Bangladesh tiger plan aims to cut clashes with humans

Anis Ahmed, Reuters 25 Jan 10;

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh launched on Monday a program to train field staff in the Sundarban forest, home to Bengal tigers, to prevent contacts between villagers and the animals that may lead to tragedy for both.

Under a Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan, forest rangers and guards will learn to use tranquilizer guns to immobilize and capture tigers that stray from their normal habitat into human areas.

Tapan Kumar Dey, a senior forestry official, told reporters human-tiger conflicts registered a rise in Bangladesh in recent years, resulting in the deaths of three tigers and 30 people in 2009.

Dey said 193 people and 23 tigers have been killed in such encounters since 2000.

Another tiger casualty was reported on Friday in the southern district of Satkhira, where villagers initially tried to scare off a five-year-old tigress but eventually captured her and beat her to death.

The animal was the first tiger killed in Bangladesh this year, forestry officials said.

The tigers of Sundarban, better known as Royal Bengal tigers, usually feed on deer and wild boars but often slip into villages on the fringe of the world's largest mangrove forest -- recently designated by the U.N. as a world heritage site -- to steal cows and goats from farmers' sheds.

According to a survey by forest authorities in 2004, the Bangladesh part of the Sundarban, part of which lies in India, had 440 tigers.

Forestry officials believe strict enforcement of anti-poaching laws and better conservation efforts helped the tiger population rise since then, although they were unable to give a specific number.

According to the Bangladesh forests department, the number of tigers worldwide has fallen from around 100,000 in 1900, but in recent years was only about 3,200, with several tiger species now extinct.

The Royal Bengals are among the biggest groups still surviving.

The tigers who enter village areas or raid farms for livestock are usually too young or too old to kill enough deer to satiate their hunger, officials said.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

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African coalition urges EU to block new ivory sales

Yahoo News 25 Jan 10;

BRUSSELS (AFP) – African nations on Monday urged European governments to resist calls for a new round of legal ivory sales and protect the world's elephant population.

Representatives of the 17-country Coalition for the African Elephant came to Brussels seeking support after Tanzania and Zambia each requested fresh authorisations from international regulators.

"We are asking the European Union to take a clear stance in support of a nine-year moratorium adopted in 2007 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)," Kenyan Forest and Fauna Minister Noah Wekesa told journalists.

Experts say some 38,000 African elephants are killed each year for their tusks -- out of total numbers of perhaps half a million.

With black market sales on the rise again, some nations that consider their elephant populations to be out of danger are arguing stocks of the precious ivory should be sold legally.

Tanzania wants to be able to sell 90 tonnes of ivory, and Zambia 22 tonnes, but both need permission from the CITES international body when it next meets in Doha, Qatar, from March 13 to 25.

A 1989 ban on ivory sales, a measure destined to protect the African elephant and rhino, was relaxed in June 2007 under a compromise that prolonged the moratorium but allowed Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to make a one-off sale of 108 tonnes to buyers in China and Japan.

"The EU plays a major role within CITES," Wekesa insisted. "If it abstains during this vote, it will contribute towards worsening an already critical situation.

"The last elephants in Sierra Leone have been slaughtered by poachers only in the last few months," he warned.

The EU's common position has yet to be worked out, said liberal Dutch lawmaker Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy.

"Britain, France, the Netherlands and Spain don't yet know what they will do, although they are inclined towards backing Tanzania's call," he said.

"If the 27 member states cannot agree, they abstain -- which will be the equivalent of a green light to the poachers," Gerbrandy warned.

A negotiator told AFP on Monday that member states were "working to find a consensus to ensure African elephants are protected".

Save the elephant: ivory trading is set to resume
Britain urged to oppose demands from Tanzania and Zambia to lift ban on tusk sales / Conservationists fear the move would intensify slaughter of elephants
Michael McCarthy, The Independent 25 Jan 10;

Two African countries are trying to open a new breach in the worldwide ivory trade ban, which conservationists fear could lead to more African elephants being slaughtered by poachers.

Environmental campaigners called on Britain to take a clear lead in opposing the proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to sell their ivory stocks, which will be voted on at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar in March.

Other African countries, led by Kenya and Mali, are strongly opposed to the idea, and are sending representatives to Brussels this week to urge the European Union not to support it. If it went ahead, the sale would be the third "one-off" auction of ivory since the world ban came into force, 20 years ago last week.

The ban was initially successful in halting the huge scale of elephant killing of the 1980s, when Africa's elephant population crashed from 1,300,000 to 625,000 in a mere decade. But following the most recent sale, in November 2008, of 100 tonnes of ivory owned by Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa – bought by dealers from China and Japan – there has been a notable upsurge in worldwide seizures of illegal ivory, and of elephant poaching. It is thought that the resumption of any trading creates a market into which illegal poached ivory can be laundered, thus boosting demand for it.

In some Central and West African countries this is now pushing elephant populations to extinction. Chad is thought to have only a few hundred elephants and Senegal and Liberia may have fewer than 10; Sierra Leone's last elephants were wiped out by poachers in November.

In Kenya, whose wildlife protection measures are among the strongest in Africa, the number of elephants killed by poachers rose from 47 in 2007, to 98 in 2008, and 214 in 2009. Reports suggest that at least 15 tonnes of African ivory tusks and pieces – the equivalent of up to 1,500 elephants – were seized in, or en route to, Asia in the past year.

Yet the British Government has declined to offer unequivocal opposition to a new one-off sale. "The global ban on international trade in ivory imposed in 1989 remains firmly in place and the UK strongly supports this," said the Wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies. "CITES is assessing the likely effects of another one-off sale, but rigorous enforcement of protection for the planet's endangered species must be paramount, and be the driving force behind CITES' recommendations."

Conservationists say CITES' recommendations regarding the last two sales, in 1997 as well as 2008, were that they should go ahead, and in both cases, Britain, as part of the European Union voting block within the convention, did not oppose them.

"The African elephant population is in crisis, and it's not enough for the British government to take a 'wait and see approach'," Caroline Lucas, the MEP and leader of Britain's Green Party, said last night. "Instead of hiding behind advice from officials, ministers should show leadership by giving a clear guarantee now that they will oppose a further one-off sale."

Allan Thornton, head of the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Washington and London-based pressure group which provided much of the evidence of poaching which led to the original ban, said: "The present level of poaching as a result of the illegal ivory trade is already devastating and wiping out elephant populations across Africa. If this new sale went ahead it would be throwing fuel on the fire. Britain is represented on the standing committee of CITES and should take a lead role in opposing this."

Tanzania and Zambia want to sell their stocks of legally acquired ivory (from culling, or from elephants which have died naturally) which amount to 90 tonnes and 22 tonnes respectively, worth a total of $16m. They also want their elephant populations "downlisted" from CITES' Appendix 1 (which prohibits all trade in the species) to Appendix 2 (which allows trade if it is monitored).

When CITES sanctioned the last ivory auction in 2007, it was agreed that there would be no more such one-off sales for at least nine years, and Tanzania and Zambia are seen as having reneged on this. Their move has aroused resentment and anger among other African states which have elephant populations and wish to protect them. Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, have tabled a counter-proposal for the March meeting, calling for a 20-year moratorium on any such sales, from the date of the last one.

And delegates from the 23-government African Elephant Coalition (AEC) are in Brussels aiming to persuade the EU Commision, the European Parliament and EU member states, to oppose the new sale, with the Kenyan Forestry and Wildlife Minister, Noah Wekesa, giving a press conference to detail recent poaching.

"This is really the last call for elephants in Africa," said Bourama Niagate, director of parks and natural reserves in Mali. "The devastating poaching of the 1980s first controlled through CITES is now so prevalent that the African elephant is all but extinct in some countries. This is because limited legal sales were allowed in the recent past providing the perfect cover for illegal trade in poached ivory.

"If we do not let elephant populations recover over the next 20 years by stopping the trade entirely, there will be no more African elephants outside a few zoological specimens in reserves in southern parts of Africa. Europe needs to do the right thing and back our stance now because it is nearly too late."

Ivory ban: A sad history

*1989: Member states of CITES agree at their meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, to place the African elephant on CITES' Appendix One, meaning all all trade in elephant products, ivory, is banned around the world.

1990: The ban comes into force, halting the rapid crash of elephant populations caused by poaching. Poaching levels drop substantially across Africa.

1997: Led by Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, inset, four southern African states with substantial elephant populations – Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana – get CITES to agree to a "one-off" sale of 50 tonnes of ivory. Britain goes along with it. Poaching rises.

2007-08: The same four African states get CITES to agree to another "one-off" sale, this time of 100 tonnes. Britain goes along, despite warnings that it will increase poaching. AndChina is allowed by CITES to become an official ivory buyer, in spite of harbouring the largest amount of illegal ivory. Britain goes along with it, despite warning this too will increase poaching, which soars.

2010: Tanzania and Zambia seek a third "one-off" sale. Will Britain go along with it? Time will tell.

Britain to oppose sale of stockpiled ivory
Third 'one-off' auction will revive illegal poaching trade, say conservationists
Michael McCarthy, The Independent 26 Jan 10;

Britain will vote against the proposed sale of stockpiled ivory from Tanzania and Zambia, which conservationists fear would lead to further slaughter of African elephants, the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said last night.

After a day in which opposition spokesmen called for an explicit statement on Britain's position, Mr Benn made it unequivocally clear that the UK would oppose the proposed sale, which will be voted on at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar in March. Should it go ahead, the Tanzania-Zambia sale, detailed in the The Independent yesterday, will be the third such "one-off" ivory auction to have taken place since the international ban on the trade was brought in 20 years ago this month to halt the catastrophic plunge in African elephant populations at the hands of ivory poachers.

Although the ban was at first successful in halting the decline, the two sales of ivory from four southern African countries – the first in 1997, the second in 2008 – are considered by conservationists to have considerably weakened the ban by reviving a legal ivory market into which illegal, poached tusks can be laundered.

The second sale of ivory, from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, is believed to have triggered a considerable revival of the illegal trade with a consequent upsurge in poaching over the past year. In several West African countries, such as Senegal, elephant populations are on the verge of extinction.

To the dismay of conservationists, Britain did not oppose the two "one-off" ivory sales, and environmental campaigners feared that Britain would go along with the third.

But last night Mr Benn took a clear stance against the sale, saying: "At the CITES meeting in March, the UK will vote against the proposals from Tanzania and Zambia to sell ivory stocks, and we would urge other countries to vote against such a sale."

However, he appeared to leave the door open for possible future auctions when he added: "In 2008, the members of the CITES agreed to a single, one-off sale of legal, stockpiled ivory from countries with stable elephant populations. The sale was intended to reduce demand for illegal poached ivory.

"The UK will not consider other sales of ivory until the effects of last-year's sale have been fully analysed." Environmental campaigners fear this means Britain will not oppose a second request at the meeting from Tanzania and Zambia that their elephant stocks be "downlisted" from the CITES's Appendix One to Appendix Two, meaning that eventually some trade in elephant products such as ivory can be resumed.

Yesterday, both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats called on ministers to clarify the Government's opposition to the proposed sale, which is also opposed by a number of African countries, led by Kenya and Mali, who have sent representatives to Brussels this week to lobby the European Union to oppose it.

At a press conference in the Belgian capital yesterday, the Kenyan minister for forestry and wildlife, Dr Noah Wekesa, said: "As elephant poaching reaches heights not seen for decades and the volume of illegal ivory seized soars, the African Elephant Coalition, representing the majority of African elephant range states, is appealing to the European Union to take urgent and immediate action to prevent the further slaughter of elephants across much of Africa."

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Jakarta’s Last Mangrove Forest Opens to Public

Fidelis E Satriastanti, Jakarta Globe 26 Jan 10;

Following the resolution of a 12-year dispute with local fish farmers, the Angke Kapuk Nature Reserve — the last mangrove forest in Jakarta — was finally opened to the public on Monday as a recreation, education and mangrove preservation site.

The dispute over the area, located in North Jakarta just a few kilometers from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, involved fish farmers who have been managing their ponds at the nature reserve for years.

The farmers objected to the Ministry of Forestry’s decision in 1998 to grant concessionaire rights to PT Murinda Karya Lestari to manage the 100-hectare nature reserve for the next 30 years, not only as a mangrove rehabilitation center, but also as a location dedicated to tourism and education purposes.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said during the opening of the nature reserve that the dispute stemmed from the local people’s limited understanding of the meaning of conservation areas.

“This place used to be covered with illegal ponds managed by only a few people, but as a conservation area it will bring greater benefits to more people, not only North Jakarta residents, but everyone,” Zulkifli said.

“This is the only mangrove forest left in Jakarta. That is why we need to explain to [the fish farmers] that this area also functions as part of the city’s green space, [which is quite small] considering Jakarta has only put aside 5 percent of its total area for this purpose, even though regulations stipulate it should be 30 percent,” he added.

Arief Toengkagie, head of the Jakarta Natural Resources Conservation Center, said that only 10 percent of the reserve was being used for development purposes while the remainder was for mangrove conservation.

“This is different from the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve [only 25 hectares located in North Jakarta], which is dedicated to research with no other human activities allowed,” he said. “However, we are continuing our mangrove replanting program in Angke Kapuk and so far we have managed to plant 60 percent of the area.”

Arief added that the nature reserve could attract up to 100 visitors per month, who would be able to stay for two nights for a minimum Rp 3 million ($320). Zulkifli added that the reserve could also attract foreign tourists.

Arief said: “Now we have set up gazebos, coffee shops, camp grounds and even a bird watching facility.”

Zulfiki said that illegal fish farming in the conservation area would be punishable by 10 years in prison and a Rp 1 billion fine.

Bambang Sugiyono, the North Jakarta mayor, said his municipality had been given a huge task by the Jakarta governor of establishing a green belt in order to decrease the effects of flooding in the capital.

City has first mangrove conservation park
The Jakarta Post 27 Jan 10;

Eco-tourism lovers now have a new location in which to enjoy nature and preserve it at the same time at the newly opened Angke Kapuk natural tourism park in North Jakarta.

Inaugurated on Monday by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, the 99.8 hectare swampy park, set up help preserving millions of mangrove trees, dozens of rare birds, turtles, monitor lizards and sea animals, features a restaurant, bathrooms, playground and 38 wooden huts. Other facilities include canoes and rubber boats.

"The Angke Kapuk natural tourism park is the second of its kind in Indonesia after Ngurah Rai Forest Park. I hope this park, located near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, can become a major foreign tourist destination," Zulkifli said at the inauguration ceremony.

Visitors to the site, located next to Muara Angke mangrove conservation forest and the upscale Pantai Indah Kapuk housing complex, can also see rare birds from all over the world, Bambang A. Putra, the marketing director of the park's management firm PT Murindra Karya Lestari, said,

"Visitors can view the birds using binoculars in the watching tower," Bambang said, adding that the park was a transit point for various species of birds.

"Even the Sunda coucal *Centropus nigrorufus*, a vulnerable spe-cies, can be found in the park," Bambang said.

He added that he expected companies could make use of the park for gatherings or for corporate social responsibility activities.

"Many companies have planted mangroves here even before the opening," he said.

Murindra president director Murniwati Harahap said that apart from the Rp 10,000 (US$1) entrance fee, visitors could join a package tour for Rp 100,000.

"They can plant two mangrove trees and have their names carved on a plank near the trees. We will take care of the trees for two years."

Murniwati said she hoped the park would attract children "because they are the next custodians of nature".

Families can rent wooden huts of various sizes from between Rp 350,000 to Rp 1.5 million per night.

It took 12 years for Murindra to transform the land, which was a wild mangrove forest threatened by illegal fishing.

"After obtaining a license to manage the area 12 years ago, we began planting new mangrove trees," Murniwati said.

"Residents used to chop down the mangrove trees to build fish farms," she added.

"It was very difficult to grow mangroves. Frequently, farmers would illegally chopped down the trees right after we planted them. Now, we have fenced off the surrounding area to prevent similar occurrences.

"The farmers did not realize that mangrove trees protect the area from land erosion, storm surges and even tsunamis. Mangroves also filter out pollutants from sea water," she elaborated.

The Forestry Ministry, North Jakarta municipality and local police said they would enforce the legal protection of the mangrove forest by implementing the 1999 Forestry Law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for anyone who damages mangroves or captures animals within the park.

North Jakarta Mayor Bambang Sugiyono welcomed the new park, saying it would help the municipality revive its mangrove forest.

The park will add to the expansion of the city's green zones, increasing the area from 179.56 hectares at present to 334.7 hectares in the future, Sugiyono said. (mrs)

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Private sector outlines plan to protect Coral Triangle

WWF 25 Jan 10;

Seafood, travel and tourism operators in the Coral Triangle made a joint declaration reduce the impact of their businesses on the world’s most important marine region.

More than 160 delegates gathered last week in the Philippine capital Manila for the Coral Triangle Business Summit to reach agreements on how their industries could contribute to the protection of the Coral Triangle and the 120 million livelihoods that depend on its marine resources.

Participants included leaders from tuna and live reef fish businesses, airlines and resort owners, as well as government ministers and officials, and non-government organizations.

In the seafood sector, fishing operators and buyers agreed to address the problem of overcapacity and overfishing through a number of measures including ensuring that fish are not sourced from illegal operations as well as implementing catch and trade documentation schemes to ensure traceability.

Participants also agreed to promote low carbon fish production methods and trade practices.

Martin Brugman, president of global seafood supplier Culimer B.V said one of the issues discussed was how adding value to fish could help operators to better address the problem of overfishing.

“Ultra-low temperature production of tuna for example allows for better quality fish when it’s landed and helps fishermen get by taking less fish from the oceans but making more dollars,” said Mr Brugman.

Cebu Air used the summit to significantly extend its program to help protect Apo Reef in the Philippines. ‘Bright skies for Juan’ is an initiative that allows consumers to donate money with each flight to a WWF climate change adaptation program to protect the Philippines’ largest coral reef.

Head of WWF’s Coral Triangle Program Dr Lida Pet Soede said the summit had been a huge success and had laid some strong foundations for greater participation of the private sector in the protection of the Coral Triangle.

“This first ever Coral Triangle Business Summit has been a great success and the private sector has shown it is willing to take greater responsibility for the millions of livelihoods that depend on the health of the marine environment in this part of the world,” Dr Pet Soede said.

The Summit was organized by the Philippine Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Department of the Environment and Natural Resources in collaboration with WWF and with the support of USAID.

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Campaign to save tropical forests failed by food giants

Project to create sustainable palm oil project undermined by Western firms
Martin Hickman, The Independent 25 Jan 10;

Western food manufacturers are buying so little sustainable palm oil that the system set up to limit damage to tropical forests caused by the world's cheapest vegetable oil is in danger of collapse. Palm-oil producers say the industry may quit the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) because so few firms are financially backing the scheme.

Houshold products giant Unilever and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) founded the RSPO seven years ago, to encourage producers of the oil, used in products such as biscuits and margarine, to minimise forest destruction, greenhouse gas emissions and loss of endangered wildlife, such as tigers and orangutans. Palm oil is in hundreds of branded foods such as Kit Kat and Hovis and household products such as Dove soap and Persil washing powder.

The first certified RSPO supplies arrived in Europe in November 2008, yet only 27 per cent of present supply has so been sold, leading to claims of hypocrisy among Western buyers. Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Allied Bakeries and even Unilever did not buy any separate certified RSPO oil last year, though Tesco and Asda "offset" small quantities by buying GreenPalm certificates for Rspo production elsewhere.

Only Sainsbury has bought significant quantities of RSPO oil separated from other sources, for 10 per cent of its range. United Biscuits, Unilever, Waitrose aim to switch to a sustainable supply within two years. Most companies have set a date of 2015 for converting their ranges, complaining that they cannot easily source certified sustainable supplies.

Dato' Azhar Abdul Hamid, plantations managing director of the world's biggest palm-oil producer, Sime Darby, said: "The rate of take up is very, very slow. The industry is producing more supply of certified palm oil than the market is buying. It's disappointing to see that. We were always hoping demand would always be ahead of supply, because that is what the world wanted. More specifically, it was what Europe wanted."

He rejected the suggestion, often made by UK manufacturers, that too little certificated oil was available. "They claim to be interested, but they're not doing it. If the UK consumer insists on it, then whether the producers like it or not, they will have to make RSPO work."

According to WWF, manufacturers bought 343,857 tonnes of RSPO oil last year, 27 per cent of the 1.27 million tonnes available. A segregated supply costs about 10 per cent more but that is expected to fall a few per cent this year when New Britain Palm Oil opens an £18m refinery in Liverpool capable of handling 150,000 tonnes of certified oil. United Biscuits, which makes Jammie Dodgers and Jaffa Cakes, and the Italian chocolate company Ferrero have signed long-term contracts for the plant. Others have not done so, yet.

New Britain estimates certifying the UK's entire annual supply would cost 12p per person. Its, executive director, Alan Chaytor said: "We were the second company to be certified and we have only sold a few thousand tonnes but, in the end, you have to to have the infrastructure where you can deliver that [certified oil] to the customers who want it. It's going to take money, and commitment."

Asda said: "Over the next 12 to 24 months, our own-label supply base will begin sourcing physically segregated RSPO palm oil. As a result, our new stated target is to source all of our palm oil from RSPO sustainable sources by 2015. But clearly we hope to meet this target early." Tesco said: "To ensure we achieve our target of using 100 per cent certified sustainable palm oil by 2015, we have issued all of our suppliers with a timeline and code of practice to achieve that target."

Food Manufacture magazine quoted one supplier as saying: "We have had a chat about it but we haven't been told to do anything yet by Asda or Tesco."

Palm-oil production has exploded in the past 10 years on the South-east Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, providing work for one million people, but the expansion has a high environmental and human cost, destroying hundreds of square miles of virgin rainforest and displacing native people. Now producers, having started to exhaust legally allowed concessions in Asia, want to plant oil palm in the tropical forests of West Africa and the Amazon.

Britain has become increasingly concerned about palm oil's role in deforestation which causes 20 per of global emissions. Planting of palm oil on cleared lowland peat forests in Indonesia released especially strong methane gas.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, is tracking the quantity and use of palm oil in the UK. "Even though solutions are often local, this is everyone's business, because what happens in Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Brazil doesn't stay there," he said. "It affects us all."

Palm oil: The good firms – and the bad

*VERY GOOD

United Biscuits: Committed to converting to RSPO by end of 2011

Unilever: Committed to converting by 2012

Waitrose: Committed to converting by 2012

Sainsbury's: Has bought RSPO for 10 per cent of supply. Committed to converting entire range by 2014

*GOOD

Cadbury: Offsetting all current supply with cheaper GreenPalm certificates. Committed to coverting by 2014

Marks & Spencer: Offsetting all current supply with GreenPalm certificates. Committed to converting by 2015

*AVERAGE

Mars: Aims to convert 25 per cent of range to Rspo this year. Committed to converting entire range by 2015

Co-op: Has bought some sustainable oil and converting 32 biscuit lines to Rspo by June. Committed to converting entire range to Rspo by 2015

*POOR

Tesco: Bought unspecified quantity of GreenPalm certificates for in-store bakery and a few other products. Committed to converting by 2015

Asda: Bought GreenPalm certificates for 712 tonnes used in in-store cafés. Committed to converting by 2015. To buy RSPO in "next 12 to 24 months"

Nestlé: Committed to converting by 2015

Procter & Gamble: Committed to converting by 2015

Allied Bakeries: Committed to converting by 2015

Morrisons: Talking to suppliers. Has set no date for moving to RSPO supply.

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Madagascar government’s logging policy threatens the island’s natural heritage

WWF 25 Jan 10;

Madagascar’s government decision to allow the export of endangered rosewood may have disastrous consequences for some of the country’s unique plant and animal species, and further impoverish the large island state.

Under past Malagasy legislation it was illegal to export rosewood timber that is not processed but the prime minister recently extended an order legalizing the export of illegally harvested wood.

Containers and multiple stockpiles of rosewood that are still in and around several ports in the island’s north can now easily leave the country, which is one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.

“We strongly condemn the extension of the order as it only benefits a couple of wood operators while the Malagasy population is deprived of their natural heritage and are left poorer than ever,” said Niall O’Connor, Regional Representative of WWF Madagascar and West Indian Ocean Programme Office.

“The Prime ministers comments now opens the doors for further logging in the National Parks which puts short-term financial benefits over the interest of Malagasy people.”

In past years, Madagascar has undertaken significant efforts to stop environmental degradation, manage natural resources and preserve its unique biodiversity.

But political mayhem following a military coup in March led to the exploitation and devastation of several national parks which are home to hundreds of species unique to Madagascar.

Masoala and Marojejy National Parks and Mananara Biosphere Reserve, were severely hit by ongoing logging activities with Masoala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being affected most.

“This situation completely undermines years of work and millions of dollars which were spent to try to preserve the treasures of Madagascar,” O’Connor says.

In recent years, timber traders have repeatedly said logs they've harvested were the result of cyclones. With protected areas being among the only places where precious wood trees are still fairly common, these forests will be targeted further, says O’Connor.

A report titled Investigation into the illegal felling, transport and export of precious woods in SAVA region Madagascar, published at the end of November 2009 by Global Witness, stated that “the team observed intensive logging of rosewood trees in the northeast of Masoala National Park, and transport of logs to Antalaha.
The intensive transport of rosewood in broad daylight, on sections of road policed by Gendarmerie posts, both to the south and to the north of Antalaha, demonstrates a serious breakdown in the rule of law – if not the active collusion of law enforcement authorities with illegal timber traffickers.”

Illegal logging continues in Masoala National Park with a possible shift from rosewood towards Palissander, another precious wood found in the moist forests of Madagascar.

Missouri Botanical Garden estimated the minimum number of rosewood trees cut in the northeastern protected areas at 45,750 for Marojejy National Park and the northern sector of Masoala National Park, and at a minimum of 7,750 and 15,500 from Makira Natural Park and the southern sector of Masoala National Park.

The authors further stated, that 170 containers were exported on Dec. 4 2009, 4 days after the inter-ministerial order from September ended. Rosewood worth more than 220 Million USD has already been exported, says the report.

Up to 20,000 hectares of protected forest could be affected by last year’s logging activities.
WWF’s Conservation Director in Madagascar, Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana says, that the consequences for affected ecosystems could be devastating.

“With thousands of not yet described plant and animal species in Madagascar, we don’t know how many of them depend directly on rosewood as a resource. We also don’t know to what extent logging activities were responsible for the decrease of lemur populations over the last year. But we fear that habitat disturbance and bush meat hunting will push several endemic species to the brink of extinction”

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Beijing mayor says city faces serious pollution

Reuters 25 Jan 10;

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's mayor Guo Jinlong said on Monday that the Chinese capital faces an "extremely serious" pollution problem, unveiling a target for "blue sky days" below the number achieved for all of 2009.

Beijing is frequently enveloped in foul-smelling smog, the result of a private car boom on the back of breakneck economic growth, the rapid development of industry around the city, and a reliance on coal power stations for electricity.

Guo promised the city of 17 million would give greater priority to public transport by building bus lanes and new subway lines as well as raising the proportion of green energy resources used and removing high-emission vehicles from the road.

"The problems between population, resources and the environment are extremely serious," Guo told the opening session of Beijing's largely rubber stamp parliament, held at a conference center in a remote northern suburb.

He said the city will aim to have 73 percent of the days this year with air quality judged excellent or fairly good, known as "blue sky days." That works out at about 266 days, as opposed to 285 for 2009.

"We will control the total quantity of pollutants generated and undertake trial reforms in the trade of pollution discharge rights," Guo added, without elaborating.

"We will deepen the development strategy of giving priority for public transportation, and build a green commuting system that gives priority to rail transit and emphasizes surface public transportation," he said.

Beijing's notoriously poor air quality was put in the global spotlight ahead of the city's hosting of the 2008 Olympics, leading the government to launch a major clean-up campaign, including shutting down many dirty factories.

But more than a year after the Games, Beijing is still periodically shrouded by smog, endangering the health of residents and making the city a less attractive place for foreign executives and their families.

Guo told the more than 700 delegates that he hoped to turn Beijing into a "global city" and would "vigorously entice multinational corporations to set up their regional headquarters in Beijing."

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Beijing mayor warns over city's development
Yahoo News 25 Jan 10;

BEIJING (AFP) – Beijing's mayor warned on Monday of "extremely serious" contradictions between protecting the capital's environment and maintaining rapid economic growth and development.

Guo Jinlong made the statements in his annual report to the city's legislature, during which he called for a 12 percent increase in consumption and an 11 percent increase in investment.

"There still exist a lot of difficulties and problems concerning the economic and social development of the capital," Guo said, according to the report posted on the city government website.

"The contradictions between the population, resources and the environment are extremely serious, making the demands of transforming faster our mode of development and adjusting the economic structure even more urgent."

Beijing's air pollution has long been listed as among the worst in the world amid a boom in private automobile sales, with the city regularly shrouded in an acrid haze.

The city's economy expanded by 10.1 percent in 2009, while urban per capita income grew by 9.7 percent to 26,740 yuan (3,900 dollars), Guo said.

Average living standards in Beijing improved in 2009, with per capita gross domestic product topping 10,000 dollars for the first time, official data showed Friday.

Guo urged greater investment in the city's public transport network and more spending on environmentally friendly vehicles and buses to address Beijing's traffic congestion and air pollution.

"We must earnestly implement... measures to control air pollution," Guo said, adding that the capital would target 266 days of at least fairly good air quality in 2010, down from 286 days in 2009.

Addressing Beijing's chronic water shortages, Guo said the city would aim to reduce water consumption in 2010 on a per capita basis.

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Anti-garbage campaigners plan mass Internet-led clean up

Yahoo News 26 Jan 10;

TALLINN (AFP) – Fed up with seeing the environment strewn with garbage, activists from around the globe aim to muster a million volunteers this year for a mass clean-up piloted via the Internet, organisers said Monday.

The "Let's Do It" operation is the brainchild of campaigners in Estonia, a small Baltic state which is a hub for nature-lovers and one of the world's most Internet-wired nations.

After a successful operation at home in 2008, when volunteers removed thousands of illegal rubbish dumps, the Estonians have shared their lessons with foreign campaigners at a conference that ended Monday.

"Since the campaign day in Estonia in May 2008 we have been contacted by people from dozens of states, from Japan to Brazil, setting up voluntary teams to organise similar campaigns in their homelands," Toomas Trapido, a lawmaker and a mastermind of the movement, told AFP.

Rainer Nolvak, an IT entrepreneur, board member of the Estonian Nature Fund, and fellow-mastermind told AFP that activists from Portugal to India plan events aiming to draw a total of a million people.

Like the Estonians, campaigners elsewhere will use special software and mobile phones to map and photograph illegal garbage dumps.

Having located the sites, they will call for clean-up volunteers.

Estonia's landmark one-day operation in 2008 mustered 50,000 people in the nation of 1.3 million. They collected 10,000 tonnes of rubbish.

"We had no idea that so many people would turn out and that the campaign would spread around the globe," Trapido said.

The Estonians set up a website, www.letsdoitworld.org, with tips for others.

A voluntary clean-up took place Saturday in part of the Indian capital Delhi, a pilot for a larger operation planned across the city in September.

In Europe, a clean-up is due in Portugal in March.

"We hope to gather up to 150,000 volunteers to follow Estonia's example," Portuguese IT professor and campaigner Francisco Moura told AFP in Tallinn.

Nara Petrovic, head of a campaign in Slovenia, said she aimed to gather 200,000 people there in April.

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Shell CEO says to scale back on oil sands: report

Reuters 25 Jan 10;

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is slowing its expansion into high-cost Canadian tar sands and will in future focus on exploration, rather than expensive, capital-intensive projects, Chief Executive Peter Voser said in Monday's edition of the Financial Times.

Analysts said the decision to slow oil sands investment was no surprise given Shell's relative inaction in the field in the past year or so but questioned whether Shell could halt a 7-year slide in output with the drill bit alone.

Voser said Shell had scaled down plans to increase tar sands production to 700,000 barrels per day.

"Over the past two years and certainly over the past six to eight months, I've taken the pace out of that because we have enough other growth opportunities," he told the newspaper.

Instead, Shell planned to rely more on conventional oil and gas reserves for future growth, he said, adding that Shell had become better at finding new oil and gas reserves after investing heavily in exploration.

Many oil sands developments were canceled in the latter half of 2008 as crude prices tumbled from record highs.

Environmental groups have also waged campaigns on oil sands projects, protesting about their impact on air, land, water and communities, while some Shell investors have also worried about the potential impacts of climate change legislation.

Colin Smith, oil analyst at ICAP, said that the scale back was unlikely to mean Shell had given up on new oil sands investment.

"Given the scale of the resource base in oil sands, of some 20 billion barrels, that Shell has -- which represents almost a third of Shell's total resource base -- we would be surprised if there was not progress on developing that potential within the medium term," he said.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Tom Bergin; Editing by Diane Craft and Jon Loades-Carter)

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FACTBOX: What next on the global climate agenda?

Reuters 25 Jan 10;

(Reuters) - The Copenhagen climate accord lays out a broad path for progress in the fight against climate change and the United Nations hopes it will underpin ongoing negotiations to create a tougher, and legally binding, global treaty.

But the accord did not set out clear emissions reductions by 2020 or by mid-century, is not legally binding, made little mention of the existing Kyoto Protocol and has led to confusion on how nations can proceed.

Following are some likely next steps and concerns in global efforts to prevent dangerous climate change such as rising seas and more intense droughts, floods and snow storms.

THE DEADLINE - JAN 31

Nations that support the accord are meant to submit their 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction steps to the United Nations by the end of this month for inclusion in the document.

Rich nations are meant to submit pledges for emissions cuts and developing nations can indicate what voluntary steps they will make, such as targets to cut carbon intensity or to ramp up renewable energy production.

The United Nations, though, expects the deadline to be flexible to give developing nations more time. Some analysts also expect the numbers to be provisional until the United States and other rich nations agree to tougher targets to slash emissions.

WHO SUPPORTS THE ACCORD?

The accord was not formally adopted in Copenhagen because of objections from several countries. While there seems to be broad global agreement, the exact number of supporting nations is unclear. The United Nations has asked countries to formally state if they wish to be associated with the accord by Jan 31.

WAITING FOR WASHINGTON

Many nations say the United States is the linchpin for global climate talks. Washington is under pressure to bring more to the bargaining table but its inability to offer a firm emissions reduction target or strong domestic action to cut carbon pollution is forcing some nations to hold back.

The Obama administration is trying to get its climate bill through the Senate but this is looking increasingly unlikely this year because of lack of support and other issues crowding his agenda, such as health care and looming mid-term elections.

CLIMATE CASH

The accord offers $30 billion in climate aid for poorer nations between 2010-12 and up to $100 billion by 2020. The United Nations hopes this will start to be paid out soon through existing institutions, such as the Global Environment Facility.

SO WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

The next major U.N. talks are May 31-June 11 in Bonn and then Mexico City, Nov 29-Dec 10. The United Nations wants negotiations to continue on the existing twin tracks, one under the Kyoto Protocol and a broader track that includes the United States, which never ratified Kyoto.

It doesn't want the accord to become a third track outside the world body, though some countries, such as the United States and France, feel a smaller group of nations, such as the G20, can be crucial in breaking deadlocks.

The BASIC group comprising China, India, Brazil and South Africa is also emerging as an alternative climate forum. The group met at the weekend and pledged to meet the Jan 31 deadline to submit their action plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

ONE TREATY OR TWO?

The ultimate aim of the U.N. talks is for all nations to sign a tougher, legally binding pact in which rich nations commit to bigger emissions cuts after Kyoto's first phase ends in 2012. Developing countries would commit to steps to brake the pace of their emissions growth.

Agreement on this might happen in Mexico or later.

The United Nations says the solution could be an extension of the Kyoto Protocol into a second phase from 2013 as many developing nations demand. There could also be a second treaty capturing the United States and rules that independently monitor nations' steps to curb emissions.

(Writing by David Fogarty; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Governments, business seen too slow to save climate: poll

Reuters 25 Jan 10;

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About two thirds of people believe their government and business leaders are not taking the right steps or at the right pace to prevent global climate change, according to a joint Reuters/Ipsos international poll.

The survey of about 24,000 people in 23 countries, conducted in the lead up to, during and following the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December last year, found 65 percent of respondents were not happy with the progress and actions to date to conserve the environment.

Only 35 percent said their government and business leaders were doing the right thing -- and only three countries would get passing grades on their environmental credentials from their citizens.

These were China which received 86 percent support from its people, India with 60 percent support, and Turkey with 54 percent.

"It's clear that global citizens are underwhelmed by the leadership shown by their own government and business leaders in tackling what they perceive to be a serious threat to the world and themselves," said John Wright, senior vice president of public affairs from market research company Ipsos.

"The outcome of the recent climate conference in Copenhagen simply goes to reinforce any existing view that much of the backbone and courage that's needed on this issue is missing in action."

More than 20 countries, including China and the United States, agreed to a non-binding Copenhagen Accord at the chaotic 190-nation U.N. climate summit without any commitment to numbers and with the absence of the EU.

Officials acknowledge privately that the mandatory system for enforcing emissions curbs created by the 1997 Kyoto protocol is doomed because China, the world's biggest emitter of man-made greenhouse gases, won't accept any constraints on its future economic growth and the United States won't join any agreement that is not binding on Beijing.

The United States, the world's second-largest emitter, has not formed a national plan to cut emissions as climate legislation has stalled in the Senate. Major developing countries want Washington to act first before agreeing to binding action.

The following results table from the Reuters/Ipsos poll begins with the countries where citizens are least likely to agree "that their government and business leaders are taking the right steps and pace to prevent global climate change":

Agree Disagree

Argentina 16 percent 84 percent

Mexico 17 percent 83 percent

France 19 percent 81 percent

Belgium 20 percent 80 percent

Hungary 23 percent 77 percent

Germany 24 percent 76 percent

Poland 24 percent 76 percent

Italy 26 percent 74 percent

Czech Republic 26 percent 74 percent

Netherlands 26 percent 74 percent

Sweden 29 percent 71 percent

Britain 33 percent 67 percent

Canada 34 percent 66 percent

Russia 35 percent 65 percent

Spain 35 percent 65 percent

United States 38 percent 62 percent

Brazil 43 percent 57 percent

South Korea 43 percent 57 percent

Japan 45 percent 55 percent

Australia 48 percent 52 percent

Turkey 54 percent 46 percent

India 60 percent 40 percent

China 86 percent 14 percent

About 1,000 individuals participated on a country by country basis via an Ipsos (http:/www.ipsos.com) online panel with weighting employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflected that of the adult population according to the most recent country census data.

Other Reuters/Ipsos polls can be found at http:/www.ipsos-na.com/news/reuters/.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Copenhagen climate accord faces $30 billion aid test

Reuters 26 Jan 10;

OSLO (Reuters) - Rich nations are pledging almost $30 billion in aid from 2010-12 to help the poor combat climate change in an early test of last month's "Copenhagen Accord" that is vague about conditions and who gets cash.

Donors will probably have to decide for themselves how to spend money in 2010 since there is no mechanism to guide handouts. A "Copenhagen Green Climate Fund," also planned by last month's low-ambition summit, does not yet exist.

"The expectation is that donor countries will deliver through existing bilateral and multilateral channels of their own choosing," Elliot Diringer of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change said of the fast-track funds.

"There are some legal hiccups created by the accord not being a (U.N.) instrument," said Gordon Shepherd, director of international policy at the WWF environmental group. But he said a flow of funds could help build trust between rich and poor.

The Copenhagen Accord, worked out by top emitters led by China and the United States, aims to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. It did not win formal backing as a U.N. pact after opposition from seeral developing nations including Venezuela and Sudan.

Supporters are now due to sign up by January 31.

Aid pledges for 2010-12 include about $15 billion by Japan and 7.3 billion euros ($10.32 billion) by the European Union.

The United States has more than $1 billion for climate aid in 2010 is a leading donor in a 2010-12 plan worth $3.5 billion with Australia, France, Japan, Norway and Britain to slow deforestation. Many of the offers have conditions attached.

COMMITMENT

In New Delhi on Sunday, China, India, Brazil and South Africa said the release of $10 billion in 2010 would show the rich countries' commitment to help. They promised to submit their own climate action plans to the United Nations by January 31.

In Tokyo, a senior official said Japan was ready to contribute from 2010. Exact spending would be decided later.

"Japan will insist countries...step up their acknowledgement to the Copenhagen Accord as Japan is ready to play its own part," a senior Japanese official said. A climate change law will be submitted to Japan's parliament by early March.

The European Commission plans to lay out spending options in a report to 27 EU members. That is unlikely until the new commission takes office on February 9 at the earliest.

"The European Commission doesn't have a specific fast track fund, but we have aid programmes and bilateral programmes where money might be made available," spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said. Most EU cash comes direct from national governments.

U.S. Deputy special climate envoy Jonathan Pershing said on January 13: "It's not an open-ended promise that there is money on the table and you do nothing and it comes rolling in. There are actions that have to be taken."

Norway said it wanted the $3.5 billion forest carbon plan to be coordinated as far as possible by all donors. "How this will be done is not yet clear," lead negotiator Audun Rosland said.

The Accord says the fast-track funds should be balanced between helping poor nations cut emissions and adapt to climate change such as floods, droughts, disease and rising sea levels.

It says priority for adaptation should go to the "most vulnerable developing countries, such as the least developed countries, small island developing states and Africa."

But some could get a disproportionate share if all donors decide their own programmes. The United Nations wants donors to channel cash through existing international funds.

In the longer term, there is also a huge gap between the $10 billion a year start-up cash and a goal of $100 billion a year in aid from 2020 set by the accord.

(With reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington, Risa Maeda in Tokyo, Pete Harrison in Brussels; editing by Ralph Boulton)

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