fell as suddenly higher prices unleashed a desperate scramble for food. Some blamed the global crisis on demand from China and other fast-growing nations. Others faulted government-imposed biofuel mandates, which encouraged farmers to take some crops out of the food chain. And still others directed their ire at hedge funds and financial speculators, who had turned food into an investment, or at food companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill, which booked record profits as others starved. All those forces came into play in the price of palm oil this year. And while prices for it and other commodities have retreated from summer highs, most experts worry that higher food costs and shortages may become more frequent in the coming decades. A U.N. estimate warns that the world must grow 50 percent more food by 2030 just to keep up with global population. http://www.startribune.com/business/35242889.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUF

Australia:

14) Dr Keto said the research, which uses a wireless sensor network (WSN), was essential to providing innovative solutions to environmental monitoring to ensure ecosystem health and resilience and protection of at-risk Australian flora and fauna. “Rainforests cover barely 0.3 percent of the Australian continent, yet more than half of our plant and animal species rely upon these complex forests,” Dr Keto said. “Our research explores innovative and potentially more cost-effective approaches to protecting and restoring the Australian landscape starting with World Heritage rainforests on the Springbrook Plateau.” The state-of-the-art WSN at Springbrook senses temperature, humidity, light, soil moisture and other environmental and biological parameters and relays data to high capacity storage and analysis facilities. The networked system will stimulate further research into improving the technology and understanding the changes occurring in the revegetation projects underway in the area. The research site provides an ideal test bed for basic ecological theories and the impacts of climate change. http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=16583

15) Two forest activists were arrested for trespass and obstruction after halting logging operations in the Lower Weld Valley, Southern Tasmania, today. A non violent protest was held in an area of ancient forest in the Weld Valley that is being logged as part of a 118 hectare cable-logging clearfell,” Jenny Weber, Spokesperson for Huon Valley Environment Centre said. “The two protestors who were arrested, Will Mooney and Simon Browning, were part of a larger group who were protesting the on going destruction of Tasmania’s high conservation value forests. Will Mooney was subjected to violent and intimidating behaviour by a logging contractor who wielded a large demolition saw near him,” Jenny Weber said. “We call on industry spokespeople to stop their ongoing support for violence. Protestors have always adhered to strict non-violent principles. No one deserves to be treated with violence. Logging contractors have the choice to respond to protestors without violence and in a decent manner,” “It is time the Premier resolved this ongoing conflict in the forest by protecting high conservation value forest immediately, and offer a compensation package to those who work in the industry,” Jenny Weber said. Extra Note: The culture of violence against forest activists has been publicly supported by both the logging industry and Forestry Tasmania this week. In this video, taken on Thurs, you can see a logger use a power saw to intimidated a forest defender locked on to an excavator. You can help stop this violence by writing to our Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett. Ask him to do something about protecting our last remaining old growth forests and to stop the violence and threats from the pro-logging vigilantes. His email: david.bartlett@education.tas.gov.au http://breakallchains.blogspot.com/2008/11/two-tasmanian-forest-protesters.html – http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=XztadlAzZOY

16) The 132km sealed tourist loop road to showcase Australia’s largest temperate rainforest is expected to be approved by Economic Development Minister Michael Aird as early as next week. This is despite desperate lobbying from eco-tourism operators who fear the road will kill their businesses and who share conservationists’ concerns it will destroy the integrity of the wilderness. “You’ve got a beautiful forest that is basically the same as it’s been for the past 60 million years — why put a road through it?” said eco-tourism operator Richard Summers. He feared the $23 million road would undermine the wilderness experience on which his $1 million wilderness lodge, to be opened next month, was based. Other operators agree, including Tarkine Trails, which fears the road will destroy its three-day guided walk and scupper plans for a longer Overland-style hut-lined walking route. “We have an investor (for the hut walking trail) but they have told the state Government that unless they can be guaranteed a wilderness experience, they won’t do it,” said Tarkine Trails manager Rob Fairlie. The Tarkine, being considered for national and world heritage listing, is one of Australia’s best-kept secrets and local authorities believe it could come to rival the Kimberley, Kakadu and the Daintree as a premier wilderness destination. Once threatened by logging, 73,512ha were protected as the centrepiece of John Howard’s forests policy at the 2004 federal election. However, as part of that deal with the then-Lennon government, the new reserve was left with the state-owned forestry company, Forestry Tasmania, to manage, rather than declared national park. Mr Lennon, who quit in May this year, encouraged FT to fully develop the tourist loop road proposal. Federal funding for the plan was promised by then-federal Liberal MP Mark Baker on behalf of the Howard government, but senior Liberals distanced themselves from Mr Baker’s promise. In June this year, the proposal reappeared as a line item in this year’s state budget, framed largely by MrLennon, who quit weeks before it was delivered. Since then, and particularly in the past week, opponents have been trying to persuade the Bartlett Government to opt for a less destructive loop road that would benefit local towns without requiring the bulldozing of rainforest. However, FT Tarkine Drive project manager Mike Peterson said only the full road link would ensure tourists stayed two or three nights in the region. Mr Peterson insisted the plan would deliver a net conservation gain, increasing the amount of forest protected from logging. The 132km route mainly involved upgrading existing roads and tracks, with only 7.6km of new road, of which just over half was rainforest and 2.5km was existing track. He said only about 6ha of forest would be lost and that this was outside the reserve, meaning it would otherwise belogged. http://netbnr.net/loc.html?http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C24654271-5013871%2C00.html

17) I have been critical of many environmental activists over the years on the grounds that they know what they are against, but they don’t know what they are for. For example, bushfire management systems developed by forestry agencies over many decades are savagely condemned, but no alternative system is offered up as a replacement. I was therefore interested to see that the Wilderness Society News 173 (Winter 2008) contains a Six Point Action Plan that the Society says will “reduce bushfire risks and help to protect people, property, wildlife and their habitat”. They have done this because they assert that a “massive increase in hazard reduction burning and firebreaks is destroying nature, pushing wildlife closer to extinction and in many cases increasing the fire risk to people and properties by making areas more fire prone”. The Society also says that with the onset of climate change “mega-bushfires that burn massive areas” are expected to become more frequent. They have therefore come up with the following Action Plan: 1. Improve aerial fire detection, 2. Ramp-up high-tech suppression forces, including more Elvis helitaks; 3. Do more research into fire behaviour and the impacts of fire on wildlife;4. Around towns and urban areas, carry out fuel reduction burning and have fire breaks; 5. Give priority to wildlife and their habitat in remote areas and national parks; 6. Make forests resistant to megafires by protecting them from woodchipping and logging. http://jennifermarohasy.com/blog/2008/11/the-wilderness-society-and-bushfire-management/

18) The Conservation Council has called on the State Government to ban logging in all native forests after the Forest Products Commission’s latest annual report revealed the timber industry has been tearing through native forests at the fastest rate in six years. The call sparked anger from forestry groups, which said such a ban would lead to massive unemployment in the South-West. The West Australian revealed on Saturday that 660,000 tonnes of logs were harvested in 2007-08, the biggest haul since 2001-02. Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen yesterday disputed claims from the timber industry that the current rate of logging was sustainable. He said the economic viability of native forest logging had decreased while the threat it posed to biodiversity had increased. “There’s a really good case to rein in this industry and start downsizing it,” he said. “Our new policy is that we want logging to go down to zero. We’re concerned about the sustainability of the logging industry on a number of fronts.” State manager of Timber Communities Australia Tish Campbell said the suggestion of a ban on native forest logging was “ridiculous”. She estimated 2500 jobs would be lost. “Communities like Manjimup, Pemberton and Nannup are reliant on the timber industry,” Ms Campbell said. “They would be devastated if there was a ban on native logging.” Forest Industries Federation executive director Bob Pearce said communities in the South-West had demonstrated clearly their opposition to the idea of a ban at the last election. “Greens candidate Paul Llewellyn, who ran on a policy of banning native logging, lost his seat in the last election,” he said. “The simple fact is the community don’t support a ban.” Mr Pearce said shutting down the native timber industry would be an environmental disaster because it would result in a dramatic increase in timber imported from countries without sustainable logging. Environment Minister Donna Faragher said logging at current levels was sustainable. “I am advised by the Department of Environment and Conservation that the current level of saw logs is within the acceptable levels in the forest management plan, 2004-2013,” she said. Mrs Faragher said an audit of the management plan was being done by the Conservation Commission, an advisory and policy development body. It is understood the results of the audit will be handed to the Minister early next year. http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=108387

19) Campaigner Pam Clarke has been arrested for attempting to stop work crews from cutting down a tree at Kingston Beach, south of Hobart.The Kingborough Council has earmarked several trees on The Esplanade for removal after an aborist’s report declared them dangerous. Ms Clarke had been standing under one of the trees since early this morning. She was arrested after she refused to leave. Ms Clarke has accused the council of using the arborist’s report as an excuse for not counsulting residents about removing the trees. “These trees are very beautiful, they have cockatoos, they give the people of Hobart beautiful shade,” Ms Clarke said. “They got up early in the morning, they came by stealth in the middle of the night to put all their ropes around, the first thing you hear at 8:00 o’clock.” Ms Clarke’s accused the council of using the results of two arborists reports as an excuse NOT to consult residents about removing the trees. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/17/2421442.htm

20) As the dam waters began rising over Lake Pedder in 1972, Brenda Hean and Max Price flew out of Hobart in a Tiger Moth, heading to Canberra to write “Save Lake Pedder” in the sky over Parliament House. It was a last ditch effort to draw national attention to the destruction of a precious and beautiful part of Tasmania, but within hours their plane had disappeared and no wreckage or bodies have ever been found. Hence the title of the book and film created by Scott Millwood – Whatever happened to Brenda Hean? Millwood sets out to uncover what happened to Hean and Price by interviewing family members, old Pedder campaigners and witnesses who saw their plane that day, as well as researching old police records and newspaper archives. He offered a $100,000 reward for any information leading to conclusive evidence, and people who had never spoken up before contacted him to tell their story.The book also includes an article by Richard Flanagan, one of the most outspoken critics of forest destruction in Tasmania. The book and the film follow the same structure, although the book includes more detail such as the original police reports, old newspaper articles and editorials, letters to the editor and from Hean to family members. It traces the campaign to save Peddar from its beginnings, through the 1972 election with large street protests, until the dam was built and the lake was slowly flooded. The book goes into more detail about the founding of the United Tasmania Group, the precursor to the first Green party in the world, which Hean played a central role in setting up and for which she ran as a candidate. It also reports the meeting Hean had with BLF leader Jack Mundey, who offered to lead “blue bans” to save the lake much like the successful green bans in which workers refused to demolish areas in Sydney of great national significance. Because Mundey was a communist, Hean refused, turning down a source of power that could have undermined the authority of the government and saved Lake Pedder, which in turn could have shaped the environment movement in Australia into something very different from what it is today. Perhaps the jobs versus environment rut that has plagued the forest debate since and is a major obstacle in the climate-change movement’s efforts to close down the coal industry, could have been weakened from the start. In the 35 years since Hean’s plane disappeared, many theories have circulated as to what actually happened. Millwood investigates them all. http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/775/39981

21) The debate comes as former premier Paul Lennon, who has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the mill, now says the project appears dead. Mr Lennon said today the global financial crisis is making it hard for Gunns to borrow the money it needs to build the pulp mill, and it may never be built. “I was doing everything I could to keep Gunns in the process … everything that I have done in this regard [is] to try and keep this project alive,” he said. “Unfortunately it appears at the moment that the project may not be alive; certainly it’s been shelved for a period of time.” Gunns has rejected Mr Lennon’s concerns, saying it will start building the mill as soon as it gets finance, but the company can not say when it will get the money. The same financial crisis that is affecting Gunns’ borrowing capacity has Mr Lennon worried. He told the Parliamentary Committee Tasmania’s economy needs the pulp mill. “The Tasmanian economy is heading into dangerous waters without a pulp mill,” he said. “I just hope that those people like yourself, if opposed to the mill, can now find the alternate employment opportunities that we’re going to so desperately need in our state.” But current Premier David Bartlett has said the state’s economy is not reliant on the pulp mill, and Chamber of Commerce chief executive Damon Thomas agrees. “It’s not the only investment that’s in Tasmania, planned or operating,” he said. “So, it can’t be seen, just like it shouldn’t have ever been seen, as a panacea for all… for fixing up our state economy. “Any hold or shelving of that project shouldn’t be seen as being economically devastating for the state.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/18/2423367.htm?section=business

22) The Tasmanian Greens today accused the Bartlett Labor Government of allowing sawlogs to be woodchipped due to a downturn in demand, as revealed by Forestry Tasmania’s recent announcement announcing that some sawlogs will now be tendered. [i] Greens Opposition Leader Nick McKim MP said that Minister David Llewellyn had failed to rule out sawlog-grade logs being sold to woodchip companies when asked about the issue in Parliament today, which again demonstrates the extent to which the Labor government is prepared to prioritise the woodchip industry over sawmill operator. “Sawlogs should go to Tasmanian mills to provide jobs and wealth for our communities, not chipped and exported to Asia,” Mr McKim said. “Yet when Forestry Minister Mr Llewellyn was asked to guarantee that the sawlogs being put up for tender by Forestry Tasmania would only go to sawmills and not to woodchipping operations, he failed to do so.” “If Tasmania’s forest industry was truly based around sawmilling, as the Government constantly claims, this would not be occurring. The fact that it is shows that the clearfelling of our native forests is in order to feed the voracious woodchip industry.” http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=3426

23) Around 500 people attended the rally from not only across the Yarra Ranges but from metropolitan Melbourne as well, which was a great show of support for the local community in their effort to stop logging in Melbourne’s water catchments. Tracy Bartram MC’d the event, welcome to country was by Auntie Joy Murphy, followed by me, then Luke Chamberlain of the Wilderness Society. Here are a few photos of the day along with a copy of my speech. It was back in October 2007 when I learnt about the clearfelling proposed for the Armstrong and Cement Creek Catchments. I was shocked, I was angry and I knew that logging our catchments was squandering our water supply and it was happening in our own backyard. That’s what brought me to write a motion for the Shire of Yarra Ranges council to consider. On the 27th November 2007 I moved the following motion: That Council supports a public statement opposing logging of water catchments in Yarra Ranges, and further that Council also makes representation to the Premier, the Minister of Environment and Minister of Water, and I propose that the statement is: The Shire of Yarra Ranges does not support logging in water catchments. Council recognises that: 1) Logging has a dramatic and detrimental effect on water yield in catchments. 2) Young re-growth trees need more water to grow thus releasing less water into catchments. 3) Logging reduces stream flow and yields to water catchments. 4) It takes 150 years for water yields to return to their pre logged status. 5) It is poor water policy to continue to log our water catchments. 6) Logging of water catchments adversely affects water quality through increasing sediment as does road construction through logging coupes. http://crdunn.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-forests-our-water-our-climate-our.html

24) They may be smelly, muddy and full of biting insects but 75 percent of the fish caught in Queensland depend on mangroves, which is just one reason to protect the threatened wetlands, according to UQ researcher Dr Norm Duke. Dr Duke and his team from UQ’s Centre for Marine Studies are currently investigating why 2000 hectares of once-healthy mangroves in Moreton Bay are now a lifeless, anoxic mosquito breeding ground. “Our emphasis is on monitoring and investigation,” Dr Duke said. “We are developing methods to assess the changes and pressures on these ecosystems. “This strategy would hopefully give researchers and environmental managers around Australia clues as to why changes in the mangrove habitat – such as dead animals, sinking ponds and dieback – occurred.” These research projects will be discussed during the inaugural Australian Mangrove Research Labs Forum, which opens at UQ’s Moreton Bay Research Station tomorrow. The two-day event will bring together about 30 mangrove experts from universities across Australia. “The aim is to foster close collaboration between these research groups, to share ideas and information, to discuss the benefits of a formal association, and to seek collaboration in big and emerging issues affecting tidal wetlands around the country,” Dr Duke said. “We wish to bolster Australia’s flagging reputation in the field of coastal ecosystem management by developing substantive top-level projects. “This is needed urgently to nurture and retain talented researchers and students in Australia, so we are better able to cope with anticipated changes in coastal environments in coming years. “We are also increasingly being called upon to train overseas researchers and managers in this field.” The impact of climate change on mangroves is another of Dr Duke’s research interests and an issue likely to dominate discussion at the forum. “We need to know how climate change will affect things,” he said. “As rainfall patterns change, entire mangrove habitats will move upland, and we need to work out a way to avoid them being squeezed out of existence.” http://www.mangroveactionproject.org/news/current_headlines/mangroves-under-the-microscope-at-moreton-bay

25) Gunns is selling 33,000 hectares in the “green triangle” region of South Australia and Victoria to international timber investment GMO Renewable Resources. “Gross proceeds from the transaction will amount to approximately $175.2 million, which reflects full book value of the forest asset,” Gunns said. “The proceeds from the transaction will be applied primarily to reducing bank debt.” Under the deal, Gunns will retain the freehold land associated with the standing timber. Gunns said timber supply to its processing facilities won’t be impact due to the sale because it will continue to manage the forest estate. “Future harvested timber associated with this plantation area will be acquired at a market value from GMO Renewable Resources, with the harvest profile of the plantation reflecting a 28 year rotation,” the company said. The funds raised from the sale add to the $336 million gathered under a recent equity raising. Gunns is still trying to secure financing for its planned pulp mill in Bell Bay. http://news.theage.com.au/business/gunns-sells-softwood-forests-for-175m-20081125-6gsy.html

26) Under the agreement, a software model referred to as CABALA, which can be used to model forest growth over time, has been licensed to CO2 Australia to assist it in the design and management of tree plantings for use in large greenhouse gas abatement projects. Based on inputs like rainfall, temperature, and data on the particular tree species of interest, CABALA can estimate the amount of carbon sequestration that takes place in tree plantings. CSIRO’s Dr Michael Battaglia, Leader for CSIRO’s Sustaining Australia’s Forest Ecosystem Resources Research Theme said: “Woody vegetation has an important role in helping address environmental issues in Australia and CSIRO continues to work to improve a range of existing CSIRO prediction tools relating to such vegetation for the benefit of government, industry and the community.” “Science has an important role to play in helping industry make effective business decisions and our science is generating information that helps emerging industries utilise the benefits forests can offer to society and the environment,” Dr Battaglia said. Mr Andrew Grant, Managing Director of CO2 Australia, said CABALA and the science behind it had been critical in providing the company with the technical tools necessary to develop large-scale carbon sink projects and capitalise on emerging carbon trading opportunities. “Strategic investment into collaborative projects with organisations like the CSIRO, as well as into our own internal R and D program, ensures that we keep up to date with the latest developments in carbon accounting science,” Mr Grant said. CO2 Australia plants trees solely for carbon sequestration and carbon trading purposes. They have established plantings in cleared agricultural areas on behalf of a range of corporate and government clients. “Our projects are generating value for industry and the public by creating environmentally friendly and verifiable greenhouse gas abatement solutions,” Mr Grant said. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Frontier_Forest_Science_For_Carbon_Solutions_999.html

27) Tasmanian Workplace Standards is investigating whether state safety laws have been breached by forest activists. The general manager Roy Ormerod says some protesters are putting their lives and those of workers in danger by their actions in the forests. In a recent example a protester chained himself to cable logging machinery near Geeveston in the south this week. Mr Ormerod says the investigation could result in prosecutions. “This is more of a case of us gathering evidence and if we believe there’s evidence there we’ll be proceeding down the path of issuing summonses and taking people to court,” Mr Ormerod said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/28/2432757.htm

28) The Premier, David Bartlett, today officially opened Ta Ann Tasmania’s new mill at Smithton, the second of its rotary peeled veneer mills to be built in Tasmania. “Timber mills and the families that rely on them for jobs, have been a part of the landscape up here for generations,” Mr Bartlett said. “It’s an industry that has helped to build the characteristics of the people here – the resilience, the sense of humour, and the strong sense of community. “A mill is so much more than an economic entity that churns out timber products. It’s a place that provides jobs for Tasmanians. “It gives new opportunities for people to stay living in their local area to build a career and provides flow-on economic benefits to shops and restaurants and services right around Circular Head. The mill becomes a part of the community.” The mill will process 150,000 tonnes of eucalypt logs per year, supplied from regrowth forests and plantations in north west Tasmania. Forestry Tasmania has built on the resource security offered by the Regional Forest Agreement, and has signed a twenty-year agreement for log supply. The two mills cost $75 million to build and have resulted directly in 138 new jobs. They will produce 145,000 cubic metres a year of dried veneer, worth about $35 million per year. The Premier said that the State Government would continue to support economic growth and investment in value-adding industries in Tasmania. “Just yesterday, I was pleased to launch the Tasmanian Skills Strategy – a ten-year plan to make sure that Tasmanians have the skills needed to build a decent future for themselves and their families. “The forest and timber industry is a great example of where the level of skill needed as an employee has grown enormously. http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=25421

29) I was recently invited to sit on a panel organised by the Conservation Council of South Australia (CCSA) to discuss issues of marine and coastal conservation under a rapidly changing climate. The results of that will be released soon (I’ll blog about that later), but in the interim, I want to highlight to readers of ConservationBytes.com how the CCSA is setting up the challenge to local governments to implement positive steps forward for the conservation of biodiversity in South Australia. I’m reproducing the executive summary of their Summit Report on Biodiversity in a Changing Climate (download full report here). It’s a good example of how we can all (industry, government, academia) work together to promote our own well-being. South Australia’s biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate. It has been suggested by scientists that it will take many millions of years for biodiversity to recover from the impacts of humans over the last 200 years. In South Australia the key threat to biodiversity is land clearance; clearance of remnant native vegetation and subsequent fragmentation of habitat for native fauna species. Other key threats to biodiversity in South Australia include: 1) Habitat fragmentation from development; 2) Competition from introduced flora; 3) Predation by introduced animals; 4) Direct competition for food, shelter and resources from introduced fauna; 5) Introduced diseases; 6) Collection of firewood from remnant vegetation; 7) Altered fire regimes; 8) Inappropriate grazing/overgrazing; 9) Inappropriate management activities; 10) Water extraction/pollution; 11) Climate change – including increasing oceanic temperatures and acidification. — Much of South Australia’s economy is based on the use of biological resources and the need to maintain ecosystem services. This includes activities such as tourism and recreation, nature conservation, pastoralism, agriculture, horticulture, and forestry which all benefit from healthy ecosystems. http://conservationbytes.com/2008/11/30/addressing-biodiversity-decline-at-home/

30) The battle to save Victoria’s old-growth forests and preserve Victoria’s water catchments continued in Warburton on November 23, when 400 local residents and supporters from Melbourne rallied here. Warburton is surrounded by Mountain Ash forest and contains some of Victoria’s most important water catchments. Wurundjeri elder Sister Joy Wandin Murphy told the rally that rather than the government giving massive subsidies to woodchipping companies, it should assist timber workers to shift to sustainable jobs. Greens Yarra Ranges Shire councillor Samantha Dunn asked: “John Brumby [in] opposition supported an end to logging. Why is it a good policy when you’re in opposition but not when you’re in government?” Dunn has initiated a council policy statement opposing catchment-area logging, which 14 other councils have now signed. For more information about the issues and campaign, visit http://www.myenvironment.org.au.

31) These rainforests contain ancient lineages of plants, many unique to Australia, and a surprisingly high degree of biodiversity, according to the lead authors of the study, Dr Bill Sherwin and Dr Maurizio Rossetto. Their report was published recently in the American Journal of Botany. Those genetic traits point to their ability to adapt and survive despite having gone through many severe climatic swings between hot and cold periods in the geologically recent past. Researchers at the UNSW Ecology and Evolution Research Centre employ information theory to delve into the biology of a diverse array of species, from birds to snails to flies to trees. Because genes are information, decades of knowledge about the flow of computer information can be applied directly to genes. This has greatly improved assessment of dispersal between populations, a vital tool for conservation management and all population biology. They teamed with the National Herbarium of NSW in the first major application of information theory to the genetics of a wild species: the Minyon quandong, a rare native fruit tree thought to be extinct until its discovery in 1992. The Minyon quandong is found only at five sites in warm temperate rainforests in the Mt Warning area of north-eastern NSW. It has a close relative in Papua New Guinea, suggesting that its lineage might once have been far more widespread: if so, the few remnants might be inbred and in long-term decline. However, the study revealed genetic information showing the signature of long-term stable isolates; that is, the species did not evolve very recently, nor has it been through an evolutionary bottleneck. That finding suggests that even though the Minyon quandong grows in highly restricted areas and in relatively small numbers, it is probably not in decline and still has considerable capacity to evolve and even expand its range to suitable unoccupied habitat that exists nearby. So why hasn’t this tree spread? Genetic differences indicate extremely low dispersal between the existing patches, pointing to a low chance of colonising other unoccupied patches. This may be because the tree relies on bush rats for seed dispersal, and recent human activity has reduced bush rat numbers, the team suggests. Nevertheless, the study has shown that even small populations of highly localised species can persist for very long periods within Australia’s rainforests, which the fossil record shows have acted time and again as a refuge where many species can retreat during severe climate cycles and re-emerge in kinder times. http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20080112-18514.html

32) Forest protesters have vowed to open a new frontline if a second logging bridge is built over the Weld River. The threat comes amid a Workplace Standards Tasmania investigation, launched last week to determine whether protesters in the southern forests are breaching workplace safety laws. “We are extraordinarily concerned about this new bridge,” Huon Valley Environment Centre spokeswoman Jenny Weber said. “Forestry Tasmania says it’s not on their radar [but] it’s a big priority for us. As soon as it gets the go-ahead we will get out there.” The Weld, Florentine and Styx valleys are major flashpoints in continuing tensions between protesters and logging contractors. Yesterday, Greens senator Bob Brown pledged to take the protesters’ fight for these areas to Canberra at the launch of Wild Forest, a coffee-table book of photographs and essays from the Wilderness Society. “I absolutely eschew violence but we are not without the wit and wisdom to work out how we must stand up to this destruction,” Senator Brown said at the Landscape Gallery in the Key Australia complex in Hobart. “We simply cannot leave the current process to work its way through, we can’t, and I for one won’t.” The Workplace Standards investigation follows a series of protests in the southern forests over the past few weeks, during which loggers claim protesters had “endangered their own lives”. It could lead to the prosecution of protesters or the organisations they represent, and fines of up to $50,000. “Ultimately, the organisation could be held responsible in the event of a protester being injured,” Workplace Standards general manager Roy Ormerod said. “They have high ideals and that’s fine, but they need to ensure their volunteers are safe.” Workplace Standards Tasmania intends to brief volunteer organisations on their obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act. http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2008/12/01/41475_tasmania-news.html