MEDIA REPORTS
FORESTS, DESERTS
AND LAND
This page was updated
on: 01/13/10
2005
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DECEMBER 2005
FAO OFFERS TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES EXPLORE
WAYS TO REDUCE FOREST LOSS
The UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has offered to provide data and
technical advice to help developing countries explore ways to create
financial incentives to reduce forest loss. The offer came during the
eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 11) in Montreal in early December 2005.
"There are
a number of strategies that countries can use to accurately monitor
reductions in deforestation and increases in carbon storage, especially
in tropical countries where forests do the most to remove carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere," said Dieter Schoene of the FAO's Forestry
Department.
Link to further information
FAO news release, 9 December 2005
NOVEMBER 2005
FAO WEIGHS IN ON SELECTIVE LOGGING ISSUE
The UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has responded to an article in
the 21 October issue of Science, stressing that selective logging
is not necessarily destructive and can be done with low impact on the
remaining forests if the proper techniques are applied. The Science
article suggested that selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon has
caused greater destruction than original analyses of satellite images
indicated. The FAO drew attention to its findings that reduced impact
logging, which employs steps such as conducting assessments before and
after harvesting, carefully constructing and maintaining forest roads
and cutting down trees at a certain direction, reduces disturbance to
the remaining tree stand as well as logging waste, compared to other
conventional practices. Wulf Killmann, Director of FAO's Forest Products
and Economics Division, said "selective logging is not in principle that
destructive," but added that "The severe logging damage shown in the [Science]
study is unacceptable and sustainable logging practices should be
applied."
Link to further information
FAO news release, 3 November 2005
FAO AGRICULTURAL CENSUS TO ACCOUNT FOR
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The UN
Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) 2010 round of agricultural
censuses, covering the period 2006-2015, will gather socio-economic data
at the community level as well as conventional structural data at the
farm level. More that 100 countries are set to participate in the
agricultural census programme, which will help countries to monitor
progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition to
community-level data, the census will also add data on items such as
soil degradation, irrigation by crop type, method and sources of
irrigation, agricultural practices and services, demographic and social
characteristics, household food security, type of aquaculture site and
agro-forestry.
Link to further information
FAO news release, 8 November 2005
OCTOBER 2005
EU MINISTERS ESTABLISH TIMBER LICENSING SCHEME
EU
agriculture ministers agreed on 24 October 2005 to establish a licensing
scheme for timber product imports to stop illegal logging. The scheme
will require partner countries to produce an export license stating that
the timber products have been legally harvested. This decision
authorized the European Commission to open negotiations for partnership
agreements to implement the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement,
Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The negotiation of partnership agreements
with the European Commission, however, will be implemented on a
voluntary basis.
Link to further information
Council of the EU statement, October 2005
PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS LAND DEGRADATION IN
AFRICA
TerrAfrica,
a partnership to address land degradation and increase sustainable land
management throughout sub-Saharan Africa, was announced at the seventh
session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat
Desertification (CCD), held in Nairobi in October 2005. TerrAfrica
is built around three activity lines: coalition-building, knowledge
generation and management, and investments. The partnership seeks to
reach an investment of at least US$4 billion over a twelve-year period.
Partners include the African Development Bank, European Commission, UN
Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Environment Facility,
International Fund for Agricultural Development, New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD), UN Convention to Combat Desertification
Global Mechanism, UNCCD Secretariat, UN Development Programme, UN
Environment Programme, and World Bank. It also includes the governments
of Chad, Ghana, South Africa and Uganda.
Link to further information
World Bank press release, 24 October 2005
AMAZON DESTRUCTION WORSE THAN THOUGHT – STUDY
Selective
logging in the Brazilian Amazon has caused greater destruction than
previously thought, according to a report in the 21 October 2005 issue
of Science. Conventional methods of analyzing satellite images
focus on clear-cut swathes of land, but the Science study used a
new method to analyze satellite images and detected a deforested area
between 60 and 128 percent higher than the officially deforested area
from 1999-2002. Reuters news service reported that the Brazilian
government had acknowledged the merit of the study but said it
overestimated the extent of selective logging. In August 2005, the
Brazilian government said the rate of destruction had declined:
approximately 9,000 square kilometers of Amazon jungle were lost between
August 2004 and July 2005, compared to almost 19,000 square km in the
2003-2004 period.
Links to further information
ENN News Story, 21
October 2005
Inter Press Service, 26 August 2005
INDUSTRY ISSUES POSITION PAPER ON FORESTRY
GOVERNANCE
The World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the
International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) have
developed a joint position paper to inform the Europe and North Asia
Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (ENA FLEG) Ministerial Conference,
which is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 22-25
November 2005. The paper calls on governments to prioritize efforts to
prevent illegal logging and to use existing legislation and deploy
enforcement agencies to address criminal action. It also emphasizes that
policy responses should not create perverse incentives by raising the
costs of "legal" forest products, which could make illegal logging and
illegal forest products trade more profitable and undermine the
competitiveness of legal forest products relative to non-wood products
like steel and plastic. The ENA FLEG process is seeking to mobilize
international commitment from producer, consumer and donor governments
to increase efforts to combat illegal logging as well as the associated
trade and corruption in the forest sector in the Europe and North Asia
Region.
Link to further information
Joint
position paper
EXPERTS DENY DEFORESTATION-FLOODING LINK
UN experts
have again rejected a link between large-scale flooding and
deforestation following the recent devastation in Central America caused
by Hurricane Stan, as well as flooding in other parts of the world. The
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Center for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR) have drawn attention to their
report that finds no scientific evidence linking large-scale flooding to
deforestation. Published earlier in 2005, Forests and Floods:
Drowning in Fiction or Thriving on Facts? Suggests that forests can
help minimize runoff that causes localized flooding. However, it does
not find evidence that a loss of trees can contribute significantly to
severe widespread flooding. "The frequency of major flooding events has
remained the same over the last 120 years going back to the days when
lush forests were abundant," said CIFOR Director-General David Kaimowitz.
While noting that tree planting and forestry protection activities have
many environmental benefits, "preventing large scale floods is not one
of them," he added.
Links to further information
FAO news release, 13 October 2005
The
report
SEPTEMBER 2005
CHILDREN'S COMPETITION SPOTLIGHTS DESERTIFICATION
The UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) has invited children from around the world
to express their hopes and fears about the future of the world's deserts
and the issue of desertification in this year's International Painting
Competition on the Environment. The Competition is organized by UNEP,
the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE),
Bayer AG and the Nikon Corporation and has been held annually since
1990. This year's theme, Deserts and Desertification, reflects the fact
that 2006 has been designated the International Year of Deserts and
Desertification and is also the theme for World Environment Day 2006.
Children who will be between the ages of 6 and 14 years on World
Environment Day 2006 (5 June 2006) from all regions of the world are
invited to submit their paintings on the theme to their Regional UNEP
Office by 20 January 2006.
Link to further information
UNEP press release, 23 September 2005
COALITION FOR RAINFOREST NATIONS
The
Coalition for Rainforest Nations, a group of developing nations with
rainforests, announced during the 2005 World Summit that they would be
offering voluntary carbon emission reductions by preserving forests in
exchange for access to international markets for emissions trading. A
second initiative, which they will present to the International Tropical
Timber Agreement, urged fairer prices for indigenous loggers who employ
sustainable harvesting practices.
Link to further information
Coalition for
Rainforest Nations homepage
AUGUST 2005
MALAYSIA TO IMPOSE PRISON SENTENCES FOR ILLEGAL
LOGGING
The Malaysian government is expected to establish prison sentences of
between one and twenty years for anyone involved in illegal logging. In
outlining this policy measure, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib
Razak noted that illegal logging "can undermine the quality of our water
and air, threaten water catchment areas and lead to other problems such
as floods and droughts." Currently, those who harvest wood illegally
from rainforests in Malaysia face fines, but this penalty has failed to
curb illegal logging. A small number of timber trade syndicates are
believed to be responsible for smuggling sawn timber to other countries
in Asia, where it is used to construct household furniture for the
European and US markets.
Link to further information
ENN/Associated Press
report, 30 August 2005
RATE OF DEFORESTATION IN BRAZILIAN AMAZON SLOWS
The Brazilian government has announced that approximately 9,000 square
kilometers of Amazon jungle were lost between August 2004 and July 2005,
compared to almost 19,000 square km in the 2003-2004 period. At the
release of the preliminary satellite data showing these results,
Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva attributed the decline in
deforestation to the government's action plan and sustainable
development initiatives. Environmental groups cautioned that the data
may underestimate the scale of destruction and stressed that efforts to
combat illegal deforestation must be maintained.
Link to further information
Inter Press Service report, 26 August 2005
FAO STRESSES DANGERS OF FIRES FOR LAND CONVERSION
The Food and Agriculture Organization has warned against using fires for
land conversion projects. In South-East Asia, large-scale conversion of
forests into agricultural land is usually carried out by removing the
trees and then burning the residues. However, Mike Jurvelius, an FAO
forest fire expert, noted that the use of fire to clear forests "is
prohibited in most of the South-East Asian countries and the ban should
urgently be enforced." A particular problem for the region is that large
amounts of smoke result from fires burning as much as 20 meters down in
the peat soils, and these fires are almost impossible to extinguish.
Jurvelius suggested that, instead of burning, "tree and vegetation
residues should be better utilized, or destroyed mechanically to protect
human health and the environment." In collaboration with governments,
FAO has started to prepare voluntary guidelines for fire management and
the provision of financial resources for forestry agencies.
Link to further information
FAO
news release, 30 August 2005
FAO URGES SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF GM TREES
A regulatory framework to govern research and application of GM forest
trees is essential in light of rapid advances in research and
biotechnology applications, according to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
"The issue goes beyond the country level, since pollen flow and seed
dispersal do not take account of national boundaries, and since wood is
a global commodity," said Pierre Sigaud, a forest genetic resources
expert at FAO, in a recent press statement. While GM trees could
potentially offer increased wood production, improved wood quality and
resistance to insects, diseases and herbicides, some risks have been
raised, including transgene instability, plantation failure, poor wood
quality, development of tolerance to the modified trait by insects or
disease organisms, and the escape of modified genes into natural
ecosystems.
Links to further information
Biotechnology in forestry gaining ground, FAO Press Release, 13 July
2005
UN body urges caution over GM trees, SciDev.Net, 22 July 2005
JULY 2005
FAO HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL ROLE IN PREVENTING,
CONTROLLING FOREST FIRES
Better trained and mobilized communities in the Mediterranean could play
a major role in preventing and controlling forest fires, according to
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). With forest fires
destroying up to 700,000 hectares annually in the region, FAO forest
fire expert Mike Jurvelius believes increasing the role of local
communities could cut the number of fires and the cost of fire
management.
"For the price of one large fire helicopter 10 million people could be
trained in fire prevention and control," said Jurvelius, noting that the
operating costs of a water bomber average 3,500 (euros) per flying
hour, and the cost of a large fire helicopter can reach 20 million.
FAO has called on governments to prepare voluntary guidelines for fire
management, provide financial resources for awareness campaigns, use
early warning systems to keep the population aware of fire risks in
critical periods, and prohibit the use of open fires.
Links to further information
FAO
press release (25 July 2005)
JUNE 2005
NEW AMAZON PROJECT TARGETS WATER, FORESTS, WILDLIFE
A new project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to help
conserve and manage economically important waters, forests and wildlife
in the Amazon Basin has been launched. The project in Bolivia, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela will be
implemented by UNEP/GEF and is being undertaken by the Organization of
American States, with the Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
as the regional body. The project will cost approximately $1.5 million
and take two years to complete.
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), said he believed the new project would play an
important part in helping the region meet the UN Millennium Development
Goals by 2015, including the goal of providing safe and sufficient
quantities of drinking water.
Links to further information
Amazon Waters Project Gets Green Light, UNEP press release, 25 June
2005
New UN-sponsored Project Seeks to Rescue Amazon from Deforestation,
UN news release, 27 June 2005
FAO MAPS ILLUSTRATE
CATTLE RANCHING TOLL ON RAINFORESTS
New maps
released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have revealed
the serious deforestation expected between 2000 and 2010 in Latin
America's tropical rainforests. This detailed projection of the impacts
of cattle ranching and other agriculture on these forests was released
on 8 June 2005. It estimates that up to 2010, forest cover in Central
America will be reduced by 2.4 million hectares, or 1.6 percent
annually. In South America, forest area will decrease by 36 million
hectares or 0.5 percent per year.
Link to
further information
FAO
News Release, 8 June 2005
"WOMEN AND DESERTIFICATION" HIGHLIGHTED DURING
WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION
The need for action to support women living in arid areas has been
highlighted on World Day to Combat Desertification. UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan highlighted that "women living in dry lands tend to rank
among the poorest of the poor, with little power to bring about real
change" in a message marking World Day to Combat Desertification and
Drought, on 17 June 2005. Annan added that there are signs of progress,
including the fact that, "In many countries, women are beginning to gain
access to land ownership and to take part in decision-making." In
recognition of the scope and urgency of this challenge, the UN General
Assembly has pronounced 2006 to be the International Year of Deserts and
Desertification.
Link to
further information
UN
press release, 8 June 2005.
MAY 2005
WWF, WORLD BANK RENEW
DEFORESTATION PACT
WWF and
the World Bank have renewed their Alliance for Forest Conservation and
Sustainable Use (Forest Alliance) with a programme aimed at reducing
global deforestation rates 10% by 2010. The two organizations signed on
to the Forest Alliance agreement for another five years on 26 May 2005,
during the fifth session of the UN Forum on Forests. The programme will
support the establishment of new forest protected areas, more effective
management of forest protected areas, and improved management of forests
outside of protected areas. It will also facilitate regional cooperation
and the adoption of policies in support of more effective forest
management.
WWF press release.
APRIL 2005
EUROPEAN COMPANIES CALL FOR LEGISLATION
ON ILLEGALLY-SOURCED TIMBER
Dozens of
companies have signed on to a statement calling on the European
Commission and governments to "adopt new EU legislation which makes it
illegal to import all illegally-sourced timber and wood products into
the European market." The statement, which
was promoted by three NGOsWWF, Greenpeace and the Forests and the
European Union Resource Network (FERN)was signed by 73 companies,
including Homebase and Habitat (UK), Castorama (France), IKEA and
Skanska (Sweden), Unital (Union of Italian Industries of Wood
Furniture), JYSK Nordic (Denmark) and Puertas Luvipol (Spain). The
statement highlights their support for the European Union's FLEGT
(Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) initiative, acknowledges
that self-regulation and voluntary measures alone are not sufficient to
tackle this problem, and notes that "without a clear European legal
framework, companies that want to answer consumer-driven demand and
benefit from investment in sustainable practices will always be
disadvantaged."
Links to
further information
FLEGT Industry Statement, March 2005
Industry and NGOs Urge EU to Ban Illegal Timber, WWF news release, 7
April 2005
MARCH 2005
MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT LAUNCHES
REPORTS
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
began releasing its findings and reports on 30 March 2005. In press
events at London, Washington, DC, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Brasilia,
Cairo, Nairobi and Rome, the MA presented among others its key synthesis
report and a statement from its Board entitled "Living Beyond Our Means:
Natural Assets and Human Well-Being." The MA reports comprise a total of
seven synthesis and summary reports, and four technical volumes. An
additional set of about 16 sub-global assessments are to be released
separately.
Involving some 1,500 experts from across
the world, the MA is a partnership among several international
organizations, including the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Convention to Combat Desertification, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands,
Convention on Migratory Species, five UN agencies (WHO, FAO, UNESCO,
UNEP, UNDP), the World Bank, and IUCN. The MA is governed by a
high-level scientific Panel and a multistakeholder Board composed of the
participating institutions and government officials, the private sector,
NGOs and indigenous peoples.
Links to
further information
MA website
US SAID TO OPPOSE UK RAINFOREST PROTECTION PLAN
A
British plan to use its G8 presidency to push the rich member countries
to commit to halting illegal rainforest logging faces US opposition,
according to news reports. US industry lobbyists oppose the plan to
certify timber that comes from properly managed forests, and a leaked
memorandum shows the US government wants to stall the UK plan.
Links to
further information
US tries to sink forest plan, The Guardian (London), 16 March 2005
FEBRUARY 2005
UNCCD LAUNCHES LOGO CONTEST
The UN Convention to Combat
Desertification has launched a competition to create the logo for the
International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The winner will
receive a prize of $5000. Submissions are due on 4 April 2005.
Links to
further information
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/events/docs/logo_contest-eng.pdf
ACTIVIST'S MURDER SPURS ACTION TO PROTECT AMAZON
The murder of a leading human rights
activist in Brazil's Para state may have the unintended consequence of
slowing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, according to reports.
Sister Dorothy Stang, a 74-year old nun who had campaigned against
illegal logging in the Amazon, was murdered on 12 February 2005. The
slaying took place just weeks after Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva's government restored Amazon logging licenses after loggers
blocked roads and threatened violence if their activities were barred.
In the aftermath of the murder, Luiz
Fernando Krieger Merico, interim president of Brazil's environmental
agency IBAMA, told Reuters, "This is the turning point
There will be a
noticeable fall [in deforestation] between 2004 and 2005
this decline
will be progressive from now on."
President Lula froze new logging and
farming in an area three times the size of Belgium, while authorities
confirm what activities are legal. In addition, decrees signed on 17
February 2005 by Lula will form a reserve of 8.2 million acres and a
national park spanning 1.1 million acres in the state of Para. The
government has also awarded a disputed patch of Amazon rainforest to a
sustainable development project championed by Stang.
However, violence has continued despite
the deployment of several thousand troops to combat death squads in Para
state. Two rural workers and a union leader were killed just days after
Stang's slaying, and human rights workers, unionists and land activists
say they have received new threats. Ten days after Stang's death,
Dionisio Ribeiro Filho, who spent 15 years defending the Atlantic
rainforest reserve from poachers and illegal logging, was also shot.
Links to further information
Brazil vows to slow down Amazon destruction, Reuters press release,
21 February 2005
Gunmen kill nun, 74, who led Amazon fight for poor, TimesOnline news
story, 14 February 2005
Brazil orders Amazon Reserve after killing, Associated Press news
story, 18 February 2005
Brazil awards disputed
area to slain nun's project, Associated Press news story, 28
February 2005
Man
admits killing Brazil environmentalist – Police, Reuters news
service, 26 February 2005
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