Army brought in to help illegal Amazon timber crackdown

Stung by the recent rise in deforestation rates in the Amazon, the Brazilian government is cracking down on the illegal loggers who are ripping up the rainforest; their year-long initiative - known as Operation Fire Belt - is targeting areas where deforestation has been most acute.

Hundreds of police and environmental officials are being backed up by army troops to enforce national forest laws which are being flouted by loggers and landowners. Around 300 agents have been sent to just one town, Tailandia, to inspect the local sawmills; of around 100 mills operating there, only 21 have the correct licences.

If sending the army in seems heavy-handed, bear in mind what happened in Tailandia last week when rioting sawmill workers chased inspectors from Brazils' environment protection agency out of town. The International Herald Tribune reports that sawmill owners threatened to fire anyone who talked to the inspectors, provoking the hostile reaction.

So hence the military back-up and there's no doubt these inspections need to be carried out. Before they were forced to flee from the angry mob, the team checked 10 mills and seized 13,000m3 of illegal timber (enough to fill 640 trucks) in the process.

Just how far the government can enforce this crackdown remains to be seen, but campaigners in our Brazilian office are keeping up the pressure, describing this as a chance for the administration to show its commitment to protecting the rainforest and enforcing its own laws. The Brazilian media is also on their backs with inch after column inch devoted to coverage of the operation, and Amazon deforestation has been constantly hitting the headlines for over a month.

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/army-brought-in-to-help-illegal-amazon-timber-crackdown-20080229

China's wood industry fueled by illegal log imports from rainforest countries

While China has improved management of its forestry sector, expanding forest plantation cover and banning harvesting of natural forests, China's recent growth as wood-products exporter is built on timber imports — much of which are illegal — argues a researcher from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in a letter to Science.

Noting that Chinese imports quadrupled over the past decade — from an estimated 12.5 to 45 million cubic meters — Dr. William F. Laurance says much of the growth in China's timber supplies has come in unprocessed logs from developing countries, which offer relatively economic benefits to timber-exporting nations and are often linked to illegal trade.

"Most logs imported into China are effectively stolen, with no payment of government royalties to exporting nations or environmental control over harvest operations. At least 80% of Chinese timber imports from Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands are illegal, according to recent estimates, with somewhat lower values (50 to 60%) for Malaysia and Russia," writes Laurance. "Unprocessed logs are easy to acquire and smuggle, and corruption in the log trade is far more prevalent than that for processed forest products."

Photo by William F. Laurance

Laurance says the illegal timber trade is driving forest degradation and deforestation in the tropics by providing impetus for road building which "increases access to forests for slash-and-burn farmers, hunters, and land speculators that in turn destroy or severely degrade forests and their wildlife."

Laurance argues that developed countries are playing a key role in the destruction: it is their demand for cheap wood products that is fueling China's wood products industry. As such, says Laurance, efforts to rein in the illegal timber trade will have to target consumer preferences in wealthy nations.

"Chinese wood products corporations will have little incentive to alter their predatory behavior so long as consumers in wealthy nations blithely continue buying their products," he concludes.

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China calls for sustainable logging by Chinese firms overseas. China unveiled a draft sustainable forestry handbook for Chinese companies operating overseas. The move comes as the country faces increasing criticism from environmentalists who say China's booming demand for timber and other materials is destroying the world's tropical forests.

Home improvement giant bans illegal wood products. B&Q, the third largest retailer of home improvement materials, announced that within three years, all Brazilian wood products sold in China would come from certified sources. B&Q has 60 stores in China.

China's demand for hardwood drives illegal logging says Greenpeace. Environmental group Greenpeace said on Tuesday China should take responsibility for illegal hardwood logging in Southeast Asia which supplied the raw materials for Chinese exports to the West.

China needs 5 million cubic meters more of tropical timber by 2010. China needs 5 million cubic meters more of tropical timber by 2010 according to the September 15-30 ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report, a publication published by the International Tropical Timber Organization. China is already the world's largest consumer of tropical wood, importing more than twice the volume of tropical logs as India, the second largest importer on the list.

Timber hungry China moves into Africa. With its projected growth rates, China will soon surpass the United States in wood consumption. This voracious appetite for timber is threatening tropical forests around the globe but nowhere is this more apparent than in Africa where China is increasingly focusing its development efforts and adding fuel to a booming trade in illegally harvested timber.

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0229-laurance_china.html

Logging in Brazil

Logging in the Amazon rainforest has once again become divisive issue in Brazilian politics, after satellite images taken in January revealed significant de-forestation.

As a result, authorities have sent in security forces to patrol against illegal logging.

The 300-strong team of armed federal police will patrol trouble spots, in an area of the country that is generally regarded as being free from law-enforcement.

While at least 70 sawmills are believed to be operating illegally in the state of Para, prostitution, drug-trafficking and corruption are also thought to be widespread.

Environmentalists believe the logging troubles started in the 1960s when the government built roads into the Amazon.

http://www.skynews.com.au/eco/article.aspx?id=220020

Small fires a big threat to Amazon rainforest biodiversity

Small fires have a big impact in the Amazon rainforest, report researchers writing in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The findings suggest a dire future for Earth's largest rainforest.

Due to drying trends and fragmentation, surface fires are increasingly common in Amazon forests. Usually set by landowners clearing brush and vegetation, fires spread into surrounding forests areas, burning leaf litter and seedlings, especially during times of drought. The new research shows these knee-high fires cause significant changes in forest species composition.

"When a forest burns for the first time flame heights rarely exceed 30-40 cm, and the fire moves slowly through the leaf litter," lead author Barlow, a researcher at Lancaster University, in the U.K. and Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi in Brazil, told mongabay.com. "Although these fires appear relatively innocuous, they are actually very destructive as most rainforest trees have a low tolerance of heat, and their slow speed means that flames stay in contact with trees for long periods of time. As a result, even low-intensity fires kill up to 40 percent of trees. They are also the first step in positive feedback cycle, where the dead trees act to open up the canopy and add fuel to the forest floor, making the forest more flammable and increasing the severity of any additional fire."

On the left, low-intensity fires open up the canopy (photo by Jos Barlow). For comparison, primary Amazon rainforest on the right (photo by R. Butler).

Sampling forests that had burned once, twice and three times in the last 20 years, Jos Barlow and Carlos A. Peres show that recurrent fires lead to an almost complete turnover in regenerating tree species.

"Almost none of the pioneer species that regenerated after low-intensity understory fires were able to survive a second burn, and the species that were most abundant in forests that had burned twice were replaced by a different suite of fast-growing species in forests that had burned three times," he explained. "It appears that each fire event alters the seed bank and regeneration conditions and leads to a cascade in species composition, with forests becoming increasingly different from the species rich primary forests they once were."

Carlos Peres, a professor at the University of East Anglia and a noted Amazon researcher, says that surface fires reduce tree diversity and the carbon-storing capacity of burned forests.

"Surface fires do not bode well for the future of lowland Amazonia. One of the most striking outcomes of recurrent fires over this 9-yr time series was the rapid deflection in the forest successional trajectories from a species-rich assemblage dominated by slow-growing heavy-wooded trees to a relatively depauparate set of fast-growing, soft-wooded species dominated by short-lived pioneers, and repeatedly burned primary forests were virtually indistinguishable from a young second-growth forest," he said.

Low-intensity wildfire

Scorched understory 3 days after fire. Photos by Jos Barlow.

"This resulted in a dramatic erosion of species richness, functional diversity, aboveground phytomass and carbon stocks, which to us clearly represents a 'lose-lose' scenario. So, if our results from the lower Rio Tapajós basin bear any indication to future phase-shift ecosystem transitions in much larger areas of seasonally-dry Amazonian forests, then yes, we have every reason to be alarmed."

With leading climate models forecasting a higher temperatures and lower precipitation for much of the Amazon by 2050, the changes suggest a troubling future for biodiversity in the region.

"The positive-feedback cycle that is set in motion when a forest burns once is much more damaging that previously thought, as each additional fire causes an almost complete turnover in the species composition of regenerating trees," explained Barlow. "If our results from the Central Brazilian Amazon are typical of burned forests across Amazonia, then fires linked to anthropogenic land-use and climate change should be seen one of the greatest threats to the future integrity of the Amazonian Ecosystem."

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0225-barlow_amazon.html

National Geographic photographer recounts Amazonian adventures

Venturing through the Amazon rainforest, studying plants, taking photographs and living with unknown tribes is how ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes spent a dozen years of his life.

Along the way, Schultes discovered hundreds of plants and learned their medicinal uses and countless herbal concoctions.

Community members filled the main auditorium The City Library on Wednesday night to learn about Schultes' Amazonian adventures. Wade Davis, a Harvard-trained ethnobotanist, lectured on his mentor's years in the Amazons. Davis wrote a book titled One River chronicling Schultes' plant discoveries and experiences with indigenous tribes. The event was sponsored by the College of Humanities.

"I thought it was a fantastic combination to tell the story juxtaposed with photographs," said Koshlan Mayer-Blackwell, a graduate student going into architecture. "I think it's amazing when you see someone so invested in something that it becomes inspiring to be so unbelievably directed."

Davis described Schultes as a man with an incredible knowledge of plants who spent most of his life trying to understand plants' roles in the human experience.

Using Schultes' photographs to recount the tale, Davis talked about the time when colleagues thought Schultes was lost in November 1943.

While people in the United States thought he was lost, Schultes became sick with beriberi, a disease caused by thiamine deficiency, which he contracted in the depths of the Amazon rainforest. The nearest city where Schultes could be treated was Manaus, a city 1,000 kilometers away in northwestern Brazil. Manaus was too far for treatment, so Schultes traveled north toward a remote Colombian military base then ended up traveling to Manaus afterward. He recovered and continued to explore the region for many more years.

Davis said Schultes was able to communicate with the indigenous tribes because of his innate knack for languages. Schultes spoke several European languages and was conversant in a few languages indigenous to South America. With that linguistic ability and his interest in anthropology, Schultes learned how the indigenous tribes of the Amazon used ayahuasca, a jungle vine with hallucinogenic properties, and scores of other plants such as cariari.

The indigenous shamans learned how to combine these plants through trial and error, which would be considered empirical research in Western society. Davis said Schultes understood this and tried to learn and discover as much as he could from these untrained scientists.

Davis said people in cultures around the world have tried to change their ordinary consciousness through meditation and religious rituals with plants. Indigenous people know the need for drugs must be satisfied. They don't see it as deviant behavior, Davis said, but rather almost in a positive light because users are under a protective cloak of ritual reinforcement.

Davis said Schultes was a man who made his career possible because of the work he accomplished. Davis dedicated six years to researching Schultes' life and writing One River. Davis admits that he was nervous at first about how Schultes would react to the book but said that the nervousness subsided when he later learned Schultes kept the book at his bedside and would read it when he couldn't fall asleep at night.

"I wanted to tell my best friend and mentor's story," Davis said.

http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=4a16f168-bcb7-4d1d-b2df-6faf93712a96

Amazon rainfall linked to Atlantic Ocean temperature

Climate models increasingly forecast a dire future for the Amazon rainforest. These projections are partly based on recent research that has linked drought in the Amazon to sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic. As the tropical Atlantic warms, the southern Amazon — the agricultural heartland of Brazil — may see higher temperatures and less rainfall.

Still the relationship between sea temperatures and precipitation is poorly understood, introducing uncertainty for models seeking to forecast future climate in the region. Now a new study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B by Peter Good and colleagues from the Met Office Hadley Center, attempts to devise a method for measuring how sea surface temperature gradients in the tropical Atlantic affect precipitation in the Amazon.

Using an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) based on observed sea surface temperatures from 1949 to 2005, Good and colleagues found that better simulations of the north-south sea surface temperature gradient would improve the accuracy of climate models for the Amazon.

"Current climate models show a large spread of projections for rainfall change over Amazonia. North-south gradients in tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperature (SST) can affect southern Amazon dry season rainfall by modifying the moisture transport into the region and the stability to convection," Good told mongabay.com. "We study how best to measure this SST gradient, to explain present-day rainfall variability. Then we show that the large model differences in future projections for dry-season rainfall in this region are largely associated with model differences in this gradient measure."

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0225-good_amazon.html

Brazil’s Energy Windfall

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, boisterous and riding high just one year ago in his quest to spread a “socialist revolution” throughout Latin America, has quieted as that effort has ground to a halt. In December, Chavez’s bid to change his country’s constitution was voted down. An ongoing oil nationalization dispute with ExxonMobil, which threatens to freeze billions of assets (AFP) in Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, has raised questions about the sustainability of the country’s oil output. Most recently, major oil and gas discoveries off the Brazilian coast promise to substantially shift the balance of power in Latin America, chipping away at Venezuela’s energy hegemony.

Initial euphoria over the magnitude of the oil discovery, located in the offshore Tupi field, led Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to announce his intention to join OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Petrobras, the country’s state-run oil company, estimated the field had about 8 billion recoverable barrels of oil, and the broader area surrounding the field might hold as much as 100 billion barrels. The Tupi field probably won’t be productive for at least another five years, and it will be difficult and costly to develop, but the Economist Intelligence Unit says there are indications that the possible reserves might be even larger than the government estimates. In a region that is energy-starved—Argentina and Chile are both struggling with energy crises (Santiago Times)—Brazil’s finds will give it significant leverage. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Brazil had the second-largest crude reserves in the region prior to the Tupi discovery.

Brazil is already a powerhouse in alternative energy; it produces a significant portion of the world’s ethanol and has worked to parlay its leadership in the industry into energy deals across the developing world. It hopes to create an international market for biofuels (PDF) that brings development to poor countries. As this podcast discusses, conditions are particularly good for developing biofuels in Central and South America. Last August, Lula and Chavez both made trips in the region, Lula touting alternative fuels, and Chavez offering energy pacts (CSMonitor). “There is this subtext of oil versus biofuels,” said Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue.

Brazil also seeks a leadership role in global trade talks. For this reason, Parag Khanna, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, argues in the New York Times Magazine that Brazil is “reappearing as South America’s natural leader.” Yet Amaury de Souza, a Brazilian consultant, says the country has not developed a coherent regional strategy. Instead of focusing on global outreach, de Souza says, it should concentrate on improving relations with its neighbors (PDF). Others say Brazil should turn its efforts to what is arguably its most valuable natural asset—the Amazon rainforest. In Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America’s Soul, Michael Reid, the Americas editor of the Economist, writes that, “If China was becoming the world’s workshop and India its back office, Brazil is its farm—and potentially its center of environmental services.”

http://www.cfr.org/publication/15554/brazils_energy_windfalls.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2Fpublication_list%3Ftype%3Ddaily_analysis

Brazil Deploys Troops to Reduce Rainforest Destruction

160 elite Brazilian troops were sent to join with hundreds of police officers in the Amazon to combat illegal deforestation activity.

The move comes on the heels of clashes last week in the state of Para between local workers and environmentalists in Tailandia, a town with a population of around 67,000. During the quarrel, more than 2,000 protesters blocked roads and forced inspectors out of the town before their work was completed.

Tailandia was established 19 years ago. Since then, an estimated 60% of the area’s forest has been destroyed.

Brazilian authorities said they do not want further confrontations, but the operations against illegal logging will continue .

The decision to deploy the troops to Tailandia to support police and environmental inspectors indicates the determination of federal authorities to continue its efforts against illegal deforestation, which increased markedly during the second half of 2007.

With 160 timber yards in the area providing jobs for 2,000 to 3,000 people, the logging industry is a major employer in the region. However, it is thought that over 70% of wood felled in the area is of illegal origin according to BBC News reports. Over 530,000 cubic feet of wood has already been seized by authorities.

The clashes in Tailandia have been a stark reminder of the conflict between economic development and environmental protection, a conflict that has long defined the debate about the Amazon’s future.

Last month, the Brazilian government confirmed a significant rise in deforestation in the last five months of 2007, although the previous three years had shown a decline.

Government Ministers promised determined action against illegal logging, and committed to additional police, inspections, and fines. However, the conflict in Tailandia demonstrates that the new policy is not supported by everyone.

However, the Brazilian government said it is determined to press ahead with the latest crackdown, along with further inspections later this year along major routes used by loggers in the Amazon.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1270344/brazil_deploys_troops_to_reduce_rainforest_destruction/

Acai Berry Boom

A lot of people say a tiny fruit is having a huge impact on their health.

The "acai" berry is cultivating a multi-billion-dollar juice industry.

Blueberries, grapes, pomegranates oh my! These fruits pack powerful nutrients and antioxidants which protect the body's cells from damage and disease. But there's a new berry in town.

Earlier this month, Doctor Oz featured the acai berry on the Oprah show. The berry, found only in the Amazon rainforest, was part of his "ultimate anti-aging checklist."

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"It has twice the antioxidants as a blueberry," claims Dr. Oz.

"Monavie" is an acai berry juice blend sold by independent distributors like Randy Woodward of Fresno.

"You can just drink two ounces in the morning and two at night. And four ounces is equivalent to 14 fruits a day," says Woodward.

The juice tastes like a mix of chocolate and blackberries but the cost is not so sweet. A $35 bottle lasts a week. That's four bottles a month, $140/month and $1680/year!

"I can't put a price on health. Somebody tells me I can be healthy for the rest of my life for $5 a day, I'm in, I'm going to do it," says Woodward.

Woodward quit his job to sell Monavie full time. After only a year selling it, he's now on track to earn an annual income of $96,000. Woodward says at least 900 people in the valley are signed up now because of him. He gets a percentage of their sales, but don't call it a pyramid!

"I would never get involved in a pyramid. That's the first thing I thought too, it's a pyramid." One of his first customers and skeptics was his cousin Barbara. She tried the juice after she had surgery.

"It was like my recovery kicked into high gear. I had all this energy, got my strength back, taking my long walks," says Barbara Woodward.

The Monavie Company is careful not to make any outright health or cure claims. The FDA won't allow it. Still thousands of people swear by the stuff for everything from joint pain to a better night's sleep.

Kaiser Permanente Registered Dietician Judy Meadows says there may be a simple explanation for all the glowing testimonials. "I think it's because they're getting the nutrients their body needs, and if they had been eating fruits and vegetables they could have that same feeling. But it's an easy quick way of doing it. You can get that in other foods that don't cost as much."

That's a fundamental concept at Jamba Juice. The fruit smoothie specialists launched an acai berry drink on their menu three years ago.

Paul Coletta, Jamba Juice, says "The acai berry has really gained in popularity due in a large part to a lot other companies that have helped mainstream it."

Countless beverage companies are getting in on the acai berry craze. The latest to join the market: Campbell's V-8 fusion line is launching this acai mixed berry drink this spring for about $4 a bottle.

The acai boom is not showing any signs of slowing, especially if Randy Woodward has anything to do with it. "Get it out there, yeah. I tell everybody. I'll be in a restaurant. UPS guy, it doesn't matter who it is. I just want to tell them 'Hey listen, here!'"

A 2006 study by the University of Florida showed the antioxidants in acai killed leukemia cells in a laboratory. The University is now conducting research on humans.

Cosmetic companies are also exploring the beauty benefits, for example Herbal Essences "color me happy" shampoo and conditioner use acai to prevent fading. But dermatologists say high concentrations could stain skin and hair.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=5977126

Forest Protection Is Climate Protection, GLOBE Forum Told

To combat global warming, the rich countries must create a fund to conserve the Amazon rainforest, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told 100 parliamentarians from around the world Thursday in Brasilia. At the meeting, senior executives of 20 of the world's largest forestry companies announced that tropical forestry would be based on certified sustainable forest management by the year 2015.

The two day Brasilia Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change is the latest in a series of key global forums on climate change that link directly to the Group of Eight, G8, process. It was hosted by the Brazilian Congress on behalf of GLOBE International and the Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development.

Legislators attended from the G8 countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the United States - as well as from the emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Mexico.

The lawmakers met to draw up proposals for addressing climate change to be taken to the next G8 meeting in July in Japan.

During his speech, President Lula argued that in addition to meeting their own emission targets the developed countries should support the climate change and forest conservation efforts that are already being undertaken by Brazil because they benefit the entire planet.

Conservation of the Amazon rainforest helps reduce atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, maintaining the cycle of rains and the necessary conservation of biodiversity, he said.

Lula suggested that the wealthy countries pay the costs of reducing deforestation and the protection of forests by means of voluntary contribution, a proposal he has made at the past two United Nations climate change conferences in Nairobi in 2006 and in Bali in 2007.

The president said that in the last four years Brazil has invested more than US$250 million to combat deforestation of the Amazon, "an unprecedented amount of resources, but far short of the required to fully reverse the framework of the region."

Environment Minister Marina Silva said that actions by the Brazilian government have brought the rate of deforestation down 59 percent over the last three years, even after the 10 percent increase in deforestation in the last four months of 2007, detected by satellite monitoring by the National Institute for Space Research, INPE.

Brazil will achieve a reduction of deforestation also in 2008, Silva said.

The forestry executives have been participating in GLOBE’s ongoing dialogue on Illegal Logging and Sustainable Forestry along with senior lawmakers and representatives of civil society and international organizations. More than U$15 billion dollars are estimated to be lost per year in government revenues to developing countries due to illegal logging practices.

Environment Minister Silva emphasized that the Brazilian government is dealing with illegal logging with an "agenda of force" including surveillance, repression and penalties and at the same time is investing in alternatives for sustainable development.

"As senior executives of companies dependent on the integrity of tropical forests we understand and acknowledge the problems caused by tropical deforestation and degradation," said Andres Gut, chairman of Precious Woods, a major timber producer in Brazil and Central Africa. "We firmly believe that tropical timber production remains a vital economic activity but only when conducted on a sustainable basis and certified accordingly."

The vision set out by the forestry CEOs is based on six pillars:

* Credibly certified sustainable forest management

* Forest revenue generation that includes timber, non-timber products, and ecosystem services

* Collaboration between forest enterprises and local communities

* Coherent and efficient markets for forestry products worldwide

* Technology transfer to enable value-adding in timber producing countries to boost job creation

* Financing mechanisms tailored to the needs of the source countries

"This vision from the private sector is not a public relations exercise - it represents a statement of genuine intent that will require radical change in the way business operates," said GLOBE�s Forestry Dialogue Chairman Barry Gardiner MP, who is also the UK prime minister�s special envoy on forestry.

"This step from the industry will need to be matched by political commitments to develop new financing mechanisms that recognize the true value of forests, within ecosystems services,�� said Gardiner, who has been working closely with this group of forestry CEOs.

With the increased political focus on the role of forests, in particular following the UN Bali Conference climate agreement that set a Road Map for achieving a successor to the Kyoto Protocol after it expires in 2012, the forestry CEOs wanted to look at how their sector will change and the potential impacts on their business models.

They considered a range of business models from the timber producers in Africa or Latin America, to the timber importers such as Japan, Europe or the United States, to the building merchants and construction companies.

"Governments, legislators, forestry companies, local actors and consumers of forest products and services all need to work together to ensure the long term integrity of tropical forests, which deliver such a wide range of values to society, both locally and globally," said Simon Fineman, chief executive of Timbmet, the UK�s largest hardwoods importer.

The CEOs propose policy measures to be implemented now - improvements to public procurement policies in producer and consumer countries, specific legislation, access to capital, protection for investors, transparency, value-added processing, and development assistance.

They recommend developing new mechanisms in areas such as global product licensing, ecosystem service markets, and incentives for avoiding deforestation.

Herbert Reef, chief executive of Reef Hout, a timber producing company in Brazil and Cameroon, said, "We are working vigorously to implement credibly certified sustainable forest management practices, which conserve forest resources, protect the interests of local communities, and ensure long-term revenue generation from forest goods, such as timber, and services, such as carbon storage."

Commenting on the forestry executives' statement, Katherine Sierra, vice president of sustainable development with the World Bank, said, "It is critical for producers and importers of timber to move their business to the forefront of sustainability by endorsing socially and environmentally responsible practices. This statement of leading companies and their CEOs represents a significant step forward."

The Forestry CEOs Group includes:

* Balfour Beatty Group (UK & Global)

* DLH-tt Group (Global)

* Rougier (France, Cameroon, Gabon)

* Inter-African Forest Industries Association (representing 90 timber producing companies)

* John Bitar & Co (Ghana)

* Precious Woods (Brazil, Gabon, Central America)

* Reef Hout (Brazil, Cameroon)

* Likouala Timber (Republic of Congo - Brazzaville)

* Timbmet Group (UK)

* Samartex & Plywood Company (Ghana)

* Saint Gobain Building Distribution (UK)

The GLOBE 2012 climate change paper discussed by the legislators in Brasilia centers on the role of biodiversity and ecosystems, which are viewed as allies in the face of climate change.

Mitigation targets are clearly needed to limit the global temperature increase to no more than +2� Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels, but these targets need to be coupled with effective measures for technology transfer and adaptation for developing countries, the paper says.

The option of biofuels as a mitigation measure needs to be critically assessed when looking at the greenhouse gas emissions of the whole cycle of production, as well as its impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods.

Finally, the GLOBE paper urges that the UNFCCC negotiation process should allow a more equitable participation from all stakeholders, including women, indigenous communities and representatives from developing countries.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-24-02.asp

Acai fruit heading for European food and drink

European food and drink makers are to have access to açai berry, a potent fruit originating from Brazil, as exotic ingredients become increasingly popular with consumers.

The açai berry will be brought to Europe thanks to an exclusive agreement between Fruits of the Amazon and UK distributor JO Sims.Açai berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) have long formed part of the staple diet of Indian tribes. With the appearance of a purple grape and taste of a tropical berry, it has been shown to have powerful antioxidant properties thanks to a high level of anthocyanins, pigments that are also present in red wine.

It is presently being sold in New Zealand, Australia, South America, Japan, USA, and the Middle East.

Jon Wisniewski, general manager of Fruits of the Amazon, which has its headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand, said that the appointment of JO Sims is "a significant milestone on our march to expose other markets to the wealth of natural and functional products from the Amazon."

JO Sims general manager Doug Mackay said: "Our unrivalled knowledge of the UK ingredients market and extensive customer base means we are well positioned to introduce food and drink manufacturers to the benefits of using this exotic, healthy fruit."

A spokesperson for the company told NutraIngredients.com that the main application will be in healthy beverages.

In Europe exotic fruits are becoming increasingly popularly. According to Datamonitor they contributed significantly to a growth rate of 26 per cent for the European organic food industry between 2001 and 2004.

"Exotic fruits, which combine the perceived authenticity and flavour intensity benefits of ethnic foods with the health and quality benefits of premium fruit, are set to grow in future years, driven by consumers' desire for greater healthiness, authenticity and flavour," said Datamonitor analyst John Band.

http://www.beveragedaily.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=65644

Brazil police resume crackdown on Amazon logging, retake city where residents rioted

Heavily armed federal police swarmed an Amazon town and seized more than 500 truckloads of illegally cut hardwood that were confiscated but abandoned earlier this week when rioting residents and loggers drove out environmental authorities.

About 450 officers retook the town of Tailandia on Saturday, patrolling on horseback and in pickup trucks and standing guard outside sawmills.

At least 2,000 enraged residents burned tires, blocked roads and forced Environmental Protection Agency workers to flee the area on Tuesday. The force sent in Saturday allowed the seizure of the wood to resume while preventing any new violence, federal police officer Fernando Alberto Silva told Globo TV.

"Order was re-established peacefully," he said.

Huge trunks of precious hardwood were loaded onto flatbed trucks to be taken away and auctioned off by the government, which plans to spend the proceeds on rainforest protection. So much wood was seized that it will take authorities nearly three weeks to cart it all away. Its value was estimated at estimated at US$1.8 million (€1.2 million), Globo TV said.

The Tailandia campaign is part of a larger government push to prevent an apparent rise in illegal logging and burning that threatens to reverse three straight years of declines in deforestation in the Amazon.

But many of last week's rioters work in the area's saw mills, which could suffer as a result of state efforts to audit companies and mills suspected of illegal logging, Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency said last week.

Before the unrest, inspectors had audited 10 of Tailandia's estimated 140 sawmills, fining seven for stocking wood of unknown origin and selling lumber without authorization, the agency said.

To help keep the peace, an additional 157 officers from Brazil's elite National Security Force will be sent to the area on Sunday, the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on its Web site.

A January government report detailed a suspected rise in deforestation, prompting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to send extra federal police and environmental agents to Tailandia and 35 other areas where deforestation seemed to have jumped dramatically.

Environmentalists say increased demand for agricultural products, particularly soy and beef, has prompted farmers to raze rainforest land for fields and pastures. Brazil is the world's top beef exporter, and second to the United States in soy exports.

Silva insists his government is taking illegal deforestation seriously, but said no one can be blamed for the increase until investigations are concluded.

Other measures announced last month include a ban on new logging permits, fines for people who buy anything produced on illegally deforested land and requiring thousands of farms to reregister to ensure they do not sit on illegally cleared land.

The January report indicated as many as 7,000 square kilometers (2,700 square miles) of rainforest were cleared between August and December of 2007. At that pace, Brazil would lose 15,000 square kilometers (5,790 square miles) of forest during the year ending in August — a 34 percent increase over the previous 12-month period.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/24/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-Amazon-Crackdown.php

Does good skin come in a tablet?

Great skin just got another wrinkle.

Cosmetic treatments are no longer just about creams and emollients — the latest trend is about working from the inside out. "Ingestibles" are supplements such as omega-3 oils, alpha lipoic acid, grape seed, pomegranate extract and many other nutritional-sounding words you never used to hear at the cosmetics counter.

While supplements have long been a staple at health-food stores, many credit Nicholas Perricone, the New York dermatologist-to-the-stars, as fueling the beauty-biz trend with his best-selling books, such as "The Perricone Prescription." He recommends eating a lot of salmon, among other foods high in omega-3 oils. Perricone's line of supplements is sold at stores such as Sephora; a multipack is $130.

Here's a closer look at beauty ingestibles, which hope to capture a significant share of the $45-billion-a-year cosmetic and skin-care market.

The science

Since skin is our body's largest organ, it reflects our health. So, as Harvard-trained dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon Carolyn Jacob says, "The creams and lotions and potions you put on top of your face mean nothing if you're not eating well."

Foods with antioxidants as well as foods with anti-inflammatory properties are the key to preserving a youthful appearance, says Jacob. Refined sugar and flour and trans-fats are all examples of inflammatory foods.

"Inflammation and oxidation can both assist in the breakdown of tissue and cell destruction, leading to wrinkles and other skin problems."

The foods

A sampling of books by doctors, dermatologists and dietitians (including such respected names as Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz, with their latest best-seller "You: Staying Young") lists some of the top antioxidant foods as acai berries, celery hearts, onions, spinach, kale, cocoa beans, blueberries, cranberries, kidney beans, red beans and hazelnuts.

Some of the foods high in anti-inflammatory properties are lemons, salmon, seaweed, green tea, flax seed oil, cinnamon, ginger, raw almonds, walnuts and the spice turmeric.

So why add supplements?

Doctors and nutritionists say even people who make a point of eating a diet rich in healthy, unprocessed foods don't get all the nutrients they need. Whether it's food processing, a time lag from harvesting to getting produce to the table or the environment we live in, doctors say it's easy to miss out on vitamins. Vitamins and supplements, write Oz and Roizen, "are an insurance policy for an imperfect diet."

Some ingredients that have been proven to help with skin include alpha lipoic acid; pine bark extract; grape seed extract; omega-3 fatty acids; vitamins A, C, E and D; calcium; magnesium; copper; selenium; and biotin, Dr. Jacob says. You can find all of them in the vitamin and supplement aisle of grocery, drug- and health-food stores.

Do ingestibles work?

Medical experts seem to agree that supplements aren't harmful in recommended doses. But do they actually work?

"We know that things we ingest can have a positive or negative effect on our bodies and skin, and antioxidants or anti-inflammatory foods have a positive effect," says Dr. Michael Reep, a dermatologist in Westlake, Ohio. "But supplements per se haven't thoroughly been studied, so we don't know if they'd have the same effect. The FDA hasn't examined this, we don't know exactly what's in the supplements and so on.

"Theoretically, they might help, but for now you have to keep it as theoretical."

That said, Reep himself buys supplements that he thinks are good for his skin, but he gets them at GNC: CoenzymeQ10, green tea and grape seed extract, and vitamins C and E.

"If people want to spend the extra money on supplements, they can do that," he says.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2004193769_ingestibles24.html

First flight for coconut-powered plane

The first commercial airliner to fly using biofuel took off yesterday in what was hailed as a breakthrough in the search for alternatives to oil.

The Virgin Atlantic Jumbo jet flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam with one of its engines partly powered by a mixture of coconut oil and oil from babassu trees found in Brazilian rainforests.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the flight proved the possibility of an alternative to fossil fuel and could lead to a cut in CO2 emissions.

Environmentalists dismissed the launch as a gimmick which would do little to halt climate change. They say biofuels push up food prices and hasten deforestation.

Sir Richard said: 'This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to develop the fuels of the future which will power our aircraft through sustained oils, such as algae.'

He admitted coconut oil was 'not the answer' but the project would act as a catalyst to develop plant fuels which could eventually replace the kerosene used today.

Boeing, which worked with Virgin on the project, said all 15,000 of its planes could run on biofuels.

However, Greenpeace dismissed the flight as a publicity stunt and said a cap on the number of flights was the only way to cut emissions.

But will it really take off?

As oil supplies dwindle and consumption grows, the pressure is on to find a viable alternative.

The fuel which helped power the Boeing 747 came from coconut plantations in the Philippines and wild babassu trees in Brazil.

Typically, one acre of coconuts or babassu trees produces about 250 gallons of oil a year.

With the air industry using 5million barrels of oil every day, an area of land more than twice the size of France would need to be given over to coconut plantations to provide enough fuel.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=103576&in_page_id=34

This chocolate isn't candy - it's health food

Linda Winters wanted to feel better, and she wanted to lose weight.

Although she and her husband Ernie operate Pow Wow Fitness, a 24-hour gym in Camby, Winters said she's never been able to lose as much weight as she would like. As she's reached middle age, Winters said her energy level is not what it once was.

"One day, my sister came in and said she felt great and had lost some weight. I asked her about it, and she told me she was drinking this juice that was rich in nutrients and antioxidants (appetite suppressors). The stuff was expensive, and it tasted terrible," Winters said. "And it wasn't really doing anything for me. Ernie didn't want to drink it, either."

Ernie Winters rolled his eyes. "It was pretty bad," he said.

"I decided to look for something that was better tasting and had the same effect," Linda said. "I went online and discovered Pure Delight Chocolates. The only problem was, it had gone out of business."

Winters continued her online research. She began reading about the new company, Xocai-The Healthy Chocolate, and went to Reno, Nev., where it was based, to check it out.

She met the founder and founding distributor. She and Ernie came back convinced they wanted to market the product at their gym.

Winters said Xocai is a dark chocolate minus the added milk, refined sugar and wax additives.

"It's a healthy food not candy," she said. "It has a good taste, though. There are only 100 calories in three squares. It's cold-pressed, not heat-pressed, and the chocolate comes from unprocessed, undamaged cacao powder."

She said the product comes from the Amazon Rain Forest where it is grown and combined with the acai berry on co-op farms. There are 47,000 distributors nationwide.

The product is made in several smooth-tasting forms: X Powerhouse Cookies, X Power Squares, Xocai Omega Bars, Protein Bars and Activ, a Xocai drink. The ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) or level of antioxidants in the drink is far higher than for other fruit and nutrient drinks, Winters said - a little more than 4,000.

Ernie said he started on three squares a day; you can eat up to five.

Linda said both of them no longer have arthritis pain, their cholesterol has gone down significantly in just a few months, and Ernie has lost weight.

Leading physicians

talk about dark chocolate

Dr. Steven Warren, quoted in the "Wellness Report," said the benefits of dark chocolate are "multi-fold," from a decrease in high blood pressure and bad cholesterol, to an increase in good cholesterol and relaxation of blood vessels in the body. He said it helps decrease heart disease, decreases plaque in the arteries and improves the body's ability to use insulin.

As an antioxidant food, it can help protect against certain cancers, decrease allergic reactions and stabilize your mood. According to Dr. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School, the health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, include protection against stroke, heart failure, cancer and Type 2 diabetes (ScienceDaily, March 12, 2007).

Cindy Bauman, Consumer Family Science program assistant for Morgan County Extension, and dietician, Karen Scroughan, agreed that acai berries and other wild berries, such as blueberries, blackberries and cranberries, as well as prunes and raisins are high in antioxidants and low in calories. Other vegetables that have these properties are kale, spinach, broccoli, red peppers and beets.

Bauman said sweet potatoes, walnuts and almonds have these qualities, but people need to watch the amount of these items they eat because of the higher fat content. Winters said that problem is solved with healthy chocolate.

Although she said this can be a money-making venture, she and her husband are selling the product because it improves their clients' health.

Winters said customers pay a fee and then can order the products online at wholesale prices by the case. They can cancel their monthly orders at any time. Winters said she can also show customers how to start their own business.

http://www.reporter-times.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=96724&format=html

Brazil police, troops resume crackdown on illegal Amazon logging

Brazilian authorities are resuming their crackdown on illegal logging in the Amazon

Hundreds of federal police and military troops returned to a town (Tailandia) in the eastern part of the region haul out stacks of illegally cut hardwood.

At least 2,000 townspeople and sawmill workers rioted against the crackdown last week. They burned tires, blocked roads and forced federal environmental officials to flee the area, according to Brazilian newspaper accounts.

Before the unrest, 130 environmental inspectors had audited 10 of the towns estimated 140 sawmills. The environmental agency says if fined seven for stocking lumber of unknown origin and selling lumber without authorization.

The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest. Official data showing an unexpected surge in deforestation late last year prompted Brazil's president to launch the crackdown.

http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7915170&nav=2HAB

13 Die in Boat Crash in Amazon River

Brasilia, 22 Feb (Prensa Latina) The authorities and first aid lifesavers reinitiated the search for people disappeared during the shipwreck of the ship of passengers Almirante Monteiro, that took place on Thursday in Amazon River.

According to what the fire brigade told TV Amazonas, 13 people died including four children when a riverboat crashed into a ferryboat in the Amazon River.

Same source indicated 92 passengers and crew members survived the strong current that the river has in the place where the shipwreck happened, far-off 108 miles Manaus, capital of Amazonas State.

Crew members of the ship of passengers Almirante Monteiro, who sank when hitting a load raft, told police that 110 people traveled in the boat, reason why firefighters still look for five people who disappeared in the accident.

The official causes of the accident have not been stated either. February is regarded as the rainiest month of the year in the Amazon rainforest region, where constant rain turn the December-May period into the local "winter," despite the fact that it is summer in the southern hemisphere. Although rainfalls have an influence over the rivers' flow, which has not yet been confirmed to have contributed to the accident.

Divers and two helicopters are currently working in the rescue mission.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B9964F3E2-721F-48F2-8945-2746DCC2FDE9%7D)&language=EN

BRAZIL, LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE ZERO SPECIES EXTINCTION PROGRAM

In a pioneering effort to halt species extinction in the Brazilian Amazon, the state of Para is launching the Zero Extinction Program, the first of its kind in Brazil. The program, part of a decree signed today in Belem by Para Governor Ana Julia Carepa identifies threatened species, key sites where they live and measures to protect and conserve these threatened habitats and species.

While Pará is the second largest Brazilian Amazon state (1.25 million km2, roughly twice the size of Texas), it is first in terms of Amazon deforestation. Of the 679,899 km2 of cleared Amazon rainforest, 202,906 km2 are in Pará. Deforestation is one of the primary causes of loss of species. Biodiversity loss often leads to the degradation of ecosystems, which in turn lowers the quality of life of those dependent on them.

A key element of the Pará Zero Extinction Program is the compilation of a "red list" or list of threatened species, which includes 91 vertebrates, 37 invertebrates and 53 plant species. The most threatened species, those classified as critically endangered, are two plant species, seven fish, one bird and three mammals. The majority of these species, such as the caiarara monkey (Cebus kaapori) and the black cuxiu (Chiroptes satana) are restricted to the most deforested areas in the state, especially the eastern portion of Para.

"This red list, the first for a Brazilian Amazon state, differs from those in seven other Brazilian states in that it integrates both flora and fauna in a process

which involved considerable consultation," said Para Secretary for the

Environment Valmir Ortega. "The decree also includes excellent management tools that will enable the government, research institutions and society to get mobilized to protect these species."

The decree creates a formal structure for coordinating the Zero Extinction Program, composed of a management committee, a technical committee, the state's red list, and recovery plans for endangered species. It also recognizes Key Biodiversity Areas where listed species are found as priority regions for conservation and recovery efforts. And, it advocates advances in research, knowledge, and conservation of these species, specially the critically endangered ones.

"These innovative measures rank Para's legislation on endangered species as one of the most progressive and complete in the world," said Adrian Antonio Garda, director of the Amazon Program at Conservation International, one of the partners who created the Zero Extinction Program. Other partners are Para state's environment ministry and Goeldi's Museum, the oldest research institution in the Brazilian Amazon.

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/158052/1/3319

Affordable, under-the-radar beach towns in the Americas

Everybody loves finding a hidden gem, especially one with palm trees and sand. But with formerly emerging beach destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America getting built up with cruise ports, chain resorts, and even U.S. mega stores, it may seem like there are no more "secret" places left.

While it's true there may not be many "undiscovered" places anymore, there are still quite a few underappreciated ones. This month, I'll highlight five of the most affordable beach towns and islands left in the Americas—some right next door to destinations you already know.

Ilhabela, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro doesn't have a monopoly on beautiful Brazilian beaches. There are countless others all along the country's coast. Just off the coast of Sao Paulo state, Ilhabela—Portuguese for beautiful island—is the tropical refuge Paulistas head to when they tire of crowded urban beaches. As I discovered on a visit last August, Ilhabela is also a welcoming and seductive destination for foreigners. It's affordable, too, especially if you visit between March and November.

Ilhabela presents two faces to visitors. Its western side is lined with gentle beaches, buzzing resort villages, and the holiday homes of the Sao Paulo elite. The other 85% of the island (the interior and the eastern, ocean-facing coast) is protected Atlantic rainforest and undeveloped beaches.

What to do:

Life on the eastern coast is much as it is in the rest of Brazil: Relaxing on the beach, socializing in bars, and dining out are the main activities. There are dozens of beaches to choose from, but Praia do Curral near the southern end of the coast is the liveliest, with casual bars and eateries serving up seafood and live music.

Hiking, boating, horseback riding, and cascading are all possibilities on Ilhabela's wild east side. Maremar Turismo (this website is in Portuguese only) runs a variety of excursions, including jeep tours ($40 per person) and horseback riding ($34 per person) on Praia do Castelhanos, the longest beach on the island, and one of the prettiest.

Arguably the most beautiful beach is Praia do Bonete, a rugged, windswept cove reminiscent of Big Sur. It can only be reached by boat or on foot. Hiking the nine-mile trail through the rainforest to Bonete is one of the island's most rewarding adventures. It's a challenging four-hour outing, but the views are worth it.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/deals/inside/2008-02-21-under-the-radar-beaches_N.htm

Affordable, under-the-radar beach towns in the Americas

Everybody loves finding a hidden gem, especially one with palm trees and sand. But with formerly emerging beach destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America getting built up with cruise ports, chain resorts, and even U.S. mega stores, it may seem like there are no more "secret" places left.

While it's true there may not be many "undiscovered" places anymore, there are still quite a few underappreciated ones. This month, I'll highlight five of the most affordable beach towns and islands left in the Americas—some right next door to destinations you already know.

Ilhabela, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro doesn't have a monopoly on beautiful Brazilian beaches. There are countless others all along the country's coast. Just off the coast of Sao Paulo state, Ilhabela—Portuguese for beautiful island—is the tropical refuge Paulistas head to when they tire of crowded urban beaches. As I discovered on a visit last August, Ilhabela is also a welcoming and seductive destination for foreigners. It's affordable, too, especially if you visit between March and November.

Ilhabela presents two faces to visitors. Its western side is lined with gentle beaches, buzzing resort villages, and the holiday homes of the Sao Paulo elite. The other 85% of the island (the interior and the eastern, ocean-facing coast) is protected Atlantic rainforest and undeveloped beaches.

What to do:

Life on the eastern coast is much as it is in the rest of Brazil: Relaxing on the beach, socializing in bars, and dining out are the main activities. There are dozens of beaches to choose from, but Praia do Curral near the southern end of the coast is the liveliest, with casual bars and eateries serving up seafood and live music.

Hiking, boating, horseback riding, and cascading are all possibilities on Ilhabela's wild east side. Maremar Turismo (this website is in Portuguese only) runs a variety of excursions, including jeep tours ($40 per person) and horseback riding ($34 per person) on Praia do Castelhanos, the longest beach on the island, and one of the prettiest.

Arguably the most beautiful beach is Praia do Bonete, a rugged, windswept cove reminiscent of Big Sur. It can only be reached by boat or on foot. Hiking the nine-mile trail through the rainforest to Bonete is one of the island's most rewarding adventures. It's a challenging four-hour outing, but the views are worth it.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/deals/inside/2008-02-21-under-the-radar-beaches_N.htm

On the west coast, you can stay at the cute German-Brazilian-owned Porto Pacuiba Hotel on Praia do Viana. This homey hotel serves a delicious breakfast buffet of Brazilian fruits and European cakes and meats. I paid about $70 per night for a standard room in the off season.

When hiking to Praia do Bonete, you can (and should) spend the night in the Bonete fishing village. The friendly Pousada Canto Bravo offers comfortable accommodations, rustic-chic decor, gourmet meals made from freshly caught fish, and the staff can arrange surfing lessons and other activities. Overlooking the beach and lit by candlelight at night (there's no electricity in Bonete), Canto Bravo makes a great romantic hideaway. Nightly rates start around $88.

Getting there: May flights from Miami to the Sao Paulo-Guarulhos Airport, the nearest major international airport, start at $595 round-trip, including taxes and fees, on Copa. From the main bus station in Sao Paulo, it's a four-hour bus ride ($17 one-way) to the ferry terminal in Sao Sebastiao. The ferry ride takes 10 minutes and is free for pedestrians.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/deals/inside/2008-02-21-under-the-radar-beaches_N.htm

Brazilian state aims for "Zero Extinctions"

The Amazon rainforest is rapidly disappearing, and with it goes the only habitats for thousands of rare, threatened and endangered species.

But now 181 of those endangered species have support in the Brazilian state of Pará, which yesterday launched the "Zero Extinction Program" to protect threatened species and habitats.

Why Pará? Simple: it may be the keystone state for preserving the Amazon in Brazil.

While Pará is the second largest Brazilian Amazon state (1.25 million km2, roughly twice the size of Texas), it is first in terms of Amazon deforestation. Of the 679,899 km2 of cleared Amazon rainforest, 202,906 km2 are in Pará.

The program includes a red list of endangered species, species recovery plans, and identification of what it calls "Key Biodiversity Areas" for conservation.

Will Pará be able to stem the tide of Amazon destruction? Only time will tell, but this is an important first step.

http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/extinction/2008/02/brazilian_state_aims_for_zero.php

Questions Answered

Post-apocalyptic wildlife, TV ratings and the spring equinox

If the human race were to disappear today what would the landscape of the industrial world look like in 10, 25, 100 and 1,000 years’ time? What form of animal life would be dominant?

All forms of biological life will be extinct in the doomsday scenario of a post-apocalyptic world resulting from either a nuclear or a biological holocaust or natural disaster such as the Earth being hit by a giant meteor. If mankind were to be selectively annihilated, rainforests in Brazil and Indonesia would regrow, whales and salmon population would be replenished in number and the Royal Bengal tiger would make a comeback. Animals usually eaten by us, such as poultry, sheep and cattle, would possibly be devoured by predators.

The global climate would change to what it was like many millennia ago. In the long run, the industrial and urban landscape would be effaced from the Earth by forests. Predatory animals will dominate. In short, the Garden of Eden would be back, albeit without Adam and Eve.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article3412225.ece

Call for new laws on stolen logs

Suppliers of illegally logged timber could be prosecuted in the countries where it is sold, under new proposals.

The move is being tabled at a gathering in Brazil of legislators from the Group of Eight (G8) richest economies and five key developing countries.

It calls for countries to pass domestic legislation making it a criminal offence to handle such timber.

The risk of prosecution would make wholesalers pay attention to the origin of wood they supply, advocates argue.

One of the authors of the proposal is the British Labour MP Barry Gardiner, who is Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Special Envoy on Forests.

Illegal timber means stolen wood, and that's what we are trying to combat

Barry Gardiner, MP

He told BBC News that the consumer countries of tropical timber had a responsibility to reinforce the laws passed in producer countries, which are estimated to lose £8bn ($15bn) a year in revenues due to illegal logging, according to World Bank figures.

"If a tree was felled illegally, let's say in Ghana, and the wood from that tree ends up coming into the UK, then anybody who tries to sell that wood, who imports it or trades it in the UK, would be subject to a criminal prosecution," he said.

"It would ensure that some of the poorest people in the world recapture the full value of the product that is being stolen from them at the moment. Illegal timber means stolen wood, and that's what we are trying to combat."

Lacey Act

A step in this direction has already been taken in the United States, where an amendment to the so-called Lacey Act has been passed in the Senate, which would extend penalties currently applied to traders in illegally obtained wildlife to trees and plants harvested abroad.

Similar measures are under consideration by the European Commission, and Mr Gardiner himself said he planned to propose legislation in the British House of Commons.

The executive director of Greenpeace UK, John Sauven, said the EU must act to crack down on the trade in illegal timber.

"Greenpeace has repeatedly exposed how illegal timber continues to freely enter the UK and it is vital that European legislation is introduced to ensure that all timber products come from environmentally and socially responsible sources," said Mr Sauven.

"As things stand today, companies who try to source timber responsibly are placed at a competitive disadvantage by others who choose not to question where their timber is sourced from. This situation is clearly unacceptable."

2015 vision

As the politicians put forward their proposals in Brasilia, the chief executives of 15 leading forestry companies issued a new "vision of tropical forestry for the year 2015", acknowledging the problems caused by deforestation and degradation of rainforests.

It calls for the implementation of credibly certified forest management practices and greater collaboration between forest enterprises and local communities.

More effective protection of rainforests has taken on a new urgency in Brazil, following the publication of figures last month showing that deforestation in the Amazon had accelerated again in the final months of 2007, after three years of decline.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7257008.stm

Illegal loggers rally against Brazilian police crackdown

A mob of 2-thousand people in the Brazilian state of Para on Wednesday, burned tires, blocked roads and attacked federal agents who sought to crack down on illegal logging in the worlds largest Amazonian rainforest state, but officials vowed that riots would not halt law enforcement.

In the town of Tailandia, Brazil's environmental protection agency abandoned efforts to audit logging companies and sawmills suspected of illegal logging, after angry mobs surrounded its workers and tried to invade one of the sawmills in a public revolt, the agency said on its website.

Four people were arrested and dozens injured when protestors working at the illegal facilities attacked the environment agents.

Protestors blocked the main highway connecting the wood-cutting facilities to the city, by setting fires, sending large plumes of black smoke into the air.

Younger protesters and riot police were seen exchanging rocks and tear gas in clashes that lasted around ten hours.

Despite opposition, Brazilian authorities pledged to resume its so-called "Guardians of the Amazon" crackdown on the illegal logging in the world's biggest rain forest, environmental officials said.

"We must work intelligently and legally, and we are willing to negotiate with people not with bandits," Marina Silva, Brazil's Environment Minister said.

Authorities warned they would not hesitate in tackling the issue by force.

"We will send military forces to the Amazon if necessary. But, we will allow the federal police to handle this in the first place," Tarso Genro, Brazilian Justice Minister said.

The crackdown began last week, when 130 environmental workers began inspecting Tailandia's estimated 140 sawmills.

Of 10 mills audited, five were fined for stocking lumber of unknown origin and for selling lumber without authorisation, the environmental agency said.

It seized 13-thousand cubic meters (17,003 cubic yards) of illegal lumber, including top Brazilian hardwoods- enough to fill 640 trucks, the agency said.

http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/IllegalloggersrallyagainstBrazilianpolicecrackdown/tabid/209/articleID/46945/cat/41/Default.aspx