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See also other materials on "Logging & lumber industry"

1 Oct. 2001 to present:

2003:

Global Witness welcomes UN's new proposed ban on Liberian timber as a decisive act to bring peace to a war-torn region (Global Witness, 7 May 2003)

Pollution from small industry up in Canada, US - Industrial pollution in the United States and Canada dropped 4 percent from 1998 to 2000, but a 32 percent surge in toxic emissions from smaller facilities has researchers worried, according to a new study published...The smaller facilities studied include a cross-section of industry, scattered across communities in both countries, and ranging from metal fabricators to food processing plants to lumber mills. (Robert Melnbardis, Reuters, 22 Apr. 2003)

Seven activists win top environmental prize (Michael Kahn, Reuters, 15 Apr. 2003)

• Coalminer’s Daughter in West Virginia, Australian Aboriginal Grandmothers Among Winners of 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize - World’s Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists Honors Seven Fighting for Clean Energy, Water and against Government Corruption (Goldman Environmental Prize, 14 Apr. 2003)

• {···español} Hija de minero del carbón en Virginia Occidental y abuelas aborígenes de Australia entre los ganadores del Premio Medioambiental Goldman de 2003 - Mayor premio del mundo para ecologistas de base honra a siete que luchan por la energía limpia y el agua sana, y en contra de la corrupción gubernamental (Premio Medioambiental Goldman, 14 abril 2003)

• Goldman Prize honors environmental crusaders -...The Goldman prize honors grassroots environmental "heroes" from six geographic areas on the planet. (Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2003)

• 2003 Recipient Backgrounders - 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients - A coal miner’s daughter and native West Virginian, Julia Bonds has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading campaigns to stop mountaintop removal mining...Forest protection activist Odigha Odigha of Cross River State, Nigeria, has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for winning unprecedented protections for Nigeria’s last remaining rainforests. Odigha was instrumental in creating a statewide logging moratorium...Von Hernandez has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for organizing campaigns against waste incinerators in the Philippines...Physicist and economics professor Pedro Arrojo-Agudo has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading the campaign to stop Spain’s National Hydrological Plan from damming and re-routing the country’s last remaining free-flowing rivers...Peruvian community organizer Maria Elena Foronda Farro has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her campaign to clean up Peru’s fishmeal industry, which dumps untreated industrial waste into streams and out of smokestacks, causing cholera outbreaks, fungal skin diseases and the worst pollution problems in Peru’s coastal cities...Aboriginal elders Eileen Kampakuta Brown and Eileen Wani Wingfield have won the Goldman Environmental Prize for their leadership in the campaign to block construction of a nuclear waste dump in their South Australian desert homeland. (Goldman Environmental Prize, 14 Apr. 2003)

Director arrested for Brazilian disaster - Brazilian authorities Monday arrested an administrative director of the paper and pulp company [Felix Santana of the Cataguases Paper and Pulp Co.] blamed for a recent chemical spill, considered by some to be the worst environmental catastrophe in the country's history. (Carmen Gentile, UPI, 7 Apr. 2003)

Alleged culprits of Brazil toxic spill on the run - The owners of a pulp and paper factory that caused one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters are on the run, the judge who ordered their arrest said last week. (Reuters, 7 Apr. 2003)

Brazil fights spread of toxic spill from factory - Brazil battled yesterday to prevent the spread of toxins from reservoirs at a pulp and paper factory in southeastern Minas Gerais state and environmental groups said it was the country's worst industrial accident. (Reuters, 4 Apr. 2003)

Caustic Soda Spills Down Two Brazilian Rivers - A chemical spill at a wood pulping factory at Cataguazes in Minas Gerais state has affected the water supply of seven cities in Minas Gerais and the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro. (Environment News Service, 2 Apr. 2003)

• Huge toxic spill alarms Brazil (BBC News, 2 Apr. 2003)

Loggers vs. "Invisible" Tribes: Secret War in Amazon? [Peru] - The greatest pressure the isolated peoples face is from the loggers who have come to Madre de Dios to extract mahogany from the forests. Recent encounters between loggers and the isolated peoples have resulted in violence...They are at risk to disease that their immune systems cannot fight as well as mortal injury from the loggers. (John Roach, National Geographic News, 12 Mar. 2003)

press release: Global Buyers of Wood Products “Going Green” - ‘Greenward Shift’ a warning for British Columbia’s government and industry: future market share will depend on producers’ environmental responsibility - Environmental groups today applauded the release of a new report demonstrating that major customers of BC forest products are shifting their purchasing toward greener, more environmentally friendly products. Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, are reacting to a report released today by IBM Business Consulting Services (formerly Pricewaterhouse Coopers) titled: A Greenward Shift in the Market for Forest Products from British Columbia. (Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, 11 Mar. 2003)

• full report: A Greenward Shift in the Market for Forest Products from British Columbia (IBM Business Consulting Services, 2003) [scroll down; full report can be downloaded at bottom of press release]

Awá - Amazon nomads celebrate land victory - Triumph for Brazil’s last hunter-gatherers after 20-year Survival campaign - Brazil’s last hunter-gatherer Indian tribe face the future with more confidence this week, after the demarcation – mapping out and marking on the ground – of the Awá Indians’ land was completed. This legal recognition of their territory, ordered by a judge, was the main objective of a 20-year Survival campaign. Much of the Awá’s rainforest has been invaded by ranchers, loggers and settlers, who killed many Indians...The EU- and World Bank-funded Carajás industrial project was responsible for much of the devastation. (Survival International, 11 Mar. 2003)

• Brazil Recognizes Land Rights of Amazon Hunter-Gatherers (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 12 Mar. 2003)

FORESTS: FAO Calls For Fundamental Policy Change In Africa - The Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report released today that forests in Africa will continue to disappear, causing damage to local environments and disrupting delicate ecosystems, unless fundamental policy changes are made. (UN Wire, 11 Mar. 2003)

Charter for voluntary pollution control [India] - The Ministry of Environment and Forests and industrial sector are all set to enter into a partnership on voluntary pollution control by releasing a charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Protection in New Delhi on March 13...The 17 major polluting industries identified for preparatory approach towards pollution control are: cement, aluminium, thermal power plants, oil refineries, pesticides, iron and steel, pulp and paper, copper and zinc, distilleries, sugar, petrochemicals, dye and dye intermediates, caustic soda, pharmaceuticals, tanneries and fertilizer industry. (The Hindu, 10 Mar. 2003)

Triboard plant releases pollutants, says report [New Zealand] - A health impact report on emissions from the Kaitaia triboard plant run by Japanese-owned Juken Nissho has identified pollutants being released into the air by the two mills in the area. (Tony Gee, New Zealand Herald, 10 Mar. 2003)

Logging threatens Cambodian tragedy - UN - Cambodia's tropical rain forests are being systematically destroyed by logging companies, which threaten to unleash fresh tragedy on the war-scarred country, a top United Nations envoy said...critics say much of the current activity appears to flout environmental and social regulations and rides roughshod over the rights and interests of the thousands of impoverished people who depend on the forests for their livelihoods. (Reuters, 6 Mar. 2003)

World's Largest Window Company Acts to Save Chile's Endangered Forests and Indigenous Communities - U.S. Company Leads Trend Toward Ecologically Certified Wood - Andersen Corporation, the world's leading wood window manufacturer, announced today that it will no longer buy Chilean wood products unless they are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (ForestEthics, 27 Feb. 2003)

Largest Ever Seizure of Illegal Wood in UK - The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today applauded the announcement by HM Customs of the largest seizure of illegal wood products ever seen in the UK, but stressed the need for new laws to tackle the flood of illegally sourced timber and wood products entering the country. (Environmental Investigation Agency, 27 Feb. 2003)

CAMBODIA: World Bank Links Aid To Independent Environmental Monitoring - If Cambodia refuses to continue independent monitoring of its forestry management, it could lose a $20 million World Bank aid package, World Bank Cambodia head Ian Porter has said in comments published in Sunday's Washington Post. The statement follows Cambodian threats to cancel an agreement with environmental monitors from Global Witness. (UN Wire, 18 Feb. 2003)

Forest Certification Gains Strength in North America (Forest Certification Watch, 11 Feb. 2003)

UK Paper Companies Supporting Indonesian Rainforest Destruction - Investigations by Friends of the Earth have revealed that UK paper merchants are still buying paper from Indonesian companies responsible for rainforest destruction, illegal logging and human rights abuses [says paper merchant David John is buying paper from Asia Pulp & Paper; Ovenden Papers of Epping, Rosefox of Preston, Frederick Johnson of Enfield and the South Wales Paper Company are buying from Indonesian paper manufacturer APRIL]...James McNaughton, one of the UK's biggest paper merchant groups, recently announced its decision to stop buying Indonesian paper until it can be independently proven that it comes from a non-destructive source. Friends of the Earth is calling on all paper merchants to do the same. (Friends of the Earth, 10 Feb. 2003)

Logging Pollution Damages North Coast Watersheds [USA] - Accelerated logging has polluted some 85 percent of the waters in California's North Coast region, uprooted protected redwoods and damaged private property, but state officials continue to permit logging companies to avoid complying with environmental regulations. California environmentalists are fighting back with lawsuits (Environment News Service, 29 Jan. 2003)

CAMBODIA: Forestry Dispute Expected To Dominate Donor Meeting - Forestry was likely to dominate today's meeting of international donors to Cambodia following the country's announcement of a plan to cancel its monitoring agreement with the British environmental group Global Witness, the Phnom Penh Post reports. (UN Wire, 28 Jan. 2003)

• Donors set for strong forestry stance [Cambodia] (Caroline Green & Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh Post, 17-30 Jan. 2003)

Conservation Fund pursues environmental goals by working with businesses, speaking the language [USA] -...a complex multimillion dollar deal sealed between a conservation group, loggers, and Maryland state officials provides an example of an increasingly common form of cooperation between those two seemingly conflicting groups. (Associated Press, 28 Jan. 2003)

14 Organizations to Cut GHGs 4% by 2006 - Fourteen organizations, including several large corporations, have entered into a legally binding agreement to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent within the next four years. The 14 entities announced last week that they are forming the Chicago Climate Exchange...The 14 entities include American Electric Power; Baxter International Inc.; the city of Chicago; DuPont; Equity Office Properties Trust; Ford Motor Company; International Paper; Manitoba Hydro; MeadWestvaco Corporation; Motorola, Inc.; STMicroelectronics; Stora Enso North America; Temple-Inland Inc.; and Waste Management, Inc. (GreenBiz.com, 23 Jan. 2003)

Indonesia military to fight illegal logging (Reuters, 20 Jan. 2003)

United States Reaches Settlement with Koppers Industries To Settle Scores of Environmental Violations - Koppers Industries, Inc. agreed to pay the United States $2.9 million to resolve allegations of numerous violations of several environmental regulations at many of the company’s U.S. facilities [Koppers makes coke and coal tar, and engages in wood-preserving] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 16 Jan. 2003)

Indonesian Government Fails to Stop Illegal Logging - Corruption on the part of Indonesian police and government officials is to blame for continued illegal logging in Indonesia's national parks, a report released today in London by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Indonesian environmental organization Telapak charges. (Environment News Service, 14 Jan. 2003)

press release: Indonesia: Paper Industry Threatens Human Rights - Indonesian police and company security forces are responsible for persistent human rights abuses against indigenous communities involved in the massive pulp and paper industry in Sumatra, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. (Human Rights Watch, 7 Jan. 2003)

• full report: Without Remedy: Human Rights Abuse and Indonesia's Pulp and Paper Industry (Human Rights Watch, Jan. 2003)

• Paper industry blamed for abuse - Indonesia's booming paper industry is responsible for widespread attacks on indigenous communities in Sumatra, a Human Rights Watch report has claimed. (Agence France-Presse, 7 Jan. 2003)

Home Depot adopts new wood purchasing policy [USA] - Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. said it will only buy wood products from suppliers committed to environmentally friendly logging and lumber practices. (Karen Jacobs, Reuters, 6 Jan. 2003)

2002:

Hun Sen to Sue Global Witness for Defamation [Cambodia] -...Hun Sen accused the Global Witness of unjustly defaming his government when it released an "exaggerated" report alleging the use of excessive force by police in dispersing a group of anti-logging protesters. But on Friday, a group of 18 Cambodian nongovernmental organizations said the Global Witness report was correct and urged the government to reverse its plan to close down the watchdog's office. (Japan Today, 31 Dec. 2002)

MEXICO: Rainforest Destruction Continues Despite Protection Efforts - Farming and logging during the past three decades in one of Mexico's largest rainforests has reduced the 12,000-square mile Lacandona jungle by two-thirds...One of the conservation program's organizers, who also helped start small-scale ecotourism, said that until local residents find a way out of poverty, sustaining the Lacandona rainforest will be impossible. (UN Wire, 4 Dec. 2002)

International effort results in new tool to calculate greenhouse gas emissions of pulp and paper mills - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), in association with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced the development of a methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from pulp and paper mills. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2 Dec. 2002)

Timber workers urged to take care over arsenic - Timber workers are being urged to make sure that their employers meet all health and safety requirements as concern grows over the use of arsenic in timber treatment [New Zealand]. (EPMU - New Zealand Amalgamated Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, 27 Nov. 2002)

TOXIC SUBSTANCES: Countries Discuss More Public Access To Information - European, Central Asian and North American negotiators began weeklong talks in Geneva Monday to finalize an international pact on the public's right to information about chemical waste and toxic pollutants in the environment, Reuters reports. (UN Wire, 27 Nov. 2002)

• Countries seek tougher 'right to know' on toxics -...the week-long talks...come amid complaints by environmental groups that some toxic substances — radioactive waste and cancer-causing chemicals — risk being dropped from the draft deal under pressure from industry lobbyists.  Friends of the Earth and other activists warn that some countries are pressing for known carcinogenic substances — such as beryllium, a metal used in some electronic appliances, and chromium VI, employed in pigments and dyes, leather tanning, and wood preserving — to be removed from the list. Another area of concern is styrene — a possible carcinogen used widely in rubber, plastics, insulation, fiberglass, and autoparts — which is also in line to be omitted. (Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters, 26 Nov. 2002)

Timber Certification Tainted, Forest Group Alleges - The international body created to certify responsible forestry management has for years been knowingly "misleading" the public according to a new report released today by the Rainforest Foundation. The report finds serious flaws in the certification system used by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is responsible for auditing timber companies worldwide and for certifying that wood and paper is produced in an environmentally and socially acceptable way. (Environment News Service, 20 Nov. 2002)

New plan to save Amazon forests [Brazil] -...Logging and cattle ranching in recent decades have already removed an area the size of France from the Amazon forest (Tim Hirsch, BBC News, 31 Oct. 2002)

NATURAL RESOURCES: Consumer Demand Still Fueling Wars, NGO Says - A new report released today by the nongovernmental Worldwatch Institute urges better monitoring of trade in natural resources taken from conflict zones, saying that such imports fuel brutal conflicts in the developing world..."Brutal wars over natural resources like coltan -- a mineral that keeps cell phones and other electronic equipment functioning -- diamonds, tropical woods and other rare materials have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least $12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, repressive government and other predatory groups around the world," the institute says...Opium, gems, oil, timber, natural gas, precious metals, coffee and cocoa are among the resources cited as helping to pay for wars over the past 50 years. (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002)

• FROM WAR ZONES TO SHOPPING MALLS: New study reveals deadly link between consumer demand and third world resource wars -...Child and slave labor is used to extract the resources...Renner [Michael Renner, author of The Anatomy of Resource Wars] calls for the following actions:...Develop corporate codes of conduct in resource extraction industries, support NGO campaigns that "name and shame" companies into doing business in more responsible ways, and increase corporate transparency and accountability (for instance, by requiring companies to disclose all taxes, fees, royalties, and other payments they make to host governments...). [refers to Afghanistan, Angola, Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Liberia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone] (Worldwatch Insititute, 17 Oct. 2002)

Maroon tribe in Suriname produces map to claim land rights, halt logging - Descendants of escaped African slaves presented Suriname's government with a map showing areas they claim as traditional lands Tuesday, seeking to win some control of the vast forests and protect them from logging. (Arny Belfor, Associated Press, 16 Oct. 2002)

Wood-Door Maker Gains SmartWood Certification [USA] - Iowa-based VT Industries, manufacturer of architectural wood doors, has qualified as a provider of SmartWood-certified wood doors, the Forest Stewardship Council recently announced. The chain-of-custody certification was awarded by the Rainforest Alliance, an FSC-accredited certifier. (GreenBiz.com, 8 Oct. 2002) 

Arsenic lawsuits get under US wood treaters' skin -...Walker is one of a growing number of consumers who blame U.S. wood products makers for injuries they received from wood treated with a compound containing arsenic, a known carcinogen...companies that have made or sold wood treated with the arsenic compound - including forest products heavyweights Georgia Pacific Corp. and Universal Forest Products Inc. - are becoming targets of a growing wave of litigation [also refers to Home Depot] (Nichola Groom, Reuters, 8 Oct. 2002)

Immediate UN action and embargo on Liberian timber needed to stop conflict in Liberia and safeguard peace in Sierra Leone -...Many logging companies continue to be actively engaged in illegal arms imports for the government, committing human rights abuses and destabilising Liberia and the entire West Africa sub-region. (Global Witness, 18 Sep. 2002)

Protecting the environment, the corporate way [India] - Ion Exchange makes profits in a socially-relevant way: through water treatment, afforestation and organic farming...To positively impact the environment and community life is the goal of this Indian company which offers total water management solutions and sustainable development in rural areas in partnership with NGOs and donor organisations. (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

BRAZIL: World Bank, GEF, WWF Announce Amazon Protection Plan -...The new 10-year Amazon Region Protected Areas program will set aside 50 million hectares of rainforest, equivalent to 12 percent of Brazil's total forest area, and will include parts of all 23 ecoregions of the Amazon, in an effort that could also benefit local communities. (UN Wire, 5 Sep. 2002)

FORESTS: World Bank Launches Partnership To Protect Africa's Congo Basin -...The bank warned that the world's second largest primary rainforest...is put under pressure by logging, agriculture, population growth and the oil and mining industries...The donated funds will support activities in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo in 11 target areas. (UN Wire, 5 Sep. 2002)

Forest and Paper Associations of the World Assess Industry Sustainability 10 Years After Rio (ICFPA - International Council of Forest and Paper Associations, 26 Aug. 2002)

Environmental Fiduciary: The Case for Incorporating Environmental Factors into Investment Management Policies - In this report, we show that fiduciaries who manage funds for institutional investors such as pension funds, foundations and charitable trusts should incorporate environmental factors into their portfolio management policies. [includes reference to DuPont, ST Microelectronics, IBM, Baxter Intl, Smithfield Foods, US Liquids, Weyerhauser, Georgia Pacific, ChevronTexaco, Marathon Oil, Deutsche Telekom, Nestle, Southern California Gas, ITT, Textron, Corning, Whole Foods, Hains Celestial] (Susannah Blake Goodman, Jonas Kron & Tim Little, The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, 21 Aug. 2002)

Campaign case study: Asian Pulp & Paper’s backers take heat for its actions -...Asian Pulp & Paper (APP), Indonesia's largest pulp and paper producer, has rarely faced direct challenges from NGOs. Instead it is the banks that fund the company that are targets for attack...Over 300 international financial bodies are identified by Friends of the Earth as providing and guaranteeing APP's assets. Investment banks such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, ABN Amro, Barclays Bank and NatWest were all fundamental in issuing bonds that kept the company afloat...The banks' reactions to these claims is mixed...The most sympathetic of the banks has been ABN Amro, which has subscribed to the investment criteria put forward by NGOs since its deal with APP...Others have been less compliant with NGO wishes. Friends of the Earth UK has set up an email campaign targeting NatWest, HSBC and Barclays. (Sophie Holtham, Reputation Impact, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 20 Aug. 2002)

Spotlight on corporates reveals need for global rules - Some corporations continue to abuse the rights of people, destroy the livelihoods of communities, and pollute water and forest resources for future generations, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth International published today. The report graphically illustrates the need for governments to agree to introduce tighter rules for multinationals at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. (Friends of the Earth, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Call for 'global enviro rules' - The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, on Friday called on world leaders meeting at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to introduce global rules for business....In the report the environmental group mentions the mining giant, Rio Tinto that is prospecting for gold in the Poboya protected forest in Indonesia despite opposition from local people. South Africa's chemical company Sasol also comes under fire. (South African Press Association, 16 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Clashes with Corporate Giants: 22 campaigns for biodiversity and community (Friends of the Earth, Aug. 2002) 

includes section entitled "Towards binding corporate accountability"

also includes the following case studies:

2. Malaysia: Malaysian timber companies (logging in Sarawak - affecting indigenous peoples)

15. Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper (logging of rainforests)

19. Australia: Nihon Unipac (clearcutting Goolengook Forest)

Unlikely hero released from jail [Republic of Congo] - Joseph Melloh has spent the last three months in a Congolese jail, not for his former career as a professional poacher, but for campaigning against the bushmeat trade and investigating the operations of one logging company in the Congo [Swiss-German logging company Congolaise Industrielle du Bois] (Greenpeace, 12 Aug. 2002)

CONSERVATION: Study Says Loss Of Ecosystems Costs $250 Billion Annually -...The Financial Times reports that the study included ecosystems such as a Malaysian tropical forest undergoing logging operations, a forest in Cameroon being used for commercial plantations and other agricultural activities, Thai mangroves being used for shrimp fishing and a Canadian marshland drained for farming (UN Wire, 9 Aug. 2002)

• Studies show benefits of eco-protection (John Mason & Chrissie Davies, Financial Times, 9 Aug. 2002)

Rio + 10 Series: Business Action Addressing Biodiversity is a Rare Species - The Center for Environmental Leadership in Business’ Energy and Biodiversity Initiative represents one of very few business actions that support biodiversity conservation...CELB supports biodiversity initiatives in four sectors: agriculture and fisheries, forestry, energy and mining, and travel and leisure. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 9 Aug. 2002)

'Naked' natives block illegal loggers in Peru - Hundreds of members of some of the world's last indigenous tribes still living cut off from the outside world have emerged from their isolation to confront illegal mahogany loggers in Peru's southeastern jungle that are invading their land, activists and officials said on Saturday. (Jude Webber, Reuters, 5 Aug. 2002) 

Ethical sourcing codes – the answer to supply chain sustainability concerns? Sarah Roberts looks at implementing ethical sourcing codes and the challenges of gaining certification [refers to clothing and footwear sectors; logging/forest products sector including firms Sappi, Mondi; building materials/do-it-yourself sector including firms Homebase, B&Q; chocolate industry] (Sarah Roberts, National Centre for Business and Sustainability, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 1 Aug. 2002)

Citigroup backs sustainable business - Financial services giant Citigroup is encouraging sustainable enterprise in Latin America through its work with the World Resources Institute on the New Ventures initiative. Through a series of competitions open to entrepreneurs across Latin America, a panel of experts selects small and medium sized enterprises whose business ideas promise sustainability while respecting social and environmental factors. Selected companies attend an international investment forum, and can win access to business mentoring services...Entrepreneurial schemes to benefit from the New Ventures initiative include ecotourism operators, and producers of shrimps, charcoal, wood, coffee, and electric vehicles for delivering goods in densely populated cities. One Argentinean firm is dedicated to the sustainable breeding of the guanaco - a wild Patagonian camelid - for its wool. In Brazil, Ouro Fértil...uses coconut fibres to create biodegradable and organic products for sale on the local and international markets. (International Chamber of Commerce, 1 Aug. 2002)

Cambodia adopts law to fight illegal logging (Reuters, 31 July 2002) 

{···español} Ecologistas chilenos lanzan campaña en defensa de sus bosques -...La campaña publicitaria llamará la atención de los importadores, a través de insertos en los principales medios de comunicación de Estados Unidos, Canadá y Europa, donde se expondrán las consecuencias de aceptar envíos de madera chilena que no tengan el sello otorgado por el Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). (El Tiempo [Colombia], 30 julio 2002)

{···español} Brasil: Ecologistas escépticos ante el nuevo Sistema de Vigilancia de la Amazonia (Mario Osava, Inter Press Service, 26 julio 2002)

Brazil spies on Amazon loggers - Brazil has launched a $1.4bn radar system to spy on illegal loggers, miners and drug runners in the Amazon rainforest. (BBC News, 25 July 2002)

• Giant spy eye opens on world's biggest rainforest - Scanning a dense rainforest the size of Western Europe, a mammoth radar system set to crank up this week will spy on drug runners, diamond miners and illegal loggers that infest Brazil's Amazon. (Katherine Baldwin, Reuters, 25 July 2002)

The key step for peace is ending corruption - Indonesia's Aceh rebellion -...An autonomy law, adopted last year, has created a giant slush fund for provincial officials from oil and gas revenues, with no effective controls over how the money is spent...One particularly lucrative source of income in Aceh is illegal logging. (Sidney Jones, head of Jakarta office of the International Crisis Group, in International Herald Tribune, 23 July 2002)

Indonesia set to train judges on environment issues - Indonesia's Environment Minister said yesterday the government will train judges and prosecutors to handle environmental issues more effectively as illegal logging and forest fires were causing great problems. (Reuters, 16 July 2002) 

Investment Partnership Has SRI Mandate: The Global Environment Fund Group manages four funds and is a majority owner of a South Africa-based forestry company -...GEF holds a controlling interest in Global Forest Products (GFP), a South Africa-based forestry company. GFP is exemplary in terms of the sustainability of its operations. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 11 July 2002) 

Release of reports of the Independent Observer of Forest law enforcement in Cameroon - Global Witness has been working as the Independent Observer of the forestry sector in Cameroon since May 2001..."The chief indicator of progress will be for the government to impose meaningful sanctions on the companies which are known by all those concerned to be logging illegally," said Stuart Wilson of Global Witness. There are a number of high profile cases of illegal logging documented in these reports detailing the operations of both European and Cameroonian based companies. (Global Witness, 8 July 2002)

Peru Forestry Law Triggers Violent Protests - A new forestry law that changes the way logging concessions for Peru's tropical forests are granted is facing violent opposition by a small group of loggers who environmental groups say represent big logging interests responsible for decades of depredation in the lush Amazon rainforest. (Mary Powers, Environment News Service, 1 July 2002)

A Guide to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the International Labour Organization - Indigenous peoples throughout the world continue to suffer serious abuses of their human rights. In particular, they are experiencing heavy pressure on their lands from logging, mining, roads, conservation activities, dams, agribusiness and colonization...This Briefing paper provides guidance on how to file a complaint with the ILO Committee of Experts. [refers to ILO Convention 169 cases relating to: logging concessions which overlapped indigenous territories in the Bolivian Amazon; Arco & Berlington Resources Ecuador Ltd. project in Ecuador affecting the Shuar People; Occidental project in Colombia affecting the U’wa indigenous community] (Fergus MacKay, Forest Peoples Programme, July 2002)

Loggers in Peru jungle town protest new law - Around 200 striking loggers burned tires and blocked roads in a southern Peruvian jungle town yesterday in protest over forestry laws they say could squeeze them out a living (Reuters, 28 June 2002) 

Survey says sawmillers and families face 'health risk' [New Zealand] - A survey of 60 former sawmill workers and their families in the Eastern Bay of Plenty has found many suffer a wide range of illnesses, including cancer and depression. The report commissioned by lobby group Sawmill Workers Against Poisons (SWAP) and approved by the Ministry for the Environment, local health authorities and an ethics committee, found many workers blamed their illnesses on chemicals used at their former workplaces. (New Zealand Herald, 26 June 2002)

Brazil seizes record haul of illegal mahogany (Reuters, 26 June 2002) 

Indonesia says permanent log export ban in place - Indonesia has imposed a permanent ban on log exports to protect its dwindling tropical forests, Forestry Minister Muhammad Prakosa said yesterday. (Reuters, 26 June 2002) 

"Get to Consumers" to Help Save the Environment, Says New Report [by Worldwatch Institute] -...With the help of product labeling--for example, of genetically engineered foods or wood products harvested in a sustainable way--and the use of quality and efficiency standards, consumers now have the choice of more environmentally friendly products. The study describes six "eco-labeling" programs--covering such diverse areas as seafood, domestic appliances, tourism, and coffee--that award a seal of approval to producers who observe standards designed to ensure environmental protection. (Alison Raphael, OneWorld US, 24 June 2002)

13 percent of G-8 and China's timber and wood products imports could be illegal - WWF today announced that 13 percent of the timber and wood products purchased by the G8 countries and China may be sourced or traded illegally, and urged these governments to implement responsible purchasing policies which support sustainable forest management. (WWF, 20 June 2002)

Highlighting corporate forest crime: Greenpeace protests G8 countries' imports of illegal timber (Greenpeace, 20 June 2002)

World Bank’s Proposed Policy Puts World’s Forests at Risk - In the run-up to Johannesburg where governments from around the world will debate how to protect the global environment, the World Bank has released its long awaited draft policy on forests. Although called a “safeguard policy”, the world forests will not be made safer by the adoption of this policy which flies in the face of demands of civil society and ignores most of the advice given to the Bank by its own Technical Advisory Group. (World Rainforest Movement, Forest Peoples Programme, Environmental Defense, 19 June 2002)

Forest workers sympathize with Haida [Canada]: Weyerhaeuser policy on logging imperils livelihoods, they say - Disgruntled Weyerhaeuser Co. employees on British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands are declaring their disdain for the Federal Way-based forest-product company and seeking an alliance with the native inhabitants of the archipelago. (Paul Shukovsky, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6 June 2002)

• QC loggers walk off job, join Haida [Canada] - Weyerhaeuser crews fearful of job cuts say they'd rather throw their lot in with natives - A group of Queen Charlotte Islands loggers walked off the job Monday and announced they were joining forces with the Haida in their fight for aboriginal control over island resources. (Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, 4 June 2002)

Forests, People and Rights [Indonesia] - A special report by Down to Earth International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia (Liz Chidley, Down to Earth, June 2002)

Peru – alert over loggers - An increasing number of loggers are now encroaching on the land of uncontacted Indians in south-east Peru...The land the loggers are entering, home to groups of the Yora, Amahuaca and Piro tribes, is one of three reserves for isolated Indians in south-east Peru, and is therefore meant to be protected by law. (Survival International, June 2002)

Pulp Fiction – Credit Suisse and the destruction of the Indonesian rainforest -... The Indonesian pulp and paper corporation Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is responsible for the destruction of large parts of the Indonesian rainforest, one of the world’s richest in the diversity of its species, and for the expulsion of its inhabitants. Credit Suisse plays a special role among the over 300 Indonesian and international banks that finance APP. (Berne Declaration and ACTARES [Shareholders for a Sustainable Development], 31 May 2002)

• {···français} Pulp Fiction - Credit Suisse et la destruction des forêts tropicales (Déclaration de Berne & ACTARES [Actionnariat pour une économie durable], 31 mai 2002)

• {···deutsch} Pulp Fiction - Credit Suisse und die Zerstörung von Regenwald (Erklärung von Bern und ACTARES [AktionärInnen für nachhaltiges Wirtschaften], 31 Mai 2002)

Britain's high court delays mahogany verdict - Greenpeace took the British government to court for a second time yesterday to try to force it to clamp down on imports of Amazonian mahogany. (Reuters, 31 May 2002)

Expert proposes world eco-cops to guard resources - An advisor to the European Union on illegal logging called yesterday for the creation of a specialist group of international environment police to catch criminals plundering the Earth's resources. (Jeremy Lovell, Reuters, 29 May 2002)

BRAZIL: Law Protecting Atlantic Forest To Be Taken Up By Congress (UN Wire, 29 May 2002)

Sustainable development is serious stuff for industries - ‘Sector projects’, a new WBCSD brochure, outlines the groundbreaking work carried out by six industry sectors toward sustainable development. [the 6 sectors: Forestry; Sustainable Mobility; Cement Sustainability Initiative; Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development; Electricity Utilities; Financial Sector] (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002)

• WBCSD Sector Projects brochure (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, May 2002)  [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Mr Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Nabiel Makarim, MPA MSM, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment and co-chair of PrepCom IV, at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (Nabiel Makarim, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

India's Supreme Court closes isolated Jarawa tribe's 'road of death' [court orders the withdrawal of encroachers from the tribes' land, an end to logging of their forests and the closure of the Andaman Trunk Road] (Survival International, 27 May 2002)

PNG Prime Minister Backs Greenpeace Logging Protest - Greenpeace climbers ended their occupation of a log ship in Papua New Guinea today after the Prime Minister joined landowners and Greenpeace in condemning a logging project [by Malaysian logging company Concord Pacific] (Environment News Service, 15 May 2002)

Indonesian forests vanishing into paper - scientist - Indonesia's tropical rain forest, the world's third largest, is vanishing at an alarming rate as the country's pulp and paper industry has grown ten-fold over the past decade, an international scientist said last week. (Reuters, 13 May 2002)

Greenpeace seizes stolen PNG logs -...Malaysian logging company Concord Pacific has taken these logs from the local landowner communities in Papua New Guinea with complete disregard for the environment and the well being of citizens. The logs are then exported mostly to China where they are processed into furniture and plywood for American and European markets. (Greenpeace, 12 May 2002)

Kenya's government criticised for overseeing massive destruction of forests: Kenya's government, criticised for overseeing massive destruction of forests, said yesterday it would enforce a ban on the cutting of timber (Reuters, 1 May 2002)

Brazil: nomads face extinction - One of the last nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil faces extinction. Surrounded by massive cattle ranches, loggers and hundreds of illegal settlers, the Awá Indians of Maranhão state are being squeezed off their land, while ranchers' hired gunmen kill those they find. But an imminent court case about Awá land could make all the difference. (Survival International, May 2002)

Sustainable Forestry Takes Root in Canadian Companies -...Domtar launched a new line of paper certified to the highest management standard of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Tembec updated its partnership with WWF-Canada and said that it will have FSC certified telephone book covers ready by August 2002. (GreenBiz.com, 30 Apr. 2002)

Conserve huge Guianan rainforest in South America, scientists urge - The region accounts for more than a quarter of the globe's remaining tropical rain forests and includes parts of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela and all of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana...At least one hundred Amerindian cultures are spread throughout the area...Unsustainable logging, poor mining practices, and expanding human settlements have affected significant areas and could increase dramatically. (U.N. Development Programme, 26 Apr. 2002)

Woman loses three fingers in sawmill accident [New Zealand] (NZPA, 24 Apr. 2002)

A New Wave of Penan Blockades [Malaysia]: The Penan, Kayan and Kenyah protest against logging and sand mining activities on native land - This is the first time in more than ten years that numerous Sarawak native communities have organized to put up blockades simultaneously in various locations to draw the attention of the Malaysian authorities to their plight. (Thomas Jalong, from a Sahabat Alam Malaysia Press Release, 23 Apr. 2002)

Eight "eco-heroes" win global environment prize [Goldman environmental prize] (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 23 Apr. 2002)

• Native Arctic Defenders, Somali Woman Among Winners of 2002 Goldman Environmental Prize: World's Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists [winners include an ecologist who works with fishers to protect & restore Thailand's coastal ecosystems devastated by industrial fishing & increased logging; a conservationist who has used eco-tourism to preserve Poland's traditional family farms; Gwich'in tribal leaders who have successfully defended the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling; an indigenous Guyanese woman who has overcome harassment to protect Amerindian lands from mining] (Goldman Environmental Prize, 22 Apr. 2002)

• {···español} Defensores Nativos del Ártico y Mujer Somalí entre los Ganadores del Premio Ambiental Goldman 2002: El Galardón Más Grande del Mundo para Activistas Ecologistas (Premio Ambiental Goldman, 22 abril 2002)

• {···français} Une Femme Somalienne et des Natifs Défenseurs de l’Artique parmi les Lauréats du Prix Goldman de l'Environnement 2002: La Plus Importante Récompense Mondiale pour les Environnementalistes Populaires (Prix Goldman de l'Environnement, 22 avril 2002)

• {···português} Defensores do Ártico nativos e mulher somali entre os ganhadores do Prêmio Goldman de Meio Ambiente: O maior prêmio mundial concedido a defensores do meio ambiente (Prêmio Goldman de Meio Ambiente, 22 abril 2002)

Horrific Work Death Toll Prompts Call For OSH Bill Urgency [New Zealand]:...The death of a timber factory worker on Friday brought the Labour Department official toll of workplace fatalities to 57 in the past nine months (New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, 22 Apr. 2002)

UK plays key role in illegal logging: Multimillion trade violates environment and defrauds west African countries (John Vidal, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2002)

Indonesia seeks solution on open-pit mining ban: Indonesia Minister for Eastern Areas Manuel Kaisiepo says he will seek a solution to problems caused by a potential ban on open pit mining deemed to endanger forests. (Muklis Ali, Reuters, 19 Apr. 2002) 

Britain and Indonesia sign agreement to combat illegal timber trade (Associated Press, 18 Apr. 2002)

CHINA: World Bank Loans $93.9 Million For Sustainable Forestry -...The loan comes on the heels of a government-imposed logging ban along the Yangtze River in Hunan and Sichuan provinces (UN Wire, 18 Apr. 2002)

• World Bank Supports Sustainable Forestry In China (World Bank, 16 Apr. 2002)

Rainforests are falling to greed and corruption: Cameroon is one of the largest exporters of timber, but conservationists estimate half its rainforests have been lost through intensive harvesting...Environmental groups believe that at least half the logging operations are illegal. (Valerie Elliott, Times [UK], 17 Apr. 2002)

Illegal Logging Troubles Indonesian Plywood Industry (Xinhuanet [China], 17 Apr. 2002)

Indonesia planning permanent log export ban: Indonesia is planning to impose a permanent ban on exports of logs to protect its dwindling tropical forests (Reuters, 15 Apr. 2002)

Greenpeace strikes in Miami against mahogany trade - ...as part of a campaign to pressure the U.S. government to halt illegal shipments of the valuable hardwood (Jim Loney, Reuters, 15 Apr. 2002)

Battle for Biodiversity: France first to commit to saving the ancient forests: Germany next to join (Greenpeace, 12 Apr. 2002)

LIBERIA: Stop buying conflict timber, environmental watchdog appeals - The international environmental watchdog, Global Witness, appealed on Monday in an open letter to a Danish company, DLH Nordisk, to stop buying ‘conflict timber’ from Liberian companies. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 9 Apr. 2002)

Over 86% Natural Forests Degraded [Ghana]: Prof. Kasim Kasanga, Minister for Lands and Forestry says over 86% of total land area originally covered by forest has been degraded through bad practices..."the total quantity of logs removed in 1999 amounting to 3.7 million cubic metres was 4 times the annual allowable cut." (Isaac Essel, Accra Mail [Ghana], 8 Apr. 2002)

Bank's £35m gift for WWF angers greens: HSBC has invested in many damaging projects - so why is it now giving money to a leading conservation agency? Opponents within the organisation [World Wide Fund for Nature] fear they are being used to "greenwash" the bank, which is accused of funding the destruction of virgin Indonesian rainforests and two controversial dam projects in China and southern Africa. (Severin Carrell, Independent [UK], 7 Apr. 2002)

Forest laws not worth the paper they're written:...Vast areas of remaining intact forest on four continents have been degraded because of poor enforcement of existing forest protection laws, according to researchers at the Washington-based World Resources Institute...Jim Strittholt, head of Global Forest Watch USA, pointed to a number of companies and banks - such as IKEA, the world's largest home-furnishings company, and ABN Amro, one of Europe's leading banks - that were using the research to ensure that their wood supplies or investments were not promoting deforestation (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in Asia Times [Hong Kong], 5 Apr. 2002)

Report: Just 26 Percent Of Forests Unspoiled [Russia] - The romantic image of an endless expanse of unspoiled forest taiga stretching across Russia is no longer true, researchers warned at the presentation Wednesday of the first atlas of the country's forests...The report points to man-made fires, logging and mining as typical examples of ways in which man impinges on virgin forests. Once disturbed by such activities, the forests cannot be repaired, experts say. (Kevin O'Flynn, St. Petersburg Times [Russia], 5 Apr. 2002)

Truce over Canadian rainforest seen fraying: A year after environmentalists, timber producers, Indians and the government called a truce in a fight over logging in the "Great Bear Rainforest" on Canada's Pacific coast there are signs the agreement is under threat. (Reuters, 5 Apr. 2002)

Bleak future for world's forests: Large expanses of the world's forests are in rapid decline and could be lost much sooner than expected, a new report by an environmental research group says...The WRI [World Resources Institute] report is based on a two-year survey that covered North America, Russia, Indonesia, Central Africa, Chile and Venezuela. It found that areas believed to have forest land intact were now riddled with roads, logging and mining activity. (BBC News, 3 Apr. 2002)

EU queries legality of Amazonian mahogany imports: The European Commission has told EU states not to allow shipments of Amazonian mahogany into Europe without ensuring that the timber was felled legally. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 2 Apr. 2002)

Trapped like slaves on Brazilian ranches:...government authorities admit that despite a federal crackdown announced seven years ago, "contemporary forms of slavery" in which workers are held in unpaid, coerced labor continue to flourish...The reasons...growing pressure to exploit and develop the Amazon's vast agricultural frontier to supply foreign markets with two prized goods: timber and beef. (Larry Rohter, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 26 Mar. 2002) 

The Economies of Conflict - Private Sector Activities and Armed Conflict [series of reports analysing the connections between private sector activity and armed conflict, and ways to break the cycle of violence] (Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science, 25 Mar. 2002)

• Emerging Conclusions - March 2002

• Illicit Finance and Global Conflict (Jonathan Winer)

• The Logs of War (Global Witness)

• Dirty Diamonds (Ian Smillie)

• Fuelling Conflict (Philip Swanson)

• Forthcoming Reports in the Economies of Conflict Series

Finland reindeer herders want halt to logging: Northern Finland's reindeer-herding Sami people appealed last week for loggers to be kept out of the region's last virgin forests so as to protect the grazing and safeguard their age-old livelihood. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2002) 

Germany seizes Amazonian mahogany shipment: The German government said last week it had seized a shipment of Amazonian mahogany because it had suspicions the timber had been logged illegally. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 25 Mar. 2002)

Forest Policy Will Alleviate Poverty: Uganda's new policy on forestry can be best described as a the voice of the people. This is because it has evolved out of consultations and is expected to bring about poverty alleviation and enhance conservation. (Gerald Tenywa, New Vision [Uganda], 21 Mar. 2002)

MYANMAR [Burma]: Grim outlook for Asia's final frontier of biodiversity - The very existence of the regime rests upon the exploitation of natural resources. The generals have allowed massive logging -- particularly of teak -- and the construction of gas pipelines and other development projects that have caused serious environmental damage. Uncontrolled fishing by Thai companies, to whom the junta gave concessions, has led to the impoverishment of people in fishing villages. The exploitation of natural gas and minerals and the implementation of large dam projects continues with little concern for the effect on the environment or on the populations in the areas being exploited. (Cesar Chelala [author of "Impact of the Environment on Children's Health," a publication of the Pan American Health Organization], in Japan Times, 20 Mar. 2002)

Walhi blames destruction of Medan forests on six firms [Indonesia]: A leading environmental watchdog based in North Sumatra blamed on Tuesday at least six plantation companies for the destruction of around 300,000 hectares of forest in Mandailing Natal regency...The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the six concessionaires were PT Gruti, PT Mujur Timber, PT Keang Nam Development Indonesia (KNDI), PT Inanta Timber, PT Rimba Mujur Mahkota and PT Supraprimoris Corporation...Walhi said the six plantation firms had for years slashed and burned forests. (Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta Post, 20 Mar. 2002)

FORESTS: NGOs Call U.N. Declaration Too Timid; More Environmental groups have criticized as too limited a call Thursday by ministers at a U.N. Forum on Forests meeting for this year's World Summit on Sustainable Development to support immediate action against illegal forest exploitation. (UN Wire, 18 Mar. 2002)

Greenpeace targets imports of Russian timber into Europe: Greenpeace activists prevented a shipment of over 10,000 cubic metres of Russian timber from entering the port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands in the organisation’s ongoing boycott of ancient forest products coming into Europe...The Russian spruce and pine timber comes from the Solombalsky Lumber Company (Greenpeace, 17 Mar. 2002)

US failing to comply with international accord to protect forests: Conservation Groups Say Bush Administration Rolling Back Forest Protections While Reducing Public Involvement (American Lands Alliance, 15 Mar. 2002)

Greenpeace exposes DLH links to forest crime around the world: Greenpeace activists today scaled the international headquarters of the Danish timber trader DLH..."DLH chooses to turn a blind eye to the social, economic and environmental damage that their suppliers like OTC in Liberia and Hazim in Cameroon are causing, and just continue to buy from them regardless,” said Greenpeace Forest Campaigner Filip Verbelen. “By doing this DLH is fuelling illegal and destructive logging practices, serious social conflicts, human rights abuses and even the funding of war.” (Greenpeace, 14 Mar. 2002)

Greenpeace to appeal UK mahogany ruling: Greenpeace said this week it would appeal against a High Court decision to allow a shipment of Amazonian mahogany to enter Britain. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 14 Mar. 2002)

U.S. and Boise Cascade reach Clean Air Act settlement...Air pollution to be reduced by 95 percent [USA]: The U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a comprehensive Clean Air Act (CAA) agreement with wood products industry giant Boise Cascade Corporation that will require reductions of up to 95 percent of the harmful emissions from the company's eight plywood and particle board plants. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Mar. 2002)

CA Pulp Mill to Manufacture Tree-Free Samoa Cane Source [USA]: Samoa Pacific Cellulose, LLC., a California-based pulp mill, has produced the first commercial trial run of bleached pulp from the Arundo Donax plant, a reed that grows wild in southern California. The company plans to market the new pulp as a “tree-free” fiber for papermaking applications such as printing and tissue papers. (GreenBiz.com, 12 Mar. 2002)

Japan to propose system to combat illegal logging: Japan has decided to propose introducing an international system to verify that wood and wood products originate from appropriately managed forests to an ongoing U.N. conference on forestry, Japanese diplomatic sources said Saturday. (Japan Times, 10 Mar. 2002)

New Report Finds That Conserving the World's Forests Depends on Support for Community-Based Forest Enterprises: Indigenous and Local Groups Now Control 25 Percent Of Developing World's Forests...The report cites 57 countries with at least one existing partnership between forest industry and local communities. (Future Harvest, 7 Mar. 2002)

Court rules against seizure of Amazonian timber: Greenpeace says its bid to force the [UK] government to impound an imported cargo of Amazonian mahogany has failed in the High Court...The importing agent in Britain, Alan Thomas Craig, declined to comment on the case. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 7 Mar. 2002)

Greenpeace seeks seizure of Amazonian timber [UK]: Greenpeace has taken the [UK] government to court in a bid to force it to seize a cargo of Amazonian mahogany which it says has been imported illegally. (Reuters, 6 Mar. 2002)

EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Administrator Whitman Honors 47 Citizen, Industry, Government Groups for Innovative Efforts to Clean Air [USA]: For their outstanding and innovative efforts in helping clean the nation's air, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman today honored 47 local and state governments, industries and citizens groups at the second Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. [companies receiving awards include CSX Transportation, Orbital Engine Corporation, Intel Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Gibson Technologies, Playa Capital Company, Con Edison, Merck] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Mar. 2002)

Greenpeace says 40 percent of Japanese plywood imports illegal: Environmental group Greenpeace Tuesday accused Japan of being a "partner in crime" in the destruction of ancient forests by importing illegally felled plywood. (Agence France Presse, 5 Mar. 2002)

Forest Watch slams review [Papua New Guinea]: The World Bank funded Independent Forest Review failed to identify specific recommendations for action to remedy the abuse and corruption in the forest sector, PNG Forest Watch has claimed...“The logging will cause massive detrimental social, environmental and economic effects that will severely impact on the quality of life for the local people" (Post-Courier [Papua New Guinea], 5 Mar. 2002)

Mexico's 'devastating' forest loss: Deforestation - which environmentalists say is one of the most pressing concerns affecting the planet - will top the agenda at a United Nations meeting of environment ministers in New York on Monday. (Nick Miles, BBC News, 4 Mar. 2002)

Mexico's 'devastating' forest loss:..There is a growing body of opinion that the government's focus on removing the settlers from their land is simply a smokescreen deflecting attention from the widespread illegal logging going on across the country. (BBC News, 4 Mar. 2002)

ENVIRONMENT: Australia Hit for Backing PNG Logging Seminar - The Australian government's support for a trade fair at a seminar this month, organised to promote an expansion of Papua New Guinea's controversial logging industry, has angered environmentalists (Bob Burton, Inter Press Service, 3 Mar. 2002)

G-7 nations and China must halt the import of illegal timber from the Russian Far East...or face losing one of the world's biggest forest wilderness areas within five years (WWF, 27 Feb. 2002)

Exposing the global crisis in last ancient forests Greenpeace blocks cargo of African timber in Italy:...SEFAC (Société d'Exploitations Forestières et Agricoles du Cameroun), which is among the companies logging in Cameroon, is the subsidiary of the Italian company Vasto Legno. SEFAC is guilty of major violations of local forestry legislation and disregard for the rights of local people. (Greenpeace, 26 Feb. 2002)

Greenpeace exposes global crisis in last ancient forests:...both logging companies targeted during the actions in France, Inland Logging Company ( ILC) and Mohammed Group of Companies (MGC), have a documented history of violating national and international forestry law and creating serious social conflicts. According to a United Nations Security Council report of October 2001, the chairman of MGC has been involved in aiding sanctions-busting arms transfers to Liberia. (Greenpeace, 25 Feb. 2002)

Brazil recovers $25 mln of illegally cut mahogany: Brazil's environmental agency, Ibama, has seized 220,000 square feet (20,438 sq metres) of mahogany and is floating the wood down the rivers of the Amazon jungle as part of its biggest ever operation to hit illegal loggers, the agency said this week...The clamp-down has led to death threats by loggers against environmental activists, who have helped Ibama. (Reuters, 22 Feb. 2002)

Corruption, lawlessness fuel epidemic of illegal logging in Indonesia (World Resources Institute, 20 Feb. 2002)

Barclays Finance of Rainforest Destruction Sparks Protest [in UK]: Barclays Group is the target of a nation-wide protest tomorrow [Saturday 16th February] organised by Friends of the Earth following revelations that the banking group financed a company [Asia Pulp and Paper] that has caused massive damage to Indonesian rainforest. (Friends of the Earth, 15 Feb. 2002) 

Oil, Drugs, and Diamonds: How Do Natural Resources Vary in their Impact on Civil War? (Professor Michael Ross, UCLA, produced for International Peace Academy project on Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, 13 Feb. 2002)

Forests of Fear: Stopping human rights abuses is key to solving forest crisis - A new report clearly links the disappearance of the world's forests with the horrifying catalogue of human rights abuses taking place as a result of conflicts between forest peoples and the powerful government and corporate interests within forests. (Boreal Footprint Project, 12 Feb. 2002)

• full report: Forests of Fear: The Abuse of Human Rights in Forest Conflicts [refers to countries including Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Venezuela, Brazil, USA; refers to companies including Tanjung Lingga, London Sumatra, TVI, Rio Tinto, Daishowa Logging, RAPP, April, UPM-Kymmene, Samling, Lajung Lumber, Shin Yang, Rawood, Interfor (International Forest Products), Boise Cascade, Repap, Fletcher Challenge (now TimberWest), Mitsubishi, Occidental Petroleum, Freeport-McMoRan, Chevron]  (Fern, Dec. 2001)

UK paper firms destroy best rainforest [Indonesia] - The report reveals that at least nine paper merchants in the UK [David John Papers, Davies Harvey Murrel, GF Smith, SV Sier, Ovenden Papers, Rosefox, The South Wales Paper Company, Fulton Paper, Frederick Johnson] are buying PaperOne products made by APRIL, one of the world's most destructive paper companies and owner of the world's largest pulp mill [refers also to involvement of AMEC construction company and ING Barings bank] (Friends of the Earth, 11 Feb. 2002)

• full report: Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons 2: April Fools [Indonesia] - Detailed report revealing the destruction and social conflict caused by APRIL - and the paper merchants and financial institutions who have supported it (Friends of the Earth, Feb. 2002)

• Indonesian rainforests pulped to extinction: Illegal logging is threatening wildlife and environment (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 11 Feb. 2002)

Pulp mills put heavy pressure on forests [Indonesia]: Study - The remaining natural forest in Riau Province is on the brink of destruction as the country's giant pulp producers, Sinar Mas Group and Raja Garuda Mas Group, plan to clear almost 500,000 hectares of natural forest in Sumatra by 2007, according to a joint study compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). (Jakarta Post, 9 Feb. 2002)

'Govt drive against illegal logging empty rhetoric' [Indonesia]: The government's determination to fight illegal logging in the country remains largely rhetorical, as seen from the various unsolved cases involving log theft. (Jakarta Post, 9 Feb. 2002)

Brazil launches 'war operation' on mahogany loggers (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 5 Feb. 2002) 

Wood industry may drop the use of arsenic: Wooden decks, playground equipment and picnic tables treated with a preservative containing arsenic could be taken off the market soon. (Associated Press, in St. Louis Post - Dispatch, 3 Feb. 2002)

Timber harvest being reduced, says Taib [Sarawak, Malaysia]: Sarawak has been reducing the volume of timber harvested from its natural forests every year, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud [during presentation of the Chief Minister’s Environmental Award to Sarawak Shell Bhd] (The Star [Malaysia], 3 Feb. 2002)

APP and debt-financed forest destruction [Indonesia]: The highly-indebted pulp and paper group, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), commissioned an environmental audit in September to allay fears over rainforest destruction in Sumatra. However, the prospect of more clear-felling and conflict over resources with local communities looms, as the financial interests of the Singapore-based group's international creditors are being put before environmental or social considerations. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

• company website: APP - Asia Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd (Asia Pulp & Paper Co.)

Stop human rights violations against peasant farmers! [Indonesia]: The pattern of human rights violations arising from land conflicts during the Suharto era still persists today, more than three years since the dictator was forced to resign...In West Papua investors are being encouraged to take advantage of the territory's land, timber and mineral wealth. In Kalimantan and Sumatra communities are losing lands to oil palm developments. Forest peoples are losing out in agreements with entrepreneurs who buy up community rights over forests at minimal prices so that they can get at the timber. The medium-scale exploitation of coal and gold continuing in some parts of Sulawesi and Kalimantan is putting more pressure on peasant and indigenous communities as well as poisoning the lands and water courses. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

Banten farmers arrested and beaten [Indonesia]: Forty seven farmers were rounded up by armed police, Brimob, forestry company staff and hired thugs in a November pre-dawn raid on Cibaliung village, Banten province, Java. Some were handcuffed and beaten during the forcible eviction from land now claimed by privatised forestry company, PT Perhutani. The farmers were denied access to lawyers. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002)

Book Review: Indonesia: Natural Resources and Law Enforcement, by International Crisis Group...It recognises the involvement of corrupt elements in the civil service, security forces and legislature that benefit from the upsurge of illegal logging, mining and fishing that has occurred since Suharto was ousted. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002)

ENVIRONMENT: IMF Scored on Deforestation: International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans and policies have led to a dramatic increase in deforestation in biologically rich nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, according to a new analysis. [says IMF continues to fuel logging in endangered forests in Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Russia, and Tanzania] (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 30 Jan. 2002)

Mountain Ecosystems Endangered: War, exploitation and pollution threaten freshwater source for half of world's population -...Climate change, pollution, armed conflict, population growth, deforestation and exploitative agricultural, mining and tourism practices are among a growing list of problems confronting the "water towers of the world," prompting warnings that catastrophic flooding, landslides, avalanches, fires and famines will become more frequent (United Nations University, 27 Jan. 2002)

NICARAGUA: UNIDO Launches Reforestation Program - The U.N. Industrial Development Organization has launched a program in Nicaragua to transform illegal loggers and carpenters into small industrialists working to reforest areas they once exploited (UN Wire, 23 Jan. 2002)

• {···español} Crean viveros para reforestar el bosque: Pequeños empresarios comprometidos con la naturaleza que explotan (Clarissa Altamirano, La Prensa [Nicaragua], 23 enero 2002)

International Experts Discuss Options for Combating Illegal Forest Practices:...Some 30 international experts identified a long list of forest crimes, ranging from corrupt allocation of timber concessions to illegal worldwide processing and trade of forest products...The meeting was the first in which such spectrum of experts from governmental, non-governmental and private sector has informally come together to discuss the impact and possible ways to control forest crime. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 21 Jan. 2002)

Mexico needs 20 years to rescue environment: Mexico's environment minister says it will take 20 years or more of strong policies to recover from decades of abuse that ravaged the country's forests and polluted its air and water...Congress also passed legislation obliging companies to measure and report their toxic emissions, and Mexico's security forces have been regularly deployed against illegal logging businesses (Kieran Murray, Reuters, 21 Jan. 2002)

Timber Pirates Raid Zambia's Forest Treasures [referring to new report by African Friendship Fund] (Singy Hanyona, Environment News Service, 18 Jan. 2002)

Nomadic folk can wander no more [regarding the Agta indigenous group in Philippines]: “There came a time when we couldn’t wander anymore,” said David, 50, in fluent Tagalog. “There simply were no boars and deer to hunt. Life had become hard for us.”...The real culprit was corporate logging. (Maurice Malanes, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9 Jan. 2002)

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere To Hide [Philippines]: The Agtas, peace-loving dwellers and guardians of Sierra Madre's forests, are slowly and painfully being erased from the Philippine anthropological picture, by oppression, exploitation and modernization..."Fifty summers ago, we were a proud race of people. Then the Ilokanos came, Ifugaos, Itnegs bringing along logging and mining. Our lives were never the same again."...In Salak's tribe, five women were raped by gold prospectors and loggers. (Michael A. Bengwayan, Fellow of the New York-based Echoing Green Foundation, 8 Jan. 2002)

Stop the Chop - new guide to buying wood without wrecking forests:...The new edition of the Good Wood Guide, published by Friends of the Earth and Fauna & Flora International, provides expert advice on where to find reclaimed wood and wooden furniture - as well as tips on finding Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products which come from sustainably managed forests. (Friends of the Earth, 8 Jan. 2002)

INDONESIA: Report Warns Exploitation Of Resources Boosts Risk Of Conflict - Exploitation of Indonesia's vast natural resources is escalating, leading to a greater risk of communal conflict, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group. [refers to upsurge in illegal logging, mining & fishing]. (UN Wire, 2 Jan. 2002)

• Indonesia warned on natural resource exploitation (Reuters, Environmental News Network website, 24 Dec. 2001)

• press release: Indonesia: Unfair exploitation of resources fosters conflict (International Crisis Group, 20 Dec. 2001)

• text of report: Indonesia: Natural Resources and Law Enforcement (International Crisis Group, 20 Dec. 2001)

Market forces foster sustainable forestry - Government rules become less relevant [USA]:...Corporations such as Home Depot and Lowes that the [environmental] groups once picketed are helping them protect millions of acres of pristine Canadian wilderness. And Boise Cascade, the current target of the Rainforest Action Network´s old-growth forest market campaign, and other companies are advocating third-party audits of their forest practices to demonstrate their stewardship. (Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman, 2 Jan. 2002)

Amici Curiae - Teodoro Cabrera Garcia and Rodolfo Montiel Flores v. The State of Mexico - presented by The Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) & The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) - to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights [refers to logging industry & Boise Cascade] (CEDHA & CIEL, 2002)

2001:

At long last Cambodia suspends all logging operations (Global Witness, 21 Dec. 2001)

Mahogany extraction may get worse due to new governmental rules in Brazil (WWF, 19 Dec. 2001)

CONGO: Security Council Debates Action Against Resource Exploitation - The panel [Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] continues to support a moratorium on the purchase and import of coltan, diamonds, copper, timber, coffee and other products produced in D.R.C. territory occupied by rebels or foreign troops. (UN Wire, 17 Dec. 2001)

Bolivian forests get green appeal: Over the last five years Bolivia has responded to the growing demand for ecologically sustainable wood products by becoming the world leader in certified management of natural tropical forests. The development has opened new markets for Bolivian tropical woods in Europe and the US and has turned one company, The Roda Group, into a leading supplier of garden furniture to the UK's largest home improvement chain B&Q. But concerns exist that the lack of price premiums on certified woods may prove the weak link in a business that perhaps more than any other could protect the bio-diversity of the world's tropical forests. (Andrew Enever, BBC News, 13 Dec. 2001)

Brazil Shuts Down Illegal Mahogany Trade: In a major victory for environmentalists, the Brazilian government Wednesday announced the cancellation of all but two mahogany logging operations in the Amazon. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 6 Dec. 2001)

• Greenpeace investigations in Amazon leads to historic decision by Brazilian Government: Today Greenpeace welcomed the unprecedented Decree by the Brazilian government to suspend all mahogany forest management plans in the Amazon and take measures to protect Indian Lands and conservation areas. (Greenpeace, 6 Dec. 2001)

Cameroon: WWF and loggers inaugurate partnership - WWF Cameroon Programme and the twin logging companies Société Industrielle des Bois Africains (SIBAF) and Forestière de Campo (HFC), subsidiaries of the Groupe Bolloré, recently signed a preliminary partnership agreement inaugurating a new co-operation era in sustainable forest management. (WWF, 5 Dec. 2001)

Mexico in danger of losing tropical forests during this century, study finds:...Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Victor Lichtinger...blamed the problem on expansion of farmland and grazing areas, and to a lesser degree, on illegal logging. (Associated Press, 5 Dec. 2001)

Indonesia to tighten logging laws: Indonesia has announced it will tighten its laws on forest exploitation in order to curb illegal logging, but the changes will not take place until 2003. (CNN, 4 Dec. 2001)

Satellite shows how logging makes forest more flammable: Excessive logging can make forest fires even more devastating, according to a paper published in this week's Nature magazine. (European Space Agency, 3 Dec. 2001)

Mahogany Buyers Stumped: The Brazilian government announced the cancellation of virtually all mahogany timber cutting operations in the Amazon in early December (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2001)

UN Group Urges Ban On Imports From Congo [Democratic Republic of Congo]: A new U.N. report calls for a temporary ban on the purchase of minerals, timber and coffee from parts of Congo occupied by foreign armies, saying the unabated plundering of resources is prolonging a three-year civil war in the Central African country. (Karl Vick, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2001)

UK - first country in the world to certify all its state forests under the Forest Stewardship Council scheme:...The UK is now one of the leading countries, in terms of percentage of their total forest area certified to FSC standards, along with Sweden, Poland and USA. (WWF, 23 Nov. 2001)

CONGO: U.N. Panel Accuses Gov't, Rebels, Neighbors Of Exploitation - Assigning blame to individuals, institutions, rebels and governments for the continued exploitation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's natural resources, the U.N. panel of experts on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the D.R.C. yesterday presented its findings to the U.N. Security Council...To attempt to stem the trade in diamonds, gold, copper, coltan, timber and other resources, the panel is calling for a moratorium on their purchase and import from the D.R.C. (UN Wire, 20 Nov. 2001)

International meeting on biodiversity protection recognises critical importance of ancient forests: Only partial progress made on protection of primary forests and forest species (Greenpeace, 18 Nov. 2001)

Greenpeace exposes scandal of African rainforest destruction and demands governments to act now: Undercover investigations by Greenpeace have discovered that wood products coming from logging companies operating in a destructive and illegal way in West Africa are flooding European ports. These investigations have recently uncovered logs and timber from two companies in particular, which have some of the worst environmental and human rights records of any logging company in the world. These two companies, the Oriental Timber Corporation (OTC) and Société Forestère Hazim (SFH), are actively logging in Liberia and Cameroon respectively. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recently reported OTC's involvement in illegal arms-smuggling to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighbouring war-torn Sierra Leone. SFH has been found guilty for repeatedly logging outside legally defined areas by the Cameroon government, and has been involved in serious social conflicts with forest dwelling communities there. Both companies have repeatedly operated with flagrant disregard for national forestry law, and for the social and environmental impact of their operations. (Greenpeace, 14 Nov. 2001)

Forests: UNEP Urges Countries To Address Causes Of Deforestation - The U.N. Environment Program Thursday urged countries to address poverty as a major cause of deforestation in anticipation of this week's meeting of international experts in Montreal to discuss threats facing the world's forests. (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2001)

Mexican environmentalists vow to keep on fighting: Two Mexican peasant ecologists freed from jail this week by a presidential pardon vowed on the weekend to continue their fight to protect the environment despite death threats from powerful interest groups. (Elizabeth Fullerton, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001) 

Hunger fighters see biotech hope for poor nations:..."You have two choices," Borlaug [plant scientist and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug] told Reuters in an interview. "You need it to further improve yields so that you can continue to produce the food that's needed on the soil that's well-adapted to agricultural production. Or, you'll be pushed into cutting down more of our forests."...GM crop pioneers like Monsanto, fighting to win hearts and minds for the crop technology, have now turned actively to addressing the problems of the developing world. (Julie Ingwersen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

Asia's economic problems bad news for environment: Cleaner air, water take second place to dealing with the financial crisis - Research by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and United Nations agencies found almost every Asian government has cut spending for environmental protection, and some tend to turn a blind eye to violations of pollution standards, illegal logging and overfishing. Cleaner technologies are not being introduced. (Associated Press, in Baltimore Sun [Maryland, USA], 11 Nov. 2001)

Mexico frees two jailed environmentalists: Mexican President Vicente Fox freed two prominent environmentalists from prison yesterday amid widespread allegations that they had been tortured into signing false confessions on bogus charges. Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera had led protests against illegal logging activities in the southern state of Guerrero before they were jailed in May 1999 on weapons and drugs offenses. Both men say they only confessed after being tortured for several days and claim they were being punished for their attempts to defend the forests of the Sierra Madre mountain range from rapacious logging. (Kieran Murray, Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

Mexico: Mexican Environmentalists Released - Groups Call for Perpetrators of Abuses to be Brought to Justice: Amnesty International and Sierra Club believe that the arrest and conviction of the two environmentalists stem solely from their efforts to stop the rampant logging in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico. (Amnesty International USA and Sierra Club, 8 Nov. 2001)

Mexican lawyer's death seen tied to logging fight: The killing last month of top Mexican rights lawyer Digna Ochoa is probably linked to a fierce battle between loggers and ecologists in the western state of Guerrero, Mexico City Prosecutor Bernardo Batiz said this week. (Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Open Letter [from Global Witness] to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan Regarding Liberia: It is with grave concern that we watch developments within the United Nations on the issue of Liberia. The international community has powerful and extensive information showing that Liberia's timber industry is heavily involved in the illicit trade of arms, while simultaneously providing large sums of extra-budgetary income to the Liberian government - a government that is supporting the notoriously brutal RUF rebels in Sierra Leone and is involved in the provision of funds to the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. These facts are well publicized, yet the UN seems to be moving in a dangerous if not neglectful direction in regards to this situation. (Global Witness, 5 Nov. 2001)

Malaysia to help Jakarta fight log smuggling: Malaysia yesterday pledged to help neighbouring Indonesia combat timber smuggling, after Jakarta banned all log exports in a bid to halt the lucrative illegal trade. (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

Brazil, Greenpeace Raid Illegal Mahogany Operation: Brazilian police, acting on information gathered by Greenpeace International, raided illegal mahogany logging operations in the heart of the Amazon region this week, seizing some seven million dollars worth of the valuable hardwood...The raids--the most extensive since the Brazilian Congress enacted a moratorium on the logging of mahogany in 1996--followed the release last week of a Greenpeace report that disclosed the existence of logging operations on lands belonging to the Amazon's Kayapo Indians. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld U.S., 1 Nov. 2001)

WTO and the Fate of the World's Forests:...Global forestry corporations, like Boise Cascade, International Paper, Mead, and Weyerhaeuser, all would like expanded WTO rules to ensure unfettered access to forest resources and consumer markets. They use industry groups, like the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), to lobby Washington and, in essence, help write the US position on trade and shape the WTO agenda on forest issues...The new global corporate regime is designed to accelerate industrial logging for export, to concentrate corporate control over forest resources, and to reduce protections for forest ecosystems and forest peoples. (Victor Menotti, Program Director of the International Forum on Globalization, for CorpWatch, 1 Nov. 2001)

• industry association website: American Forest & Paper Association

The WTO, Forests and the Spirit of Rio:...Since its inception, the WTO has undermined the agreements reached in Rio by replacing the environmental agenda with the corporate push for indiscriminate international trade...[I]n the tropics...increased trade of all sorts of goods -- ranging from logs to aluminum, from shrimp to palm oil to soya beans -- results in forest destruction and the impoverishment of local communities. (Ricardo Carrere, International Coordinator of the World Rainforest Movement, for CorpWatch, 1 Nov. 2001)

Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) conference [international conference] - Log export ban [Indonesia] (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

FSC teak certification suspended [Indonesia]: A decision to suspend the certification of teak plantations in Java has highlighted major problems with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) eco-labelling scheme in Indonesia. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Nov. 2001)

Disagreement on UN Sanctions Against Liberia:...While a panel of UN experts earlier this month said further sanctions against Liberia would have more "negative impacts" on the country's economy, another expert panel yesterday recommended to extend the sanctions...With yesterday's recommendations to impose a ban on all round log exports from Liberia starting from July 2002, the UN Security Council thus finds itself in the difficult position of choosing between effectively hurting the Liberian elite but at the same time worsening the humanitarian situation in Liberia or taking the livelihood of Liberian civilians into consideration but probably prolonging the Taylor dictatorships life expectancy. (afrol News, 31 Oct. 2001)

• Disagreeing With Kofi Annan [Liberia]:... The...Secretary General also argues in his most recent report to the Security Council that by imposing additional sanctions on the existing sanctions regime, especially on timber, rubber, and the maritime industry, would create a serious social crisis for the country’s poor...While we disagree on the impact of timber, we agree with the Secretary General that adding rubber to the sanctions regime will have and adverse social consequence on ordinary Liberians...We therefore urge the Security Council not to lift the current sanctions regime, but also to broaden it to include timber and the shipping registry. (editorial, The Perspective [Atlanta, Georgia], 23 Oct. 2001)

LIBERIA: U.N. Experts Submit Recommendations On Monitoring Measures - A U.N. panel of experts yesterday recommended installing tighter controls on Liberian "flag of convenience" shipping revenues, maintaining sanctions on conflict diamonds and an arms embargo and placing new sanctions on certain types of logging, but lifting the flight ban on Liberian-registered flights, the South African Press Association reports. (UN Wire, 30 Oct. 2001)

• UN put screws on Liberia:...Liberia is under UN Security Council sanctions...The government of President Charles Taylor was accused of supervising a major gems-for-guns operation to foment Africa's most brutal war in neighbouring Sierra Leone, which has now spread to Guinea. (Evelyn Leopold, South African Press Association, 29 Oct. 2001)

• U.N. report says Liberia using maritime funds to buy weapons in violation of sanctions: Liberia has been using money earned from its maritime fleet to purchase weapons in violation of U.N. sanctions, a report released Monday said. A panel of U.N. experts set up to monitor Liberia's compliance with the arms embargo found that the country's U.S.-based shipping agent made four money transfers to non-governmental accounts last year, a deviance from usual company procedures. The panel's investigation traced the transfers to a company called San Air General Trading. The 130-page report detailed San Air's involvement in many arms shipments to Liberia and the use of its accounts to receive money for weapons. (Associated Press, 29 Oct. 2001)

Illegal logging spreads in Russia: Environmental activists in the Russian Far East are becoming increasingly concerned about the extent of illegal logging in the region. (BBC News, 29 Oct. 2001)

ASIA: Rebuilding After Economic Crisis Exacerbates Environmental Problems - Efforts to rebuild following the 1997 financial crisis in Asia are exacerbating the region's environmental problems, according to new research from U.N. agencies, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The institutions say that almost every Asian government has slashed environmental protection spending and some are ignoring violations of pollution, illegal logging and overfishing standards. (UN Wire, 29 Oct. 2001)

New battle over Ogiek land: The Kenyan government has announced that it will go ahead and collect more than 170,000 acres of public forest for private use. Among the targeted forests is the one inhabited by the Ogiek indigenous community who may finally lose their cultural land. (John Kamau and Jennifer Wanjiru, Rights Features Service, 29 Oct. 2001)

UN misconceptions over Liberian timber sanctions threaten regional security:...The recent report of UN Secretary-General concerning the humanitarian impact of imposing sanctions on Liberia's timber exports is seriously flawed by inaccuracies which overstate timber related jobs by 100%, and related dependents by many times that. In addition, the October 2001 report of the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia, whilst confirming the continued links between the timber industry and arms trafficking, has made two recommendations related to the timber industry. Neither of these recommendations addresses the timber/arms links, and one will promote a logging frenzy. (Global Witness, 25 Oct. 2001)

UN reports undermine its own stance on Liberia:...Given that timber industry and resultant revenue is essential to the Taylor regime, that it continues to be linked to the arms trade and to the maintenance of armed militias, that timber revenues do not benefit the Liberian population as a whole and that the damage to the country's forests is irreparable, the argument for sanctions is strong. However, the recommendations of the UN Expert panel on Liberia relating to timber, if adopted, will have a severely detrimental effect, whilst failing to address the key issues the Panel was established to address. (Global Witness, 25 Oct. 2001)

Protecting Gabon's pristine forests: Faced with balancing the threat to rain forests and animal species with the need for one of the world's poorest regions to create jobs, conservationists in central Africa are turning to an unlikely ally for help — the timber industry. It's a move that angers some in the conservation movement, but to scientists like Mr. White, it's the only choice left...They negotiate land swaps with loggers, keep track of long-term logging plans, and even arrange purchases of timber concessions for particularly valuable areas. (Tim Sullivan, Associated Press, in Washington Times, 25 Oct. 2001) 

New report details global trade in illegal Amazon mahogany: Brazilian government suspends all mahogany logging and transport -...illegalities include logging in Indian lands, which is strictly prohibited...The mahogany is given the appearance of being legal by falsified paperwork, then is exported by these companies to international markets, predominantly in the USA and the UK, Netherlands and Germany. Just four importers - DLH Nordisk, Aljoma Lumber, J Gibson McIlvain Co Ltd and Intercontinental Hardwoods Inc accounted for more than two-thirds of the mahogany export trade from Moisés and Ferreira...Mahogany is used largely in luxury goods such as yachts, high-class furniture, musical instruments and coffins. (Greenpeace, 25 Oct. 2001)

A badge of approval: A new type of relationship is emerging between companies and NGOs, one where NGOs act as certification bodies, verifying, and in many cases permitting use of their logos for this purpose, that products and services are being produced in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. (Sarah Murray, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 23 Oct. 2001)

Deforestation Far Away Hurts Rain Forests, Study Says Ecology: Downing trees on Costa Rica's coastal plains inhibits cloud formation in distant peaks. 'It's incredibly ominous,' a scientist says - Weather itself is changing in the lush cloud forests of Costa Rica because of deforestation many miles away, scientists say in a new study published today in the journal Science (Gary Polakovic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2001)

WRI [World Resource Institute] Recognizes Eco-Friendly Enterprises: New Ventures program aims to bring together socially responsible venture capitalists with environment-friendly businesses looking to expand. Three enterprises won a competition sponsored by World Resource Institute (WRI)’s New Ventures program at its 2001 Investment Forum in Angra dos Reos, Brazil October 4-5. The award recognizes profitability coupled with environmentally sound practices. Of the nine contenders this year, the three winners are: Vehizero, an urban delivery vehicle provider that brings low-cost, environment-friendly hybrid electricity vehicles to the Mexican market; Rainforest Expeditions, an ecotourism outfit that is expanding to build an eco-lodge in Peru’s Sacred Valley, promising conservation assistance and community development there; and GE Forestal, a Peruvian forestry company that brings certified lumber and wood products to the international market while also investing in innovative reforestation techniques. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 19 Oct. 2001)

Huge Amazon areas lost each year but forest stands: He [Carlos Nobre, general coordinator of temperature and climate studies at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research] warned that the logging, fires and farming in the Amazon could create "biodiversity losses of unknown magnitude." (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 19 Oct. 2001)

Peru's rainforest natives pin future on ecotourism (Simon Gardner, Reuters, 10 Oct. 2001)

Brazil to manage protected areas in fighting deforestation: WWF, together with OSR (Rondonia rubber tappers organization) and CND/IBAMA (National Center for Sustainable Development of Traditional People), shall take charge of making the management plan for the two new sustainable use protected areas (PA) created last month by the federal government in the state of Rondonia (South West Amazon Ecoregion). (World Wildlife Fund, 10 Oct. 2001)

Forest industry takes lead in sustainable development practices: Failure to address the challenges of globalization and sustain the forestry and wood industry sectors could lead to elimination of more than 5 percent of the global workforce in this area, estimated at some 47 million, says a new report by the ILO. (Human.Rights@Work: A monthly newsletter produced by the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, International Labour Organization, 9 Oct. 2001)

UNDP Pledges Assistance to Fight Environmental Degradation [Nigeria]:..."The active participation of the private sector in funding thematic issues of the [environmental] conventions has to be encouraged", he [UNDP Resident representative in Nigeria] advised...[T]he Executive Director of the Nigerian conservation foundation (NCF), Dr Muhtari Amini-Kano, bemoaned the continued erosion of the nation's forest resources despite all efforts being taken to guard against the practice. "A combination of factors have been identified for the loss of forest resources in Nigeria. Apart from logging and farming, other direct causes of deforestation in Nigerian have included fuel-wood gathering, livestock grazing, bush burning, conversion of natural forest to plantations of commercial grade trees, mining, oil exploitation and de-reservation of forest reserves by government for non-forest uses, including urbnanisation and infrastructural development he observed. (Jude Njoku, Vanguard [Lagos], 9 Oct. 2001)

Spy in the sky to protect rainforest: The Amazon, one of the world's remaining wilderness areas, is about to get a long-awaited aerial monitoring system to help protect the Brazilian rainforest against illegal exploitation. (Alex Bellos, Guardian [UK], 9 Oct. 2001)

International Court Rules in Favor of Indigenous Community Land Rights: The Inter-American Court on Human Rights, in a precedent-setting ruling, recognized the property rights of indigenous community traditional lands which were threatened by illegal commercial timber harvesting. The international court, located in San José Costa Rica and the American hemisphere’s most important human right tribunal, declared that the state of Nicaragua violated the human rights of the Mayagna Sumo Indigenous Community (the Awas Tingni) and ordered the state of Nicaragua to recognize and protect the legal rights of the community with respect to its traditional lands, natural resources, and environment. (Center for Human Rights and the Environment, CEDHA, 9 Oct. 2001)

Iranian forests are vanishing: report Tehran - A look at aerial photographs of Iran's forests shows that between 1969 and 1988 large parts of jungles in the north and northeast were destroyed, according to the Thursday edition of the English-language newspaper `Iran Daily.' At present, only 1.48 million hectares of the northern forests are intact. But they, too, are in constant danger from greedy loggers and wood smugglers. (Islamic Republic News Agency [IRNA] [Iran], 6 Oct. 2001)

Scandinavian Companies Work toward Sustainable Business Model: Fifteen prominent [Nordic] companies have agreed to join a partnership launched last week that will focus on developing an entirely new business model centering on sustainability. The project, dubbed the Nordic Partnership, was initiated by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature in the four Nordic countries and House of Mandag Morten, a Copenhagen-based news and research provider. Well-known corporate participants include the Danish enzymes and pharmaceuticals group Novo A/S, Volvo Car Corporation, Swedish lumber and paper company AssiDomän, and the Swedish postal service, Posten AB...The objective of the partnership is to develop a business model, based on Nordic values and attitudes, that integrates sustainability into the way businesses are managed, organized and developed. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 3 Oct. 2001)  (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 3 Oct. 2001)  

Deforestation continues at a high rate in tropical areas; FAO calls upon countries to fight forest crime and corruption: Tropical countries continue to lose their forests at a very high rate, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a new issue of the "State of the World's Forests 2001", which was published today..."The countries with the highest net loss of forest area between 1990 and 2000 were Argentina, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mexico, Nigeria, the Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe."...FAO said that the major causes for the loss and degradation of forests are: conversion to other land uses (mainly agriculture), pests and diseases, fire, overexploitation of forest products (industrial wood, fuelwood), poor harvesting practices, overgrazing, air pollution and storms...Illegal forest practices include: the approval of illegal contracts with private enterprises by public servants; harvesting of protected trees by commercial corporations; smuggling of forest products across borders; processing forest raw materials without a licence. (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 3 Oct. 2001)

• {···español} Situación de los bosques del mundo en 2001: Prosigue la deforestación elevada en los países tropicales: La FAO invita a los países a combatir los delitos forestales

• {···français} Le déboisement se poursuit à un rythme élevé dans les régions tropicales: La FAO invite les pays à contrer le crime et la corruption dans le secteur forestier

• State of the World's Forests 2001 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 3 Oct. 2001)

  • {···español} Situación de los Bosques del Mundo 2001
  • {···français} Situation des forêts du monde 2001

Myths of the European forest: Air pollution is a major concern as yet not well understood. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 3 Oct. 2001)

Peru: loggers poised to overrun uncontacted Indians - The Peruvian government is poised to allow logging companies to invade the territory of uncontacted Indians in the Amazon. (Survival International, Oct. 2001)

• {···español} Perú: Madereros a punto de arrollar a indígenas no contactados

Comparative Analysis of the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative Certification Programs [compares two of the largest certification programmes for forest products -- that of the Forest Stewardship Council and the American Forest and Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative -- and concludes that the industry-sponsored SFI may not address a full range of environmental and social concerns...The study, by the nonprofit Meridian Institute, was sponsored by Forest Stewardship Council - US, Home Depot, & Sustainable Forestry Initiative of the American Forest & Paper Association] (Meridian Institute, Oct. 2001)