LA GOMERA, Spain - More than 150 firemen and four helicopters on Sunday battled forest fires on the small Canaries island of La Gomera, authorities said. Around 500 people were evacuated from their homes after the fires broke out on Saturday on the rugged and mountainous island in Spain's Atlantic archipelago, a popular tourist destination.
Killing PestLISBON - Portugal is struggling to contain a new outbreak of nematodes, microscopic worm-like organisms that are killing wild pine trees and threaten to spread abroad despite drastic measures to stop their advance.
The moose population in Scandinavia has exploded, causing harm and danger in many places. There has been an increase of 30 times the moose population since the turn of last century, meaning there is now perhaps the largest moose population since the ice age, reports Norwegian Broadcasting Corp NRK. And many are worried about what the effects will be on the ecology, not to mention the rapidly increasing traffic accidents.
(in Approximation of Handicraft History) Edited by Gömöri János Preface "Tree is eternal beauty" - said Leo Tolstoy and he was quite right. In our denaturating world both the green trees and the wood materials yield connections in space and time.
Nature protection: Commission sends final written warning to Hungary over bird protection laws, closes Finnish wolf hunting case The European Commission is sending Hungary a final written warning for not putting in place national measures for implementing an EU environmental law on the protection of wild birds. The Commission is also closing a case against Finland on the granting of permits for wolf hunting because it considers that Finland has complied with a 2007 European Court of Justice ruling.
The first full week of April is observed as Forest week in Bulgaria. The tradition started in 1925 when at the initiative of the Bulgarian Foresters’ Society a tree-planting day was held. Since then the first full week of April has been dedicated to the noble activity of afforestation.
By MATTHEW BROWN , BILLINGS, Mont. - The U.S. Forest Service has bought a pair of flying drones to track down marijuana growers operating in remote California woodlands. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees the Forest Service, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the pilotless, camera-equipped aircraft will allow law enforcement officers to pinpoint marijuana fields and size up potential dangers before agents attempt arrests.
The first-ever Asia-Pacific Forestry Week will be organized 21-26 April 2008, in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is expected to be the largest and the most important forestry-related events in the region in 2008.
Bruno Manser Fonds releases over 10,000 photos by environmentalist hero Bruno Manser On April 19th over 10,000 of Bruno Manser's photographs will be made available to the public on-line. The pictures are rare documentation of the nomadic Penan peoples from the Malaysian state of Sarawak in Borneo. Swiss environmentalist Bruno Manser proved an unflinching and passionate advocate for the Penans in the 1990s as their territory was increasingly deforested by industrial logging companies.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/The New York Times April 17, 2008 - One of two wild bears in Switzerland has been shot and killed on government orders because it had lost its fear of humans, officials said. Environmental organizations expressed dismay, but government officials said they had no choice.
The public agency "Copenhagen Energy" has paid 10 million DKK (1,34 million euro) to a forest owner for groundwater protection. Copenhagen Energy gets 5 million cubic metres of drinking water annually from a well 60 kilometres outside Copenhagen, Denmark. This quantity is sufficient for covering the annual water consumption of 100,000 persons.
Strategic Review and Plan 2007-2008 Integrated Programme of Work on Timber and Forestry of the UNECE Timber Committee and the FAO European Forestry Commission The Timber Committee Special Session on the Strategic Review and Plan of the UNECE/FAO Integrated Programme of Work on Timber and Forestry Geneva 28 – 30 April 2008
TRURO The world’s oldest species of tree has surprised botanists by producing seeds in Britain. The 2 million-year-old Wollemi Pine was thought to be extinct – and had been identified only from fossils – when a crop of 100 trees was found in Australia in 1994.
Maybe a national forest's wind can be put to good use That's what's its all about when it comes to one of the more controversial uses of real estate: so-called wind farms.
Forestry professionals and the wider public will have a great opportunity to see working horses in action as part of a commercial timber harvesting operation at the award winning Borders Festival of the Horse this May.
EIA films examining the human stories behind illegal logging and deforestation in Indonesia have picked up two prestigious awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival. The short films, “'5x5, Voices of Change from the Forests of Indonesia” were awarded Best Cultural Message and Best Film for a Government Agency at the Montana festival.
WASHINGTON, - Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell today announced the award of $54 million in grants today to permanently protect thirty-five working forests across thirty-two states.
The Russian Government provided for funds to be allocated to the Russian Federation’s constituent entities for the purpose of building forest roads; the initial installments may arrive to the regions in August-September this year, as the prime-minister Victor Zubkov reported at the international conference “Development of RF Forestry”, held within the framework of the Timber Industry Development Council under the RF Government.
For example, Koskisen Oy provides in-house training to some 50 persons every year, says Mr. Esa Kallinen, the company’s human resources manager. The wood-working sector, which transforms roundwood to sawn timber, plywood or furniture, does not interest very much Finnish youngsters. According to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Education, on any level of the education system, too few young people complete a qualification or receive a degree in the sector. The wood-working sector needs 1,300–1,400 new employees every year, but only 700 young people complete a relevant course of study.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Canada must prepare for the impact of global warming on its forests, such as increased fires in the west and ice storms in the east, the country's forest ministers said.
From our point of view, the primary objective is to clearly draw up the mission of state forest management, to disclose the resources of the affiliates and configuring their integrated operation, and to consolidate their management.
The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), along with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), co-hosted a side event entitled “Regional forest cooperation – Reaching the 2010 Biodiversity Target and the UNFF Global Objectives on Forests by 2015,” during the 18th meeting of the CBD’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, in Rome, Italy.
”The decision reflects the high regard to nature conservation”, says Mr. Ilkka Heikkinen, Director of nature conservation in the Ministry of the Environment. On Tuesday, the Finnish Government decided on the central government spending limits for the next four years. The funding framework for the forest biodiversity programme for Southern Finland, Metso Programme was on the agenda, too. The pilot phase of the programme ended recently.