| In the UK, Beavers could be re-introduced to build dams to stop a village from flooding in the Forest of Dean. The Forestry Commission has been an enthusiastic advocate for the release of a family of beavers on land owned by the commission. Derek Gow, a beaver expert who has worked on reintroductions in Scotland and England, said: “The science suggests these animals can hold back 6,000 cubic metres of water. This has the potential to prevent a once-in-30-years flood event. These animals will also open the forest canopy to light. More... |  |
| Even before the US cyclones became a catalyst for more wood and paper products, the writer was a fan of the Global Timber & Forestry Index ETF (NASDAQ:WOOD). It had already moved from 54 to 66 this year based on the world’s appetite for timber and Internet shopping giants' need for cardboard and paper products. As the developing world develops, wood will be one of the primary resources that allows it to do so. As a renewable resource, wood has no equal. More... |  |
| Illegal logging in Sarawak. A total of 336 logs of various types and sizes worth more than RM300,000 were seized during a raid on a logging camp in Ulu Tuah, Jalan Nibong Tada-Kanowit in Kanowit. The logs, believed to be illegally felled, were confiscated during an integrated operation involving Sarawak marine police, State Forestry Department and Sarawak Forestry Corporation. The state Forestry Department is coming down hard against unscrupulous operators in its efforts to put an end to illegal logging activities in Sarawak. Apart from intensifying enforcement by conducting frequent air surveillance, the department will destroy all illegal logs found abandoned or about to be transported to other places for the black market. Enforcement officers have been instructed to burn the logs seized during operations or left abandoned. More... |  |
| Good advice on thinning in Ireland. John Ryan of Murray Timber Group told the Talking Timber audience that good-quality logs with no defects yield the best price for forest owners. "We pay €75/ton for a 4.9m log of 16cm diameter with no knots or side branches. Reject logs are not acceptable. If thinned right, you'll get more value from your crop," he said. He advised that it's important to build roadways and have easy access to your forest in order to attract timber companies to buy your crop: "I like to see a history of timber movement and roadways or paths when I visit a site." More... |  |
| South Africa is developing a South African National Forestry Certification Standard as part of the South African Forestry Assurance Scheme (SAFAS). South Africa became the fourth African national member of PEFC in June this year alongside Cameroon, Gabon and Ghana. SAFAS writes, “The goal is for forestry certification to be a tool for improving forest management and to facilitate access to markets that require certification. Currently about 80% of South African plantations are certified under the FSC system but very few of these plantations are on private farms or in communal areas.” More... |  |
| EU regulations cut Finnish timber. The Finnish government is doing its utmost to ensure the fairness of the new accounting rules for land use, land-use change and forestry proposed by the European Commission. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said “Sweden would be able to continue to harvest around 80 per cent of annual forest growth, whereas Finland would suffer if it was raised even slightly from the current 65 per cent,” The European Commission has proposed that the use of forest resources be capped at the levels of 2000–2012, prompting fierce criticism from policy makers in Finland. The proposal would define any use of forest resources exceeding the cap as emissions and, thereby, force member states to either cut emissions from other sectors or buy emissions rights from the market. For Finland, the rules are problematic particularly because the proposed reference period coincided with a severe economic downturn that affected its already struggling forest industries. More... |  |
| In Brazil Illegal logging continues to be a persistent problem, threatening already fragmented wildlife habitat and forcing indigenous tribes off their land. Perched at the easternmost edge of the Amazon rainforest is Maranhão, one of Brazil's smallest states, and one of its poorest. Originally covered by more than 42,471 square miles of forest, more than 75 percent has been logged to make way for roads, croplands, and cattle ranches over the last 60 years. At the COP-21 sustainable innovation forum in Paris in 2015, Brazil made an international commitment to cut illegal deforestation in the Amazon to zero, and to restore 46,332 square miles of cleared forest by 2030. Despite these promises, some government representatives in Maranhão have pursued legislation to reduce protection of protected areas and indigenous lands.More... |  |
| Samoa's government is midway through an environmental project to plant two million trees by the year 2020. The forests are under increasing threats from climate change to unsustainable land use and coastal erosion. The Ministry of Natural Resources' Moafanua Tolusina Pouli said a variety of trees were grown as seedlings into tree saplings in a number of nurseries for planting. He said his team at the forestry division was working closely with community groups and landowners and other departments to plant trees in different venues nationwide. More... |  |
