Region Archives: International

AUSTRALIA — Pine Wilt Disease is a disease of pine trees. …The problem involves three bodies: a nematode, a fungus and a beetle. The nematode is a tiny roundworm only one millimetre long. It’s called Pine Wood Nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus). It causes Pine Wilt Disease. When Pine Wilt Nematode is carried to a pine tree by a beetle, it feeds on cells inside the tree and multiplies very rapidly. Billions of nematodes — and the tree’s response to them — prevent water flow, causing the tree to wilt and die. …Trees killed by the nematodes are attractive to several species of beetles, which breed inside the damaged tree. The nematodes gather in the breeding chambers of the beetles, attach to the bodies of the beetles, and travel with them to new host trees. Dr Dan Huston… and his colleague, Dr Mike Hodda wrote the National Diagnostic Protocol for Pine Wood Nematode.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) has been forced to back down after wrongly issuing notices banning 19 environmental protesters from entering over 800,000 hectares of Tasmanian public forest. The notices, issued last year, barred protesters from entering all permanent timber production zone land and forestry roads in response to protest action against the logging of a 17-hectare native coupe in the state’s north-west. Bob Brown Foundation campaign manager Scott Jordan described the ban as “illegal intimidation”, saying it prevented some protesters from leaving their homes or going to work. “This is an embarrassing backdown by the state logging agency who have taken six months to come clean,” he said. “That Forestry Tasmania, a government agency, acted in such an unlawful and intimidatory manner is a symptom of a government that will do anything to prevent public protest against logging of our precious native forests.” Jordan said the business will cover the protesters’ estimated $27,000 legal costs.

Trees in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are migrating in search of more favorable temperatures, with species in mountain forests moving uphill to escape rising heat caused by climate change, a new study reveals. Most species in higher parts of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are moving upwards as temperatures rise, but scientists say that those trees which thrive in colder temperatures are at risk of dying out as the world continues to warm. Researchers studying the forest, which stretches along Brazil’s Atlantic seaboard, have also discovered that some trees in lowland forests are migrating downhill. …The researchers studied 627 tree species across 96 different locations across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to calculate community temperature scores —a means of understanding climate patterns across the Forest. Researchers also discovered that younger trees in high-altitude forests are moving uphill—young tree groups had more growth than the older ones, and this growth had increased over a decade of observing the forest.

AUSTRALIA — A New South Wales government agency has racked up more than $1.1 million in penalties for more than a dozen instances of unlawful activity in fewer than five years, including seven criminal convictions. It also faces three more criminal prosecutions that could result in up to $12 million in additional penalties, if found guilty, and is under investigation for a further 18 potentially-illegal actions. That agency is the state government-owned logging company, Forestry Corporation of NSW. And now a community group has uncovered fresh evidence of illegal logging that experts say is driving endangered species towards extinction, allegations the NSW Environmental Protection Authority said it had added to its list of investigations. …But according to James Jooste from the Australian Forest Products Association NSW, an industry body that represents the timber industry, the allegations are all part of a plan by anti-logging activists to discredit and shut down the industry.

NEW ZEALAND — Short rotation forestry could provide a pathway for New Zealand to replace 6% of its fossil fuel use, while also providing farmers in difficult country a valued biofuel crop option. The latest work by Scion silviculture scientist Dr Alan Jones and his team estimates the reduction in fossil fuel use could be achieved with plantings over about 150,000 hectares of land, or less than 1% of New Zealand’s land area. Jones presented his team’s research findings to a Bioenergy NZ seminar series aimed at exploring NZ’s options on alternative energy pathways to help meet its Paris Accord obligations. …Typically, the trees would be harvested at year 16, with Pinus radiata and three types of eucalyptus being most suitable. …Jones said transport costs are an acknowledged challenge with biofuel sourcing, but decentralised processing of the raw material could also impact an otherwise unsuitable area’s viability.

To combat ongoing destruction in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil announced a plan to dramatically expand selective logging over the next two years. In Brazil, vast forest lands are designated as public yet have no special protection or enforcement and are vulnerable to land grabbing and illegal deforestation. …“The main goal of forest concessions is the conservation of these areas,” said Renato Rosenberg, director of forest concessions. “They also create jobs and income in parts of the Amazon that would otherwise have little economic activity.” Companies that get timber concessions have to follow strict rules. They can log up to six trees per hectare over a 30-year period. Protected species, such as Brazil nut, and older, seed-producing trees are off limits. …The idea is that granting permission to timber companies to take a limited number of trees gives them a stake in overseeing the forest, something the Brazilian government cannot afford to do.

Istanbul regional director of forestry at the General Directorate of Forestry, Celal Pir, announced that they are employing camera-equipped fire towers, drones (UAVs), and an AI-supported meteorological monitoring system to prevent and combat forest fires in Istanbul. …the General Directorate of Forestry’s technological infrastructure operates 24/7 to protect the forests across the city. In an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Celal Pir mentioned that, with global warming, it is now possible to encounter fires in any season, but they occur more frequently from May to November. …”Based on the time of day, our AI creates a fire risk map and organizes teams accordingly. We deploy our vehicles to high-risk areas and keep them on alert,” he said. Pir concluded by stating that 90% of fires are caused by human activity.

…It’s a Sunday in July, just after sunset. We’re sitting in the Bulga state forest, inland from Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast, waiting for darkness to fall. Six of us, including the independent MP for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps, are huddled, focused on a single tree. …This environmental neighbourhood watch has become routine in the forest of the Bulga plateau. It is how members of the group hope they might save the area from logging by the state-owned NSW Forestry Corporation, which is scheduled to recommence as soon as the first week of August. Citizen scientists have spent many nights over the past year spotlighting in parts of the forest scheduled for logging. They register every greater glider den tree they observe on the state government’s biodiversity database, BioNet. …Unlike Victoria and Western Australia, which have ended native forestry operations, the Minns government has not.

ROME – Climate change is increasing the susceptibility of the world’s forests to stressors such as wildfires and pests, according to a new flagship publication by the FAO of the United Nations that emphasizes the role of innovation in achieving a sustainable future for the forestry sector. The State of the World’s Forests 2024 report was released on Monday at the 27th session of the Committee on Forestry. The report says there’s evidence to suggest that climate change is making forests more vulnerable to stressors such as wildfires and pests. …Climate change also makes forests more vulnerable to invasive species, with insects, pests and disease pathogens threatening tree growth and survival. …Global wood production, meanwhile, remains at record levels. After a brief dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, production is back at about 4 billion cubic meters yearly. The report argues that forest-sector innovation is a crucial enabler of progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The world’s forests have absorbed more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide over the past three decades, but they need more protection, according to a new study. Professors Oliver Phillips and Simon Lewis from the School of Geography contributed to the tropical component of the global study, which assessed how the most carbon-rich, species-rich forests have responded to climate change and other threats since 1990. The study, entitled “The enduring world forest carbon sink,” is published in Nature. It combined long-term ground measurements with remote sensing data to measure the volume of carbon dioxide absorbed by forests across the world. The results showed that forests have absorbed more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide over the past 30 years, nearly half of the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels over the same period. However, they are facing threats from deforestation and wildfires. This study makes recommendations for their protection and restoration.

Researchers have developed simple, sun-heated shelters that allow frogs to raise their body temperatures and fight off a deadly fungal disease called chytridiomycosis. The study focused on the green and golden bell frog in Australia, a threatened species, showing that frogs given access to these warm shelters cleared infections faster and developed resistance to future infections. This innovative approach could provide a valuable, low-cost tool for protecting various amphibian species threatened by the fungal disease, which has devastated amphibian populations worldwide. The research comes at a critical time, as a recent study found that two in five amphibian species are now threatened with extinction, with climate change becoming a primary threat.

BONN, Germany — The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) announced the launch of FSC Aligned for EUDR, a new solution designed to support compliance with the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR). This offering aims to simplify the complex task of meeting EUDR requirements for businesses trading with forest-based products in Europe. FSC Aligned for EUDR will support companies that need to comply with EUDR through two key components: 1. FSC Aligned Certification for EUDR: Available from July 1, 2024, this add-on module builds upon FSC’s existing rigorous standards, incorporating specific EUDR regulatory expectations around risk assessment, due diligence, and supply chain transparency. 2. FSC Aligned Reporting for EUDR: Launching August 30, 2024, this automated data compilation system will assist companies in generating required due diligence reports and statements, as well as enhance traceability and data management across complex supply chains. For more information visit www.fsc.org/EUDR