Forestry

This report provides an update on the status of tropical moist forests in Central Africa. It covers the 6 countries containing this forest type, namely Gabon, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

Guwahati, Jan. 18: The French development agency, Agence Française de Développement, has given the go ahead to the Assam forest department to undertake a feasibility study of the Rs 450-crore Assam project on forestry and bio-diversity conservation.

Windhoek — Growing demand for products like timber and biofuels is putting pressure on shrinking rainforests.

PAYSANDÚ, Uruguay, Jan 6 (IPS) - "After work, when I'm on my own, I'm bored to death. If you want amenities, you have to bring them yourself," says young forestry worker Alejandro de Leiva, who works on a tree plantation in the western Uruguayan province of Paysandú, where he lives and works for 10 to 12 days in a row, with just two days off.

2009 may prove to be an important turning point for tropical forests.

Lead by Brazil, which had the lowest extent of deforestation since at least the 1980s, global forest loss likely declined to its lowest level in more than a decade. Critical to the fall in deforestation was the global financial crisis, which dried up credit for forest-destroying activities and contributed to a crash in commodity prices, an underlying driver of deforestation.