forests

The Forests and Environment Minister of India has recently revealed in the upper house of Indian Parliament that during the year 2003-05 the country has lost a total of 728 square kilometers as per the estimation of Forests Survey of India.In respect to Orissa, the ministry separately said that at present it has only a meager 288 square kilometer of dense forests against a geographical area of 155707 square kilometers. Even as the Government insists the forests-land ratio to be 31 percent, the environmentalists have vehemently disputed the figure terming this as inflated. They have estimated it to be a dismal 10 percent or less. It may be mentioned that while at the time of country’s Independence, the state forests covered 48 percent of its landmass--since than, it has been regressing to

It is believed that mangrove, the evergreen rainforests by the sea, originated in the Indo-Malayan area and later spread to India, East Africa and the Americas some 66 to 23 million years ago. Southeast Asia accounts for about 27 percent or 10.5 million acres of mangrove forests out of a total of 39.3 million acres combined total for the world. One of the most variegated and diverse, the species that nestle on the warm coastlines of the tropical oceans have attracted the attention of scientists and others alike. These specialized species thieve on the sheltered coastlines, river deltas and brackish wetlands in between mainland and sea growing and proliferating abundantly; usually unsuitable most of the other plant species. Mangrove according to some accepted classification comprises of 16

An Australian company has secured an international corporate deal, that will save 750,000 hectares of rainforest in Indonesia.The company, Carbon Conservation, has persuaded Wall St banker Merrill Lynch to sink $AUD9 million into local businesses in Aceh which could be worth $AUD400 million in carbon credits for the bank.Carbon Conservation CEO, Dorje Sun, says the forest will be guarded by 1000 heavily armed former Free Aceh rebels.He says 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide will now stay locked in the rainforest.Indonesia News Blog:

Three countries that took part in the second "Heart of Borneo" (HoB) meeting -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam -- have agreed to implement five things to protect forest areas, conservation and production forests for the sake of future generations, a senior Agriculture Ministry official said.Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, the ministry`s director of forest areas and nature conservation (PHKA), Nur Hidayat, said the three countries had committed themselves to implementing five points agreed on during the four-day Heart of Borneo meeting in Pontianak from April 1 to 4.The five points had to do with space layout, utilization of protected and conserved forests in accordance with their types or qualifications, processing of forest products based on conservation principl

In northern Japan, beech trees dominate the forest. They've evolved a strategy of living long, growing taller than the other trees, and reacting quickly to the lengthening days of spring.Throughout the forest winter begins to lose its grip. But this interval between seasons is still dangerous for the trees. Forest birds like this dusky thrush have remained active throughout the winter, and while pickings may be lean, nothing goes to waste.With the orchestrated precision of a symphony the forest reacts to spring. Dog-tooth violets bloom just in time to attract their pollinator - a butterfly.These images are taken from NHNZ Images, movie clips which are available for you to purchase for your production.

Rhett A. Butler mongabay.com - March 5, 2008 Original URL   Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) has been widely lauded as a mechanism that could fund forest conservation and poverty alleviation efforts while fighting climate change. At the December U.N. climate meeting in Bali, delegates agreed to include REDD in future discussions on a new global warming treaty — a move that could eventually lead to the transfer of billions of dollars from industrialized countries to tropical nations for the purpose of slowing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing deforestation rates. Conservationists and scientists applauded the decision. Yet when the European Commission met in January, it proposed to exclude forestry credits from the E. U.'s Emission Tra

The amount of land dedicated to forests, particularly old growth forests, could significantly reduce global warming. Forests are an important use of land in most countries, and in modern times they take on a new, environmental significance. Plant life scrubs carbon dioxide from the air. Carbon dioxide is a main cause [...]

Just imagine standing there, looking up at a giant tree that rises above you into the sky. Even the huckleberries are several feet over your head. Standing among these giants really puts life in perspective, and the hush of the forest floor is so quiet that your footsteps sound like thunder. Welcome to the California Redwoods, [...]

In another probably vain effort to stabilize markets reeling from too much leverage six central banks have committed themselves to printing more or less unlimited money in the foreseeable future. The Federal Reserve's announcement to now also accept MBS from private investors as collateral with a volume of up to 200 billion Federal Reserve Notes (FRN's) dwarfs the liquidity measures of the ECB, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Bank, the Swedish Rijksbank and the Bank of Canada. Their statements collectively said that they would provide basically as much freshly digitized money as commercial banks would require in order to try to iron out the mess they created in the first place with their lowered credit standards.Markets are brimming with rumours that the Fed may

By Rachel Oliver CNN - February 11, 2008 Original URL   (CNN) -- Cutting down trees is pretty much one of the worst things you can do when it comes to climate change. Deforestation, by varying accounts, contributes anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent of all carbon dioxide (C02) emissions -- around 1.6 billion tons.   A worker collects timber from a rain forest in Sumatra, Indonesia last November.   When you cut down trees you get a double whammy. First of all, they are not called the lungs of the Earth for nothing -- we clearly need trees so that we and other animals can breathe. Trees also are in the front line against pollution, breathing in millions of tons of greenhouse gases a year that they store in their trunks. According to the United Nations' Environmental Pr

It was one of those “I don’t care I need a vacation” kind’o things. All in a rush, arranging things with a Taiwanese travel agency I found on the web, I set to meet with some new friends in Chia-Yi’s train-station and take a 2 day tour up Alishan.   We made a few stops in some [...]

When I say the word "Mazury" in Poland there are two completely different groups of people's associations to this place. The first one would immediately think about boredom, lack of shopping centers, mosquitoes, discomfort. While the other group to which I belong to would imagine beautiful sunsets, sailing, being close to nature, living in tents. Do you think you'd like this place or not? Here are some pictures of Mazury but to really feel how is it there you have to go there :)And? Beautiful place, I know :)Bye-bye,Marta.

A forest may be defined as a cluster of trees, big and small, in an area where people can earn a living and is also often a source of firewood. In 1964, a forest was also interpreted as identical to logs processed into wood or pulp and sold. The fact is that a forest is no longer merely linked to timber, tigers, elephants, mouse deer, snakes, birds, bacteria and other fauna. In a broader sense, a forest is normally associated with people as part of the forest, which provide a habitat for animals and a place to life for people, and is a source of medical herbs to cure various illnesses and stabilizes the climate. In the era of climate change and currently taken up in an international conference in Bali, forests are also discussed with regard to carbon, and that a forested area will absorb CO2 and create monetary compensation. Consequently, forests will be a source of money if they are well cared for. The proposal of reduction and emission from deforestation and forest de

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP): For years Irwandi Yusuf fought for the independence of Aceh province. But now he's at the forefront of another struggle: trying to persuade wealthy nations and companies to offset their carbon emissions by saving his homeland's forests.Irwandi, who was elected governor after the 2004 tsunami ushered in an era of peace in the province, has traveled the world hawking the innovative plan to potential investors, including Starbucks and Goldman Sachs. Indonesia is one of several tropical countries, including Brazil, pushing proposals at the ongoing U.N. climate talks in Bali that offer up their forests as stocks of carbon for wealthy nations or companies to buy to offset their emissions of greenhouse gases. In effect, it means they get paid to stop chopping down thei

Indonesia proposed on Sunday that OPEC oil exporting nations contribute 0.50 usd from every barrel of oil sold in to a special environmental fund to protect forests. Addressing fellow leaders from OPEC at the cartel's third-ever summit in Riyadh, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla pushed a development and environmental agenda expressing "mixed feelings" about the price of oil, which is fetching almost 100 usd a barrel. The Asian nation, which will host a crucial climate change meeting next month, noted that many OPEC countries had environmentally valuable woodland, suggesting a donation could be made to the proposed "Oil for Forests" fund. "If these countries can set aside a certain amount of the price per barrel of oil... and devote the fund to manage forests in a sustainable way, we will certainly have a better environment," he said. An official in the Indonesia delegation said the idea was that OPEC countries would make the 0.50 usd contribution from the sale of their oil to

During the Vietnam War, amidst carpet bombing and My Lai, the United States engaged in a unique form of chemical warfare known as herbicidal warfare. Between 1962 and 1971, Air Force aircraft were employed as souped-up crop dusters to spray defoliants throughout Southeast Asia as part of Operation Ranch Hand. Defoliants are a particular variety of herbicides that kill plants by causing them to lose their leaves. This mode of action made them particularly good at destroying both food crops (primarily rice, which is difficult to incinerate) and jungle canopy, which the Viet Cong took advantage of to hide their activities.A number of different defoliants, either single chemicals or mixtures, were developed and utilized by the US military in 'Nam. Six of these were assigned a particular colour code, and this colour was painted on the barrels in which the particular agent was stored.Agent Orange is by far the best known of these "rainbow herbicides", largely due to the fact that it account

Thursday marked my departure from the sea, and the start of a long journey across the continent towards the Mediterranean.The weather was still a bit grey and miserable, with very little actual rain but not enough sunshine to enjoy lunch by or by which to adequately charge my phone.The morning landscapes consisted mostly of unremarkable flattish stuff. I left Normandy and entered Brittany for a short while, crossed the pleasant Foret de Fougeres and then continued into the Mayenne region of Pays de la Loire.I passed lots of farmland and cows. I startled one cow, which caused it to start bucking around and charging in my general direction, and I was very glad of the electric fence between us. After this incident I would take a lot more care around cows, trying not to ride past them too fast, and crossing to the far side of the road whenever possible.Later there was a nice gentle winding climb up into the Mayenne forest, followed by a nice fast straight road to Andouillé, where I camped

Determined to lead the discussion on climate change among developing nations, the Indonesian government spent much of the past week recruiting countries to join it in pressing richer nations to provide incentives to reduce carbon emissions.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a direct plea on Wednesday at the start of a two-day gathering of 40 environment ministers near this capital, a precursor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Bali in December.The environment minister of Indonesia, Rachmat Witoelar, said earlier this month that he wanted rich countries to pay up to $20 a hectare, or 2.47 acres, to preserve its dwindling forests.At the meeting this week, Indonesia began mobilizing countries like Brazil, Mexico, Congo, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, which with Indonesia contain most of the world’s rain forests.“We can’t do this alone,” said Indonesia’s deputy environment minister, Masnellyarti Hilman. “Developed countries

Indonesia wants to be paid $5-$20 per hectare not to destroy its remaining forests, the environment minister said yesterday, for the first time giving an actual figure that he wants the world’s rich countries to pay. Participants from 189 countries are expected to gather in Bali for global climate talks at a UN-led summit in December.They will hear a report on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation (RED) - a new scheme that aims to make emission cuts from forest areas eligible for global carbon trading.But apart from carbon trading, Indonesia also wants big emitters such as the US and the European Union to pay the country to preserve its pristine rainforests.“We will ask for a compensation of $5-20 per hectare. It’s not fixed; it is open to negotiation,” Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar told reporters after a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace on Monday.With a total forest area of 225mn acres, Indonesia could receive as much as $1.8bn for preserving its forests unde

Repris du Gardian: Internal report says mass logging threatens Pygmies Findings are embarrassing for British government John Vidal, environment editor The Guardian Thursday October 4 2007 The World Bank encouraged foreign companies to destructively log the world’s second largest forest, endangering the lives of thousands of Congolese Pygmies, according to a report on an internal investigation by senior bank staff [...]

Are you concerned about the future of forests in the Asia-Pacific region? Do you need to know more about the driving forces and direction of change in the region? Do you want to be involved in shaping future forestry directions? If you answer yes to these questions, then don't miss this conference!16 – 18 October 2007 Chiang Mai, ThailandRecent and unprecedented economic and social change in the Asia-Pacific region has significantly altered the way forests are regarded and used. It is in acknowledgement of a new society-forest dynamics in the region that the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, in partnership with member countries and other international organizations, is conducting the second Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS II). This major international conference is being organized to strengthen the consultative and capacity-building processes of APFSOS II by bringing together diverse stakeholders and expertise to provide broader perspectives on emerging changes, p

In northern Japan, beech trees dominate the forest. They've evolved a strategy of living long, growing taller than the other trees, and reacting quickly to the lengthening days of spring.Throughout the forest winter begins to lose its grip. But this interval between seasons is still dangerous for the trees. Forest birds like this dusky thrush have remained active throughout the winter, and while pickings may be lean, nothing goes to waste.With the orchestrated precision of a symphony the forest reacts to spring. Dog-tooth violets bloom just in time to attract their pollinator - a butterfly.These images are taken from NHNZ Images, movie clips which are available for you to purchase for your production.

Before I tell you what FOKO is, let me take you through the dynamics of Slash and Burn. In the US and much of Europe managed timber lands has led to the increased forest cover in those countries, see Liberals Cannot See the Trees for the Forests and as I explained in Muslims largest Cause of Global Warming I am not one of those who believe that we are in danger of a cataclysmic Global Warming which will doom the Earth. On the other hand, I do believe that destroying rain forests raises the level of CO2 which will be problematic long term. That is to say the problem with Global Warming, to the extent that there is any, is not a problem with what the United States is doing, but rather on what much of the under-developed world is doing, mainly in the destruction of forests in their part of the world. Ignorance and bountiful fecundity are the biggest contributors to slash and burn in the world today: Through ignorance, deforestation occurs because of primitive timber exploitati

This publication provides information about prescribed fire effects on habitats and populations of birds of the interior West and a synthesis of existing information on bird responses to fire across North America. Our literature synthesis indicated that aerial, ground, and bark insectivores favored recently burned habitats, whereas foliage gleaners preferred unburned habitats.

Over on Expedition Portal, there is a great post on a backroads trip a member (beers_52) took from basically John Day to Prineville, Oregon. Great story and photos. You can read the post at http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7122 Enjoy.

Forget about sight seeing tour on a bus, this one is quite uniqe way of enjoying beautiful Bali’s sceneries. You are going to drive a quad for 18 kilometers on scenic journey in Payangan village 15 kilometer south of Kintamani where the Batur volcano located, passing forests and rice fields by Ayung river. Imagine the lush green vegetation, fresh air cleanse your lungs and the adrenalin rushing in your blood.What will you experience in this quad adventure? Well, you will see a lot of beautiful sceneries. You will see:Rice fields spreading in your left and right as you hold the steering wheel. Farmers ploughing and planting rice on a wet and muddy fields with their smiling happy faces.Coconut trees, snake skin fruit tree ( the skin of the fruit is just like snake skin, and the taste of the fruit is like anaconda ), cocoa plant, cloves, jackfruit, papaya, bamboo forests, and varieties of colorful flowers. You can stop briefly anywhere you like to admire the scenery, or to taste the sna

Palm oil companies are burning peat forests to clear land for plantations in Indonesia's Riau province, despite government pledges to end forest fires, environment group Greenpeace said on Thursday. Forest fires are an annual menace for Indonesia and the country's neighbors, who have grown deeply frustrated at the apparent lack of success in curbing the dry-season blazes and vast smoke clouds, or haze, that smothers the region.

It is estimated that the mountain pine beetle has destroyed 40% of British Columbia's lodgepole pine since 1993. University researchers have now found evidence that the beetle is adapting to spruce... Earth-centred news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming

Any living being from anywhere would probably ask them what they can do to save the forests and retain its green luster towards continued beauty and savor. We all know for a fact that the green environment is slowly being tarnished by our ever increasing demands for vices that have defected most of our natural habitat and unless we try harder, chances are we may continue to witness its forever dilapidation. We can make a difference. It starts with one simple push on our parts. We hardly need the effort. Working our way towards upholding the things to be done for environmental tasks will surely go a long way. Sacrebleu - The most popular videos are here animals, camping, climate change, demands, Eco Friendly, ecology, environmental tasks, forests, global warming, Green Architecture, Green Design, Green Tips, Green Tutorials, green environment, Health and Well being, natural habitat, pollution, recycle, Reduce, vices, Video Clips

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is urging the central government and all regional administrations in Indonesia to implement a "forest cutting interval" to protect the country from total deforestation, a local Walhi executive said. "Walhi has been proposing the measure since 2002 and is repeating it now on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5," Khalid Syaifullah, executive director of Walhi`s West Sumatra branch, said here Tuesday. Until now, only the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) provincial administration had heeded the call and was planning to impose a ban on forest cutting later this month, he said.

It's one of the few countries that still has vast swathes of tropical rainforests left. But conservationists say maybe not for long.Indonesia's rainforests -- especially those on Borneo island -- are being stripped so rapidly because of illegal logging and palm oil plantations for bio-fuels, they could be wiped out altogether within the next 15 years, some environmentalists say."Sixty percent of the protected and conservation areas are already badly damaged due to illegal logging and palm oil plantations," Rully Sumada, a forestry expert with Indonesian environmental group Walhi, told Reuters."The deforestation speed is 2.8 million hectares a year.At this rate, by 2012 the forests in Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi will be gone, only the forests in Papua will be left. And if cutting of trees carries on, no forest will be left by 2022." Indonesia has a total forest area of more than 225 million acres (91 million hectares), or about 10 percent of the world's remaining tropical fo

Alarm bells are ringing loudly about the future of our planet. The environmental mess we find ourselves in has been caused by the developed world, though we need the help of developing countries to solve the crisis. While two-thirds to three-quarters of the carbon-dioxide equivalent of toxic fumes released in China and India is related to energy use, Indonesia's enemy is deforestation. A study done on behalf of the U.K. Department for International Development and the World Bank makes estimates that as much as 85 percent of the harmful stuff that gets pumped out into Indonesian skies comes from degradation of forest lands. Clearing of forests in Indonesia has been historically linked to illegal logging for timber and the diversion of land to oil-palm plantations. Palm oil goes into soaps; it's also used as cooking oil. Interestingly, biofuels, touted to be the main weapon in the fight against climate change, are going to make the emission challenge worse in Indonesia. By 2025, Ind

I'm trying to have a relatively electronics-free day, reading a book I just picked up from the library, but I had to connect online to type up a passage from The Wild Trees by Richard Preston:A piece of Lobaria [a lichen] the size of a child's hand might take ten years to grow to that size. (Lobaria is a comparatively fast grower. Some lichens can take twenty years to become the size of a dime.) It can take years or decades for some species of lichens to spread from one tree to the next. "If a whole mountainside has been cut, it will be a very long time before the Lobaria comes back, " Antoine said. "You start to see it after about two hundred years. But you don't see big, juicy, drippy abundances of these lichens for centuries. You only see it now in old-growth Douglas-fir forests

Costa Rica: relax; Costa Rica; Rain Forests. relax By Copeland from South of No Where I was thinking of visiting the rain forests on Costa Rica.[1] Is it a good idea Could you give some feedback on the rain … Original post by Caribbean Vacation Forum

Everyone knows what it means when you say an album is “a grower”. But, it could mean something different to some. To me, when I say that, I mean that an album wasn’t really that impressive to me the first couple times through, but after some repeated listens, I’ve changed my opinion. This is important for bloggers, because it’s rare that we withhold judgement and just let an album sink in. I’m happy that I let the new album from Palomar sink in, because after some reapeated listens to the record, it’s not a stretch for me to say that this is their finest album to date. It’s the fourth album from the Brooklyn based band and the maturation is evident throughout. While it remains true to the band’s DNA of power pop gems, it has a dark and almost haunting edge to it that leaves me wanting more. Enjoy these two songs from Palomar’s new album, All Things, Forests. Palomar - Our Haunt Palomar - You’re Keeping Us Up Thanks

In general, forests are sensitive to GlobalWarming Awareness2007, climatic variability and change. Climatic factors that influence forest health-temperature, rainfall, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases and extreme weather and fire events—are changing and are expected to continue changing due to GlobalWarming Awareness2007. The following climate factors are likely to play an important role in determining future forest conditions: Air temperature Precipitation amount and seasonal distribution Atmospheric CO2 concentrations Frequency and severity of wildfire events Climatic variability and the frequency and severity of extreme events Indirect effects on pollution levels such as tropospheric ozone

The effects of GlobalWarming Awareness2007 on forests in the U.S. and other parts of the world will depend not only on climatic factors but also on stresses from pollution (e.g., acid rain); future trends in forest management practices, including fire control and demand for timber; and land-use change. It is difficult to separate the influence of GlobalWarming Awareness2007 from these other pressures.

We live in a modern world and we all know what that means... cars, factories, expanding cities, pollution, global warming etc. Occasionally all of us need some place to escape from that madness. We all search for some special place that will keep us safe and relaxed and that will make all our worries go away. Some people are dreaming for long sandy beaches, worm sun and that magic sound of the waves. Others are longing for the coolness of the beautiful green forests, enjoying there between the trees and the gentle touch of the wind, listening the whisper of the leaves. Unfortunately there are not many places like that. The number of the green intact forests is rapidly decreasing as a result of the needs of the man.This website is dedicated to the magic of the world of the forests. Fantastic stories told trough the photographies of Yasunobu Kobayashi and spiced with some great ambient music. This site will take you to unforgettable journey through some of the most beautiful forests on

The World Bank says Indonesia should act quickly to manage its forests to help reduce poverty and development in rural areas.The Bank says forests account for 70 per cent of Indonesia's land cover, but play a weak role in the country's economic and sustainable development due to poor management.It says the Indonesian foreign sector has received more than $US1 billion in development assistance over the past two decades, but management continues to be weak and forest continues to be lost.The World Bank says action now is more likely to be successful than in the past, due to political reforms since the fall of dictator Suharto nine years ago.

On October 18, 2006, a workshop was held in Vancouver, WA, with the title "Managing for wildlife habitat in Westside production forests." The purpose of the workshop was to provide prescriptions and guidelines for people who manage Westside forests (those west of the Cascade Mountains' crest) primarily for wood production, but because of mandate or personal preference, want to integrate wildlife values. The audience included over 150 professionals from forest industry, consulting firms, and public and tribal forest and wildlife management agencies. This proceedings includes ten papers based on oral presentations at the workshop plus a synthesis paper summarizing workshop themes, discussions, and related information. Topics include a history of wildlife management research in the Pacific Northwest, elements of habitat and how to manage for them, the challenges of appropriately implementing ecosystem management, and economic implications to private forestland owners

Indonesia wants rich countries to pay developing nations to preserve their forests, which are vital to help remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, the country's environment minister told Reuters on Tuesday. The proposal will be tabled at a U.N. conference on climate change to be held in the Indonesian resort island of Bali in December, Rachmat Witoelar said.

In case you don't know, Borneo is primarily mountainous, with dense areas of rain forest mainly in Sarawak. The highest peak in Borneo, Mt. Kinabalu, stands at 13,455 ft. That's in Sabah. With a generally hot, wet climate, rain is more common than not, with some portions of Borneo receiving between 150 and 200 inches of rainfall annually. Between October and March, monsoons buffet the island. Given the abundance of rainfall, it makes sense that Borneo's flora is among the most diverse in the world. Borneo has nearly 11,000 species of flowering plants, about a third of which are indigenous. How dense is the vegetation? In one 16 acre area of Borneo's lowland forest, over 700 species of trees have been recorded. In comparison, there are only 171 native tree species in all of eastern North America. That's enough to tell you that to be lost in Borneo jungles would really give even the most experienced of trackers a hell of a hard time.

This past Wednesday in San Francisco, a group of environmentalists asked a federal judge to overturn the Bush administration’s rules for managing the country’s 155 national forests,... {{ The above is just a summary of the entire post. Please visit californiawinehikes.com/winehiker for full links, other content, and more! }}

The amount of land dedicated to forests, particularly old growth forests, could significantly reduce global warming. Forests are an important use of land in most countries, and in modern times they take on a new, environmental significance. Plant life scrubs carbon dioxide from the air. Carbon dioxide is a main cause [...]

Fachgebiete: Biologie Geowissenschaften Informatik Mathematik Thema: Doktorarbeit: Carbon and nitrogen turnover and competition processes in the rhizosphere of deciduous forests with contrasting tree species diversity Ansprechpartner: Dr. rer. nat. Stefan Fleck Antwort an: sfleck@gwdg.de Institution: ...