World-News

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/06/19-4



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=deforestation

ACTION ALERT

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal with Rainforest Rescue https://www.rainforestportal.org/ & https://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/ June 19, 2009

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW: https://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=madagascar_landgrab

The island of Madagascar is a veritable Noah's Ark of biodiversity, and this natural wealth is the country's primary treasure and opportunity for future ecologically sustainable development. The Korean company Daewoo Logistics intends to lease half the agricultural land in Madagascar for 99 years, industrially producing maize and palm oil on 1.3 million hectares that are now biodiversity rich rainforests and gardens. There already exists a severe food crisis nationally and local peoples, who are soon to be dispossessed from their land, are protesting, causing a major government crisis. Tell Daewoo the people of Madagascar have spoken -- and to shove off and leave Madagascar's rainforests, peoples and land alone.

TAKE ACTION NOW: https://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=madagascar_landgrab

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: https://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2009/06/alert_madagascar_daewoos_rainf.asp



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https://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFMsR/zJBn/n06J



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ACTION ALERT

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

By Rainforest Rescue with Ecological Internet https://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/ & https://www.ecoearth.info/ April 28, 2009

No Biomass/No Burning! Truly renewable energy must be defined as including no energy production or climate mitigation claims from food based agrofuels, live plants and ecosystems, or burning biomass of any type.

BRIEF BACKGROUND: As the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is belatedly gaining recognition within the United States, a suite of policy initiatives, including the Markey-Waxman "American Climate and Energy Security Act 2009" (ACESA), are being considered to promote biomass such as tree plantations, and forest and agricultural 'waste', as renewable energy. Given well known issues of sustainability regarding industrial agriculture and land mismanagement, the need to more clearly define just what "renewable" means is clearly shown. It is vitally important that renewable energy be defined, within the context of federal energy and climate policy, in strictly ecological sustainability terms, including renewable energy and low carbon fuel standards.

In an alarming trend, burning and refining of plant biomass and also toxic municipal waste (or for that matter anything that burns) is being falsely promoted as renewable and of benefit to reducing emissions that cause climate change. Humans already consume a large amount of the energy represented in annual biological growth. To try to consume more of Earth's primary productivity is clearly unsustainable land use. Even partial replacement of fossil fuels with fresh plant biomass energy is absolutely impossible for more than a few years. Trying will denude Earth and make a very different planet, that is hostile and uninhabitable to human life.

TAKE ACTION NOW: https://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=no_biomass_energy

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: https://www.climateark.org/blog/2009/04/alert-forest-and-crop-biomass.asp

Abfackeln des Regenwalds für Agrosprit

Ende April entscheidet der Bundestag über die Beimischung von Agrosprit zu Benzin und Diesel. Agrosprit wird aus Nahrungsmitteln wie Zuckerrohr sowie Raps-, Soja- oder Palmöl hergestellt. Mit jedem gefahrenen Kilometer im Auto werden so der Hunger auf der Welt verschärft sowie die Regenwaldrodung und Klimaerwärmung angeheizt. Rettet den Regenwald fordert deshalb, keinen Agrosprit dem Benzin und Diesel beizumischen.

Protestaktion unter:
https://www.regenwald.org/protestaktion.php?id=393



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Regenwald
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https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/11-7



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Amazonian+Rainforest

PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

- Future carbon payments for avoided deforestation in doubt. As a global leader in promoting such payments, the PNG government would be well advised to focus upon better protecting its rainforests, if it wants to fully access carbon monies based upon their continued carbon storage

February 22, 2009 By Earth's Newsdesk and the Rainforest Portal Projects of Ecological Internet https://www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk/ CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Seattle, WA) -- An important new study in the journal "Biotropica" finds that between 1972 and 2002, a net 15 percent of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) rainforests were cleared and 8.8 percent were degraded through logging[1]. The clearance rate of 1.1 to 3.4 percent/yr in commercially accessible forests is much higher than reported previously by the FAO.

PNG -- located in the South Pacific, northeast of Australia -- holds some of the world's largest and most important intact and contiguous forests. Their fate has important implications for local livelihoods and biodiversity, and both local and global climate change. The new study quantifies forest loss PNG for the first time with a high degree of accuracy. And the findings are not good.

Some 36% of the accessible forest estate has been degraded or deforested. This finding raises the question of whether the PNG government -- as a welcome leader in promoting avoided deforestation payments -- is pursuing the necessary policies to ensure large rainforests continue to exist as the basis for their country to receive large and continuous international payments for their carbon storage?

"You cannot industrially log, and clear forests for biofuels, and expect to receive avoided deforestation payments," says Dr. Glen Barry. "As a nation PNG is going to have to choose between continued once off rainforest destruction, mostly for foreign advantage, or being paid more, essentially forever, for maintaining the national and global benefits of fully intact rainforests."

Ecological Internet calls upon PNG to immediately reappraise its logging, biofuel and agriculture policies; to ensure maximum amounts of fully intact forests are available for anticipated international carbon market funding to stop deforestation and diminishment, and for continued non-diminishing traditional local uses. First time industrial logging of primary forests releases huge amounts of stored carbon and permanently reduces the forest's carbon holding potential. Clearly industrial forestry, certified or not, is a dying industry with no future.

### MORE ###

The study found that change in PNG rainforest extent and condition has occurred to a greater extent than previously recorded. The study assessed deforestation and forest degradation in Papua New Guinea by comparing a land-cover map from 1972 with a land-cover map created from nationwide high-resolution satellite imagery recorded since 2002. In 2002 there were 28,251,967 ha of tropical rain forest.

Between 1972 and 2002, a net 15 percent of Papua New Guinea’s tropical forests were cleared and 8.8 percent were degraded through logging. The drivers of forest change have been concentrated within the accessible forest estate where a net 36 percent were degraded or deforested through both forestry and nonforestry processes. Since 1972, 13 percent of upper montane forests have also been lost.

It was estimated that over the period 1990–2002, overall rates of change generally increased and varied between 0.8 and 1.8 percent/yr, while rates in commercially accessible forest have been far higher—having varied between 1.1 and 3.4 percent/yr. The study concluded that rapid and substantial forest change has occurred in Papua New Guinea, with the major drivers being logging in the lowland forests and subsistence agriculture throughout the country with comparatively minor contributions from forest fires, plantation establishment, and mining.

"Sari tumas. Nogat bikpela bus, bai yu no kan kisim win mani long lukautim em," says Dr. Barry. In Melanesian pidgin: I am very sorry, if you don't have large rainforests, you cannot be paid to take care of them.

### ENDS ###

[1] " Forest Conversion and Degradation in Papua New Guinea 1972–2002", Biotropica, 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00495.x. Corresponding author Phil L. Shearman
(to request copies), shearma@ozemail.com.au

DISCUSS RELEASE: https://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2009/02/release_papua_new_guinea_rainf.asp



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PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

Ancient Forests Absorb 20% of Human's Carbon, Logging and Other Industrial Destruction of Old Forests Must Stop Now

- The myth that primary and old growth forests should be "sustainably" managed is dealt a mortal deathblow. Members and funders of RAN, FSC and others greenwashing ancient forest logging called upon to withdraw support in protest

February 19, 2009 By Earth's Newsdesk and the Rainforest Portal Projects of Ecological Internet https://www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk/ CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Seattle, WA) -- Ecological Internet welcomes the emerging science published today in "Nature" indicating tropical trees in undisturbed forest are absorbing nearly a fifth of the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels[1]. This is in addition to the long-term carbon sequestered within old trees' wood and soils. This is the most recent of several major scientific studies indicating the need to fully protect all remaining primary and old growth forests as a keystone response to global climate, biodiversity and water crises.

"This is huge -- not only do ancient rainforests reliably store massive amounts of carbon, as we have known for sometime, but they continue to remove enormous amounts of carbon every day they remain standing and are non- degraded. The study partially solves the mystery of where human carbon pollution has been going, and in so doing supports the need for avoided deforestation payments," said Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet's President.

It was found that remaining tropical forests remove a massive 4.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year. This includes a previously unknown carbon sink in Africa, which mops up 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year. Over the past 40 years, each hectare of intact African forest was found to have annually trapped an extra 0.6 tonnes of carbon. This builds upon last year's studies that found old-growth forests are "carbon sinks" and continually absorb carbon dioxide, and that their first time logging releases 40 percent of their carbon[2].

"We are receiving a free subsidy from nature," says Dr. Simon Lewis, a Royal Society research fellow at the University of Leeds, and the lead author of the paper. "Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the CO2 added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering the rate of climate change."

Dr. Lee White, co-author on the study, said "to get an idea of the value of the sink, the removal of nearly 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by intact tropical forests, based on realistic prices for a tonne of carbon, should be valued at around £13 billion
($USD 18.7 billlion) per year. This is a compelling argument for conserving tropical forests."

### MORE ###

The findings critically demolish claims by groups as diverse as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), World Bank, Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Greenpeace and WWF that "well-managed, responsible and low-impact" logging in the world's dwindling ancient forests can ever have environmental benefits. Over the past two years, each has been the target of Ecological Internet's campaign to end old growth forest logging, which is "certified" by FSC as being "green".

Late last year RAN agreed to review their long-time support for first time industrial logging of ancient forests[3]. When Lafcadio Cortesi, RAN's new rainforest campaigner, was asked to comment upon the Nature report, he replied it is a "bit of a stretch and certainly premature to link... the nature paper findings with RAN and the FSC." He refused to answer the question "how does logging 500 year old ancient trees protect rainforests and the climate," continuing two years of RAN stonewalling on the most basic of questions regarding their support for FSC ancient forest logging.

EI President, Dr. Glen Barry, said "the science has never been clearer: global ecological sustainability depends critically upon protecting and restoring old forests. How much longer can RAN and the world dither? Our demand of RAN remains the same: either use your membership to get FSC to eliminate their sourcing of certified timbers from ancient forests, or resign immediately from FSC in protest. Sadly, our campaign resumes after failure by RAN to keep their earlier promises."

"We call upon RAN members to resign, and their funders to stop their support, in protest of America's leading rainforest group supporting -- against a growing body of ecological science -- first time industrial destruction of primeval forests. EI will be taking further protest action at a place and time of our choosing."

### ENDS ###

[1] Nature, "Increasing carbon storage in intact African tropical forests", February 19, 2009, Vol 457.

Study press release: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218135031.htm

--------

Bigger Trees Helping Fight Against Climate Change

David Adam, The Guardian UK: "Trees across the tropics are getting bigger and offering help in the fight against climate change, scientists have discovered. A laborious study of the girth of 70,000 trees across Africa has shown that tropical forests are soaking up more carbon dioxide pollution than originally thought. Almost one-fifth of our fossil fuel emissions is absorbed by forests across Africa, Amazonia and Asia, the research suggests."

https://www.truthout.org/022009EA

--------

Carbon Emissions Creating Acidic Oceans Not Seen Since Dinosaurs
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/10



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Die Weltbank hat der Regierung von Papua-Neuguinea einen Kredit zur Förderung von Ölpalmen vergeben. Die Ölpalmen sind jetzt schon für großflächige Regenwaldrodungen verantwortlich, was zu Armut, Mangelernährung und Missbrauch der Rechte der Einheimischen in dem Land führt. Bitte unterstützen sie den Aufruf der dörflichen Gemeinschaften und unterzeichnen sie einen Protestbrief gegen diesen Kredit. (Start: 06.02.2009)

https://www.regenwald.org/protestaktion.php?id=358



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ACTION ALERT

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By Ecological Internet's Forests.org project https://forests.org/ February 5, 2009

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW: https://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=finland_lapland_forests

Protest Finnish timber giant Stora Enso and the government profiting from destroying Finland's last ancient forests. Let them know Finland and the World's old-growth must be protected and restored to sustain the Earth's biosphere and ecosystem processes including climate, water and biodiversity.

BRIEF BACKGROUND: The last unprotected intact forest landscapes in Northern Finland are currently being destroyed by the Finnish government and timber industry. Low-productive old-growth boreal forests located hundreds of kilometres north from the Polar Circle are being logged systematically. Trees more than 300 years old are mainly ending up in pulp wood piles of timber giant Stora Enso. Only less than 5% of Finnish forests have remained untouched by modern forestry. Please, help Finnish NGOs to save Finland’s natural treasures and to put international pressure on their destructive forest industry.

This is the latest protest in Ecological Internet's global campaign to protect all remaining old growth forests, and promote regeneration and restoration of secondary forests to late successional old-growth status. Increasing old forest cover globally is critical for achieving global ecological sustainability -- including climate, water and biodiversity.

TAKE ACTION NOW: https://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=finland_lapland_forests

DISCUSS THIS ALERT: https://forests.org/blog/2009/02/alert-support-finnish-ngos-in.asp

________

FOREST RELEASE: World Outraged by Finland's Continued Old Growth Logging

Colleagues,

Here is the press release regarding our campaign to end Finland's ancient forest logging shame. We will now routinely send both the alert and release to this list in the hopes that more people will choose to participate in the protest, and hoping you network this to media and blogging colleagues. Please send this vital alert if you have not yet done so. If successful it will set an important precedent that old growth logging is finished.

Regards,
Dr. Glen Barry

P.S. Some received duplicates as I had to resend to fix url that was wrapping.


PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE World Outraged by Finland's Continued Old Growth Logging

- Supposedly "Green" Finland's unprotected intact old growth forest landscapes, including 300 year old trees in Northern Forest Lapland, continue to be destroyed to make throw-away paper products

February 10, 2009 By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet https://www.ecoearth.info/newsdesk/ CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Seattle, WA) -- Finland's last unprotected intact old growth forest landscapes continue to be destroyed by the Finnish government and timber industry. Trees more than 300 years old are being industrially destroyed by the government's logging body Metsähallitus, ending up in timber giant Stora Enso's pulp wood piles. Less than 5% of Finnish forests have remained untouched by modern forestry.

Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network is supporting Finnish NGO demands that Northern Forest Lapland's natural treasures are fully protected. Some 1,630 people from 66 countries have sent 345,578 emails in a peaceful protest intended to put international pressure on the Finnish government and Stora Enso [1].

"There are too few large, connected and relatively intact terrestrial ecosystem habitats globally to sustain the Earth system," explains global forest protection expert Dr. Glen Barry. "Finland and the World's old-growth must be strictly protected and restored to sustain the Earth's biosphere and ecosystem processes including climate, water and biodiversity upon which all life depends."

Regarding Stora Enso's response to the protest, Finnish forest policy observer Olli Manninen notes "Stora Enso admits buying wood from old growth and virgin forests and is committed to doing so in the future. And Metsähallitus definitely has further plans to log these areas, some being already marked for logging. It is deeply troubling that Stora Enso claims wood from Forest Lapland's old- growth destruction fulfills the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) requirements."

Finnish old-growth forest destruction today is totally unnecessary. Finland is a rich industrialized country with no economic need to log the remains of its old- growth forests. Low-productive old-growth boreal forests located hundreds of kilometres north from the Polar Circle are being logged systematically and indiscriminately, yet provide less that 0.1% of the industry's wood supply.

This is the latest protest in Ecological Internet's global campaign to protect all remaining ancient primary and old growth forests, and promote regeneration and restoration of secondary forests to late successional old-growth status. Increasing old forest cover globally is critical for achieving global ecological sustainability.

[1] TAKE ACTION: Support Finnish NGOs in Their Fight for Lapland's Ancient Forests https://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=finland_lapland_forests

DISCUSS RELEASE: https://forests.org/blog/2009/02/release-world-outraged-by-finl.asp



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