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Dust From One African Valley Feeds Brazilian Rainforest (ForestPress)

REHOVOT, Israel, (ENS) - Much of the dust needed for fertilizing the entire Brazilian rainforest originates in a single valley in the African country of Chad and travels thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean to South America, newly published research shows. Based on satellite data, the study was conducted by an international research team headed by Dr. Ilan Koren of the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

2007. January 8.

News

Where to recycle trees (www.suntimes.com)

Chicagoans will be able to drop off their Christmas trees at 23 locations between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. The trees will be mulched, and residents can bring the mulch home if they wish.

2007. January 7.

German Zoos Get Teeth into Chistmas Tree Leftovers (REUTERS)

BERLIN - Germans have found a novel way of recycling thousands of used and unsold Christmas trees: give them to the local zoo to feed to the animals. "Elephants around the country will enjoy a delicious lunch today consisting of about five Christmas trees each," Berlin Zoo spokesman Ragnar Kuehne told Reuters on Thursday.

2007. January 6.

Nant yr Arian Scoops Major Environment Award (ForestPress)

Forestry Commission Wales has scooped a major environmental award for the way it manages waste at its popular new visitor centre in Nant yr Arian, near Aberystwyth. The prestigious Wales Business and Sustainability Awards recognised the efforts of 16 companies and organisations from all over Wales who have all demonstrated a commitment to take care of their environment and have realised benefits as a result.

2007. January 5.

Himachal forest guards to ride motorcycles (The Times of India)

SHIMLA: Forest guards in Himachal Pradesh can stop trekking the vast stretches of forests. The government is providing them with motorcycles to better protect the flora and fauna. Around a quarter of the state's area is covered by forests, which are home to one of the most varied vegetation and wildlife in northern India.

2007. January 4.

New definitions double the Swedish protected forest area (Nordic Forestry)

New data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory indicate that if Sweden applied the international definition of the concept "forest", the country's protected forest area would double. According to the Swedish National Forest Inventory the aggregate forest area in Sweden is 23.8 million hectares of which 3.2 % are protected as national parks, nature reserves and nature conservation areas. That percentage figure represents about 760 000 hectares of forest.

2007. January 3.

The Forests in Bulgaria (ForestPress)

The forests of Bulgaria have priceless importance for the country and are part of the European and World wealth. Besides their key function for biodiversity conservation and provision of quality nature resources, the forests have global, national, regional, economic, ecological and social importance.

2007. January 2.

Bringing information closer to reality and relevant to policy (ForestPress)

FAO takes a new integrated approach to information gathering on natural resources Rome - From simple gathering of information on forests separately from all other natural resources, FAO is taking a new step forward and monitoring the management, uses and users of natural resources and their trends using an integrated approach.

2007. January 1.

Drought a result of natural causes, says researcher (ForestPress)

New research from the CSIRO suggests the current drought is due to natural variation in climate, not the greenhouse effect. Barrie Hunt, an honorary research fellow at the CSIRO's atmospheric research centre in Melbourne, has studied 10,000 years of climate variability in Australia.

2006. December 31.

Wood beats wind (Nordic Forestry)

At present wood is the most important renewable energy source in Denmark. Firewood, shredded wood, wood waste and pellets constitute 31 % of total current energy consumption of Danish households. That is 50 % more than wind power.

2006. December 29.

European Commission consultation on 'additional options' (ForestPress)

The European Commission's DG Development and DG Environment have launched a public consultation to seek views on how to combat illegal logging - in particular how to avoid the EU serving as a market for illegally harvested timber from countries where such practices are believed to be widespread.

2006. December 27.

Zimbabwe: Buffalo Thorn Chosen Tree of the Year (The Herald)

Harare – An indigenous tree – buffalo thorn – has been chosen as the tree of the year for the 2006 National Tree Planting Day because of its outstanding medicinal properties. The start of the tree planting season is always the first Saturday of December, this year December 2, with more than 89 000 seedlings of several species earmarked for planting on about 105 hectares countrywide.

2006. December 27.

Warming climate doubles natural calamities in Russia – minister (RIA Novosti)

Karmadon Gorge in North Ossetia MOSCOW - The number of natural calamities in Russia more than doubled over the last 10 years as a result of global warming, the Russian minister of emergency situations said Thursday. "All that is happening is the consequence of the continuously warming climate," Sergei Shoigu said. "Over the last 10 years as a result of such warming the number of natural calamities in our country more than doubled, rising from 150 to 350."

2006. December 27.

Native group asks DiCaprio to help block Ontario diamond mine (CBC)

Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio A group representing aboriginal communities in northern Ontario is trying to enlist U.S. film star Leonardo DiCaprio in its fight against diamond mining in the boreal forest. The Nishnawbe Aski Nation — a political organization that represents about 45,000 Cree and Ojibwa people in 49 communities — has written to DiCaprio, who stars in Blood Diamond, a recently released film about the diamond trade in war-torn Sierra Leone.

2006. December 26.

Make your New Year’s resolution an easy one! (ForestPress)

Debra Stephenson The Woodland Trust is urging everyone to make a New Year’s resolution today, and commit to recycling their Christmas cards. This year’s target is to recycle 90 million Christmas cards – that’s enough to fill 100,000 of Santa’s sacks! And to make things even easier, Recycle Now and the Woodland Trust have got some big high street names on board.

2006. December 24.

Park Woods of London

The Fairlop Oak, Hainault Forest', 1816. (Picture Library Museum of London) The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity dedicated solely to the protection of our native woodland heritage. Charlotte Uhlenbroek: Hainault Forest, Romford, Essex Situated at the end of the Central tube line, Londoners don’t even need to get in their cars to visit Hainault.

2006. December 23.

No Substitute for Wood (Toy Directory Magazin)

By Cynthia Boris You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters Saint Bernard (1090 - 1153) Our love affair with wooden toys stretches throughout history. Archeologists have discovered jointed wooden dolls, carved horses, chariots and even a crocodile with moveable jaws that date back to the year 1100 BC.

2006. December 22.

Record sales of Christmas trees in Norway (Nordic Forestry)

Abies lasiocarpa Norwegians will buy a record number of Christmas trees this year. It is no longer enough to have one Christmas tree for each family. There should be one in the garden and one for each nursery. The forecast is that more than two million Christmas trees will be sold, even though the price is as high as NOK 500 (circa 60 €).

2006. December 21.