Region Archives: International

On a balmy February evening in Sydney, a figure disguised in a black hoodie stole up to a row of iconic trees, drill in hand. Under the cover of darkness, the man allegedly tried to kill nine of the beloved figs which have watched over Balmoral Beach for over a century. In recent months, a string of similar incidents in some of Sydney’s leafiest and wealthiest suburbs has baffled a nation rather attached to its bushland. Hundreds of trees have been ruthlessly cut down, drilled and laced with poison, or stripped bare – conveniently exposing the kind of harbour views that drastically increase property values. “It’s selfishness and greed, there’s no other way to describe it,” says John Moratelli, who runs an environmental protection group. …Many councils say they feel powerless to stop what they fear is a growing trend.

We want to share more about the technological advances we’ve made at Planet in building the Forest Carbon Diligence products, as well as the caveats and uncertainties that accompany these products. The suite of Diligence products includes a 10-year historical time series with estimates for aboveground carbon density, canopy height, and canopy cover provided globally at 30 meter nominal resolution. You can think of Diligence as a multi-year, GEDI-like forest carbon data product with wall-to-wall spatial coverage. It is worth distinguishing Diligence, an historical archive product built using public satellite data sources, from our Forest Carbon Monitoring product. Monitoring is built on PlanetScope, provides quarterly updates, and is coming soon. …Planet recently released the Diligence Validation and Intercomparison Report, which includes comparisons with 8 independent forest biomass datasets around the globe, including NASA and ESA data, national forest inventories, field plots, and airborne LiDAR.

AUSTRALIA — This article features Mark Poynter’s April 17th book review of The Forest Wars followed by the author, David Lindenmayer’s May 1st response. 

Poynter: Professor David Lindenmayer, is an ecologist who, according to the blurb, is a ‘world-leading forest expert’. Over the past 15-years, he has been privileged with a media platform for frequent, forthright, and often sensationalist commentary on forestry issues that generally fit a populist, anti-timber industry narrative. …the book primarily reads as an exercise in finding arguments to justify the author’s long-standing belief that native forest wood production … must end.

Lindenmayer: Readers should be acutely aware of Mr Poynter’s strong connections to the native forest logging industry. …I was once a strong advocate of the native forest logging industry. I no longer am. The costs of propping up the industry not only to the taxpayer but also to the environment and climate are just too great. These costs are among the key reasons why I wrote the book. 

The 19th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF19) opened on Monday with focus on achieving Global Forest Goals and increasing progress towards sustainable development by 2030. The UNFF serves as a body under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and aims to support the goals of the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) and to advance other international forest-related instruments, processes, commitments and objectives. At the forum’s opening ceremony, Juliette Biao, Director of the UNFF Secretariat, said the world currently faces numerous natural disasters, worsening climate change as well as conflict, growing poverty and unemployment, among other crises. She said making a difference amidst these global challenges can be achieved by meeting Global Forests Goals (GFG) by 2030, however, they remain off track. To get back on target, Ms. Biao said, “we want a world where all types of forests are sustainably managed”. 

Liberia, West Africa’s most forested country, has a long history of illegal logging, which the country’s regulator, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), has repeatedly struggled to confront. So it raised eyebrows when Rudolph Merab, whose companies were twice found to have engaged in illegal logging, was recently appointed to lead the FDA. …For the first time Merab answered questions about his past and detailed his plans for managing Liberia’s forests, promising to increase timber exports and cut regulations. Liberia, a country of more than 5 million people, is bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast, and has a long coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Despite a recent past that includes civil war and chronic problems with illegal logging, much of its tropical forests remain lush and intact. …The United Kingdom and European Union, both major donors to Liberian forest conservation, hoped a change in government would bring about a new era.

It has never been more crucial to raise awareness and inspire responsible actions that positively impact our environment. As consumers look to actively contribute to fighting the climate and biodiversity crises, together we can show them a way to be part of the solution. FSC Forest Week (21-27 September) is an annual campaign that raises awareness about sustainable forestry, highlighting the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) work and forest stewards’ role in fighting climate change and biodiversity loss. 2024 marks 30 years since we started our mission. You can be part of this journey by taking the small steps that create big change throughout the week, working to raise awareness and promote FSC’s impact. The campaign is a fantastic opportunity for your brand to engage with customers and communities, inviting them to step up for our forests. 

Peter Gondo

Forests cover nearly one-third of the earth and are critical in global efforts to address the triple planetary crisis. Ahead of the UN Forum on Forests and the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States this month, we asked UN DESA’s Peter Gondo about the Forum, the role of forests in small islands and why we need healthy forests for our survival. “Forests play a pivotal role in addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. When forests are healthy and well managed, they provide a myriad of ecosystem services, from regulating climate and providing habitat for 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, to cleaning and filtering our air and water and providing livelihoods and food security. Investments in forest-based solutions offer a cost-effective way to generate multiple biodiversity and social benefits. The triple planetary crisis is interconnected, and forests offer integrated solutions to address all three of the crises,” said Gondo.

Western Australia’s dying forests need urgent health monitoring as they face the impacts of climate change. Murdoch University forest ecologist Joe Fontaine said large areas of vegetation across the state started to turn brown and die off in February. He urged the state government to support university-government partnerships to develop a system to monitor the health and determine the risks of future events on WA’s forests. Climate change was set to make large-scale plant die-offs more likely. “The likelihood of WA’s event has been evident to scientists for months, yet there was no consistent monitoring or warning system in place to prepare the community or to influence behaviour such as groundwater use,” he said. …WA Greens MLC Brad Pettitt said we were witnessing a devastating ecosystem collapse that was likely to accelerate the loss of many of the state’s unique and globally significant species and ecosystems.

A persistent labor shortage and tepid demand for timber are complicating Japan’s efforts to mitigate pollen allergies by reducing the number of cedar trees, raising concerns about the feasibility of its ambitious forestry goals. These challenges have come into sharp focus as the government aims to reduce pollen production by cutting cedar forest plantations by about 20% over the next decade, with the ultimate goal of halving pollen output in about 30 years. In May last year, the government adopted new strategies to combat pollen allergies. It decided to increase the annual rate of logging of cedar forest plantations from the current 50,000 hectares to 70,000 hectares, and set a target to reduce the area of such forests by about 20% by the end of fiscal year 2033. Starting this fiscal year, prefectural governments are to engage in comprehensive discussions with owners of cedar forest plantations to initiate tree-felling in designated priority areas.

A new study reveals compelling evidence that forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) in Gabon and the Republic of Congo harbour a higher abundance of larger mammals and critically endangered species, such as gorillas and elephants, compared to non-FSC certified forests. The research was led by Utrecht University with support from WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and was published in Nature on 10 April 2024. It underscores the effectiveness of measures implemented in FSC-certified forest concessions to safeguard wildlife. By meticulously counting individual animals and strategically positioning camera traps, the research conducted by Joeri Zwerts confirmed that certified concessions notably harbor a larger population of large mammals – 2.7 times more for mammals over 100 kg, such as gorillas and forests elephants, and 2.5 times more for mammals from 30–100 kg, such as leopards and chimpanzees – when compared to non-FSC-certified areas. 

The Ash Dieback Action Plan, which received cabinet approval today (Tuesday, April 30) is a “positive step” to restoring the “eroded confidence” of farmers in forestry, according to one senator. Tim Lombard said that the supports announced today may be a “catalyst to drive the Forestry Programme forward”. A €5,000/ha payment will be provided to affected forest owners, separate from the clearing and replanting grants. …Lombard, the vice-chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said: “The committee has pushed hard for a resolution for impacted farmers and I’m pleased that we finally have a significant package in place “We’ve seen the impact of ash dieback in plantations across the country. We all have neighbours hit by this. It’s been horrendous for those farmers affected,” he added.

More than half of the country’s forestry is in community and Indigenous hands – and from CO2 absorption to reducing poverty the results are impressive. Dexter Melchor Matías works in the Zapotec Indigenous town of Ixtlán de Juárez, about 1,600ft (490 metres) above the wide Oaxaca valley in Mexico, where community forestry has become a way of life. Like him, about 10 million people across the country live in and make a living from forests, with half of that population identifying as Indigenous. As average temperatures soar around the world and wildfires rage across the Americas, in Mexico, where more than a quarter of the country suffers from drought, the number of wildfires has remained steady since 2012. More than half of Mexico’s forests are in community and Indigenous hands, a situation unlike anywhere else in the world, which, according to experts, helps explain why the country has done better at controlling large fires.

LONDON — New research from iov42, a technology company specialising in digital identity, trust, and data integrity has revealed that almost one in five (18%) European timber importers are not aware of any incoming deforestation legislation, despite the fact that regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and UK Environment Act will imminently become law. Despite the uncertainty around deforestation regulation timings, more than a quarter (27%) of respondents claim to be fully prepared, although there is a marked difference in levels of preparedness from country to country. 44% of UK respondents feel somewhat prepared, whereas in Belgium almost a quarter (24%) have not even commenced preparations.  iov42’s 2024 Deforestation Regulation Readiness Survey is based on responses from those with active involvement in importing timber and related commodities in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, and Italy. All of whom will be or are affected by existing and incoming regulation designed to combat deforestation… 

Portugal is the world’s leading producer of cork. In 2023, cork exports achieved a record value of €1.2 billion, 75% of which came from cork stoppers, according to the Portuguese association of cork producers. Portugal’s leading cork company claims that around one out of three wine bottles worldwide is sealed with a cork stopper made in Portugal. About 20 years ago, significant concerns emerged that cork might lose market share to synthetic alternatives. …Nowadays, cork has a competitive edge over materials like plastic due to its sustainable properties. “A cork stopper captures almost 400g of CO2. A single cork can offset all the emissions from producing a glass bottle,” says António Rios de Amorim. He anticipates an expansion in wine production, which underscores the need to plant more cork oaks – a move that would also aid Portugal’s efforts to combat climate change.

A group of protesters from the Bob Brown Foundation have staged a dramatic protest in front of a large crowd at a Hobart food festival overnight. The activists stormed the Street Eats @ Franko event in Franklin Square on Friday, lighting fiery flares as they stood on the steps of the Treasury and Finance building. They collectively called for an end to post-logging forestry burns in Tasmania, which they say fill Tasmania’s air with toxic fumes and destroy the state’s native environment. The stunt comes as the foundation launches a new website that monitors logging and burning activities in native forests across the state. Forest Watch aims to bring transparency and accountability to the logging practices of Sustainable Timber Tasmania, including details on the burns’ climate, health and wildlife impacts.