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  Logging & lumber industry: 1996 - Sep. 2001  

See also other materials on "Logging & lumber industry".

1996 - Sep. 2001:

Senate approves former timber lobbyist to oversee national forests [U.S.] (Associated Press, 28 Sep. 2001)

Illegal logging in Amazon exposed - Brazilian Government fails: Greenpeace presents evidence to Federal Prosecutors - Greenpeace today released fresh evidence of extensive illegal logging deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Photographs and video images from a recent aerial reconnaissance by Greenpeace clearly show sophisticated logging operations in lands belonging to the Amazon's Kayapó Indians, an area where logging is strictly prohibited. (Greenpeace, 26 Sep. 2001)

Building the future: Sustainable building materials come of age - A revolution in the way we build is underway as architects, city planners, government officials, homeowners, and others embrace green forest products. (Stacey Fowler, Environmental News Network, 25 Sep. 2001)

BRAZIL: Controversial Logging Law Moving Closer To Passage - A joint commission of Brazil's Congress has approved a bill that would change Brazil's forestry code, permitting owners to leave 50 percent of their property open to development, instead of 20 percent as under existing regulations...In order to become law, the bill must now be approved by both houses of Congress. The bill has been criticized by environmental organizations both in Brazil and abroad. (UN Wire, 24 Sep. 2001)

Brazil forms eco-friendly timber certification unit: Brazil's environmentalists have created an organization to certify for consumers that wood they are buying was cut legally rather than taken by illegal loggers in the world's largest tropical forest, the World Wildlife Fund said yesterday. The Brazilian Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC, would certify local timber and work as a unit of the international group of the same name. (Reuters, 20 Sep. 2001)

Poor management of Nigeria's environment costs $5 billion per year: Poor management of Nigeria's environment is costing Africa's most populous country around $5 billion a year in ruined land and lost forests, an ecology expert said yesterday. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, executive director of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), told a meeting on the country's environment in the capital Abuja that much of the damage resulted from oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta region...Complaints over environmental management have contributed to years of tension and violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer...Illegal logging was speeding deforestation (Reuters, 19 Sep. 2001)

Asian ministers pledge to crackdown on illegal logging, trading: Government ministers from around East Asia ended a three-day forestry conference on Thursday with an unprecedented pledge to crackdown on illegal logging and trading. Representatives of 13 countries said they would strengthen laws on forest management, increase penalties against illegal timber barons, and swiftly prosecute those found guilty. The pledge was the first ever international commitment by governments to combat the trade in illegally felled trees. (Lely T. Djuhari, Associated Press, 14 Sep. 2001)

East Asian Ministers Issue Historic Declaration On Forest Law Enforcement And Governance: Ministers from East Asian Nations and other regions at the East Asia Ministerial Conference on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance accepted by acclamation an unprecedented and historic declaration committing their countries to combat illegal logging, associated illegal trade, and other forest crimes. The declaration represents the first ever international commitment by governments to combat corruption in the forestry sector. (World Bank, 13 Sep. 2001)

BRAZIL: Environmentalists Oppose Proposed Amazon Law: Brazilian environmentalists are fighting a bill introduced recently that would reduce the legally protected region of the Amazon forest, O Estado de Sao Paulo reports. Introduced by Federal Deputy Moacir Micheleto, and backed by Amazon landowners, the bill would reduce the Amazon forest reserve from 35 percent to 20 percent. (UN Wire, 13 Sep. 2001)

{português} Código Floresta [Brasil]l: ambientalistas querem ter voz - ONGs fizeram reivindicação ao líder do governo, que quer fechar um acordo (Sônia Cristina Silva, O Estado de S. Paulo [Brasil], 12 setembro 2001)

A Tribal Struggle to Preserve What's Left of a Borneo Forest [Malaysia]: What once was rain forest owned by a local community has been destroyed in the name of development. Rumah Nor, 60 kilometers (about 40 miles) southeast of Bintulu, site of the world's largest natural gas complex, is the scene in a land rights struggle in which Sarawak's indigenous people are fighting government and industrial powers. Lani, 33, was one of four plaintiffs in a legal battle that conservationists say has produced a major victory. His Iban tribal longhouse community of 70 families successfully sued to regain 672 hectares (1,660 acres) of land. The court decided the land had been illegally acquired by Borneo Pulp and Paper and the Sarawak state government, which turned forest into a huge acacia plantation. (Paul Spencer Sochaczewski, International Herald Tribune, 12 Sep. 2001)

Certification used to protect forests: Amid growing concern over the rate at which forests around the world are being destroyed, WWF Japan and the Japan Forest Technical Association recently held a public seminar in Tokyo on an international scheme for sustainable forest management. Domestic and foreign speakers, including professionals from the forestry industry, were invited to participate in the event, whose main theme was how to promote the forest management system run by the Forest Stewardship Council. (Takeshi Kuroiwa, Daily Yomiuri [Japan], 11 Sep. 2001)

Amazon Indians begin cutting a boundary in the forest to keep illegal loggers out of their land [Brazil]: The Deni Indian community have begun to cut a physical border around their territory in the Amazon rainforest. This demarcation of their lands is an attempt to protect their traditional territory from industrial exploitation. Without this demarcation the Deni lands would be vulnerable to land grabs by logging companies which are after the wealth of natural resources that rightfully belong to the Deni. (Greenpeace, 11 Sep. 2001)

Defender of sustainable development murdered in Pará [Brazil]: Ademir Alfeu Federicci was gunned down at his house in the city of Altamira, State of Pará, on the night of August 25. It is believed that the crime was politically motivated, because Dema, as he was called, was the main leader in the struggle against large landowners, lumber explorers and the construction of dams in the region. (Socio-Environmental Institute, 11 Sep. 2001)

Atlantic Rain Forest [Brazil]: another victory for conservation - The environmentalists scored. Despite the arguments of the national confederations of agriculture and industry and the almost overwhelming pressure of lumber exploring sectors from Southern Brazil and Bahia, the Conama ratified, on August 30, the validity of Resolution 278...Resolution 278 ordered the Ibama and the State organs for the environment to suspend the permits given for the exploration of species threatened of extinction in natural populations of the Atlantic Rain Forest bioma until technical norms are established. (Socio-Environmental Institute, 11 Sep. 2001)

Environmentalists expose rampant trade in timber stolen from Indonesia's forests:...A new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak Indonesia - called "Timber Trafficking: Illegal Logging in Indonesia, South-East Asia and International Consumption of Illegally-Sourced Timber - reveals how international demand for tropical timber is driving the destruction of many of Indonesia's protected forests, and exposes how much of the illegal timber is laundered through the neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore before being exported to the UK and other consuming countries. (Environmental Investigation Agency, 11 Sep. 2001)

Celebrity-Endorsed Ad in Today's New York Times Condemns Boise Cascade's Destructive Logging, Free Speech Attacks: Rainforest Action Networks Ad Campaign Heats Up - Today a broad-based coalition of celebrities, politicians, nonprofit organizations and foundations increased already substantial public pressure against Boise Cascade by endorsing Rainforest Action Network's (RAN) full-page ad in the New York Times. The advertisement condemns Boise Cascade's destructive logging practices and recent attacks on America's First Amendment right to free speech. (Rainforest Action Network, 7 Sep. 2001)

Global Reporting Initiative Receives Nearly $1 Million from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for HIV Work: Grant Awarded to Develop Corporate HIV/AIDS Reporting Protocol - The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced today that it has received a $950,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a corporate HIV/AIDS reporting protocol. The grant...will fund research and development of a standardized approach for companies to share information on HIV/AIDS policies, practices, and programs. The extractive and itinerant-worker industries of mining, forestry, agriculture and ground transportation will be the initial focus for the project. (Global Reporting Initiative, 7 Sep. 2001)

Liberia breaches UN sanctions - Whilst its logging industry funds arms imports and RUF rebels: According to a report released today [by Global Witness], the Government of Liberia continues to import armaments and to support the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), responsible for gross human rights abuses in Sierra Leone. This support is made possible by profits of over US$100 million per year generated by Liberia's timber industry, which is integrally linked to illegal arms importation. (Global Witness, 6 Sep. 2001)

Monrovia Breaches UN Sanctions - Whilst Its Logging Industry Funds Arms Imports And RUF Rebels: According to a report released today, the Government of Liberia continues to import armaments and to support the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), responsible for gross human rights abuses in Sierra Leone. This support is made possible by profits of over US$100 million per year generated by Liberia's timber industry, which is integrally linked to illegal arms importation...In 2000 France and China imported 71% of Liberian log exports. The UK, Italy, Denmark and Germany also purchase significant quantities of Liberian logs. (Global Witness, 6 Sep. 2001)

Land quarrels shatter calm of Malaysia's Sarawak: Court cases, sporadic protests and even killings over indigenous land rights issues are destroying the calm of Sarawak state on Borneo island. Traditionally placid Ibans, Penans and other groups used to obeying their longhouse headmen and the authorities, are bridling at logging and plantation activity on land they say is ancestral. (Patrick Chalmers, Reuters, 6 Sep. 2001)

Malaysia loggers consider turning over new leaf:...some timber barons are beginning to realise the benefits of branding their timber with the globally recognised Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate of approval...But Malaysia's approach to certification has critics, who say the process fails properly to address native land rights issues. (Patrick Chalmers, Reuters, 4 Sep. 2001)

Kyeni Forest Farmers Protest Displacement [Kenya]: A group of 867 internally displaced persons (IDPs), forced out of Kyeni Forest in Thika District in early June and who have been living in a roadside camp in Huruma, Thika, since, have complained that they were harassed, intimidated and beaten by forestry officials into leaving their forest homes of eight years...The IDPs have claimed that illegal logging in Kyeni was taking place with the tolerance of forestry officials, while a Thika District forest officer told IRIN that the farmers were evicted because they were residing there illegally (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 3 Sep. 2001)

Honey-hunters to face Kenyan government in court: On October 4th, the Ogiek will face the Kenyan government again in court to protect their land. The Ogiek (sometimes referred to as 'Dorobo') are a small tribe who live in the Mau mountain forest overlooking Kenya's Rift Valley. As former hunter-gatherers they are looked down on by their pastoralist neighbours. They still partly depend on hunting, and gathering honey and wild plants. Ever since colonial times, governments have tried to evict them from the forest, allegedly to protect the environment. Yet at the same time the forest is being taken over by logging companies, tea plantations and farms. The Ogiek, however, have always trickled back. (Survival International, Sep. 2001)

'I cannot describe how happy I feel.' Nor Nyawai, village headman - Sarawak [Malaysia]: Tribal people celebrate an historic court ruling...in May this year, in a landmark ruling, a judge finally recognised that tribes like the Iban do actually own their land, and companies have no right to log them, irrespective of whether they have been given permits. (Survival International, Sep. 2001)

East Asia: Ministerial Conference on illegal logging and trade: East Asia Ministerial Conference held in Bali agreed to adopt a 13-point Ministerial Declaration, which will commit them to, among other things, taking immediate action against forest crimes. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Laos: Planned Nam Theun 2 dam leads to increased logging:...The [World] Bank's guidelines on forestry, for example, state that "Bank involvement in the forestry sector aims to reduce deforestation, enhance the environmental contribution of forested areas, promote afforestation, reduce poverty, and encourage economic development." In the case of the Nam Theun 2 project, a Lao military-run logging company has logged much of the proposed 470 square kilometre reservoir area and at the same time has logged in forest areas outside the reservoir. The project has already led to increased poverty, as villager's lose their forests to loggers, and are excluded from remaining areas of forest to preserve biodiversity. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Jamaica: Deforestation linked to mining, agriculture and tourism (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Brazil: the rights of Aracruz and the rights of the people - The growing consolidation of land by Aracruz Celulose in Espirito Santo and in the extreme south of Bahia, followed by plantation of eucalyptus monocrops, is generating increasing opposition...But monocrop tree plantations implemented by transnational companies not only cause environmental impacts; they also cause social ones, as a result of the increasing consolidation of lands in a context in which thousands of peasants are demanding land. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

The sad figures of employment generated by plantation companies: One of the most commonly used arguments by those promoting large scale monoculture tree plantations is that they generate employment. As we will see from the following examples, such arguments are false. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

New WRM [World Rainforest Movement] book on the impacts of oil palm plantations: Soap, lipsticks, chocolate or perfumes are difficult to perceive as products associated to deforestation and human rights abuses in the tropics. However, this can easily be the case when one of their components is palm oil, though few people outside the plantation areas are aware about this. The first aim of this book is thus to highlight the impacts associated with large-scale oil palm plantations by providing a general overview of the problem and a broad range of country-level situations, ranging from articles to detailed case studies in Africa, Asia and Latin America. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Environment and the people [Papua New Guinea]: We all know that there has been a large logging industry in PNG since the late 1980s. There have been millions of cubic metres of logs taken out of the forests in New Ireland, New Britain, the Mamose and Papuan regions. The Papua New Guinea Eco-Forestry Forum claims that in all of these projects there has never been a prosecution by the Office of Environment and Conservation of a logging company (Post-Courier [Papua New Guinea], 31 Aug.-2 Sep. 2001)

Sierra Club to launch ads urging Congress to pass meaningful campaign finance reform [USA]: "Elected officials should answer to people in their districts, not to the oil, mining, chemical and timber industries that buy undue influence with campaign dollars" (Sierra Club, 29 Aug. 2001)

Global Witness Director Speaks On Timber And Sanctions [link between armed conflict in West Africa and Liberian timber] (The Perspective [Smyrna, Georgia, USA], 29 Aug. 2001)

UN call to save key forests: The United Nations says efforts to save the world's most important forests should concentrate on just 15 countries [Russia, Canada, Brazil, the US, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, India, Australia, and Papua-New Guinea]. The UN Environment Programme (Unep) says the 15 contain more than 80% of the forests it judges need protection most. (Alex Kirby, BBC News, 20 Aug. 2001)

Government Refutes Timber Allegations: The Liberian government dismissed as "far-fetched" on Thursday the claims of a UK-based rights group that revenue from logging continued to fuel conflict in West Africa, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 11 Aug. 2001)

Act without fear or favour, enforcement agencies told: State Environment and Public Health Minister Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min [Sarawak state, Malaysia] is disappointed with the performance of local councils and government enforcement agencies. He said he was not satisfied with their enforcement activities in dealing with environmental problems, illegal felling of trees and the killing of wildlife.  "It is pointless to have regulations and laws if the enforcement agencies do not have the courage and political will to enforce them." (The Star [Malaysia], 11 Aug. 2001)

UK Tops EU Illegal Timber League: According to an analysis of data on illegal logging, as much as 60% of tropical timber sold in the UK is likely to be from illegal sources, Friends of the Earth reveals today. This makes the UK the largest importer of illegal tropical timber in Europe, ahead of France, Belgium, Germany,Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Friends of the Earth is calling for new European and UK laws to make it illegal to import illegally sourced timber, together with stiff penalties for the corporations involved in this trade. (Friends of the Earth, 10 Aug. 2001)

AMAZON: Environmentalists Laud Brazil's Move To Protect Rainforest (UN Wire, 10 Aug. 2001)

Liberian timber riches seen fuelling regional war: Revenues from Liberian timber are allowing President Charles Taylor to fuel war in West Africa and are more important than diamonds as a source of funds, an international campaigner said this week. (Silvia Aloisi, Reuters, 9 Aug. 2001)

Greenpeace welcomes Brazilian Government decision to increase protected areas in the Amazon but urges for implementation (Greenpeace, 7 Aug. 2001)

Landmark Deal Will Protect Rainforests in Belize [U.S. Government and Nature Conservancy arrange debt-for-nature swap: Belize Government agrees to protect 23,000 acres of vulnerable forest in exchange for reduction of debt owed to U.S.] (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 3 Aug. 2001)

Limits on British Columbia log exports challenged: A lawsuit has been filed against restrictions on whole log exports from private forests in Canada's largest timber-producing province, setting the stage for a new battle between the industry, its unions and environmentalists. (Allan Dowd, Reuters, 2 Aug. 2001)

The fight against illegal logging [Indonesia]: The campaign to stop illegal logging has become a key focus for Indonesia's new forestry minister, but the problem is immense and can only be properly tackled, say NGOs, by a complete overhaul of forest management in Indonesia. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Aug. 2001)

Fires spread haze over borders [Indonesia]:...Satellite imagery helped show that the 1997/8 fires were mostly located in the concessions of plantation and timber companies. But almost no action has been taken against them. Of five companies reported to the Attorney General for starting fires last year, only one company has been successfully processed, according to Environment Minister Sonny Keraf. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Aug. 2001)

Business as usual in the Mentawais [Indonesia]: Protected areas such as Siberut are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation - legal and illegal - due to Indonesia's prolonged economic crisis, coupled with regional autonomy and the devolution of revenue gathering. The island of Siberut has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1981 due to its rich forests, unique wildlife and the traditional lifestyle and beliefs of the indigenous people. Nevertheless, local authorities and the Forestry Department have issued a number of logging permits over the last three years. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Aug. 2001)

Brazil sees a new forest for the trees: The reconstruction of [41,500 acres of] the Atlantic Forest, one of the world's most diverse and endangered wooded areas, was under way. The restoration project has been made possible by an unusual collaboration between Brazilian ecologists and U.S. multinational corporations [General Motors and American Electric Power]. They [the multinationals] hope to one day recoup their investment from institutions that will pay big companies, through the much-vaunted carbon sequestration market, to keep the atmosphere clean. (Andrew Downie, Washington Times, 31 July 2001)

Loggers try to demonise environmental groups as 'terrorists': Emboldened by their powerful new friends in the White House, some of America's most prominent lumber and mining companies have launched an offensive against grassroots environmental activists. They are trying to associate them with "terrorist" acts of sabotage and urging the government to strip them of tax-exempt charitable status. (Andrew Gumbel, Independent [UK], 25 July 2001)

Cameroon: New international report points to labour violations - Restrictions on the right to organise, regular interference by the government in trade union activities, blatant discrimination based on gender and ethnicity, and widespread use of forced labour in prison. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions [ICFTU], 25 July 2001) 

Environmentalists sue to halt federal clean water violations by Pacific Lumber Co. in Northern California: Charging that Pacific Lumber Company is illegally dumping pollution and violating the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Information Center ("EPIC") filed a federal lawsuit today in the United States District Court to challenge logging operations in one of the most imperiled watersheds on California's North Coast. (Earthjustice and Environmental Protection Information Center, 25 July 2001)

Cambodia moves to axe illegal logging: The Cambodian government last week approved legislation designed to curb illegal logging by imposing stiff prison sentences and hefty fines on offenders. (Reuters, 23 July 2001) 

Two jailed Mexican logging activists lose appeal: A Mexican court rejected an appeal on Tuesday by two Mexican peasant activists jailed two years ago while leading an anti-logging protest, a defense lawyer said. (Reuters, 19 July 2001)

European Timber Trader Linked with Liberian Arms Trafficking: In an open letter sent to the DLH Group today in Denmark, environmental and human rights organizations called upon the company’s Chief Executive Officer to stop dealing with Liberian logging companies implicated by the United Nations in arms trafficking. (Greenpeace/Nepenthes/Global Witness, 16 July 2001)

Serious Concerns Regarding Forest Certification: Many forest conservationists, myself included, have eagerly embraced forest certification, particularly standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), as a promising tool to protect forests. However, it is rapidly becoming apparent that certification is no panacea, and serious flaws in the principles of forest certification pose real dangers to the World's forests. (Glen Barry, President, Forests.org, 14 July 2001)

Project Launch: It is with pleasure that Global Witness takes up its position as the Independent Observer of the forest sector in Cameroon....Those companies identified of breaking Cameroonian Law will be regularly identified and sanctioned. [appointment of Global Witness as an independent observer by the Government of Cameroon, Ministry of Environment and Forestry] (Global Witness, 13 July 2001)

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: New Deal Makes Rainforest Off-Limits - Under a new deal with the Republic of Congo government announced Friday, timber company Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB) pledged to relinquish its harvesting rights in the Goualogo Triangle rainforest in the north of the country, which has been described by scientists as the most pristine rainforest remaining in Africa. (UN Wire, 9 July 2001)

The NGO-Industrial Complex: A new global activism is shaming the world's top companies into enacting codes of conduct and opening their Third World factories for inspection. But before you run a victory lap in your new sweatshop-free sneakers, ask yourself: Do these voluntary arrangements truly help workers and the environment, or do they merely weaken local governments while adding more green to the corporate bottom line? (Gary Gereffi [Professor of sociology and Director of the Markets and Management Studies Program at Duke University], Ronie Garcia-Johnson [Assistant Professor of environmental policy at Duke University], Erika Sasser [Visiting Assistant Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University], in Foreign Policy, July-Aug. 2001)

Mexico Fights to Save Forests: In scenes reminiscent of the war on drugs, hundreds of police in flak jackets and helmets are raiding the mountains to defend Mexico's rapidly disappearing forests.  As in the battle against drugs, casualties are beginning to mount and new President Vicente Fox faces a legacy of corruption and tolerance of an activity that threatens to tear Mexico apart.  Police have found camps of heavily armed loggers who are willing to riddle forestry vehicles with bullets, shoot officials and mow down environmental activists. (Associated Press, 29 June 2001)

Liberian logging kills forests: Uncontrolled logging in Liberia is playing havoc with the country's rich forest resources and environment and helping President Charles Taylor's government to stay afloat despite UN sanctions. (South African Press Association / Agence France Presse, 27 June 2001)

Amazon Rainforest Could be Unsustainable Within a Decade (Cat Lazaroff, Environment News Service, 26 June 2001)

EU drafts ambitious climate emissions trade plan: A wide range of major European Union industries will be forced to take part in buying and selling the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO2), under a draft EU law seen by Reuters on Friday. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 25 June 2001) 

Greenpeace confronts Hong Kong firm to stop fueling forest crime (Greenpeace, 22 June 2001)

Amazon chief [Brazilian Indian Chief Raoni] says big firms [forestry and mining multinationals] threaten forests (Reuters, 21 June 2001) 

While the globe burns, the UN fiddles: The global ecosystem is collapsing, and as it does so, governments and the UN are busy collecting data instead of implementing massive, well-funded action programs. (Dyan M. Neary, Earth Times News Service, 20 June 2001) 

Cameroon cracks down on unruly logging companies: The government of Cameroon has slapped sanctions on 65 logging companies for violating regulations on the exploitation of forests (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

Cambodia logging reform hampered by corruption - NGO [statement by Global Witness] (Reuters, 11 June 2001) 

The Credibility Gap and the Need to Bridge It - Increasing the Pace of Forestry Reform [overview of the major forest related issues and incidents of illegal logging in Cambodia over the past year]  (Global Witness, 8 June 2001)

POLL - Saving forest is top priority in Amazon: Preserving the rain forest ranks as the top priority for the 20 million people living in Brazil's Amazon, the first such study polling the region's population showed this week [study conducted by Brazil branch of the World Wildlife Fund] (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 8 June 2001) 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Market Emerges in Chicago: A diverse group of 25 large corporations and nonprofit organizations has agreed to participate in the design phase of a voluntary pilot trading market, the Chicago Climate Exchange. (Environment News Service, 30 May 2001) 

Timber group urges help for poor tropical states: Poverty is the main cause of destruction of rainforests and poor countries must get more aid and investment to preserve their forests for future generations, the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) said (Tansa Musa, Reuters, 30 May 2001) 

New convention to ban toxic chemicals marks turning point for industry (Greenpeace, 23 May 2001)

Destruction of Amazon jungle hits 5-year high [Brazil] (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 16 May 2001) 

Brazil's Amazon Rainforest Shrinking Fast (Environment News Service, 15 May 2001)

NGO Report Demonstrates the Export Development Corporation Risks the Environment: Canada’s Export Development Corporation is an accessory to some projects with severe negative environmental and social consequences, says a new report, "Reckless Lending – How Canada’s Export Development Corporation Puts People and the Environment at Risk", volume 2. This report builds on evidence of poor social, environmental and human rights assessment procedures used by the EDC found in volume 1, released in 2000. (Halifax Initiative, 14 May 2001)

Jailed Mexican logging activists granted appeal (Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Kenyans clash over threatened forests (Reuters, 13 May 2001)

Forestry: Public gets say in how estate is managed - Curbs on occupancy and use to be eased - In a radical shift in policy, the Forestry Department announced its willingness to recognise the public's right to help protect and manage the nation's forests [Thailand] (Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 12 May 2001)

Flash floods: Illegal logging a 'tragic lesson' - Forestry officials involved, says chief - The people of Phrae must take the flash flooding which claimed at least 29 lives as a lesson that illegal logging would bring them tragedy, said forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 10 May 2001)

Western forests [forests in western Thailand] should be a national priority, says forum: Fund-raising needed to keep effort going (Supamart Kasem, Bangkok Post, 6 May 2001)

Liberian Timber Profits Finance Regional Conflict: Recent Global Witness investigations have found that two individuals involved in the illicit arms and diamond trade to Sierra Leone, also hold high-ranking positions within the Liberian government body assigned to oversee Liberia’s million dollar timber industry. (Global Witness, 4 May 2001)

Five years left for Sumatra forest [Indonesia] (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 4 May 2001)

PNG [Papua New Guinea] Wilderness Laid Waste by Corruption [steps by the Center for Environmental Law & Community Rights to prevent abuses by logging companies] (Australian television's SBS Dateline, 2 May 2001)

Behind the Central Kalimantan violence [Indonesia]: The appalling ethnic violence in Central Kalimantan is rooted in the decades-long violation of indigenous rights and the wholesale destruction of natural resources in the province...A major cause of the conflict between indigenous Dayaks and Madurese settlers - and other ethnic conflicts in Indonesia - has been the 'development' that the Suharto regime promoted for over thirty years. Natural resources, including Kalimantan's forests and minerals were handed out as concessions for a powerful business elite. The customary landowners - the indigenous Dayaks - were systematically denied their land and resource rights. They have had no recourse to legal action to defend their rights since, under Indonesian law, forests belong to the state. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Forest destruction fuelled by debt, poverty and greed [Indonesia]: The Wahid government is making last-minute efforts to comply with demands for forest reform agreed last year with its international creditors. Many NGOs feel these efforts will not be enough to stop the rampant destruction in Indonesia's forests. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Export credit finances destructive, debt-laden projects [Indonesia]: A new NGO report has drawn attention to the role of export credit lending agencies in pulp and paper mills and other projects in Indonesia, which have led to increased deforestation and abuse of people's rights. Export credit lending agencies (ECAs) based in industrialised countries fail to require even minimal environmental standards when backing projects, according to the report published in February by the Indonesian NGO, Bioforum, and the US-based organisation, Environmental Defense. The report is part of an international campaign to push government-backed export credit agencies designed to promote overseas investment to develop social and environmental guidelines...The PT TEL pulp mill in South Sumatra, which started commercial production last year, is already causing serious pollution problems...A US$ 1.5 billion finance package was approved for the mill in 1994 by Canadian, Finnish, German, Japanese and Swedish ECAs. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Timber plantations: backing a loser [Indonesia] - Rather than rethink the whole approach to forest management, the government appears to be determined to continue with attempts to "reforest" degraded areas by continuing with the much-criticised programme of industrial timber estate (HTI) development launched during the Suharto era. The HTI programme, originally aimed at providing timber for the wood-processing and pulp industries, has led to protracted conflicts over land with local communities and increased deforestation - since the plantations were typically established on forested lands. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2001)

Australia ignores global warming threat: Despite its reliance on tourism and agriculture, Australia is one of the world's worst polluters and supported the US dismantling of Kyoto, writes Patrick Barkham (Patrick Barkham, Guardian [UK], 30 Apr. 2001)

Logging standards: seeing the forest for the trees [regarding first old-guard logging firm in Amazon to earn certification for sustainable forestry management from Forest Stewardship Council] (Bill Hinchberger, Environmental News Network, 26 Apr. 2001)

Greenpeace exposes new season of illegal logging in the Amazon [Brazil] (Greenpeace, 17 Apr. 2001)

Betrayed: Nepal's forest bureaucracy prepares for the funeral of the much-hailed community forest management programme (Richard Mahapatra, Down to Earth, 15 Apr. 2001)

INDONESIA: World Bank Report Urges Environmental Measures (UN Wire, 13 Apr. 2001)

Liberia: Rainforests Threatened By Illegal Logging (UN Wire, 12 Apr. 2001)

Managing Indonesia's Natural Resources: Transition brings challenges (DevNews, World Bank, 10 Apr. 2001)

Government sets precedent in saving Canada's Great Bear Rainforest (Greenpeace, 4 Apr. 2001)

Call for a moratorium on industrial logging: Supporting implementation of the Government of Indonesia's commitments to forestry sector reform (WALHI - The Indonesian Forum for Environment, Apr. 2001) 

Chad-Cameroon: Oil revenues versus human rights and environment (Korinna Horta, World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Apr. 2001)

South Africa: Quo vadis FSC? Certification of monoculture timber plantations as "sustainably managed forests" by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) makes an absolute mockery of the concept of sustainable environment and ecosystem management. (Wally Menne, Timberwatch Coalition, in World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Apr. 2001)

Business backs eco label (World Wildlife Fund, 27 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace Showers Canadian Embassy; Activists Use Wood Chips to Protest Canada's Logging Practices (Greenpeace, 22 Mar. 2001)

Greenpeace: Stop Trade with Ancient Forest Destruction (Greenpeace, 21 Mar. 2001)

Environmentalists Expose Logging Practices at Green Building Conference with High-Flying Message: Activists Accuse Industry of Greenwashing, Not Green Building (Rainforest Action Network, 19 Mar. 2001)

Just ten companies can help save the world's forests, a new WWF report shows (World Wildlife Fund, 14 Mar. 2001)

WWF Welcomes Boise Cascade Decision to Pull Out of Massive Chilean Wood Chip Mill (World Wildlife Fund, 23 Feb. 2001)

Boise Cascade cancels $160 mln Chile forestry project (Reuters, 23 Feb. 2001)

Green Scissors 2001 exposes $55 billion in wasteful federal spending that harms the environment [USA]: Taxpayer and Environmental Groups Target 74 Pork Barrel Programs (press release by Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 22 Feb. 2001)

Despite increased protection of global forests, WWF warns key areas still seriously threatened (World Wildlife Fund, 22 Feb. 2001)

Maxxam/Pacific Lumber on notice to halt illegal discharges of pollution into Northern California rivers: Logging operations blamed for violations of the Federal Clean Water Act (Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, 22 Feb. 2001)

Environmental NGOs call for credible forest certification and reject IFIR mutual recognition proposal (World Wildlife Fund, 19 Feb. 2001)

Greenpeace demands Hong Kong and China to stop buying rainforest destruction [from Canadian logging companies] (Greenpeace, 16 Feb. 2001)

Protesters target store doing business with known forest destroyer [Canadian logging company] (Greenpeace USA, 7 Feb. 2001)

Reform, farmers and action in West Java [Indonesia]:...There has been a series of conflicts between the villagers, the authorities and companies at Tegalbuleud. The main cause of the conflicts over land, and the widespread poverty faced by Tegalbuleud villagers was the collaboration of government officials and entrepreneurs in exploiting the villages' natural resources. [refers to appropriation of land for coconut plantation, shrimp farming, logging] (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Pulp & paper heading for trouble: The pulp industry in Indonesia is financially, socially and ecologically unsustainable, but the Indonesian government, local authorities and investors alike are failing to take responsibility...Foreign investors have supported the growth of this industry, despite its reliance on the destruction of natural forests and illegal logging for raw materials. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2001)

Guyana: Transnational mining companies' impacts on people and the environment (World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Feb. 2001)

Taming Globalization for People and the Planet (Dr. Robert Cox, President of Sierra Club, and Daniel Seligman, Senior Trade Fellow of Sierra Club, Georgetown International Affairs Journal, forthcoming)

Felling the Lumbering Giants (Jen Krill, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

Environmentalists seek urgent solutions to air pollution in Nigeria (Chuka Nnabuife, Guardian [Lagos], 1 Jan. 2001)

Indorayon's Last Gasp? [Indonesia] - It looks as though the fate of PT Indorayon Inti Utama's controversial paper pulp and rayon fibre plant in North Sumatra has been sealed – less by the Wahid government than by thousands of local protestors...Why was Indorayon singled out among the plethora of cases in Indonesia where companies flout environmental regulations and violate local communities' rights? What message does Indorayon's closure send out to investors in other socially and environmentally damaging investments in Indonesia? (Frances Carr, Down to Earth, Nov. 2000, updated Jan. 2001)

2000:

Restoring the Forests: Skinhead Earth? (David Victor and Jesse Ausubel, Foreign Affairs, Nov./Dec. 2000)

Whose Globe? The plight of local people gets a voice in corporate boardrooms (Paul Raeburn and Sheridan Prasso, Business Week, 6 Nov. 2000)

Aceh: ecological war zone - Natural resources are one of the main factors underlying the independence struggle in Aceh, but decades of plunder have left them severely depleted. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2000)

Resource exploitation continues as tension mounts: Indonesian and foreign companies continue to profit from West Papua's resources as the military resumes its tough line with the independence movement. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2000)

Campaign Wants Paper Companies to ‘Come Clean’: A new shareholder campaign for the 2001 proxy season will try to get pulp and paper companies to be more forthcoming about the potential environmental liabilities they face. Bruce Herbert of Newground Investments in Seattle, Wash., is spearheading the campaign, which is expected to target up to a dozen U.S. forest products companies. (Doug Cogan, Investor Responsibility Resource Center [IRRC], Nov. 2000)

Chile: Wine production threatened by pulp mill project (World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Nov. 2000)

Malaysia: Environment - Forest of Contradictions: Eco-tourism is touted as offering the best hope for saving Sabah's rich habitats.  So far, though, it's done little to halt the pressure on wildlife.  But even if it did, is it really sustainable over the long term? (Simon Elegant, Far Eastern Economic Review, 14 Sep. 2000)

African trade unions faced with globalisation (François Misser, Trade Union World, 15 July 2000) 

Malaysian loggers in Cambodia threaten proposed Cardamom Mountain reserve (press release, Global Witness, 8 June 2000)

Warning: World Bank Policies Destroy Forests - Internal Report Documents Bank Contribution to Deforestation (Korinna Horta, Multinational Monitor, June 2000)

Communities confront loggers [Indonesia]: Indigenous communities whose forests have been plundered by logging companies are demanding compensation for the damage. Deprived of the protection they enjoyed under former President Suharto, the companies are having to take them seriously. (Down to Earth Newsletter, May 2000)

Chainsaws speak louder than words [Cambodia] (report, Global Witness, May 2000)

Brazil: Greenpeace and Deni Indians demand removal of logging from indigenous lands (Greenpeace, Apr. 2000)

Spotlight on Indonesia's forests: With the release of new maps and data on forest cover (or the lack of it) in Indonesia, the Jakarta government is having to face up to the country's rapid deforestation rate...The state of Indonesia's forests is now so bad that, in early January, the World Bank threatened that it would not fund any further efforts to protect Indonesia's forests unless the government takes firm action against illegal loggers and implemented forest policy reforms within the year. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2000)

Illegal log exports from Mentawai Islands [Indonesia]: The Padang-based NGO, Pakis, has exposed two cases of log smuggling from the Pagai islands, part of the Mentawai chain off the west coast of Sumatra. The shipments totalling over 13,000 cubic metres of tropical hardwoods were worth around US$2 billion on the international market, plus the taxes and levies due to the Indonesian government. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2000)

Loggers rush to strip Siberut [Indonesia]: Siberut provides a vivid example of the way the powerful combination of Indonesia's economic problems and changes to local autonomy and forestry legislation threaten the future of the country's forests and indigenous people. A UNESCO workshop on conservation and sustainable development for the Siberut biosphere zone brought various conflicting parties together to look for local solutions. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2000)

Protests at PT TEL pulp plant [Indonesia]: Community anger is being directed at the newly completed plant in South Sumatra - The US$1 billion development is financed largely by Japanese, European and North American companies and banks. Equipment and technical services have been provided by Scandinavian, German and Canadian companies backed by Export Credit Agreements. This is yet another example of how the interests of foreign investors and export revenues are being put before the health and sustainable livelihoods of local communities in the name of 'economic development'. Tension between local communities and the management of the Tanjung Enim Lestari (PT TEL) paper pulp plant erupted into violence in mid-December...The estimated 30,000 people living in neighbouring communities have no idea about the potential environmental impacts of the pulp plant. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2000)

Undermining the forests: The need to control transnational mining companies - A Canadian case study - Undermining the Forests, a new report published by the Forest Peoples Programme, the World Rainforest Movement and Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links, documents cases from around the world of the disastrous impact that Canadian mining enterprises are having upon the world's forests and forest peoples. Undermining the Forests details cases from around the world that clearly indicate not only the appalling unresolved legacy of past bad practice but the continuation of serious human rights violations, impoverishment and massive and irreparable environmental damage. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2000)

Environmentalists Under Fire: 10 Urgent Cases of Human Rights Abuses (joint publication by Amnesty International USA and The Sierra Club, Jan. 2000)

Investing in unstable regions (Nick Killick of International Alert, and Jordana Friedman, in Human Rights & Business Matters, newsletter of Amnesty International UK Business Group, autumn 1999/winter 2000)

1999:

Global Witness Appointed Independent Monitor of [Cambodia's] Foresty Sector (Global Witness, 2 Dec. 1999)

Partners in Time? Business, NGOs and Sustainable Development (David F. Murphy and Jem Bendell, UNRISD News [U.N. Research Institute for Social Development Bulletin], no. 21, autumn/winter 1999)

New Agency Head Supports Mining, Logging Brasil's Indigenous Lands (Environment News Service, 1 Mar. 1999)

The World's Indigenous Peoples (Russel Barsh, White Paper commissioned by Calvert Group Funds, 1999) 

1998:

Canada: Victory of indigenous peoples in court (World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, May 1998)

1997:

What do human rights have to do with environmental protection? EVERYTHING (Aaron Sachs, Nov/Dec 1997)

ENVIRONMENT: "Devastating" Logging in Nicaragua (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 9 Oct. 1997)

ENVIRONMENT - G-7: Indigenous Groups Lament Record After Rio (Doug Vaughan, Inter Press Service, 23 June 1997)

Running on Empty: Shell in Nigeria (NGO Taskforce on Business and Industry, 1997)

1996:

Limits to the social responsibility of business (David Korten, PCD Forum, People-Centered Development Forum, June 1996)