Forestry

Ireland has ratified the Convention on the European Forest Institute. The Convention on EFI has now been ratified by a total of 22 European countries.

The ratifying countries are now Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.

August 2010: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has released a plan of work for 2011-2013, as a part of its 2008-2018 Strategy.

In the plan of work, CIFOR outlines its project plans and how they fall under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research's (CGIAR) system priority alignment. The plan highlights collaborations with international organizations, as well as CIFOR's activities in national and international policy. The plan provides narratives of CIFOR's six projects and the suite of planned outputs from these projects.

I have been to the last two COPs (climate change conferences) – in Poznan and Copenhagen. They were both incredibly draining and frustrating, watching our negotiators move ever-so-slowly to a not-quite-conclusion. It is enough to make you swear off climate policy for good.

Environmentalists are challenging the plans of a S.C.-based biotechnology firm to grow genetically engineered eucalyptus trees in the South, saying the fast-growing Australian species could spread uncontrollably.

ArborGen LLC won federal permits in May to plant 330 acres of a eucalyptus hybrid in South Carolina and six other states. The test sites include Marlboro County, S.C., about 75 miles southeast of Charlotte.

Eleven tropical rainforest countries Tuesday agreed to commit on sustainable forest management at a ministerial meeting held in