News

Wood pellet heating, the future market (ForestPress)

Just prior to Pellets 2006 and taking place for the sixth time, is the Industry Forum Pellets on 10th and 11th October 2006. A series of presentations will provide industry representatives attending the conference with in-depth information about the latest developments in the growing wood pellet market. In recent years the wood energy industy forum has developed into a critical meeting point for the pellets industry. A total of 250 participants from industy, research and politics are expected to attend.

2006. August 31.

Russian and Finnish presidents talk on the issue of Russian forest fires (ForestPress)

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports that President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with President of Finland Tarja Halonen to discuss the issue of forest fires, presenting a transnational threat. The two presidents agreed on the need for cooperation and further discussion of the situation in September this year. In so far, the Finnish government has sent personnel and equipment to Murmansk to help combat forest fires there. Other Russian regions refused to accept Finnish government help.

2006. August 30.

Brown Bear Released in French Pyrenees Dies in Fall (Reuters/ForestPress)

PARIS - A Slovenian brown bear, one of five released in the French Pyrenees earlier this year, has been found dead at the foot of a cliff after an apparent accident, authorities said on Sunday. The animals were let loose under a pan-European programme designed to help species in danger of extinction. The dead bear, named Palouma, was the first of the group to be released in the mountain range stradding the border between France and Spain.

2006. August 28.

Partnerships to Conserve Open Space in Rural America (ForestPress)

FOREST SERVICE PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION FOR RURAL AMERICA WASHINGTON, - The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service today announced a new publication which highlights the importance of open space, explores how growth trends in rural America are changing our forests, and offers ideas for balancing growth and conservation. "Cooperating Across Boundaries: Partnerships to Conserve Open Space in Rural America" was developed by a team of Forest Service researchers and highlights key findings from numerous research studies.

2006. August 28.

Forestry Sector Outlook Study for Latin America and the Caribbean (ForestPress)

Latin America and the Caribbean to use more wood from planted forests High deforestation rates expected to persist More than 60 percent of the sustainable wood supply in Latin America and the Caribbean will come from planted forests by the year 2020, leaving more natural forests untouched, FAO said today.

2006. August 28.

Profitable driverless forest machine (Nordic Family)

Forest machines without any driver may reduce felling costs and fuel consumption in forestry. The first system tested by, the Swedish forest research institute, is competitive already at the prototype stage. Researchers consider it to be a technical breakthrough.

2006. August 23.

New changes to the Forest Code draft (forest.ru/ForestPress)

The draft of the new Forest Code has finally been revealed to the public, after the State Duma discussed changes on July 8. According to NGO experts, the new draft has very few amendments from the first draft adopted by the Duma 18 months ago. On the contrary, the new version has more contradictions and ambiguities that allow for many interpretations, which may create a favorable environment for corruption.

2006. August 22.

'More disasters' for warmer world (BBC News)

Rising temperatures will increase the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding over the next two centuries, UK climate scientists have warned. Even if harmful emissions were cut now, many parts of the world would face a greater risk of natural disasters, a team from Bristol University said.

2006. August 17.

Timber trade lays strong roots for the future (swissinfo/ForestPRess)

Mathias Froidevaux Swiss forests cover 1.2 million square hectares, or 30% of the country (Keystone) Demand for Swiss timber is increasing, pulling the industry out of the red and a decade of crises. The recent upturn has underlined the importance of Switzerland's multipurpose forests. But even though they are expanding, they are under-exploited.

2006. August 14.

News

NASA shows interest in robot airplanes (ForestPress)

NASA shows interest in robot airplanes, developed in Borsod county , Hungary To detect forest fires, heat camera robot airoplanes have been deployed at Szendrő, Borsod county, Hungary Ágoston Restás, chief of Szendrő Fire Protection, said to ForestPress that three electricity driven engines of only a few kilograms weight, and 3 meters wing span, can assist in detecting large forest fires.

2006. August 13.

Why is the Philippines rich in biodiversity? (ABS-CBN News/ForestPress)

Did you know that the forest trees in Mount Makiling, Laguna, are far more diverse than those in the entire United States? Or that the Philippines has more endemic or native birds than the whole of Europe? It is amazing indeed that a country so small, with a total land area of 30 million hectares and a total coastline of 18,000 kilometers, can be a world showcase in biological diversity. According to Dr. Corazon Sinha and Dr. Lawrence Heaney, authors of the book Philippine Biodiversity: Principles and Practice, recently published by Haribon, "There are many reasons why the Philippines is both high in species richness and endemism."

2006. August 12.

EU helps Spain to tackle forest fires (ForestPress)

This morning (Wednesday, 9th August), Spain requested European civil protection assistance to help combat the forest fires raging in more that 100 places in the region of Galicia. The request triggered a rapid response from the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) of the European Commission.

2006. August 11.

News

A Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century (ForestPress)

You will be happy to know that the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, will be celebrating its100 years in 2007. We believe that the next 100 years will be quite different than the last 100 years. The 21st century will be probably known as the era of environmentalism, natural capitalism, scientific integration, globalization, and participatory governance. Naturally, in this new era, the conceptual framework of forest resource management will be different than its existing framework.

2006. August 9.

News

Satellites Spying on Loggers (moscowtimes.ru/ForestPress)

By Anatoly Medetsky Forestry officials have gone high-tech in an effort to stop illegal logging, deploying satellites to catch loggers red-handed, the Federal Forestry Agency said Wednesday.

2006. August 9.

Quarterly newsletter, ForLive Highlights (ForestPress)

This quarterly newsletter, ForLive Highlights, has been prepared to inform you about the ongoing activities and outcomes of the ForLive project “Forest management by small farmers in the Amazon: An opportunity to enhance forest ecosystem stability and rural livelihoods”.

2006. August 8.

Swiss Zoo Fights Heatwave With Meat Ice Cream (Reuters/ForestPress)

ZURICH - Zookeepers in the Swiss financial centre of Zurich are feeding animals a diet of frozen berries, meat and bones to help them stay cool in the sweltering summer heat.

2006. August 5.

Chileans fight proposed gold mine (The New York Times/ForestPress)

Alto del Carmen By Larry Rohter ALTO DEL CARMEN, Chile There is gold in these hills - at least $11.5 billion worth at last count, in a wind-swept area studded with glaciers, more than 15,000 feet up in the Andes. The world's biggest gold company wants to mine it, but is finding that a harsh terrain is not the only obstacle in its path. Though the Chilean government has tentatively approved the $1.5 billion mining project, called Pascua-Lama, opposition here in Huasco Province is intense and growing.

2006. August 4.

Global Illegal Wildlife Trade Worth US$10 Billion (Reuters)

BEIJING - The global illegal trade in wild animals and plants has exceeded US$10 billion a year, becoming the world's third-largest source of illicit income after drugs and guns, a wildlife conference heard on Friday.

2006. August 3.