News center

SUMMARY OF THE SEVENTH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS FORUM ON FORESTS (ForestPress)

New York, 16-27 April 2007 The seventh session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF-6) was held from 16-27 April 2007, at UN headquarters in New York. Nearly 600 participants attended the two-week session, which was viewed by most as a gargantuan task of negotiating both a non-legally binding instrument (NLBI) for sustainable forest management (SFM) for all types of forests and a Multi-Year Programme of Work (MYPOW) for the period 2007-2015.

2007. May 2.

Action on the EU Forest Action Plan – CEPF working group on cooperatives (ForestPress)

The European Commission recently presented its work programme for the implementation of the EU Forest Action Plan (2007-2011), called for short “roadmap”. The key actions 1 to 18 are substantiated with working methods and instruments for the implementation within a certain time frame.

2007. May 2.

Brazil to Split Up its Environmental Agency (REUTERS)

BRASILIA - Brazil will break up its environmental protection agency, the government said on Wednesday, in a move that should speed up the licensing of projects such as gas pipelines and dams in sensitive areas like the Amazon rain forest. The announcement came days after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva complained about delays in the construction of two large hydropower dams in the Amazon.

2007. May 2.

News

WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT? TIMBER SHORTAGE

By Jo MacFarlane Wood for fences is in short supply GARDENERS are struggling to buy fences at the height of the DIY season because Britain’s timber supplies are being shipped to China and Dubai.

2007. May 1.

News

Hunter friendly books for kids (ForestPress)

By James A. Swan, Ph.D. Author of "In Defense of Hunting" Two new books finally present hunters as good guys in children's literature Walt Disney's animated feature film "Bambi," (1942), based on the 1923 children's novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, has left its mark on the psyche of generations of young children, who tearfully watch Bambi lose his mother due to a hunter's bullet.

2007. April 30.

News

Climate change fruitful for fungi (BBC News)

By Richard Black A remarkable father-and-son research project has revealed how rising temperatures are affecting fungi in southern England. Fungus enthusiast Edward Gange amassed 52,000 sightings of mushroom and toadstools during walks around Salisbury over a 50-year period.

2007. April 29.

Finnish forests – owned by Finns (forest.fi)

Private individuals and families own slightly over half of the Finnish forests. There are almost one million forest owners in Finland, if we include all those who own forest holdings jointly. This means that nearly one fifth of the population are forest owners.

2007. April 28.

News

Timber mill uses forest waste as electricity alternative (ABC)

A timber mill on the north coast of New South Wales is the first in Australia to use forest waste to generate electricity. Big River Timbers near Grafton has secured government funding for the project, which it says will halve its $500,000 power bill.

2007. April 27.

News

UN denies plant fuels will damage forests (Financial Times)

By John Burton Singapore – The UN’s top environment official has backed a European Union plan to require the blending of plant-based biofuels into transport fuels despite environmental groups’ concerns that it could lead to increased deforestation in south-east Asia and Brazil.

2007. April 26.

Bamboo latest trend in 'green' fabric (CanWest News)

By Shelley Boettcher Sustainable plant is used in flooring, furniture and now clothes Canada's jumping on a new green bandwagon, but these days, it's not just about recycled paper, beleaguered former environment ministers or pop bottles turned into fleece jackets.

2007. April 26.

Mayor trumpets plan for city trees (newsday.com)

BY EMI ENDO They cool down streets, remove tons of air pollution, boost property values and can even reduce asthma rates. That's why trees - a million of them - will be a part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's sweeping plan to prepare the city for future population growth.

2007. April 25.

News

Some of weekend forest fires believed to be deliberate (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)

It's believed the majority of the countryside fires in the south and west of the country over the weekend were started deliberately. Firefighters in Galway have been struggling to bring the numerous forest and bog fires under control.

2007. April 24.

Britain gives 50 mln to protect Congo forests (Reuters)

By Christian Tsoumou BRAZZAVILLE - The British government has donated 50 million pounds to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Congo Basin, the world's second largest rainforest, a British diplomat said on Wednesday.

2007. April 23.

FINAL HARRY POTTER BOOK ON FSC PAPER HISTORIC FSC PAPER PURCHASE (ForestPress)

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright 23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died.

2007. April 23.

Press room

CIFOR rehabilitation publication announcements

Dear Forests-L reader, I would like to inform you about a recent series of CIFOR publications on forest rehabilitation (three in Asia and two in Latin America) that may be of interest to your readers/ members. These include the following:

2007. April 22.

UN environment agency honours seven ‘Champions of the Earth’ (ForestPress)

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognized seven winners of its ‘Champions of the Earth Award’ at a ceremony in Singapore where the agency’s chief praised the activists’ efforts to fight for change.

2007. April 22.

Illegal beaver caught in wild (BBC)

A beaver living wild in part of rural Perthshire for the past several months has been captured. It was thought beavers were on the loose after trees started to disappear at a fishery, with the trunks gnawed in two, and then a lodge later emerged.

2007. April 21.

Shortage of building materials in Sweden (Nordic Forestry)

The building and renovation boom in Sweden has resulted in an acute shortage of building materials. Prices are increasing and delivery delays are getting longer and longer.

2007. April 20.