Landmark Law Saves Rainforest in Indonesia

Indonesia’s new Ecosystem Restoration Decree will stop the logging of the 110,000 hectare Harapan rainforest. Uniquely, this major change in the law, which could be adapted by other countries, permits the management of forests to obtain benefits labelled ecosystem services. These include storing carbon, controls on pollution and protection for wildlife.

This news is reported by Positive News - from around the world which is a very good and interesting newsportal. Read the full story on how this landmark law is saving huge forest tracts in Indonesia here: Landmark Law Saves Rainforest

Congo to cancel logging deals to protect forests

This is incredibly good news and sets a precedent for how the world can save important forests and biodiversity. Now the industrialized nations of this world must show that they care and respond in kind. They must make sure that Congo will have the resources and capacity to follow up with their groundbreaking decision. Or else the whole experiment will fall apart. This could be the way of the future for biodiversity and tropical rainforest conservation. Let us do what it takes to ensure its success.

This could also show the way in cases like Mabira Forest in Uganda (which has been highlighted to a great extent in this blog). It could possibly be the way forward.


Congo to cancel logging deals to protect forests

By Joe Bavier

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo is ready to cancel more than half its timber contracts to protect the world's second biggest tropical forest but it wants more aid from foreign governments to help do so, the environment minister said.

Read the full article here: Reuters - Congo to cancel logging deals to protect forests

Arunachal villagers join hands to protect tiger reserve

We need to some more great local action like this.

Arunachal villagers join hands to protect tiger reserve

SEIJOSA, JUNE 19 (IANS): Heads of 16 villages bordering a tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh have joined hands to form a committee to protect the reserve where hunting of wild animals illegally has been a common practice.
The 16-member committee in conjunction with the forest department is to work for protection of the Pakke Tiger Reserve, about 250 km from the Chinese border.

The committee, locally called as "Ghora Aabhe", recently passed a resolution listing penalties for wildlife violations of 17 different wild species ranging from Rs.200 to Rs.30,000.

"Following this initiative, about 32 illegal locally made guns were seized from poachers. Many of the poachers have now promised to work for protection of the reserve," said Tana Tapi, divisional forest officer, who helped the villagers to form the committee.

A conservation organisation, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which is supporting the "Gaon Burahs" - village heads - with honorariums to carry out conservation actions, said villagers have been keeping a strict vigil in the reserve, which has led to the recovery of arms.

The 862-sq km Pakke Reserve in East Kameng district is home to many rare and endangered wildlife species, such as tiger, leopard, wild dog, Himalayan black bear and elephant.
Although wildlife trade is not prevalent here as in other parts of the country, hunting for food has been a major threat to wildlife.
"The reduction in hunting, particularly of prey species of the tiger, will help tiger conservation in the long run," said P.C. Bhattacharjee, professor at Gauhati University.

The committee would work to strengthen intelligence networks, enforcement activities and create awareness for conservation among the people. Repeated seizures would also act as a deterrent for likely offenders, Tapi said.

"The Gaon Burah's role is crucial since they can persuade people for sustainable use of natural resources," said Bhattacharjee.
"This initiative can be a role model elsewhere in the country where problems of hunting for food and trade are widespread. Fringe villages adjoining huge unmanned wildlife sanctuaries can play a stellar role in conservation," said Rahul Kaul, director conservation of WTI, who is supervising the project in Pakke.

"The Pakke Reserve, which is contiguous with the Nameri Tiger Reserve of Assam, is an important habitat for the big cats. This move by the villagers is an important step forward particularly in the light of the present tiger crisis in the country," he said.

For full article please visit Nagaland Post at: Arunachal villagers join hands to protect tiger reserve

Link of the Month: The Center for Ecosystem Survival

The Center for Ecosystem Survival is this month's Earthechoes link because they do a world of good for earth's ecosystems. Please visit their website and help them get a $5,000 grant from Patagonia in Palo Alto, California.

The Center for Ecosystem Survival (CES) is dedicated to
creating global partnerships to inspire broadbased participation in the preservation of biological diversity through ecosystem protection worldwide.

CES works in partnership with schools, universities, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, natural history museums, and science centers worldwide to protect wildlife and nature.

END TIGER TRADE, The eyes of the world are watching

Photo copyright: http://www.endtigertrade.org.

Groups Release TV Spot to Reject Tiger Trade

LONDON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In advance of the world's largest wildlife trade meeting next week, 35 organisations have launched a powerful, 4-minute television spot urging China to keep its ban on tiger trade.

One of the UK's leading actors, Martin Jarvis, lent his voice to the spot, which details the consequences that reopening legal trade would have on wild tigers. The public service announcement can be viewed at: http://www.endtigertrade.org.

Major Rainforest Victory: Mabira Rainforest in Uganda Saved

This is really good news! And it goes to show that online activism has a role to play. Save the Mabira Rainforest has been featured here on EarthEchoes as the Action Alert of the Month, for March 07.

News from the Rainforest portal:

Whoo, whoo a major rainforest victory! Uganda's cabinet has suspended a proposal to give away part of the Mabira rainforest near its capital and on the shore of Lake Victoria [more | search]. The significance of the protection remaining on this important Ugandan rainforest from sugar cane production (possibly for biofuel) lies not in the extent of the area -- some 7,000 hectares were to be removed from the area -- but more in the cooperation between local and international civil society to bring about the victory. Local activists organized boycotts of the sugar company that was to expand into the area. And Ecological Internet internationalized the issue, with 8,627 Earth Action Network participants generating 1,833,279 protest emails to the parliament that has now blocked the project.

Full Story here: The Rainforest portal - VICTORY: Ugandan Protected Rainforests Saved from Clearing for Plantation

Tiger Farms in China and Animal Abuse

Xiongsen is the world's biggest battery farm for rare animals, including 1,300 tigers. The stock is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in China, where consumers pay high prices for remedies, tonics and aphrodisiacs made from rare animals. Until now there has been a ban on tiger products, but that could be about to change. After a decade of lobbying by Xiongsen, China is preparing to call for a lifting of the ban. Jonathan Watts documents what life is like for the captive-bred animals.

See the full photo documentary here: Guardian Limited: Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village

There has been a lot of spot light recently on attempts by certain groups in China who wants to lift the ban on trade in tigers and other rare and endangered animal body parts pureley for financial gain. When will humans stop to think about that which is greater than themselves, human dignity, awe for nature and caring for our environment? Never it seems. We treat life, other animal species and whole ecosystems in a fashion that cares nothing about the pain and losses inflicted on them, and in the end on us. Our actions reverbarates and hit us back like a boomerang. Except we don't see it because of our short term sight of profits at all costs.

We must stop this negative spiral and start appreciating our envioronment and fellow species, for our own dignity and survival as much as theirs.

Please also read this story from anothet Chinese Tiger Farm: Metro.co.uk - Tigers feast on live cow in zoo show

On May 11, 2007 EarthEchoes featured the plight of the Tiger with two movie clips. The May Action Alert of the Month was also Tiger related. See the result here: Thousands Ask China to Keep Tiger Trade Ban. It Really helps to take action. Everything you do have an impact.

CBD: International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May 2007

Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22). We should all and everyone think about how our actions directly and indirectly impacts the Web of Life or Biodiversity as it is also called.

Vist the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to learn more: The International Day for Biological Diversity: Biodiversity and Climate Change, 22 May 2007

See the video prepared by CBD here: CBD Video on Biodiversity and Climate Change

A plea to help stop the Tiger trade!

Please do what you can to stop the unethical trade in body parts of the endangered tiger:
Help End the Tiger Trade
Please Stop the Tiger Trade

Now here is an interesting question, one we should all ponder.

Where to count manufacturing emissions: With end-users in the West, or the producers in China?

This is an issue that has been discussed indirectly in several of EarthEchoes earlier postings. Much of the carbon emissions from the developing world, from that of coal burning factories to power Chinese export industries to cutting down large tracts of tropical forests are the result of consumer demands in developed countries for ever cheaper products. If only consumers stopped to think about why they can get such a wealth of products (almost everything produced in China, India or other developing nations) at such low costs I think they would be surprised. Well, the answer is in part because it comes at the expense of the environment in these countries and now at such a rate that it is seriously affecting the global environment. The consumers themselves are demanding it, and thus indirectly (I would venture to say directly) causing huge changes to the global climate. And add to this the cabon emissions resulting from shipping these goods around the world, which alone add significant amounts of carbon emission.

What in effect is happening is that the developed part of the world has "exported" its carbon emissions to the developing world. If the same goods that are consumed in the the developed world were to have been produced where consumed the carbon emissions would have been many times higher in the developed part of the world, and equally lower in the developing world. The same goes for timber. If the same amount of timber that are consumed in the developed part of the world would have come from forests where consumption happens the developed part of the world would not have a single tree left standing. It is too easy to blame developing countries for their bad environmental records when consumers elsewhere are as much to blame. Hence, there is no question that the already industrialized countries must work to help the developing nations tackle their environmental challenges. It is a moral question as much as an environmental one.

We have to: STOP AND THINK ABOUT HOW OUR CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AFFECT THE GLOBAL CLIMATE

Add to this consumers' thirst for ever cheaper air fares, consumers' demand for low gasoline prices, etc. and it is no small wonder that earth's resources are depleted at dangerous levels and that our greenhouse gasses are wrecking havoc with the global climate.

BBC published today an article on their website with the title Paradox of China's emissions. It is a good read and makes you think.

Action Alert of the Month: Help End Trade in Tiger Parts

China represents the largest market for illegal trade in animal parts, and in particular trade in Tiger parts. In 1993 the Chinese government took decisive action to help save the species by outlawing all domestic trade of tiger products. At the same time public awareness campaigns have helped curbed a demand that once supported a burgeoning trade in tiger parts.

Now there are new pressures on the Chinese government, by so-called tiger farm operators, to relax these regulations and to make the trade in tiger parts legal again. This must at all costs be stopped because once trade is legalized it opens up opportunities for criminals to white wash money from trade in illegally poached animals of the wild tiger. Besides, years of public awareness campaigning and education on the issue may be at risk. Please help save the tiger from this fate. If we do not stop all trade in tiger parts we may soon only be able to see these wonderful animals in zoos and tiger farms, where they certainly do not belong. Therefore, EarthEchoes asks you to visit Help End the Tiger Trade and sign up to ask China to keep its tiger trade ban in place.

Photo Copyright: © John Goodrich, WCS. The photo is of male tiger Lyutia.

Here is Save the Tiger Fund's press release on the campaign: Conservationists Call on China to Support Law Over Tiger Farms

For obvious reasons this campaign is very close to EarthEchoes' heart since the editor, Trond Lovdal, works for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Russia Far East as the Tiger Friendly Certification Manager. This campaign on WWF's website is sponsored by 28 organizations involved in tiger conservation, including WCS, Save the Tiger Fund, Conservation International, IFAW, TRAFFIC, Care for the Wild International, The Corbett Foundation, etc.

Please do your part to help save this wonderful cat from extinction. Visit Help End the Tiger Trade and sign up to ask China to keep its tiger trade ban in place. Your views will be personally conveyed to China's leaders.

China and USA finally agree on something: to weaken the global efforts to stop climate change

It is ironic that China and USA now finally have found a common cause as they so often disagree on almost any issue from copyrights to Iran. The sad fact is that what they are agreeing on goes against the grain of common sense and sets back the fight against global climate changes. As reported by Associated Press from this week's meeting by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Bangkok, Thailand, both the United States and China want to amend a major report by U.N.-sponsored climate researchers to play down its conclusion that quick, affordable action can limit the worst effects of global warming.

To see the full news story go here: Yahoo News: U.S. balks at new climate report

Photo Credit: Associate Press. Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendrat Pachauri answers a question from media.

In another development at the same IPCC meeting the poor nations of the world say that the world powers have to gets it act together, including USA, China and India, and together solve the huge environmental crisis that global warming represents. The poorest of the poor will be amongst the worst affected by global warming (according to the latest IPCC reports), but at the same time the countries with the least resources to deal with the results. Furthermore, these nations by the very nature of their poverty have been the ones that have contributed the least towards our current climate crisis. Hence it is doubly unfair that these nations should share the brunt of the negative effects caused by global warming resulting from decades of carbon emissions from the rich world and now by fast developing nations such as China and India. These poor nations must band together and demand from the developed and fast developing nations a cooperative solution that is in the interest of all and foremost the global environment. It is about time to let petty haggling aside and get down to business to save our earth's climate and biodiversity heritage.

To see the full news story go here: Poor countries demand a voice on climate change

Asian consumer threatens rare and endagered shark species

In a previous posting (April 14, 2007)EarthEchoes alerted its readers to the fate of three shark species and the need to get them on the CITES Appendix I list. I know that many of you have signed the petition. This time other sharks are endangered by ignorant consumers in Asian markets (mainly China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore) to whom the sharks represents an expensive status symbol as shark fin soup is one of the most expensive dishes one can order in Asian restaurants. Sadly, as a result many species such as the hammerheads, silkies, oceanics, white fins, black fins, fox shark and reef shark are getting nearer to extinction. It is about time to actually have a worldwide ban on all trade in shark fins, or else there will for sure be no shark fin on the tables any longer anyway. We are seeing a similar story to that of the trade in tiger bones and other body parts. We must act before it is too late.

EarthEchoes asks all its readers to boycott restaurants and shops selling shark fins. And when attending meals at restaurants where shark fin is served please alert the host to the fact that their order is contributing towards the extinction of shark species. Many people are simply not aware about how their actions are influencing the Web of Life.

Here is a very informative article about how Asian consumption is a major contributor towards the decline of shark populations off the coast of Columbia:
Yahoo News: Asian demand for shark fins threatens Colombian species

Photo Credit: http://zoo.ogresnet.com. Close up shot of a hammerhead shark.

A MUST read Article on global warming, economics and sustainability

Avoiding Self-Organized Extinction: Toward a Co-Evolutionary Economics of Sustainability

SUMMARY:
The critical problems that scientists warned about decades ago are now upon us. There is a near universal consensus that global warming is human-caused and that its effects are now accelerating. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption is now well-documented. The global connections between social disruption, resource use and environmental degradation are now all too familiar. This information is all the more disturbing in view of the well-documented collapse of scores of past civilizations whose cultural patterns of behaviour have been described as 'self-organized' extinction. Policies to deal with the issues of sustainability have been hampered by a one- dimensional economic theory that has until recently dominated pubic discourse. Using the concept of 'generalized Darwinism', this paper focuses on the contributions a revitalized science of economics can bring to the sustainability debate. It ends with a cautiously pessimistic assessment of the prospects for sustainability.

This article written by John Gowdy and published by RED ORBIT gives the reader truly something to think about. It is a long article, but after reading it the reader has a much better sense of what is required of us as a society to start a genuine path towards sustainability. It highlights the pitfalls that current economic theories represents and asks the reader to truly have an open mind and see what is needed in order to tread a new sustainable and economically viable path.

Photo Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Economics

True crises are those difficulties that cannot be resolved within the framework of the system, but instead can be overcome only by going outside of and beyond the historical system of which the difficulties are a part.'
- Immanuel Wallerstein, World Systems Analysis

Urbanization a Huge Threat to Biodiversity

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 24 (IPS) - Disproportionate growth of the world's urban population could result in further loss of many forms of life on Earth, warn experts in the sciences of climate change and biodiversity.

"With more than 3.2 billion people residing in the cities, for the first time the world's urban population now exceeds the number of those living in rural areas".

Not only is population growth in itself aggravating biodiversity loss and climate change as more consumers are eating into earth's finite resources, but habitation patterns add further strain on earth's resources and the environment. This news article published by Inter Press Service News Agency illustrates very well the challenges of urbanization to our environment and ultimately its impact on biodiversity and climate change. A green and ethical modicum of living is the only solution if our planet is to withstand the pressure. As highlighted in several previous postings we must seriously rethink our consumption patterns or else the earth will simply give in.

To read the article in full check out this link: Cities Eating Up Resources and Habitat

Rainforest Foundation Norway received a large grant from the Norwegian government for projects in the Amazon region

On the 18th of April the Norwegian Minister for Development, Erik Solheim, signed an agreement with Rainforest Foundation Norway to allocate NOK 69 million (USD 11.5 million) earmarked rainforest conservation in the Amazon region for the period 2007-2010. This is the largest funding ever from the Norwegian government for such type of projects.

This agreement will give a huge boost to the Rainforest Foundation Norway' s work in the Amazon. There they work especially close with the indigenous peoples as they see them as the largest stakeholder and key implementers of conservation. Also many countries in the region, especially Brazil, have over the recent years strengthened the environmental legal framework thus making it easier to defend indigenous peoples' rights versus that of large logging corporations and "burn and slash" farmers who are the main threats to these rainforests. With the new funding the Rainforest Foundation Norway can take a much more holistic and long-term view of its involvement in the Amazon rainforest, making their work all that more effective. As a result they can now double their engagement and projects in the region. With the new funding the goal is to include five new areas for protection, alltogether making up 2.5 times more territory than that of Norway.

Erik Solheim also said that the ministry is considering similar initiatives for other areas of the world with large tracts of tropical rainforests and many aborigine communities, such as Africa and Asia.

Read the story here: Regnskogfondet - Storstsing i Amazonas (in Norwegian) and you can read more about about the Rainforest Foundation Norway (in English) here: About Rainforest Foundation Norway

Congo Villages tricked into selling valuable forests for next to nothing

Well, as close to next to nothing as it gets. Village elders representing their villages had been promised sacks of grain and sugar for logging rights to their forests. In most cases one single tree could be worth as much as £4,000 (US$ 8,000), but what the villagers get in return for a whole forest of such valuable trees are a few sacks of grain or bags of sugar, possibly some free medical care and low paying menial jobs (clearing their own forests) if they are lucky. In many cases the companies having stolen these villages' natural resources have failed to even deliver on their cheap promises. But nevertheless they have of course kept the villages to their end of the deal and will be extracting the timber at huge costs to the global environment. Furthermore, many of these large logging companies now exploiting and clearing Congo's remaining pristine forests are European companies. What happened to ethical business and responsible logging as these companies are so proud to proclaim on their websites? We never hear about the truth behind how they get their logs and timber.

"If the trees go, then we will have nothing. We will be consigned to poverty forever. The forests are our only hope. If they go, we only become poorer", said one man who lives near Kisangani. Like most people in the area, he did not want to give his name for fear of intimidation from local authorities, who are known to be mired in corruption".

A note on the photo: The Odzala rainforest, part of the national park in central Democratic Republic of Congo. Elsewhere, huge tracts of unprotected forest have been snapped up by loggers for but a fraction of their true worth. Photograph: Michael Nichols/Getty, copyright "The Guardian"

Read the full article by "The Guardian" here: Vast forests with trees each worth £4,000 sold for a few bags of sugar

Also read these online stories:

• RAN - That must be some expensive sugar
• Mongabay - Illegal logging threatens Congo's forests, global climate
• Mongabay - Congo cancels logging contracts, calls for sustainable forest management

Congo is not the only country in Africa facing these kind of threats to its biodiversity and natural resources. Rainforest Portal is right now having an action to help stop looging in the Mabira Rainforest of Uganda. If you feel strongly about these issues please visit this link and take action and petition the Ugandan government to stop logging of the Mabira Forest: Last Chance to Stop Great Ugandan Mabira Rainforest Give-Away

Norway to host the World Environment Day 2007

Every year on June 5 the world is celebrating the World Environment Day (WED). This year's theme is: Melting ice - a hot topic? And what a more fitting place to kick it of than Norway, which is a leading nation in arctic research and a nation that has Svalbard and large territories in Antarctica.

The topic is indeed a HOT one (no need for the question mark) as has been demonstrated the world over by all the attention given to the world's glaciers melting and the Arctic's ice cap melting at a dangerous pace posing threats to the local biodiversity and indigenous peoples' livelihoods and culture. It is a symptom of how hot the earth has become. Earth is now like a patient with a fever, and the ice caps that are normally cooling it down is melting, further aggravating global warming, climate change and biodiversity loss.

We should all celebrate this day, but celebrate it while thinking about what we as individuals can do to improve on our environment. Thinking about how we as individuals can help spread this message, how we as individuals can pressure our governments to act faster and more resolute to stop global warming. This must be foremost in our minds on June 5 this year.

One life - Live it! One Earth - Protect it!

To learn more about the "World Environment Day 2007" check out these links:

• World Environment Day 2007 - Norway
• UNEP World Environment Day 2007

The Fading Future of Asian Tropical Rainforests

The Wild Asia website has had a good series going on the demise of Asia's tropical rainforests. Rainforests are amongst the most important ecosystems we have on our planet. The loss of rainforests means the loss of earth's ecological loungs and loss of our biodiversity heritage. As destruction of our rainforests are a major factor in global warming and other environmental calamities. I urge everybody to take action and help stop the loss of rainforests and biodiversity. Take a look at EarthEchoes' Action Alert of the Month and pick at least one that you would like to support.

The article "The Fading Future of Asian Tropical Rainforests" is in three parts and can be read separately. I particularly recommend reading Part 3 as it discusses the implications of the loss of rain forests to climate change and biodiversity loss. Read the articles here:

1. The Fading Future of Asian Tropical Rainforests
2. The Fading Future of Asian Tropical Rainforests
3. The Fading Future of Asian Tropical Rainforests

Urgent Action Needed: Help get endangered species of sharks on the CITES Appendix I list

Anbarasi has just informed me about this urgent action alert by Ocean Conservancy to help protect three endangered shark species by getting them on the CITES listing (Appendix I) making it illegal to trade in these species. The more signatures they get all the more pressure on the government to act in the interest of nature. And remember environmental problems are GLOBAL hence all of us are stakeholders, therefore, write to the US government whether you are an American or not and tell them to help save these endangered shark species. ACT to keep the Web of Life intact!

"Your help is needed to support sound proposals limiting unsustainable trade in imperiled species of sharks and rays. Proposals to protect sawfish, spiny dogfish and porbeagle sharks under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will be considered in June by 170 CITES member countries. These proposals are vital to reducing extinction risk for these vulnerable and depleted species, but they face an uphill battle and need strong public support, particularly in the United States.

Your voice is needed during this CITES comment period to balance industry pressure to oppose CITES action for sharks. Please write to the Fish and Wildlife Service before April 23 to express your strong support for passage of all three shark and ray proposals".

Go here to take action: International Trade Endangers Sharks - Take Action to Help