News March 19-21, 2006 Dolce Sitges, Barcelona, Spain Join hundreds of executives from around the world at the leading meeting for the market pulp business. The conference will give you an opportunity to meet key buyers, sellers, producers, agents, shippers, traders and analysts from around the globe.
News By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG - Scientists and policy makers who want to slow the rate at which species are being lost face a conundrum: no one knows how many different plants and animals there are. "Some people who study insects think there may be as many as 100 million species out there," said Jeff McNeely, the chief scientist at the World Conservation Union.
News By Richard Black UN experts are meeting to determine the risks which climate change poses to some of the world's special places. The UN's cultural and scientific wing Unesco says climate change threatens World Heritage Sites such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Tower of London. The two-day meeting aims to develop plans of action to mitigate the threat.
News The forest company UPM has initiated a severe restructuring programme that will eliminate 10 % of the company's jobs. UPM will cut 3 600 jobs of which just under 3 000 in Finland. The production cuts are particularly severe in Finland. Closing down paper making machines means that Finnish production will be reduced by about 5 %.
News Global forest products company UPM, global conservation organisation WWF and DNV were today awarded the Forest Leadership 2006 Partnership Award for a joint forest certification project. The Forest Leadership Partnership Award recognises commendable teamwork between different organisations, such as conservation organisations and corporations, to further sustainable forestry. Forest certification is a tool through which consumers can be sure the raw wood material in their paper and wood products comes from well-managed forests.
Policies Fostering Investment and Innovation in Support of Rural Development taking into account forest owners perspective on enhancing economic viability through cooperation and innovation Dates: March, 27-29, 2006 Place and venue: Zvolen, Hotel Kaskády Sielnica, Slovakia
News By FORDYCE MAXWELL A REVISED forestry strategy for Scotland could see 10,000 hectares of woodland planted each year, double the present rate. Draft proposals by the Executive could also bring woodland areas of more than two hectares within 500 metres of one in four of the population by 2015. The move would develop further the "green gym" and outdoor classroom theme that attracted more than 18 million visitors to Scotland's woods and forests last year.
News Climate change and forest genetic diversity: Implications to sustainable forest management in Europe Paris, France, 15-16 March 2006 This workshop on climate change and forest genetic diversity is one of the actions of the MCPFE Work Programme to implement Vienna Resolution 5 (Climate change and sustainable forest management in Europe).
Combatting Forest Degradation - Certification as a driving force for amelioration Challenges for small forest enterprises The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) - Hayama, Japan - has launched Policy Brief #3, entitled "Combatting Forest Degradation - Certification as a driving force for amelioration."
Dear Forest-L readers, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is currently seeking a sub-project leader or a senior policy researcher of the sub-project "Environmental Education for Sustainable Development (EE)" set up under the Long-term Perspective and Policy Integration (LTP) Project. Further details on the position and how to apply can be found in the Recruitment Announcement in the URL below.
News Wednesday 22nd March 11.30 to 17.00 Regrettably this event is now fully booked. Please e-mail Stephan@treesforcities.org if you would like your name to be added to the waiting list. We will be in touch if places become available. Join TV Gardener Diarmuid Gavin,Broadcaster Jon Snow, Garden Designer Andy Sturgeon, Tony Kirkham from BBC’s A Year at Kew and many more high profile speakers for the Trees for Cities conference : ‘Urban Trees – opportunity or problem?’
News Present forest management methods yield most timber, they are financially the most viable and they are a prerequisite for further increasing timber production. But nevertheless selection felling constitutes an important complement for improving biodiversity. This is the conclusion of a recent report from Sweden where fifteen scientists at Skogforsk, the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have analysed various strategies for Swedish forestry.
News By Goska Romanowicz The unprecedented rate of destruction of Brazil's rainforest over the last three years came into public attention during Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's three-day state visit to Britain. The criticism came as the UK and Brazil signed an agreement Tuesday to work together to combat climate change. The two countries agreed to cooperate on global promotion of low carbon technology, climate change science and related issues.
On 8 March 2006 at about 11 a.m. a fire broke out in the main building of the Moscow State Forestry University (MSFU) in Moscow region. The MSFU building burned down and collapsed. According to representatives of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the fire was still burning at 7 p.m. that day. However, the center of the fire was localized and some rooms could be protected. In any case, the main building of the MSFU virtually entirely burned down. The other buildings of the MSFU were, consistent with preliminary information, not affected.
News The role of forests in water related natural risk management IUCN, together with the Forestry Commission of Japan is convening a topic session, which will review common narratives on the interactions between forests and water and their relationship to risk management. The session will explore coherent and consistent ways to communicate the forest and water relationship to both sectors.
News Crisis plans have been enhanced in Finland for the case that the pine wood nematode(Bursaphelenchus xylophilis) will arrive in Finland. The Plant Production Inspection Centre (KTTK), in co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation has updated its crisis plans.
News Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Britain's prime minister Tony Blair are expected to sign an agreement to promote the use of biofuels in Europe, Lula announced during his weekly radio program. Lula, as the Brazilian president is known, is visiting Britain this week (March 6-10) and will seek support from Blair for a program to implement 5.75% mixture of ethanol to gasoline and diesel by 2010, local daily Valor Econômico reported.
By Kate Ravilious Europe's "Little Ice Age" may have been triggered by the 14th Century Black Death plague, according to a new study. Pollen and leaf data support the idea that millions of trees sprang up on abandoned farmland, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This would have had the effect of cooling the climate, a team from Utrecht University, Netherlands, says.
