The Festival of Folk Arts, the traditional meeting of folk artists, will be held this year in the Buda Castle, for the nineteenth time. For four days the best representatives of folk crafts will show the secrets of their crafts, while working in their workshops with the participation of the audience.
MOSCOW - For the first time, Russia and China will hold negotiations on forest management cooperation when a Chinese State Forestry Administration's delegation visits Moscow August 15-19, a spokesman for Russia's Natural Resources Ministry said.
Finland’s large forests provide a livelihood for 50 000 gatherers of natural products during high season. Each year wild berries are being gathered to a value of 200 million euro, forest mushrooms to a value of 100 million euro and other natural products to a value of 20 million euro. More than half of the revenue from mushroom gathering accrues in Eastern Finland and more than half of the revenue from picking wild berries accrues in Lapland.
WASHINGTON, Department of Agriculture Forest Service today released for public comment new direction for grazing permit administration. Chapters 10 and 20 in the grazing permit administration handbook, issued previously on July 19, 2005, are being withdrawn.
The young barn owls are now learning how to fly Barn owls are thriving in Britain because of a good supply of the food they live on, say wildlife experts. The birds' progress is followed by the British Trust for Ornithology-led Barn Owl Monitoring Programme.
By Constant Brand BRUSSELS, Belgium — Drought and human negligence are to blame for the recent rise in forest fires across Europe, the European Union's head office said Wednesday, warning the situation in southern Europe remained precarious
As water restrictions are brought in, farmers row over their share of the supply, finds Hugh Schofield in Paris France is going though its worst drought in nearly 30 years after an exceptionally dry winter and spring, with more than two thirds of the country’s 96 departments imposing water restrictions.
Chennai – A week-long film festival that dwells on environmental issues and the impact of development in the country is on in the Tamil Nadu state capital. Organised by a Chennai-based youth initiative "We Feel Responsible" (WFR), the Aug 8-13 festival is titled "In the Name of Development"
Wood energy is the dominant source of energy for over 2 billion people, particularly in households in developing countries. Biofuels, especially fuelwood and charcoal, currently provide more than 14 percent of the world's total primary energy. Social and economic scenarios indicate a continuous growth of the demand for woodfuels that will continue for several decades.
Berlin – At a time when the worst drought in 60 years is drying out entire areas in Spain, scientists from three European countries are building a greenhouse that can function with almost no external water supply. The trick: extreme heat and a hermetically sealed building cause the condensation cycle to work overtime.
The price for the Finnish economy of the paper industry lockout amounts to 1.5 billion euro The lockout in the Finnish paper industry cut the estimated gross national product by one percent. That means a loss of 1.5 billion euro for the Finnish national economy. The labour conflict in early summer lasted for six weeks
Tree Plantations Australia (TPA) applauds the efforts of Planet Ark in again organising this year’s National Tree Day, when over 250,000 volunteers will plant 1 million trees School students will take part in planting on Friday, 29 July and families will have the opportunity to plant on Sunday, 31 July.
Gland, Switzerland – WWF updated its evaluation of credible forest certification in Europe. This follows the completion of a series of three studies WWF in Europe has been involved in to gain insights into how the two forest certification systems, FSC and PEFC, perform and deliver against key elements WWF considers important for a system's credibility.
Spanning across Canada from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean exists a global treasure: the Canadian Boreal forest. Thirteen times the size of California, the Boreal is larger than the Brazilian Amazon and plays an astonishingly unsung role in the regulation of global climate and the maintenance of clean air and water.
Imaging the International Year of Deserts and Desertification The United Nations General Assembly, at its 58th session, adopted resolution A/Res/58/211 which declares 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The decision was taken to help prevent the exacerbation of desertification around the globe.
Turdus Iliacus Organic farms are better for wildlife than those run conventionally, according to a study covering 180 farms from Cornwall to Cumbria. The organic farms were found to contain 85% more plant species, 33% more bats, 17% more spiders and 5% more birds.
Launched 9th August 2005 at IUFRO World Forestry Congress in Brisbane The importance of restoration continues to grow, and this book integrates the restoration of forest functions into landscape conservation plans.
By Louise Egan GUALEGUAYCHU, Argentina — Gualeguaychu used to be a sleepy Argentine town. That was before two European companies decided to build some of the world's largest pulp mills on its doorstep in neighboring Uruguay. Now it's a hotbed of protest as farmers, ecologists and politicians fearing the mills will lead to acid rain and a stench reminiscent of rotten eggs have taken to the streets to block the projects. Their opposition to the mills, which Uruguay hopes will help bolster its economy, has also caused a diplomatic feud between the two countries.
Gippsland's Strzelecki Ranges VICTORIA – A father and son ripped $12 million of ferns and logs from native forests, causing environmental devastation, a court heard yesterday. Prosecutors allege they used bulldozers, chainsaws and excavators to plunder soft tree ferns and hardwood logs in forest bordering Gippsland's Strzelecki Ranges. They dumped old tyres and oil-filled drums, destroyed surrounding vegetation and damaged nearby creeks.
The fires that have until now devastated an area the size of Luxembourg across Portugal are threatening several bird species and the habitats that they depend on. Wild birds are being affected either directly, through being burnt or asphyxiated, or indirectly through loss of habitat, and prey, such as rabbits for eagles.
New Zealand's (Aotearoa) national bird is the kiwi and the people call themselves kiwis – yet New Zealand’s state-owned coal mining company plans to destroy prime habitat of the endangered great spotted kiwi with a new open pit coal mine.
UNECE region forest products markets respond positively to globalization Geneva - The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) just released the UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2004-2005.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today appointed Anne Zimmermann as the director of the agency's office for watershed, fish, wildlife, air and rare plants. Zimmermann is currently the deputy director of the office and has served as its acting director for the past year.
KHABAROVSK - Thirty-three forest fires, covering a total area of more than 116,000 hectares of taiga, are still raging in Russia’s Far East, a source at the local forest protection air service told Itar-Tass on Sunday. The greatest number of fire seats have been reported from the Amur Region and Khabarovsk Territory. The total area of forest fires increased by 113 hectares as of this Sunday.