The pace of timberland transactions is still pretty slow but they are occurring (about 500,000 acres since my update last fall) and prices do not appear to have dropped below those of late last year. I think the 10% - 15% decline estimate (from the peak) is still pretty solid.
Major American pension fund puts confidence in timber
Confidence in timber investment funds has been heightened after a major American state pension fund decided to put $500 million into timber.
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (Mass PRIM) has decided to make the investment just three years after selling a $700 million section of its timber portfolio.
Senior timber investment officer at Mass PRIM, Tim Schlitzer, said it was a perfect time to reinvest in the long-term benefits that timber can provide.
Forests cover between 25 and 30 percent of the earth’s land surface. They help to maintain the fertility of the soil, protect watersheds, and reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides.
About 350 million people worldwide depend on forest resources for their livelihood—of those, 50 million (especially indigenous communities) are wholly dependent on forests.
About 65% of the total primary energy supply in Africa comes from biomass (30% in South Asia, 15% in Latin America and East Asia).
Sino-Forest Increases Investment in Greenheart Resources Strengthening foothold in South American tropical forest
TORONTO, May 9, 2010 /CNW/ - Sino-Forest Corporation ("Sino-Forest") (TSX: TRE), a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China, is pleased to announce that Sino-Capital Global Inc.
Investors from industrialised countries are racing to strike financing deals with Kenya in partnerships set to open new avenues for donor support as the world switches to green economy.
Investor interest in forestry is building, driven by climate change concerns, shifting and growing markets for forestry products – and the good, old-fashioned portfolio diversification benefits of an asset class which weathered the financial crisis much better than most and which offers stable long-term returns. But, argue sustainable finance experts, barriers to monetizing the environmental attributes of the sector remain high – both retarding investment but also generating opportunities for early movers.
WBCSD: Sustainable Forest Finance Toolkit Now Available
Geneva, 22 February 2010 - PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have launched the Sustainable Forest Finance Toolkit, which aims to support the finance sector in
Mar. 1, 2010 (China Knowledge) - China Forestry Holdings Co Ltd has announced that it will spend RMB 464 million to purchase rights in a forest in Ninglang County, Yunnan Province.
