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Archive for February, 2011
Satellite images show rapid destruction of Malaysian forests and peatlands
Posted by Associated Press: Arthur Max on February 1st, 2011
Associated Press: New satellite imagery shows Malaysia is destroying forests more than three times faster than all of Asia combined, and its carbon-rich peat soils of the Sarawak coast are being stripped even faster, according to a study released Tuesday.
The report commissioned by the Netherlands-based Wetlands International says Malaysia is uprooting an average 2 percent of the rain forest a year on Sarawak, its largest state on the island of Borneo, or nearly 10 percent over the last five years. Most of it is...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Satellite images show rapid destruction of Malaysian forests and peatlandsIllegal Logging Continues Unabated in Sumatra, Indonesia
Posted by Suite 101: None Given on February 1st, 2011
Suite 101: Annette currently operates a wild animal rescue center in West Java, Indonesia. The animals (belonging to endangered species and...
While conservation groups lobby to end illegal logging in two provinces in Sumatra, loggers find new and ingenious ways to beat the system.
Illegal logging remains an intractable problem in Sumatra, Indonesia, as discussed in two reports in The Jakarta Post on 28 January 2011. Vulnerable forests mentioned in these reports are the Merang production forest in Musi...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Illegal Logging Continues Unabated in Sumatra, IndonesiaStudy shows rapid deforestation in Malaysia
Posted by Straits Times: None Given on February 1st, 2011
Straits Times: NEW satellite imagery shows Malaysia is destroying forests more than three times faster than all of Asia combined, and its carbon-rich peat soils of the Sarawak coast are being stripped even faster, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The report commissioned by the Netherlands-based Wetlands International says Malaysia is uprooting an average 2 per cent of the rain forest a year on Sarawak, its largest state on the island of Borneo, or nearly 10 per cent over the last five years. Most of...
Planters threaten Selangor peat swamp
Posted by Star: TAN CHENG LI on February 1st, 2011
Star: One of the last tracts of peat swamp forest in Selangor now faces the axe.
IT IS a wasteland. Nothing grows on it save for a single tree species, mahang. Those were the reasons cited by Selangor State Agriculture Corporation to back its proposal to turn Kuala Langat South peat swamp forest into an oil palm plantation.
Many people have assumed the same of the tract of forest near Sepang, thanks to past press reports highlighting how it has been illegally logged, encroached upon by farmers and...
Astonishing new photos of uncontacted tribe
Posted by uncontacted tribes: None Given on February 1st, 2011
uncontacted tribes: New photos obtained by Survival International show uncontacted Indians in never-seen-before detail. The Indians are living in Brazil, near the Peruvian border, and are featured in the ‘Jungles’ episode of BBC1’s ‘Human Planet’ (Thurs 3 Feb, 8pm, UK only).
The pictures were taken by Brazil’s Indian Affairs Department, which has authorized Survival to use them as part of its campaign to protect their territory. They reveal a thriving, healthy community with baskets full of manioc and papaya fresh...
Deforestation and Food Prices in Latin America
Posted by iadb: None Given on February 1st, 2011
iadb: Agricultural revenues, employment in Latin American tropical areas likely to decline with deforestation ban
Study says ban unlikely to significantly raise world food prices but highlights need for compensatory policies to fight local poverty
Farmers in Latin America and Caribbean will see billions in lost revenue over the next two decades if a complete ban on deforestation is put in place, highlighting the need for compensatory actions to alleviate poverty in affected rural areas, according...
Study shows rapid deforestation in Malaysia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 1st, 2011
Associated Press: New satellite imagery shows Malaysia is destroying forests more than three times faster than all of Asia combined, and its carbon-rich peat soils of the Sarawak coast are being stripped even faster, according to a study released Tuesday.
The report commissioned by the Netherlands-based Wetlands International says Malaysia is uprooting an average 2 percent of the rain forest a year on Sarawak, its largest state on the island of Borneo, or nearly 10 percent over the last five years. Most of it is...
Australia evacuates coastal cities in path of cyclone
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 1st, 2011
Reuters: Australia evacuated thousands of people from its northeast coast on Tuesday as a cyclone rivaling Hurricane Katrina bore down on tourism towns and rural communities, with officials saying it could even threaten areas deep inland that were ruined by floods last month.
Mines, rail lines and coal ports were closed in Queensland state as Cyclone Yasi headed toward the coast. Up to a third of Australia's sugar crop was also under threat, officials said.
"This storm is huge and life threatening,"...