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Biodiversity May Help Slow Disease Spread: Experts (ABC News/Reuters)

white-footed mice by Alister Doyle Better protection for the diversity of the planet's creatures and plants could help shield humans from diseases like AIDS, Ebola or bird flu and save billions of dollars in health care costs, researchers said on Tuesday. They said human disruptions to biodiversity – from roads through the Amazon jungle to deforestation in remote parts of Africa – had made people more exposed to new diseases that originate in wildlife.

2005. November 2.

Post-doctoral Fellowship in forest management planning (ForestPress)

Korea Forest Research Institute is seeking applicants for a Post Doctoral Fellow position in forest management planning. Qualifications : A Ph.D. degree in forest management or related field; demonstrated research experience in forest management, timber supply modelling, forest management planning, and/or system analysis; young scientist preferably be not more than 40 years of age; be recommended by the head of organization(if the applicant is working for research institution) or the PhD advisor; have a good command of spoken and written English; be in good health, both physically and mentally.

2005. November 2.

Canada Wood: Government of Canada Provides Continued Support (Natural Resources Canada/ForestPress)

BEIJING — A program that promotes Canadian wood exports will receive continued support for its activities from the Government of Canada. The Honourable John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Natural Resources, today announced that approximately $2.5 million in funding for the Canada Wood Export Program (known as Canada Wood) will be targeted to the Chinese market in 2005–2006. The contribution to the program, which is administered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), will be matched by funding from the Canadian wood-products industry as well as the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario.

2005. November 1.

Elephants may pay homage to dead relatives (NewScientist.com )

Shaoni Bhattacharya Elephants may pay homage to the bones of dead relatives in their home ranges, a study of the creatures’ responses to skulls and ivory suggests. Humans apart, only a few animals show any interest in their own dead.

2005. October 31.

News

The Energy Community Treaty (ForestPress)

On 25 October 2005 the first ever multilateral treaty in South East Europe was signed in Athens. Signing the Energy Community Treaty, the European Union and nine partners of South East Europe – Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo – will create the legal framework for an integrated energy market.

2005. October 31.

News

Greenland Icecap Thickens Slightly Despite Warming (ForestPress)

OSLO - Greenland's ice-cap has thickened slightly in recent years despite wide predictions of a thaw triggered by global warming, a team of scientists said on Thursday. The 3,000-metre (9,842-feet) thick ice-cap is a key concern in debates about climate change because a total melt would raise world sea levels by about 7 metres. And a runaway thaw might slow the Gulf Stream that keeps the North Atlantic region warm.

2005. October 30.

Norway has the world's most frequented wooden bridge (ForestPress)

A bridge of 80 meters length and made of glued wood has been opened in Steinkjer on the European highway E6. This is the first time that a bridge on a European highway is built from wood and it will be the world's most frequented wooden bridge.

2005. October 30.

News

Experience on defining new forest policies in Serbia (MCPFE–News/ForestPress)

Information about the project “Institutional development and capacity building for the National Forest Programme of Serbia” After long period of isolation, Serbian forestry was faced with the need for changes. Changes were needed in all aspects of forestry due to outdated organizational concept and economic devastation in the past decade. Since the forestry sector in Serbia was not capable of bringing about changes on its own, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management – Directorate of Forests requested assistance from the FAO.

2005. October 29.

Deutschland in Japan – official event (ForestPress)

Climate Policy 2005 and Beyond - Japanese-German Impulses "Climate Policy 2005 and Beyond: Japanese-German Impulses" will be held on 1 November 2005 in Tokyo as part of the events taking place during the Germany year in Japan 2005/2006.

2005. October 28.

EU Agrees Licensing Plan to Combat Illegal Logging (ForestPress)

LUXEMBOURG - EU agriculture ministers endorsed plans on Monday to crack down on the lucrative illegal timber trade by making exporters obtain licences to prove their wood does not come from endangered rainforests, officials said. The EU will now create a voluntary scheme for licensing timber imports that might lead to a global agreement to clean up the $150 billion global forest product trade.

2005. October 28.

New UN study rejects myth that deforestation and logging cause major flooding (ForestPress)

Thailand – The massive flooding this week in Central America has prompted the press and well-intentioned advocacy groups to blame the flooding following heavy rain from Hurricane Stan on excessive runoff caused by “extensive deforestation. ” But in a report that seeks to separate fact from fiction when it comes to forests and floods, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) say there is no scientific evidence linking large-scale flooding to deforestation. The same holds true, according to the report, for recent flooding in China, Thailand and Viet Nam.

2005. October 27.

Finnish environment minister about Forest Protection (Nordic/ForestPress)

Conservation values can´t be measured solely in percentages. Even if we could raise the proportion of forests under protection in Southern Finland as high as ten per cent, this would not necessarily achieve the best possible results in terms of preserving species. We need to develop more innovative conservation tools like those currently being tested in Southern Finland," says Finland´s Minister of the Environment Jan-Erik Enestam.

2005. October 27.

News

EU has big nature-friendly biomass potential (ForestPress)

Europe could produce very large quantities of biomass energy without destroying its environment, according to the European Environment Agency. There is enough "environmentally compatible" bioenergy capacity easily to support ambitious new renewable energy targets for 2020 or beyond, it concludes.

2005. October 25.

News

Timber Supply Steady, Mills at Full Capacity (ForestPress)

Southern Pine (Pinus palustris Miller). The Southern Forest Products Association is proud to celebrate 90 years of service to its members. Hurricanes have not altered our ongoing marketing efforts in support of the Southern Pine lumber industry, and our Annual Meeting in Destin, Florida is scheduled for November 6-9 at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa. We look forward seeing you in Destin!

2005. October 25.

News

EFORWOOD – Pan-European research cooperation (ForestPress)

The positive and constructive negotiations with the European Commission for European research project EFORWOOD are about to finalise. When EFORWOOD has its kick-off meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, on November 14-15, the European Community takes its first steps towards an integration and further sustainable development of the whole European forest-based sector.

2005. October 25.

Birds Entering the Country to Be Monitored (Allafrica)

Tony Kago Nairobi – The National Museums of Kenya yesterday disclosed it was monitoring migration of birds into the country as experts warned that birds from Europe were likely to make a stop over in the Rift Valley. The experts said that the birds could stop over at lakes and other water spots in the Rift Valley.

2005. October 24.

Central European Initiative (ForestPress)

The Conference of Ministers of Agriculture Sielnica, Slovakia 3.- 4.11.2005 “Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Forestry Sectors” The Central European Initiative (CEI – www.ceinet.org ) is composed of 17 Member States: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

2005. October 24.

Norwegian forests absorb as much as 38 per cent of Norway’s carbon dioxide emissions (Nordic)

This is the conclusion of a recent report made by the Norwegian Institute of Land Inventory (NIJOS). Existing forests absorb almost 21 million tons of carbon dioxide. This figure equals 38 per cent of Norway’s climatic gas emissions of human origin.

2005. October 23.