Region Archives: International

It’s a freezing, foggy morning as the Searoad Mersey II docks at Melbourne Port. We’ve had a tip-off that the truck we’re looking for is on board. …Trees from Tasmania’s public forests are not meant to leave the island. But two years after Victoria banned logging in its own state forests, Four Corners has discovered there are Victorian sawmills now relying heavily on Tasmania for supply. In some cases, Victorian taxpayers are even subsidising the practice. …It’s clear this sawmill, in a state that’s banned native logging in public forests, has shifted its supply. …The state government told Four Corners no logs from public forests like these were leaving the island to be processed interstate. …The environmentalists reckon they’ve spent hundreds of hours at the Devonport ferry terminal, in the state’s north, watching logs leave the island.

JAKARTA — Pulp and paper giant APRIL made recent changes that are concerning to environmental groups. These changes include suspending and reviewing its flagship sustainability policy, lowering its deforestation commitments, and sourcing wood from two companies responsible for some of Indonesia’s largest recent forest losses. The company, part of the Singapore-headquartered Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group, the world’s largest manufacturer of viscose rayon, said the changes are needed to align its policies with international standards and secure fiber supplies following the loss of several long-term suppliers. Environmental groups, however, said the move weakens a key safeguard that APRIL has long cited as evidence of its no-deforestation commitments. The controversy centers on APRIL’s decision to add Indonesian concessions PT Industrial Forest Plantation (IFP) and PT Mayawana Persada (Mayawana) askey wood suppliers, integral to manufacturing viscose.

Forest owners in the wildfire-hit regions of North Gyeongsang (Gyeongbuk), South Gyeongsang (Gyeongnam), and Ulsan will be able to reduce the financial burden of removing fire-damaged trees. The Korea Forest Service said Tuesday it will pursue a measure to “replace logging permit documents for the removal of fire-damaged trees” in order to help forestry workers in the wildfire-hit areas of Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Ulsan return to forest management. …The Korea Forest Service found that because fire-damaged trees are sold at lower prices than normal standing trees in ordinary forests, the cost of the technical services required to prepare the logging quantity survey report was being borne by forest owners. It improved the relevant regulations through a review by the agency’s Active Administration Committee.

OFUNATO, Iwate — An industry organization aimed at promoting the use of fire-damaged timber has been launched in this northeastern Japan city, in response to a forest fire that broke out here in February 2025 burning approximately 3,370 hectares. The organization, named “TEAM Shinrin Saisei Ofunato” … aims to address challenges surrounding the harvesting of damaged trees and expand distribution channels for related wood products. Trees can still be utilized for parts that were not burned or if the damage was limited to the bark, but they must be cut down promptly before moisture loss makes them difficult to use. By strengthening cooperation among the logging, lumber processing, and construction sectors, which are currently divided into separate segments of the wood industry, the organization hopes to make better use of the damaged timber and encourage forest owners to proceed with logging and reforestation.

Proposals to reduce forestry activity and increase protected forest areas have become an important part of the European forestry debate. However, according to a new impact assessment, such measures risk leading to lower production, tens of thousands of lost jobs, and higher societal costs – without delivering any climate benefits. A new national forestry impact analysis shows that a more restrictive Swedish forestry policy would have far-reaching consequences for the economy, employment, and energy supply. The study was conducted by Tomas Thuresson, a forestry PhD and former Head of Silviculture at the Swedish Forest Agency, together with Runar Brännlund, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Centre for Environmental and Resource Economics (CERE) at Umeå University. The report was commissioned by SCA. Jonas Mårtensson, Head of Business Area at SCA Forest, notes that the report highlights both the significant benefits of active forest management and the risks associated with seeking “simple solutions.”

New Zealand — Contorta pine trees were introduced from North America and planted with abandon across Aotearoa for erosion control, timber and shelterbelts, contorta have rapidly adapted to our environment and spread at an alarming rate into farmland and conservation land. They now infest nearly a million hectares of the South Island. As Frank Film discovered, they’ve become our worst weed. …They suck water out of river catchments, change soil biology and quickly swamp tussock grasslands and pastures, creating an acidic monoculture in which little else can survive. There are at least ten species of pine that have become problematic–including Douglas fir, Scots pine and larch, but contorta is the undisputed wilding king. Over a lifetime spent working with trees, retired tree scientist Nick Ledgard has seen this disaster unfold. Contorta, he says, “was thought to be a bit of a wonder tree, but it’s turned out not to be the case”.

NEW ZEALAND — One of the world’s largest certifiers of responsible forests is cracking down on risky work in erosion-prone forests, which could affect smaller plantation growers. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was working to reduce health and safety risks in forests that were not certified under its programme, but supplied what was known as “controlled” wood into mixed class products. The Germany-based organisation’s strict certification aimed to prevent illegal harvesting, human rights violations, to reject the use of genetically-modified organisms and protect conservation values. …FSC Australia and New Zealand senior policy manager Stefan Jensen said it was proposing significant due diligence changes in New Zealand, especially in steep and erosion-prone areas. He said the current risk assessment included one specified risk that was relatively easy for companies to meet, but more were being proposed.

Now, for the first time, scientists have compiled a global map of the mycorrhizal network, revealing an underground network of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) threads that stretches an estimated 110 quadrillion kilometers through Earth’s soils. Around 70 percent of all plant species rely on mycorrhizal symbiosis. …evolutionary ecologist Justin Stewart of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam assembled data from 322 studies representing more than 16,000 soil cores across nine different global biomes. …Then, they used machine learning to predict the density of unseen AM networks across the world… The surprise was where these networks were strongest …Rather than clustering in tropical rainforests, the highest densities were found in places like grasslands, prairies, steppes, and wetlands. …A more worrying finding is that fungal network density was, on average, 47 percent lower in cultivated croplands. …”Mycorrhizal fungi have shaped life on earth, but we still understand too little it,” says mycologist Merlin Sheldrake.

From the rainforests of French Guiana to ancient woodlands in eastern France, thousands of hectares of forest are gaining new protections. On 9 June, France said it has created seven new biological reserves and expanded two existing ones. Together, they safeguard an additional 157,000 hectares of forest as it works toward placing 10 per cent of its land under ‘strong protection’ by 2030. “This translates into less pressure on natural environments and stronger protection for species and habitats,” says Monique Barbut, France’s minister for ecological transition, biodiversity and international climate and nature negotiations. However, the vast majority of that land – around 99.5 per cent – lies in a single reserve in French Guiana, France’s overseas territory in South America. The new reserves in metropolitan France collectively cover under 1,000 hectares. …The remaining eight reserves, spread across metropolitan France, range from the mountain forests of Bannes-Ravines in the Vosges to the Mediterranean woodlands of Pas de la Lauze in Hérault.

As demand for cobalt, gold and other minerals grows, mining is accelerating deforestation in the Congo basin – and increasing the risk of deadly Ebola outbreaks. For decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola in west Africa infected more than 28,000 people in 10 countries on three continents. The current eruption, which began in early May and shows no signs of abating… The conventional explanation has to do with the larger and more interconnected human populations that pathogens can access. But there’s a more fundamental driver: the transformation of the underlying ecology of Ebola, which is being remade, in part, by the rising global hunger for minerals to power the hi-tech economy.

TURKEY — The Istanbul Governor’s Office announced that access to forested areas across the city, as well as lighting fires for barbecues, gas stoves, hookahs and similar purposes, will be prohibited between June 8 and Oct. 15. In a statement the governor’s office said the increase in human and vehicle activity in forest areas during the summer months raises the risk of wildfires. To prevent risks that may arise intentionally or through negligence, authorities decided to implement a series of measures. The restrictions also prohibit the burning of stubble, trees, branches and all types of vegetation for purposes such as cleaning vineyards, gardens, olive groves and agricultural fields in villages and neighborhoods, including those located within, adjacent to or otherwise connected to forest areas. There are no restrictions on picnics, sports, walking or similar activities in designated picnic and recreation areas, groves, parks, nature parks and ecotourism sites within Istanbul.

THE HOT DRY spell at the end of May was welcome sunshine after a particularly wet and miserable winter. However, the flip side of the nice weather is the near inevitability with which it is accompanied by large fires on the hills. A blaze engulfed the south Dublin Mountains as well as areas of Wicklow. National Parks and Wildlife Service described as “lit intentionally, destroying hundreds of hectares of habitat and all associated animals, insects and plants within it”. …Shocking and disruptive as these fires are, they are nothing new. According to the European Forest Fires Information System, 4,355 hectares of land in Ireland were burned in 31 fires in 2025. …In the last decade, some things have changed. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine now issues alerts in the run-up to dry spells with appeals for ‘vigilance’. …Climate change is a significant factor in this issue; 2025 was the second-warmest year on record in Ireland. 

One of the most important changes to New Zealand’s environmental regulations in recent years came into force this week. Yet outside policy circles, the forestry sector and a handful of councils, few people are likely to have noticed. The government’s freshly-amended National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry set bottom-line rules for activities ranging from afforestation and harvesting to slash management and erosion control. There is a clear need for such safeguards. Commercial forestry is one of New Zealand’s most valuable industries, generating billions of dollars in export earnings and supporting thousands of jobs. So, it needs a regulatory framework that provides certainty for long-term investment and operational decisions. But it can also have significant impacts on waterways, infrastructure, ecosystems and downstream communities if activities are not carefully managed, with recent years having provided some stark examples.

The world is losing its forests faster than it can save them, with severe consequences for the climate, biodiversity and over one billion people who depend on forests for their livelihoods, according to the United Nations’ latest Global Forest Goals Report 2026. Although many countries have expanded forest restoration efforts, strengthened governance frameworks, and improved monitoring systems, progress remains critically insufficient to halt deforestation, lift forest-dependent communities out of poverty, and meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.  “We know what to do. We need to act on the information and knowledge we have. But do we have the will to act?” said Éliane Ubalijoro, chief executive officer of Landscape Alliance, the new operating name of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR & ICRAF). That question runs through the report, which finds that existing tools, policies and institutions have yet to deliver change at the scale required.  

The UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published detailed guidance setting out how a planned UK‑EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal will reshape forestry-related trade – and is urging businesses to start preparing now. In a wide‑ranging update, the department set out how the agreement would operate in practice, including the removal of most routine border checks and certification requirements for goods moving between Great Britain and the EU. But the guidance also makes clear the scale of regulatory change required, with the UK set to align dynamically with EU rules across a wide set of areas, including pesticides and plant imports. Among the most significant operational shifts set out for horticultural businesses (which includes forestry-related activities). …Further detail on transition periods and exceptions is expected later in 2026, with full implementation targeted for mid‑2027. Read the full government guidance here.

AUSTRALIA — The bans that have closed native forestry in Victoria and Western Australia, along with the campaign to extend them across NSW and Tasmania, rest on misinformation and a flawed promotion of science that cannot be squared with the published evidence. That is according to lead author John Raison, a former Chief Research Scientist at the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) with nearly five decades studying native forest ecology, writing in the journal Australian Forestry alongside fellow former CSIRO scientists Sadanandan Nambiar and Glen Kile and University of Melbourne hydrologist Leon Bren. As it stands, just 0.05% of Australia’s 132 million hectares of native forest is harvested in any year, the authors point out, a figure equal to about 1.5% of the net harvestable area and one that sits awkwardly beside anti-forestry campaigners’ claims of wholesale destruction. The harvested coupes are scattered and non-contiguous, and the law requires each to be regenerated and monitored.

Japan’s forestry sector is at a crossroads. Population decline and cheap imported timber are driving down prices. Forest ownership is fragmented and small-scale, further limiting profitability. The workforce is aging and shrinking. As a result, many forests — planted decades ago, when timber profits seemed surer — are now under-managed, abandoned, or not replanted after being clear-cut. “Especially over the past few years, we have seen a lot of forest owners decide to give up their land,” says Akio Abe, associate director of the Ishinomaki District Forestry Association in Miyagi Prefecture. …Carbon credits, Abe hopes, can provide the financial backing needed to turn the Ishinomaki District woods into a boon, not a burden, for both local landowners and the environment. Together with corporate partners, the foresters are applying for credits certified by an international body, a rarity among forest carbon projects in Japan.

European timber organisations have made a last, united call for changes to be made to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) before it comes into force this December. Eighteen organisations from various sectors, including timber, panels and packaging groups, called for an EUDR Information System “without flaws and technical constraints, aligned with business practice”. The coalition underlines that the Information System must be operationally workable and aligned with real business practices. The EUDR Information System, which represents the backbone of the traceability feature of the EU regulation, is aimed to prevent products linked to deforestation from entering the EU market. Particular coalition concerns relate to DDS aggregation, technical limitations of the TRACES-based system, the usability of simplified declarations for SMEs and micro-enterprises and the lack of clear procedures in the event of system disruptions or outages.

After its first year in orbit, ESA’s Biomass satellite is offering new views of Earth’s vegetation cover. Launched in April 2025, the satellite — one of the European Space Agency’s Earth Explorer missions — has been busily mapping forests and other vegetation, with the primary aim of determining the extent of stored carbon and how it changes globally with time. The spacecraft is equipped with a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar and 12m-wide mesh antenna, used for interferometric imaging. The radar’s 70cm wavelength is optimised for penetrating forest canopies and measuring ‘biomass,’ the woody trunks, branches and stems where trees store most of their carbon. “With Biomass, we are poised to gain vital new data on how much carbon is stored in the world’s forests, helping to fill key gaps in our knowledge of the carbon cycle and, ultimately, Earth’s climate system,” said ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, Simonetta Cheli.

KYIV — Since the beginning of the war, fire has destroyed 165,000 hectares of forest, and damages have exceeded 1 trillion hryvnias (about CAD $33–35 billion). Enemy shelling remains the main cause of the fires. Damages from forest fires in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war have exceeded UAH 1 trillion. In the last week alone, the amount of environmental losses increased by tens of billions of hryvnias, a significant portion of which is attributed to the destruction of forest stands. This was reported by “Forests of Ukraine,” according to UNN. …Since the beginning of the Great War, approximately 165,000 hectares of forests have already been destroyed by fire the report states. Most fires occur due to Russian shelling and combat operations in frontline and border regions. The highest number of fires last week was recorded in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.

The European Union’s ambition to sharply reduce the use of hazardous chemicals is losing momentum. Several planned restrictions have been delayed or frozen as industrial competitiveness gains increasing political weight in Brussels. The shift is also affecting forestry and forest management, where chemical pesticides are still widely used to protect seedlings, control competing vegetation and reduce damage from insects and fungal diseases. Environmental organisations now warn that the European Commission’s efforts to restrict several groups of hazardous substances have slowed significantly in recent years. …Across Europe’s forestry sector, chemical plant protection products remain an important part of forest management practices. …Many of these substances are regulated under the EU’s extensive REACH chemicals legislation and pesticide rules governing plant protection products. At the same time, large parts of the EU’s ambitious chemical strategy — launched in 2022. …The slowdown comes amid growing pressure from Europe’s chemical industry, which is struggling with high energy prices and weak demand.

GATINEAU, QC – The Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, issued the following statement today: The world celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is Acting Locally for Global Impact. In Canada this begins with recognizing that biological diversity is not only part of our identity, but also one of our greatest responsibilities. From forests and fresh water to coastlines and tundra, Canada holds a significant share of the planet’s remaining intact ecosystems. With 20% of the world’s fresh water, nearly a quarter of the boreal forest, and the longest coastline on Earth, what Canada does at home matters far beyond our borders. Protecting nature locally is not just an environmental choice; it is a global contribution. That is why on March 31, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced A Force of Nature: Canada’s Strategy to Protect Nature with an investment of $3.8 billion. 

United Nations: International Day for Biological Diversity

Spain is one of the southern European countries on the front line of climate change as higher average temperatures stoke heatwaves, droughts and forest fires. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented what he called Spain’s biggest-ever campaign against forest fires on Thursday after deadly blazes devoured a record amount of land last year. Spain is one of the southern European countries on the front line of climate change as higher average temperatures stoke heatwaves, droughts and forest fires. The country sweltered through its hottest summer on record in 2025, when almost 4,000 square kilometres of land went up in smoke, the highest figure registered by the European Forest Fire Information System. “We will put in place all the resources” available to the government “to mitigate this emergency situation as much as possible and to prevent it happening again on this scale,” Sánchez said at the Torrejón airbase outside Madrid.