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News By Sam Bond Beech and birch could be replaced by walnuts and Corsican pine as climate change shapes the face of British woodlands. British woods as we know them today could be an endangered species This is just one of the changes predicted by tree specialists who believe the Southern England of the near future will have a climate comparable to modern-day Bordeaux.
News China has become the largest destination of the hardwoods of the United States, said Theodore Rossi, chairman of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) in Beijing Wednesday in a press conference. According to US statistics, in 2004 the value of US hardwood products imported to China's mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan reached 3.6 billion RMB yuan (approximately 500 million US dollars) , representing a growth of 29.2 percent from 2003.
News The final day of the ENA FLEG Preparatory Conference focused on two draft texts: "The Structure of the St. Petersburg Declaration" and "Elements for the ENA FLEG Indicative List of Actions." Both texts were drafted by the Co-facilitators and will serve as the basis for government and non-governmental stakeholder deliberations in the run up to the ENA FLEG Ministerial Conference. In the morning, two groups met separately in the morning, one composed of government delegates and the other of industry, civil society and other stakeholders, to discuss both texts. Participants met in a joint morning plenary session to review the outcomes of the two group discussions, and hear closing statements from Industry, Civil Society, and other stakeholder groups. In the afternoon, Co-facilitators Jag Maini and Jürgen Blaser summarized the deliberations of the Preparatory Conference, and explained the next steps to prepare a draft Ministerial Declaration and Indicative Action Plan. The Co-facilitators also outlined the preparation process and timeline for the documents, leading to their consideration during the ENA FLEG Ministerial Conference in December 2005.
Dialogue into action Contents An international journal of forestry and forest industries - Vol. 56 2005/1 2005/1 56.kötet FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Editor: A. Perlis
News to Protect Neretva and Bosna Rivers from Municipal Pollution WASHINGTON, The World Bank Group - The World Bank today approved a Water Quality Protection Project for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will be funded by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of US$8.9 million, with expected contributions from the borrower and others of US$11.37 million equivalent.
News Wood for good It was standing room only at the second seminar in wood for good’s “Building Sustainably with Timber” series. An audience of 130 architects and engineers packed into the seminar room of the Building Centre on 16th February, Kyoto Day when the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol became legally binding, to hear three leading experts in engineered timber structures describe some of the most exciting projects in recent years.
News On the second day of the ENA FLEG Preparatory Conference, participants continued discussions on major issues in regional and thematic break-out groups and in plenary sessions. In the morning, participants briefly reconvened in regional break-out groups, before participants heard reports of the groups in a plenary session. Thematic break-out groups also met in morning sessions, and reported back to the plenary in an afternoon session. In the afternoon, participants also heard presentations on the integration of the ENA FLEG process with existing processes.
By Alister Doyle OSLO - The United Nations urged better "green" planning for burgeoning cities on Sunday, annual World Environment Day due to be marked by rallies, tree-plantings and clean-ups from Australia to Zimbabwe.
News Opening Session In May 2004, the Russian Federation announced its intention to host in 2005 a Europe and North Asia (ENA) Forest Law Enforcement and Governance ( FLEG ) process. T he Preparatory Conference for this initiative will convene from 6-8 June 2005 in Moscow. The Ministerial Conference is expected to meet in November or December 2005 in the Russian Federation .
News BY STEVEN EDWARDS Bold statements about the need to save the world's trees poured into the United Nations last week at a massive conference called the Forum on Forests And yet the world body produces so many reports daily it is known as the globe's most prodigious paper factory. Which wouldn't be so bad if someone were getting some benefit from all the printed words.
Ear Falls Town Map Ear Falls, August 12-14, 2005 We're celebrating our tenth year of presenting world class performers to the community. This year our lineup is a collision of styles and genres with some of our favorites from the past returning along with new voices coming together in our woods. Bluegrass, Gospel, Folk, Funk and Roots music are all part of the programming this year. Sweet voiced singers will resonate in our soul and hot pickers will tantalize our spirits over the weekend. The big party Saturday night features the funk, rap music of Ridley Bent moving us into the wee hours.
News Get to grips with climate change is the slogan, and the objective, of this year’s Green Week, the Commission’s annual conference programme and exhibition showcasing EU environment policy. Green Week 2005 will take place in the Charlemagne building from 31 May to 3 June in the week leading up to World Environment Day on 5 June. Some 200 speakers from Europe and around the world have been invited to the 20 conferences, workshops and talks that will explore different aspects of climate change, and in total around 4,000 participants are expected. Parallel ‘Green Days’ will be held in Member States, giving Green Week a pan-European dimension. Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment, will open Green Week 2005 at 9:45 on 31 May.
News At its annual meeting in New York IFFA, the Global Alliance of Family Forest Owners, decided to establish a formal organization in order to become a more powerful spokesman for family forestry in relation to international organizations, such as the UN-organizations and the World Bank. Bob Simpson from USA was elected Chairman of the Board and Mr Ivar Korsbakken from Norway was elected deputy.
News The "Roadmap 2010 for the European woodworking industries" is an action launched by CEI-Bois on the initiative of its chairman, Mr Bo Borgström. This Roadmap study was launched with the aim of: producing an updated analysis on key factors and challenges affecting the European woodworking industries; identifying the opportunities for the sector; describing the ideal position; producing an action programme for the European woodworking industries towards 2010; within the general vision of "Wood and wood products to become the leading material in construction and interior solutions by 2010". The final aim of this study is the establishment of an action programme targeted to the industries, their associations and the authorities.
News Forest fires have surged in Siberia in recent decades Siberia's forests are facing an unprecedented threat from fire, according to Russian scientists. The taiga, which accounts for one-fifth of the world's forested land, has seen a tenfold increase in the rate of deforestation in recent decades. Last year 22m hectares (54m acres) - half the area of France - was lost. The scientists say global warming and lack of funding, which has left foresters ill-equipped to combat fires, are the main factors behind the loss.
News Annotated agenda (June 1-3, 2005) 1. Welcome and introduction The Chairman will inform the members of the Committee about the participation of observers from acceding countries in meetings of the Standing Forestry Committee.
News The seminar is organised by the Swedish Authorities under the joint auspices of the Joint Experts Network and the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) to be held in Sunne, Värmland County, Sweden from 13 to15 June 2005 Background Countries in the European region and elsewhere have in recent years increased their attention to the cultural heritage values in our forests. This was expressed by the Vienna Declaration and Vienna Resolutions adopted at the fourth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe and signed by forty European countries and the European Communities (Vienna, April, 2004). The principles aim to promote and raise awareness of the social and cultural dimension of sustainable forest management as well as clarifying the cultural significance of the forest.
The Spree Forest, a remote wetland south of Berlin, is a nature-lover's paradise known for its many narrow waterways. But researchers say the pristine region is in danger, blaming changes in climate and industry. The Spree River runs through the immense Spreewald Biosphere Reserve southeast of Berlin. It starts in the Lusatia region, near Poland, and is known for its traditional irrigation system consisting of 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of small channels and waterways. Alder forests and wetlands alternate with sandy pine forests, grasslands and fields in a landscape that seems to have been little affected by the forces of modernity.
News Hadil da Rocha Vianna of Brazil, Jan McAlpine of the United States, Franz Perrez of Switzerland and Peter Csoka of the UNFF Secretariat discuss the text of the Decisions. Efforts to Reach Global Agreement Fail at UNFF-5 The fifth session of the UN Forum on Forests concluded Friday, with many involved conceding failure. The session had begun with the lofty goal of reaching a global agreement on all types of forests, but as negotiations continued throughout the first week and into the second, it became apparent that the gaps between country and regional group positions were too significant to overcome at this time, and participants had "bitten off more than they could chew."
News Speaking for farmers and small forest landowners, Natalie Hufnagel called for securing land tenure and property rights, and acknowledging the contributions of forests to livelihoods. Speaking for the EU, Octavia Modert of Luxembourg noted that decisions would have to be postponed if targets and goals could not be agreed upon. Martins Roze of Latvia called for clear definition of the state's role in achieving sustainable forest management Duason Jovic of Serbia and Montenegro stressed the importance of decentralization, democratization and participatory planning Juha Korkeaoja of Finland expressed disappointment that a legally-binding instrument (LBI) would not be achieved, and said that soft law would draw soft commitment. Elliott Morley of the United Kingdom stressed that the status quo is unacceptable
News On Thursday, delegates met all day in a high-level segment on actions for the future. Following ministerial statements from many countries, UNFF Coordinator and Head Pekka Patosaari presented a rapidly prepared draft Ministerial Declaration.
News (Nairobi) John Mbaria A day after the recent announcement by Kenya's Agricultural Minister, Kipruto arap Kirwa, that the country is facing imminent famine following a "silent" drought, heavy rains pounded many parts of the country, with some receiving an all-time high of 132mm in a single day. Days later, some sections of the country and especially the Lake Basin were to experience heavy flooding, which set on course the recurrent phenomenon in which hundreds of Kenyans, seek alternative shelter after their homes become no-go zones.
News 16-27 MAY 2005 The fifth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF-5) commences today at UN headquarters in New York. This is the final mandated session of UNFF. Delegates will review progress and consider future actions, review the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests (IAF), consider the parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework on all types of forests, and consider enhanced cooperation and policy and programme coordination. On 18 May, delegates will convene "Asia Day," consisting of a panel discussion on regional forest-related issues in Asia. From 25-26 May, UNFF-5 will convene a high-level ministerial segment and policy dialogue with heads of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) organizations and a Multi-stakeholder Dialogue.
News The IUFRO 3.08.00 Small-scale Forestry Group, together with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Forest Research Institute, would like to call to your attention to an international symposium on "Small-scale Forestry in a Changing Environment", to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, over May 30 to June 4, 2005.
