Index:

–UK: 1) Snuff Mills Action Group uses an assessment called ‘Capital Asset Value’ –Scotland: 2) Biodiversity plan aims to create “stronger, more adaptable ecosystems”
–Spain: 3) Pulp company ENCE loses FSC certification
–Estonia: 4) Another Russian tariffs is “good” for local forestry article
–Georgia: 5) 280 hectares of forest burning as a result of conflict with Russia
–Ghana: 6) UN meeting to arrest destruction of tropical forests
–Uganda: 7) Escalating degradation of natural forests in the district
–Kenya: 8) Loggers want more logging, there’s plenty of trees they say

Articles:

UK:

1) Doomed trees at a beauty spot in Stapleton have been valued at almost £500,000. Campaigners fighting to save them say they should not be chopped down because of their worth to the community. Last month Bristol City Council gave permission for landowner Lord Houshang Jafari to fell the trees, which sit at the edge of a wood alongside the River Frome. They border Blackberry Hill, and the council says they could fall on to the highway or hit pedestrians. But people who have enjoyed the woods for years say the trees are a feature of the neighbourhood and are worth keeping. Campaigners from the Snuff Mills Action Group have used an assessment called the Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) to calculate their financial worth. It takes into account criteria such as size, height, condition and popularity. The campaigners claim the total worth of the trees is £641,500, with the value of the ‘non-hazardous’ trees being £481,754. However, the council says they have massively overestimated their worth, particularly given their debatable value to the community. Action group chairman Steve Micklewright said, “We have undertaken an assessment of the trees that the city council has given permission to be felled in Grove Wood using a system that has been adopted by London’s tree officers. “We carefully made the assessment by measuring the trees, assessing their contribution to the Stapleton Conservation Area and looking for any problems such as disease, poor growth or instability. “While our assessment will not be as good as a professional one, we believe it highlights that the council has fundamentally misjudged the contribution these trees make to the area. http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Threatened-trees-Stapleton-wood-worth-half-million/article
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Scotland:

2) Forestry Commission Scotland’s new biodiversity plan aims to create “stronger, more adaptable ecosystems”. It identifies the capercaillie, black grouse, red squirrel, pearl-bordered fritillary, chequered skipper butterfly and juniper as important species. Environment Minister Mike Russell launched the plan at the Carrick Forest in Dumfries and Galloway. He said Scotland’s forests had a key part to play in protecting endangered species. “Woodlands – and the open spaces within them – have a vital contribution to make towards conserving Scotland’s threatened habitats and species,” he said. “We are very fortunate in Scotland to enjoy a wealth of biodiversity that is for the most part robust and healthy. “However, some elements are extremely fragile and making sure that they thrive will require some large-scale thinking and landscape scale vision – both of which are forestry sector strengths.” The biodiversity programme – Woods for Nature – sets out how FCS is helping to conserve and expand woodlands. That, in turn, can assist the six priority species. Three of them – the capercaillie, grouse and red squirrel – are the subject of “species action notes” published to coincide with the biodiversity plan. Further reports will follow for the pearl-bordered fritillary, chequered skipper butterfly and juniper. The programme looks at most of the major issues facing woodland development across the country. Among the biggest threats listed are “widespread browsing by deer or sheep” and “invasive non-native trees and shrubs”. However, the report highlights sample projects which could help ensure the survival of as many key species as possible. In Moray, Forest Enterprise Scotland has undertaken work to “naturalise” Scots pine plantations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7572085.stm

Spain:

3) On 19 June 2008, Spanish pulp company ENCE lost its FSC certification in Spain, when its subsidiaries Norte Forestal (Norfor) and Silvasur had their certificate withdrawn. Norfor manages just over 12,000 hectares of industrial tree plantations in the northeast of Spain and Silvasur has almost 70,000 hectares in Andalusia. Both companies were certified by SGS Qualifor in October 2004. The Norfor certificate was questioned by Greenpeace, WWF, the Asociación Pola Defensa Da Ría, Verdegaia, and Association for the Ecological Defence of Galicia. In October 2007, Accreditation Services International reported that the environmental concerns were justified, and that Norfor was non-compliant with FSC’s Principles and Criteria. This week, the Uruguayan authorities ordered a stop to all ENCE’s activities in Uruguay after ENCE’s subsidiary Eufores was caught destroying 80 hectares of forest which is strictly protected under Uruguayan law. In 2006, after World Rainforest Movement published a report criticising FSC’s certificates in Uruguay, Heiko Liedeker dismissed the report, saying that “Consumers can count on the FSC system as a guarantee for good forest management.” SGS Qualifor certified Eufores in December 2004. “ENCE at one time requested ‘to intervene’ a native forest, but during a routine inspection we discovered they had uprooted 80 hectares before we even answered yes or no to the original request”, Daniel Sanromán, head of the Uruguayan Forestry Department, told MercoPress. According to a press release from Uruguayan NGO Guayubira (below) this is not the only area of forest that ENCE has cleared. The company took great care to cover its tracks – burning the forest, clearing the trees and burying them in pits which were then filled with gravel. As Guayubira points out, ENCE’s actions are clearly in breach of at least two FSC Principles: destroying native forests and violating national legislation. FSC-Watch looks forward to announcing that FSC has stopped greenwashing ENCE’s destructive operations in Uruguay. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2008/08/22/ENCE_loses_one_certi

Estonia:

4) The new tariffs Russia has put on timber could actually bolster Estonian forestry, something which will be of interest to those considering forestry investment, it has been claimed. Russia is set to put premiums on log exports from the country which could make timber from other areas more attractive to purchasers around the world, the Vancouver Sun has reported. Dave Lewis, executive director of the BC Truck Loggers Association, told the newspaper: “Russia is a huge exporter of logs. A restriction in the amount of logs coming out of Russia will create demand elsewhere, so it could be an extremely positive thing.” Under new rules due to be introduced by the country, export tax on raw logs will increase from its current level of 25 per cent to 80 per cent from January 1st next year. At the moment, the newspaper reports, Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of timber but the Vancouver Sun perceives this changing, an idea which may interest those considering Baltic forestry investment. Finland is particularly concerned about the increases in tariffs because 9,000 people in the country are employed in making paper from the raw material. http://www.kms.ee/articles/Russian_forestry_embargoes_could_help?307

Georgia:

5) Up to 280 hectares (692 acres) of forests have been burnt or are alight in Georgia after its conflict with Russia, the WWF said Wednesday, warning that key conservation areas were under threat. In a statement, it called on “all parties capable of helping put out forest fires in central Georgia to work together to extinguish them”. The fires are centred in the Borjomi-Kharagauli area, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of the strategic city of Gori, some 60 kilometres from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Georgia’s foreign ministry had said Saturday that the Borgomi Gorge area had been targeted by Russian helicopters dropping firebombs in a dozen locations.But a Russian defence ministry spokesman was quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti saying that Russia had “nothing to do with the forest fire in Borjomi”, and that they were ready to help the Georgians douse the flames if asked.The WWF said the threatened areas were home to the rare Caucasian red deer and Caucasian salamander. Brown bears, lynx and wolves are also found here. “Observers on the ground have indicated to WWF that 250 to 280 hectares of forest on both sides of the Kura River have been burned or are alight,” said the WWF. Some fires have also been reported inside the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, about 125 kilometres (80 miles) southwest of Tbilisi. The source of Borjomi mineral water — one of Georgia’s top exports — is located in the park. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Key_Georgian_forests_ravaged_by_fires_WWF_999.html

Ghana:

6) Developing countries and human rights groups will clash today at a key UN climate change meeting intended to arrest the destruction of tropical forests. The felling is responsible for almost 20% of annual global carbon emissions, making it a crucial target in the battle against global warming. Diplomats from more than 100 countries are meeting in Accra, Ghana, to open negotiations on whether tropical forests should join the emerging global carbon market. This would allow countries and companies to earn money from not cutting down their trees. The move, backed strongly by many developing countries and the G8, is expected to greatly increase the financial value of forests. It would encourage governments and corporations to protect them and would potentially transfer hundreds of millions of pounds a year to some of the poorest countries in the world. But human rights and environment groups from three continents are warning that the over-hasty inclusion of forests in the post-Kyoto carbon market could trigger a “land grab” leaving tens of millions of people worse off. According to the groups, which include Friends of the Earth International, the Rainforest Foundation and the Rights and Resources Initiative, a coalition of environment and justice groups from around the world, it would:1) Undermine the world price of carbon, damaging the effectiveness of the market, 2) Drive indigenous peoples from the forests, 3) Benefit only a wealthy elite and increase the risk corruption Without clear guidelines on land ownership and the involvement of local people, the groups say, the money poured into preserving forests could also fuel violent conflict. “Sixty million indigenous peoples are dependent on forests for their livelihoods, food and medicines,” said Belmond Tchoumba, Friends of the Earth international coordinator of the forest and biodiversity programme. “These people have already been severely impacted by deforestation. If the value of their forests increases, governments and corporations may be willing to go to extreme lengths to wrest forests away from indigenous peoples and others.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/21/forests.carbonoffsetprojects

Uganda:

7) Mpigi District authorities and the National Forest Authority are involved in a war of words over the escalating degradation of natural forests in the district. The district and the NFA officials are accusing each other of damaging the natural forests.District Forest Officer Polly Birakwate told the press on Thursday that NFA allocated plots to farmers for tree planting but the farmers have instead cleared the forests. “Instead of planting trees as their permits indicate, farmers picked interest in mature trees which they are cutting for timber and firewood,” Mr Birakwate said. According to Mr Birakwate, the district has 39-gazetted forests of which 33 are national forests being monitored by NFA and six local forests under district supervision. He added that the national and local forests cover 30,000 and 323 hectares respectively. However, NFA officials, who talked to Daily Monitor denied the allegations and instead pinned the district for issuing timber cutting and transportation permits to residents. NFA public relations manager Moses Watasa said he was not aware of any case where people got plots and started cutting trees. However, Mr Watasa admitted that some people who received plots instead turned them into gardens. “NFA only gave away areas that were greatly degraded in order to replace the damaged parts but currently all permits were recalled for review,” Mr Watasa said. Meanwhile, NFA range manager Stephen Galima said in a separate interview that the district was primarily responsible for the degradation. He said district officials’ issue permits to residents for firewood and timber. “Almost all people we find illegally cutting trees in those forests have permits of tree cutting in private forests,” he said. http://allafrica.com/stories/200808210240.html

Kenya:

8) The Government has lost more than Sh3 billion since it banned logging in State forests in 1999 and forced more than 300 sawmills to close. The chairman of the Timber Manufacturers Association, Mr Samuel Gitonga, told the Nation on Tuesday that cypress trees planted 35 years ago had been falling and rotting in many forests as only three timber firms had been allowed to harvest trees in Government forests since 1999. Mr Gitonga said old plantations had been going to waste in the larger Nakuru District. “Trees have also been rotting in Koibatek, Kericho and Uasin Gishu districts since the Government imposed the ban, which was not well thought out, considering that the lost plantations were established with a loan from the World Bank,” Mr Gitonga said. He said that the Government had mature trees worth about Sh20 billion. The sawmills that were closed down had 120,000 employees but the three firms that have been harvesting trees have about 500 employees, he said. He said that the abrupt closure of the sawmills led to the economic death of small towns such as Elburgon, Njoro, Molo and Maji Mazuri. The Timber Manufacturers official said the building industry was currently relying on timber imported from Tanzania, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/461026/-/6jpcc9/-/