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Wildlife crime officer is a first for Scottish police (The Scotsman)

By GAYLE RITCHIE LOTHIAN and Borders has become the first police force in Scotland to appoint a full-time officer to combat wildlife crime. PC Jim McGovern, 52, will co-ordinate investigations and complaints about wildlife crime and develop the work on law enforcement already in place. He will also support six part-time divisional wildlife crime officers and will act as a point of contact with partnership agencies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and estate and land- owners across the Lothians and Scottish Borders.

2005. April 4.

Lisbon and Gothenburg: walking hand in hand (ForestPress)

New Communication on the EU Forestry Strategy - proposal for an EU action plan On March 11th 2005 the European Commission presented the final version of the Communication on reporting of the implementation of the EU Forestry Strategy. Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for agriculture an rural development, will present this Communication on Monday March 14th 2005 for discussion to the Council and at the same time announce the elaboration of an action plan within one year.

2005. April 2.

EU must tackle illegal logging in own borders, says WWF (ForestPress)

Brussels, Belgium – Illegal logging is widespread in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia and is therefore heading to be a major internal market problem unless it is addressed by the EU, according to three new reports released by WWF, the global conservation organisation. The studies show that up to 45% of the total harvest in Bulgaria stems from illegal harvesting operations and the annual allowable cut is exceeded by 1.5 million m3. The volume of estimated illegal harvesting in Slovakia is as high as 10% and the allowable cut is exceeded by up to 16.8%. As far as Romania is concerned, gaps in the government statistics make it even impossible to estimate the level of illegal logging.

2005. April 2.

ALMOST 100,000 HABITATS OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE FOUND IN FINNISH PRIVATE FORESTS (ForestPress)

The 1997 Finnish Forest Act obliges landowners to conserve the ecologically valuable characteristics of certain habitats listed as habitats of special importance for biodiversity in commercially managed forests.

2005. March 31.

Villagers Tortured to Death in Ivory Coast Park - UN (Reuters)

By Loucoumane Coulibaly –ABIDJAN Forest rangers in Ivory Coast tortured to death 13 villagers living in a national park after arresting them for trespassing, the UN mission in the West African country said on Wednesday.

2005. March 31.

WORLD FORESTRY DAY (ForestPress)

21st March each year World Forestry Day is celebrated in forests around the world on 21st March each year as people take time to consider the benefits of forests to the community - such as catchment protection, providing habitat for animals and plants, areas for recreation, education and scientific study, and as a source of many products including timber and honey. World Forestry Day also aims to provide opportunities for people to learn how forests can be managed and used sustainably for these many purposes.

2005. March 29.

Builders threaten Panama forests (BBC News)

By Becky McCall Panama – Part of Panama's tropical forest, a biodiversity hotspot lying at the crossroads of two continents and two oceans, is up for sale to developers. Environmental campaigners say the sale of the forest surrounding the Panama Canal is illegal under Panamanian law, but the government disagrees.

2005. March 26.

Groups work to save rain forest palms (AP)

By ANDREW SELSKY BOGOTA, Colombia -- With a sprinkling of holy water, a priest blessed thousands of palm seedlings in a ceremony in Bogota's main park, sealing an unusual Palm Sunday pact between the Roman Catholic Church and environmentalists to save a critically endangered parrot. Thousands of miles away, 22 churches in the United States are for the first time using environmentally sustainable palm from Guatemala and Mexico for their Palm Sunday services this year.

2005. March 25.

Now, bioengineered trees are taking root (The Christian Science Monitor)

Transgenic poplars could make China a big player in lumber. But some experts worry about effects on nature. By Mark Clayton Scattered across at least seven provinces in China are more than 1 million common poplar trees with an uncommon bite. They can kill the insects that nibble their leaves. Their unusual defensive system is a genetically engineered bomb: Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, a naturally occurring toxin inserted into the tree's DNA. Other such transgenic species, such as the larch and walnut, are in the works, Chinese researchers report.

2005. March 24.

The unique Stave Churches of Norway (ForestPress)

Photo by Trygve M. Davidsen «If a man builds a church, whether he is a landlord or a farmer or somebody else, he must always keep it in good shape and never abandon the site. But if the church decays and the columns starts to fall, he must bring new within twelve months; and if he fails in doing so, he will be fined three Mark for his failure to the Bishop and still have to bring the timber and do the repair anyway».

2005. March 24.

Madagascar to Curb Illegal Logging (ForestPress)

The Ministry of Environment of Madagascar published a ministerial decree to stop all ongoing logging permits in areas that threaten the sustainability of forests. The ban, approved a few weeks ago, covers as much as 7.0 million hectares. Along with other agreed measures, the new course of action is setting the stage for a dramatic improvement in the governance of the forestry sector at a time that the World Bank is launching the Third Environmental Project in this African country.

2005. March 23.

Trails open up to disabled bikers (BBC)

By Michael Lloyd Forestry Commission Scotland is helping to roll back the boundaries of physical activity for disabled people. The 7stanes trails on seven sites across the Borders are already a mecca for able-bodied mountain bikers.

2005. March 23.

Canada Appeals to WTO Over Lumber Ruling (ForestPress)

The Canadian government will ask the World Trade Organization for authority to retaliate against at least $4.1 billion in U.S. imports over American noncompliance with WTO rulings on softwood lumber, officials said Wednesday.

2005. March 22.

Sweden has now submitted its application for assistance from the EU Solidarity fund (ForestPress)

The Swedish Government has now submitted Sweden's application for aid from EU's solidarity fund for damage caused by the storm in Southern Sweden. The objective is that the fund shall cover part of the costs resulting from the storm.

2005. March 22.

Illegal logging on agenda at unique G8 meeting (Reuters)

By Jeremy Lovell BREADSALL, England, March 18 (Reuters) - Disagreement over moves to end illegal logging that is destroying rain forests overshadowed a unique meeting on Friday of environment and development ministers from the Group of Eight rich nations. Britain, as president of the G8 this year, wants to take tough measures including bringing in new trade laws to curb the devastating trade estimated to be worth $15 billion a year.

2005. March 21.

Waiting for higher bio-energy prices (ForestPress)

Bio-energy may become very important for forestry, but with today's prices the quantity we can take out is limited, says counsellor Björn Hovard Evjen in the Norwegian Forest Owners' Association. Bio-energy may become a new business branch increasing value added in Norwegian forests. However, external factors constitute a problem. The main challenge is how to create profitable business. Evjen points out that Norway applies considerably lower charges on electricity and oil than for example Sweden.

2005. March 21.

'Robinwood' brings tree job hopes (BBC News)

Wales is part of a six-nation European project aimed at promoting ways for rural communities to create jobs by making the most of their woodlands. The three-year Robinwood project will pump ?4m into research on the sustainable uses of trees and timber. The project - which plays on the name of Robin Hood - includes Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and Slovakia.

2005. March 21.

Deforestation blamed for worsening Thailand drought (AFP)

BANGKOK - Deforestation has worsened a severe drought afflicting Thailand and the key to preventing similar problems in the future lies in doubling forest cover, an agriculture official said. Deforestation has long been a problem affecting parts of Thailand, with illegal logging continuing despite numerous tree planting campaigns over the years.

2005. March 19.