Region Archives: International

Special Feature

Can building with wood decarbonise construction? Yes but…

By Oliver Gordon
Energy Monitor
May 23, 2023
Category: Special Feature
Region: International

Oliver Gordon

Despite booming investment to increase energy efficiency and lower energy intensity, emissions and energy consumption from buildings and construction have rebounded… and decarbonising the sector is a priority to limit global warming. Aiming to do just that, agriculture ministers in Germany’s states called for the use of wood in new housing projects to be made easier. …Indeed, wood has a far lighter environmental footprint than other building materials like steel and concrete. A recent study by the Potsdam Institute, found that if most of the new urban population were housed in newly built timber buildings, constructed with engineered wood, it would save around 10% of the carbon budget needed to limit global warming to 2°C this century. To be of most use to the climate agenda… timber building materials would need to be maintained through multiple reuse and recycling loops. Today’s timber buildings are not designed with this circularity in mind, and it would require a shift in industry practice to improve longevity, modularity and ease of construction.

Nonetheless, there is a downside to mass-timber construction. Most net-zero scenarios foresee a role for biomass in the energy transition, and if demand for forest products was to grow equally across the economy, there would not be enough biomass to go around. …Debates around forestry and carbon often pit conservation against harvesting and replanting – but there may be a happy middle ground. Ecological forest management, such as ‘close-to-nature’ forestry, promotes a reasoned level of harvest to reap various rewards. By extracting some timber while also considering what vegetation is left to grow, foresters can enhance certain forest traits and functions such as their adaptive capacity. …“We think that timber buildings are a promising climate solution, but only when they also contribute to ecological forestry that protects and restores forest ecosystems,” says Samy Porteron, at ECOS, and author of its recent report

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Business & Politics

BC NDP warns motion to investigate forestry company ‘out of order’

By Stefan Labbé
The Coast Reporter
May 9, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

The president of the BC NDP has warned members of a riding association their motion to investigate the forestry company Paper Excellence would be ruled “out of order” because it didn’t meet requirements laid out under the party’s constitution. The motion, recently submitted by BC NDP members in the Kamloops-North Thompson riding, calls on the Ministry of Forests to conduct a “thorough investigation” of Paper Excellence that includes interrogating owner Jackson Wijaya and the company’s links to Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and the Sinar Mas Group. …BC NDP president Aaron Sumexheltza said the EDA could submit the motion as it stands at the party’s convention in November. …The federal investigation into Paper Excellence faces its own delays. …Last week, the first session of the federal investigation was cancelled after a last-minute realization they lacked enough committee support staff.

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China has too much to lose to launch an all-out trade war with Canada, experts say

By Josh Rubin
The Hamilton Spectator
May 10, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International

The growing diplomatic tit-for-tat between China and Canada isn’t likely to flare up into an all-out trade war because both sides have plenty to lose, international trade experts say. “I can see China doing something symbolic, but they’re such an export-focused economy, they need Western countries like Canada to buy what they’re making,” said Andreas Schotter at Western University’s Ivey Business School. …Last year, Canada imported roughly $100 billion worth of Chinese goods. Just as Canadian consumers want those products, so, too, do Chinese manufacturers need the sales to Canadian consumers and businesses, Schotter said. … In some areas where China was once a vital export market for Canadian products, it’s no longer such a significant player. Canadian softwood exports to China, in lumber, paper and pulp form, accounted for $3 billion a decade ago. Now, says lumber industry analyst Kevin Mason, it’s less than 20 per cent of that.

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With native forest logging in Victoria to end early, hundreds of workers face an uncertain future

By Cait Kelly
The Guardian UK
May 26, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — Employees ‘blindsided’ by the government’s decision must now consider retraining… after the Labor government announced the snap decision to bring forward the end to native forest logging in 2024 – six years earlier than planned. Environmentalists have celebrated the decision, saying it’s not just important for the planet but for the future of the industry. The number of jobs impacted is contested, with the Victorian Association of Forestry Industries estimating it would be around 4,000 while a report commissioned by the Forest and Wood Products Association in 2018 found there were 1,639. Inside the state’s sawmills on Wednesday, the mood was sombre. …“The community is frustrated, disappointed and pissed off. …The writing has been on the wall for some time – the industry has been beset by bushfires, environmental no-logging zones and a supreme court ruling that found VicForests breached Victorian law in three separate litigations.

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Canada’s British Columbia opens new trade and investment office in Vietnam

Tuoi Tre News
May 26, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

Jagrup Brar

British Columbia has opened a new trade and investment office in Vietnam as part of a new international trade strategy to provide more jobs and opportunities for B.C. and Vietnamese businesses to work together. The Trade and Investment Representative Office opened in Ho Chi Minh City to assist B.C. businesses with better access to the Vietnamese market and promote B.C. origin exports. “The global economy has drastically shifted over the last few years and the pandemic and global uncertainties have shown us the impacts they can have on our economies and supply chains, and the importance of strengthening our international partnerships,” B.C.’s Minister of State for Trade Jagrup Brar said in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. …The Trade and Investment Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City is said to work alongside the Forestry Innovation Investment (FII), which promotes B.C. exports, including value-added wood sales. 

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China will resume Australian timber trade imports from today, ambassador says

By Stephen Dziedzic, Fiona Green & Daniel Miles
ABC News, Australia
May 18, 2023
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

China’s ambassador to Canberra has confirmed his country will lift its ban on Australian timber imports, in another sign trade ties with Australia are slowly normalising. Since 2020, Australia’s $600 million annual timber trade with China has been suspended with Beijing citing quarantine risks. …Ambassador Xiao Qian said that was related the quarantine of timbers, and they “have satisfied the conditions of the Chinese Customs”. …The restoration of timber imports comes a month after Australia agreed to suspend its appeal to the World Trade Organization over Chinese government tariffs on Australian barley. That agreement came just before the international body was due to hand down a finding over the dispute. While Mr Xiao maintained that China’s ban was a purely regulatory measure, Australian officials say it was clearly part of a broader campaign of economic punishment orchestrated by Beijing in 2020 when the relationship was mired in acrimony.

In related coverage: Timber industry welcomes China’s decision to lift import bans

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Finance & Economics

What’s behind the rise in timber prices and what does it mean for Australia’s building sector?

By Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian UK
May 22, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — Australian timber prices may have fallen from their Covid pandemic spikes but the respite might be short-lived, creating a headache for the critical housing sector and its role in helping address a severe shortfall in new homes. The housing industry is being hit by opposing forces, with rising interest rates designed to cool demand at the same time as a housing shortage stirs it. An impending resumption of the timber export trade to China is also raising questions over whether Australia has enough local supplies to meet its own requirements. …Two big forces are crashing against each other. Developers are holding off building tens of thousands of homes across Australia, despite already gaining planning approval, because of high construction costs. …“Australia needs one billion new timber trees planted to meet growing future demand,” the Australian Forest Products Association says.

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Suzano CEO on trading with China, pulp prices and pending recession

By Dayanne Sousa
Bloomberg Markets in Yahoo! Finance
May 9, 2023
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

Walter Schalka

Suzano SA, the biggest producer of hardwood pulp, is considering selling its products to China priced in yuan, adding to signs that the dollar is losing its dominance in commodity markets. What’s the outlook for global pulp markets? We are very used to volatility in pulp prices and right now prices are below the marginal cost of many producers in the world. We do not believe that is a sustainable situation. A lot of integrated players are scaling down their production of pulp and buying from non-integrated players. This situation will drive, in a matter of few months, the price to go back up again. What suggests we’re heading into a recession? The tissue business globally is very stable. On printing and writing papers, the US has a little bit of weak signals. China is performing well and Europe is in a worse situation: the market is going down. Perhaps we are starting to see recession in Europe, in early stages, compared with other regions.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Circularity Concepts in Wood Construction

UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
May 26, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

When it comes to sustainability and circularity, wood as a natural raw material has several advantages over other building materials. As a bio-based resource, it has considerable benefits concerning greenhouse gas emissions, carbon-storing, thermal insulation as well as human health and well-being compared to other construction materials. New types of wood products, being the result of extensive research, enable the extensive use of wood in tall buildings. At the same time, innovative wood products provide less manufacturing waste, low carbon-emission alternatives and store massive quantities of carbon while new technologies speed construction processes, promote energy efficiency and minimize waste. This study examines the benefits of wood as a construction material and discusses practices applied in the wood construction sector from the perspective of circularity, sustainability and climate change mitigation.

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Asia’s largest mass timber building completes in Singapore

By David Rogers
Global Construction Review
May 22, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Work has finished on Toyo Ito & Associates’ “Gaia” project for the Nanyang Business School in Singapore. The zero-energy building, which is billed as Asia’s largest mass timber building, takes the form of two six-storey curving rectangles that are joined at multiple points. It consists mainly of sustainably sourced cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber, or glulam, stiffened by a concrete core. …The interior is mainly exposed natural wood left exposed, with large windows and glazed skylights. According to NTU, Gaia’s energy-efficient design means that it will produce around 2,500 fewer tonnes of carbon a year compared with a standard building of its type and size.

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Wooden satellites? Japan proves magnolia has right stuff for space

By Tatsuya Ozaki
The Nikkei Asia
May 19, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

TOKYO — A team from Kyoto University and Japanese logging company Sumitomo Forestry confirmed that wood is highly durable in orbit after a 10-month experiment on the International Space Station, paving the way for plans to launch a satellite made from wood next year. The discovery, announced by the university last week, could lead to satellites with simpler designs that are less prone to failure. A satellite made from magnolia wood will be launched next year to test viability, Kyoto University said. In March 2022, the partnership commissioned the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to test three types of wood used for furniture and other products at the International Space Station’s Kibo experiment module. The wood was placed outside the station for about 10 months to investigate whether its quality deteriorated due to temperature changes and cosmic radiation. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata assisted in the experiment.

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The City of Natori Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Yuriage Reconstruction Project with a Gratitude Festival for Canada

By Shawn Lawlor
Canada Wood Group
May 15, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Shawn Lawlor

Of all the projects that I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of, the Yuriage Public Market post-tsunami reconstruction project in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture is perhaps the most memorable. This past Golden Week marked the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Yuriage Public Market, a signature project under the Canada Tohoku Reconstruction Project humanitarian relief effort. This seaside community suffered tremendous damage and loss of life in the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in 2011. The once-vibrant public market hub was entirely destroyed by the subsequent tsunami. Following this disaster, Canada Wood reached out to the town of Natori to see if we could assist them with rebuilding. …With the funding support of the Government of Canada, British Columbia, and Alberta, as well as Canada’s forest products industry, and thanks to the generous support of local builder Selco Homes Co., Ltd., Canada Wood built the Canada-Tohoku Friendship Pavilion

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Amsterdam plans to build up to 30 modular schools from wood

By Joe Quirke
Global Construction Review
May 16, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The Circlewood consortium, a collective of architects, engineers, builders and researchers, has designed a modular building concept that will act as the basis for up to 30 schools in Amsterdam. The three-storey plug-and play system, called the HoutKern Bouwmethode, consists of standardised wooden columns and cross-laminated floors connected by recycled steel joints. Components are digitally controlled to decrease assembly times and are built on site with the help of an electric crane. …The base’s load-bearing walls enclose areas that can be used as classrooms, auditoriums and gardens. The walls themselves are made from carbon-absorbing materials and can be used to support indoor climbing and vertical farming.

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Recycled plastic is a gold mine for future building materials

By John Bleasby
The Daily Commercial News
May 10, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Of the nearly 400 million tonnes of plastic waste produced annually around the world, most ends up in landfills. Only 9% is recycled, with some individual countries recycling far less than that. This massive amount of plastic waste represents a gold mine for the construction industry. A 2022 report by PwC, says the global building materials sector contributed about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. They say increasing the use of recycled plastic in building materials could have a large environmental benefit. “Recycled plastics can support enhanced recycling and reuse of existing materials… and be a substitute for high-emissions materials such as brick or steel.” The report says acceptance of plastics as a building material has taken time, largely due to a number of misconceptions that include toxicity in the event of fire. …Europe is a world leader in its use of recycled plastics, says PwC.

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This winding timber lookout tower in Budapest provides 360 degree views of a nature reserve

By Srishti Mitra
Yanko Design
May 8, 2023
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The winding and impressive Lookout Tower was designed and constructed to mark the nature reserve of Budapest and Naplás Lake. It was designed by Robert Gutowski Architects and serves as a sculptural beacon for hikers. The imposing timber structure features unique geometry and has a simple yet complex form to it. It is an open-worked sculptural mass with a sophisticated, yet playful appeal to it. It artfully arises from the ground, looking like a natural extension of the natural environment, and gently slithers and twists up to the sky, functioning as a tall and massive tower.

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Forestry

Perrottet government plan to end native logging in New South Wales was blocked by Nationals

By Peter Hannam
The Guardian
May 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Perrottet government found native logging could be ended in New South Wales without costing the budget but opposition from the Nationals blocked the proposal. A plan to end the controversial and loss-making practice of timber extraction from native forests was prepared by the environment department by October 2022. It won backing from the Liberals, including the then environment minister, James Griffin, but did not make it to cabinet because it was opposed by the junior Coalition partners. The report found Treasury could cover the cost of compensating affected workers, companies and communities by finding markets for the avoided destruction of biodiversity and release of carbon emissions. Financial firms …would secure revenue streams from firms looking to offset their environmental impacts elsewhere, exceeding the compensatory costs. …Victoria’s move, announced in Tuesday’s 2023-24 budget, brought forward the end of the industry by six years and will cost an additional $200m in support payments.

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PEFC launches the new PEFC Alliance 2030 Strategy

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
May 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The PEFC Alliance, at its 28th General Assembly in Vancouver, Canada, voted to approve the new 2030 Strategy. Developed collectively by the entire PEFC Alliance, the Strategy outlines how we aim to move forward to shape the organization and continue to address the evolving expectations that stakeholders place on certification and its ability to demonstrate its impact. …Our new 2030 strategy will set the collective pace for the PEFC Alliance. Developed with momentum through a series of reviews, discussions, and projections with our members and stakeholders, it is built on a strong framework of four strategic pathways and fourteen key performance indicators. More externally orientated and impact focused, we remain dedicated to contributing to healthy forests as well as vibrant forest communities whose livelihoods depend on sustainably managed forests.

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Loggers get their way in proposed koala national park

Sydney Morning Herald
May 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The NSW government’s refusal to stop logging in the proposed Great Koala National Park on the Mid North Coast is in stark contrast to the Andrews government’s new move to end the Victorian native timber logging industry, possibly by the end of next year.  The Herald’s national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley reports on Forestry Corporation NSW plans that reveal it intends to log nearly 20 per cent of the proposed 175,000-hectare park – home to one in five of the state’s surviving koalas.  …NSW continues to be the odd state out on logging. Western Australia declared it would end next year and Queensland is stopping logging south of Noosa. Three years ago, Victoria announced it would phase out native forest logging by 2030.

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Livelihoods destroyed at the hands of the Victorian Premier: Wellington Shire Council

By Ian Bye, Wellington Shire Council Mayor
Australia Rural and Regional News
May 24, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Mayor Ian Bye

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has devastated the futures of over 650 timber workers throughout Wellington Shire. I write today in response to the Premier’s budget announcement, marking the final nail in the coffin for the state’s native timber industry, one that feeds the families of hundreds of local timber workers. Devastation was felt instantly yesterday, after months living in fear of the worst possible outcome. An outcome that has turned into a nightmare for timber workers local to Wellington Shire. The Premier’s announcement to end native timber harvesting in Victoria in 2024 is a kick in the guts for timber communities, putting on full display the Premier’s disregard for local people and a preference for policy and voters in inner Melbourne.

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Activists defy Victoria’s new anti-protest timber laws, as rules punishing peaceful protests comes into effect

By Laura Mayers
ABC News, Australia
May 22, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Activists have defied what they say is are “draconian” Victorian laws, taking to different bush areas statewide to survey for protected species on the same day the legislation came into effect.  The environmental activists gathered at five sites as the Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment Act came into effect on Saturday.  The act gives authorised officers additional powers to issue banning notices in restricted worksites where forestry activities are being undertaken.  Protesters risk fines of more than $20,000, or up to one year in jail, if they enter these zones and interfere with workers or their machinery.  The Victorian government passed the act in 2022 citing protection of logging workers, but it has drawn criticism from unions, environmental activists and legal voices across the country. Nearly 200 environmental activists made a stand at the Wombat, Toolangi and Alberton West state forests, as well as Powelltown and Colquhoun forests.

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Victorian government to provide hundreds of millions in support for workers leaving embattled logging industry

By Jarrod Whittaker
ABC News Australia
May 22, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Native timber logging in Victoria is set to grind to a halt by the end of the year, with the state government using today’s budget to bring forward the death of the industry. The state’s timber industry has been troubled for years, with bushfires, environmental no-logging zones and court decisions limiting the supply available to harvest every year. Today’s announcement accelerates plans announced in 2019 by the Andrews government to phase out native timber logging by 2030. Treasurer Tim Pallas has announced a more than $200 million transition package for the industry in today’s budget, and workers are being briefed this morning about the decision. The package brings total support for the sector to $875 million, including existing worker-support services and funding to transition to plantation timber.

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Forest Owners Hail ‘Biosecurity Hero’

By New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association
Scoop Independent News
May 23, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Forest Owners Association and Scion want more people to report suspicious imported wood products which might be infested with introduced wood and forest pests. FOA Biosecurity Manager, Brendan Gould, says Northlander Michelle Reichardt is a biosecurity hero for alerting Biosecurity New Zealand to some holes and sawdust in an imported wooden serving tray she had just bought from Kmart. MPI identified the insect responsible as the African powder post beetle, which it says is a foreign import. Kmart has withdrawn the remaining trays from its shelves, and they will be inspected for borer activity. …Stephanie Sopow, an entomologist with the Crown Research Institute Scion, says powder post beetles damage the sapwood of seasoned wood and wood products, almost always hardwood, including oak, eucalyptus, and bamboo.

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France moves to ban smoking in woodlands to combat growing climate-related risk of mega fires

Phys.Org
May 18, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

French lawmakers have voted to ban smoking in all forests and woods during the fire season, part of a series of proposed measures to tackle growing destruction and dangers from climate change-related blazes. National Assembly lawmakers voted 197-0 in a first reading on Wednesday night of a proposed law to better prevent and tackle forest fires. The draft has already passed through the Senate. An amendment also adopted by lawmakers would ban smoking in or near all forests and woods when authorities deem the fire-risk to be elevated. The fire season that was commonly in summer is now extending to other months in drought-hit areas of southern France and other parts of Europe where climate warming poses the greatest risks. …The smoking ban will build on an existing forest law that already bans the lighting of fires within 200 meters of wooded areas. 

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UN Forum on Forests highlights the linkages between global efforts on forests

International Institute for Sustainable Development
May 17, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) highlighted the interlinkages between the Global Forest Goals, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the five SDGs under review by the 2023 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July – SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). The UNFF’s 18th session convened in New York, US, from 8-12 May 2023. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report of the meeting highlights the role forests play in mitigating climate change, combating soil erosion, and protecting watersheds, biodiversity, and key ecosystems. The forest products sector, ENB notes, can also be “a significant source of jobs, fuel, and income.” Yet, the ENB analysis of the meeting notes, “the rates of deforestation are still alarming.”

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The Council of the European Union adopts new rules to cut deforestation worldwide

The Council of the European Union
May 16, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The Council gave the final go-ahead to a regulation that aims to minimise the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products that are placed on or exported from the EU market. The EU is a large consumer and trader of commodities and products that play a substantial part in deforestation. The new rules aim to ensure that the EU’s consumption and trade of these commodities and products don’t contribute to deforestation and further degrading forest ecosystems. The regulation sets mandatory due diligence rules for all operators and traders who place, make available or export the following commodities from the EU market: palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy. The rules also apply to a number of derived products such as chocolate, furniture, printed paper and selected palm oil based derivates. Operators will be required to trace the commodities they are selling back to the plot of land where they were produced.

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Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls 68% in April, first major drop under Lula

By Gabriel Araujo
Reuters
May 12, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fell 68% in April from the previous year, preliminary government data showed on Friday, a positive reading for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as it represents the first major drop under his watch. Lula won last year’s election pledging to end deforestation after years of surging destruction, but has faced continued challenges since taking office as environmental agency Ibama grapples with lack of staff. Official data from space research agency Inpe showed that 328 square km were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon last month, below the historical average of 455 square km for the month. That interrupted two consecutive months of higher deforestation, with land clearing so far this year now down 40.4% to 1,173 square km. …Experts say it is still too early to confirm a downward trend, but see it as a positive signal.

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Exploring the underground connections between trees

By Oskar Franklin and Ansa Heyl
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
May 9, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest… have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular “mother-tree hypothesis”. …mother trees are believed to act as central hubs, communicating with both young seedlings and other large trees to increase their chances of survival… This is a very appealing concept attracting the attention of not only scientists, but also the media, where this hypothesis is often presented as fact. According to a study just published in New Phytologist, the hypothesis is however hard to reconcile with theory, prompting the researchers to re-examine data and conclusions from publications for and against the mother tree hypothesis. The study, led by Nils Henriksson at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, found that the empirical evidence for the mother tree hypothesis is actually very limited and theoretical explanations for the mechanisms are largely lacking.

Find the full study in New Phytologist Foundation: Re-examining the evidence for the mother tree hypothesis – resource sharing among trees via ectomycorrhizal networks

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Western Australia boosts funding to implement decision to end native logging

Government of Western Australia
May 9, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — The McGowan Government will deliver $36 million through the 2023-24 State Budget to create dozens of new jobs to help deliver on the historic decision to end native logging in our South-West. The additional resources will assist in implementing the Forest Management Plan 2024-33 to improve forest resilience in a changing climate. The native logging ban will preserve at least 400,000 hectares of karri, jarrah and wandoo forests – an area 1,000 times the size of Kings Park. This is in addition to the 1.6 million hectares of forest already protected. The investment in the 2023-24 State Budget will provide 50 full-time positions as well as operational funds to enable the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and the Forest Products Commission to carry out their work. The only timber to be taken from our native forests will come from management activities designed to improve forest health and clearing for approved mining operations or infrastructure maintenance.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Mosaic Forest Management to present at Forestry and Agriculture Investment Summit

Forestry and Agriculture Investment Summit
May 16, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

We are excited to sponsor and attend this upcoming hybrid event at the Forestry & Agriculture Investment Summit on May 17-18, 2023, in London, UK. Join our Senior Vice President, Forest & Climate and Chief Forester, Domenico Iannidinardo, and other leading experts for this in-depth discussion on Forestry, Agroforestry and the March to Net Zero on May 17 at 15:50-16:35 BST. Topics covered will include: Defining and reporting positive climate returns; Identifying projects that make financial sense; Tools needed to assist the manager on the ground; and Offsetting and insetting and the role of Agroforestry in both. This Summit is a great opportunity to learn more about #NatureBasedSolutions from leaders in the field and to explore the possibilities. Join the program virtually or at the Summit in London, UK.

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UK power group Drax in US push to take advantage of green tax credits

By Rachel Millard
The Financial Times
May 23, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, International

UK power generation business Drax is planning a big push into the US, lured by President Joe Biden’s green energy tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.  Will Gardiner, chief executive, said the tax breaks were the “icing on the cake” as he set out plans to spend $4bn building two new power plants in the southern US, with the potential for more to follow. The new plants are part of Drax’s strategy to become a leader in “negative emissions”, which can be sold in the form of credits to other companies looking to offset their emissions. …Gardiner said the country was attractive for its new power plants because of the proximity of biomass supplies and carbon dioxide storage sites. The commercial case for the plants in the US has also been boosted by tax credits under the IRA, worth $85 per tonne of carbon dioxide stored.

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Brazil builds ‘rings of carbon dioxide’ to simulate climate change in the Amazon

By Fabiano Maisonnave
The Associated Press
May 23, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

RIO DE JANEIRO — In the depths of the Amazon, Brazil is building an otherworldly structure — a complex of towers arrayed in six rings, poised to spray mists of carbon dioxide into the rainforest. But the reason is utterly terrestrial: to understand how the world’s largest tropical forest responds to climate change. Dubbed AmazonFACE, the project will probe the forest’s remarkable ability to sequester carbon dioxide — an essential piece in the puzzle of world climate change. This will help scientists understand whether the region has a tipping point that could throw it into a state of irreversible decline. Such a feared event, also known as the Amazon forest dieback, would transform the world’s most biodiverse forest into a drier savannah-like landscape. FACE stands for Free Air CO2 Enrichment. …The construction of the initial two rings is underway and they are expected to be operational by early August. 

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Releasing global forests from human management: How much more carbon could be stored?

By Caspar Roebroek, Gregory Duveiller, Sonia Seneviratne, Edouard Davin and Alessandro Cescatti
Science
May 18, 2023
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Harnessing the carbon-capturing potential of forests is a key component of plans to mitigate global climate change. Planting new forests is a common strategy, but this approach can have negative social and ecological impacts and substantial costs. Roebroek et al. instead investigated how ceasing management (e.g., wood harvesting or fire suppression) of forests would change their global carbon sequestration capacity. The authors assessed the differences between the biomass of similar forests with and without human activities and used machine learning to predict the additional biomass gain from removing human activities from global forests. Even if all management ceased (an extremely unlikely scenario), global forest carbon would only increase by about 15%. This work provides further evidence that changing forest management is not an alternative to cutting carbon emissions.

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Health & Safety

Magnolia tree compound may be effective against the next coronavirus

By Andrei Ionescu
Earth.com
May 23, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

A team of scientists led by Leiden University in the Netherlands has recently discovered that a compound called honokiol, which is found in the bark of various species of magnolia tree, inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in several types of cells, causing the production of infectious viral particles to drop to around 1,000th of their previous levels. “If honokiol can be developed into a drug, possibly in combination with other compounds, stockpiling it would help us to increase our preparedness for the emergence of the next coronavirus,” said Martijn J. van Hemert, an associate professor of Medical Microbiology at Leiden. “Broad-spectrum drugs could then be used to treat early patients and prevent spread, or they could be used prophylactically among healthcare workers, and in high-risk groups, such as among nursing home residents.”  

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Forestry company fined $180,000 after worker injured by bark stripping machine

By Rob Stock
New Zealand Stuff
May 23, 2023
Category: Health & Safety
Region: International

A Chinese forestry company has been fined $180,000 after a worker’s arm got caught in a log debarking machine. The incident broke the man’s wrist and pulled the victim’s skin back, leaving him needing surgery to have plates put in to fix his broken arm and a dislocated wrist, workplace safety regulator Worksafe Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa said. CFGC Forest Managers (NZ), which is owned by China Forestry Group New Zealand Company, was sentenced in court on May 19. As well as being fined, it was ordered to pay the injured worker reparations of $10,000. Worksafe investigated after the 2021 injury at Northport near Whangārei, and concluded the bark-stripping machine did not have the appropriate safeguards for New Zealand use. The worker was troubleshooting the machine when its rollers closed and trapped his wrist, Worksafe said. A WorkSafe investigation found “significant safety modifications” were made to the debarker before it was put into use.

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Forest Fires

Australian forestry firefighters lending a hand in Canada

By Matt Deans
Forestry Corporation of New South Wales, Australia
May 26, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, International

AUSTRALIA — Three of Forestry Corporation’s most experienced firefighters are part of the Australian firefighting contingent being deployed to Canada to assist with the wildfire emergency. The overseas deployment comprises a 222-strong contingent from Australian and New Zealand fire agencies, coordinated by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council’s National Resource Sharing Centre. AFAC CEO Rob Webb said…“Australia, New Zealand and Canada have a long history of supporting each other, and we are pleased to be able to help Canada as they experience significant wildfire activity,” he said. …“I’ve got to say the Canadians were awesome during our big firefighting season a few years ago so any opportunity to go over there and lend them a hand and return the favour is a great thing and I put my hand up for this straight away,” Peter Simon said. The firefighters are expected to complete a 30-day deployment.

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Weather agency warns of further forest fire risk across Sweden

By Becky Waterton
The Local Sweden
May 25, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Sweden’s weather agency SMHI has extended its weather warnings for grass and forest fires which now cover most of the country. Fire bans are in place in many areas. The risk for forest fires is now “very high” in many areas of southern Sweden, the agency warns, with an “extremely high” risk of forest fires in eastern Götaland, an area in the southeast of the country encompassing cities such as Linköping and Vimmerby. In the north of Sweden, many areas have a high or very high risk of grass fires as last year’s dead grass is exposed by melting snow before new grass has time to take its place. …According to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the fire risk is likely to increase throughout the week, peaking on Sunday.

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Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính urges stronger wildfire prevention measures amid strong heatwaves

Asia News Network
May 26, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has urged stepping up wildfire prevention measures as heatwaves are scorching many localities nationwide, increasing the risk of wildfires. The PM noted that northern, central and southwestern regions are going through heat waves that push temperatures to up to 40 degrees Celsius in certain areas. Forest fires have been reported in some localities like Hòa Bình, Sơn La, Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Quảng Nam, and Lâm Đồng, causing great losses, according to the dispatch. To prevent wildfires and reduce their damage, the PM asked chairpersons of people’s committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to take responsibility for the work in their localities. Inspections and supervisions over wildfire prevention and control should be enhanced and considered a key task, he said, asking local authorities to review forces and equipment, and outline wildfire prevention and control plans.

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Villages evacuated as ‘very large’ wildfire ravages south-west Spain

By Sam Jones
The Guardian
May 19, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Hundreds of civilian and military firefighters are tackling a wildfire in south-west Spain that has burned across at least 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) of land and forced the evacuation of more than 500 people since it began on Wednesday evening. Efforts to fight the “very large and difficult” fire in the Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata areas of northern Extremadura are being hindered by strong winds, according to the regional government, which says the blaze was started deliberately. People in three villages – Cadalso, Descargamaría and Robledillo de Gata – have been evacuated and three main roads closed. The regional government said more than 500 firefighters, including members of the military emergencies unit, had been deployed and were using 10 earthmovers, six planes, eight helicopters, and 23 road vehicles to try to bring the fire under control.

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Homes and park evacuated as large fire spreads near Petah Tikva

The Times of Israel
May 22, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Israel – A number of homes and 200 students were evacuated Monday as a massive fire spread near the central city of Petah Tikva, also damaging train equipment and causing transportation delays. Twenty-four fire teams from across the center of the country were called in to assist with the efforts as the flames, fanned by strong winds, spread close to Segula Junction. Around 200 students were evacuated from a nearby park and a number of roads were closed. There were no injuries reported and it was unclear how the fire had started. A number of homes at nearby Kfar HaBaptistim were also evacuated amid concerns they could be endangered by the fast-spreading flames.

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Forest fire risk in parts of southern France raised to ‘very severe’

By Zane Lilley
Connexion France
May 16, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

The alarm has been raised over the increased likelihood of wildfires in parts of southern France. The prefect of Pyrénées-Orientales department says the lack of rain and wind gusts of up to 90km/h predicted on Tuesday mean the risk was now ‘very severe’. Authorities are trying to avoid a repeat of France’s first major forest fire of the year, which burned up to 1,000 hectares of land in Pyrénées-Orientales. It comes after some areas of the department were last week placed under a drought ‘crisis’ level due to lack of water. …The department also banned the sale of above-ground pools to prevent residents from being “tempted” to break drought rules and fill them up. …With water scarce, firefighters say they are having to turn to the sea and rivers for supplies.

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