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Archive for December 13th, 2010
Malaysia: Sarawak government announces destruction of 1 million hectares of tropical forests
Posted by Bruno Manser Fund: None Given on December 13th, 2010
Bruno Manser Fund: The Sarawak government intends to convert one million hectares of land into oil palm plantations within the next ten years. Most of this land is currently covered by secondary rainforests, yet it also includes fruit and rubber gardens as well as hitherto untouched primary rainforests, including peatland swamp forests.
According to Sarawak's Land Development Minister, James Masing, the government needed to look into a "more aggressive" conversion of native lands into oil palm plantations. He said...
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Climate Deal Signals Forest Defense Investment Will ‘Pay Off,’ Lobby Says
Posted by Bloomberg: Catherine Airlie on December 13th, 2010
Bloomberg: The United Nations climate agreement may encourage billions of dollars of private investment in protecting forests by allowing for emissions savings to be more accurately measured, according to the Tropical Forest Group lobby.
A group of envoys representing 193 nations agreed on a plan to protect forests, known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or REDD. Rates of tree- felling, or deforestation, will be measured and financing established for projects in developing...
US southwest could see 60-year drought: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 13th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: A worst-case scenario devised by US researchers shows that the American southwest could experience a 60-year stretch of heat and drought unseen since the 12th century.
Researchers at the University of Arizona examined studies of temperature changes and droughts in the region over the past 1,200 years and used them to project future climate models in the hope that water resource managers could use the information to plan ahead.
An examination of the past, through human-kept records but also...
EU prepares for ‘Cod War II’ as Iceland walks out of fishing talks
Posted by Independent: Lewis Smith on December 13th, 2010
Independent: Britain and the EU are on the verge of a trade war with Iceland and the Faroe Islands after talks to agree a quota for fishing mackerel collapsed.
Iceland and the Faroes have set their own vastly increased quotas and walked out of negotiations with the EU which were intended to find a mutually acceptable figure.
In what some observers are already calling "Cod Wars II", EU nations are expected to take retaliatory action to put pressure on Iceland and the Faroes to reduce the quantity of mackerel...