Region Archives: International

AUSTRALIA — The Victorian government has been accused by conservationists and a leading ecologist of allowing a de facto native logging industry to emerge under the guise of fire management just months after closing down the industry. Environmental lawyers said the state government agency, Forest Fire Management Victoria, was acting “with impunity”, and conservationists and the Victorian Greens called on state and federal ministers to step in. Logging in Victoria’s native forests ended at the beginning of this year but Prof David Lindenmayer, a forest ecologist at Australian National University, said: “There’s a de facto logging industry now emerging under the guise of fire suppression. …Conservationists and the Victorian National Parks Association expressed shock after discovering a dead greater glider in an area where trees had been felled by FFMV. Blake Nisbet, of campaign group Wildlife of the Central Highlands, said: “This is endangered wildlife culling. 

SASTAMALA, FINLAND — Carccu, a packaging manufacturer based in Sastamala, Finland, has been awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certification. The wood in an FSC-labelled wood product originates from a forest that has been managed in accordance with the principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability. The FSC label on paper packaging demonstrates commitment to sustainable forest management. …The certification is supervised by independent, accredited auditors and it is the only wood product certification that is also supported by WWF, Nature League and Greenpeace. By using FSC-certified raw materials , Carccu is able to contribute to responsible forest management and forest economy. Work on obtaining FSC certification started at Carccu last year as part of the company’s ISO 9001 and ISO 14 001 quality system certification efforts.

New South Wales’s environment minister has refused to intervene amid fears the government’s own Forestry Corporation could be illegally destroying the den trees of endangered greater gliders. Penny Sharpe has voted against a motion, brought by the Greens in parliament, calling for the suspension of logging in nine state forests while investigations are carried out. The motion was made after an audit by conservation groups found the Forestry Corporation had breached new greater glider search rules 188 times in just eight weeks. The rules for pre-logging surveys were tightened in February after the corporation admitted it had been looking for nocturnal gliders during the day, when the animals would have been asleep inside their hollows. 

Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. Scion said 30 jobs or around 10% of its workforce may go. This impacts scientists, technicians and support staff. Most are based in Rotorua. …”Cutting the agency that is helping to grow a valuable exporter, earner and employer is just more dumb stuff from this government,” said Fleur Fitzsimons Assistant Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. …”Forestry is our third largest primary export earner and employs tens of thousands in regions around New Zealand – it makes no sense for a government focused on economic growth and regional economic development to undermine such a critical agency. Scion is all about the productivity of forestry – helping grow higher value trees, improving land management, researching more efficient harvesting practices and the impacts of climate change on forests.”

In a study published in the journal Plant and Soil, researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have shown that mixed larch and deciduous forests are more resistant to soil acidification—a decrease in soil pH—than pure larch forests. This finding suggests that mixed forests, which contain a variety of tree species, may be a more effective forest management strategy to combat soil acidification. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the use of chemical fertilizers have led to high levels of nitrogen deposition, the transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface, in many regions of the world; this process may cause soil acidification and plant nutrient imbalances. …The results suggest that in the northeastern regions of China, establishing mixed forests may be a better forest management practice to prevent soil acidification under conditions of increased nitrogen deposition.

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.