News from the world of forests

WWF Objects to Slovenian Brown Bear Hunting Quota (REUTERS)

LJUBLJANA - Slovenian Environment Minister Janez Podobnik has approved an unchanged hunting quota of 100 brown bears in 2007, but a leading conservation body said the region's bear population could not sustain such a loss. "(We) expect that the quota will ensure favourable conditions for the (brown bear) population," the ministry said in a statement on Friday. The quota was based on an estimate that there are 500 to 700 brown bears in Slovenia and on the government view that the number of bears would become excessive unless kept in check.

2007. March 12.

Record year for pellets as fuel for detached houses (Nordic Forestry)

Statistics compiled by the Swedish pellet industry indicate that pellet sales reached record levels in 2006. Pellet consumption for heating detached houses increased by almost 50 %. That means that owners of such houses now consume more pellets than industry.

2007. March 9.

Study links wildfires, Atlantic Ocean temps (AP)

By JEFF BARNARD GRANTS PASS, Ore. – In 2006, 89,000 fires burned across 9.5 million acres across the U.S. The Forest Service spent $1.5 billion fighting those fires – about $100 million over budget. Using fire scars on nearly 5,000 tree stumps dating back 450 years, scientists have found that extended periods of major wildfires in the West occurred when the North Atlantic Ocean was going through periodic warming.

2007. March 8.

Press room

Online Communication Survey

Communicating research results is rapidly rising on the science priority list. This is why the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Task Force for Communicating Forest Science has developed a survey with the aim to discover and compare the communication and collaboration behaviour and activities of scientists working in forestry research worldwide.

2007. March 8.

News

Argentina to host XIII World Forestry Congress in 2009 (ForestPress)

Preparations are under way for the XIII World Forestry Congress, to be held from 18 to 25 October 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is expected that this event will attract about 4 000 participants from more than 100 countries. The World Forestry Congress is held every six years and is co-sponsored by FAO and the host country.

2007. March 7.

Felling plan to save native trees (ForestPress)

Ulmus procera Salis Millions of conifers and other non-native trees are to be felled in the next 20 years to regenerate indigenous trees in England's woodland. Oak, ash and beech would be encouraged to naturally seed and regenerate, said Forestry Minister Jim Knight, and Lord Clark, of the Forestry Commission.

2007. March 7.

Press room

UNFF E-Forum on Community-based Forest Management

Dear All, We would like to invite you to participate in this month's UNFF on-line discussion on the benefits and challenges associated with community-based forest management.

2007. March 6.

Transportation of wood based fuels by waterways (Nordic Forestry)

A project has been initiated in Finland for investigating the question if transportation of wood based energy by waterways would be a working and financially advantageous alternative. One aspect of the project is to find out if waterway transport could be a better alternative than truck transport.

2007. March 6.

Russia's Natural Resourses Minister Trutnev chaired the first meeting ofthe Forestry Board (ForestPr

On February 27, 2007, Russia's Natural Resources Minister Trutnev chaired the first meeting of the Forestry Board (Lesnaya Kollegia) at the President Hotel in Moscow, Russia.

2007. March 5.

News

Rhino has big job: saving his species (AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The first Sumatran rhino born in captivity in more than 100 years arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday with a single task – to breed and help save the endangered species from extinction. The 5-year-old rhino, Andalas, traveled from the Los Angeles Zoo in the United States to Jakarta's international airport on a two-day journey. The rhino was fed fresh green leaves upon arrival in the tropical island nation.

2007. March 5.

EU Gives Poland a Week to Stop Work around Endangered Habitat (Associated Press)

BRUSSELS – The European Union said Wednesday it has given Poland a week to stop work on a highway running through a unique protected habitat in a test case of how the new EU member states deal with environmental issues. "We don't accept irreversible damage," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told reporters. If the Polish government does not back down in a week, Dimas said he will seek an injunction from the EU's highest court to suspend the highway project.

2007. March 4.

One Planet - One Heart - 8 Million Trees

News from the Campaign Tree-nation.com is a new community website, run by an international team, based in Barcelona, Spain. Together with you, they will create a park by planting 8 million trees in the shape of a giant heart in the Saharan desert, to fight Poverty, Global Warming and Desertification.

2007. March 3.

Search for sedge species starts (BBC)

The UK public is being called upon to help hunt for a rare grass-like plant. Botanists recently discovered a species of sedge growing on the west coast of Scotland that had never before been seen in Britain. Saltmarsh sedge, or Carex salina, is found along the coast of Scandinavia, northern Russia and the eastern seaboard of North America.

2007. March 2.

Spanish Order Higher Fences to Protect Rare Lynx (REUTERS)

Story by Sonya Dowsett MADRID - Builders will erect three-metre (nine-foot) high fences along a strip of road around a national park in southern Spain to stop rare Iberian lynx ending up as road kill, the Andalusian local government said on Friday.

2007. March 1.

BULGARIA’S POTENTIAL FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PRODUCTION HIGH-MINISTER (sofiaecho.com)

Bulgaria has significant potential for the development and use of renewable energy sources and bio-fuels, Deputy Economy and Energy Minister Valentin Ivanov said. A law regulating the utilisation of such energy sources was currently being drafted, Ivanov said.

2007. February 28.

The right tree for a dry place (ForestPress)

ICRAF presents 20 years of research on trees and water Communications Unit Ever increasing water scarcity across the world has triggered a heated debate: Does planting trees ease or worsen water shortages? Last year, an article in the Economist, quoting research from the University of Newcastle, in Britain, and Free University in Amsterdam, argued that planting trees can exacerbate droughts.

2007. February 27.

Press room

Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Dear Forests-L readers, The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is due to start its Fourth Phase Strategic Programme from April 2007 following the conclusion of the Third Phase (from April 2004 to March 2007).

2007. February 26.

The Billion Tree Campaign (ForestPress)

"When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope" – Wangari Maathai France Joins the Billion Tree Campaign Paris, 18 January 2007 - From Paris, France, the United Nations Environment Programme launches a second appeal to the international community to join its first global tree planting project Plant for the Planet: the Billion Tree Campaign.

2007. February 26.