Forest News Compilation

Asean urges Indonesia to sign pollution pact

2011-09-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Asean members are calling on Indonesia to ratify the grouping's Transboundary Haze Pollution agreement in a bid to control the impact of air pollution caused by forest fires.

"The Indonesian government has postponed the ratification of this agreement several times already. It should sign up because this collaboration will help Asean countries deal with the pollution cause by forest fires, especially in Indonesia," Supat Wangwongwattana, director general of the Pollution Control Department, said.

Supat was speaking at the Subregional Ministerial Steering Committee's 12th meeting on Transboundary Haze Pollution held in Bangkok yesterday. Also present at the meeting were several senior environment officials from other countries in the region.

"We have sent many official letters to the Indonesian government asking them to control the haze caused by forest fires, but there has been no formal response from the authorities. Hence, we do not have any answers for our people," Supat explained.

In 2006, more than 29,000 hotspots were detected in Indonesia, and though the number dropped to 8,000 in 2010, it rose again to 17,000 this year.

Every year, during the months of August and September, four provinces in the South of Thailand are covered in smoke from Indonesian forest fires, causing respiratory problems among the residents.

Arief Yuwono, from the Indonesian Environment Ministry's Degradation Control and Climate Change, told the meeting that his government had implemented a plan to deal with haze pollution, which included the prevention and control of forest and land fires. The government has also strengthened lawenforcement measures and will conduct a zeroburning campaign, he said, adding that new laws on plantation, environment and forestry would be enforced among relevant stakeholders.

Source : http://news.asiaone.com

Singapore puts heat on Indonesia to take on haze situation

2011-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

The Singapore authorities have stepped up efforts to add peer and economic pressure on Indonesia, which is yet to sign the Asean Transboundary Haze Pollution agreement.

The nine other Asean nations have ratified the 2002 agreement to prevent and control haze pollution in the region.

To date, Singapore has collaborated with Indonesia in the province of Jambi to train officials and staff from non-governmental organisations in studying satellite photos.

This is so that they can identify plantations and companies responsible for forest fires.

Air- and weather-monitoring stations have also been set up to detect forest fires and smouldering peatland more efficiently.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said yesterday that Singapore has offered to extend the existing million-dollar project through several sub-projects in Jambi, as part of a second phase.

Jambi, located about 330km south of Singapore, is one of the provinces worst hit by forest fires this year.

Indonesia has yet to respond to Singapore's offer.

While Singapore offers support by providing resources, the Indonesians have to be the ones to decide and take the lead, because "it is their province, their plantations, their agricultural centre", said Dr Balakrishnan.

"There are lessons which have to be taught on the ground, as well as (having) to make sure that there is enough economic and social pressure on people taking a shortcut."

Fires in Jambi and other Sumatran provinces have been faulted for the haze that envelops Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia each year.

Dr Balakrishnan, who has just returned from the Transboundary Haze Pollution meeting in Thailand, believes that "the strongest...stimulus to pro-social behaviour is peer pressure".

He was speaking to the media at the launch of the Public Hygiene Council at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Addressing hygiene issues here, he said that anti-social behaviour, such as littering, can also be curbed through exerting peer pressure.

The new council, which has 21 members, is headed by Khoo Teck Puat Hospital's chief executive, Mr Liak Teng Lit.

The council's main aim, said Mr Liak, is to stamp out unhygienic practices and raise standards here "up to the first-world standard".

A National Environment Agency (NEA) survey led by one of the council members, Associate Professor Paulin Straughan, found that nearly four in 10 here would litter if they thought nobody was looking.

Prof Straughan, vice-dean of the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said that NEA could leverage on the survey findings to reach out to "younger new citizens".

The council also hopes to improve the cleanliness of public toilets, especially those in foodcourts and coffeeshops.

Discussion sessions, public forums and feedback channels will be set up, and a new educational campaign will be rolled out by the end of the year from the findings obtained.

Mr Liak said: "Every Singaporean needs to take ownership in building a clean Singapore. Only then can we say that we are First World and enjoy the place."

Source : http://news.asiaone.com

Norwegian Minister for Environment praises Indonesia’s fight against climate change

2011-09-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Norway’s Minister for the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, has praised Indonesia’s commitment to the fight against climate change at today’s Forests Indonesia conference in Jakarta.

“The president has issued an overall policy about how Indonesia will combat climate change…what he has done today is a very positive step in making Indonesia a world leader in the fight against climate change.”

Solheim opened today’s conference Forests Indonesia: Alternative futures to meet demands for food, fibre, fuel and REDD+, hosted by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and in this video speaks of Norway’s involvement in the implementation of the bilateral agreement on REDD+, what Indonesia can learn from Brazil’s bilateral agreement and issues surrounding carbon offsets.

Source : http://blog.cifor.org

<br>

SBY Vows to Protect Forests

2011-09-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday stated his commitment to ensure sustainable development of the country’s environment and forests.

“I will continue my work and dedicate the last three years of my term as president to deliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment and forests of Indonesia,” Yudhoyono said in a speech in his opening address at the Forests Indonesia Conference.

The president said the country’s people, economy, environment and way of life are tightly intertwined with its forests.

“Our success in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunities that will be available to our children,” Yudhoyono said.

But he will need to work hard to convince the nation’s environmental groups, who have previously accused the government of making grand statements on conservation but failing to deliver results.

The conference was hosted by the Center for International Forestry Research and was attended by 900 participants from the government, the business community and civil society as well as foreign donors.

Its purpose was to discuss the future of forests in Indonesia, which has the third-largest amount of tropical forest in the world.

While many now recognize the importance of safeguarding the country’s many forests, however, they remain under “tremendous” pressure, Yudhoyono said.

“As a developing country, we are prioritizing economic growth and poverty eradication. But we will not reach those aims by sacrificing our forests,” Yudhoyono said.

Indonesia should be able to find a balance, he said.

“We must change the way we treat our forests so that they are conserved even as we drive hard to accelerate our economic growth,” he said.

Yudhoyono said he did not want to have to tell his granddaughter someday that the country failed to save its forests.

To alleviate the pressure on forests, Yudhoyono said the government had set up programs to enhance agricultural productivity as well as ensure an adequate stock of staple food, including rice.

The government has also launched a tree-planting campaign that will aim for at least one billion new trees annually, Yudhoyono said.

“It is said that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ I would like to say: ‘A billion trees a year shields the world’s lungs from decay,’ ” he said.

Yudhoyono also said that Indonesia remained steadfast in its pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 26-41 percent by 2020.

Globally, deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In Indonesia, however, that figure is 85 percent, making the country one of the highest emitters in the world, the president said.

“A long journey still awaits us. We know we must do more to address the primary sources of our greenhouse emissions, such as illegal logging, forest encroachment, forest and land fires and peat land drainage,” Yudhoyono said. “And indeed we are working hard and comprehensively to overcome these challenges.”

Yudhoyono emphasized the long-term importance of caring for the country’s forests while continuing to pursue a path of development.

Cifor director general Frances Seymour said that leadership was needed not only from the government but also from business and civil society to chart the best way forward for Indonesia .

“While there are some win-win opportunities to reconcile forest management to meet both global and domestic objectives, there will also be some trade-offs that will require leadership,” Seymour said.

Source : http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Indonesia’s leader says he will dedicate final years of his presidency to protect rainforest

2011-09-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Indonesia’s President has vowed to dedicate the last three years of his administration to safeguarding his nation’s rainforests - a pledge that received broad support at a major conference in Jakarta.

Hosted by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the conference provided a platform for 1,000 leaders of Indonesia’s government, business community and civil society, as well as foreign donors, to discuss the future of the forests, the third-largest tropical forest in the world.

“I will continue my work and dedicate the last three years of my term as President to deliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment and forests of Indonesia,” Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the conference. “If it weren’t for the benefits that our forests provide, then our way of life, our people, our economy, our environment and our society would be so much the poorer.”

“Our success in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunities that will be available to our children.”

Indonesia is losing about 1.1 million hectares of its forests each year. Most of it is due to unsustainable logging that includes the conversion of forests to plantations for palm oil and the pulp and paper industry. It is also partly due to large-scale illegal logging, which is estimated to cost Indonesia about $4 billion annually.

“We must change the way we treat our forests so that they are conserved even as we drive hard to accelerate our economic growth,” the President said. “I do not want to later explain to my granddaughter Almira that we, in our time, could not save the forests and the people that depend on it. I do not want to tell her the sad news that tigers, rhinoceroses, and orangutans vanished like the dinosaurs.”

In his speech, the president reiterated a 2009 pledge to cut Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 41 percent from business-as-usual levels by 2020 – a vow only achievable if the forests are safeguarded.

Globally, deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In Indonesia, however that figure is up to 85 percent, Yudhoyono said. This makes the country one of the highest emitters in the world.

Norway has committed up to US$1 billion to help Indonesia meet its emissions reduction target, and in May this year the Indonesian government issued a two-year moratorium on new forestry concessions.

“Norway is proud of the partnership with Indonesia,” Erik Solheim, Norway’s Minister for the Environment and International Development, said at the conference. “We strongly encourage other countries to support the work that President Yudhoyono and the government of Indonesia is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. President Yudhoyono is now one of the foremost statesmen leading the international fight to combat climate change.”

It is predicted that up to US$30 billion could flow from developed to developing countries each year to help facilitate significant reductions in deforestation, and Indonesia could potentially claim a significant share of these funds through REDD+, a global mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, as well as the conservation and sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Indonesia is one of the countries with the most REDD+ demonstration activities in various stages of development, and Indonesia has been an early participant in various bilateral and multilateral initiatives to prepare for REDD+ implementation at the national level.

In addition to potential funding opportunities through REDD+ in coming years, Indonesia has a range of options available to reduce the pace of deforestation, while at the same time expanding agricultural production to guarantee food security targets and promote economic growth.

This includes focusing future agricultural development on so-called degraded land, rather than clearing rainforest to make way for plantations or developing carbon-rich peatland. The government could also support a push for agricultural intensification – increasing yields per hectare, which are currently relatively low.

“While there are some ‘win-win’ opportunities to reconcile forest management to meet both global and domestic objectives, there will also be some trade-offs that will require leadership from government, business, and civil society to determine the best way forward for Indonesia in a manner that is transparent and fair,” said Frances Seymour, CIFOR Director General.

As part of his push to safeguard the forests, President Yudhoyono called on Indonesia’s captains of industry to adopt more sustainable forests management practices.

“I call upon our business leaders, particularly those in the palm oil, pulp wood and mining sectors, to partner with us by enhancing the environmental sustainability of their operations,” the President said. “I ask you to join me in pledging to safeguard this national treasure for the sake of our children.”

The President’s pledge received widespread support from conference attendees.

“I am pleased to be here at the Forests Indonesia Conference because the UK recognizes the importance of climate change in Indonesia. We are pleased to be supporting the government of Indonesia’s work to meet its internationals climate change commitments,” said Jim Paice, UK Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

##############

Transcript of the President’s speech.

SPEECH BY PRESIDENT

SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO

FORESTS INDONESIA CONFERENCE:

ALTERNATIVE FUTURES TO MEET DEMANDS FOR FOOD, FIBRE, FUEL AND REDD+

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, JAKARTA

Your Excellencies Minister Erik Solheim [ei-rik sul-haim] of Norway, and Minister Jim Paice [jim peis] of the United Kingdom,

Your Honour Mrs Frances Seymour [fransis seimor], the Director General of CIFOR,

Excellencies Ministers and Ambassadors,

Chiefs of International Organizations,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, let me begin by welcoming all of you to this important Conference.

It is indeed an honour and pleasure for me and my Government, to be part of this important meeting. The theme of this conference, “Forest Indonesia: Alternative futures to meet the demands for food, fuel, fiber and REDD+” is very relevant and timely.

For Indonesia, like many other countries blessed with tropical forests, are facing the challenge of sustainably managing its vitally important forest resources.

Hence, let me congratulate the organizers, CIFOR and their partners, for bringing together—under one roof—forest stakeholders, from all over Indonesia and the world. We have among us government officials and representatives of NGOs, civil society as well as the business and academic communities.

We may have different backgrounds, but we all have known the pleasure of resting in the cool shade of a tree.

It would be nice if one day we could organize a conference like this in the open air, protected from the heat of the sun, by the green crown of sturdy trees.

I am glad that this Conference discussion and its outcome will be shared online by audiences worldwide—including the forthcoming COP-17 in Durban, South Africa. This will be an excellent opportunity for us to stress on the importance to walk the talk, and not just talk the talk.

On my part, I will continue my work and dedicate the last three years of my term as President, to deliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment and forests of Indonesia.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Exactly six months ago, in this same hotel, I spoke before the participants to the Business for the Environment Conference, or B4E conference. During that meeting I dared the business world to think innovatively—to create a balance between gaining economic benefits and ensuring the preservation and sustainability of the global environment.

The aim of today’s meeting, logically, is to build upon the discussions held last April and re-affirm Indonesia’s pioneering role in harnessing forestry to the global effort to address climate change.

Indeed, forests are so dear to my heart, and I am sure all of you also hold it close to your hearts. Forests are so precious because in the first place, if it were not for their air-filtering trees, we would all be breathing in polluted air and living in a much hotter world.

If it weren’t for the shelter and food that forests provide, we would have scarce if any biodiversity at all. And the wonders of the animal world such as the Sumatran tiger, the rhinoceros and the orangutan would have gone extinct a long time ago.

And most importantly, if it weren’t for the benefits that our forests provide, then our way of life, our people, our economy, our environment and our society would be so much poorer.

Hence, the core of my message today is that our success in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunities that will be available to our children.

And yet, our forests remain under tremendous pressure.

Globally we are facing the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. Global warming increasingly threatens our livelihood and even our very survival. On top of that, because we are facing another global financial crisis, nations may lose vigour in meeting their environment-related commitments.

As a developing nation, we prioritize the promotion of growth and the eradication of poverty. But we will not achieve these goal by sacrificing our forests. We must attain both development and the management of our forests– simultaneously.

This is because forest management is tightly intertwined with the livelihood of our people, with our food security, with the availability of wood and fuel. It is also closely linked with climate change.

Therefore we need to take bold initiatives through close collaboration and partnership with all stakeholders.

We must change the way we treat our forests, so that they are conserved even as we drive hard to accelerate our economic growth. We must intensify our efforts to cut down emissions from land use, land use change and forestry exploitation. These factors account for up to 85 percent of Indonesia’s entire greenhouse gas emissions.

I do not want to later explain to my granddaughter Almira, that we, in our time, could not save the forests and the people that depends on it. I do not want to tell her the sad news that tigers, rhinoceroses, and orangutans vanished like the dinosaurs.

And I am sure that none of you would want to deliver such grim news to your children and grandchildren. I am sure that you all want to see that those forests will still be there several decades from now—fascinating us with their beauty and the mysteries they hold. And still providing economic benefits while help stabilize the climate of planet Earth.

And I am also sure that you would like these forests to become our precious legacy for our children.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me now bring up a few questions that are relevant to your discussions in this meeting.

First, at the global level, what would Indonesia’s sustainable forests management efforts mean?

Indonesia’s tropical forests are the third largest in the world – and they are central to our economy, environment and society. Our forests host roughly 12 percent of the world’s mammals, 16 percent of its reptiles and amphibians and 17 percent of all bird species. Over 10,000 species of trees have been recorded across the archipelago. Each year many new species are discovered in Indonesia. This biological gift is intertwined with the rich cultural diversity of Indonesia’s forest.

Forests are the lynchpin to our biodiversity. They are home to bees, bats, birds, insects and other pollinators of the crops we plant. They also help regulate the quality and availability of water for irrigation. Forests provide foods, including seeds, leaves, fruits, roots, gums, mushrooms, and habitat for animals.

Indonesia, home to the third largest tropical forests in the world, views itself as the custodian of these great green treasures; and I want to keep it that way. So we are gathered here to deal collectively with those challenges to our forests.

My next question is then, why is sustainable forest management so important to Indonesia?

The first reason is food security. Indonesia’s 238 million citizens are under pressure of rising commodity prices. The Government of Indonesia is pursuing a programme to increase agricultural and forest productivity, particularly through the cultivation of critical and idle lands. In this regard, we have selected centers of rice production in several provinces throughout Indonesia. Indeed, the sustainability of forests is crucial to an abundant rice harvests.

Secondly, in the area of energy security, our forests are home to potential sources of energy such as micro-hydro, geo-thermal, and bio-energy. We are increasing the portion of alternative sources of energy in our energy-mix. Forest ecosystems offer competitive advantage by making possible the replacement of conventional fuels by renewable energy sources.

Thirdly, Indonesia is a major supplier of fiber. Indonesia’s land availability and the fast-growth of many tree species, supported by favorable tropical climate, have also increased the economic value of our forests.

Fourthly, forests make the terrain more resistant to landslides that threaten many communities. They are vital to efforts at mitigating and adapting to climate change, the impact of which is now being felt all over our archipelago and the rest of the world.

Also, our mangrove forests—the largest in the world—can protect coastal communities from the devastation that can be inflicted by storms and tsunamis. Moreover, mangrove forests serve as nurseries to many fish species that are of great commercial importance—and also crucial to our food security.

Lastly, through our efforts at reducing CO2 emissions, Indonesia can make a significant positive impact on the climate situation. In this regard, although our peat swamp forests are the largest in the world, they have suffered degradation. That has greatly diminished their capacity to reduce CO2 emissions. Restoration is therefore essential.

Hence, it is clear that Indonesia’s forests are of immense value. They offer us a lot of opportunities and benefits.

We therefore need to go into partnership with all stakeholders to sustainably manage our forest resources.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To ensure the sustainability of our forests while still meeting our development objectives, my Government has given priority to a set of policies and actions to safeguard our forests and ensure their sustainable management.

I made a pledge at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh that we in Indonesia will voluntarily reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent from business-as-usual levels by 2020. Since then, my Government has carried out many initiatives.

In 2010, we signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of Norway to cut emissions by reducing deforestation and forest degradation. This is known as REDD Plus–a concept that was launched in Bali in 2007.

In May this year, I instituted a two-year moratorium on new licenses to exploit natural primary forest and all peat lands. About two weeks ago, I signed a Decree outlining more than 70 self-funded government programs. This is a demonstration of our commitment to reduce by 26 percent our projected emission in 2020 under a business as usual scenario.

These are groundbreaking steps, but they are not goals in themselves. They are simply measures that give us time and resources, to review and revise land use policy and practice. They also provide opportunity to develop a new sector in our economy—through ecosystem restoration concessions for carbon sequestration and emission reduction.

Apart from the moratorium, we have built indicative maps that are important to the implementation of REDD Plus, and to the formulation of wise policies related to forests. These maps will also facilitate the resolution of decades-long problems of land use and land tenure.

I have also signed a Decree to set up a Task Force for the establishment of a REDD+ agency as stated in the Letter of Intent. We are also developing a national strategy on REDD Plus. The strategy includes elements such as the establishment of REDD+ institutions, the formation of relevant financial mechanisms, monitoring and benefit-sharing. To this end, and to meet the REDD+ expected targets, global funding is necessary.

I am happy to inform you that there are now more than 40 REDD Plus pilot or demonstration projects across Indonesia. This makes us a pioneer in creative ways to address climate change. It also provides us with research insights that will enrich our discussions today, and at the forthcoming global negotiations in COP17 in Durban, South Africa.

Another initiative of ours is the Forest Eleven Forum that we launched four years ago, which has brought together major tropical forest countries. My Government has also pursued bilateral forestry cooperation with several countries.

In the light of international enthusiasm for sustainable forest management, our local stakeholders must also take an active role in this field. I call upon our business leaders, particularly those in the palm oil, pulp wood and mining sectors, to partner with us by enhancing the environmental sustainability of their operations.

Still another initiative is the provision of funding for small and medium enterprises run by forest-edge inhabitants, micro finance programmes for the rural poor and for women, and Local Development Projects (PNPM) for local villages.

At the grassroots level, we have also launched a massive campaign programme to plant one billion trees nation-wide annually

It is said that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I would like to say: “A billion trees a year shield the world’s lungs from decay.”

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite our modest achievements, I am mindful that these efforts will only take us part of the way towards our emission reduction target.

A long journey still awaits us. We know we must do more, to address the primary sources of our greenhouse emissions, such as illegal logging, forest encroachment, forest and land fires, and peat land drainage. And indeed we are working hard and comprehensively to overcome these challenges.

At the same time, we are mainstreaming all these perspectives and commitments into a special development framework. Our endeavours to effectively protect the environment are reflected in a special 15-year Master Plan to accelerate and expand our economic development. This means that sustainable development is part and parcel of our efforts to boost Indonesia’s economy, so that it will become the 12th largest economy by 2025.

This meeting is of great value to Indonesia. It is a contribution to global efforts at protecting forests and to the advance of the climate change discourse. I am especially pleased to see many business leaders here today because they bring decades of experience to the table, and help to shape the future of our nation’s forests. I encourage all of you to forge greater cooperation with international partners.

I ask you to join me in pledging to safeguard this national treasure, for the sake of our children.

As I mentioned earlier, Indonesia, as custodian of one the largest tropical forests of the world, will continue to maintain a pro-environment growth strategy.

The task before us today is to chart a sustainable future for our forests and meet our development objectives. This is not an easy task. But we will pay a much higher price if we do not take up the challenge. By working hard together, we can help guarantee the future of our forests. And the future of our children and grandchildren.

That future begins now.

I thank you

Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Source : http://blog.cifor.org

‘Green treasures’ could fuel a new economic sector, says Indonesian President

2011-09-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Opening the inaugural Forests Indonesia conference in Jakarta today, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called sustainable forests part of his plan for putting Indonesia’s economy in the global top 12 by 2025.

“Indonesia, home to the third largest tropical forest in the world, views itself as the custodian of these great green treasures; and I want to keep it that way,” he said. “I ask you to join me in pledging to safeguard this national treasure, for the sake of our children.”

The wealth of Indonesia’s forests can be counted in their rich biodiversity and the many valuable products they provide Indonesian people. Thanks to a funding mechanism known as REDD+, that wealth can also be counted in carbon.

In an effort to combat climate change, REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) pays countries to preserve carbon in their forests.

President Yudhoyono has pledged to cut Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020, and by 41 percent with international assistance. Norway has since committed US$1 billion to help Indonesia meet its target. Among other initiatives, the deal with Norway includes a two-year moratorium on new forest concessions effective May this year.

President Yudhoyono explained: “These measures give us time and resources to review and revise land use policy and practice. They also provide opportunity to develop a new sector in our economy—through ecosystem restoration concessions for carbon sequestration and emission reduction.”

Some in the business sector are unconvinced. They say the moratorium, conflicting regulations, legal uncertainties, and overlapping concessions make operating in Indonesia more trouble than it’s worth.

But a growing number of businesses will support a low-carbon economy and sustainable resource use, given incentives or proof of REDD’s business opportunities.

Debate about REDD+ and Indonesia’s forests prompted the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) to convene today’s Forests Indonesia conference, where leaders from business, development and government sectors will discuss future challenges and opportunities for Indonesia’s forests.

President Yudhoyono reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring Indonesia plays a leading role in harnessing forestry to address climate change, dedicating the rest of his term to delivering enduring results for Indonesia’s forests.

Efforts to protect the environment have already been included in the 15-year Master Plan for accelerating and expanding Indonesia’s economic growth.

The president also urged business leaders to contribute their experience, and to work with government and international partners to shape the future of Indonesia’s forests.

“We need to take bold initiatives through close collaboration and partnership with all stakeholders. We must change the way we treat our forests, so that they are conserved even as we drive hard to accelerate our economic growth,” he said.

“Our success in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunities that will be available to our children.”

Source : http://blog.cifor.org

Forest Service letting wildfires burn

2011-09-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Thousands of acres in the Tonto National Forest continued to burn over the weekend.

Ironically enough, Forest Service rangers couldn’t be happier.

Instead of rushing to douse the flames, forest managers are mostly taking advantage of the cool conditions to let the fires burn — mindful of the growing body of research demonstrating the value of low-intensity fires at the right time of the year.

Recent studies have demonstrated that such low-intensity, controlled burns actually increase the diversity of plants and wildlife in the forest. Another recent study of tree-ring data going back hundreds of years has underscored that Southwestern forests have adapted to fire frequencies as often as once every two years.

So the early fall flush of fires burning now may do far more good than harm, say forest managers.

Over near Young, the Tanner Fire continues to burn nearly a month after a bolt of lightning started the blaze at the peak of Armer Mountain in the Sierra Anchas.

Crews this week will close Highway 288 in places to build a fire line around the blaze, according to John Thornburg, fire management officer.

“The fire remains within our management area and continues to burn heavy pockets of fuel which prevents catastrophic wildfires in the future.”

The fire put up a plume of smoke from the Tonto Basin, Globe and Young. Downdraft winds from a thunderstorm off Armer Mountain pushed the fire across Highway 288 Saturday evening around 7 p.m. and the fire burned through a dispersed camping area. No campers were present and no structures were lost.

On Monday, crews closed Highway 288 from Reynolds Creek south to the A-Cross Road.

Meanwhile, the lightning-caused Frio Fire continued to burn in the Pinal Mountain range. The fire has burned 3,600 acres since Aug. 17 and is 90 percent contained. Crews will be setting backfires this week to control the spread of the fire, especially on its eastern flank.

“Resources are assigned again today to ensure that we keep the fire where we want it to be, doing what we want it to do,” said Brad Johnson, Globe Ranger District spokesperson.

“We predict that smoke will continue to be visible for the next several days. As fire activity and spread are reduced, smoke impacts will be lessened considerably. We thank the public for their patience and support as we finish this project which will considerably lessen the danger of catastrophic wildfire in the future.”

Low intensity fires after the monsoon season actually benefit Southwestern forests, removing tree thickets, returning nutrients and preventing destructive crown fires — mostly during May and June. Such high intensity fires leaping from treetop to treetop sterilize the soil, creating a water-resistant crust and consume every tree and shrub over large areas.

Although low-intensity controlled burns reduce the chance of such catastrophic fires, many residents still suffer health problems from the smoke. For health information concerning smoke effects, please contact the Gila County Division of Health and Emergency Services, 5515 South Apache Ave., Suite 100, Globe, AZ 85501, (928) 425-3231 ext. 8888.

Residents can also stay updated on fires at www.fs.usda.gov/Tonto. To report a wildland fire, the fire emergency number is 866-746-6516, or dial 9-1-1.

A recent tree-ring study demonstrated how adapted most forested systems have become to regular, low-intensity fires, according to findings published in Applied Vegetation Science and Physical Geography.

Mature pines more than 500 years old often show 14 or more fire scars dating back to the mid 1600s, which means they generally survived a fire every 2-10 years, according to the researchers from Texas A & M University.

The researchers noted that for centuries Native Americans regularly set grassfires, knowing such frequent fires actually helped the forest.

However, fire frequency began to drop dramatically after the 1930s, when the U.S. Forest Service introduced its “Smokey Bear” campaign to prevent forest fires.

Source : http://www.paysonroundup.com

Discourse: Indonesia may use Norwegian funds for oil palm plantation

2011-09-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Indonesia has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to seal US$1 billion fund assistance from Norway to conserve its rain forests under REDD+ projects. In spite of many delays, the government has completed some preconditions for the fund disbursement. The Jakarta Post’s Adisti Sukma Sawitri talked to Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, on the progress over the past year. Here are the excerpts:

Question: How does Norway see the progress of REDD+ projects in Indonesia?

Answer: Overall, we are pleased and impressed. It is normal that not everything is done according to plan. We are completely satisfied, however, that all the groundwork has been done. The moratorium is in place, the task force has been given a proper role. Direction is the most important thing and it has been positive.

We will not aim to be involved on how exactly it will be done. Indonesia will design the path and we will supply assistance on the basis of the produced results.

We will not be sitting back in Europe and finger-pointing how Indonesia should use the money. It is not a traditional overseas development assistance (ODA); it is based on the principle of equal partnership.

If the deforestation decreases, Norway will provide money; if it does not go down, however, we will not provide assistance. That is exactly what we did in Brazil and Ghana.

Up to now, only a small amount of money has been allocated to the Indonesian government: approximately US$30 million, a tiny fraction of what has been promised. The bulk of the money will form result-based compensation on the reduced deforestation. It is expected to be paid in 2014.

What should Indonesia do in the near future?

The most important thing for Indonesia is to find a path for the nation, which will ensure rapid economic growth while, at the same time, conserving the forests. That can be done; in Brazil, for instance, over the last seven years, they’ve reduced 70 percent of emissions without any negative impacts on economic growth.

It is important to have a national REDD+ strategy ready before we can have a system to ensure reduced deforestation in all regions, not just localized projects.

The strategy has been discussed by multi stakeholders around the country.

The strategy has been out for public hearings for 30 days and is in its final stage. The strategy will help to see how Indonesia wants to spend the money.

How will the partnership conduct verification and assure transparency?

There must be an independent verification body; it cannot be verified by Norway or by Indonesia, and it must be absolutely transparent. There must also be the highest standards for anticorruption measures and a consultation process with indigenous people. All the final details have not yet been decided.

Apart from that, however, whether Indonesia wants to use the money from the project for agriculture or for industrial projects or road buildings or schools, that’s up to Indonesia.

Would the Norwegian government object if Indonesia used the project money to expand its oil palm plantations, even in the degraded natural forest areas?

That is a feasible policy if it is already degraded land. We have seen some positive developments with some of the big palm oil producers wanting to adopt an environmentally friendly outlook. Some of them have accepted international verification for selling their products without destroying the forests.

But that cannot replace conservation of the rain forests because rain forest cannot be cut down and then reforested. The government has revoked a regulation that would have recognized oil palm plantations as forests. From our perspective, this is positive news.

Norway has a huge petroleum fund from our oil production and that fund is basically making a one percent investment in many companies globally and some of them have palm oil production. But this is a small financial transaction and there is an ethics committee for the oil fund to monitor whether these companies are operating in an acceptable manner; and they will act against the companies that carry out ecological destruction. If it finds any, it will propose to our government to withdraw its investment. So far, we have withdrawn investment from companies producing tobacco, and those employing child labor.

What if there’s a dispute between Indonesia and Norway’s governments, such as regarding the classification of forest plantations; how would this affect the partnership?

It’s completely normal. Indonesia is a country with so many different interests, and palm oil is one of its core political issues.

You can never expect this process to be easy. There will be a lot of discussions on this issue. The most important thing is we treat openess and transparency very seriously.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com

President calls on businesses to unite to protect Indonesia’s forests

2011-09-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on leading industries to support international and national efforts to reduce deforestation through the sustainable management of its forest.

“We must change the way we treat our forests so that they are conserved as we drive hard to accelerate our economic growth. I call upon our business leaders, particularly those in the palm oil, pulp wood and mining sectors, to partner with us by enhancing the environmental sustainability of their operations,” said the President.

At the Forests Indonesia conference held by the Center For International Forestry Research (CIFOR) today, the President laid out his vision for the sustainable management of Indonesia’s’ resources which would meet the rising demand for food, fibre and fuel, whilst guaranteeing the long term protection of its forest.

In his speech, which addressed 1,000 representatives from leading business groups, NGOs, development agencies and government ministries, he discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by the country in the sustainable use of its forests.

“As a developing nation, we regard as fundamental the challenge of promoting real growth and poverty eradication.”

“I am especially pleased to see many business leaders here today because they bring decades of experience to the table and help to shape the future of our nation’s forests”.

A sustainable development strategy, he said, would not be possible without “bold initiatives” from leading business and forestry experts, especially in the development of low carbon energy such as micro-hydroelectric power, geothermal, and bio-energy.

He also called for support for existing policies, including the intensification of agricultural production through the use of degraded and disused lands, as well as for international initiatives such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation schemes (REDD+).

“We need to go into partnership with all stakeholders to sustainably manage our forest resources…I encourage all of you to forge greater cooperation with international partners”.

Indonesia is home to the third largest tract of rainforest in the world, yet it is one of the world’s largest green house gas emitters. Forest-clearing for paper, pulp and palm oil industries, as well as illegal timber extraction, accounts for nearly 90% of the deforestation in the country.

In 2010, the president issued a two-year moratorium on the issuance of new forest concessions and has been a global leader in the development of REDD+ schemes.

Yesterday the announcement of a National Action Plan to reduce green house gases cemented the government’s commitment to reducing its carbon emissions by 26% by 2020.

However, with economic growth expected to increase by 7% annually and plans to expand to the pulp and paper industries to meet the rising demand from foreign markets, environmentalists and climate experts fear there is little incentive for businesses to invest in sustainable alternatives.

The President declared that despite the progress, he would continue to address issues such as land tenure, illegal logging and the clearing of peat land, which threatened to undermine a sustainable forests strategy.

“On my part, I will continue my work and dedicate the last three years of my term as President, to deliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment and forests of Indonesia”.

Source : http://blog.cifor.org

Bangladeshi villagers kill rare tiger

2011-05-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Ethirajan Anbarasan BBC News, Dhaka

Villagers in southern Bangladesh have beaten to death a Royal Bengal Tiger, a critically endangered species, after it strayed near their homes.

It was the second tiger killed near the Sunderbans mangrove forests this year.

An estimated 440 tigers live in the forests, which stretch between Bangladesh and India.

Experts warn that confrontations involving tigers and humans will increase

As a rare species, tigers are protected by law in Bangladesh. However, the number of attacks involving the animals has sharply increased.

Forty-one incidents were reported in Bangladesh in the first six months of 2010, compared with 58 in the whole of 2009.

So far this year 26 people have been killed by tigers, officials say.

Villagers are sometimes attacked by tigers when they go into the Sunderbans forests to fish or collect honey.

Experts warn that such encounters will increase as humans and tigers compete for the same natural resources.

Source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11303422

Honey collecting in the Sundarbans is a risky business

2011-05-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

By Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka

The terrain in the Sundarbans forests is one of the most treacherous in the region

For generations poor fishermen and villagers around Bangladesh's Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forests in the world, have been collecting wild honey from April to June every year.

The annual honey gathering season brings lots of expectations in the south-west of the country, as it provides people with much needed extra income.

On average, the fishermen earn around $70 to $80 (£42 to £49) each during the season.

They use the extra money to repay their debts or to repair their boats

Honey gathering may sound like a normal rural occupation but here it is perhaps the most dangerous job in the world.

Lurking dangers

As the fishermen move about in search of beehives in the wild, they run the risk of meeting a deadly foe - the Royal Bengal tiger.

"During this period the biggest danger comes from the tigers. They are always on the prowl and they can kill us instantly," says Abdus Salam, an experienced honey gatherer from Burigoalini village, in the district of Satkhira in western Sundarbans.

"Then there are venomous snakes inside the forests. In these muddy waters, crocodiles lie in waiting," he adds.

Mr Salam says that they also have to deal with the problem of pirates.

"If we don't pay them they will kill us mercilessly. This job is full of risks," he says.

Tiger attacks happen throughout the year but the number of incidents goes up during the honey gathering season.

At least 80 people are killed by the tigers every year in the Sundarbans.

Hunt for beehives

The fishermen normally go from island to island for about three weeks in their creaky boats collecting honey, made by some of the largest and most aggressive bees in the world.

The honey gatherers travel through muddy saltwater rivers, creeks and narrow channels that criss-cross the Sundarbans forests.

The Royal Bengal Tiger is an occupational hazard for the honey collectors

We went with the honey gatherers for a day by boat, deep into the western Sundarbans forests, in search of wild beehives.

Our first stop was to practice an ancient custom. The Sundarbans fishermen pray to the forest Goddess Bonbibi, who they believe will protect them from tigers and other dangers.

These fishermen, Hindus and Muslims, have been praying to Bonbibi for generations.

Some of the team members also used the stop to collect leaves and twigs which can be used to prepare a smoke-emitting torch to scatter away the bees.

As our boat moved deeper inside the mangrove forests the eldest member of the group Amzad Mollah urged caution.

"A 12 year-old-boy was killed by a tiger just here last December," he says.

"On my right side near the tree, another honey gatherer was mauled to death by a tiger in February. A young fisherman from my village was killed by the animal in the same area last month."

Prized catch

Deep inside the dense jungle, one of the fishermen soon spotted a huge beehive on a tree branch.

It was at least four-feet wide, with tens of thousands of giant wild bees nesting.

"Cover your face with this cloth otherwise the bees will attack you," warned Mr Mollah as he passed one of his cotton towels, or Gamcha, to me. All the honey hunters also had their faces covered.

If captured the wild honey combs add to the yearly earnings, thus easing the fishermen's burden

As we approached the beehive cautiously, the honey gatherers lit up torches made up of leaves and twigs to create smoke. The smoke forced the bees to fly away but a few of them attacked those who weren't holding a torch.

The honey hunters did not mind the sting. Soon one of them climbed up the tree and started cutting the honey combs. They gathered a few pieces in a bamboo basket and we could see the golden syrup flowing through the comb.

While some were busy gathering honey, others were on guard and were bursting crackers and blowing buffalo horns to scare away any tigers in the area. The fishermen were also in a hurry as they wanted to leave the place as quickly as possible.

As we were returning, the fishermen started singing folk songs praising the Sundarbans for giving them livelihood.

'Lucky to be alive'

Almost everyone in the group had a story to tell about tiger attacks.

A few of them showed deep scars on their heads and shoulders and others said some of their relatives were not as lucky as them to survive the attacks with injuries.

So why do these men take such risks to earn very little extra money?

"If we can get any other work we will happily do that," says Asgar Ali Sheikh, a senior member of the group.

"If a tiger kills anyone of us, we cannot be afraid and stay at home. If we don't come here, we cannot feed our parents and children. It's our life."

With no other jobs on offer, it seems these fishermen from the Sundarbans have little option than to carry on with one of the most dangerous professions in the world.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan travels with a group of fishermen into the Sundarbans mangrove forests to witness their risky trade.

Source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/13556336

INDONESIAN FOREST FIRES

2011-02-14T11:31:00.001-08:00

Summary

Forest fires are burning out of control in forest, plantations and scrub-land chiefly in Sumatra and Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo); it is now estimated that up to 1 million ha is burning. The fires have originated from timber and plantation companies burning land (often illegally) Conditions in the region are unusually dry because of a severe El Nino event (see below), hastening the spread of the fire. In addition, much of the natural forest is very prone to fire because of the effects of heavy logging.

The smoke from the fires is combining with pollutants from cities in Indonesia and Malaysia to create a suffocating smog that is obliterating the sun and causing serious breathing and respiratory problems. The smog has spread to Singapore, The Phillippines and even southern Thailand, and it is thought it will last until next April. Up to 70 million people are being affected.

Friends of the Earth International - a call for action

Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WAHLI) and Friends of the Earth International is calling on the Indonesian Government to:

take decisive and adequate action to put out the fires and provide relief to the people affected by the disaster. The Emergency Relief Fund of US$800-000 announced by the Government on 27 September is woefully inadequate.
prosecute the forest and plantation companies that have ignored or broken government policies on burning.
implement their own laws and policies, and pass whatever new ones are necessary, to bring the timber and plantation industry under control and make them sustainable.

Friends of the Earth is also calling on the international community and citizens' organizations to hold the Indonesian government accountable for the widespread tragedy caused by the forest fires. The government has for too long flouted the calls of its people for an end to the corruption, incompetence, indifference and pure profit-seeking that has characterized the country's forest management policy.

In the absence of an effective government response, WALHI/ FOE Indonesia has established Emergency Posts in six affected communities. FOE International has issued an urgent appeal for smoke masks and donations to enable WALHI/ FOE Indonesia to continue meeting this immediate and practical need.

Indonesian Government response - too little, too late

The fires have been burning since July. However, the Indonesian government has not responded quickly enough, taking little action to put out the fires in the past months, and only announcing an emergency relief fund on 27 September. The relief fund is also far too little, the fund of Rp. 3.1 billion (less than US$800,000) being shamefully inadequate, given the magnitude of the tragedy. The government spends more than a hundred times this sum to keep powerful pulp, paper and peat barons in business (ref). For example: the Indonesian government subsidizes the aircraft industry to the tune of Rp. 400 billion (US$102 million) and PT Pulp & Paper, a plantation consortium, with up to Rp. 250 billion (US$64 million) [1].

The government has also failed for decades to control its forestry and plantation sector, and not heeded the warnings of previous fires and the calls of environmentalists (see below).

A region choking to death

The smoke from the forest has combined with pollution from cities to produce a deadly smog, referred to in Asia as “the haze”. The haze has already claimed the lives of 19 people in Indonesia and over 40,000 people have been hospitalised. Up to 70 million people across the region are being affected, and health experts have warned that up to 20 per cent of all deaths in the region could be caused by the smog [2].

The haze is affecting Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the southern Philippines and southern Thailand. In many of the worst-hit districts, calls have been made for people to stay indoors while special protective masks have sold out or are in short supply in many places.

The most serious health hazard from the smoke comes from the particles suspended in the air. The smoke from burning vegetation also contains a multitude of chemicals, including irritants such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia.

Though information is scant, the Air Pollutant Index (API) is reported to have reached 600 in parts of Indonesia [3] (six times the norm) , and 839 in Kuching, Malaysia [4]. The Air Pollution Index used is similar to the system used in the USA, but the readings of 600 and 839 go off the top of the USA scale.

The Total Suspended Particle (TSP) in Indonesia has been reported as 600 microgram, compared to a maximum detailed in a ministerial decree max of 260 microgram [5]. The UK health standard is 50 .g/m3, and the UK government proposes to set its “alert threshold” - at which there is “Risk of more serious adverse health affects, not necessarily confined to sensitive groups ” at 100 .g/m3 [6] (Note: the UK figures are for 24 hour averages and it is not clear if this what the figures reported from Indonesia represent).

The highest pollution reading in Kuala Lumpur so far is equivalent to a 24-hour particulate level (PM10) of 350 .g/m3 (ie seven times the UK health standard). The Kuching reading of 839 is too high to be converted to the scale used in the UK.

These levels of pollution are clearly extremely dangerous to human health. Even the pollution levels in the UK result in the premature death of an estimated 10,000 people a year, from asthma, bronchitis and other heart and lung problems [7].

Whilst the immediate effects of the pollution are most notably on the respiratory tract, it is not known what the longer term impact (eg. cancers) of prolonged exposure to these very high pollution levels will be. Experts have pointed out that inhaling wood smoke can cause throat cancer and long-term damage to the kidneys, livers and the nervous system [8].

Who's to blame?

Although the Indonesian government has named plantation and timber companies responsible for starting the fires (see below), environmentalists have attacked the Indonesian government for failing to control the illegal burning, and for the failure over the past years to control the destruction of the nation's forests, and the widespread illegal practices by the industrialists.

An Editorial in the Thai newspaper The Nation has planted responsibility squarely with industry and government. It said: “The blame must surely go to the logging and plantation companies which callously burn forests in the name of profits. Blame, too, must go to the Indonesian government for providing these companies with subsidies to clear the forests. And blame must also go to Asean - which despite years of meetings, reports and action plans - is impotent in stopping it from recurring”. [9]

The role of the timber and plantation industry - conclusive evidence available

The government has named 117 plantations, 27 Industrial forests and 19 transmigration sites in Sumatra and Kalimantan that have used burning on their land recently (even though it has been illegal since 1994), and given them 15 days to deny the allegations [10]. If they cannot prove they have not used fire, their licences to operate will be reviewed and possibly revoked. Environment Minister Sarwono has stated that 90% of the burning is due to timber estates, plantation owners and transmigration sites [11].

However, other parts of the government are playing down the role of the industries, calling it a natural disaster due to El Nino, or even blaming small-scale farmers and indigenous communities for starting the fires [12].

Satellite observations from the NOAA satellite, however, confirm that the plantation and timber companies, not small-scale farmers or indigenous communities, are responsible for the fires. For example, the satellite images from April 1997 for Riau Province, Sumatra, show that 90% of the fire areas were in plantations, 8% were in forest concessions (known as HPH/HTI areas), and only 2% were on community lands. In June 1997, 87% of the hotspots observed were on plantation areas, 8% percent were in HPH/HTI areas, and only 4% were on community lands [13].

Indonesia's plantation ambition

The plantation sector is expanding enormously in Indonesia, with palm oil, pulp, rubber plantations etc replacing natural forest on a vast scale throughout the archipelago. The government has a plan to develop 4.4 million ha of pulp plantations for timber by 2004 [14], and has an ambition to be the largest producer of pulp and paper in the world.

The area of palm oil plantations in Indonesia is also huge, with an estimated 1.2 million ha in 1995 [15], and a government plan for 5.5 million ha by 2000 [16]. Indonesia is the second largest exporter of palm oil to the UK: in 1995 Indonesia exported 76,000 tonnes of palm oil products to the UK (ref). It is estimated that this would require 33,400 hectares of oil palm plantations [17]. Palm oil is used for the production of edible and inedible products, including frying and cooking oils, margarines, and dairy products. Inedible products produced from palm oil include diesel, soaps, rubber, candles and cosmetics.

Many multinational companies are involved in the plantation sector. For example, Finnish paper giant UPM-Kymmene (member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and a major supplier of paper to the UK) is involved in a joint venture with APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International), which owns two pulp mills in Sumatra. APRIL, which clear-fells logged-over natural forest to provide its mills with raw material, is one of the companies named by the Indonesia government as using fire illegally to clear land.

International investment is also involved in plantations. APRIL is listed on international stock exchanges. Another pulp mill development in south Sumatra, PT Tel, is being funded partly by investment from the Bank of Scotland.

Logging out of control

Logged forest is more susceptible to fire than unlogged forest, because of the debris left on the ground after logging, and because logging opens up the canopy, allowing more sunlight to enter and dry the forest floor [18].

The logging industry in Indonesia is huge: forestry is the second biggest earner after oil and gas, and 64 million ha of the forest has been carved up for logging concessions [19]. Indonesia is the biggest player in the international tropical timber market, harvesting approximately 26 million cubic metres from its forests annually [20]; it is the world's largest producer of plywood [21].

Indonesia is the UK's second largest supplier of tropical timber (logs, sawn timber, plywood, veneers and boards); in 1996 the UK imported 201,650 cubic metres of tropical timbers from Indonesia [22]. Even the UK Timber Trade Federation representative Michael James admitted, in a interview for BBC Radio 4 on 28 September 1997, that “The Indonesians haven't quite got their forest management under control”. Mr James also acknowledged the role logging plays in encouraging forest fires, saying in the same interview: “I would acknowledge that if you thin the forest it will burn more easily...”

Natural forest cover in Indonesia has decreased from 80% of the land area in the 1960s to 57% today [23]. Indonesia now has over 100 million ha of natural forest, the third largest area of tropical forest in the world, but this is being destroyed at a rate of 1 million ha a year (or 1% a year) [24].

According to IUCN “The lowland rainforest of Sumatra and Kalimantan [the areas that are now worse affected by fire] have been particularly heavily logged, ...very little is pristine.” [25].

Environmentalists, both within Indonesia and abroad, have been highlighting the poorly regulated, destructive logging industry for decades. The forest companies often operate irresponsibly, destroying the forest or leaving it in such a state that it is unlikely to regenerate. Even the policies and laws that are in place are often disregarded. At the end of 1996, the Indonesian Minister of Forests was reported as saying that 20 million ha of Indonesia's forests were in a critical state and warned that the proportion could increase rapidly, although he put most of the blame on shifting cultivators [26]. 60 of 90 forestry concessions ending in 1996 have not be renewed because the forests were in such a bad state and forestry regulations had not been followed. Government Forestry Department expert Dr Tantra has warned that Indonesia's natural forests could be completely logged out by 2030 unless the selective cutting and replanting policy is properly implemented [26].

The logging industry is controlled by few, very rich individuals, and corruption is rife. Indonesian President Suharto is closely connected to the timber industry and has amassed a huge wealth (Suharto's personal wealth is estimated at US$1.6 billion). The most notorious timber tycoon, Mohammed “Bob” Hassan, who controls approximately 3.5 million ha of forest and is head of the loggers and wood-processing trade association, is a close friend and advisor to the President [27].

Although the state set up a special fund from logging dues supposedly to ensure forests were maintained - the Reforestation Fund - collection rate of dues from logging is appalling (estimated by the World Bank to be 30%). Money that is in the Restoration Fund is not even used for forest management - for example, B J Habibie, the Minister for research and technology, will receive a US$180 million loan from the fund to support the construction of an aeroplane. The money is also being used to support a controversial project to turn 1 million ha of swamp forest in Kalimantan into rice-fields [28].

Transmigration and other projects

Transmigration sites have also been named as using fire to clear land. Indonesia has a massive transmigration programme to move people from the overcrowded islands of Java, Bali and Lombok to outer islands. Nearly 3 million people have so far been moved, and over 6.7 million ha of land is allocated for transmigration programmes. Transmigration programmes and planning for it (the Regional Physical Planning Programme for Transmigration - RePPProT) have been funded by loans from the World Bank and bi-lateral aid from the UK [29].

Other misguided schemes such as the giant rice-growing project in Kalimantan (mentioned above) have made the fires worse. 260,000 ha of the area slated for the project is reportedly on fire, with the fire burning in the peat underground. A canal constructed to start draining the area for the rice project is believed to have dried the peat, making it more susceptible to the fire [30].

Beleaguered biodiversity

Although Indonesia occupies only 1.3% of the land surface of the globe, it contains an estimated 10% of all plant species, 12 % of mammals, 16% of reptiles and 17% of birds, making it one of the most biodiverse countries on earth. Sadly, Indonesia has the longest list of vertebrates that are threatened with extinction [31] eg. 104 bird species are included on the official threatened list. [32]. According to IUCN, most of the threatened vertebrates are in danger because they cannot survive rain forest clearance. Examples include the Clouded Leopard, which once occurred throughout Sumatra, but is now restricted to a few isolated areas, because of the clearance of its forest habitat [33]. The Sumatran Rhinoceros is in a similar predicament, and is on the brink of extinction.

Previous fires - lessons not learnt

This is not the first time fire has devastated Indonesia's forests, but the warning signals have been ignored. In 1982-3, approximately 33,000 square km of forest (the size of Belgium) in East Kalimantan burnt. The forests in this region have been extremely heavily logged, and the fire swept quickly through logged forest, where dead, dry remains of trees littered the floor, and also in the peat forests, where the peat soil caught fire [34].

Although the fire was officially blamed on shifting cultivators and peasant farmers using fire, environmentalists then drew attention to the role of the logging industry, the lack of regulation and control and the poor condition of the forests. However, no action to improve forest regulation was taken, and the timber industry has continued its unsustainable and often illegal practices.

Current weather conditions and El Nino?

El Nino is a periodic climate event which occurs in the Pacific ocean , but has global consequences. The event starts when a part of the Pacific Ocean gets warmer, the warm water rises to the surface and heats the air above it, affecting the water and air movements on a large scale. The body of heat then moves from New Guinea towards the coast of South America. These events have a dramatic effect on climate patterns: regions of south-east Asia and Africa are affected by severe drought while the Americas may experience severe storms and floods.

The occurrence of El Nino is unpredictable, but traditionally it occurred about every seven years or so. Recently, however, El Nino has been occurring more frequently, being longer lived and more intense. The most recent El Nino event lasted from 1990 to 1995. The occurrence of another severe El Nino this year, just two years after the 1990-1995 prolonged event, is extremely unusual [35], and some scientists have suggested this could be due to human-induced global climate change [36].

Global impacts

The fires themselves will contribute significantly to global climate change effects through the massive emission of carbon dioxide. It is estimated that the 1 million hectares of burning forests will produce around 220-290 million tonnes of carbon dioxide - roughly 50% of Britain's annual carbon dioxide emissions (550 million tonnes) [37].

The fire is also threatening over 1 million hectares of peat forest [38], and an additional 220 million tonnes of CO2 (another 40% of the UK's emissions) could be released if just the top ten cm of peat were to burn [39]. Peat soils are densely packed with organic matter and contain large quantities of carbon. Once the fire is in the peat below ground, it is even more difficult to extinguish.

1. WAHLI/FOE Indonesia, pers.comm.
2. WAHLI/FOE Indonesia, pers.comm.
3. WAHLI/FOE Indonesia, pers.comm.
4. Air Pollution Index figures from Internet site
5. WAHLI/FOE Indonesia, pers.comm.
6. UK Government consultation paper
7. Estimate of 10,000 people dying
8. The Nation (Bangkok) 29 Sept 1997
9 The Nation (Bangkok) 29 Sept 1997
10. Burning of fields already visible at 117 companies. Kompas, 18 Sept 1997
11 Down to Earth press briefing, Sept 1997
12. The Straits Times, 29 Sept 1997
13. Taking to court businessmen who are still burning forests WAHLI/FOE Indonesia press release, 2 Sept 1997.
14. Carrere, R. and Lohman, L. (1996) Pulping the South, World Rainforest Movement/Zed Books 15. Calculation from yield of oil palm and total production, as given by FAO
16. Far Eastern Economic Review, 2 Oct 1997
17. Calculation of oil palm export to UK - area of plantation
18. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
19. Down to Earth press briefing, Sept 1997
20. Tropical Timbers Dec 1996 and April 1997
21. Down to Earth press briefing, Sept 1997
22. Tropical Timbers Dec 1996 and April 1997
23. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
24. FAO State of the World's Forests 1997
25. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
26. Down to Earth newsletter, No 32, February 1997
27. Down to Earth newsletter, No 32, February 1997.
28. Down to Earth press briefing, Sept 1997
29. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
30. WAHLI/FOE Indonesia - pers comm.
31. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
32. Collar et. al (1995) Birds to Watch II. BirdLife International.
33. IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
34 IUCN The conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific
35. Trenberth, K and Hoar, T. (1996) The 1990-1995 El Nino Southern Oscillation Event: longest on record Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 23, p. 57.
36. Mike Kelly, East Anglia Climate Research Unit in The Guardian, 22 Sept 1997
37. WWF Press release 29 Sept 1997: Indonesian fires fuel climate change. Assumes 6-80 tonnes of carbon per hectare and a conversion factor of carbon to carbon dioxide of 3.667.
38. Harrison, D. 1997. Fire in the East. Observer, 28 Sept 1997.
39. Using figures of 0.55 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year for a lowering of 1 mm a year with a bulk density of 0.1 g/cm3 and a carbon content of 55%. Immirzi, C., Maltby, E., and Clymo, R. (1992). The global status of peatlands and their role in carbon cycling. A report for Friends of the Earth by the Wetlands Ecosystem Research Group, Dept of Geography, University of Exeter.

Contact details:

Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ

Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Email: info@foe.co.uk
Website: www.foe.co.uk

Source : http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/indonesian_forest_fires.html

REDD in the news

2011-02-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

By REDD-Monitor, 14th February 2011

A round up of the week’s news on REDD, in chronological order with short extracts (click on the title for the full article). REDD-Monitor’s news page (REDD in the news) is updated regularly.

Activist Outrage at the UN Climate Conference

By Anne Petermann and Orin Langelle, Z Magazine, February 2011 | Likewise, Global Forest Coalition’s report “Getting to the Roots,” which analyzes the underlying causes of deforestation through a global series of workshops, insists that deforestation will not be stopped until the system driving it is changed. The conclusions of the report state, “Neoliberal economic policies were identified as an underlying cause by several workshops, not least because they themselves are at the heart of many of the other drivers and underlying causes.… It is most unlikely, for example, that climate change can be halted or demand for wood and land can be reduced without a fundamental review of neoliberal economic policies and trade regimes. “Likewise, it is the neoliberal vision of many international financial institutions that causes them to invest significantly more money in forest-destroying industries than in forest conservation (and to justify doing both at the same time).”

No Regrets: Maintaining Forests for Adaptation and Mitigation

By Frances Seymour, World Resources Report, no date | Financial mechanisms being mobilized under the rubric of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (“REDD+”) have the potential to provide a source of finance for such protection, and for compensating communities for any loss of current income that such protection entails. Depending on how REDD+ benefits are shared at national and local levels, forest protection efforts could help finance rural development, but could also easily make some stakeholders worse off. Thus an important trade-off is between imposing risks on some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in the short run, versus the risk of no action to reduce forest-based emissions, which benefits the global community as a whole in the long run. At the global level, REDD+ funds are likely to be targeted to the “high-carbon” humid forests of the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin, and Indonesia.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Forest Protection: The Transaction Costs of REDD

By Lee J. Alston, Krister Andersson, The National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2011 | Understanding and minimizing the transaction costs of policy implementation are critical for reducing tropical forest losses. As the international community prepares to launch REDD+, a global initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tropical deforestation, policymakers need to pay attention to the transactions costs associated with negotiating, monitoring and enforcing contracts between governments and donors. The existing institutional design for REDD+ relies heavily on central government interventions in program countries. Analyzing new data on forest conservation outcomes, we identify several problems with this centralized approach to forest protection. We describe options for a more diversified policy approach that could reduce the full set of transaction costs and thereby improve the efficiency of the market-based approach for conservation.

Approaches to classifying and restoring degraded tropical forests for the anticipated REDD+ climate change mitigation mechanism

By N. Sasaki, Asner, G.P., Knorr, W., Durst, P.B., Priyadi, H. and Putz, F. E, iForest 4, February 2011 | Inclusion of improved forest management as a way to enhance carbon sinks in the Copenhagen Accord of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (December 2009) suggests that forest restoration will play a role in global climate change mitigation under the post-Kyoto agreement. Although discussions about restoration strategies often pertain solely to severely degraded tropical forests and invoke only the enrichment planting option, different approaches to restoration are needed to counter the full range of degrees of degradation. We propose approaches for restoration of forests that range from being slightly to severely degraded.

Common Property Forest Management: Implications for REDD in Ethiopia

Environment for Development, no date | The proposed project seeks to contribute substantively to climate change and community forest management policies and advance the literature by analyzing the relationship between common property forest management (CPFM) in Ethiopia and climate policy within the context of the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) and proposing instruments for channeling REDD benefits to households.

The Planet Keeps Warming, But U.S. Media Interest Cools

By Miranda Spencer, Extra!, February 2011, At least in part reflecting this pessimism, there has been a “steep slide” in climate reporting this year, Columbia Journalism Review’s science blog (Observatory, 11/24/10) noted. Few major corporate news media outlets even planned to send reporters to Cancún; as Washington Post lead environmental writer Juliet Eilperin told Observatory, “It feels like there is absolutely no momentum…. What will there even be to cover in Cancún in terms of public policy or reader interest?” … The Post (12/8/10, 12/12/10) and the Los Angeles Times (12/10/10) were the only two national outlets during the talks to cover REDD… The highly contentious market-based mechanism became part of the eventual Cancún Agreement. The articles mainly discussed the business implications of REDD and mentioned indigenous and global South objections only in passing.

7 February 2011

SBY still pondering planned forest moratorium

Jakarta Post, 7 February 2011 | President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was still studying the concept of a forest moratorium before signing a presidential instruction as a legal instrument to stop the conversion of forest areas. Forestry conversion in Indonesia still measures about 1 million hectare a year. After a month-long delay, it remains unclear whether the forest moratorium would be imposed or not. “The President still needs to learn the [moratorium] concept better,” said Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, head of the taskforce charged with reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).

Could carbon markets become obsolete?

By Esther Ng, todayonline.com, 7 February 2011 | It should be a happy headache for environmentalists. Yet the possibility of carbon markets becoming obsolete within the next one or two decades – as industralised countries cut their carbon emissions – could have dire consequences, according to three researchers. Currently, carbon markets provide a rich source of funding for United Nations-backed conservation scheme REDD+. The idea is for industrialised countries to offset their own emissions by buying carbon credits from developing countries, thereby giving communities in the latter group an incentive to protect their forests and preserve endangered species.

Rainforest fears slow Indonesia palm oil growth

agrimoney.com, 7 February 2011 | Efforts to preserve Indonesia’s rainforest, in the face of international pressure, look set to accelerate a decline in the plantation expansion which has driven the country to top rank in palm oil. Provincial authorities have already stopped issuing permits for planting on Indonesian land deemed forest by the government, and so protected from development – even if their restraint is far considered reluctant and temporary. “Provincial [officials] insist that land the government considers as primary forest has already been degraded and should be suitable for planting,” US Department of Agriculture attaches in Jakarta said. “There remain fundamental disagreements over the definition of ‘degraded land’.”

Forests Vs. Food?

By Bryan Walsh, Time, 7 February 2011 | 2011 could be the year the world finally stops losing the fight against deforestation. On February 2 the U.N. launched the International Year of Forests, beginning a series of events meant to raise awareness about the vital importance of forests and generate support for sustainable forestry practices. At December’s U.N. climate summit in the Mexican city of Cancun, governments took the first concrete steps towards creating a system for avoided deforestation, or REDD, which would allow companies and countries to claim carbon credits for maintaining trees. But at the same time, record high food prices could reverse all of that progress, if farmers around the world choose to clear forest to make room for more crops. “In my view, 2011 is going to be the critical year,” says Frances Seymour, the director-general of the Center for International Forestry Research. “This is the year we’ll find out whether we’ll be successful or not.”

NGOs Need to Walk Softly – and Hang Tough

By James Gray, Ecosystem Marketplace, 7 February 2011 | Scores of non-governmental organizations are trying to help indigenous people out of poverty by showing them how to earn carbon credits for managing their forests, but not all are getting results. NGO veteran James Gray says that if NGOs really want to help, they have to cede more control to indigenous groups – and they have to convince those groups that they’re in it for the long haul. He offers this example from his own experience with CARE in Guatemala.

Forest Fest Makes Headway in Protection, Poverty Reduction

By Andrea Lunt, IPS, 7 February 2011 | While the U.N.’s premier forest scheme REDD+, negotiated in Cancún last December, has aimed to place local communities at the centre of forest governance, critics say the safeguards are negated by industry-friendly policies and failure of implementation at a national level. Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, an indigenous person from the Besao mountain province in the Philippines, told IPS that despite her people being granted legal titles on their forest lands, the rights were largely symbolic. “The possession by indigenous peoples of these titles still does not guarantee their security of tenure over these forests, as licenses for mining and plantations are still given by the state to private business people and politicians,” Tauli-Corpuz said. Other environmental groups believe the increasing demand for wood-based bio-energy and the continued conversion of forests to plantations are the greatest threats to forest communities.

Dr Seuss and the Amazon

Bleeding Edge Blog, 7 February 2011 | The year 2005 was an exceptionally dry one for the Amazon rainforest. Thousands of square kilometres of rainforest were destroyed. The level of the mighty Amazon river and its tributaries fell to the lowest levels since records began. Fish perished in the abnormally warm waters. Boats were grounded. Locals were forced to abandon their homes. It was the kind of drought that researchers would expect no more than once a century. But then came the drought of 2010. As a new research paper published in the journal Science today reveals, last year’s drought was even more severe than 2005. So Brazil has experienced two “once in a century” climatic events in a decade. Unsurprisingly, scientists are beginning to suspect that something is amiss.

Cancun analysis: Starting the REDD+ dance

CIFOR, 7 February 2011 | “A REDD+ deal wasn’t guaranteed in Cancun either, and if we didn’t get it then, forests would have been off the table for a decade,” said Louis Verchot, CIFOR’s Principal Scientist in environmental services and sustainable use of forests. “We finally have a decision. We know where to start the dance, we know which foot to start on and we know what this program is going to look like.”

UN Year of Forests stumbles in first week

By Bill Gunyon, OneWorld UK, 7 February 2011 | Last Wednesday’s UN launch of the International Year of Forests has been tempered by disagreement over global plans for their protection. The flames of criticism have been fanned by reports of irregularities in pilot projects to reduce deforestation in Guyana and Indonesia… Two projects sponsored by Norway are currently gaining attention for the wrong reasons.

Where does international climate policy stand after Cancún?

Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 7 February 2011 | Negotiations on REDD (forest protection) have taken a big step forward. Nevertheless, the text must still be seen as a compromise. Questions related to inclusion in emissions trading, dealing with subnational activities and the legal status of safeguards were not clarified.

UNDP Administrator Emphasizes Safeguards for REDD+ at the launch of Forests 2011

UN-REDD Programme Blog, 7 February 2011 | In her address at the Ministerial Dialogue with the Heads of the member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, on the occasion of the 9th United Nations Forum on Forests, Administrator Helen Clark emphasized UNDP’s commitment to REDD+ safeguards.

Mozambique: Govt Designs Strategies to Curb Deforestation

allAfrica.com, 7 February 2011 | The Mozambican government and its partners are looking at the current level of deforestation and at new strategies to reverse the trend. These issues were discussed in Maputo on Monday at a meeting in preparation for the drafting of the new National Strategy for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). According to the Mozambican Environment Minister, Alcinda Abreu, the process of drafting the National Strategy is reaching an advanced stage. The development of this strategy has had the support of partners, including the World Bank which in this preparatory phase granted 200,000 US dollars. This sum was earmarked for the preparation of the strategy, and additional funds are required for its implementation in the coming years.

A REDD+ manual for botanic gardens

bgci.org, 7 February 2011 | This 19 page publication by BGCI reviews the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programme. There are a number of pilot projects in Bolivia, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia. The manual notes the gaps in capacity for implementation, and the opportunities for botanic gardens. These might include assisting in planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects. The examples given in the manual show the involvement of botanic gardens based in Austraiia, Brazil, United Kindom, China and the USA.

Putting a positive spin on forests

By Sharon Guynup, CIFOR Forests Blog, 7 February 2011 | Jan McAlpine is the Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) which addresses all aspects of forests – from complete protection on one end of the spectrum to sustainable use one the other end, and everything in-between, including people, climate change, soils, water and biodiversity. Here she talks about the positive relationship between forests and the people who depend on them, and expectations following the launch of the International Year of Forests… There was also John D. Lui’s film, “Hope in a Changing Climate,” which showed the metamorphosis of a huge area in China: from dry, barren gullies into a natural landscape and agriculturally productive areas. It’s just an amazing story. There are lots of positive stories. It seems like bad stories get more attention, but we also want the public around the world to understand just how essential people are to forests and forests are to people.

Carbon jobs market resilient to recession

carbonpositive.net, 7 February 2011 | Employment and incomes in the climate change and carbon sector appear to be holding up well in the face of ongoing economic hardship, the results of a worldwide survey shows. Average salaries rose and respondents overall reported greater levels of job security and satisfaction compared to 2009, the Carbon Salary Survey 2010 found. The only worldwide job market appraisal in this field surveyed 944 participants in the climate change, carbon markets, renewable energy and clean technology fields in all regions. It was conducted in September and October by recruitment firm Acre Resources and corporate sustainability consultancy Acona.

8 February 2011

NGOs Appeal To Govt to Enact Logging Moratorium

By Fidelis E. Satriastanti, Jakarta Globe, 8 February 2011 | More than a month after it was supposed to have enacted a moratorium on new logging concessions, the government has still not complied, prompting environmental groups to demand immediate action… In order for the moratorium to be legally binding from its Jan. 1 start date, it must be backed by a presidential decree, which has still not been issued. On Monday, a coalition of environmental and civil society groups urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to hold up Indonesia’s end of the bargain. “We, the civil society coalition for Indonesian forest protection, appreciate the government’s efforts to take initial action to save the country’s forests,” a statement from the coalition read. “The plan to issue a presidential decree on a moratorium on new permits in forests and peatland is an appropriate area to start before it’s too late.”

China Drought Prompts U.N. to Issue Warning

By Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 8 February 2011 | The United Nations’ food agency issued an alert on Tuesday warning that a severe drought was threatening the wheat crop in China, the world’s largest wheat producer, and resulting in shortages of drinking water for people and livestock. China has been essentially self-sufficient in grain for decades, for national security reasons. Any move by China to import large quantities of food in response to the drought could drive international prices even higher than the record levels recently reached. “China’s grain situation is critical to the rest of the world – if they are forced to go out on the market to procure adequate supplies for their population, it could send huge shock waves through the world’s grain markets,” said Robert S. Zeigler, the director general of the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, in the Philippines.

New Report Says Forest Land Reform Stagnating, Posing Risks To Global Efforts To Combat Climate Change, Hunger And Poverty

Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources, 8 February 2011 | Rapidly-rising food prices and growing demand for all land-based commodities, like palm oil and biofuels, are driving an intensive global land hunt that threatens the rights of hundreds of millions of local people living in tropical forests, according to a report released today by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). The growing competition for tropical forests comes as recognition of land and resource rights largely stagnated in 2010-despite new commitments through governments and climate change initiatives to support tenure rights and determined efforts by Indigenous Peoples and other forest communities to secure their lands, according to the analysis presented at RRI’s Ninth Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change in London.

Monitoring deforestation: an interview with Gilberto Camara, head of Brazil’s space agency INPE

By Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com, 8 February 2011 | Space engineer Gilberto Camara has overseen much of INPE’s earth sensing work, first as head of INPE’s Image Processing Division, then as head of INPE’s Earth Observation, and since 2005 as director of INPE. During his watch, INPE has released several new exciting capabilities, including DETER, a program to monitor ecosystems outside the Amazon, tools to track forest degradation due to logging and fire, and a way to measure emissions from deforestation. INPE recently announced a LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging)-based system that will provide more precision, sensing even through smoke and cloud cover. In a January interview with mongabay, Dr. Camara explained how he went from a boy in northeastern Brazil to director of INPE and discussed INPE’s deforestation monitoring and other projects.

Unlikely road alignment and large forest clearing width for Amaila Falls road

By Janette Bulkan, letter to the editor Stabroek News, 8 February 2011 | So we have an unlikely road alignment, an extraordinarily large forest clearing width, no public news about the prior forest clearing which was to be completed within four weeks of the award of contract, and a roading contractor much behind schedule. Perhaps, Editor, you could send a journalist to have a look at what is actually happening on the ground? And how the estimated 101,000 m3 of commercial timber in road sections 6 and 7 have contributed to alleviation of the domestic timber shortage noted recently by Minister Robert Persaud, during a year in which exports of unprocessed logs to Asia have exceeded 101,000 m3? – as well as being contrary to the National Forest Policy and to the PPP 2006 election manifesto for in-country value addition of timber products.

CAR’s nested REDD+protocol process in Mexico

Tropical Forest Group, 8 February 2011 | The Climate Action Reserve (Reserve) is developing a Forest Project Protocol for use throughout Mexico. The Mexico protocol will be based on the U.S. Forest Project Protocol and will include guidance for the types of projects covered under the U.S. version of the Forest Project Protocol: Reforestation, Avoided Deforestation (Avoided Conversion), and Sustainable Forest Management (Improved Forest Management). Development of all three project types will be conducted contemporaneously, with initial efforts focused on areas of shared application. Reserve staff will work with the Mexico forest workgroup (see below) to refine the Forest Project Protocol for use in Mexico by developing guidance and standards for nested projects within a REDD framework, environmental integrity, land tenure issues, and permanence of forest carbon sequestration specific to projects in Mexico.

Keeping forest dwellers involved in forest protection and REDD

By Laurie Goering, AlertNet, 8 February 2011 | It’s no coincidence that Latin America has had some of the best success protecting tropical forest. That’s because the region, led by countries like Mexico and Brazil, has put more forest land in the hands of indigenous groups and other forest residents than any other part of the developing world, according to the U.S.-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). Forest residents who own or otherwise control the land they live on have a strong incentive to protect it from illegal loggers and other destructive pressures, argues Andy White, head of the initiative, which works on forest policy issues, especially land tenure. The proof? Brazil’s indigenous reserves have become the heart of that country’s Amazon forest protection effort, he says, and in Mexico, where communities own 80 percent of forest land, forests are more effectively managed and protected than in many parts of the world.

Resilient Forest Dependent Communities Need Supportive Government Policies And Strengthened Institutions

ICIMOD press release, 8 February 2011 | A Special Event on ‘Sustaining Forests for Mitigation and Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change’ was organised by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD); The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India; and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India on the sidelines of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS2011) in Delhi on 4 February 2011. Based on the presentations made by Dr. Giridhar Kinhal and Mr. Hari Krishna from ICIMOD and Dr. Yogesh Gokhale of TERI, panellists and participants from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal and others deliberated on the various aspects of the topic and called for enabling and supporting policies from governments of the region and strengthening of local forest management institutions to support REDD+ approaches and practices aimed at sustaining forests, reducing poverty, and building community resilience…

Kenyan Carbon Project Earns First-Ever VCS REDD Credits

By Maud Warner and Molly Peters-Stanley, Ecosystem Marketplace, 8 February 2011 | The US-based conservation consultancy Wildlife Works Carbon won the race to issue the world’s first offset credits under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) from a project designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Wildlife Works revealed today that they had received the first REDD-based Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) for the Wildlife Works’ Kasigau Corridor REDD project, which protects over 500,000 acres of forest in Rukinga, Kenya. “This is a watershed moment for REDD projects everywhere because it demonstrates they can attract private investment to this critical work,” says VCS CEO David Antonioli. It’s also a watershed moment for the VCS, which after years of waiting for REDD project development methodologies to fall out of its pipeline, has brought to the voluntary carbon market four REDD methodologies and the world’s first issued REDD credits…

No Correlation Between Democracy and Forest Governance

By Gabriel Thoumi, Ecosystem Marketplace, 8 February 2011 | It is only when offsets follow the same rules around the world that an emitter in Chicago can offset his footprint by saving rainforest in Brazil, Columbia, and Kenya. Constance L. McDermott, Benjamin Cashore, and Peter Kanowski offer disturbing evidence that this isn’t happening. In Global Environmental Forest Policies: An International Comparison, published last year, they have provided the first concise, systematic approach to analyzing the global diverse forest management landscape. The 22 figures in Chapter Two alone (Selection and Global Context of the Case Study Countries) should be required reading for anyone interested in forest management for production, protection or both.

State eyes carbon credits through tree campaign

By Sayli Udas Mankikar, Hindustan Times, 8 February 2011 | The ambitious rural tree plantation scheme – where the government wanted every villager to plant at least on tree each – will soon be taken to the next level. After having achieved planting of 5.93 crore over the past one-and-half-year, just a few lakhs short of the magic figure of 6.25 crore trees equal to the rural population, the state has already started thinking of earning some green points to support the project further. “I have asked the department to do a survey of the trees and see how they have been planted. Apparently, only trees which are planted in a linear method are eligible for earning carbon credits,” said rural development minister Jayant Patil.

RRI Dialogue Addresses Developments on REDD+

Climate Change Policy & Practice, 8 February 2011 | The ninth Rights and Resources (RRI) Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change took place in London, UK, on 8 February 2011, bringing together international and non-governmental organizations, civil servants and representatives from civil society organizations, academia and the private sector to discuss the latest developments on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, plus the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+).

Forests to be a hot topic in 2011

By Sharon Guynup, CIFOR Forests Blog, 8 February 2011 | Eduardo Rojas-Briales is the Assistant Director-General of the FAO Forestry Department and chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). Eduardo participated in the launch of the International Year of Forests 2011 (Forests 2011) during the 9th Session of the UN Forum on Forests in New York where he encouraged people to take action to improve the state of forests during the Year. Here he talks about why forests are so politically important at the moment and what resources needed to implement REDD… From another perspective, it is not ethical to say that we should put more resources on REDD+, and less in education or in health or food security. Because of all this, it is critical that REDD is embedded in the new climate change architecture… Furthermore, the process of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was too complicated to work, so hopefully REDD can step in as the alternative.

Stewart Maginnis on Poverty and Forest Restoration

By Sharon Guynup, CIFOR Forests Blog, 8 February 2011 | Stewart Maginnis is the Head of the Forest Conservation Programme at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He has a keen interest in the linkage between forest conservation and livelihood security of the rural poor, the practical application of ecosystem or landscapes approaches in forest management and on the role of civil society in local and national forest governance arrangements. We had a chat to him at the UN Forum on Forests in New York.

9 February 2011

Slow but steady progress on recognizing indigenous land rights is interrupted by commodity boom

By Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com, 9 February 2011 | Progress over the past 25 years in recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights to land and resources has been interrupted by a worldwide commodity boom, argues a new report published by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)… In a conversation with mongabay.com, Andy White, coordinator of RRI, discussed the new report and broader rights issues… I don’t know what a workable REDD mechanism looks like. I think it will take different forms in different countries. I don’t expect to see a global market for forest carbon, at least anytime soon. There need to be social and environmental safeguards (the UNFCCC REDD text is pretty good). And because the REDD world has become so fragmented – with the majority of funds now going through bilateral, rather than the multilateral channels, it’s now critical for bilateral parties to adopt safeguards (e.g. the Norwegians, USAID, DFID, etc).

Palm oil giant vows to spare most valuable Indonesian rainforest

By Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 9 February 2011 | The world’s second biggest palm oil company has agreed to halt deforestation in valuable areas of Indonesian forest, bowing to pressure from western food processors and conservationists. Golden Agri-Resources Limited has committed itself to protecting forests and peatlands with a high level of biodiversity, or which provide major carbon sinks, as part of an agreement with conservation group the Forest Trust… Scott Poynton, executive director of the Forest Trust, a Geneva-based not-for-profit organisation that helps companies improve their environmental sustainability, added: “Today’s agreement represents a revolutionary moment in the drive to conserve forests. “It’s about going to the root causes of deforestation – we have shown that the destruction of forests is anchored deeply in the supply chains of the products we consume in industrialised nations, and we are showing we can do something about that.”

Kenyan project issues first REDD credits-Point Carbon

Reuters, 9 February 2011 | A Kenyan project has become the first to issue Redd credits under the Voluntary Carbon Standard. NGO Wildlife Works announced Tuesday its reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (Redd) project in Kenya’s Kasigau Corridor became the first to be issued with VCS carbon credits, known as Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs)… The VCS said the announcement marked a “watershed moment for Redd projects everywhere” because it demonstrates how the private sector can mobilise capital to preserve forests. “Coupled with being able to measure emissions reductions accurately and generate verified credits, this is exactly what is needed to attract private investment for forest protection,” said VCS CEO David Antonioli in a statement… “We believe the global voluntary carbon marketplace is ready for carbon credits that the average consumer can relate to,” said Mike Korchinsky, president of Wildlife Works.

Will intensified farming save the rainforests?

By Fred Pearce, New Scientist, 9 February 2011 | The idea that intensifying agriculture relieves pressure on land is sometimes called the Borlaug hypothesis after Norman Borlaug, the pioneer of the green revolution, who first articulated it. But before we go ahead we had better be sure that it is true. The counter-argument is that farmers don’t clear forests to feed the world; they do it to make money. So helping farmers become more efficient and more productive – especially those living near forests – won’t reduce the threat. It will increase it. Tony Simons, deputy director of the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, put it this way in Cancún. “Borlaug thought that if you addressed poverty in the forest border, they’d stop taking their machetes into the forest. Actually, they get enough money to buy a chainsaw and do much more damage.”

Reassessing after relocation

By Carol J. Pierce Colfer (CIFOR), RECOFTC blog, 9 February 2011 | In the course of all this work, the Lao Government made the decision to resettle one of the communities where our team was working: the Hmong community of Phadeng. The Government’s official goals were to reduce swidden agriculture as a strategy to reduce deforestation, to protect the nearby Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area, and to improve villagers’ access to services like health and education.

Wildlife Works Wins World’s First Forestry Credits

By Catherine Airlie, Bloomberg, 9 February 2011 | Wildlife Works Carbon LLC, a U.S. conservation business, said its project to safeguard forests in Kenya was the first of its kind to get voluntary carbon credits. The program in the Kasigau Corridor, a strip of land 360 kilometers (225 miles) southeast of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, aims to reduce carbon emissions and help save 202,000 hectares of forest, Wildlife Works said today in an emailed statement. The Wildlife Works project is the first to get voluntary credits under a forest-protection program known as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degredation, or REDD, it said. South Africa’s Nedbank Group Ltd. has received credits for its initial funding of the effort and had first rights to buy the credits produced, Kevin Whitfield, head of the African treasuries, carbon and financial products unit at Nedbank, said in a telephone interview from Johannesburg.

Rising land, food prices cause recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights to stagnate

mongabay.com, 9 February 2011 | Rising food, energy, and mineral prices, coupled with new interest in forests for their carbon-storing capacity, are driving a global land grab that threatens the rights of hundreds of millions of people living in and around tropical forests, argues a new report published by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). The report, “Pushback: Local Power, Global Realignment,” says that after 25 years of progress on governments recognizing forest peoples’ land and resource rights (recognition of indigenous and community ownership and management tripled between 1985 and 2009), gains stagnated in 2010. “The lack of progress at the global level in 2010 was doubly disappointing,” said Andy White, RRI Coordinator, in a statement.

Video: REDD Road to Cancun

Climate Connections, 9 February 2011 | This video is an important piece of media created by Praxis pictures on behalf of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) to profile our REDD ROAD mission to the Conference of the Parties 16 of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico December 2010. IEN is an environmental and economic justice network, based at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, in Northern Minnesota. Our work focuses on fighting to protect the sacredness of Mother Earth from toxic contamination and corporate exploitation.

UNFCCC Publishes Fact Sheet on REDD

Climate Change Policy & Practice, 9 February 2011 | The UNFCCC Secretariat has published a fact sheet titled “Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action.” The fact sheet highlights the important role that forests play in climate change, and reviews the progression of UNFCCC negotiations on forests and deforestation. It lists relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to stimulate action on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD), including a decision taken in 2009 on methodological and capacity building guidance for related activities. The fact sheet further lists ongoing efforts in capacity building, technical assistance and financial support for a number of enabling activities, such as improving data collection systems, institutional reforms and national monitoring systems.

EU Climate Chief Says More CO2 Centers to Open Soon

By Ewa Krukowska and Jonathan Stearns, Bloomberg, 9 February 2011 | The European Union will allow more national carbon registries to reopen this week and is looking at ways to stop “crimes against the system” after hackers roiled the market, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said. The European Commission, the EU regulator, permitted five out of 30 registries in the world’s largest emissions market to resume on Feb. 4 after demonstrating their systems are secure. The remaining national databases for tracking carbon permits have been halted since Jan. 19, and spot trading is limited after hackers illegally transferred about 29 million euros ($40 million) of permits from Austria, the Czech Republic and Greece.

7.5 million ha of Indonesian forest slated for clearing

mongabay.com, 9 February 2011 | 7.5 million hectares of natural forest will escape Indonesia’s planned moratorium on new forestry concessions, according to a new report from Greenomics Indonesia, an activist group. Under its billion dollar forest conservation partnership with Norway, Indonesia committed to establish a moratorium on new concessions in forest areas and peatlands beginning January 1, 2011. But Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has yet to sign the decree due to debate over the details of what types of forest will be exempted. Presently two versions of the decree are circulating. The one drafted by the country’s REDD+ Taskforce, chaired by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, is considerably stronger than one prepared by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Hatta Rajasa.

10 February 2011

Storm on the horizon? Why World Bank Climate Investment Funds could do more harm than good

By Nora Honkaniemi, eurodad.org, 10 February 2011 | A new Eurodad report provides a critical analysis of the World Bank’s role in Climate Finance. Civil society actors have long been contesting the role of the World Bank as an appropriate channel for climate finance based on the Bank’s questionable green credentials and its history of advising economic policy reforms to developing countries. This report focuses on yet another concern regarding the role of the Bank in climate finance: how the World Bank is planning to disburse climate finance, via its Climate Investment Funds. It concludes that the Bank is not the best-placed institution to channel climate finance, nor does it set high standards for a legitimate and development-friendly climate finance architecture for the future.

Kaaaching! Arcelor Mittal bags a windfall of €103million, but there is plenty more where that came from

sandbag.org, 10 February 2011 | [L]ast year Arcelor Mittal made €103million from the sale of carbon permits. This follows earlier sales of €108 million over 2008-9. Kaching indeed! But there will be plenty more where that came from. Sandbag estimates that Arcelor Mittal has a 2008-2009 surplus of 50.5 million carbon permits with an estimated value of €706 million. Loose change, perhaps, for a company which in 2010 had a turnover of €49 billion, but not bad considering the permits were allocated for free… Sandbag is keen to avoid to misinformation and exaggeration which is why we are so keen on the data. The graph below illustrates Arcelor Mittal’s carbon emissions and allocation of carbon permits. Even when you take into account the recession, the potential to increase production and the need to protect competitiveness… you can’t help get the impression that some companies were simply given far too many free permits…

Ms. Bulkan has emerged again from her cocoon

By Peter Persaud, letter to the editor Guyana Chronicle, 10 February 2011 | I wish to refer to a letter in the Stabroek News under the caption “Almost nine per cent of Guyana’s budget this year hangs on the POYRY – Guyana Forestry Commission Report” in its issue of Thursday February 3, 2011. Ms Janette Bulkan, a known critic of Guyana’s forestry sector, Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the REDD + Initiative has again emerged from her cocoon for fresh air which our intact forests are providing as an ecological service to the world. Yet Ms Bulkan, a Guyanese who lives overseas and who does not care about Guyana’s development and the damaging effects of global climate change, wants to see the failure of Guyana’s LCDS, our strategy to fight against global climate change.

WB seeking concrete mitigation programs

BusinessWorld Online Edition, 10 February 2011 | The World Bank esterday said the Philippines will be in a much better position to receive additional funding if the government were to provide concrete programs on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change mitigation, as well as instituting financing mechanisms in which to channel international funding. “There is going to be quite a bit of money available for either adaptation or climate mitigation measures that the Philippines can take… if the Philippines is really ready, as is various channels for absorbing that funding and doing things with it…,” the bank’s country director, Bert Hofman, told reporters in a forum… Mr. Hofman then listed funding opportunities, including Philippine-based private sector-led Post-Disaster Recovery Foundation designed for forestry initiatives, the reduce deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) initiative specifically for tropical countries…

Climate talks in Cancún, Mexico: A step forward?

Consultancy Africa Intelligence, 10 February 2011 | As rainforests produce about 15% of the world’s total carbon emissions, conserving them became a priority during the COPs. REDD projects have provided these incentives. Probably the country at the forefront of these projects’ developments has been Indonesia, who is presumably attracted by the monetary gain – provided by developed countries – to be earned from changing their indigenous logging practices, for example. Developed countries can now provide financial aid and technology transfers to developing nations by assisting in forest projects. These may include reforestation or changing agricultural practices, all of which should provide incentives to prevent forest loss – which adds carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Although the development of REDD projects enjoyed centre stage in Cancún, many of its financial issues have not been resolved.

CDM is a work in progress: UN climate chief

By Rajiv Tikoo, Financial Express, 10 February 2011 | Clearing the air about the future of clean development mechanism (CDM), a market-based instrument under the Kyoto Protocol enabling developed countries to invest in developing countries to offset carbon emissions, UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres said, “CDM is a work in progress.”

11 February 2011

English forest sell-off put on hold

By Fiona Harvey and Damian Carrington, The Guardian, 11 February 2011 | The government has taken 40,000 hectares of public forest off the market, in the latest twist in the furore over the proposed sell-off of England’s woodland. About 15% of England’s public forests had been slated for sale, with the aim of raising £100m for government coffers, but on Friday morning the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would hold on to the forest until the fate of the rest of the Forestry Commission’s land had been decided. Defra said the sale was being postponed because of concerns over access rights, and will not affect its broader proposal to sell nationally owned woods, which is still the subject of public consultation.

Kenya forest project claims first REDD credits

carbonpositive.net, 11 February 2011 | An avoided deforestation project in Kenya has become the first of a score of REDD projects around the world to have carbon credits issued under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS). The Kasigau Corridor project developed by Wildlife Works and profiled by Carbon Positive in 2009, has now been issued with its first 1.45 million credits. They are VCUs for the preservation of 200,000 hectares of threatened forest and savannah land over the past five years since the project began. Around 1.15m credits were sold to Nedbank Group in South Africa, an early supporter of the project, while almost 300,000 have gone into a buffer reserve, a requirement for standards certification to cover any future loss of preserved trees.

12 February 2011

Indonesia Remains Committed To Implementing REDD

bernama.com, 12 February 2011 Indonesia remains fully committed although the presidential decree on a moratorium on peat land and natural forest conversion had not yet been signed so far, Vice President Boediono said as quoted by his spokesman, Yopie Hidayat. here on Friday. “Indonesia is committed to implementing the REDD+ but would remain prioritizing the welfare of the people,” Yopie said quoting the vice president. The Vice President made the confirmation when receiving the International Climate and Forestry Initiative Oslo, Hans Brattskar. Boediono said Indonesia was resolved to implement the REDD+ successfully and concretely as a new solution to overcome climate change problems without hurting the people… Hans Brattskar responded well the statement and said he could understand wh Indonesia had not yet been able to sign the decree.

Forest protection for survival, hope

By Conservation International, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12 February 2011 | Recognizing the role of deforestation in contributing to greenhouse emissions, CI and its partners around the world are pushing for governments to adopt REDD+ mechanisms. REDD+ is a suite of policies, institutional reforms and programs that provide developing countries with financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance economic growth by preventing the destruction of forests… A global REDD+ mechanism presents a key opportunity to generate the funding, political will and internationally agreed-upon policies, economic incentives and social safeguards necessary to protect forests and combat climate change. The mechanism also seeks to improve human well-being and ensure protection of indigenous people and community rights in developing nations. It is a cost-effective climate-change solution that can be implemented now, without waiting for new technologies.

Source : http://www.redd-monitor.org

INDONESIA’S FOREST FIRE AND COAL FIRE CYCLES

2011-02-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

WHITEHOUSE, Alfred E., Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, US Embassy Jakarta, Unit 8129, fpo, 96520, awhiteho@indo.net.id and MULYANA, Asep A.S., Agency for Education and Training, Department of Energy and Mineral Rscs, Jalan Gatot Subroto, Kav 49, Jakarta, 12950

Indonesia’s fire and haze problem is becoming an annual occurrence. By mid-June 2004, over 300 hot spots had been detected in Sumatra and haze covered the Indonesian Province of Riau and parts of the Malaysian peninsula. Airports closed and flights were delayed beginning the cycle of economic impacts and complaints from Indonesia’s citizens and neighbors.

Beginning in the 1970’s, increasing demand from Indonesia’s pulp and paper industry, plywood industry and round log export markets put tremendous pressure on Indonesia’s forests. Rainforests in their natural state rarely burn because they are difficult to ignite due to the forest’s high humidity even in drought years. However, logging these closed canopied humid forests allows them to dry out making them susceptible to fire.

In 1982-83, 1987, 1991, 1994 and 1997-98, forest fires ravaged Sumatran and East Kalimantan forests. These severe fire episodes resulted from prolonged drought periods accompanying the El Nino Southern Oscillation. Satellite data and ground observations showed that more than five million hectares burned in East Kalimantan during the 1997/98 extended dry season. Not only were the economic losses and ecological damage from these surface fires enormous, they ignited exposed coal seams along their outcrops.

The Sumatran and East Kalimantan forest fire areas overlay 95% of Indonesia’s estimated 38 billion tons of coal. In East Kalimantan, coal fires are still burning from each of the forest fire periods consuming valuable coal resources and destroying the land surface. Unlike forest and peat fires, coal fires persist for decades smoldering underground unaffected by even torrential monsoon rains. Estimates of active coal fires in East Kalimantan alone are between 760 and 3000.

Locally, coal fires pose serious health and safety risks from toxic fumes and land surface collapses that destroy infrastructure. On a global basis, they contribute large quantities of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere without providing any of the human benefits from energy consumption. In addition to these direct effects, coal fires remain a long-term source of ignition for new forest fires perpetuating a destructive cycle.

INDONESIAN FORESTRY: STATUS AND TRENDS

2011-02-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

1. Forest Resources

Based on the latest (1996) data, the present area of state natural forest lands covers 139.5 million hectares, consisting of 113.8 million hectares as permanent forest lands and 25.7 million hectares convertible forest lands. The permanent forest lands consists of 30.7 million hectares of protection forests, 18.8 million hectares of conservation forests (national parks, nature reserves, etc.) and 64.3 million hectares of production forests. Over 3.068 million hectares of forest lands had been converted to agricultural crop land and 0.93 million hectares for transmigration. The conversion is likely to be gradually eliminated in the near future because of environmental reasons.

The permanent forest land has been largely demarcated in the field. As of September 1996, MoF has established 226,865 kilometres of boundaries, of which 163,273 kilometres outer forest boundaries and 63,529 kilometres were concessions boundaries. Compared with 1989 when the length of forest boundary was only 51,019 kilometres, the achievement on forest boundary establishment during the last 6 years (1990-1996) has more than tripled or equivalent with 320 percent increase (Table 3). It is intended that the trend continue in the future in line with the efforts to implement sustainability scheme which partly requires certainty or assurance of tenure for forest land.

Table 3 - Forestry Boundary Establishment in Indonesia (as of September 1996)

No.	Year	Forest Boundary Completion (Km)*	Concession Boundary Completion (Km)	Total (Km)
1.	Up to 4th Five Year Development Plan (Pelita IV)	51,019.80	7,538.99	58,558.78
2.	Fifth Five Year Development Plan (Pelita V)	70,092.25	34,352.92	104,445.17
3.	Sixth Five Year Development Plan (Pelita VI) **	42,160.95	21,700.58	63,861.53
	TOTAL	163,273.00	63,592.49	226,865.49

Ministry of Forestry (1996)
Notes: * Outer and function forest boundaries; ** up to September 1996

The production forests, with total area of 64.3 million hectares, for instance, mostly fall into four vegetation types: mixed hill forests, peat swamp forests, fresh-water swamp forests and tidal forests (mangrove). Most production forests (73%) consist of mixed hill forests located up to 1,300 meters above sea level with the most important commercial species being, among others, Meranti (Shorea spp.). Keruing (Dipterocarpus spp.), Kapur (Dryobalanops spp.), Mersawa (Anisoptera spp.), Agathis (Agathis spp.), Ramin (Gonystylus bancanus), and Merbau (Intsia spp.).

As of March 1996 there were 483 units of concessionaires being operated covering 56.14 million hectares in natural production forest lands. The number of concessionaires and their area are decreasing compare to the 1990's figure when Indonesia had 575 concessionaires covering around 60 million hectares. Consistent with serious efforts on enforcing the law, the number of concessionaires are likely to be limited in the future. It is reported that in the coming five years the number of concessionaires are going to be reduced further through mergers, with the number declining to only 50 concessionaires throughout the country.

Besides, Indonesia is also continuously developing plantation forest under its timber estate development programme (TE), community forest development programme, and community mangrove forest development programme. The programme are mainly aimed at anticipating log shortage from natural forests as well as being a strategic effort to rehabilitate secondary and logged-over areas. Moreover, the programme is also directed at reducing social problems and the people pressure on the forest area.

The TE development programme has been implemented since 1983; until 1991, there were only two kinds of TE programmes, namely TE for pulp and TE specifically allocated for supporting plywood industries. In 1992, TE was also combined with transmigration development programme called TE-Trans (HTI-Trans). Starting in 1993 there is also a TE-like programme named "priority trees". TE therefore has four types of development programme. As of 1995, all TE development programmes covered an area for about 1.75 million hectares (Table 4); TE development programmes are to be continuously implemented in the future for social and environmental reasons and are targeted to have achieved about 6.4 million ha TE by the year 2000.

Table 4 - Timber Estate Development Programme (1989-1995) (Ha)

Year	TE-Pulp	TE-Plywod	TE-Trans	Priority Trees	Total
1989	29,160	102,495	0	0	131,655
1990	65,661	104,213	0	0	169,874
1991	104,222	109,769	0	0	213,991
1992	83,962	139,771	11,120	0	234,853
1993	113,066	138,625	50,021	71,895	373,607
1994	117,940	56,253	44,620	77,973	296,786
1995	162,200	54,449	48,551	61,248	326,448
TOTAL	676,211	705,575	154,312	211,116	1,747,214

Source: 1995 Forestry Statistic Indonesia. Secretariate General of Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia (recalculated)

Data for 1995 indicate that community forests covered 637,750 Ha distributed in all provinces in the country except Jakarta Special District. The distribution of community forests around the country is shown in Table 5.

Data for 1995 also indicate community mangrove forest development for last the five years. Until 1995, the development covered 18,009 Ha and no less than 108 sampling units as shown in Table 6. The development is likely to be further implemented continuously as, like other community forests, it has been designed for social and environmental reasons.

Table 5 - The Distribution of Community Forest Area (1995)

No.	Province	Area (Ha)	No.	Province	Area (Ha)
1.	Aceh Special District	7,696	15.	East Nusa Tenggara	127,949
2.	West Sumatera	17,540	16.	West Kalimantan	11,442
3.	North Sumatera	16,200	17.	Central Kalimantan	1,875
4.	Riau	14,500	18.	South Kalimantan	9,700
5.	Jambi	6,325	19.	East Kalimantan	4,158
6.	South Sumatera	19,459	20.	North Sulawesi	10,577
7.	Bengkulu	10,381	21.	Central Sulawesi	5,794
8.	Lampung	5,250	22.	South Sulawesi	35,618
9.	West Java	73,356	23.	South-East Sulawesi	11,247
10.	Central Java	96,013	24.	Maluku	2,658
11.	Yogyakarta Special District	9,968	25.	Irian Jaya	2,288
12.	East Java	127,728	26.	Jakarta Special District	-
13.	Ball	2,453	27.	East Timor	0.185
14.	West Nusa Tenggara	7,390
TOTAL					637,750

Source: Directorate General of Reforestation and Land Rehabilitation, Ministry of Forestry (1995)

Table 6 - Community Mangrove Forest Development (1991-1995)

Development	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	Total
Sampling Unit (units)	28	20	25	-	35	108
Mangrove Forest Plantation (Ha)	3,161	2,785	4,250	5,263	2,550	18,009

Source: 1995 Forestry Statistics Indonesia. Ministry of Forestry

The condition of most forest area can be assessed from the figures of existing critical land. The Ministry of forestry calculates that the critical forest land during the sixth five year development plan (PELITA VI) has reached serious proportions, namely 25.03 million Ha consisting of 17.52 million Ha outside forest area and the balance (7.51 million Ha) inside forest area as detailed in Table 7. There is a possibility of success in many efforts on land rehabilitation which give reason to hope that the amount of critical land will drop significantly in the near future.

Table 7 - Estimates of Critical Land before and after PELITA VI

Location of Critical Land	Area of critical land by time period (approximate)
Location of Critical Land	By end of PELITA VI	PELITA VI	PELITA VII and beyond	TOTAL (Ha)
Inside forest area	3,759,260	941,680	2,817,580	7,518,520
Outside forest area	8,758,370	2,626,470	6,131,900	17,516,740
TOTAL	12,517,630	3,568,150	8,949,480	25,035,260

Source: 1995 Forestry Statistics Indonesia. Ministry of Forestry
(Note: Pelita VI spans 1994/1995 - 1999/2000; Pelita VII will start in year 2000/2001;
all figures have been rounded off - Editor)

2. Environmental Initiatives

With regard to its forest management and utilisation, Indonesia is seriously giving attention to environmental matters. As mentioned earlier, Indonesia actively participates in the implementation of the CITES of wild flora and fauna and the Ramsar Convention. The country ratified the CBD in 1994 and Indonesia also hosted the third COP of the convention in May 1995. Furthermore, Indonesia has also been intensifying the maintenance of its allocated 49.5 million hectares totally protected area (TPA) in order to conserve its wildlife ecosystem richness. The TPA consists of protection forests (30.7 million hectares) and conservation areas (18.8 million hectares) to include national parks, nature reserve, game reserve, hunting parks, and grand forest parks.

Serious efforts have been maintained to implement the integrated conservation and development programme approach in the management of national parks. It is consistent with the spirit contained of UNCED 1992 outcomes. Currently (1996) there are 34 national parks covering 10.154 million hectares land and sea/water areas (Table 8).

Table 8 - National Parks in Indonesia (up to 1996)

No.	National Parks	Location	Area (Ha)
	NATIONAL PARKS
1.	Gunung Leuser	Aceh; N. Sumatera	792,675
2.	Kerinci Seblat	W. Sumatera, vie.	1,368,000
3.	South Bukit Barisan	Bengkulu; Lampung	365,680
4.	Berbak	Jambi	162,700
5.	Bukit Tiga Puluh	Riau; Jambi	127,698
6.	Siberut	W. Sumatera	190,500
7.	Way Kambas	Lampung	130,000
8.	Gunung Gede Pangrango	W. Java	15,000
9.	Halimun	W. Java	40,000
10.	Ujung Kulon	W. Java	122,956
11.	Alas Purwo	E. Java	43,420
12.	Baluran	E. Java	25,000
13.	Bromo Tengger Semeru	E. Java	58,000
14.	Meru Betiri	E. Java	50,000
15	Bali Barat	Bali	19,002
16.	Gunung Rinjani	W. Nusa Tenggara	40,000
17.	Kelimutu	E. Nusa Tenggara	5,000
18.	Komodo	E. Nusa Tenggara	173,300
19.	Bentuang Karimun	W. Kalimantan	800,000
20.	Wakatobi	N. Sulawesi	1,390,000
21.	Bukit Baka Bukit R	W & C. Kalimantan	181,090
22.	Gunung Palung	W. Kalimantan	90,000
23.	Tanjung Puting	C. Kalimantan	355,000
24.	Kutai	E. Kalimantan	198,629
25.	Lore Lindu	C. Sulawesi	229,000
26.	Rawa A. Matumohai	SE. Sulawesi	105,194
27.	Bogani Nani W	N. Sulawesi	287,115
28.	Manusela	Maluku	189,000
29.	Wasur	Irian Jaya	308,000
30.	Bunaken	N. Sulawesi	89,065
31.	Kep. Seribu	Jakarta	108,000
32.	Cendrawasih	Irian Jaya	1,453,500
33.	Karimun Jawa	C. Java	11,625
34.	Taka Bone Rate	N. Sulawesi	530,765
TOTAL			10,154,234

Source: MoF (1996). Progress Towards Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests (Objective Year 2000)
Note: National Park No. 30-34 printed bold are Marine National Parks.

Ujung Kulon and Komodo National Parks which have been certified by the IUCN as the World Heritage Sites are given priority in management. Gunung Gede Pangrango, Tanjung Puting, Lore Lindu and Leuser National Parks which have been designated by the UNESCO as Biosphere Reserves are also maintained with the maximum attention possible. Berbak National Park and Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve which have been designated as Ramsar sites are also given special attention. Three conservation areas, Wasur National Park in Irian Jaya among them, are being proposed to be Ramsar site too. The number of protected wildlife species is still the same, 538 species including 15 marine species. Indonesia has bred and cultivated more than 40 species of wildlife, including 12 wildlife protected species.

Some foundations were created to strengthen financing of various conservation measures are actively contributing to the conservation efforts in the country. They include the Wallacea Foundation to support the management of Bogani Nani Warta Bone National Park in Sulawesi; Leuser International Foundation to support Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatera.

In line with sustainable forest management scheme, MoF enacted Decrees No. 252 of 1993 and No. 576 of 1993 concerning the Criteria and Indicators (C and I) of Natural Production Forest Sustainability at National Level. These were followed by the issuance of MoF Decree No. 610 of 1993 concerning Sustainable Management of Natural Production Forest at Management Unit Level. Furthermore, the Director General of Forest Utilisation enacted Decree No. 208/1993 concerning Technical Guidance on C and I for Management Unit Level. The basic structure of these decrees are consistent with the ITTO C and I; the C and I have been used in considering applications for the extension of concession permits. Additionally, the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI) established a Timber Concession Guidance Committee to, among others tasks, supervise the concessionaires in the application in the field of the C and I of sustainable forest management. In 1994/1995 the committee, in co-operation with some universities, conducted thorough performance assessment of 61 timber concessions. For the working year 1996/1997 it was planned to assess. 180 concessions but only 40 of them were completed. It was observed that the issuance of the C and I has improved the concession performance.

Moreover, Indonesia Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) which was established in 1994 as a third independent body, is actively preparing the concept and implementation of C and I of sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level in the short run. Consistent with this, the GOI is also establishing a forestry accreditation committee called Technical Accreditation Committee (KAIT) composed of members from relevant forestry institutions including NGOs under coordination of the MoF.

3. Wood-based Industries

As of year 1995 there are at least 494 units of concessionaire-wood-based industry in Indonesia. These consist of 303 sawmill units with total annual capacity of 8.3 million cu m; 113 plymill units with total annual capacity of 10.9 million cu m; and 78 blockboard mills with total annual capacity of 1.5 million cu m. Besides, there are 2,094 units of non-concessionaire wood-based industries consisting of 2,024 units of sawmill (total capacity 10.67 million cu m/year), 7 units plymill (total capacity 146,650 cu m/year), 24 units of blockboard mill (total capacity 427,650 cu m/year) and 39 units of particleboard mill with total annual capacity of 2.7 million cu m. Details on this are in Table 9.

Table 9 - Wood-based Industries in Indonesia (1995)

Industry	Concession		Non Concession
Industry	Units	Capacity (cu m)	Units	Capacity (cu m)
Sawmill	303	8,304,199	2,024	10,670,903
Plywood	113	10,966,797	7	146,650
Blockboard	78	1,511,005	24	427,650
Particle Board	-	-	39	2,675,297
TOTAL	494	20,782,001	2,094	13,920,500

Source: Capricorn Indonesia Consult Inc. 1997

Total production of plywood in 1995 was 10.65 million cu m, while total production for blockboard and particleboard were respectively, 1.28 million cu m, and 1.17 million cu m. Data on total wood-based panels production for the last five years (1991-1995) are shown in Table 10 indicating that total production of wood-based panel industries has tended to decrease during the period. This trend is mainly because of significant decrease in plywood production⁷.

⁷Of particular interest in terms of structural shift in the panels industry is increase of particleboard from 4% of panels in 1991 to nearly 9% in 1995. Total output has grown 229% while that of all panels has increased only 8% (Editor).

Table 10 - Total Production of Wood-based Panel Industries (1991-1995)

Type of Panel	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Plywood	10,617,000	11,664,000	11,912,000	11,682,000	10,646,000
Blockboard	1,014,000	1,056,000	1,184,000	1,211,000	1,283,000
Particleboard	510,000	589,000	746,000	971,000	1,166,000
Total Wood-based Panel	12,141,000	13,230,000	13,792,000	13,864,000	13,095,000
Growth (%)		8.23	4.25	0.52	-5.55

Source: Capricorn Indonesia Consult Inc. 1997

Total production of logs and sawn timber for the last 5 years (1991-1995) shows significant fluctuations as well as overall significant decrease in production tend to decrease significantly, primarily after 1992. (Table 11). This phenomenon is probably in line with the claim that logs production during the period have been absorbed mostly by the national plywood industry so that national sawmill industries have experienced log/raw material shortage.

Table 11 - Timber Production (1991-1995)

Timber	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Logs (cu m)	23,809,761	26,049,496	26,848,010	24,027,277	24,850,061
Sawn Timber (cu m)	3,006,046	4,276,532	2,910,459	2,005,783	2,014,193
Total	26,815,807	30,326,028	29,758,469	26,033,065	26,864,259
Growth (%)		13.1	- 1.87	- 12.52	3.19

Source: 1996 Statistical Year Book of Indonesia. Central Bureau of Statistics

As of 1995 Indonesia forest-based industries also consist of 52 pulp and/or paper mills producing newspaper, printing paper, kraft paper, corrugated, and tissue papers and boards.

Total annual capacity is 3.31 million tons (CIC, 1995). Production of pulp industries in five year period (1990-1994) is shown in Table 12.

Table 12 - Production of Pulp Industries (1990-1994)

Type of Pulp	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Long Fibre (ton)	133,604	128,102	113,203	98,148	282,839
Short Fibre (ton)	741,300	822,321	777,388	688,059	756,925
Total (ton)	874,904	950,423	890,591	786,207	1,039,764
Growth (%)		8.63	-6.30	- 11.72	32.25

Source: Capricorn Indonesia Consult Inc. 1997

Domestic consumption, export and import of wood-based products are shown in Table 13, while Table 14 indicates the corresponding figures for paper and paperboard as well as consumption for pulp.

Table 13 - Domestic Consumption, Export and Import of Wood-based Products (cu m)

Wood-based Products	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
PLYWOOD
Domestic Consumption	1,677,000	1,583,000	2,131,000	2,545,000	2,639,000
Export	8,864,000	9,054,000	9,533,000	9,367,000	9,043,000
Import	-	-	-	-	-
BLOCKBOARD
Domestic Consumption	618,000	517,000	375,000	675,000	635,000
Export	358,000	443,000	681,000	659,000	558,110
Import	-	-	-	-	-
PARTICLE BOARD
Domestic Consumption	348,000	421,000	484,000	625,000	681,000
Export	85,000	92,000	108,000	223,000	279,000
Import	1,000	3,000	3,000	2,000	7,000

Source: Capricorn Indonesia Consult, Inc. 1997

Table 14 - Domestic Consumption of Pulp; Domestic Consumption, Export and Import of Paper and Paperboard

Wood-based Products	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
PULP (Domestic Consumption)
Virgin Pulp	1,028,073	1,155,608	1,342,365	1,501,273	1,767,543
Used Paper	418,543	474,013	576,669	660,920	793,356
PAPER AND PAPERBOARD
Domestic Consumption	1,371,370	1,479,100	1,844,400	2,091,700	2,399,100
Export	190,330	384,800	533,000	591,800	826,200
Import	123,600	114,900	114,600	111,400	171,300

Source: Capricorn Indonesia Consult, Inc. 1997

4. Non-wood Forest Product

There are many non-wood forest product (NWFP) produced, traded and consumed in Indonesia of which those which are economically worth mentioning are rattan (Calamus spp.), resin, cayuput oil, turpentine, and gum resin - these are by far are the most important non-wood products. Production of all these NWFP is shown in Table 15.

Table 15 - Production of NWFP (1991-1995)

NWFP	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Rattan (ton)	64,020	69,384	88,149	78,340	36,256
Gum Resin (ton)	37,141	53,090	78,369	74,204	47,960
Turpentine (ton)	8,593,000	9,038,000	11,439,000	13,175,000	8,975,000
Cayuput Oil (Itr)	274,124	280,305	312,831	332,478	235,497
Damar Resin (ton)	10,416	14,253	5,149	0	3,869

Source: 1996 Statistical Year Book of Indonesia. Central Bureau of Statistics

Indonesia has the most diverse rattan resources in the world and a major portion of the world's total rattan resource is found in Indonesia's forests. Rattan is socially and economically the most important NWFP. Rattan has excellent properties for furniture manufacturing and is extensively used by furniture industries in many countries. While marketed in the local market as a basic material for the furniture industry and smallholders handicrafts, rattan has a long-established reputation as an export oriented commodity.

Before the 1988 export ban of semi-processed rattan, about 170,000 to 180,000 tons of rattan were harvested annually, of which 60% was exported. This harvest level has left certain areas depleted of rattan stocks. The export ban of semi-processed rattan has resulted, however, in some dramatic changes in the rattan industry: the number of industrial units increased from 109 at the end of 1986 to 381 at the end 1988 increasing capacity from about 61,000 tons to 439,000 tons. At the same time, the development of rattan plantations has been slow (partly because of rattan farmer are no longer interested in rattan plantation for some reasons); the total area of rattan plantations is about 21,400 hectares. As a result, the production of rattan has tended to decrease significantly, as shown in Table 15.

Additionally, other NWFPs are recognised to be cayuput oil, gum resin, and damar resin. Resin tapping is carried out to a great extent in Java by the state-owned corporation, Perhutani. Besides, small scale resin tapping by private companies take place in the province of North Sumatera and Aceh. In Java about 30,000 hectares of pine (Pinus spp) plantation were brought under resin tapping by 1980. In this period resin production amounted to 15.5 thousand tonnes to yield about 10 thousand tonnes of rosin and 1,400 kilo litres turpentine. The area brought under resin tapping has grown steadily and reached 73,500 hectares in 1988. Consistent with this figure, the production of resin has also shown a steep increase: the production amounted to 45,200 tonnes representing more than three times increase over 1980 production level. The level of 1993 production was a peak level, since then the production level has significantly decreased (Table 15).

Other non-wood products which are currently utilised are also of fauna and flora products. Currently being utilised and harvested directly from the wild or through captive breeding are 135 species of reptiles, 16 species of mammals, 99 species of birds, 71 species of corals, 40 species of amphibians, 2 species of fishes, 3 species of arthropods, 1 species of tree ferns, 17 species of butterflies, and 2 species of agar woods. The foreign exchange from this utilisation is estimated to be about US$6 million annually.

Development of captive breeding programmes is being boosted in order to meet market demands as well as ex-situ conservation. About 40 species are currently in the programme involving 133 captive breeder companies. In the future, the wild harvest will tend to decrease as the result of habitat losses and the success of captive breeding programme. The programme developed mainly for commercial purposes is also directed to improve the welfare of the people surrounding the habitat. Sustainable fauna and flora utilisation will be directed towards the increase of value added such as export of only finished products, diversification of species and commercial efficiency.

5. Services of the Forest

Forest resources in Indonesia are also utilised for non-timber services purposes. In this sense, some forest areas are specifically designated for research, education as well as recreation purposes. All national parks, for instance, are also directed to accommodate such purposes. Besides, some other forest areas are already designated for serving such purposes as well, namely Grand Forest Parks (GFP). As of 1995, there were at least 9 GFPs in Indonesia. The name, location, and area of the GFPs are listed in Table 16.

Table 16 - Grand Forest Parks in Indonesia (1995)

No.	Name of Grand Forest Park	Location	Area (Ha)
1.	Dr. Mochamad Hatta	West Sumatera	500
2.	Bukit Barisan	North Sumatera	51,600
3.	Wan Abdul Rachman	Lampung	22,244
4.	Ir. H. Juanda	West Java	590
5.	R. Soeryo	East Java	25,000
6.	Sultan Adam	South Kalimantan	112,000
7.	Ngurah Rai	Bali	1,373
8.	Murhum	South-east Sulawesi	8,146
9.	Palu	Central Sulawesi	8,100

Source: 1995 Forestry Statistic of Indonesia. Secretariate General of Ministry of Forestry.

Source : http://www.fao.org

Indonesian Forestry: A Regional Context

2011-02-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Indonesian forest products exports came of age in the early 1980s and are showing the growing pains of a sector set on a rapid course of improvement in terms of foreign exchange earnings and of employment through value-added processing. Second only to oil-based exports in 1989, forest product exports bring annually between US$3 and 3.5 billion of gross foreign exchange earnings - slightly more than 50% of the US$6 billion of positive balance of visible trade for the nation.

A common perception is that appropriate policies and strategies have succeeded in giving Indonesia rapid development of very positive international trade trends and the achievement by Indonesia of its rightful position as a world leader in trade of tropical forest products.

The phenomenal development in economic and trade growth in the East Asia Region (including China) and South East Asia has given positive impetus to Indonesia's foreign trade. Additionally, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan Province of China, China's Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore and other ASEAN member countries have until recently shown quite high economic growth. The position of Indonesia in the regional econo-political constellation in Asia has benefited from the performance of these economies; however, Indonesia faces the challenge of cost-competitive labour from the developing countries in this region. The development challenge is likely to be harder in the future considering that, like Indonesia, some other ASEAN countries are now suffering from the recent economic and monetary crisis.

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has wide implications for the national economy and economic relations among ASEAN member countries, some of which export similar forest products to Indonesia; this must be anticipated and considered in determining the policy of national economic development including in forestry. AFTA would then be used to strengthen solidarity and enhance the spirit of ASEAN to increase the bargaining power of its member countries towards the future free market under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and successor arrangements under the World Trade Organization.

One of the problems of GATT which will put South countries under pressure is the issue of trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIP). TRIP is perceived to be mainly meant as an effective mechanism to slow down technology transfer. The implementation of GATT will open the market access of forest products industries in the international market. In the open market system, only, high quality products will (easily) sell and these can be produced only by countries with qualified human resources. Given the recent economic crisis situation in some Asian countries, such as the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and also Indonesia, competition to attract foreign investors will get tighter. Indonesian forestry industry therefore has difficulties to specify precisely its orientation to the future, since almost all economic sectors in the country are now still looking for the easiest solution for relieving the effects of the crisis through economic and political reform.

In addition to being mainly a wood source, it has been realised that Indonesian forests have a number of multiple functions, including: (a) as a storage of germ plasm of great diversity, a storage (in the form of wood) for carbon, and producer of non-wood products; (b) as protector of the life-supporting ecology, through the hydrological, carbon/oxygen, and nutrient cycles; (c) maintaining the existence of biodiversity and the ecosystem; and (d) as a resource for research, education and nature appreciation through tourism and recreation services.

The functions and uses of forest will be continuously enjoyed if the management pays due respect to principles of sustainability. The mission of forestry development in Indonesia is to carry out management of forest resource for the needs of present and future generations, through wise utilisation with due respect to the multiple functions of the forest. Ecotourism is one of the major forms of sustainable utilisation of the forest being continuously developed in Indonesia. It will be developed more in both Nature Recreation Parks and Hunting Parks. There are 34 established National Parks ready for developing ecotourism areas; ecotourism will also be developed in production and protection forests. Ecotourism is likely to be another major avenue of forest utilisation in the near future.

In supporting conservation objectives, Indonesia is also involved and actively participates in the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and Ramsar Convention protecting wetlands. Indonesia ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and also hosted the third Conference of the Parties of the convention. Besides, Indonesia has also been intensifying the maintenance of its allocated 49.5 million hectares totally protected area (TPA) in order to conserve its wildlife ecosystem richness. It consists of protection forests and conservation areas to include national parks, nature reserves, game reserves, hunting parks, and grand forest parks. In line with the spirit of UNCED, Indonesia has also made serious efforts to implement continuously the integrated conservation and development programme approach in the management of national parks.

Issues

The forest fires which repeatedly occurred between August - November 1997 have been a major environmental issue to Indonesia because of their global impacts. It has been reported that the disturbance of smoke and haze from the fires spread widely over some neighbouring countries mainly Singapore and Malaysia. In this period the fires burned thousands of hectares of forest and plantation land in the two major islands of the country, Sumatera and Kalimantan. Some valuable help came from Malaysia to fight the fires ass rapidly as possible. All the efforts and the changes of weather have allowed significant progress in gradually terminating the fires. Again, forest concessionaires and tree crop plantation have been considered to be major contributors. They have been a key factor increasing the possibility of the fires to occurs. One of the implications is that the fires set back the implementation of forest management according to SFM requirements. Facing the issue, the government implement some practical efforts to cope the fires and reduce the impact.

In the first week of February 1998 new forest fires started and burned some 6,200 Ha of East Kalimantan forest land. The most recent information indicates that in order to overcome the fires in Indonesia, the government through the Agency for Technological Investigation and Application (BPPT) is seeking international co-operation. Together with Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Indonesia is going to design an integrated forest fires protection system and will carry out mapping to classify forest areas having potential for serious forest fires. Meanwhile, with Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia is going to establish a forest fire information system. The first cooperation will be implemented over two years beginning this year (1998).⁵

⁵ Kompas Daily, February 18, 1998.

In addition, the GOI also maintains a National Team for Forest Fire Control. To anticipate the occurrence of forest fire during the dry season, every year, the GOI launched a Forest Fire Awareness Campaign led by several cabinet ministers related to forestry. There was no major forest fire occurrence during the 1995, but serious forest fires occurred in 1997 partly because of long-dry season and El-Nino effects. Forest concessionaires and tree crop plantations, however, have been considered to be major contributors to the starting of fires.

Population pressure on forest areas is still an issue; pressure is expected to be more serious over time. The government, however, is continuously intensifying many social-related forestry programme such as forest village development scheme (PMDH), community-based forest management, and people's participation in forest management. In 1995, forest disturbance considered to be caused by the pressure of people is shown in Table 2.

Table 2 - Forest Disturbances in 1995

No.	Type of Forest Disturbances	Area (Ha)
1.	Forest land encroachment (stealing)	12,886.55
2.	Illegal occupancy	3,210.00
3.	Overlapping forest utilisation	1,573.00
4.	Illegal cutting	29,285.53
5.	Forest fires	0
	Total	46,955.08

Source: 1995 Forestry Statistics of Indonesia. Secretariate General of Ministry of Forestry (recalculated)

The village development scheme (PMDH) is a kind of legal arrangement for the involvement of local communities in forest management. The scheme involves forest concessionaire, the dwellers and/or local communities, local government, and the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) itself. Under this scheme, forest concessionaires have obligation to care for the local communities through creation of activities designed and determined by them by fully involving local communities participation and responding to its aspirations. Besides, the PMDH programme together with other similar activities like social forestry were also designed to alleviate property (tenure) problems. It is reported that as of July 1996 there are 475 units of prospective PMDH implemented, covering 689 villages around the country and involving no less than 62,723 households of villagers (MoF, 1996).

The recent monetary and economic crisis is another major issue being faced by Indonesia. The crisis has had negative impacts on the confidence of people in the Indonesia currency (Rupiah), market structure, and even in the political stability. The exchange rate of the US dollar to the Rupiah has recently been considered to reflect irrational behaviour of local and international speculators; to cope with the crisis, Indonesia has signed a 50-points Indonesia - IMF memorandum called "Letter of Intent" indicating the necessary liberalisation and structural reform steps to be taken by Indonesia in financial, economic as well as political spheres.

The conditions requested by the IMF cover various economic and monetary aspects containing an economic recovery package programme, namely: (a) the recovery of the financial sector, (b) fiscal policies, (c) monetary policies including policies related to currency exchange rates, and (d) structural adjustment.

Structural adjustment is basically aimed at increasing the national efficiency and the competitiveness of the Indonesian economy. It partly covers: (a) gradual reduction of import duty tariffs, (b) gradual reduction of exports barriers including export tax, (c) review of investment and expenditure in the public sector including government expenditure for state-owned companies and strategic companies. Privatisation will continue, including the privatisation of government banks after mergers have been completed.

There are at least eight articles of the IMF memorandum directly related to the forestry sector, namely articles 10, 12, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, and 50. All these articles basically call for so-called forestry reform including liberalisation in forest industry and trade. The articles are mainly aimed at increasing the national forest industry efficiency and its competitiveness in the future international market. The articles also underline the importance of intensifying the implementation of the principles of sustainability forest management. In short, the eight articles substantively require three key points, namely:

· create consistency and transparency specifically in decision-making processes regarding utilisation of forests as a public goods,
· open competitive market mechanism⁶, and
⁶It is understood that among key liberalisation measures will be freedom to export logs (Editor).

· strengthen property rights in forest utilisation to make it more clearly defined. The most important thing to Indonesia now is then how all these point can completely be taken into account in formulating policies regarding production forest utilisation and future export market mechanisms, especially for plywood industries.

Long Term Objectives and Goals | Considerable development of Indonesian forest and forestry

2011-02-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

Considerable development of Indonesian forest and forestry was initiated 30 years ago. Forestry became one of the lead sectors for development and during this period Indonesian forestry has constituted a very essential sector of the Indonesian economy. The forestry sector contributes to employment, the development of backward and remote areas, foreign exchange revenues, and generates goods for other sectors of the economy. In short, directly and indirectly, forests greatly contribute to the social and economic welfare of the country. Indonesian forests provide raw materials to a large number of industries so that forest and wood-based industries have domestic and export markets and provide significant multiplier effects.

The Major Guidelines for National Development of Indonesia (GBHN) indicate that Indonesia forest resources should be utilised in a rational and sustainable way with regard to their environmental role and the needs of future generations. The specific goals of Indonesian forestry are related to: (a) environmental conservation, (b) economic growth, (c) social welfare, (d) reduction in unemployment, (e) trade-off in involvement of private, public and co-operative sectors especially in economics activities, (f) promotion of investment and economic growth in less developed regions, and (g) attention to global environmental issues.

The more specific goals of Indonesia forest resource management have been centred upon: (a) develop the outer islands so as to relieve population pressure in Java and Bali; (b) utilise forests, including plantations, for national development; (c) develop more productive man-made forests and convert degraded-unproductive areas to produce more wood; (d) generate livelihood opportunities for forest communities and the rural population through the multiple-use management of forests; and (e) conserve natural resources to benefit present and future generations.

In implementing these policies, the MoF derives the programmes on the basis of some items of legislation. Some legislation relevant to forestry development are Act No. 5 of 1967 - the basic forestry law; Act No. 4 of 1982 - the basic environmental management law; and Act No. 5 of 1990 - the conservation of natural living resource and their ecosystems. Under the Act No. 5 of 1967, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) through the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) holds authority to control, manage, and administer the forest resource. The Act No. 5 of 1967 basically determined that forest resource development be directed to: (a) water regulation, (b) flood and erosion prevention, (c) wood and non-wood production, and (d) source of income. The Act also covered the sustained yield principle and the rights of present and future generations to access to and hence benefit from the forest.

In fact, the policies on forestry are mainly based on national development objectives defined under a 25-year long-term national development plan (Pola Dasar Pembangunan Jangka Panjang (PJP) further detailed in a 5-year national development plan (Pelita). Indonesia is now in the period of the second long-term national development plan (PJP II) from 1994 to 2019, under which the national objectives are directed to economics, environmental, religion, culture, national defence and security, as well as politics. In the beginning of this period, particularly during the ongoing Pelita VI (1995-2000), the objectives of forestry sector emphasise sustainability, conservation, people's participation in forestry activities, poverty alleviation as well as economic and political stability. This would be further implemented consistently in the future.

How far all these long-term objectives can be achieved now depends greatly on success of the government in handling the recent monetary and confidence crisis. In facing the crisis, the government is now preparing some strategic and practical responses to hold the targets and objectives unchanged partly through implementation of the 50-point Letter of Intent agreed upon with the IMF.

Source : http://www.fao.org/

The Indonesian Economy and the Role of Forestry

2011-02-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

Indonesian forestry plays an important role in increasing economic development partly through foreign exchange earnings, job and business opportunities, as well as acceleration of development for remote regions. In the 1980's decade, forest-related employment accounted for about 5.4% of the total labour force (MoF, 1991). In this period, the forestry sector contributed an average 16% of total foreign exchange earnings annually and 27% of non-oil export earnings. These figures were relatively sustained at least until 1994, when foreign exchange from forestry sector was about US$4.2 billion.

During the last two years (1995-1996) the forestry sector contributed an average 3.85% of total gross domestic product (GDP) which in 1995 was about Rp. 454,514.1 billion, and in 1996 had increased to Rp, 532,630.8 billion. Both these GDP figures decrease slightly when calculated on non-oil basis, namely Rp. 417,705.8 billion (1995) and Rp. 490,316.6 billion (1996). In this two-year period, the growth rate of the total GDP is about 18.91% (1995) and 17.19% (1996), while for non-oil-based, the GDP growth rate is respectively 19.79% and 17.38%¹. In the same period, the corresponding GDP growth rate for the forestry sector was about 7.15% (1995) and 6.67% (1996).²

¹The basis for GDP growth estimation reported here appears to differ from that generally used by the Asian Development Bank, the estimates of which suggest GDP growth at 8.1 % in 1995 and 7.9% in 1996.
² 1996 Statistical Year Book of Indonesia. Central Bureau of Statistic (data was recalculated).

Indonesia's population growth rate is decreasing; in 1992 the population was about 184.49 million and it just reached 196.81 million in 1996. A study by Capricorn Consult Inc. projected that the population will become 211.20 million by the year 2000. The average annual growth rate of population during this period (1992-1996) is around 1.6% (Table 1). Compared to the 1980's decade rate of around 2.12%, this reduced figure shows a good achievement by Indonesia in managing her population, mainly through success of family planning programmes. Average per capita income of Indonesian has grown from US$80 in 1967 to US$650 in 1990 and to US$1,155 in 1996³ although following recent turmoil, the latest data (1998) indicate that average per capita income has decreased to US$610⁴ based on assumptions that economic growth is zero, inflation rate is 20%, population growth rate is 1.6%, while exchange rate is US$1.00 to Rp. 5000.

³ Calculated on the basis of 1 US$=Rp. 2400, before monetary crisis of 1997-98.
⁴ KOMPAS Daily, Tuesday February 17, 1998 p. 2.

Table 1 - Indonesian Population 1992-1996 (million)

Year	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	2000*
Population	184.49	187.60	190.68	193.75	196.81	211.20

Source: Central Bureau of Statistic, 1996 except for the year 2000 cited from Capricorn Indonesia Consult Inc.

MoF believes that sustainable development of wood and non-wood forest products can provide 6 millions to 8 millions job opportunities by the year 2000. Should industrial growth be uncontrolled, however, resource sustainability would be seriously affected in the longer-term. Hence, it is also realised to be extremely important to Indonesia to manage its forest resource in such way as to ensure resource sustainability over time. To accommodate this idea, MoF has also committed itself to implementing sustainable forest management (SFM) scheme encouraged by International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), under which Indonesia intends to attain sustainability in terms of economic, ecological and social functions of forests. The recent economic turmoil, however, will result in more and more uncertainty in predicting the achievement of all goals and commitments in the future. The turmoil also requires that Indonesians work harder and harder for a better future.

Source : http://www.fao.org

Forest of Indonesia

2010-12-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

Many of Indonesia's forests include in Tropical Rain Forest is a complex community whose framework is provided by trees of many sizes. Forest canopy is used as a general one to describe the total plant community above the ground. Within the canopy the microclimate differs from that. outside; there is less light, humidity is higher, and temperature is lower. Many of the smaller trees grow in the shade of the larger ones in the microclimate that these produce. Upon the framework of the tree and within the microclimate of the canopy grow a range of other kinds of plants: climbers, epiphytes, strangling, plants parasites, and saprophytes. The trees and most of the other plants are rooted in the soil and draw nutrients and water from it. Their fallen leaves, twigs, branches, and other parts provide ; food for a host of invertebrate animals, amongst which termites are often important, and for fungi and bacteria. Nutrients are returned to the soil via decay of fallen parts and by leaching from the leaves by rain-water. It is a feature of tropical rain forest that most of the total nutrient store is in the vegetation; relatively little is held in the soil.

Indonesia’s forests are an extraordinary natural phenomenon, of immense value and beauty. Over ten per cent of the planet’s diversity of plants and animals are found only in Indonesia, including orangutan, elephants, tigers, rhinoceros, a thousand species of birds, and thousands of plant species. The archipelago is also home to hundreds of indigenous groups who have lived from and managed Indonesia’s forests for thousands of years. The forests provide food, medicines, building materials and clothing fibers, not only for indigenous communities, but also for world markets. Indonesia also possesses more endangered species than any other country in the world largely because of deforestation.

Mt. Merapi | Eruptions damage surrounding forests

2010-11-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

The eruption of hot clouds and volcanic ash from Mount Merapi have caused significant damage to forests surrounding the mountain, a government official says.

The current eruptions have damaged at least 400 hectares of forest on the slopes of Merapi, after around 560 hectares were damaged in the 2006 eruptions.

"The damage may grow with later eruptions," Central Java Forestry Agency chief Sri Puryono said Tuesday.

Reforestation efforts were due to commence in November, Pur-yono said.

Central Java and Yogyakarta, where Mount Merapi lies, are home to a total of 6,500 hectares of forest.

The steep gradients and the slow growth of mountainous plants around Merapi would be likely to make the reforestation process slow, he said.

Puryono said the forest could to take up to 10 years to recover.

"Besides pine and rasamala trees, we plan to grow guava trees for the animals," he said, explaining that his office had been informed by residents living around the forests that many monkeys had been venturing into villages because of a scarcity of fruit trees in their habitat.

"The provincial administration has earmarked Rp 4 million [about

US$400] per hectare for the reforestation program," Puryono said.

He added that the economic cost of the environmental damage had not been estimated, but said ecological damage had clearly taken place, especially the death of vegetation and water pollution.

The numbers of animals had declined in affected areas, Semarangs Diponegoro University environmental science Prof. Sudharto P. Hadi said.

This had made it more difficult for local residents to predict volcanic activity since previously birds and animals, would descend from the mountain prior to an eruption, he said.

"The Javanese call it the titen knowledge, or reading the naturalsigns that can be used to predict a natural phenomenon," he said, adding that the community now had to rely solely on official warnings from the government.

The number of animals in the area has reportedly declined drastically because of damage to the forests.

Sand quarrying on the slopes of Merapi, which has now extended to the Merapi National Park, has been blamed for some of this damage.

"The government should take a firm stance on those involved in environmental destruction. Residents around Mount Merapi sometimes still have more faith in natural signs compared to scientific explanations, so both of them need to be in synergy," he said.

Source : The Jakarta Post

Merapi eruption halts social, economic activities in Kebumen

2010-11-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

After a series of rain of ashes from the erupting Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta pouring their city in the past three days, residents of Kebumen, Central Java, said they had seen their regular social and economic activities affected by the incident.

Dalyunani, 66, who lives nearby Karanganyar railway station, said she had found only several stalls operating in the Karanganyar wet market since Friday after most vendors in the market had chosen to stay at home following the first heavy rain of ashes the day before.

"It makes the price of many vegetables, like potatoes and water spinach, have increased by double," she told The Jakarta Post Saturday.

Umi, a water spinach farmer from Sruweng district, said she could not sell her product to the market since Thursday after her water spinach field had been covered by volcanic ashes.

"There is no chance I can supply water spinach again until the [Merapi] eruption fully ended," the mother of six said.

Both Umi and Dalyunani said they had also warned their family members to wear mask every time they went for outdoor activities.

Located 120 kilometers away west of Yogyakarta, Kebumen has found most buildings, vehicles, trees and streets in its area covered by a thin layer of volcanic ashes.

Some students met by the Post on Saturday morning said their school had asked them to return home, saying that the teaching activities would be resumed until the situation "get better."

"But no teacher could say when exactly we could go to school again," said Bahtiar, an 8th grader in SMP 4 Kebumen State Junior High School.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com

Merapi’s wrath claims more lives

2010-11-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

Burned to ash: An Indonesian Red Cross official examines the damage from the plumes of hot ash and lava from Mount Merapi at Bronggang village, Cangkringan, Sleman regency, in Yogyakarta on Friday. The 750 degree Celsius hot gas burned down several villages and killed more than 70 people from Thursday midnight. JP/Slamet Susanto

Hot clouds of ash and lava from smoldering Mount Merapi claimed more victims Friday, torching at least two villages in Yogyakarta and killing dozens of more lives.

The death toll from the disaster climbed to 122 on Friday, forcing authorities to expand the danger zone to a 20-kilometer radius from the mountain.

Ash showers spread to most cities in Central Java and Yogyakarta, where Indonesia’s most active volcano is located, and even reached as far as Bandung and Bogor, West Java.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Geological Agency head R. Sukhyar said Merapi’s eruption could be heard up to 20 kilometers away while volcanic ash had reached as far as Bandung.

“Merapi’s eruption on Friday was the biggest in the country since Mount Galunggung’s eruption in 1982.

It is the biggest for Merapi in the past century,” he said Friday. Sukhyar said it was hard to calculate when the volcano would cease activity. “Do not ask us when it will stop. We really don’t know. Magma continues spilling.”

Before Friday’s eruption, the volcano had killed 44 people, mostly in its first eruption on Oct. 26, which destroyed two villages, Kaliadem and Kinahrejo, both in Cangkringan district, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.

Two more villages, Bronggang Suruh in Argomulyo and Slodokan in Wukirsari, were completely devastated by the volcano’s hot clouds of ash and lava Friday.

“We did not predict hot clouds would reach Argomulyo, which is not located inside the 20-kilometer danger zone,” said Argomulyo resident Nur Syamsu Hadi on Friday. “The blast was very frightening. It was so loud and strong.”

He said most residents did not flee to safety, believing they were in the safe zone. The subdistrict is just 14.2 kilometers from the crater.

“People should have known to leave areas within 20 kilometers of Merapi. We have informed them,” Sleman administration spokeswoman Endah Sri Widiastuti said.

Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) head Surono said the magma supply from Friday’s eruption had risen from a depth of 7 kilometers beneath the crater. Previously, the eruptions’ magma came from a 2-kilometer depth. “That’s why the tremor could be heard up to a radius of 20 kilometers from the volcano,” he said.

Friday’s eruption also disrupted traffic and forced Yogyakarta’s Adi Sutjipto Airport authority to temporarily close the airport Friday. It is scheduled to resume activity Saturday morning.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto said in a statement that all passengers can reschedule their flights or refund their tickets by calling the Garuda Call Center at 08041807807.

Retno, a passenger of a Yogyakarta-Jakarta flight, said she was told her flight was canceled. “I have to wait until tomorrow for my flight.”

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport authority also canceled all flights leaving for Yogyakarta for safety reasons. The cancelation affected a total of 41 flights bound for Yogyakarta, causing thousands of passengers to be stranded for hours at Terminal 1.

Panti Nugroho Hospital on Jl. Kaliurang also decided to close operation Friday and evacuated its patients to Panti Rapih Hospital in downtown Yogyakarta.

“We made the decision as the site is no longer safe,” said the hospital’s director, Tendean Arif Wibowo.
Rescuers worked hard to evacuate survivors and the dead, struggling to cope with thick, hot volcanic dust and smoke from burning material.

“Evacuating victims is difficult since the condition is still dangerous. We prioritize survivors so they can immediately be sent to hospital,” said Purwo Gogon of Yogyakarta’s search and rescue team.

Victims, with clothes, blankets and even mattresses fused to their skin from 750 degree Celsius heat, were evacuated on stretchers following the explosion, The Associated Press reported.

Soldiers joined rescue operations in hardest-hit Bronggang village, pulling at least 78 bodies from homes and streets blanketed by ash up to 30-centimeters deep.

“The heat surrounded us and there was white smoke everywhere,” Niti Raharjo, 47, who was thrown from his motorbike along with his 19-year-old son while trying to flee, told the AP.

“I saw people running, screaming in the dark, people were so scared they fell unconscious,” he said from his hospital bed. “There was an explosion that sounded like bombs during a war ... and it got worse with ash and debris raining down.”

Police officer Col. Tjiptono told AP that most bodies were found in front of houses and on streets, adding it appeared many villagers died from searing gas while trying to escape.

In Semarang, head of Central Java Disaster Mitigation Body Djarot Nugroho said the eruption was beyond the calculations of PVMBG, the authority responsible for the regional administrations’ disaster mitigation plan.

These miscalculations, he said, were responsible for the failure to implement disaster mitigation plans, mainly in regards to refugees.

“Makeshift tents are unavailable since the area where they were deployed is now included in the danger zone,” he said Friday.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com

Flood in West Papua | Forest Damages Have Caused Flood in Wasior

2010-10-11T01:18:00.000-07:00

Forest damages assumedly have caused flood in Wasior, West Papua, according to the Coordinator of Social and Environmental Advocacy Network in Papua (Jasoil) Pitsaw Amafnini.

Pitsaw explained that flood has inundated Wasior Kota and Wondiwoi District.

“Flooding is from overflowing Wasior and Dusner River. These rivers are overflowing because it cannot accommodate water, because soil of forest in Wasior cannot absorb the water after trees in the forest had been cut down,” said Pitsaw on Tuesday, 5 October 2010.

Residents of Wasior fled from their home, and now they stay at a temporary shelter. 57 injured people had been evacuated to Nabire Hospital. Until Tuesday evening, 56 residents of Wasior reportedly died in the flood. (E4). VHRmedia, Manokwari

Source: http://www.vhrmedia.com/Forest-Damages-Have-Caused-Flood-in-Wasior-news6086.html

Environment Ministry: forest conditions in Wasior good

2010-10-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The environment ministry (KLH) says that the condition of the forest above Wasior, the capital of Teluk Wondama district in West Papua is still good.

The office`s assistant deputy for lake and river damage control, Antung Deddy Radiansyah, said at the office here on Thursday a team of Green Indonesia Program had checked several days before the flash flood occured.

"A team from KLH conducted a field check several days before the flood and saw 90 percent of forest coverage was still good," Andung said.

He said the flood occured after the steep slope in the upstream area of Wasior River slided to cover the river.

"The landslide covered the river like damming it up to cause a flash flood," he said.
Andung also predicted the slope had fallen because of the effect of a recent earthquake in Papua.

According to data from satellite imaging the Wasior river was unable to hold rainwater after it was covered by soil from the landslide.

He said KLH had already made a map of areas vulnarable to landslides and floods across the country, also making a note of environmental destructions found in the areas.

"The man has been made known to all local governments since January 2010 including the Papua administration," he said.

Based on it he said local governments had to conduct delineation and identify areas vulnarable to natural disasters.

"Based on the map local governments must make an adaptation program to face climate change problems that may happen in their regions," he said.(*)

Source : http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1286483438/environment-ministry-forest-conditions-in-wasior-good

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) - the link with wetlands

2010-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Wetlands and the REDD negotiations

Voluntary carbon trading schemes

Before briefly outlining potential links with wetlands in the negotiations on REDD in the Kyoto CDM-funded sense described in section 1 above, it should be noted that a number of voluntary carbon trading initiatives of relevance are also in existence. Some of these may continue outside the UNFCCC regulatory regime; while others are conceived as pilots for what could eventually be embraced by that regime.

For example, the World Bank launched its first prototype carbon fund in 2000, and now has ten carbon funds, including BioCarbon (BioCF) which is financing 3 pilot REDD projects. In 2007 the Bank launched the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, designed to give pilot experiences of REDD in a few countries as background for the UNFCCC negotiations (the payment structures are based on options under discussion in the Convention), as well as helping to build capacity on the issue (World Bank, 2007). Indonesia has recently (March 2009) asked for support under this programme for reducing emissions from loss of both forests and peatlands. The FAO, UNDP and UNEP are also collaborating in a joint UN REDD programme, financed by a multi-donor trust fund established in 2008.

Among NGOs, Wetlands International operates a Global Peatland Fund for investing in peatland restoration and conservation projects with associated socioeconomic development goals, initially in Indonesia, which are designed to generate verified and tradeable carbon credits (Voluntary Emission Reductions, or VERs). The Fund will trade the VERs on international voluntary carbon markets, with a portion of profits going to the Fund’s investors and the rest being used to support community development projects. The UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is active with partner organisations in Europe on peatland restoration schemes (in Belarus, in particular) designed to operate in similar ways.

REDD in the post-2012 regime for the Kyoto Protocol

UNFCCC COP13 Decision 1/CP.13, known as the Bali Action Plan, sets out the process for preparing decisions to be made at COP15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 which will frame implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol in the period beyond 2012. The scope of this mandate includes deliberations on “various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to … promote mitigation actions”.

Numerous proposals have been developed by a variety of governments and organisations for schemes to institutionalise and finance REDD formally in the post-2012 regime. Parker et al (2008) give a guide to 33 of these proposed schemes, with cross-references to the UNFCCC technical documents relating to each of them. In addition, an open source data set and model to evaluate the carbon emission and financial implications of alternative approaches to providing positive economic incentives for REDD has been built by the Collaborative Modelling Initiative on REDD Economics, a consortium including the Terrestrial Carbon Group, Conservation International, the Environmental Defense Fund, the University of East Anglia and Woods Hole Research Center, with input from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the Prince's Rainforests Project.

Aspects of the legal options for an international agreement on REDD have also been reviewed by FIELD (2008). An agreement could take any one of a number of forms, including amendments to the Kyoto Protocol, a separate Protocol, or other decisions under the parent Convention. FIELD point out that in some places there are already relatively comprehensive frameworks of national nature conservation and forestry legislation that could provide an entry point. They also point out however that many indigenous peoples and local communities whose livelihoods depend on forests are not supportive of current proposals for REDD, because of concerns about their involvement and the frequent lack of good institutional structures for cascading benefits to them. FIELD therefore emphasise the need for REDD funds not to be focused solely on reducing emissions, but also to contribute to the improvement of forest governance and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Moreover, a badly designed REDD mechanism could reinforce the perception of forests as valuable only or mainly in terms of the carbon that they contain, rather than taking into account other ecosystem services and types of values.

First wetland dimension: wetland forests

There are perhaps three potential dimensions to a linkage between wetlands and the concepts for REDD that are currently being advanced. First, as explained in section 1 above, some forests are also wetlands. UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.13 recognised that “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries can promote co-benefits and may complement the aims and objectives of other relevant international conventions and agreements”, and this would be a basis for perceiving one form of synergy between REDD and the Conventions on wetlands (Ramsar) and biodiversity (CBD), for example. Avoiding deforestation can support conservation of soil, water, biodiversity and non-timber forest products.

As has been pointed out, however (Ecosystems Climate Alliance 2009), the carbon in natural ecosystems is resilient, and it might be more proper to consider biodiversity conservation as a core benefit rather than (in the terms of Decision 2/CP.13) a “co-benefit”.

Moreover, given the different carbon storage potential of different soil types, and the high capacity for example of peatlands in this regard, the primary emission reduction objective itself can be enhanced in forests which are also wetlands (such as peatswamp forests). Hence even in terms solely of the achievement of Kyoto targets, there may be good reason (ie greater carbon benefit per dollar) to give priority to forested wetlands in implementing schemes for REDD.

Second wetland dimension: forest hydro-security

The functioning of any forest system that is subject to measures for REDD will be dependent on a range of external influences. A key one of these is the hydrological context: every forest exists in a water catchment, and the management of that catchment, of its water resources and all activities that can affect these will be a crucial part of the equation. This in turn is heavily bound up with the functioning of wetlands in the landscape. Forest management that involves replenishment planting may be particularly dependent on adequate water supplies for supporting young trees; but more generally too, forest areas involved in REDD should be more viable in areas where there is better wetland conservation and river basin management.

Third wetland dimension: extending REDD concepts to cover wetlands

There has been substantial advocacy in recent years for considering the role of ecosystems other than forests in contributing to “avoided destruction and degradation” methods of reducing emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Peatlands and other wetlands have been acknowledged as obvious contenders for integration into a post-2012 framework (Royal Society, 2008).

Part of this debate relates to land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities of developed countries within their own territory under Articles 3.3 and 3.4 of the Protocol. Discussion has focused in particular on the scope of coverage of emissions from soil and vegetation, where non-agricultural/nonforestry wetland soils and vegetation are not currently covered (Ecosystems Climate Alliance, 2009; Ramsar Secretariat et al, 2007; Wetlands International, 2008b; Wetlands International, 2009b). Since the focus of the present paper is on ideas for Certified Emission Reduction credits to be generated under Article 12 of the Protocol from CDM-funded projects in developing countries, this Art 3.3-3.4 dimension is not considered further here.

An extensive treatment of options for inclusion of peatlands in post-2012 climate agreements is given in Pena (2008), much of which would be relevant to a consideration of the scope for inclusion of other wetland types as well. Pena’s review is critical of the human activity-based approach to addressing land management issues in Kyoto, and suggests for the future that an approach based on land types and sectors would be more effective, on the grounds of burden-sharing advantages and the ability to accommodate multiple-use situations.

Pena also assesses options for improving the effectiveness of the Clean Development Mechanism in this regard, given the potential for problems arising for example from competition between projects, or between CDM investment and investment in mitigation activities in developed (Annex I) countries. Although wetlands could be addressed by the CDM on a project basis, the general discussions on REDD have tended to focus on national-level approaches, which Pena’s review considers attractive in respect of wetlands too.

The review recommends that to be effective it will be important to reduce the effort required to set baselines; to ensure that all relevant gases are within the scope; to cover both conservation and restoration of wetlands, and to minimise negative impacts on prices of land, food, feed and fibre. Further work is also recommended on quantifying relevant wetland carbon balances (see also Lloyd, in prep); among other things to ensure proper valuation of resulting credits.

In terms of instruments, current models for REDD could be expanded to cover wetlands; or analogous/parallel wetlands-specific models could be constructed. There is a concern that given the relatively small number of countries with a significant extent of peatlands compared to those with forests, it may be harder to mobilise a groundswell of advocacy among developing countries for a wetlandspecific mechanism than it has been for REDD. This may make expansion of REDD a more practical option than aiming for a separate mechanism.

Concern about the magnitude of credits that might come to the market was one reason for the original exclusion of avoided deforestation from eligibility under the CDM, and this would need to be addressed for peatlands/wetlands too, perhaps by capping the proportional tonnage of targets that can be met from this source. Pena also considers ways to minimise problems arising from leakage (changes in emission balances that are attributable to projects but which occur outside the project boundaries), and cites some possible differences between forest schemes and peatland schemes in respect of the respective advantages of “project” and “national” approaches.

In the interests of developing countries which have not experienced significant deforestation, approaches to REDD have been suggested which aim to reward conservation of forests that are not currently experiencing deforestation or degradation. These would for example set “forward-looking” baselines that incorporate working assumptions about potential future loss/degradation, by reference to “business as usual” (BAU) scenarios or to historic trends. The same ideas could be applied to a mechanism for wetlands. These ideas are however at the ambitious end of what might be achieved in the current negotiations.

As one indication of the scale of ambition that may or may not be appropriate, at the time of UNFCCC COP14 in December 2008, the working group on methodologies for REDD decided (in relation to pilot projects) only to address above-ground biomass, and not to consider any soil carbon component. It has been said that this is a result of uncertainties surrounding measurement of soil emissions, but Wetlands International maintains that these difficulties have been exaggerated, at least as far as peat soils are concerned (Wetlands International website news item, 10 December 2008).

Links between Conventions

The decision tables in Section 3 above provide a stock-take of adopted intergovernmental positions and technical advice on wetlands and climate (mitigation) interactions, which offer several sources of additional political and scientific support for the potential extension of REDD-type concepts to cover wetlands.

Clearly one angle is the scope for synergy and mutual reinforcement among the agendas of the respective Conventions when a REDD or “wetland-REDD” mechanism produces associated benefits for conservation of biodiversity, wetlands, protected areas and so on. As pointed out in this paper, however, the links are potentially significant in a variety of other ways; not least that the implementation of these other Conventions can contribute much to the emissionreduction aims of the UNFCCC, including in ways that support socioeconomic objectives in developing countries at the same time.

The Ramsar Convention in particular is in a position to provide a direct readacross of international concepts, principles, methods and standards for understanding what constitutes avoidance of degradation of wetlands, and for guidance and norms on issues such as inventory, monitoring, vulnerability assessment and hydrological functions. These would be essential ingredients in operating any REDD-type mechanism in relation to wetlands.

Ramsar, like others, is making efforts to improve the science of calculating wetland carbon balances, though the forthcoming Ramsar Technical Report (Lloyd, in prep) and the on-going work of the Scientific & Technical Review Panel. This will offer vital assistance to the moves to address wetlands under Kyoto, and cooperation between the respective Conventions will be of increasing importance as the negotiations for UNFCCC COP15 gather pace.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries

2010-09-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

REDD can deliver rapid emission reductions as a complement to mitigation in other sectors

Deforestation and forest degradation account for approximately 17% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), the IPCC concluded that ‘forestry can make a very significant contribution to a low cost global mitigation portfolio that provides synergies with adaptation and sustainable development’.

Further scientific research since the IPCC AR4 indicates an even greater urgency to reduce emissions in order to stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at safe levels. Given the current rates of deforestation and ongoing forest degradation, IUCN sees the adoption of a carefully designed REDD regime within the post-2012 agreement as a necessary rather than a discretionary mitigation option, complementing ambitious mitigation measures in other sectors. REDD has the advantage that it could deliver urgently needed GHG reductions while other essential mitigation options come on stream. If properly designed, it can provide a bridging mechanism in the transition towards a low-carbon economy whilst increasing resilience and enhancing adaptive capacity to climate change; contributing to rural livelihoods; promoting good forest governance and delivering biodiversity objectives.

IUCN welcomes the broad support from Parties, at the UNFCCC Bonn-1 talks (29 March to 8 April 2009), that recognizes the value of incorporating Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in the post- 2012 UN climate change regime, as a possible nationally appropriate mitigation action (NAMA) in developing countries and as a complement to ambitious targets for emissions mitigation in other sectors by developed country Parties.

IUCN welcomes the recognition of the need for adequate, predictable and sustainable finance to support the REDD mechanisms, including for capacity building.

IUCN also welcomes the consensus emerging on the need to address drivers of deforestation; the importance of financing REDD Readiness in implementing countries; the links between governance and an effective REDD framework; the need to preserve the rights of forest dependent communities, with particular attention to the interests of women; the role of forest degradation; the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

IUCN further welcomes other “informal” processes established in support of the formal negotiations and encourages Parties to take note of their outcomes. These include the Collaborative Partnership on Forests’ (CPF), Strategic Framework on Forests and Climate Change1 which clearly outlines how forests, when sustainably managed, can play a positive role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. In addition, The Forests Dialogue (TFD), is currently bringing together forest leaders from the private sector, NGOs, Governments, Indigenous Peoples and forest communities to explore and facilitate consensus on “finance mechanisms for REDD”

Next >>>

Carbon Mapping Breakthrough

2010-09-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

By integrating satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys, scientists from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the World Wildlife Fund and in coordination with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), have revealed the first high-resolution maps of carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices.
These new maps pave the way for accurate monitoring of carbon storage and emissions for the proposed United Nations initiative on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The study is published in the September 6, 2010, early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The United Nations REDD initiative could create financial incentives to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation. However, this and similar carbon monitoring programs have been hindered by a lack of accurate, high-resolution methods to account for changes in the carbon stored in vegetation and lost through deforestation, selective logging, and other land-use disturbances. The new high-resolution mapping method will have a major impact on the implementation of REDD in tropical regions around the world.

The study covered over 16,600 square miles of the Peruvian Amazon -- an area about the size of Switzerland. The researchers used a four-step process: They mapped vegetation types and disturbance by satellite; developed maps of 3-D vegetation structure using a LiDAR system (light detection and ranging) from the fixed-wing Carnegie Airborne Observatory; converted the structural data into carbon density using a small network of field plots on the ground; and integrated the satellite and LiDAR data for high-resolution maps of stored and emitted carbon. The scientists combined historical deforestation and degradation data with 2009 carbon stock information to calculate emissions from 1999-2009 for the Madre de Dios region.

"We found that the total regional forest carbon storage was about 395 million metric tons and emissions reached about 630,000 metric tons per year," explained lead author Greg Asner. "But what really surprised us was how carbon storage differed among forest types and the underlying geology, all in very close proximity to one another. For instance, where the local geology is up to 60 million years old, the vegetation retains about 25% less carbon than the vegetation found on geologically younger, more fertile surfaces. We also found an important interaction between geology, land use, and emissions. These are the first such patterns to emerge from the Amazon forest."

The scientists also found that the paving of the Interoceanic Highway, combined with selective logging and gold mining, caused an increase of deforestation emissions of more than 61% by 2009, while degradation emissions doubled. Forest degradation increased regional carbon emissions by 47% over deforestation alone. However, the researchers were able to detect an 18% offset to these regional emissions in forests regrowing on previously cleared and now abandoned lands.

Members of the Peruvian government participated throughout the research process to familiarize themselves with the new method. In doing so, they aimed to assess the method's advantages, evaluate deforestation and forest disturbance, and determine carbon stocks in an environmentally critical area of Madre de Dios, Peru. "A valuable opportunity has opened for MINAM to count on Carnegie's scientific and technical support. This will strengthen our ability to monitor the Amazon forest, build experience in improving the interpretation of the country's environmental and land management conditions, and contribute to the establishment of the REDD mechanism," says Doris Rueda, director of Land Management at MINAM.

To support REDD, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued baseline carbon density estimates for different biomes of the world, while also encouraging higher resolution approaches. When used for the Peruvian study area, the IPCC baseline estimate for carbon storage is 587 million metric tons. Based on the new Carnegie approach, the estimated total is 395 million metric tons. Under REDD-type programs, however, the high-resolution accuracy of the new approach would yield more credit per ton of carbon, thereby providing financial incentives for slowing deforestation and degradation.

Carnegie scientists are expanding their demonstration and training efforts in the high-resolution mapping technique with the governments of Ecuador and Colombia.

The research was supported by the Government of Norway, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and William R. Hearst III.

Source : http://www.sciencedaily.com

Scots Pine Shows Its Continental Roots

2010-09-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

By studying similarities in the genes of Scots Pine trees, scientists have shown that the iconic pine forests of Highland Scotland still carry the traces of the ancestors that colonised Britain after the end of the last Ice Age, harbouring genetic variation that could help regenerate future populations, according to new results in the journal Heredity.
The research was carried out by an international team from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the University of Edinburgh and the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute.

Today's Scots Pine forests are remnants of the ancient, much larger Caledonian forest that covered the northern parts of Britain from the end of the last Ice Age until many trees were lost due to over-exploitation and agriculture more than 400 years ago.

It has previously been thought that as the trees were lost so was much of the genetic diversity contained within them. Without sufficient genetic diversity the remaining pine tree populations may not be able to adapt and survive under new conditions, for example as the climate changes.

By studying the remnant Scottish populations the researchers were able to see how much genetic variation remains and also how these trees compare to the intact Scots Pine forests of continental Europe and Asia.

The good news is that Scottish populations turn out to be at least as genetically diverse as their continental cousins. This suggests that despite the huge losses they have suffered, the last fragments of the Caledonian Pine forest in Scotland still harbour genetic variation that could help regenerate future populations.

"Despite its Scottish image, the Scots Pine owes much to its European roots." said paper co-author Dr Stephen Cavers, an ecologist based at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology's Edinburgh site, "By looking at the trees' DNA we have learnt much about how the forests grew up after the Ice Age. Given the severe fragmentation of the current population, our results are key to understanding how these forests will cope with future change."

Where the genetic diversity comes from is another question. Given the great age that these trees can reach -- as much as 700 years in some cases -- the forests present today may be no more than a few tens of generations removed from the first migrants to reach these shores after the ice retreated. DNA evidence suggests that these early arrivals came in two waves: one, which reached the far north-western Highlands very soon after the ice retreated, possibly via Ireland, and another, which settled in the eastern Highlands, from central Europe.

Dr Cavers added, "We plan to continue the study, to try and discover if there are particular genes which let the Highland trees tolerate the harsh Scottish climate."

Source : http://www.sciencedaily.com

CPF Organizations Discuss Climate Change and Forestry at IUFRO Congress

2010-08-29T00:29:00.001-07:00

23 August 2010: On the opening day of the XXIII International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress, held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 23-28 August 2010, the Heads of several member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) presented in a sub-plenary session on biodiversity, climate change and forestry.

Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant-Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), presented on the CPF’s objectives and achievements, including the Forest Days at the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the UNFCCC. Bill Jackson, Deputy Director General of IUCN, discussed the landscape approach for linking climate change, forest management and the needs of people. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), highlighted the CBD’s global tree-planting initiative, Green Wave. Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), described the ITTO’s programme on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD), and enhancing environmental services in tropical forests. He called for financial incentives for sustainable forest management (SFM) and functional markets. Tony Simons, Deputy Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), highlighted how far forestry has come in the international development dialogue in recent years. Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), underlined that the UNFF values and creates institutional partnerships beyond the forestry sector to enhance cross-sectoral connections.

The IUFRO World Congress, co-hosted by IUFRO and the Korea Forest Research Institute, brings together over 2700 participants from international organizations, governments, academia, the private sector and civil society. The opening plenary included a welcome address from the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak. The theme of the Congress is “Forests for the Future, Sustaining Society and the Environment.”

Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership Releases Policy Brief on REDD+ in Indonesia

2010-08-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

August 2010: The Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) has released a policy brief on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) in Indonesia inside and outside areas officially defined as "forest."

The authors note that, based on Indonesia's definition of institutional forest, approximately one-third of emissions from deforestation occur outside of "forests" and are not accounted for under national REDD+ policy. The authors highlight the potential for leakage to occur based on increased deforestation in areas not technically defined as forest. The policy brief suggests that accounting for emissions through a framework for reducing emissions from all land uses (REALU) will be more effective than Indonesia's current REDD+ approach. ASB is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

http://climate-l.org

CIFOR Director General Delivers Keynote on Forests, Climate Change and Communities

2010-08-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

24 August 2010: Frances Seymour, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), delivered a keynote address titled "Forests, Climate Change, and Communities: Making Progress up the Learning Curve" at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress, being held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 23-28 August 2010.

Seymour began by providing an overview of research on forests and communities, with the aim of drawing lessons for the multiple challenges of integrating climate change into future research. She warned against the "tyranny" of the case study, allowing scientists to build scientifically supported arguments to corroborate preexisting opinions and assertions. Seymour called for the inclusion of a political economy approach to account for the multiple, often competing, interests involved in forest policy-making.

She then highlighted a series of open questions regarding: whether reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) will shape or be shaped by the pre-existing political economies of forests; the significance of climate change’s political dominance for community forests; and which institutions are most supportive of community-level adaptation initiatives. She noted that communication with the "climate world" is imperative, underlining that what may be conventional wisdom to foresters might be novel information to others. She then called for forest scientists to commit to "big science," as too much "small think" can impede evidence-based rural policy-making, and stressed that much is to be gained by investing in global comparative studies. CIFOR is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Probe Seeks Climate-Panel Changes

2010-08-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

By JEFFREY BALL

A group investigating the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will recommend in a report Monday that the scientific organization beef up its capacity to ferret out errors in its scientific assessments, a member of the investigating body said.

But the group, appointed by the InterAcademy Council, a consortium of national scientific academies, won't pass judgment in its report on the state of knowledge about global warming and its causes. It also won't address whether IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri should resign—a step that some critics have called for and that the chairman has said he doesn't intend to take.

The IPCC and the U.N. requested the probe in March, under mounting public pressure following the disclosure of a handful of errors in a roughly 3,000-page scientific report the IPCC published in 2007.

The IPCC is a sprawling organization in which thousands of scientists and other experts around the world volunteer their time to help write massive reports about every six years assessing climate science.

The reports influence government policies on energy and the environment across the globe.

The groups of scientists who produce each IPCC report disband once the report is published. And the IPCC, which was founded two decades ago, has only a few dozen paid staff members. That makes it difficult to look into alleged errors that later arise and to fix them, Mario Molina, a member of the InterAcademy Council panel, said in a recent interview.

The IPCC has "no permanent structure that could take care of the sort of questions that came up," he said, referring to the errors in the 2007 IPCC report. "That's the sort of thing we are recommending."

Mr. Molina and others involved in producing the investigative panel's report declined to provide The Wall Street Journal a copy of the document and the Journal couldn't independently confirm its content.

Among the mistakes in the IPCC's 2007 report was an erroneous projection that Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035. Early this year, the IPCC expressed "regret" for that claim, which IPCC officials say lacked scientific basis.

But IPCC officials have said those mistakes don't impugn the main conclusion of the 2007 report: that climate change is "unequivocal" and "very likely" caused by human activity.

A spokesman for Mr. Pachauri said the IPCC chairman wouldn't comment on the InterAcademy Council report until it is issued Monday.

In May, when Mr. Pachauri met with members of the Inter-Academy Council to answer questions, he endorsed beefing up the IPCC, particularly to respond more quickly to criticism.

"This is a body that is answerable to human society and is going to be called into question on a much more frequent basis in the future," he told them at the time. "But we're not prepared for it," he said, saying the IPCC needs more staff trained in explaining the group's work to the public.

The IPCC and the U.N. didn't choose the members of the investigative panel, say officials of the Amsterdam-based InterAcademy Council.

The council's board picked the 12-member panel from nominations submitted by scientific and engineering academies around the world. The panel is headed by economist and former Princeton University President Harold Shapiro.

Mr. Molina, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, helped to write the 2007 IPCC report—experience that the InterAcademy Council wanted reflected on the investigative panel.

Another panel member worked on an earlier IPCC report and a third member gave a presentation at a planning meeting for the IPCC's next climate-science report, due out in phases in 2013 and 2014, an InterAcademy Council spokesman said.

The other members of the investigative panel haven't worked with the IPCC, the spokesman said.

The InterAcademy Council report also will suggest one way to minimize errors in the first place: more caution in how scientists use non-peer-reviewed work in IPCC reports. And it will discuss ways the IPCC could more clearly address views that disagree with the conclusions of the majority of scientists working on an IPCC report.

Mr. Molina said he believes the IPCC's reports "can certainly improve—be more robust, more explicit about opinions that are not the consensus of scientific society." But because of the IPCC's minimal staff, he said, there has been "no possibility of doing this" so far.

Much of the current climate-science controversy began in November, when more than 1,000 emails hacked from a climate-research institute at the U.K.'s University of East Anglia were posted online.

They appeared to show scientists at the lab, some of whom were involved in writing IPCC reports, trying to squelch the views of researchers who challenged the conclusion that climate change is due mainly to human activity.

Since then, three investigations in the U.K. into the hacked emails have concluded that researchers at the institute didn't skew science to inflate evidence of man-made global warming. But the investigations criticized the researchers for not being open enough with their data.

Write to Jeffrey Ball at jeffrey.ball@wsj.com

Indonesia project boosts global forest CO2 market

2010-08-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

By David Fogarty and Sunanda Creagh

SINGAPORE/JAKARTA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - An Indonesian project aimed at saving a vast tract of rainforest has past a milestone seen as a boost in the development of a global market in forest carbon credits.

That market under the U.N.-backed scheme reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) could eventually be worth billions of dollars annually and is central to the goal of driving private sector involvement in forest protection.

The Rimba Raya conservation project covers nearly 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) of carbon-rich peat swamp forest in the province of Central Kalimantan on Borneo island. Forests soak up large amounts of carbon dioxide and scientists say curbing deforestation is a key way to fight climate change.

The project has earned the first-ever approval of an accounting method for measuring the reduction in carbon emissions under REDD and is being developed by InfiniteEARTH, with funding from Shell (RDSa.L: Quote), Gazprom Market and Trading (GAZP.MM: Quote) and the Clinton Foundation.

The Voluntary Carbon Standard programme, the most respected standard for voluntary carbon offsets, approved the methodology after it passed a mandated double auditing process.

The project itself is now undergoing third-party validation and is likely to become the world's first VCS-approved REDD project later this year, Gazprom and InfiniteEARTH say.

The step is a boost for other REDD projects and investors wanting certainty on the quality of REDD carbon credits. There are several dozen REDD projects globally, including more than a dozen in Indonesia at various stages of development.

"This is seen as a landmark moment for the carbon market," Gazprom said in a statement. "Historically REDD projects have suffered due to their exclusion from the Kyoto Protocol," it said, as well as the absence of a recognised global standard.

The project is expected to reduce 18.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted in the first 10 years and up to 75 million tonnes in the 30-year life of the project.

At about $10 a credit, that means about $750 million over 30 years.

LIVELIHOODS

The future sale of carbon offsets from the project will help boost the livelihoods of more than 11,000 people in the area and save rare species including orang-utans and other primates, the statement says.

REDD aims to reward developing countries that save, protect and rehabilitate forests through large-scale projects. Poorer nations and local forest communities are meant to take a major share of the sale of the carbon credits to rich nations, which can use them to meet mandated emission reduction targets.

REDD is not yet formally part of a broader U.N. climate pact and potential buyers of the credits have been waiting for an approved global standard for forest CO2 credits to ensure the reductions are real and verifiable.

"The methodology was designed for conservation projects that avoid planned land-use conversion in tropical peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia," the statement said.

The project itself borders Tanjung Puting national park and the area has been under growing threat from encroaching palm oil plantations.

"It shows small-scale REDD can be done. This is also demonstrating the ability of project-based activities, that they can do that," Daniel Murdiyarso, senior scientist at Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), told Reuters on Tuesday. (Editing by Sue Thomas)

Source : http://af.reuters.com

Photos: More new species found in Indonesia's 'lost world'

2010-05-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

The Foja Mountains on the Indonesian side of New Guinea have proven a biological treasure trove that just keeps spilling riches. Two-and-a-half years ago the region—dubbed Indonesia's 'lost world'—made news globally when researchers announced the discovery of a giant rat: five times the size of the familiar brown rat. New amphibians, birds, and insects have also been found during past expeditions in 2005 and 2007. A collaborative team of Indonesia and international researchers have since returned to the Foja Mountains and found more spectacular species.

Undertaken by Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), the recent 2008 expedition has proven as just as fruitful as two prior ones. During this expedition biologists uncovered several new mammals, a bird unknown to science, a new amphibian and a new reptile, as well as a dozen insect species.

"The Foja Mountains are a virtual island where species have evolved for millennia," explains John Francis, Vice President for Research, Conservation and Exploration at National Geographic in a press release. The National Geographic Institute provided scientific and financial support, while Tim Laman of National Geographic magazine joined the expedition as photographer (see a selection of Laman's photos at the end of the article).

The expedition's new amphibian was discovered fortuitously by herpetologist Paul Oliver as it sat on a bag of rice in the camp. The frog (Litoria sp. nov.), already dubbed 'Pinocchio', has a long nose that points up when males call, but down when they are inactive. Oliver also uncovered a new gecko species during the trip. Ornithologist, Neville Kemp, was also lucky: he discovered an unknown species of imperial pigeon (Ducula sp. nov.). Researchers recorded the new bird no less than four times during the expedition.

One of the discoveries proved a record-breaker: a new species of dwarf wallaby (Dorcopsulus sp. nov.) is now the smallest in the world. Biologists also found a new species of blossom bat (Syconycteris sp. nov) and a new tree mouse Pogonomys sp. nov.).

Braving torrential rains and flash floods, researchers in addition found a new black and white butterfly (Ideopsis fojana) and a new flowering shrub (Ardisia hymenandroides).

"While animals and plants are being wiped out across the globe at a pace never seen in millions of years, the discovery of these absolutely incredible forms of life is much needed positive news," said Dr. Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at CI and expedition member. "Places like these represent a healthy future for all of us and show that it is not too late to stop the current species extinction crisis."

Many of the species recorded on the expedition, while not new to science, are incredibly rare. Scientists took the first photos ever of a free moving golden-mantled tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus), which is classified by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered due to over-hunting and habitat loss. Researchers believe there may be less than 250 golden-mantled tree-kangaroos left in the world.

Spread over 300,000 square hectares in western New Guinea, the Foja Mountains are made-up of pristine isolated rainforest free from development, roads, and deforestation. The Indonesian government has currently classified the area as a National Wildlife Sanctuary. Conservation International hopes this RAP helps encourage more protection in the region.

Conservation International's RAP surveys send researchers into poorly known parts of the world for a short time (usually three-four weeks) in order quickly assess a region's biodiversity. This RAP was supported by National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and will be covered in the June 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine.

Long-nosed tree frog (Litoria sp. nov.) New species of frog, discovered by Paul Oliver of Australia with funding from the National Geographic Society. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Wallaby (Dorcopsulus sp. nov.) The world's tiniest known member of the kangaroo family, discovered by Kristofer Helgen of the Smithsonian Institution. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Imperial pigeon (Ducula sp. nov.) New species. Photo by: Neville Kemp. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Blossom bat (Syconycteris sp. nov.) New species. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Gecko (Crytodactylus sp. nov.) New species discovered by Paul Oliver of Australia, with funding from the National Geographic Society. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Tree mouse (Pogonomys sp. nov.) Likely new species, discovered by Kristofer Helgen of the Smithsonian Institution. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Harry Sutrisno of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences traps moths. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Woolly giant rat (Mallomys sp. nov.) New species. A related article, with images by Tim Laman, appears in the June issue of National Geographic magazine. To view more images, go to www.ngm.com/foja.

Related articles

Photos: Two unknown mammal species discovered in "lost world"

(12/16/2007) Two mammal species -- a tiny possum and a giant rat — discovered on a recent expedition to Indonesia's remote Foja Mountains in New Guinea are likely new to science, report researchers from conservation International (CI) and Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI). The area won international fame after a December 2005 survey turned up dozens of new species and gave urgency to conservation efforts in a region where logging and forest clearing for agriculture are a serious concern.

Pictures of new species discovered in New Guinea

(02/07/2006) A team of scientists led by conservation International (CI) found dozens of new species in a survey of New Guinea's Foja Mountains. The December 2005 trip by a team of U.S., Indonesian, and Australian scientists discovered new species of frogs, butterflies, plants, and an orange-faced honeyeater, the first new bird from the island of New Guinea in more than 60 years.

Scientists discover dozens of new species in New Guinea

(02/06/2006) A team of scientists led by conservation International (CI) found dozens of new species in a survey of New Guinea's Foja Mountains. The discoveries were made under CI's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) which deploys expert scientists to poorly understood regions in order to quickly assess the biological diversity of an area. The conservation organization makes RAP results immediately available to local and international decision makers to help support conservation action and biodiversity protection.

Climate change devastating lizards worldwide: 20 percent estimated to face extinction

2010-05-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Lizards have evolved a variety of methods to escape predators: some will drop their tail if caught, many have coloring and patterning that blends in with their environment, a few have the ability to change their colors as their background changes, while a lot of them depend on bursts of speed to skitter away, but how does a lizard escape climate change? According to a new study in Science they don't.

The study finds that lizards are suffering local extinctions worldwide due exclusively to warmer temperatures. The researchers conclude that climate change could push 20 percent of the world's lizards to extinction within 70 years. Some places like Madagascar—with 210 species of lizards and half of the world's chameleons—appear particularly susceptible to a mass extinction of lizards.

The story begins Mexico in the 1970s when study co-author Jack Sites, a biology professor at Brigham Young University, began surveying populations of Sceloporus (i.e. spiny) lizards.

"I had provided a baseline data set with precise localities where the lizards were common," Sites explained. "But Mexican ecologists were going back every few years, and pretty soon the lizards were hard to find, and then they weren't seeing any. These are protected areas, so the habitat's still there. So you start to think there is something else going on."

Madagascar is a hotspot of predicted extinction for lizards and members of the Chamaeleonidae family like this Furcifer lateralis are currently going extinct. Photo by: Ignacio De la Riva.

Intrigued by the data professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Barry Sinervo, went to Mexico and surveyed 48 species of the spiny lizards in 200 sites in Mexico. Disturbingly, Sinervo found that 12 percent of the local populations had disappeared entirely.

But was this warmer temperatures or something regional that the team hadn't noticed? The researchers then turned to other research projects in South America, Africa, Australia, and Europe. On all five continents the story was similar: lizard populations were dropping even in protected area.

"To get this kind of pattern, on five continents in 34 different groups of lizards, that's not random, that's a correlated response to something big," Sites says. The researchers were especially careful to ensure that other factors, especially habitat degradation, weren't causing the decline.

"We did a lot of work on the ground to validate the model and show that the extinctions are the result of climate change," Sinervo said. "None of these are due to habitat loss. These sites are not disturbed in any way, and most of them are in national parks or other protected areas."

The researchers believe that temperatures are simply rising too fast for lizards to adapt. For one thing on hot days, lizards must spend their day cooling off in the shade and so are unable, due to their cold-bloodedness, to seek out food.

"There are periods of the day when lizards can't be out, and essentially have to retreat to cooler places," Sinervo explains. "When they're not out and about, lizards aren't foraging for food."

Many species have yet to be discovered and named across the world, as exemplified by this unnamed Liolaemus species from Bolivia. Many of these species could disappear before they are formally described. Photo by: Ignacio De la Riva.

In addition, if temperatures are particularly hot during the reproductive cycle, lizard mothers aren't able to get their energy-requirements to support eggs or embryos.

"The heat doesn't kill them, they just don't reproduce," Sites said. "It doesn't take too much of that and the population starts to crash."

In fact, lizards that bear live young rather than eggs appear to be more negatively affected by climate change.

"Live-bearers experience almost twice the risk of egg-layers largely because live-bearers have evolved lower body temperatures that heighten extinction risk," Sinervo said. "We are literally watching these species disappear before our eyes."

The researchers also found evidence of lizard migrations due to a changing climate, a phenomenon that has been shown in a wide-variety of species from birds to mammals to trees.

"We are actually seeing lowland [lizard] species moving upward in elevation, slowly driving upland species extinct, and if the upland species can't evolve fast enough then they're going to continue to go extinct," Sinervo explains.

Researchers say that the prediction of a 20 percent extinction rate could decline if humans effectively slow anthropogenic climate change. However they expect lizard populations to decline significantly over the next few decades regardless: in fact they estimate that approximately 6 percent of lizard species will vanish by 2050 whether emissions are lowered or not, since carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for decades.

Lizards play important ecological roles in the world's environments since they are a vital prey source for a variety of species, including birds and snakes. Dropping lizard populations is likely to hit lizard-eaters hard. In addition, lizards prey heavily on insects.

"We could see other species collapse on the upper end of the food chain, and a release on insect populations," Sinervo says.

For researchers who have spent their life studying lizards, the news that the small reptiles are far acutely susceptible to warming temperatures—and already disappearing—is disheartening to say the least.

"It's a terrible sinking feeling," Sites says of the study's dire conclusions. "When I first saw the data, I thought, 'Can this really be happening?'"

"If the governments of the world can implement a concerted change to limit our carbon dioxide emissions, then we could bend the curve and hold levels of extinction to the 2050 scenarios," Sinervo concludes. "But it has to be a global push… I don't want to tell my child that we once had a chance to save these lizards, but we didn't. I want to do my best to save them while I can."

Global maps of observed local extinctions in 2009, and projections for 2050 and 2080 based on geographic distributions of lizard families of the world. Map by: Barry Sinervo.

Comments (0)

Related articles

Climate change could devastate lizards in the tropics

(03/04/2009) With help from data collected thirty years ago, scientists have discovered that tropical lizards may be particularly sensitive to a warming world. Researchers found that lizards in the tropics are more sensitive to higher temperatures than their relatives in cooler, yet more variable climates. "The least heat-tolerant lizards in the world are found at the lowest latitudes, in the tropical forests. I find that amazing," said Raymond Huey, lead author of a paper appearing in the March 4 Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Reptiles underrepresented on the IUCN Red List

(11/04/2009) Currently there are an estimated nearly 9,000 reptiles in the world, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has assessed all of the world's described mammals, birds, and amphibians, reptiles have yet to be fully assessed, leaving herpetologists with an unclear picture of how reptiles are faring in the world. Currently, 1,677 reptiles have been assessed (less than 20 percent of the total number of reptile species known) with 293 added this year.

World's only blue lizard heads toward extinction

(03/07/2007) High above the forest floor on the remote Colombian island of Gorgona lives a lizard with brilliant blue skin, rivaling the color of the sky. Anolis gorgonae, or the blue anole, is a species so elusive and rare, that scientists have been unable to give even an estimate of its population. Due to the lizard&spod;s isolated habitat and reclusive habits, researchers know little about the blue anole, but are captivated by its stunning coloration.

Source : mongabay.com

A nation of tragedies: the unseen elephants wars of Chad

2010-05-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Vergniault, head of SOS Elephants in Chad, says she has seen more beheaded corpses of elephants in her life than living animals.

In the central African nation, against the backdrop of a vast human tragedy—poverty, hunger, violence, and hundreds of thousands of refugees—elephants are quietly vanishing at an astounding rate. One-by-one they fall to well-organized, well-funded, and heavily-armed poaching militias. Soon Stephanie Vergniault believes there may be no elephants left.

A lawyer, screenwriter, and conservationist, Vergniault is a true Renaissance-woman. She first came to Chad to work with the government on electoral assistance, but in 2009 after seeing the dire situation of the nation's elephants she created SOS Elephants, an organization determined to save these animals from local extinction. As a writer Vergniault is also working on a screenplay related to the ivory trade in Chad and elsewhere in Africa.

Poached elephant: poachers cut off the trunk and sometimes the head to get at the ivory tusks. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

"The population of Chadian elephants was around 20,000 in the 1980s, but due to the intensive poaching, it was reduced to a little more than 3,000 today," Vergniault recently told mongabay.com, illustrating a total decline of 85 percent in less than three decades. And that number keeps falling: 105 elephants were killed by poaching in the region of Logon Oriental during the month of April alone. According to Vergniault if poaching continues at this rate not a single elephant will be alive in Chad in three years time.

SOS Elephants is working desperately to establish ways to stop poaching in Chad, yet they face off against poachers who are highly-trained and well-compensated soldiers-of-fortune with access to sophisticated technology, not simple locals driven to kill elephants out of desperate poverty.

"I doubt [the poachers] are living in Chad," Vergniault says. "They have a kind of Arabic nomadic style: traveling by horses divided into small groups of 5, sometimes with camels to carry the ivory. They are apparently former soldiers, since they are very well trained when shooting."

Vergniault says that she believes the poachers have their main base in the Central African Republic, and are likely operating both in Chad and Cameroon. These poachers are also equipped with the latest in technological advances, including GPS and satellite phones. They may even be employing satellite imagery to locate and follow elephant herds.

Vergniault works with locals. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

"Due to certain sources that I cannot for the moment reveal, we are really wondering if they are not using satellite pictures to localize the groups of elephants," Vergniault explains. "It is very important for us to understand how the traffic is organized abroad and if the 'guys' behind the traffic have very sophisticated ways to operate and are able guide the poachers due to very high satellite picture, perhaps even military quality?"

Who is ultimately organizing and paying these militia-poachers no one knows. However, the ivory does not stay in Africa, but most likely ends up in far-away China, a nation known for a rich market of illegal wildlife goods.

The only way for SOS Elephants to even begin combating such determined poaching is by working closely with locals and the Chadian government.

"We are slowly establishing a very good network of local informers who have been taught by us to give us the position of poachers or elephants. Due to our very good relationships with the Chadian authorities, we are alerting the Mobile Forces of Protection of the Environment and sometimes even the Head of State to ask him to send troops whenever it is necessary," Vergniault says, adding that the Head of State of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, has become a heroic ally in the war to save the nation's elephants.

Officials seize ivory with killed elephant in the background. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

The government, Vergniault stresses, has been incredibly helpful. In fact, it's not only elephants that are losing their lives to poachers' ammunition, but Chadian soldiers as well. Last month poachers killed two Chadian soldiers in a single weekend. The elephant wars are a human tragedy just as much as a wildlife one.

Along those lines, SOS Elephants is not content to only work on the poaching issue, but is also helping locals protect their fields from hungry elephant.

"Because we need to enhance the quality of the relationships between elephants and farmers, our second kind of activities is to teach the people how to better protect their crops," says Vergniault, who has worked with farmers to employ red pepper as elephant-repellent, including planting red pepper around their fields.

Historically, Chad's elephants have migrated both to Cameroon and the Central African Republic using the same corridors for centuries, but recently farmers have moved into many of these corridors planting crops, which has brought sensitive elephants and humans closer together. SOS Elephants is also working with authorities on plans to move people out of the elephant corridors.

Vergniault overlooks carcass with soldiers for protection. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

"A lot of education should be done with locals to explain that elephants can produce income and that it is [the local's] duty to alert the authorities when poachers are around," Vergniault says, but adds that saving Chad's elephants is not just up to Chadians.

"At a greater level the International community should pressure all the states buying [ivory] to condemn it."

As highly-intelligent animals, Vergniault says that the elephants of Chad have not been left psychologically unscarred by the poaching war waged against them. In fact, the constant pursuit by armed killers—and tens-of-thousands of their own dead—have made the elephants of Chad increasingly aggressive, and even murderous.

"Elephants have a very good memory and, in my opinion, most of them are now survivors of a 'holocaust'. They have seen other elephants from their groups killed by humans and more and more they are taking their revenge and are becoming serial killers," Vergniault explains. "It is a pity! The remaining elephants of Chad are survivors and their only way to survive is to be very aggressive. For example, every time Chadians elephants see a horseman, they charge! Why? Because poachers are horsemen!"

Elephant poaching is on the rise globally, but in all the media covering the issue the massacred elephants of Chad have been largely ignored: Vergniault hopes to change this.

In a nation still considered unstable—where approximately 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and hundreds-of-thousands of refugees have arrived to escape violence in Darfur—saving elephants may appear unimportant next to the scale of human tragedy. Yet, if one is to hope for the future of Chad, and of central Africa in general, one has to believe that species like the elephant can survive the current onslaught—just as one hopes the people will weather the long storm—and continue to inhabit a region where they have roamed for millions of years.

To keep up on the work of SOS Elephants join the Facebook page which sends out regular updates: SOS Elephants Facebook Group.

Questions for Stephanie Vergniault or offers of help? Please feel free to contact her: svergniaul@aol.com

A herd of elephants roaming free in Chad. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Vergniault inspects an 'average' poaching. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Vergniault rides with a soldier for protection. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Poached elephant with trunk cut off. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

SOS Elephants works closely with local communities. Here they have sponsored a local football team. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Poached elephant with its head cut off. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Vergniault working with locals. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Officials hold up confiscated ivory. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Vergniault examines a poached elephant. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vergniault.

Comments (1)

Related articles

Chad's elephant population falls by two-thirds in two years

(12/11/2008) Civil strife of Chad, a consequence of the calamity in Darfur, is taking a toll on the country's elephant population, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which has launched an emergency appeal for funds to support conservation efforts in the country.

Illegal ivory demand could wipe out Africa's elephants by 2025

(10/20/2009) Nearly twenty years ago the ivory trade was banned by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Many saw this as the most important step in preventing the continued loss of elephants at the hands of poachers, and for awhile poaching slowed down. But now elephants are in danger again: a report by the International Fund for Wildlife Welfare (IFWW) states that an astounding 38,000 elephants are killed for their tusks annually—over a hundred every day.

Protected areas vital for saving elephants, chimps, and gorillas in the Congo

(05/10/2010) In a landscape-wide study in the Congo, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found that core protected areas and strong anti-poaching efforts are necessary to maintain viable populations of forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees—all of which are threatened with extinction.

Rise in poaching pushes CITES to vote 'no' to ivory sales

(03/22/2010) The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has pleased conservationists with its decision to not allow the one-off sales of ivory from government stockpiles in Tanzania and Zambia given the recent rise in elephants poaching in Africa.

Drought threatens rare desert elephants

(05/21/2009) The worst drought in 26 years is threatening a rare herd of desert elephants in the West African country of Mail, warns the conservation organization Save the Elephants. The herd of 350-450 desert elephants live in the Gourma district of Mali,resting in the Sahel belt that separates the Saharan desert from the Sudan.

Huge cache of smuggled ivory represents up to 40 elephants

(04/29/2009) On April 25th two men were pursued by wildlife rangers from the Amboseli-Tsavo Game Scouts Association in Tanzania. The men escaped across the border to southern Kenya where they were caught by police, who had been tipped off by the wildlife scouts. The two men’s SUV contained 1,550 lbs (703 kilograms) of elephant tusks, representing a total of up to forty individuals according to the Kenyan Wildlife Service. This is considered the largest seizure in the region since the ivory smuggling boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The ivory is estimated at a value of $750,000 (or 60 million Kenyan shillings).

Vanishing forest elephants are the Congo's greatest cultivators

(04/09/2009) A new study finds that forest elephants may be responsible for planting more trees in the Congo than any other species or ghenus. Conducting a thorough survey of seed dispersal by forest elephants, Dr. Stephen Blake, formerly of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and now of the Mac Planck Institute for Ornithology, and his team found that forest elephants consume more than 96 species of plant seeds and can carry the seeds as far as 57 kilometers (35 miles) from their parent tree. Forest elephants are a subspecies of the more-widely known African elephant of the continent's great savannas, differing in many ways from their savanna-relations, including in their diet.

Elephants populations in the Congo drop 80 percent in fifty years

(03/11/2009) According to the conservation organization Wildlife Direct , Wildlife Direct a recent survey of elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo reveals that populations have dropped 80 percent in fifty years. The survey was conducted by John Hart using forest inventories, aerial surveys, and interview with local peoples.

South Africa auctions last of 'legal' elephant ivory to China, Japan

(11/07/2008) South Africa sold 47 metric tons of elephant ivory to Chinese and Japanese buyers for $6.7 million in what was the final of four auctions sanctioned by CITES, an international agreement on the wildlife trade.

Elephant ivory auction produces low prices, controversy

(10/30/2008) The first internally-sanctioned auction of elephant ivory since 1999 produced lower-than-expected prices, but plenty of controversy, reports Reuters.

Ebay bans the sale of elephant ivory

(10/21/2008) Ebay banned the sale of ivory products to help protect elephants from poaching, the company announced Monday.

African elephants being poached at record rate

(08/01/2008) African elephants are being killed for their ivory at a record pace, reports a University of Washington conservation biologist.

Disappearance of elephants, giraffes causes ecological chain reaction

(01/10/2008) The disappearance of elephants, giraffes and other grazing animals from the eastern African savanna could send ecological ripple effects all the way to the savanna's ants and the acacia trees they inhabit, warns a new study published in the journal Science.

Elephants use smell to distinguish hunters from farmers

(10/18/2007) Elephants can determine whether a human is a friend or foe by their scent, reports new research published in Current Biology.

Source : mongabay.com

One man's mission to save Cambodia's elephants

2010-05-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Since winning the prestigious 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize in Asia, Tuy Sereivathana has visited the US and Britain, even shaking hands with US President Barack Obama, yet in his home country of Cambodia he remains simply 'Uncle Elephant'. A lifelong advocate for elephants in the Southeast Asian country, Sereivathana's work has allowed villagers and elephants to live side-by-side. Working with Fauna and Flora International (FFI) he has successfully brought elephant-killing in Cambodia to an end. As if this were not enough, Sereivathana has helped curb the destruction of forests in his native country and built four schools for children who didn't previously have formal education opportunities.

Mongabay.com recently reached Sereivathana while he was in London for the Elephant Parade—a showcase of Asian Elephants statues around the city to help raise conservation funds to save the species (to read more about the parade: Elephants march in London, trumpeting conservation).

When asked how he felt on hearing the news that he had won this year's Goldman Environmental Prize (often dubbed the 'Nobel Prize' for the environment), Sereivathana said, "my wife and I dropped tears from surprise and excitement. I sat down and remembered my childhood till the day that I started working with elephant conservation."

Tuy Sereivathana with an Asian elephant. Photo by: Tom Dusenbery.

Like Cambodia's recent history, Sereivathana's path has not been easy. Sereivathana was born in 1970—the very year King Sihanouk of Cambodia was overthrown. From the ensuing power struggle rose the Khmer Rouge and its head, genocidal dictator Pol Pot. Fearing the new order, Sereivathana's parents escaped from the city of Phnom Penh to a small village deep in the countryside of Cambodia.

It was there, living a decidedly rural life, that Sereivathana had his first encounter with the Asian elephant. Visiting the village, two mahouts and their domestic elephants allowed young Sereivathana to pummel them with questions. Seeing an elephant for the first time changed the course of his life.

"That night, all members of my family were sleeping deeply well except me. I imagined large groups of wild elephants with their babies in large forest. I wanted to work as an elephant protector (in that time we didn’t know the word 'conservationist' yet)," writes Sereivathana.

Years later Sereivathana received a government scholarship and studied in Minsk, Belarus. On returning to Cambodia after a seven year absence, Sereivathana worked in forestry, but eventually began his lifelong dream of working with elephants when FFI granted him the opportunity.

"In 2003, two elephant experts from FFI Cambridge went to meet my boss, Mr.Chey Samith, director of department of Nature Conservation and Protection (DNCP)," Sereivathana explains. "They needed a government officer who has strong commitment on elephant conservation to cooperate with an elephant project. My chance came. I became involved with elephant conservation from that time on."

Before Sereivathana's involvement elephants were killed regularly in southwest Cambodia amid the Cardamom Mountains because they were viewed as a pest who increasingly raided farmers' crops.

Tuy Sereivathana providing crop seeds to farmers affected by human-elephant conflict. Photo courtesy of: Tuy Sereivathana

Sereivathana says the conflict was exacerbated by habitat loss which forced many elephants out of the forest and into agricultural areas. New villages and new crops encroached on elephant habitat and even their long-trodden corridors.

After working to gain the farmers' trust, Sereivathana implemented several low-cost measures to keep elephants away from farmers' fields, thereby mitigating conflict and ulimtately protectingthe 250 or so elephants that survived in the region.

Employing a variety of highly creative methods—including carbide explosions to scare marauding elephants, electric fences powered by solar panels, hanging hammocks and hats to confuse elephants into thinking people were there, placing chili in ropes and dung to keep elephants away, and encouraging farmers to switch to less elephant-friendly crops—Sereivathana successfully brought elephant mortalities from human conflict down to zero. In fact, not a single elephant has been killed in Cambodia since 2005, the year Sereivathana started working with FFI fulltime.

Even more than this, Sereivathana has become a local ambassador not just for elephants but for the tropical ecosystems of the Cardamom Mountains, which house a variety of rare and endangered species, including the Indochinese tiger, the pileated gibbon, the Siamese crocodile, and the wild cattle known as kouprey which may already be extinct.

"My project worked with people to stop going into the forest (where they cut trees or timbers) through providing training courses on agronomics and chicken farming," explains Sereivathana. "We also provided crop seeds, handle tractors, and made agreements with wildlife hunters and loggers."

Wild elephant raid in Vield Reahn village. Photo courtesy of: Tuy Sereivathana

Sereivathana attributes much of his success to working closely with the poor agraian communities, in other words he has paid as much attention to human needs as to the elephant's.

"We also build trust with local community and local authority. Conservation base with human needs is one of the most important," says Sereivathana.

Along this line, Sereivathana developed a program which built four community schools inside elephant areas.

"I knew villagers [were] concerned about future of their kids (who are illiterate). We helped to create the schools and provided teachers: these are indirect ways to improve elephant conservation in the areas. The teachers choose one day per week to do education on elephant conservation or value of forest to students such as read story books about wildlife, forests, and elephants," Sereivathana says, adding that by teaching children one also reaches adults.

"When the students return home, they talk positively about elephants. It can help villagers to change their mind on elephant conservation and also bring mainstream elephant conservation to a new generation."

Asian elephants, Sereivathana says, have always been important to Cambodians: "[they] played one of the main roles in building Angkor Wat [and] many Cambodian stories and songs show very deep relationship between elephant and our culture."

It has just taken a passionate advocate like Sereivathana to remind locals to see elephants differently: not as enemies, but more like eccentric five ton neighbors.

Tuy Sereivathana in a school he helped to create. Photo courtesy of: Tuy Sereivathana

"The elephant is a flagship species," says Sereivathana, who sees elephants as possessing a vital ecological niche in his nation's forests. "To conserve the elephant, we have to think about their habitat (they need large forest), so other species can survive in the habitat. In case of water sources during the dry season, elephants make water holes by trampling, so other wildlife also use the water source. Elephants spread out seeds of trees in forest."

Even the dung of Asian elephants has been recently discovered to provide an important link between elephants and other forest species. Researchers have found life blooming amid the dung: fungi, insects, and even tiny frogs.

When asked what advice Sereivathana would give future Cambodian conservationists, he had this to say: "We must join as strong friends and try to improve our capacity day to day, support each other. Hopefully, many of us can show face in global community. Please don’t hesitate or be shy to show our effort and achievement; especially don’t feel negative about your future."

Sereivathana has proven just how much one person's dedication and passion can impact the future of one of the world's most beloved species, the Asian elephant, but more importantly he's achieved success by bettering the lives of the people who share the elephants' habitat.

Tuy Sereivathana receiving his award at the 2010 Goldman Prize ceremony. Photo courtesy of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Comments (0)

Related articles

Elephants march in London, trumpeting conservation

(05/17/2010) Although urban Britain is not the native habitat of the Asian elephant, the well-loved pachyderm has invaded London for the summer. Raising awareness and funds for the threatened Asian elephant, 250 fiberglass statues by different artists are being displayed all over London. At the end of the summer the elephants will be auctioned off. All the proceeds from the art parade will go to Elephant Family, a conservation organization whose mission is to save the Asian Elephant from extinction.

Conservation organization purchases vital wildlife corridor for elephants in India

(01/11/2010) On Christmas Eve, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed a transaction to purchase an important wildlie corridor used by over a thousand Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The 25.4 acre Kollegal Elephant Corridor was under private ownership, but may now be incorporated into adjacent Biligiri Ranganswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (IFAW).

New reserve created in Cambodia with REDD in mind

(10/26/2009) Cambodia's Royal Government's Council of Ministers has declared the creation of the Seima Protection Forest, a 1,100 square miles (2,849 square kilometers) park home to tigers, elephants, and endangered primates. The park's creation was developed in part by the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) "Carbon for Conservation" program, which intends to protect high-biodiversity ecosystems while raising funds through carbon sequestration schemes such as Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

Frogs species discovered living in elephant dung

(06/10/2009) Three different species of frogs have been discovered living in the dung of the Asian elephant in southeastern Sri Lanka. The discovery—the first time anyone has recorded frogs living in elephant droppings—has widespread conservation implications both for frogs and Asian elephants, which are in decline. "I found the frogs fortuitously during a field study about seed dispersal by elephants," Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, a research fellow from the University of Tokyo, told Monagaby.com.

High ivory prices in Vietnam drive killing of elephants in Laos, Cambodia

(02/19/2009) Indochina's remaining elephants are at risk from surging ivory prices in Vietnam, according to a new report from the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.

Population of Asian elephants discovered in Malaysian park

(01/15/2009) A population of 631 Asian elephants has been documented in Malaysia's Taman Negara National Park, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The population may be the largest in Southeast Asia. Scientists from WCS and Malaysia's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) counted elephant dung piles to estimate the protected area's population size. There were no previous scientific population surveys for elephants in the park.

Maya Rise and Fall

2010-04-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

The Maya: Glory and Ruin

Saga of a civilization in three parts: The rise, the monumental splendor, and the collapse.

By Guy Gugliotta

Photograph by Simon Norfolk with permission of Conaculta-INAH, Mexico

The doomed splendor of the Maya unfolded against the backdrop of the rain forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Here, Classic Maya civilization reached improbable heights. To chart a culture whose Preclassic roots reach back 3,000 years, we begin with new evidence suggesting that the arrival of a warlord from central Mexico ushered in an age of magnificence and masterpieces such as the death mask of Palenque's King Pakal. But empires rise only to fall. We conclude with the cascade of catastrophe—natural and man-made—that precipitated the Classic Maya collapse, leaving nature to reclaim the grandeur.

THE RISE
The Kingmaker
The stranger arrived as the dry season began to harden the jungle paths, allowing armies to pass. Flanked by his warriors, he marched into the Maya city of Waka, past temples and markets and across broad plazas. Its citizens must have gaped, impressed not just by the show of force but also by the men's extravagant feathered headdresses, javelins, and mirrored shields—the regalia of a distant imperial city.

Ancient inscriptions give the date as January 8, 378, and the stranger's name as Fire Is Born. He arrived in Waka, in present-day Guatemala, as an envoy from a great power in the highlands of Mexico. In the coming decades, his name would appear on monuments all across the territory of the Maya, the jungle civilization of Mesoamerica. And in his wake, the Maya reached an apogee that lasted five centuries.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/

What's Happening to Them

2010-04-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

Images left to right: © Bob Gibbons / ardea.com; new oil palm plantation © Greenpeace / Natalie Behring; soil erosion after deforestation © Sue Cunningham; tree stump © Rainforest Foundation UK; burning forest © Rainforest Foundation UK

How Much Are We Losing?*

In the past 50 years, a third of the world's rainforests have been felled and burned, and deforestation continues. The loss of natural tropical forests - both wet and dry forest - amounts to 15 million hectares per year [1]. Of this total, almost 6 million hectares are humid tropical forests, or rainforests [2]. It's the equivalent of about 8.5 million football pitches a year, or 23,483 pitches a day.

Although this deforestation averages a loss of less than 1% of the forests per year, it is believed that after the loss of 30-40% of a rainforest, the remaining forest will become so destabilised that it may collapse [3]

Brazil and Borneo
Mongabay.com notes that between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometres of forest - an area larger than Greece. If those trends were to continue, in the next twenty years 55% of Amazon forests will be ‘cleared, logged, damaged by drought or burned'. [4]

Maps of deforestation in Borneo from 1950 to present, and predictions into the future highlight the speed of forest loss. Vast expanses of Borneo rainforest have been cleared since the second world war. Forests are logged, burned and cleared, usually to be replaced by farms, palm oil plantations or pulpwood plantations [5].

Map showing deforestation rates in Borneo from 1950-2020

Disappearing in our lifetime
Given that by 2050 there may be very little rainforest left in large areas in the tropics, it seems that it's not just future generations that will suffer the appalling effects that losing the rainforests will have on the planet, but current generations too.

*All global figures concerning tropical forest cover and deforestation, including the ones included on this website, have to be approached with caution as the underlying data are subject to considerable uncertainty.

Sources
1: FAO Forest Resources Assessment 2005
2: Hansen et al, PNAS (2008)
3: Global Canopy Programme
4: http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0813-amazon.html (accessed May 2008)

Why Rainforests Matter

2010-04-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

Trees in the mist. Image courtesy of Katherine Secoy, Global Canopy Programme

Tropical rainforests provide important ecosystem services to local communities and to the world. They store water, regulate rainfall and contain over half the planet's biodiversity. Most importantly, tropical forests play a crucial role in climate change.

Emissions from tropical deforestation contribute 17% of annual greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Equally important, conserved rainforests continue to sequester almost the same amount of atmospheric carbon each year. As a result, tackling the issue of tropical deforestation will be essential if the world is to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to below two degrees Celsius this century and avoiding catastrophic climate change.

In addition, rainforests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion of the world's poorest people by providing food, fibre, water and medicines, as well as regulating local environments. Those supported include indigenous peoples with unique and precious cultures.

The rainforests are a complex environment essential to the stability of our planets climate and its ability to support life in its current form. But they are being lost at an alarming rate. Urgent action is required to halt this trend and preserve these forests for the benefit of local communities and for the good of the world.

Sources
1 IPCC, AR4 Synthesis Report (2007)

What is a Rainforest

2010-04-22T04:40:00.002-07:00

Tropical rainforests have evolved over tens of millions of years into highly complex ecosystems, which contain over half of the world's species of plants and animals.

Rainforest, Costa Rica. Image courtesy of Chris Perrett, naturesart

Millions of years in the making

Many trees in the rainforests are hundreds of years old. Radiocarbon dating methods, used in the Amazon, indicate that half of all trees greater than 10 centimetres in diameter are more than 300 years old and that some trees are over 1,000 years old [1].

Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia is believed to be the oldest living rainforest at a grand old age of around 135 million years [2]. To put this into context, the first hominids (human-like primates) did not appear until around 5-8 million years [3]. This time has allowed rainforests to evolve into highly complex ecosystems with unparalleled and globally important levels of biodiversity.

Where are they?

By definition, tropical rainforests lie between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, 22.5° North and 22.5° South of the equator. Almost half of the remaining tropical rainforest is found in tropical America, a bit more than a third in Asia and Oceania, and fifteen percent in Africa. In total, over 80 countries are considered rainforest owning nations. However, three countries - Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo - contain almost half of the world's tropical rainforests.

The structure of a rainforest

Home to an incredibly diverse range of species and plant life, the structure of rainforests is complex and highly evolved, making them the most biologically rich ecosystems to be found on the planet. Rainforest trees can reach heights of over 60m (200 ft) high. From the tips of their branches down to the base of their trunks, around four to five distinct forest strata can be found, each providing a specific habitat for plants and animals. Click here to read more.

Climate

As the name suggests, rainforests experience high levels of rainfall and are often covered by clouds and mist. This humid climate is partly created by the trees themselves. The combined activity of animal and plant life releases huge quantities of volatile organic compounds, which create the fine condensation nuclei around which water droplets form. Moisture is held in these humid, cool ecosystems and evaporates slowly to make clouds, which helps maintain regular rainfall.

Sources:
1 Bourgeron, Patrick S. (1983) "Spatial Aspects of Vegetation Structure", in Frank B. Golley: Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems. Structure and Function 14A, Ecosystems of the World, Elsevier Scientific, 29-47
2 http://www.daintreerainforest.com/ (accessed May 2008)
3 http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/first primates.htm; http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/origins/bipediality.html (accessed May 2008)
4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4947350.stm (accessed May 2008)
5 http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/rainforest/rainfrst.html (accessed May 2008)
6 BBC Anatomy of a Rainforest (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7127687.stm, accessed May 2008)

http://www.rainforestsos.org/

What is a Rainforest

2010-04-22T04:40:00.001-07:00

Tropical rainforests have evolved over tens of millions of years into highly complex ecosystems, which contain over half of the world's species of plants and animals.

Rainforest, Costa Rica. Image courtesy of Chris Perrett, naturesart

Millions of years in the making

Where are they?

The structure of a rainforest

Climate

http://www.rainforestsos.org/

Forest outcomes from Copenhagen

2010-04-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

The expectation that the Copenhagen climate change summit might agree a new international treaty on climate change was not fulfilled when the meeting finished with a weak voluntary agreement. This agreement, known as the Copenhagen Accord, does however contain references to what might be done to combat deforestation and does commit nations to providing finance for this purpose.

The main reference to forest related action says:

‘We recognize the crucial role of reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation and the need to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emission by forests and agree on the need to provide positive incentives to such actions through the immediate establishment of a mechanism including REDD-plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), to enable the mobilization of financial resources from developed countries.’

This is a substantial shift in policy towards protecting forests - most governments assumed that very little finance would be made available for forests until the market mechanism came into operation post 2012. However The International Working Group (a group set up following the meeting convened by The Prince of Wales in April 2009) issued a report in September 2009 which described a consensus on the need to provide substantial and immediate interim finance to rainforest nations. Subsequently, six nations (US, UK, Norway, France, Japan, Australia) pledged $3.5billion to support immediate REDD-plus activity between 2010-2012. The arrangements for this funding are being discussed during the first half of 2010, with the hope that an agreement can be reached in advance of the June UNFCCC meetings in Bonn.

The Prince's Rainforests Project continues to assist in the consensus building process that will lead to this interim finance for the rainforest nations being available this year. In addition we are working with the agricultural sector in rainforest nations in order to encourage appropriate finance to farmers so that real behavioural change can occur.

You can see the full text (three pages) of the Copenhagen Accord at http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/application/pdf/cop15_cph_auv.pdf

Source : http://www.rainforestsos.org

Rainforests

2010-04-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Images courtesy of Chris Perrett, naturesart

Rainforests wrap around the equator of the earth like a green belt. After millions of years of evolution, they are the most biologically rich ecosystems on our planet. Tropical rainforests contain a hugely rich diversity of species of plants and animals. They are also home to many different indigenous people, who have unique and treasured cultures.

Valuable resources for everyone

Rainforests are precious resources for all of us – not just for the nations in which they are found. They provide vital ecosystem benefits for the whole world. They store water, regulate rainfall and provide a home to over half the planet’s biodiversity. But more importantly, they also play a crucial role in climate change. And that’s why we’re worried.

When it comes to climate change, the destruction of rainforests has a double whammy effect for everyone. Rainforests absorb almost a fifth of the world’s man-made CO2 emissions every year. But tropical deforestation releases an extra 17% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. So if the rainforests are destroyed, it’s bad news on both counts.

Rapid deforestation

Rainforests around the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate. This is increasingly due to destructive logging operations and conversion of the land for farming use.

Cutting down and burning tropical forests to clear the land in this way enables rainforest nations to provide globally traded commodities, such as timber, palm oil, beef and soy.

The world’s population is likely to increase from 6 billion to 9 billion over the next 40 years. This population growth, combined with rising incomes, will lead to a continual increasing demand for food, animal feed and fuel. And this, in turn, will lead to more destruction of rainforests – with devastating effects for everyone.

The need for urgent action

The Prince’s Rainforests Project believes that emergency funding is needed to help protect rainforests and to encourage rainforest nations to continue to develop without the need for deforestation.

If we don’t take action, we could lose another 100 million hectares of tropical forests over the next 10 years – that’s an area the size of Egypt.

Saving the rainforests will give the world a better chance to achieve its goals of stabilising climate change, while also preserving important ecosystem benefits, not to mention the fact that over one billion of the poorest people on Earth depend on the rainforests for their livelihoods.

The need for action is urgent. Recent research shows that it will be impossible to avoid catastrophic climate change without it [1].

Sources

1 McKinsey & Company, ‘Global GHG Abatement Cost Curve v2' (2009); ClimateWorks Foundation / McKinsey & Company ‘Project Catalyst'

http://www.rainforestsos.org

What can we learn from tropical rainforests?

2010-04-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

Photo by Ard Hesslink

“In myriad ways humanity is linked to the millions of other species on this planet. What concerns them equally concerns us.” –From Sustaining Life

Fifty percent of all known plants and animals occur in tropical rainforests, which cover just six percent of the earth’s surface. There is much we can learn from how each of these millions of species has adapted to the challenges of living in a tropical habitat. By emulating their strategies in our designs and following life’s principles, we can learn to live more sustainably.

For more information about the importance of rainforests and what you can do to help protect this rich source of inspiration, visit the website for the Prince’s Rainforests Project.

Photo by teejaybee

Approximately 80% of all insect species live in tropical rainforests.

Photo by flickrfavorites

"In a purely technical sense, each species of higher organism—beetle, moss, and so forth, is richer in information than a Caravaggio painting, Mozart symphony, or any other great work of art." –Edward O. Wilson

Here we present 24 strategies used by rainforest species that can inspire biomimetic designs.

Photo by Bob Snyder

The rainforest is home to 155,000 out of 225,000 plant species known in the world.

Source: http://www.asknature.org

ENVIRONMENT-ZIMBABWE: Future Generations Will 'Inherit Only the Wind'

2010-04-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ignatius Banda

BULAWAYO, Apr 3 (IPS) - The plumes of smoke rising above the dense working class suburbs of Bulawayo are a sign of the environmental impact of Zimbabwe's electricity crisis.

Credit: IRIN

Zimbabwe's urban population is turning to firewood for fuel, with damaging effects on the country's forest cover.

In January, the Hwange Thermal Power Station broke down. Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) spokeperson Fullard Gwasira announced that the country's power supply had dropped to just 750 megawatts, barely a third of Zimbabwe's peak demand for 2,200 MW.

Faced with frequent power cuts, millions of people across the country have increasingly turned to wood as an alternative energy source, to cook and heat their homes during the winter.

Deforestation is not a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. The country lost more than 20 percent of its forest cover between 1990 and 2005, an average loss of 312,900 hectares, according to statistics compiled by environment website Mongabay from a variety of sources including the the United Nation's Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Still more alarming, the rate of forest loss accelerated by 16 percent between 2000 and 2005 as political and economic crisis gripped the country.

The controversial land reform exercise that began in 2000, which saw veterans of the 1970s war of liberation occupy many large farms owned by Zimbabwe's white minority, has contributed to reduced agricultural yields and environmental degradation.

Two or three times a week, James Chulu hires a donkey-drawn cart to tour the small farming plots in areas on the outskirts of Bulawayo to buy wood for sale in the city. Conservationists say the new occupiers of land in areas like Nyamandlovu and Plumtree are felling trees without replanting anything for the next generation.

"They have been selling us the firewood for sometime now," Chulu said. "But after ZESA began cutting electricity for hours (at a time) last year, the demand has gone up and we have virtually stripped the woodlands."

Thabilise Gumpo, of conservation group Environment Africa, is just one of many concerned observers.

"We will be left with no forests or trees and one has to imagine the deserts we are creating in the process all because of the electricity outages," she told IPS. "But it is difficult (to raise objections) when this is the only energy source the people have. The environment has been the worst casualty here."

So severely depleted is the supply of wood, that residents have begun to sacrifice precious fruit trees. Judith Mwale, a widow and grandmother whose face and posture betray 60 years of toil, can't afford the wood sold by vendors like Chulu, one U.S. dollar for a bundle of three small pieces.

"I had no choice but ask some young men in the neighbourhood to chop down the trees. How else would I prepare my meals and feed these children?" Mwale asked.

"What can we do?" Chulu says, shrugging his shoulders. He and Mwale both exemplify a common local attitude that the environment will take care of itself.

But environment activist Gumpo fears that future generations will "inherit the wind."

"It is a difficult gospel to preach," she says of conservation, at a time when a broke government is both failing to maintain its own generating facilities or to settle huge electricity bills for power imported from neighbouring South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Monitoring a Changing Climate

2010-04-18T02:04:00.000-07:00

By Isaiah Esipisu

NAIROBI, Apr 13, 2010 (IPS) - The gathering environmental crisis presented by global warming makes effective weather information and prediction a matter of urgency. As Africa's farmers come to grips with adapting to climate change, it may be that the best way to equip them is to involve them directly in collecting the data.  

Evidence presented to the first conference of ministers responsible for meteorology in Africa, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from Apr 12-16, shows that countries which have involved local communities in monitoring of climatic conditions have markedly better outcomes in terms of improved agricultural yields and public health.

African governments may need to localise meteorological services from the monitoring level, through data analysis, to dissemination, in order for weather and climate information to make sense to the people who need it most in agriculture and related sectors.

The need for the information is pressing.

"For years, African communities have used traditional methods of predicting climatic conditions. But in the wake of climate change, it is no longer easy for them to use natural indicators to determine the same," said Issa Djire, the director of the Upper Niger River Valley Programme (OHVN in French, Office de la Haute Vallée du Niger) based in Bamako, Mali.

The past 40 years have seen both increased flooding and desertification in Mali. The country's national action programme for adaptation expects average temperatures to rise between 1 and 3.5 degrees by 2060. With nearly three quarters of the population living in rural areas, sustainable land management is a primary challenge. According to the UNDP, effects of global warming have already contributed to mass migration to urban centres.

Earlier in April, the Red Cross said it was nearly tripling food aid to Niger and Mali, citing government estimates that more than 250,000 people in northern Mali are facing food shortages due to drought. The situation in neighbouring Niger is worse, with half of the population of 16 million affected by food insecurity.

Twelve years ago, Mali adopted a new system in which rain monitoring is carried out entirely at the local level. Thousands of rain gauges are located in villages, and community members are involved in collection and analysis of rain patterns.

The information is then passed on at community meetings and through community radio stations broadcasting in local languages.

"Packaging of the information is extremely important. The farmers will use it accurately only if they understand it fully," Djire told IPS at the conference.

"Local monitoring of rainfall patterns has boosted preparedness among farmers, and through agricultural extension officers, they have been able to determine exactly the type of seed they should plant, when to plant them, and the insecticides they need to buy in advance," said Djire.

Improving resilience

Meteorologists at the conference want other African governments to emulate Mali’s strategy as a method of improving resilience to the impact of climate change.

"Collecting meteorological data is extremely expensive. Yet it is pointless if the data does not benefit the end user, who in most cases is a peasant farmer in a remote village," said Alhassane Adama Diallo, the director general of the African Centre of Meteorology Applications for Development (ACMAD).

Diallo said that Africa has only an eighth the required number of meteorological stations as per the standards of the World Meteorology Organisation. He said governments must set aside funds to be used for meteorological services as part of plan for disaster management.

Dr Joseph Mukabana, director of Kenya’s Meteorological Department, says his country has adopted a new focus on meteorology at the provincial level. "We realised that we were not getting very accurate information when we were monitoring at a national level," he said.

Kenya needs roughly 70 meteorological stations to deliver accurate predictions, but it currently has only 37.

Yet Kenya is considered one of the continent's leaders in gathering weather information.

To boost weather and climate monitoring systems in Africa, the African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank have agreed to provide 155 million dollars through ACMAD.

"We have already signed for the first $30 million, which is expected to be on the ground in different countries by next month," said Diallo.

The money will be used to train and re-train experts across the continent in better processing and analysis of climate data, and to strengthen communication strategies to reach farmers in a format they can understand.

The importance of meteorological services is not limited to agriculture and food security. Climate is important for the monitoring and management of public health, for example where diseases such as malaria may spread to new areas as average temperatures and rainfall shift.

Transport - particularly the aviation industry - water resources management, energy and tourism are other sectors that can benefit from improved weather observation and reporting.

Source : http://www.ipsnews.net