MEDIA REPORTS
FORESTS, DESERTS
AND LAND
This page was updated
on: 01/13/10
2003
Forests, Deserts and Land Media Reports Archives:
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2004;
2002
DECEMBER 2003
COALITION
AGREES TO BAN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES IN CANADIAN FOREST
An
agreement announced on 1 December 2003 would exempt more than half of
Canada's vast northern forest, about 1 million square miles in all, from
industrial activities, including logging and oil and gas exploration. The
agreement reached by a coalition of native tribes, environmentalists, and
businesses seeks to protect an evergreen expanse that has large bear, wolf
and caribou populations, along with other species and hundreds of native
communities. Approval by national and local governments is now necessary, as 90 percent of the
forest is under public ownership.
Links to further information
Environmental
News Network, 2 December 2003
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-12-02/s_10903.asp
NOVEMBER 2003
MEXICO'S
FORESTS IN THE NEWS
Two recent
developments promise to boost protection for Mexican forests. First, USAID
pledged US$25 million over the next five years to better protect Mexico's
forests. Of this sum, US$900,000 will be
directed to the Rainforest Alliance, an environmental group that works
with logging interests to ensure they obtain wood from sustainable forests
and then develops new markets for certified timber. Also, in
operations that began on 7 November, police and environmental inspectors
in central Michoacan state have confiscated the equivalent of 380
truckloads of wood with no documented origin. These inspection operations
are part of an effort to protect millions of monarch butterflies that
migrate to Mexico from the eastern United States and Canada each fall.
Butterfly experts have warned that illegal logging could end the annual
butterfly migration.
Links to
further information
Environmental
News Network, 28 November 2003
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-28/s_10849.asp
Environmental
News Network, 18 November 2003
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-18/s_10501.asp
UPPER HOUSE IN RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT BLOCKS
LOGGING AMENDMENTS
On 26 November
2003, the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, failed
to pass amendments to the Russian Forest Code that would have lead to
widespread logging by private companies throughout the country. The Forest
Code of the Russian Federation adopted in 1997 declares that all forests
of the country are owned by the state. The lower house in Russia's
parliament, the State Duma, sponsored the amendments, which if passed
would have given any private company the opportunity to buy forested land
or use it for up to 99 years and then buy it.
Links to
further information
Environment
News Service, 26 November 2003
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2003/2003-11-26-04.asp
ECUADOR TO
WORK WITH PRIVATE SECTOR TO SLOW DEFORESTATION
An $800
million programme to reduce the pace of deforestation in Ecuador is
expected to be approved by its president this year. The 20-year plan would
plant new trees and protect old forests, with 70% of project financing
coming from the private sector and 30% from the government.
Links to
further information
Environmental
News Network, 20 November 2003
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-20/s_10605.asp
BRAZIL DEVELOPS PLAN TO PREVENT FURTHER DEFORESTATION OF THE AMAZON
The Brazilian government presented an
"Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation of the
Brazilian Amazon" to ministers and environmentalists in early November.
This plan was designed in response to figures released by the country's
National Institute of Space Research in June, which indicated that the
Amazon lost 25,500 square kilometers of forested land in 2002, 40 percent
higher than in 2001. The plan seeks to stop deforestation and the illegal
occupation of land in the region and to compel the government to review
major projects, including the construction of hydroelectric plants and new
roads. Local governments and environmental groups will discuss the
proposal until the end of November. Environment Minister Marina Silva
expects the plan to be implemented in 2004.
Links to further information
UN Wire, 13 November 2003
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031113/449_10389.asp
Environmental News Network, 14 November
2003
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-14/s_10411.asp
OCTOBER 2003
LOGGING IN
MYANMAR THREATENS RICH FORESTS
Myanmar's
government is using timber revenue to suppress insurgent groups and
giving logging concessions to rebel groups to keep the peace according
to London-based Global Witness' report "A Conflict of Interest: The
Uncertain Future of Burma's Forests." Deforestation has resulted in this
country whose forests contain 60 percent of the world's teak trees. The
report also suggests that the government has used Myanmar's forests to
generate international political favors. Chinese laborers are employed
in the timber trade in Myanmar and charge exorbitant prices for their
work; in exchange, China has criticized the US and European sanctions
imposed on Myanmar after the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
Links to
further information
Global Witness'
report - A Conflict of Interest - The Uncertain Future of Burma's Forests
UN Wire, 9 October
2003
SEPTEMBER 2003
FAO CALLS FOR LOCAL
COMMUNITIES' INVOLVEMENT IN MANAGING FORESTS
In the face
of one of the worst fire seasons in recent history, the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) called for local community involvement
in forest management and protection to help stem the destruction caused
by forest fires. "Where people have an interest in protecting their
forest resources, forest fires started by people will more or less
disappear," FAO Forest Fire Officer Mike Jurvelius reported in a news
release. In this past year, Portugal has lost over three times more than
the average loss during the last two decades, and Russia over double
last year's loss. Jurvelius also noted that "Countries such as Austria,
Germany and Switzerland have successfully contained forest fires. For
centuries, they have run awareness campaigns educating people about the
functions and values of their forests. In addition, local communities
and private forest owners care about their forests because their
livelihoods depend on the forest resources."
Links to further
information
UN news center, 9
September 2003
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8191&Cr=forest&Cr1=fire
CMS AND CCD SECRETARIATS SIGN MOU TO
DEVELOP SPECIFIC TARGETED ACTIONS
The Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) during the sixth session of the Conference of the
Parties to the UNCCD agreeing to cooperate in the development of
specific targeted actions to address issues relating to migratory
species in areas affected by drought and desertification. In the
memorandum, the two conventions agree to participate in each other's
major meetings and to share information of mutual interest. The MOU also
requires the UNCCD Secretariat to call on the Parties to the UNCCD to
integrate the concerns of migratory species into their national,
subregional and regional action programmes and to consult with the CMS
in identifying areas critical to the conservation and management of
migratory species. Case study collection and a workshop are planned as
preliminary steps, following the signing, to identify existing synergies
between the two conventions.
Links to further information
CCD press release,
2 September 2003
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/pressrel/showpressrel.php?pr=press02_09_03
CCD website
http://www.unccd.int
CMS website
http://www.wcmc.org.uk/cms
JUNE 2003
PROJECTS TARGET YOUTH
UNEMPLOYMENT AND DESERTIFICATION IN FOUR COUNTRIES
Youth in Niger, Argentina, China and
Mozambique will soon be involved in reforestation and other efforts to
combat desertification in their countries.
"Youth Corps for the Rehabilitation of
Degraded Lands and the Environment in Niger" is a three-year project
launched by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Niger.
Through it, youth will be trained to undertake anti-erosion measures,
create tree nurseries, protect riverbanks, clean organic waste and keep
bees. The activities will be defined jointly by the youth themselves,
several ministries in the government of Niger, non-governmental
organizations, rural communities, community-based organizations, the
private sector and the two international UN organizations. The US$450,000
project is funded with contributions from the governments of
Italy and Venezuela.
The Italian Government and the UNCCD
Secretariat signed the agreement to implement three reforestation pilot
projects in Argentina, China and Mozambique. UNDP will also be the
implementing agency for these projects, which will target youth job
creation and seek to strengthen synergies between the Conventions on
Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification. All three projects will
seek to rehabilitate degraded land, create income-generating activities,
reduce carbon dioxide emissions and restore and protect biodiversity. At
the same time, they will aim to raise awareness and strengthen the role of
youth and civil society organizations in the promotion of sustainable
development in these fragile ecosystems.
Links to further
information
UNCCD website and contact
http://www.unccd.int and
ckwon@unccd.int
ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS ENDORSE DESERTIFICATION AGREEMENT
Ministers from 30 Asian and Pacific countries
recently signed the Abu Dhabi Declaration for the Implementation of the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), calling for global efforts to
address the problem of desertification. The Declaration urges nations to
adopt national action programmes to combat desertification and called on
the Global Environment Facility to enhance support to countries affected
by desertification. Strategies specified in the Declaration included:
investigating the causes of desertification, establishing a network for
information sharing, implementing control measures, and strengthening
agricultural productivity through sustainable land management. The
Declaration is adopted ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the UNCCD to be held in August 2003 in Havana, Cuba.
Links to further information
UN wire, 12 June 2003
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20030612/449_5001.asp
MAY 2003
EU LAUNCHES ACTION PLAN TO COMBAT
ILLEGAL TIMBER TRADE
On 21 May 2003, the European Union launched its Action Plan for Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which is designed to curb the
growing trade in illicit logging and illegally harvested timber in
wood-producing countries using preventative measures. Through the FLEGT
Plan, the EU will help partner countries build systems to check that
timber has been harvested legally, take measures to prevent investment in
activities that encourage illegal logging, address problems posed by the
use of revenues from illegal logging to fund and prolong armed conflicts,
and introduce a voluntary licensing scheme, obliging countries issue a
permit attesting to the legality of timber exported to the EU.
FERN (Forests and the European Union Resource Network) criticized the
Action Plan for not going far enough. While welcoming the EU Action Plan,
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) considers that the plan does not
effectively address a number of key issues, including the need for
developing an appropriate regulation to ensure that the EU and its member
states take measures to eliminate the threat posed by illegal timber trade
to environmental, social and economic interests at both a national and
international level, and the need to enhance transparency and
accountability in the activities of the trade and finance sector involved
in the timber trade.
Links to further information
EU press release, 21 May 2003
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc
=IP/03/718|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display
EU Action Plan on FLEGT
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2003/com2003_0251en01.pdf
The Royal Institute
of International Affair's "Illegal-logging.info" website
http://www.illegal-logging.info/
WWF press release, 21 May 2003
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests/news/news.cfm?uNewsID=7206
GEF COUNCIL
ADOPTS OPERATIONAL MODALITIES ON SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
At its May 2003
meeting, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council adopted operational
modalities on sustainable land management, designating land degradation,
primarily desertification and deforestation, as the Fund's fifth focal
area. GEF assistance will cover three types of interventions: capacity
building that will help mainstream sustainable land management into
national development priorities; on-the-ground investments that will
improve the economic well-being of local people; and targeted research
aimed at providing information, knowledge and tools to improve the quality
and effectiveness of GEF projects. After the expected endorsement of this
decision by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification's Conference of
the Parties in September 2003, country Parties affected by desertification
may directly apply to the GEF for funding of related projects.
Links to further
information
UNCCD press release, 19 May 2003
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/pressrel/showpressrel.php?pr=press19_05_03
NEW INITIATIVE
PROMOTES VOLUNTEERISM FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
On 8
May 2003, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and the Secretariat of the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) launched a
joint initiative to tackle both youth unemployment and land degradation in
Cape Verde. National UN
Volunteers and local education institutions supporting youth centers will
work with the Government's Youth Secretariat to instruct Cape Verdean trainers on how to start
up pro-environment small businesses that protect the islands' fragile
biodiversity, such as irrigation, coastal palm tree plantations,
recycling, rubbish removal and handicrafts. New trainers will also learn
about social mobilization techniques and how volunteering plays an
important role in development efforts, including those to preserve the
environment. The trainers will then offer instruction to young unemployed
people in practical ways to start up enterprises that promote
conservation. They will also encourage community participation through
volunteerism and increased public awareness of environmental protection
measures and will work to transform existing youth centers into volunteer
centers, with a longer-term goal of setting up a national volunteer corps.
"As a
pilot project, the involvement of unemployed youth, which make up 36
percent of the population, in the rehabilitation of degraded land is
significant as it tackles at once both poverty and desertification, which
are mutually reinforcing," said Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of
the UNCCD. "This is exemplary of how inter-agency cooperation can directly
help people most vulnerable to environmental degradation to improve their
livelihood while also conserving the environment."
The
two-year project, "Promoting Volunteerism for Sustainable Management of
the Environment in Cape Verde," is being funded
with nearly $300,000 from UNV's Special Voluntary Fund, $100,000 from the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and $100,000 from UNCCD. The
project will serve as a catalyst and road map for replication in other
countries of Africa and Latin America and the
Caribbean affected by land
degradation.
Links to further information
Cheemin Kwon, UNCCD, e-mail:
ckwon@unccd.int
Stanislao Tarony, UNV, e-mail:
stanislao.tarony@unvolunteers.org
NEW WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL STRATEGY DEALS WITH CLIMATE
CHANGE AND DESERTIFICATION
The
general preparedness of the countries of West Africa to climate variability and change is low, even when they already feel
the impacts of desertification. It is also a region where many of the
rivers are shared by different countries. The
Senegal River flows through Guinea, Mali,
Mauritania and Senegal and the Niger River, the longest in West
Africa, flows through Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. In such a context,
effective mitigation of the impacts of climate change can only be achieved
if countries work together on the management of their shared water
resources.
Responding to this need, representatives from the region
formulated a strategy called "Water, Climate Change and Desertification in
West Africa: strategy and plan of action for regional preparedness and
adaptation." Experts, policy makers and river basin managers met at a
workshop, jointly organized by IUCN-The World Conservation Union's
Regional Office for West Africa, the Inter-States Committee for Drought
Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the Global Water Partnership- West
African Water Partnership (GWP-WAWP), from 23-25 April 2003 in Bamako,
Mali to improve the strategy and move towards regional implementation.
The
regional strategy aims to increase the awareness of decision-makers and
increase coordination and sharing of knowledge between various governments
and institutions in West Africa. Many of the future impacts of climate
change, especially at a regional or national level, are still unknown. "We
are working towards the regional pooling of expertise. We need more
knowledge on the impacts of climate change as much as we need to review
laws, find resources, and take action for integrated water management,"
said Professor Abel Afouda, one of the contributors to the draft regional
strategy.
Links to further information
IUCN's Water and Nature Initiative news, 6 May 2003
http://www.iucn.org/themes/wani/news/BRAO6May2003.html
JANUARY 2003
UNEP PLEDGES TO HELP NEW KENYAN GOVERNMENT WITH FOREST AND RIVER
MANAGEMENT
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced its plans to
enhance the management of land and water resources flowing from Mount
Kenya. The multi-million-dollar project will also back Kenyan government
efforts to reduce illegal water removal in the rivers and streams
feeding the Tana River. The project, which ranges from schemes to help
coffee farmers use water more wisely to initiatives aimed at reducing
soil erosion from roads, will be submitted to the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) in Washington, DC for approval at the end of January.
The announcement came following a meeting between UNEP Executive
Director Klaus Töpfer and Kenya's new Environment Minister Newton
Kulundu and Assistant Environment Minister Wangari Maathai. The Aberdare
Mountain range was also discussed, based on growing concern that the
Aberdares, whose rivers and streams provide Nairobi's drinking water,
suffer from poor environmental conditions as a result of deforestation
and the planting of unsuitable, non-native trees. Töpfer reported that a
UNEP report on the mountain range, which was written in cooperation with
organizations such as the Kenya Wildlife Service, will be published
soon.
Links to further information
UNEP press release, 21 January 2003
http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=277&ArticleID=3195
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