Improving Forestry for Nature, People and the Climate As we watch the world debate how best to address climate change, and as carbon emissions continue to soar, at least one climate strategy strikes me as a "no-brainer." We should do everything we can to save the world's forests.
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Bringing Issues of ClimateCLIMATE change presents a real threat to human development and it is already undermining productive sectors like agriculture which has the highest potential to reduce poverty levels in Zambia.
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Update on REDD+ in MongoliaWhen most people think of REDD+, they think of tropical forests. However REDD+ is a mechanism in which all forested developing countries can participate. Mongolia, a country with significant boreal forest cover, is now engaging in a number of activities to develop a National REDD+ Roadmap.
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Ontario Auditor General urges tighter oversight of reforestationThe government should do more to oversee private-sector forest companies to make sure they do an adequate job of successfully reforesting areas where timber has been harvested, Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter says in his 2011 Annual Report.
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China publishes forestry climate change five action pointsChina has formulated “forest response to climate change five actions points” to implement the National Economic and Social Development Twelfth Five-Year Plan, forestry development second five year plan and Forestry Action Plan to address climate change, and further promote the “second five year
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'Peak timber' concerns in tropics(BBC) - Current tropical timber practices are not sustainable and nations should consider the "implications of 'peak timber'", a study has suggested.
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China’s Reforestation Programs: Big Success or Just an Illusion?China has undertaken ambitious reforestation initiatives that have increased its forest cover dramatically in the last decade. But scientists are now raising questions about just how effective these grand projects will turn out to be.
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Indigenous communities make a list of “do’s and don’ts” for forest conservation schemes Indigenous and community groups have made a wish-list detailing how schemes that aim to reduce deforestation and forest degradation should work for those living in and amongst the forest.
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Life imprisonment for illegal loggers okayedTHE House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a proposed law imposing life imprisonment to people engaged in illegal logging.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said the measure would strengthen government’s campaign against illegal loggers which is now causing serious flooding in the country, recently in Northern Mindanao.
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Praise for Sabah’s forestry policy growing popularSABAH is fast becoming a trailblazer in sustainable forest management. This is evident from the numerous accolades, notably from the United Nations, World Wildlife Fund Malaysia, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Prince Charles Charity, for the success of its forest conservation efforts
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Texas drought kills up to half a billion trees(Reuters) - The massive drought that has dried out Texas over the past year has killed as many as half a billion trees, according to estimates from the Texas Forest Service.
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GEF Closes $160 Million Fund for Sustainable Forestry in AfricaGlobal Environment Fund, a U.S. private-equity firm with $1 billion under management, completed the closing of a $160 million fund for sustainable forestry in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Jayanthi Natarajan turns down proposal seeking Rs 1K crore under CAMPANEW DELHI: Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has asked the Comptroller and Auditor General to review the spending of the funds of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
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There has been much controversy over the Harper government’s complaints about U.S. foundation-funded environmental “radicals.”
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Peak Timber: Rate of tropical timber harvest a concernTimber production in the world's tropical countries is exceeding the forests' ability to replace the felled trees, an Australian report says.
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FRA claims Irish forestry investment is a ‘good bet’The sale of 20 forestry plantations in Ireland has received the backing of FRA, which supports investment in sustainable forestry projects around the world.
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Expert speaks out on impact of logging in PNGOne of the world's leading tropical biologists says clear felling of forests on Papua New Guinea's controversial Special Agricultural and Business leases is likely to have profound impact on PNG's environment.
As you heard earlier in the program, logging on SABLs has pushed PNG's log exports into record territory.
In 2011, 650,000 cubic metres of logs were exported from SABLs.
A prominent scientist in tropical biology says the environmental impact of this sort of logging is very significant.
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Forest conservation policies: what works and what doesn’t Policymakers looking to reduce deforestation in their countries have the right tools to do so today, but without a solid foundation in good governance and consistent policies, they will not be successful, said a prominent policy expert.
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Five percent increase in India's forest coverNew Delhi: In what could bring cheers to environmentalists, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the country's forest cover has increased by nearly five per cent between 1997 and 2007.
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REDD: Saving the Amazon rainforestInternational negotiators are closing in on a new solution for combating climate change — and saving the world’s remaining forests.
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USA - USDA: New Forest Planning Rule
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Ilim Group is awarded Proof of Leadership in Forest Management CertificationFollowing the results of 2011, Ilim Group was acknowledged as the leader of forest management certification. The respective Proof of Leadership was awarded to Ilim Group by the Russian Branch of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
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Malaysia loses RM900mil a year to illegal deforestationMalaysia is believed to have lost between RM800mil and RM900mil a year to illegal logging, said Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Datuk Paul Lo
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Forestry Director Seeks to Gazette Kigoma's Masito-Ugalla Forest
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USD 62 million to Nepal Government Multi-Stakeholder Forestry ProgrammeThe Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme is the product of the first multistakeholder design process to be undertaken in Nepal’s forestry sector.
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Political insurance for PE funds
A new insurance product has been launched to cover private equity fund investments in Africa and other emerging markets against political risk.
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Global Environment Fund beats target for Africa forestry fund Global Environment Fund (GEF) has raised $160 million into its Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund, exceeding its target of $150 million.
The Maryland-based fund manager claims the fund is the first private equity fund to focus solely on sustainable forestry in sub-Saharan Africa.
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FOREST PRACTICES BOARD CONFIRMS BELL UNDERSTATED FOREST PROBLEMSThe Forest Practices Board has confirmed that former forest minister Pat Bell has been grossly understating the true problems facing B.C.’s forests.
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Proof Is in: Our Forests Are Badly MismanagedOn the second of February, I attended a presentation at the Western Silvicultural Contractors' Association AGM in Kamloops.
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Forests? Depends on who's counting
B.C.'s foresters are an argumentative lot, and for the past few years, one particular disagreement has repeatedly seized their attention.
It's the question of how much forest land falls into the official category known as NSR - not satisfactorily restocked.
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Tanzania: Country to Benefit From U.S.$500 Million Climate Funds
Tanzania is among countries that would benefit from funds donated by Norway to finance projects that aim at reducing the effects of climate change.Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).
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Spain Needs $466 Million in Carbon Credits to Meet Kyoto Limit
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Britain to urge green accounting at Rio+20 summit(Reuters) - Britain will urge businesses and governments to start accounting for natural capital as an additional way of measuring economic activity at a U.N.
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Clean-tech Finance Bill changes welcomed by Green IFSCThe clean-tech tax changes to the Finance Bill have been welcomed by the Green IFSC, which says Ireland’s Government is likely the first in the world to recognise forest carbon credits in tax legislation.
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On a carbon market mission
While steaming ahead with new carbon market initiatives, the World Bank attracted further criticism and suffered potential setbacks on agriculture and on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at the UN climate negotiations in Durban.
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Forestry Director Against Land Hoarding
COMMUNITIES and conservation groups should own forests to earn from Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) programme.
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Ugandans Invest in Trees, For Profit, ConservationWealthy investors in Uganda are taking advantage of a new money-making opportunity investing in trees. Trees have become an attractive investment because of the rising cost of timber and the allure of carbon credits. The Ugandan government sees these so-called "tree banks" as a means to combat deforestation. But practice remains controversial.
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wi to the rescue at GunnsEarlier in the week the news broke that a New Zealand-born billionaire was in negotiations with Gunns to buy a substantial part of the Tasmanian-based timber company. Gunns shares went into a trading halt on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning the company announced that they have agreed on commercial terms for the introduction of a AU$150 million investment from the Richard Chandler Corporation (RCC). In conjunction with a rights issue to existing shareholders, the recapitalisation aims to raise up to AU$280 million.
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In its latest report, the Indian government has attributed the declining forest cover in India to forest clearance by Maoist guerrillas. The statistics, however, say the contrary.
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Humans drove rainforest into savannah in ancient AfricaThree thousand years ago (around 1000 BCE) several large sections of the Congo rainforest in central Africa suddenly vanished and became savannah.
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Govt spends half of climate funds Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has only spent half of Norwegian funds on Reduced Deforestation and Land Degradation (REDD), the ambassador of Norway, Ms Ingunn Klepsvik has said.Speaking to The Citizen recently, Ms Klepsvik said despite halfway expenditure on Norwegian REDD funds, the country has performed well in terms of preparedness in absorbing REDD funds in the future.
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Climate Conversations - How to design a REDD+ projectREDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) aims to reward or compensate tropical developing countries for keeping their forests intact or for reducing
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Forest cover falls to 23.81% of total geographical area
India’s environment ministry has blamed Maoist rebels and shifting cultivation practised in the country’s north-east for a drop in forest cover.
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A big day for our Wapichan peopleThe 7th February 2012 is a very important date for the communities of the Wapichan people of the South Rupununi in Guyana: on this date, we will present to the national and international communities a m
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Focus on protecting wildlife, not commercial forestry practicesInstead of protecting wildlife, the proposed wildlife preservation act focuses more on giving more power and dominion to an incompetent forest department widely criticised for its commercial forestry practices, said speakers at a discussion yesterday.
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Paid for Keeping the Forest Alive
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Charest announces conservation plan for Quebec's northMONTREAL - Quebec will turn 20% of its vast northern territory into internationally recognized protected areas, a plan Premier Jean Charest said is one of the largest conservation projects in the world.
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World Bank Methodology for Soil Carbon Sequestration ApprovedAn agroforestry project financed by the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund in western Kenya presented a methodology for soil carbon sequestration through sustainable agricultural land management, which was approved by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).
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African land grabs hinder sustainable development01 February 2012 (NATURE.com)- A scramble to buy African land is threatening the continent’s sustainable development, according to reports launched today at the Royal Society in London.
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GRIF funds disbursement awaiting agreement on projects THE Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) will not be available for disbursal until the Government of Guyana and its partners -- the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) --
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Satellites for Climate Checks Get Boost After Durban TalksFeb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian deforestation and melting polar ice caps are feeding a boom in demand in the $2.1 billion market for satellite data, images and services used to monitor the planet.
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Managing forest resources for sustainable developmentAn evaluation of the World Bank Group's experience - approach paper
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China makes hefty forestry investment since 2006The central government has invested 461.1 billion yuan ($73.19 billion) in forestry over the past six years, the State Forestry Administration said Wednesday.
The investment averages out at 76.85 billion yuan per annum, up from 41.53 billion yuan in 2005.
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British Columbia’s Auditor General releases his timber management reportBritish Columbia Auditor General John Doyle has released his latest report, An Audit of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ Management of Timber.
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Busting the Forest Myths: People as Part of the SolutionThe long-held contention that rural forest communities are the prime culprits in tropical forest destruction is increasingly being discredited, as evidence mounts that the best way to protect rainforests is to involve local residents in sustainable management.
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Kenya's pastoralists reach out for carbon cashIf the promise of earning carbon credits is realised, Nixon Parnisa counts himself among hundreds of pastoralists likely to profit from a new revenue stream.
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Reading between the lines – what the Durban text means for REDD+ in 2012
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Foresters facing climate change challengesForesters must face various tough challenges in the current scenario of global climate change, Forest Survey of India director general AK Wahal said while chairing the valedictory session of a two-day workshop on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD +) for India
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SCS Validates Anthrotect’s Colombian Carbon Offset Project to Climate, Community and Biodiversity StandardsScientific Certification Systems (SCS) has validated Anthrotect’s Chocó-Darién Corridor carbon offset project to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Project Design Standards.
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Gilani launches Spring Tree Plantation Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday inaugurated the Spring Tree Plantation campaign by planting a tree here at the PM House and made an impassioned appeal to the nation to make Pakistan green.
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British Columbia moves to protect old growth in Avatar GroveThe Government of British Columbia announced today that all of Avatar Grove, a unique stand of old-growth cedars near Port Renfrew, is now protected in an expanded old growth management area.
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Ethiopia pushes for green economy ahead of Rio+20 — forests a major player A green economy that prioritises forest conservation to boost development in one of Africa’s poorest nations is at the heart of a recent initiative launched by the Ethiopian government ahead of the Rio+20 summit.
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Minister of State Shane McEntee Announces Ireland's Closer Involvement in Tackling Forest Loss in Developing CountriesIreland, as a demonstration of its commitment to sustainable forest management and to addressing the global forest loss and the impacts of climate change, has made a funding contribution of €150,000 to the European Forest Institute EU REDD, which supports better forestry management in developing
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Illegal Logging Unlikely to End Unless All Companies Follow RulesEfforts to stem illegal logging by requiring Indonesian timber exports to be certified will prove futile if cheaper, uncertified wood continues to be available on the market, officials said on Tuesday.
Diah Raharjo, director of the Multistakeholder Forestry Program, a collaboration between the Indonesian and British governments, said progress was being made in getting logging firms to comply but there was still much work to do.
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New web tool to improve accuracy of global land cover mapsAn interactive web tool has been developed to improve the accuracy and extent of global land use and forest cover information. The new 'Geo-Wiki' uses Google Earth and information provided by a global network of volunteers to fill in 'data gaps' and to verify existing land cover information.
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World’s first bamboo carbon offset credits issued under the VCSThe Food & Trees for Africa’s (FTFA) Bamboo for Africa programme has been certified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)—the first VCS accreditation for bamboo in the world.
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$780M eco-system protection fund launchThe Surinamese government has warned donors to stop treating the issue of eco-systems as mere handouts.
John Goedschalk, of Suriname’s Climate Compatible Development Agency, made the call on Monday during the launch of the Guyana Shield Facility, a fund to protect the ecosystems in the Guyana Shield region which includes Guyana, Suriname, Colombia and Brazil.
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Consultations on REDD+ Readiness Roadmap begin in BangladeshBangladesh recently took its first steps on the road to REDD+ Readiness by holding national and sub-national REDD+ consultations. The national multi-stakeholder workshop in Dhaka on 25 October was followed by a regional workshop in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
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Super high-resolution carbon estimates for endangered MadagascarBy combining airborne laser technology, satellite mapping, and ground-based plot surveys, a team of researchers has produced the first large-scale, high-resolution estimates of carbon stocks in remote and fragile Madagascar.
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Private sector corruptionWhat is private sector corruption? A flippant answer would be anything that the losing party in a job or tender selection process says it is, since there is that old saying that one person's corruption (or patronage, nepotism) is another's rightful meritocracy!1
Time for a re-evaluation and new market rules?
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Norske Skog sells excess power Norske Skog sells back part of its energy contract to Statkraft. Norske Skog has reached an agreement to sell back excess power in southern Norway to Statkraft. The sale encompasses an annual volume of 680 gigawatt hours and covers the period through the end of 2020.
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UN and KPMG Prod Corporate Leaders on SustainabilityUnited Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged corporate leaders to back up their words about sustainable business practices with concrete actions at a KPMG-sponsored conference on sustainability.
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Billionaire’s decision to invest in forestry shows ethical approachA billionaire investor has this week opted to put much of his cash in forestry investments, in a move that has been welcomed by alternative and ethical investment advocates, AAA.
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Insights from the Field: Forests for Climate and TimberThe Carbon Canopy is a novel partnership among companies, landowners, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that seeks to leverage markets for ecosystem services to increase the area of southern U.S. forests certified as sustainably managed.
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Stacking Ecosystem Services Payments: Risks and SolutionsHealthy ecosystems provide many services to society, including water filtration, biodiversity habitat protection, and carbon sequestration.
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Report of the State Level Workshop on Decentralised Forest Governance: Beyond JFMThis publication is the report of the workshop titled “Decentralised Forest Governance: Beyond JFM” held on 14-15th October, 2011 in Bhubaneswar, India. The objectives of the workshop were:
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B.C.'s efforts not enough to halt forestry declinesB.C. auditor general John Doyle said in a report released Thursday that the province is ill-prepared to manage the province's beetle-ravaged forests, which are heading toward a long-term decline in both value and diversity.
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Aging Forests Ministry in poor health
The ravages of age usually affect people more than institutions.
But successive reports on two of the oldest government functions in B.C. have found they are in failing health.
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B.C.'s resources need support
We pride ourselves on being Super, Natural British Columbia, province of pristine lakes, spectacular wilderness, friendly resource communities and vibrant, sophisticated cities.
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Timber inventory a guessing game, critics chargeThe B.C. government is not adequately keeping track of its inventory of timber lands, according to NDP Leader Adrian Dix. And that means the province is putting off some tough decisions, he says, on managing what’s left of pine-beetle-ravaged forests.
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B.C. risks becoming a silvicultural slumRe: B.C.'s resources need support, Column, Feb. 17, Province fails to protect, restore beetle-ravaged area: report, Feb. 17
Both Stephen Hume and Auditor-General John Doyle have pointed out in spades the neglected state of B.C.'s forests.
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Foresters join warning cry over risk to forest sustainability
B.C. forest inventories are so far out of date that the foresters' professional association is questioning whether provincial forestlands can still be managed sustainably.
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Auditor General report on forestry - A trust betrayed
The Auditor General of British Columbia has released a report that is sharply critical of the BC Government and Ministry of Forests’ management of BC forests. Indeed, it would be hard to find a government report that is more withering in its criticism.
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BC Government Killing Forest Industry: Auditor GeneralWorse, the government lacks reliable information on the state of the forest and has no plan for what to do about it, he said.
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FRIM-FDPM collaborate in R&D on remote sensing for REDD+ and climate changeMalaysia (FRIM) and Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia (FDPM) today reaffirmed their committment for two way collaborative efforts and fortify kindred spirits in conducting R&D in the field of forest and environment for the betterment of forestry sector in this country.
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UNFCCC fudges decision on climate finance and makes little progress on REDD+ safeguard implementation
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Tesco and Unilever beef up rainforest protection effortsTwo of the world's largest brands, Tesco and Unilever, have today launched major new initiatives designed to enhance rainforest protection and improve the sustainability of global supply chains.
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Mondi invests in energy projects as it targets 97.5% self-sufficiency Pulp and paper group Mondi on Thursday confirmed it had put aside €170-million in capital expenditure for energy and debottlenecking projects, with the aim of achieving 97.5% energy self-sufficiency across its operations.
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Preparedness for REDD+ Climate Finance - Vietnam, Mexico & ZambiaReducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation, forest management and enhanced carbon stocks (REDD+), is an evolving international climate finance mechanism that may provide considerable sustainable development opportunities for developing countries.
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Norway Provides the UN Environment Programme With Over U.S.$30 Million of SupportAs a tangible commendation of the mandate and achievements of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Government of Norway has committed NOK 200 million (US$35 million) for the 2012-2013 biennium to support activities across UNEP's Programme of Work.
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Making the Most of a Second Chance: What Next for REDD+ Safeguards?
This piece was written with Gaia Larsen and Crystal Davis.
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New study highlights need for REDD+ to look beyond carbon BOGOR, Indonesia (21 February, 2012)_A new study on rubber plantations highlights the need for the REDD+ climate change scheme to further consider biodiversity and rural livelihoods.
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National Options for REDD+ Environmental Safeguards: Operational GuidanceThis six-page guide, based on the Nov 2011 full technical paper, presents six categories of options for operationalising the Cancun safeguards.
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43 European states negotiate binding legal frameworkThe representatives of 43 European countries – the 27 EU member states plus the European Commission, Russia and other non-EU European countries – have begun negotiating a legally binding agreement on sustainable forest management in Europe.
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Global sawlog prices fell in late 2011Global sawlog prices fell in late 2011, especially in lumber export-oriented countries such as Western Canada, Finland, Sweden, Russia and New Zealand, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.
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Stora Enso successfully issues seven-year EUR 500 million EurobondStora Enso successfully issues seven-year EUR 500 million Eurobond Stora Enso has today issued a EUR 500 million seven-year bond under its EMTN (Euro Medium Term Note) programme. The new bond pays a fixed coupon of 5.5% and will mature in March 2019.
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Possible embezzlement halts WWF-run REDD project in TanzaniaTwo conservation and community projects in Tanzania have been halted after the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reported possible corruption.
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Warming to Ignite the Carbon BombRising temperatures are drying out northernforests and peatlands, producing bigger and more intense fires.
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Conservation is priceless for Kenyan forest
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