A week´s snapshot of forests around the world…
Africa
Liberia and the European Union have signed a deal to prevent illegal timber exports and kickstart the country’s forestry industry. But is it “green” enough?
Liberia is home to 45% of the rainforests in West Africa, but for many years its timber industry was rooted in corruption.
Former President Charles Taylor, currently on trial for war crimes, was accused of selling “logs of war” to fund his brutal regime, forcing the UN to place sanctions on timber exports.
Mr Taylor argued that he had to sell timber to buy weapons as his government was faced with a rebellion on two fronts.
The sanctions were lifted in 2006, but the promises of a new dawn for the Liberian timber industry under Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s government have not yet been realised.
Latin America
Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies has again postponed a vote on controversial changes that would ease a key law on forest protection.
After a marathon 12-hour debate that saw renewed splits over the proposals, the vote was put off until next week.
The Forest Code currently requires that 80% of a landholding in the Amazon remain forest, 20% in other areas.
Proponents of change say the law impedes economic development and Brazil must open more land for agriculture.
Brazil’s Forest Code, enacted in 1934 and subsequently amended in 1965, sets out how much of his land a farmer can deforest.
The changes were put forward by Aldo Rebelo, leader of Brazil’s Communist Party (PCdoB) and backed by a group in Congress known as the “ruralists” who want Brazil to develop its agribusiness sector.
UK
panel examining the future of forests in England must protect and increase access to woodland, campaigners say.
Ministers set up the independent inquiry after abandoning plans to sell off 258,000 hectares of state-owned land following a public outcry.
USA
You’ve found the house of your dreams.
Or it will be when the renovations are done. After years of grotty flats and poky “starter homes” that ended up being second and third homes too, that windfall from great-aunt Annie is going to be put to good use.
More than anything you want to have some beautiful timber features both inside and out – but without destroying a small corner of the Amazon basin to do it.
Would your next thought be rice? Possibly not…
Asia
The conservation charity, WWF, has recorded images of 12 rare Sumatran tigers, including a mother playing with cubs, in an Indonesian forest.
The area is reportedly due to be cleared by loggers – a process which the WWF says must be stopped.
WWF captured the images with concealed cameras in the Bukit Tigapuluh forest and is trying to determine the reasons for the rich showing of tigers.
There are around 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild.
The video was recorded in March and April.
Tasmania
It took a while … but was Jarvis not right? Nearly a year ago Jarvis Cocker posted Forests: Jarvis reveals the deal on Tasmanian Times. Jarvis concluded: FT doesn’t escape unscathed. A condition of the industry bailout is a root and branch restructure of Forestry Tasmania, including an independent, comprehensive audit of that organisation’s land and biological assets. And yesterday: Strategic review of Forestry Tasmania.
