http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/ Save Our Earth is dedicated to saving the Rainforests of the Earth and campaigns on other environmental issues. We aim to raise the awareness of these issues and to source news articles and bring them to your desktop. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/images/favicon.gif http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/ 120 111 Save Our Earth is dedicated to saving the Rainforests of the Earth and campaigns on other environmental issues. We aim to raise the awareness of these issues and to source news articles and bring them to your desktop. en Fri, 24 May 2013 20:46:23 +0100 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10016 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10016 Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:26:01 +0100 (Source: BBC News) Marcelo Gordo is standing in the back garden of a small house in a suburb of Manaus, the capital of Brazil's Amazonas state, hoping to catch sight of a pied tamarin. These small primates, with white upper bodies and brown bottoms, live only in rainforest surrounding the city and as Manaus grows and expands, they are becoming trapped in isolated patches of forest. Mr Gordo, a researcher from the Federal University of Amazonas, has been studying these creatures for some 14 years. He has pinpointed a group of about eight which live in a jungle-covered gully behind this row of houses. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10015 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10015 Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:49:09 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) Brazil can reduce Amazon deforestation to zero by 2020 while boosting rural livelihoods and maintaining healthy economic growth, the governor of Pará told mongabay.com on the sidelines of the Skoll World Forum, a major conference on social entrepreneurship, last week. Governor Simao Jatene is hopeful that a revolution in land management and governance can turn the tide in Pará, a state that is three times the size of California and has lost more Amazon forest -- 90,000 sq km of Amazon forest since 1996 -- over the past decade-and-a-half than any other in Brazil. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10014 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10014 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:39:31 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) French food company, Danone, has suspended all purchases from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) following a Greenpeace investigation that linked APP to illegal logging of ramin, a protected tree species, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Danone is only the most recent company to publicly sever ties with APP following the Greenpeace report, including National Geographic and Xerox among others. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10013 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10013 Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:28:27 +0100 (Source: ENS) NEW YORK, New York, March 30, 2012 (ENS) - Conservation partners from Guatemala, the United States and Monaco have signed an agreement that will protect 80,000 acres of intact forest at the heart of the five-million-acre Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. Signed on March 9, the agreement will help reduce deforestation and degradation of the region while providing education, health, and fire prevention for the community of Carmelita at the center of the reserve in Guatemala's northern Peten region. The community is located at the gateway to the archaeological site of El Mirador. This concentration of ancient Mayan cities that archaeologists call the cradle of Mayan civilization is threatened by human activities, including illegal logging, farming, and ranching in protected areas, as well as drug trafficking, poaching and looting of Maya artifacts. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10012 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10012 Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:46:59 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) At the same time that it is committing hundreds of millions of dollars a year to protecting rainforests, Norway is investing more than 13 billion dollars a year via its pension fund in dozens of companies linked to deforestation, alleges a new report from Rainforest Foundation Norway and Friends of the Earth Norway. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10011 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10011 Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:46:34 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) Researchers have developed a methodology for accurately predicting where deforestation will occur in the Amazon up to a year in advance, enabling law enforcement agencies and officials to take preventative action before trees are actually chopped down, a forestry expert told mongabay.com on the sidelines of the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10010 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10010 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:44:53 +0100 (Source: Reuters) JAKARTA (Reuters) - Forest fires and land clearing by palm oil firms could kill off within weeks about 200 orangutans in a forest in western Indonesia, an environmental group said on Wednesday. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10009 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10009 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:43:56 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) Roughly half of the 70 percent decline in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2005 and 2009 can be attributed to policies enacted by the Brazilian government, finds an analysis published by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a group funded by George Soros. The measures helped avoid 62,000 square kilometers of deforestation and 620 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would have otherwise occurred. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10008 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10008 Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:43:24 +0100 (Source: BBC News) European forestry scientists have begun a multi-national field trial to identify trees that will thrive as predicted climate change develops. Thousands of trees are being planted in test plots from Portugal in the south to Scotland in the north. The trees will be measured and monitored as they grow in the diverse environments. The results are likely to have a marked impact on which species of trees are planted in the coming decades. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10007 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10007 Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:49:51 +0100 (Source: Mongabay) Mexico could lose nearly 70 percent of its cloud forests due to climate change by 2080, according to new research published in Nature Climate Change, that has implications for cloud forests worldwide. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10006 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10006 Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:04:28 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Danzer, a Swiss-German forestry company that has been subject to much criticism by environmentalists for its logging practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has sold its operations in the Central African country, reports Greenpeace. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10005 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10005 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:57:19 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Google has posted images of a stretch of rainforest and communities along the Amazon river on its Street View product available via Google Maps. The addition makes it possible to virtually explore communities and ecosystems in Earth's largest tropical forest. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10004 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10004 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:56:48 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Greenpeace reiterated its call for an end to deforestation in Brazil by 2015 and globally by 2020 during its launch of an awareness-raising expedition down the Amazon River aboard the Rainbow Warrior. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10003 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10003 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:56:09 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Environmental activists have launched an urgent appeal calling for a 'just decision' in a court case that has pitted Aceh's 'Green Governor' and palm oil developers against efforts to save endangered orangutans in a Sumatran peat forest. In letters directed toward judges weighing the case in Sumatra's Aceh Provice, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the country's REDD+ authority, the World Bank, and the Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF), a coalition of conservation groups says the outcome of the case could have substantial implications for efforts to conserve Indonesia's remaining forests and peatlands. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10002 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10002 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:55:40 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Xerox no longer buys paper products from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a Singapore-based paper giant under fire for its forest management practices in Indonesia, according to a statement published on the company's official blog late last week. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10001 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10001 Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:22:03 +0000 (Source: Reuters) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The same follow-the-money approach used to catch drug kingpins and human traffickers could be used to track down the big operators behind large-scale illegal logging, the World Bank said on Tuesday. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10000 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=10000 Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:20:57 +0000 (Source: BBC News) Illegal logging generates $10-15bn (£7.5-11bn) around the world, according to new analysis from the World Bank. Its report, Justice for Forests, says that most illegal logging operations are run by organised crime, and much of the profit goes to corrupt officials. Countries affected include Indonesia, Madagascar and several in West Africa. The bank says that pursuing loggers through the criminal justice system has made a major impact in some nations, and urges others to do the same. It also recommends that aid donors should fund programmes that strengthen the capacity of law enforcement and legal authorities to tackle the illegal timber trade. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9999 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9999 Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:46:36 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Deforestation in the Congo Basin has increased sharply since the 1990s, reports an extensive new assessment of forests in the six-nation region. Released by the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) and members of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, The State of the Forest finds that the region's annual gross deforestation rate doubled from 0.13 percent to 0.26 percent between the 1990s and the 2000-2005 period. Gross degradation caused by logging, fire, and other impacts increased from 0.07 percent to 0.14 percent on an annual basis. Despite the jump, rates in the Congo Basin remain well below those in Latin America and Southeast Asia, but the region is seen as a prime target for future agroindustrial expansion. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9998 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9998 Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:45:59 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) The Belizean Government has banned the harvesting and export of rosewood with immediate effect, in response to the widespread clearing of the hardwood species for the Asian market. A government statement released on Friday, March 16th claimed the moratorium was necessary "to carry out an orderly assessment of the situation on the ground and as a first response to regulate the timber trade occurring in southern Belize." The government would subsequently institute "a rigorous regulatory framework throughout the country." http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9997 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9997 Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:29:24 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Two affiliates of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) have announced they are severing at least some ties with the beleaguered paper giant, according to the Northern Virginia Daily and Greenpeace, an environmental group whose recent undercover investigation found ramin, a protected species, at APP's pulp mill in Sumatra. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9996 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9996 Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:21:21 +0000 (Source: ENS) YEREVAN, Armenia, March 15, 2012 (ENS) - The Armenia Tree Project's 18-year-long effort to reforest the Caucasus country with tree planting, environmental education, and sustainable development was rewarded this week with a $1.2 million grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1994, the nonprofit organization, which is based both in Yarevan and Massachusetts, has worked to combat desertification in the biologically diverse but imperiled Caucasus region. Over 3,500,000 trees have been planted and restored and hundreds of jobs have been created for Armenians in seasonal tree-regeneration programs. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9995 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9995 Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:32:18 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Eleven top scientists have slammed a proposed palm oil plantation in a Cameroonian rainforest surrounded by five protected areas. In an open letter, the researchers allege that Herakles Farm, which proposes the 70,000 hectare plantation in southwest Cameroon, has misled the government about the state of the forest to be cleared and has violated rules set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), of which it's a member. The scientists, many of whom are considered leaders in their field, argue that the plantation will destroy rich forests, imperil endangered species, and sow conflict with local people. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9994 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9994 Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:31:19 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry signed off on a plan by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) suppliers to log areas of forest that contained protected ramin species, according to documents released by Greenomics-Indonesia, an activist group. The micro-delineation documents, which are required to win approval for forestry projects in Indonesia, confirm that APP suppliers were aware that ramin trees were present in the concessions, which have since been converted to wood-pulp plantations. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9993 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9993 Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:30:07 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) The world may soon benefit from a plant long-used by indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon for toothaches, eliminating the need for local injections in some cases. Researchers have created a medicinal gel from a plant known commonly as spilanthes extract (Acmella Oleracea), which could become a fully natural alternative to current anesthetics and may even have a wide-range of applications beyond dental care. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9992 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9992 Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:27:36 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Surging demand for vegetable oil has emerged as an important driver of tropical deforestation over the past two decades and is threatening biodiversity, carbon stocks, and other ecosystem functions in some of the world's most critical forest areas, warns a report published last week by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). But the report sees some reason for optimism, including emerging leadership from some producers, rising demand for "greener" products from buyers, new government policies to monitor deforestation and shift cropland expansion to non-forest area, and partnerships between civil society and key private sector players to improve the sustainability of vegetable oil production. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9991 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9991 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:29:40 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) The combined impacts of deforestation and climate change will bring a host of new troubles for the world's tropical rainforests argues a new study in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Drying rainforests due to climate change could lead to previously inaccessible forests falling to loggers, burning in unprecedented fires, or being overexploited by hunters. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9990 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9990 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:28:49 +0000 (Source: BBC News) The EU has called on European governments to include data on CO2 emissions from farming and forestry in their efforts to tackle climate change. The draft law on accounting rules is in line with what was agreed at the Durban climate change conference in December. But the EU does not yet plan to include farming and forestry in its CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The goal is to accurately measure CO2 emissions from biomass used for energy and from ploughing and logging. The European Commission - the EU's executive arm - says the current rules covering agriculture and forestry account for two of the three main greenhouse gases - methane and nitrous oxide - but not CO2 (carbon dioxide). http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9989 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9989 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:25:38 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Less than a week after Greenpeace released evidence that protected tree species were being illegally logged and pulped at an Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) mill in Sumatra, a major certifier, the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), has lodged a complaint and asked for an investigation. In addition to PEFC's move, the National Geographic Society (NGS), which was found to be sourcing from APP recently, has publicly broken ties with the company, and Greenpeace has handed over its evidence to Indonesian police who told the group there would be an investigation. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9988 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9988 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:24:53 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) A coalition of 200 organizations, known as the Comitê Brasil in Defense of Forests and Sustainable Development, rallied today in Brasilia against proposed changes to Brazil's Forestry Code. The code, which was supposed to be voted on this week but has been delayed to shore up more support, would make changes in over 40-year-old code that some conservationists fear could lead to further deforestation in the Amazon. Protestors called on the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, to veto the bill as it stands now, holding signs exclaiming, "Veta Dilma!" ("Veto it Dilma!"). http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9987 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9987 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:28:28 +0000 (Source: Reuters) BOTUM SAKOR, Cambodia (Reuters) - It was once the unspoiled jungle home for tigers, elephants, bears and gibbons. But today Botum Sakor National Park in southwest Cambodia is fast disappearing to accommodate a much less endangered species: the Chinese gambler. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9986 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9986 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:27:19 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Brazil's Congress will delay its vote on a controversial revision to its forest code, which regulates how much forest can be legally chopped down, reports Brazilian state media. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9985 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9985 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:32:38 +0000 (Source: The Telegraph (UK)) The Woodland Trust said 630 ancient woods had been threatened by development such as quarries and roads in the past decade, with 111 sites lost in 10 years due to weaknesses in planning policy, and 225 were still under threat. New maps from the trust show dozens of woodlands dating back more than 400 years at risk around London, with others threatened from Cornwall to the north of England. The final version of a major overhaul of the planning rules, which the Government insists is needed to boost economic growth but which has provoked fears among countryside campaigners of inappropriate development and urban sprawl, is expected shortly. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9984 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9984 Sat, 03 Mar 2012 21:05:26 +0000 (Source: BBC News) Deep inside the verdant and sweltering vegetation of Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast, a specially trained army unit is waging a new kind of war against a new type of enemy. Operation Green Gold is the inaugural mission of Nicaragua's newly formed Ecological Battalion. It is Central America's first concerted effort to seek a military-backed solution to the threats of climate change. The green guard, a unit of 580 environmental soldiers, recently won its first "battlefield victory" by netting 111,800 cubic feet (3,165 cubic metres) of illegal lumber felled by loggers. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9983 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9983 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:17:53 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) A year-long undercover investigation has found evidence of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) companies cutting and pulping legally protected ramin trees, a practice that violates both Indonesian and international law. Found largely in Sumatra's peatswamp forests, the logging of ramin trees (in the genus Gonystylus) has been banned in Indonesia since 2001; the trees are also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and thus require special permits to export. The new allegations come after APP, an umbrella paper brand, has lost several customers due to its continued reliance on pulp from rainforest and peatland forests in Sumatra. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9982 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9982 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:17:25 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) A new report by Greenpeace has found a direct link between National Geographic Society (NGS) products and rainforest destruction in Indonesia that threatens tigers and orangutans. An analysis on National Geographic books found Sumatran rainforest fiber from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a brand whose suppliers have been linked to rainforest destruction in Sumatra, and, in the most recent Greenpeace report, alleged illegal logging of protected rainforest trees. One of the world's largest non-profit science and educational organizations, National Geographic is known worldwide for its magazines, documentaries, and award-winning photos. The organization also has a long-standing history of championing environmental and conservation issues. However, National Geographic says it has not sourced APP paper for "several years." http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9981 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9981 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:51:00 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Madagascar's transitional government lifted its ban on exports of rosewood, ebony and other precious wood last month, but the decision is now under review due to concerns about foreign dominance of the trade, say local sources. Environmentalists are nonetheless concerned that a loosening of restrictions on old-growth timber could ignite another logging frenzy in the country's rainforest parks, which are renowned for their biodiversity. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9980 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9980 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:29:05 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) In a bid to fast-track industrial projects, India's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is opening up 25 percent of forests that were previously listed as "no-go" areas, reports the Hindustan Times. The designation will allow between 30 and 50 new industrial projects to go ahead rapidly, including road construction and coal mining. Reportedly the changes came after industry representatives met with the Prime Minister's Office, headed by Manmohan Singh, to complain that projects were being held up by environmental regulations, in some cases taking six years for approval. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9979 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9979 Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:51:59 +0000 (Source: The Guardian (UK)) The idea that a changing climate can persuade the ground to shake, volcanoes to rumble and tsunamis to crash on to unsuspecting coastlines seems, at first, to be bordering on the insane. How can what happens in the thin envelope of gas that shrouds and protects our world possibly influence the potentially Earth-shattering processes that operate deep beneath the surface? The fact that it does reflects a failure of our imagination and a limited understanding of the manner in which the different physical components of our planet - the atmosphere, the oceans, and the solid Earth, or geosphere - intertwine and interact. Save Our Earth Note: Ann Walker stated the Earth would be affected by earthquakes and volcanoes if the rainforests were not saved in her book 'The Messenger The Messiah' and 'Little One' back in 2003 and 1992 respectively. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9978 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9978 Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:07:17 +0000 (Source: ENS) WASHINGTON, DC, February 23, 2012 (ENS) - New Orleans, Houston and Albuquerque are losing trees faster than any other U.S. cities, and across the country tree cover is declining at a rate of about four million trees per year, finds new U.S. Forest Service research published in the journal "Urban Forestry & Urban Greening." Researchers had expected to find a loss of trees in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "Our urban forests are under stress, and it will take all of us working together to improve the health of these crucial green spaces," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. Urban trees provide benefits three times greater than tree care costs, as much as $2,500 in environmental services such as reduced heating and cooling costs during a tree's lifetime. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9977 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9977 Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:45:50 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) The height of a forest is telling in a number of different ways. First the taller a forest, the more likely there are important niche habitats in the canopy providing homes to unique species. In addition, a forests' height says something about its ability to sequester carbon: the taller a forest the more carbon it can hold. Now a team of researchers, led by NASA, has created the world's first global map showing the height of the world's forests (click here for interactive map), publishing their findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9976 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9976 Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:37:46 +0000 (Source: BBC News) Two months after floods in the southern Philippines killed more than 1,000 people, the illegal logging that exacerbated the disaster continues unabated. A week before Christmas, Riza da Marina's house was flattened by a tidal wave of logs. Her flimsy wooden home stood little chance against the battering of thousands of tree trunks carried downstream by the waters of Tropical Storm Washi. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9975 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9975 Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:45:46 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) More than 400,000 hectares of land -- including 350,000 hectares of peatland -- in Indonesian New Guinea lost their protected status during a November 2011 revision of Indonesia's moratorium on new forest concessions, reports a new analysis by Greenomics-Indonesia, a Jakarta-based NGO. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9974 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9974 Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:44:55 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) In order to save its remaining forests, Thailand must list rosewood under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) this year, according to a new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Illegal logging and smuggling of rosewood is being driven by increasing demand in China for rosewood, which is used to produce high-end luxury furniture known as "Hongmu." http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9973 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9973 Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:44:04 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) The Republic of the Congo has expanded its Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park by 37,295 hectares (144 square miles) to include a dense swamp forest, home to a population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) that show no fear of humans. Known as the Goualougo Triangle, the swamp forest is also home to forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The expansion of the park to include the Goualougo Triangle makes good on a government commitment from 2001. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9972 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9972 Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:43:50 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Beleaguered paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper was sharply criticized Wednesday for its claims that its operations are certified sustainable by independent auditors. WWF said its survey of certifiers and certification schemes shows that none apply to 'the most controversial operations' of APP's suppliers: clearing of rainforests and peatlands that are home to endangered tigers, elephants, and orangutans. In responding to complaints from environmentalists that its operations are responsible for large-scale destruction of native forests, APP often touts various certification standards which it says demonstrate its commitment to sustainability. Yet the new WWF survey found that these standards don't apply across all of the paper giant's operations -- APP's suppliers in Indonesia continue to harvest and convert natural forests. Nor do the certification standards necessarily prove that APP's forest management practices are 'sustainable'. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9971 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9971 Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:43:18 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) A pioneering project to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in a former conflict zone in Colombia has won gold certification under the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity (CCB) standard. The accreditation will help local communities access carbon finance in their efforts to safeguard biologically-rich forests. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9970 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9970 Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:37:55 +0000 (Source: ENS) NEW YORK, New York, February 10, 2012 (ENS) - The International Year of Forests 2011 declared by the United Nations General Assembly came to a close Thursday after a year's worth of events and activities exploring the value of forests and ways people can protect them and contribute to their sustainable management. By declaring 2011 as the International Year of Forests, the General Assembly intended to create a platform to educate the global community about the great value of forests and the extreme social, economic and environmental costs of losing them. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9969 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9969 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:07:13 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) American consumers are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of endangered rainforests in Sumatra by purchasing certain brands of toilet paper, asserts a new report published by the environmental group WWF. The report, Don't Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia's Last Tiger Habitats, takes aim at two tissue brands that source fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a paper products giant long criticized by environmentalists and scientists for its forestry practices on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The brands -- Paseo and Livi -- are among the fastest growing, in terms of sales, in the United States. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9968 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9968 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:06:31 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Three thousand years ago (around 1000 BCE) several large sections of the Congo rainforest in central Africa suddenly vanished and became savannah. Scientists have long believed the loss of the forest was due to changes in the climate, however a new study in Science implicates an additional culprit: humans. The study argues that a migration of farmers into the region led to rapid land-use changes from agriculture and iron smelting, eventually causing the collapse of rainforest in places and a rise of grasslands. The study has implications for today as scientists warn that the potent combination of deforestation and climate change could flip parts of the Amazon rainforest as well into savannah. http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9967 http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=9967 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:05:48 +0000 (Source: Mongabay) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.