Confessions of a Tree Grower "My friends say I am a tree farmer in my heart and a musician in my Soul" - Chuck Leavell Chuck Leavell turns forestry heads big time with his one-man promotion of forestry and especially through his "confessions" of a forest owner. These insightful confessions are collected and recorded in an exceptionally good book called Forever Green - The History and Hope of the American Forest. I'll get to the book in a minute.
Sauna – Quentin Le Guen-Geffrouy, Norway European Timber Council Photo Contest Reflections of Wood in the Eyes are as individual and emotional as the people who look at nature‘s own material in all its beauty. Quentin Le Guen-Geffroy from Norway and his Sight of Wood is the winner of the photo competition Wood in Your Eyes, arranged by the European Wood Magazine Building Europe.
Peter Beattie MP, Premier of Queensland It is fitting that Queensland — Australia’s Smart State — is hosting the XXII International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress Forest-related issues of a cultural, social, environmental or economic nature will be central in discussions at the World Congress — especially given its theme of Forests in the Balance: Linking Tradition and Technology.
Boorman and McGregor motorcycled round the world A new drive to "welcome" motorcyclists to Scotland has been launched by tourist organisation VisitScotland. The scheme will give guidance to the tourism industry on the services it can offer to improve the holiday experience for motorbike enthusiasts.
UNESCO, in partnership with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), has launched a new kit on Desertification in English, French, and Spanish, targeted for use in the classroom by teachers and their pupils between ages 10 and 12.
Invasive and exotic species threaten much of the World's biodiversity and ecosystems. Humanity has had very little success in addressing these super competiters which thrive in human disrupted ecoystems. Yet genetically modified super weeds that share these traits and more are a real possibility in the age of Franken-agriculture. Now it has been reported that a wild relative of the oilseed rape has picked up the traits of engineered crops.
Michigan’s native elk disappeared around 1875. Today’s elk herd dates back to 1918, when seven western animals were released near Wolverine. From that reintroduction, the number of animals grew steadily to about 1,500 elk in the early 1960s. They reached the point where limited hunting was possible in 1964 and 1965.
Tropical rainforests disappear at an alarming rate causing unprecedented losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Rainforests are hot spots of biodiversity as well as important carbon sinks. Despite an increased recognition of the value of these and other valuable public goods provided by tropical rainforests at national and international levels, the rainforests of Asia, Africa, Australia and Latin America continue to be seriously threatened by various forms of human encroachment.
by Joshua Goldstein Australia's Five-Million Dollar Experiment with Market-Based Instruments Australia launched the National Market-based Instruments Pilots Program two years ago with a five million dollar investment in eleven pilot projects designed to explore the utility of market-based conservation mechanisms on agricultural land.
BRUSSELS - The European Commission on Thursday hailed a six-nation climate change pact unveiled by the United States and Australia, saying it would boost efforts to fight global warming.
New approach to forest fires suggested to Mediterranean countries 25 July 2005, Rome - Mediterranean countries could save lives and billions of euros every year if they better trained and mobilized communities in forest fire prevention and control, FAO said today.
More than 130 fires covering 100 square kilometres of forest are burning in northern Quebec, making this summer one of the worst fire seasons in the province in half a century. Quebec's SOPFEU, the agency in charge of the province's forests, says up to 17 of the fires are burning out of control.
The Viken Forest Owners’ Association has concluded a three year contract with the Oslo airport Gardemoen concerning the annual supply of circa 51 GWh of bio-energy. That is the equivalent of about 27 000 cubic meters of wood in the form of chips.
Coillte's Farm Partnership Scheme has proved extremely popular since its introduction in 1992. To date over 10,000 hectares have been planted in partnership with farmers throughout the country.
WASHINGTON, - U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today selected Charles (Chuck) Myers to lead the Southern Region as its regional forester in Atlanta, Ga. The Southern Region encompasses 13 states and Puerto Rico, and covers more than 12.6 million acres.
The Spanish government is planning a series of measures to prevent forest fires, in the wake of the blaze that left 11 volunteer firefighters dead. A national co-ordination centre and "severe prohibitions" will be among the steps taken to avoid future tragedies. The fire, thought to have been started by a barbecue, has destroyed around 12,000 hectares but is under control.
A tiger specialist group in India has claimed that at present there may be about 150 to 175 tigers in Sundarbans, reports UNB. Those tigers from Indian Sundarbans who migrate to the bigger part of the world's biggest mangrove forest on the Bangladesh side are also poached there, the group reported, questioning recent claim by the West Bengal authorities that there are about 250 tigers at present.
BV MAHALAKSHMI HYDERABAD – With the Indian paper and pulp industry placing greater demands on the plantations and forests, there is a growing need for genetically-modified (GM) trees to help the Indian paper industry. Hence, the proposed National Forest Policy is expected to give a thrust to GM trees for boosting the paper industry as well as improving the quality of by-products of wood.
Amid the recent hoopla over the EPA and Bush administration's plans to make it easy for power plants, oil refineries and chemical factories (major sources of acid rain nationwide) to expand without installing new pollution controls and the Senate's consideration of Clean Power Act, there's an important new wrinkle to the story.
It is the first time that three EU Commissioners jointly support one issue. “Wood as energy source in the enlarging Europe”, is the name of the exploratory opinion that will now be developed in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) lead-managed by the Finnish Member Seppo Kallio All three EU Commissioners Mariann Fischer Boel, Agriculture and Rural Development, Olli Rehn, Enlargement and Adris Piebalgs, Energy and Transport see the EESC contribution as valuable in the light of further enlargements and of the Lisbon strategy.
JOHANNESBURG - Africa must stop pushing out wildlife to make way for farming or it will lose out on crucial tourism revenue, Kenya's Deputy Environment Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai said on Wednesday. If used properly, Africa's wildlife could bring in enough cash to massively improve public services, Maathai said in Johannesburg after giving the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in front of the former South African leader, former US President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries.
Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 10 St. James’ Square, London SW1. Wednesday27th - Thursday 28th July 2005. Two new papers are now available on the www.illegal-logging.info website: How the ITTO Addresses Illegal Logging (Lauren Flezjor) Description of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and analysis of its activities on illegal logging and the debates around the issue during the renegotiation of the International Tropical Timber Agreement.
The Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature is of the opinion that there are not enough forest fires in Norway. The Society wants more controlled forest fires in both State owned and in private forests in order to study biodiversity. The Norwegian Forest Owners’ Federation finds this a very bad idea.
Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 10 St. James’ Square, London SW1. Wednesday27th - Thursday 28th July 2005. Draft Agenda - 08/07/2005
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