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Humanitarian Timber initiative  new

This site provides information on the Humanitarian Timber initiative, which aims to help aid workers with the use and purchase of timber in humanitarian situations. Resources provided include a range of documents, peer reviews and discussions, standards, news and training materials.

http://www.humanitariantimber.org

(Added: Mon May 12 2008   Hits: 1)

Keep the Amazon rainforest off the chopping block

The Bush administration is pushing Congress to approve a free trade agreement that will put the Amazon rainforest on the chopping block. The Peru Free Trade Agreement will promote harmful trade and allow large-scale illegal logging in the rainforest. Tell Congress to protect the Amazon.

http://action.foe.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5183

(Added: Wed Oct 04 2006   Hits: 313)

Can the Free Market Slow Deforestation?

Tropical forests' ability to store carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change makes them more valuable than alternative uses like pasture or lumber, and rich countries ought to pay tropical countries to preserve their forests, a recent World Bank report, "At Loggerheads", says. This article discusses this report and talks to environmentalists who disagree with its findings. (Stephen Leahy, IPS, 25 October 2006)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35224

(Added: Fri Oct 27 2006   Hits: 202)

Forests in Flux: Climate Change - the Threats to World Forests [PDF 3.97Mb]

Over the 21st century, the temperature at the earth's surface is likely to increase significantly, and all ecosystems, including forests, will experience the most rapid period of climate change since the end of the last ice age. The distribution and composition of forests will be affected by this change, and effective conservation strategies will need to accommodate the prospect of rapidly migrating climate zones and shifting ecosystems.

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/flux/executive_summary.htm

(Added: Wed Mar 01 2006   Hits: 201)

A Conflict Of Interest: The Uncertain Future of Burma's Forests

A Briefing Document by Global Witness, October 2003

http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/113/en/a_conflict_of_interest_english

(Added: Fri Oct 10 2003   Modified: Thu Feb 08 2007   Hits: 159)

A Conflict Of Interest: The uncertain future of Burma's forests.

A Briefing Document by Global Witness, September 2004. This report highlights the timber trade in Burma as unregulated, highly destructive of the environment and intertwined with corruption, illegality, and armed conflict. This report has just been translated into Burmese for circulation within Burma, whose citizens have, for the first time, access to information about the true state of their country's forests.

http://www.globalwitness.org/reports/index.php?section=burma

(Added: Fri Sep 10 2004   Modified: Fri Jun 10 2005   Hits: 129)

A Look at World Parks, by David Suzuki

The goals of the World Parks Congress are certainly laudable. Large parks protect species that are sensitive to human activities and provide a relative baseline with which to compare less intact ecosystems. And they provide a host of other natural services, from carbon sequestration to water filtration and soil protection...But if protecting one area merely shifts logging pressure to unprotected areas (the "waterbed effect"), then the overall value of the park is diminished. For example, China may have curtailed logging in some of its forests, but the Chinese demand for timber has not waned: It is now the world's second largest importer of wood, which is having a devastating effect on other parts of Asia.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/301/5638/1289

(Added: Thu Sep 18 2003   Modified: Thu Jun 09 2005   Hits: 277)

Addressing the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation (PDF-2,000Kb)

This report is the outcome of a 16-month initiative of a diverse group of NGOs, governments, Indigenous Peoples' Organizations, intergovernmental agencies and other stakeholders that included 7 regional workshops, one Indigenous Peoples workshop, and a Global Workshop to Address the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation. (PDF-2,000Kb)

http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestation/uc-rpt_eng.pdf

(Added: Wed Jun 30 1999   Modified: Fri Jun 10 2005   Hits: 357)

Amazon Watch

Amazon Watch works with indigenous and environmental organizations in the Amazon Basin to defend the environment and advance indigenous peoples' rights in the face of large-scale industrial development-oil & gas pipelines, power lines, roads, and other mega-projects. Amazon Communications Team: equipping Amazonian indigenous groups with media skills and telecommunications tools in order to increase their capacity to defend their lands from destructive mega-projects. Monitoring Mega-projects: Documenting and disseminating information on the social and environmental impacts of proposed mega-projects in the Amazon Basin. Informing Investors: Alerting public- and private-sector investors to the risks associated with controversial mega-projects in the Amazon Basin. Supporting Rainforest Peoples: Mobilizing technical, financial, legal, and public relations support for indigenous organizations fighting destructive mega-projects. Amazon Watch is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit (USA) corporation.

http://www.amazonwatch.org/

(Added: Wed Jul 30 2003   Modified: Mon Jun 13 2005   Hits: 208)

Amazonia

This site makes information on the Amazon region available to the public, with the aim of helping to make clear the structure of public and private agencies, both Brazilian and foreign, that are active in the region. At the disposal of researchers, investors, journalists, students, travelers and those who are just curious, the site is an attempt to orient the surfer to the various "worlds" that exist in the Amazon. This site is an integral part of a project of analysis and monitoring of public policy in the Amazon executed by Friends of the Earth - Amazonia Program, with financial support from the Small Grants Program of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Holland, as well as a contribution from the Tropical Forests Foundation of Sweden (part of Friends of the Earth - Sweden) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - UK.

http://www.amazonia.org.br/english/

(Added: Thu Apr 11 2002   Modified: Mon Jun 13 2005   Hits: 216)

At Loggerheads? Agricultural Expansion, Poverty Reduction and Environment in the Tropical Forests

Preserving the world's rapidly shrinking tropical forests and improving the economic prospects of millions of poor people requires an urgent strengthening of national forest governance. Globally, this calls for strong financial incentives. But current carbon markets do not tap the potential benefits of forest carbon. The report reviews the obstacles impeding the use of global carbon finance to reduce deforestation, and offers workable solutions. (World Bank, 23 October 2006)

http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTPRRS/EXTTROPICALFOREST/0,,contentMDK:21092971~pagePK:64168098~piPK:64168032~theSitePK:2463874,00.html

(Added: Fri Oct 27 2006   Hits: 125)

AusAID investments pay dividends in Sri Lanka: The case of community based forest management

This article describes a pilot experiment of community engagement in forest protection and management supported under an AusAID funded project in Sri Lanka (ADGm 1 May 2008). It demonstrates the dividends for community engagement in forest management including its protection. Some significant lessons for wider applications as well as a few areas for future assistance under AusAID are also highlighted in the article.

http://www.developmentgateway.com.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/6770

(Added: Sat May 03 2008   Modified: Wed May 07 2008   Hits: 8)

Banks, pulp and people: a primer on upcoming international pulp projects

This report examines the pulp industry's current expansion plans as well as the implications of these plans for people and the environment. The report argues that pulp mills have severe impacts on biodiversity, water, land rights and livelihoods. The report provides country case studies and information on problematic pulp projects in the pipeline and it makes recommendations to financiers regarding their future role in this sector (Urgewald, 2007).

http://www.pulpmillwatch.org/media/pdf/BPP_A_FIN_2.pdf

(Added: Wed Oct 03 2007   Modified: Thu Oct 04 2007   Hits: 105)

British Columbia Forest Service Forest Practices Branch

The British Columbia Forest Service Forest Practices Branch are involved in a number of adaptive management projects. Their site contains information on these. They also include links to a number of useful documents, including an introductory and a statistical methods guide for adaptive management, a detailed and useful report on their projects, and a newsletter with useful entries such as common barriers to adaptive management.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/amhome/

(Added: Wed Aug 13 2003   Modified: Mon Jun 13 2005   Hits: 153)

Bulldozing Progress: Human Rights Abuse and Corruption in PNG's Large Scale Logging Industries

The logging industry in Papua New Guinea is dominated by a handful of Malaysian companies and is is synonymous with political corruption, police racketeering and the brutal repression of workers, women and those who question its ways. Its operations routinely destroy the food sources, water supplies and cultural property of those same communities. They provide a breeding ground for arms smuggling, corruption and violence across the country. In return, the industry generates no lasting economic benefit to forest communities, considerable long-term cost and a modest 5 per cent contribution to the national budget. A concerted international effort backed by credible enforcement agencies is now needed to reform the industry and restore the human and economic rights of PNG forest communities. (Australian Conservation Foundation, 2006)

http://www.acfonline.org.au/uploads/res_ACF-CELCOR_full.pdf#search=%22Bulldozing%20%22

(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 244)

Burmese Forests Vanishing

Jonathan Watts in Beijing Friday October 10, 2003 The Guardian Burma's virgin forests are disappearing at the rate of more than a million cubic metres per year to satisfy the voracious appetite for timber in neighbouring China.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1059861,00.html

(Added: Fri Oct 10 2003   Modified: Fri Dec 16 2005   Hits: 288)

Carbon-Nitrogen Interactions in Forest Ecosystems - Final Report (Pdf)

This report is a summary of the main results from the EU project "Carbon - Nitrogen Interactions in Forest Ecosystems" (CNTER). It explains both the effect of N deposition on C cycling in forest ecosystems, and the effect of C accumulation on N storage and release. Based on compiled databases on element pools and fluxes from several hundred forest sites, process studies in long-term nitrogen manipulation experiments and modelling efforts, C sequestration and N retention in European forest soils are estimated. Further, the impact of forest management on C sequestration, N retention and N leaching is explained. (Per Gundersen, B. Berg, W.S. Currie, N.B. Dise, et al 2006. Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning)

http://www.sl.kvl.dk/upload/workningpapersno17.pdf

(Added: Tue May 30 2006   Modified: Wed May 31 2006   Hits: 70)

Carving Up the Congo

Climate change caused by atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases is the greatest threat the world faces today. Global emissions from tropical deforestation alone contribute up to 25% of total annual human-induced CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Predictions for future deforestation in Central Africa estimate that by 2050 forest clearance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will release a total of up to 34.4 billion tonnes of CO2, roughly equivalent to the UK's CO2 emission over the last sixty years (Greenpeace, April 2007).

http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/carving-up-the-congo-exec.pdf

(Added: Tue Jul 31 2007   Hits: 57)

CGIAR Adaptive Collaborative Management Program

This programme, run by the Center for International Forestry Research, applies adaptive management to the forests of Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Bolivia and Brasil. There are many excellent resources available from the site, including reports, journal articles, books and CD-ROM resources. These include the collaborative software packages co-learn and co-view which are designed to help stakeholder visioning and provide other computer-based learning support tools for adaptive management programmes, particularly those in developing countries.

http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/acm/

(Added: Wed Aug 13 2003   Modified: Mon Jun 13 2005   Hits: 123)

Community forestry in the Amazon: The unsolved challenge of forests and the poor [pdf]

The international research project ForLive, analysing experiences in the Amazon, revealed that considerable external resources are needed to overcome the technical, legal and financial barriers inherent in the current community forestry framework (Benno Pokorny and James Johnson, ODI, April 2008).

http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/nrp/NRP112.pdf

(Added: Tue Apr 08 2008   Hits: 77)

Danida Forest Seed Centre (DFSC)

Danida Forest Seed Centre (DFSC) is a Danish non-profit making institute. Since 1969 DFSC has been engaged in development and transfer of know-how in management of tree genetic resources. The development objective of DFSC is to contribute to improve the benefits of growing trees for the well-being of people in developing countries. DFSC's programme is mainly financed by the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida). The activities of DFSC fall under two components: The base programme and the project support programme. The base programme, which represents 70% of the annual budget, comprises research activities, a general information service including publications and advice, a seed bank and seed supply service, provision of training and development activities. The project support programme provides all types of services and collaborative activities in management of forest genetic resources, primarily in the form of consultancy services. These services are mainly delivered to Danish supported national tree seed programmes in developing countries. At present, the projects include national tree seed programmes in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

http://www.dfsc.dk/

(Added: Thu Oct 09 2003   Modified: Fri Jun 10 2005   Hits: 169)

Development from diversity: Guyana's forest-based associations

This study looks at the many forest-based associations in Guayana that are attempting to use forest-based products and services, and are concerned about sustainability. Opportunities to support such associations exist, but they are specific in nature. In most cases, details of these opportunities are known only by association memebers or a few trusted intermediaries. Lesson about what types of associaton work and why, lead on to conclusions about how to give appropriate support. (IIED, August 2006)

http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=13527IIED

(Added: Tue Aug 29 2006   Hits: 65)

Emerging forest associations in Yunnan, China: Implications for livelihoods and sustainability [pdf 341k]

Yunnan is one of China's poorest and least urbanized provinces. With the largest total area of collectively-owned forest among China's 31 provinces, forestry development continues to play an important role in Yunnan's rural economic development. This report assesses the competitive challenges that small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) face in response to China's huge rural to urban transition, growth in trade, and increasing environmental concerns. It describes the evolution of some of the emerging associations that will help SMFEs cope, such as the Yunnan Provincial Forest Products Industry Association. (Horst Weyerhaeuser, Shao Wen, Friedrich Kahrl, IIED, April 2006)

http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdf/full/13524IIED.pdf

(Added: Fri Apr 21 2006   Hits: 211)

European forest types: Categories and types for sustainable forest management reporting and policy

This report presents the findings of a study carried out by an international consortium of experts aimed at providing the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) with an user-friendly forest types classification. The primary goal of the scheme is to improve the MCPFE reporting on sustainable forest management (SFM) in Europe, with special regard to forest type based SFM indicators.(EEA & OPOCE, 2006).

http://reports.eea.europa.eu/technical_report_2006_9/en/eea_technical_report_9_2006.pdf

(Added: Sun Nov 12 2006   Modified: Mon Nov 13 2006   Hits: 63)

Fair trade timber: A review of current practice, institutional structures and possible ways forward

Certification, eco-labelling and social auditing have all been set up to improve the forest sector. High hopes for forest livelihoods and poverty reduction have surrounded their use but each has had its limitations. It is now time to examine other complementary instruments. Fair trade may be one such instrument. An alliance of institutions interested in promoting fair trade timber is beginning to form. This report outlines some of the options for building on this momentum and enhancing local returns from responsible forestry. (Duncan Macqueen, Annie Dufey, Bindi Patel, IIED,

http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdf/full/13530IIED.pdf

(Added: Wed Jan 31 2007   Hits: 51)

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