News An international conference on climate change is taking place at the Met Office in Exeter. Scientists from around the world will be attending the three day event. Devon is to host an international conference on climate change. It aims to encourage an international scientific debate on the long-term implications of climate change.
News Timber and tree owners were hit especially hard by several hurricanes and other U.S. disasters during 2004. The good news is, trees damaged last year by fire or storm may entitle the owner to a federal tax deduction in the form of a "casualty loss". This includes losses to both timber and shade trees.
News Image: Radar interferometry to produce Digital Elevation Models - this one showing how a pair of images from twin ERS satellites were used to create one of the Etna volcano in Sicily, Italy. Pairs of images acquired from the same spacecraft during different orbits can also be used. Credits: ESA An advanced radar technique to image forests in three dimensions has undergone an ESA-backed test campaign in Indonesia. A future space-based version could measure global biomass to sharpen the accuracy of climate change models.
News Multi-Source Inventory Methods For Quantifying Carbon Stocks And Stock Changes In European Forests www.joanneum.at/carboinvent A Joint International Project for identifying, developing and testing methods for assessment of carbon (C) stock changes in forests at national/EU levels. CarboInvent is a shared-cost project co funded by the Research DG of the European Commission within the RTD activities of a generic nature of the Environment and sustainable development sub-programme (5th Framework Programme)
News BEIJING Endangered animals in China, including the giant panda and rare crested ibis, are making a comeback due to enlarged habitats and improved ecosystems, state media said Thursday. "Some rare and endangered species of wildlife have multiplied, including the Chinese alligator and crested ibis," Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), was quoted by the China Daily as saying.
Graz, 28thof January 05 Questionnaire on incentives for GHG mitigation activities in agriculture and forestry Dear Sir or Madam, As part of the EU-funded project CarboInvent (www.joanneum.at/carboinvent), we are carrying out a survey on incentives for the implementation of climate-change mitigation activities in agriculture and forestry in Annex I countries. This survey is NOT RESTRICTED to countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocoll. While our survey concentrates on Annex I countries under the UNFCCC, we also welcome any submissions that cover non-Annex I countries. The results will be useful for decision makers in government and industry.
News Interest in learning "green" professions is increasing strongly in Sweden. The country's fifty agricultural colleges are winners in competition for 16 year olds. 15 per cent more than last year have applied for entry to "green" educational institutes.
News By Alex Kirby The eagles struck from the side (Image courtesy of John Megahan) One of the largest birds of prey ever recorded, an extinct giant eagle, was once New Zealand's chief predator, DNA evidence from fossil bones indicates. Research published in the journal PLoS Biology says the bird, Haast's eagle, was big enough to rule its environment. The eagle increased its weight at a rate unprecedented in other birds and animals after reaching New Zealand.
News GENEVA - The massive demand for timber to rebuild tsunami-devastated parts of Indonesia could ravage local forests, conservation groups said on Thursday, calling for donor countries to send some of their aid in the form of logs. As Indonesia seeks to house at least half a million people whose homes were destroyed by the Dec. 26 tsunami, the demand for wood will be enormous and may put a huge strain on forests where illegal logging is already a major environmental problem, they said.
News SHANGHAI, PR CHINA – British Columbia’s aggressive push to export more wood products to China achieved a major milestone today with Forests Minister Michael de Jong opening the Dream Home China demonstration centre. “The centre gives B.C. forest company associations a major presence in one of the fastest growing economies of the world,” said de Jong. “It provides a world-class facility for showcasing B.C. forest products and wood-frame construction.”
News Following the recent storms all Forestry Commission Forests in Cumbria have suffered significant damage resulting in many trees which are hung up or partially wind blown. It is estimated that over 0.5 million trees have been blown over or damaged by the storms in Forestry Commission woods in Cumbria. Most forest walks and cycle routes and many rights of way at Grizedale and Whinlatter Forest Parks have now been re-opened. Many footpaths in Forestry Commission woodlands were blocked by blown or snapped trees after the gales.
Sports KALISPELL - The Flathead National Forest is beefing up patrols and getting tougher on snowmobilers who venture into areas where they're not supposed to. Forest officials say snowmobile trespassing into designated wilderness and other areas where motor vehicles are forbidden is becoming an increasing problem in the region.
News New research suggests that climate warming may be occurring even faster than previously recognised A long standing puzzle that has haunted climate researchers looking at the fate of carbon stored in the world’s soils, has now been resolved. The research suggests that climate warming may be occurring even faster than previously recognised.
News A LONG-awaited joint government report into national bushfire management, released by Prime Minister John Howard today, has made 29 recommendations to improve bushfire preparedness. Mr Howard said eight of the recommendations made in the National Inquiry on Bushfire Mitigation and Management report had already been implemented since he received the report last April. These included continued national funding for firefighting aircraft and developing agreements for emergency broadcasting with the ABC. Mr Howard announced the inquiry in October 2003 after one of south-eastern Australia's worst fire seasons. The fierce summer included the firestorm that tore through Canberra's southern suburbs, killing four people and destroying about 500 homes. Australian Democrats leader Lyn Allison criticised Mr Howard last week for delaying the release of the report.
"Forest fires in Southern Europe - From prevention to restoration" (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) 24-25 January 2005, Brussels Section 5: 2003 and 2004 forest fires in relation to policy tools and organisation, sharing experiences. Forest fire prevention and rural development programmes in the European Union Tamas SZEDLAK Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate-General Unit F1. Environment and Forestry European Commission Ladies and Gentlemen, The number of forest fires and their effects were particularly severe in the last two years in Southern Europe, as it was mentioned in the previous presentations. There were more than 54.700 fires in 2003, with more than 730.000 hectares burnt areas in this part of Europe. The experience gained from these events should be used for improving prevention and restoration measures in the future. I would like to summarise the measures that the EU has put in place in the area of forest fire protection under the Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against fire, as well as in the rural development programmes. The Community by means of Council Regulation (EEC)
(Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) Conference organized by DG Environment, Legal Affairs & Governance Brussels, 24-25 January 2005 Venue : Charlemagne Conference Centre 170, rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 170 Registration and welcome coffee between 9.00 and 10.00hrs. Morning session 24 January, starting at 10.00hrs. Moderator: Esther Herranz García, MEP Opening of the conference by Catherine Day, Director General of DG Environment
News Beautiful images of wood can be seen everywhere: a tree standing alone on a hill, wooden cladding catching the evening light, an old wooden house defying the elements, details of a wood construction, a wood boat reflecting in the water, a close-up of a wood knot. As a living material, wood catches the eye of most people in ways that are sometimes obvious, sometimes not so obvious. Are you able to capture the beauty of wood by the art of photograhy and turn your fascination into beautiful photographs? Building Europe, the European Wood Magazine, wishes to showcase this fascination and asks you to send in pictures with a brief text describing the location and circumstances under which you took the picture.
News Researchers at the Ume? Forestry University estimate that it will be impossible to care of all timber felled by the storm in the southern district (Södra) before next summer. There just are not enough forest machines in Sweden to take care of all that timber in time. New estimates indicate that the storm has felled at least 80 million cubic meters of forest. That volume equals one whole year's cutting in Sweden as a whole and about five years' cutting in the affected area.
