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Forest owners want to ensure socially sustainable rural areas (Nordic Family/ForestPress)

In their new programme for sustainable forestry Finnish private forest owners emphasize the importance of forestry for the viability of rural areas. They also underscore the importance of profitable forestry for maintaining biodiversity in nature. The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners, MTK, that is also the interest group of Finnish private forest owners, has published a programme for sustainable family forestry. This program is an update of the previous programme for forest biodiversity from the year 2000. The new program supplements the previous one by emphasizing that forestry must also be socially and financially sustainable.

2006. July 19.

UN Adds 18 Sites to Heritage List, But Not Everest (Reuters/ForestPress)

Story by Darius James Ross VILNIUS - Mediaeval crusader castles in Syria and ancient irrigation systems in Oman were among 18 new cultural and natural sites added to the UN's World Heritage list this week, officials said on Thursday. UNESCO, the UN environmental and cultural body, also added the Vizcaya Bridge in Spain and the mining landscapes of Cornwall and West Devon in Britain.

2006. July 19.

Press room

Call for Proposals for APFED Showcase Programme

Dear all, The Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED) Secretariat is pleased to announce that it has launched a programme entitled "APFED Innovation Showcase for Sustainable Development (the Showcase Programme)" with the aim of promoting sustainable development within the Asia-Pacific region.

2006. July 18.

Armenia Tree Project (ForestPess)

ATP Plants Over 340,000 Seedlings During Large Scale Reforestation of Getik River Valley This Spring Brings Total Number of Trees Planted by ATP This Spring to 487,200 YEREVAN – Armenia Tree Project (ATP) expanded its reforestation program by planting 343,750 trees in the Getik River Valley of the Gegharkounik region north of Lake Sevan in April-May 2006. Plantings on two massive forest plots covered a total of 400 acres with indigenous species of trees, including chestnut, maple, ash, oak, walnut, wild apple, and wild pear.

2006. July 17.

Coed Llandegla Forest (ForestPress)

The one of the largest privately-owned recreation facilities in North Wales. Coed Llandegla Forest covers 650 hectares and was planted in 1972/73. It is owned and managed by Tilhill. Established for over 50 years, Tilhill is the UK market leader in forestry and timber harvesting. It provides services to owners of over 200,000 hectares of woodland, and manages 22,000 hectares in Wales alone.

2006. July 14.

News

Typhoon Leaves at Least Six Dead in South Korea (Reuters/ForestPress)

SEOUL - A typhoon that killed more than 30 people in China killed at least six in South Korea where it cut a path of destruction across the peninsula with floods and landslides, officials said on Tuesday. Typhoon Ewiniar was headed out to sea after it came over the Korean peninsula on Monday, first striking the southwest coast, and then heading on a northeast track.

2006. July 14.

Soaring demand for biofuels could cut into food supplies, study says

By: DENNIS BUECKERT OTTAWA (CP) - Abrupt climate change may soon force governments to choose between feeding people and fuelling SUVs, a respected investment firm says in a new study. Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management says global warming is occurring faster than expected and rising demand for so-called green fuel will cut into food supplies.

2006. July 13.

Vanuatu is world's happiest country (AFP/ForestPress)

LONDON – The tiny South Pacific Ocean archipelago of Vanuatu is the happiest country on Earth, according to a study published Wednesday measuring people's wellbeing and their impact on the environment. Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica and Panama complete the top five in the Happy Planet Index, compiled by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation (NEF).

2006. July 13.

Renewable Resources – Sustainable Future (Nordic Family/ForestPress)

One of the forest based sector related events during the just started Finnish EU precidency will be the forum “Renewable Resources – Sustainable Future”. Helsinki, November 2, 2006

2006. July 11.

B.C. Forest Service predicting long forest-fire season (ForestPress)

David Carrigg, The Province It's going to be a long, hot and possibly fearsome forest-fire season, says veteran firefighter Stan Harvey. "There's a low snowpack, it's really dry, and the buildup index is so high now," said Harvey, referring to the layer of flammable material on the forest floor. "I haven't seen conditions this dry, so early, in a long time."

2006. July 10.

Wood chairs to prop up furniture exports (Nhan Dan/ForestPress)

By Nguoi Lao Dong Vietnamese shipments of wood chairs were forecast to surge 45 percent this year making up 22-25 percent of the country’s woodwork exports, according to the industry association. The Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vietfores) said the industry saw a 27 percent year-on-year increase in chair export sales to US$445 million, a staggering 47 percent increase.

2006. July 10.

Summit for Europe's rarest songbird (ForestPress)

Nations from across Europe and Africa have come together this week in the Lower Oder Valley National Park near Berlin in Germany, under the auspices of a United Nations Memorandum of Understanding, to discuss the future of mainland Europe’s rarest songbird, the Aquatic Warbler. The current world breeding population of the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola has plummeted, since the beginning of the last century, by 95 per cent to only 16,000 males in just seven countries. The species nests in the fen mires and wet meadows of eastern central Europe and migrates more than 5,000 kilometres to Africa for the winter.

2006. July 9.

Archives

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (ForestPress)

European Parliament resolution on speeding up implementation of the EU action plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)

2006. July 7.

News

Meeting acknowledges the crucial role of plant genetic resources (ForestPress)

Great progress made during the first meeting of Treaty’s governing body Rome - The first meeting of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was marked by a broad consensus among participating countries that safeguarding these resources plays a crucial role in ensuring the food supply of future generations, FAO said.

2006. July 6.

Cashmere cypress was hit by a freak storm (Reuters/ForestPress)

MILAN - One of Italy's most beautiful lake islands, Isola Madre in Lake Maggiore, was hit by a freak storm on Wednesday night which knocked down a 200-year-old cypress tree, the local tourist board said. "They are hoping to rescue the Cashmere cypress, probably by using helicopters," a statement from the tourist office said.

2006. July 5.

Portugal Fires Destroy 20 Pct of Forests in Decade (Reuters/ForestPress)

LISBON - Fires in Portugal have destroyed more than a fifth of the country's forests in the past decade, a researcher said on Thursday. In one of the first studies on fires in Portugal, Pedro Vieira estimates that between 1995 and 2005 fires wiped out more than 700,000 hectares (1.73 million acres) of forests, leaving 2.5 million hectares (6.25 million acres).

2006. July 4.

A fungus is killing Sweden's ash trees (nordic/ForestPress)

A micro-fungus is the probable reason why ash trees all over Sweden are dying. Despite extensive sampling the authorities do not know how to stop the quickly spreading infection. SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, hopes that the solution can be found by means of a research project.

2006. July 3.

International Danube River Day (www.bnr.bg/ForestPress)

Written by Maria Dimitrova/Ivayla Bozhanova In Bulgaria the International Danube River Day this year is marked as “The People and the Danube” and focuses on flood prevention June 29th is marked as the International Danube River Day. On this date 12 years ago, in 1994, the then 13 countries of the Danube River basin and the European Commission sign the Convention on cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River /the Danube River Protection Convention (DRPC)/ in Sofia. The countries, which signed the document were: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Ukraine. The document set the beginning of a more vigorous and active international co-operation for the preservation of the river wildlife that depend on it. The festivities include huge festivals on the banks of the river, public meetings and educational events. They pay tribute to the Danube, its people and the progress that has been made. This year the motto of the International Day is “The Danube and Fish”.

2006. July 2.