It seems that community forestry programmes in Indonesia are becoming a victim of their own success. Illegal loggers in Lampung not satisfied with their territory in the Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas national parks are now targeting reforestation areas managed under community forestry programmes.
West Lampung Forestry Office head Fauzi said large volumes of illegally [...]
Last week the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a new high level group aimed at addressing climate change. Heading the group will be the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The aim is to mobilise financing to aid developing countries in order to combat the effects of rising temperatures [...]
It was reported that eleven tropical rainforest countries met on Tuesday. Among them were: Indonesia, Brazil, Gabon, Costa Rica, Congo, Cameroon, Colombia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Democratic Republic of Congo.
At that ministerial meeting, held in Indonesia’s Bali province, they all agreed to commit to a sustainable forest management system.
The group otherwise known as [...]
It has been announced that the Indonesian Forestry Ministry is drafting a decree that will include palm oil plantations in the forest sector to comply with international standards in reducing carbon emissions. Hikmat Soeriatanuwijava a Greenpeace Indonesia media campaigner warned that the policy involving converting palm oil plantations into forest could lead to massive forest [...]
Even with ongoing international pressure against deforestation and illegal logging, globally tropical forests are being destroyed at a rate of approximately 13 million ha per year. This is roughly four times the size of Belgium and this destruction is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions (this is more than all the world’s planes, [...]
As an investor have you ever considered buying trees to enhance your investment portfolio? For the past twenty years forestry investments have been gaining a reputation as a sound alternative to stocks and bonds. They have gained interest from both institutional and retail investors for their diversification and inflation hedging characteristics. The forestry sector is [...]
Looking back 2009 could be considered as a turning point for the forestry sector. During the time of global economic crisis where businesses were losing money regardless of which sector they were in forestry (while taking a hit) was seen as a rock (rather than a tree). In recent months the industry has bounced back [...]
Big news on the US forestry front, International Paper and MeadWestvaco are in talks to transform forestry plantations in the south-eastern US by replacing native pine with genetically engineered eucalyptus, a rapid growing Australian tree that already dominates the tropical timber industry.
The practice of splicing foreign DNA into food crops has become a common sight [...]
A deal has been struck by British Airways to build the first plant in Europe to produce jet fuel from waste matter.
The plant construction is due to begin within the next two years with plans already in place to start fuel production by 2014. Once the project is completed 500,000 tones of waste will be [...]
Ever heard of wood pellets as an alternative energy source? No? Well I’m not surprised as I hadn’t even heard about them until the other day.
Wood pellet manufacturers have been around since the 1970s when the first experiments were conducted using animal feed pellet mills to process biomass into pellets. Shortly afterwards a few pellet [...]
Despite the doubts, which surround the REDD project, private companies and investors are putting more and more money into carbon sink projects. The research group Ecosystem Marketplace reported last month that these investments are in the main being made in anticipation of government imposed greenhouse gas restrictions.
During 2007-08 the global forest carbon market was worth [...]
Would it surprise you if I said that my car runs on chip fat?
Well it doesn’t.
But it could if biodiesel becomes more commercial. Biodiesel can be made from many different types of oil, including chip fat and animal fats. In fact the idea of using chip fat to power a car isn’t so far fetched [...]
UNECE/FAO Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2008-2009, is now available online. The publication provides general and statistical information on forest products markets and related policies in the UN Economic Commission for Europe region (Europe, North America and the Commonwealth of Independent States). Theme for the 2008-2009 edition is “Forest products markets in a global economic [...]
Despite an ongoing crackdown the number of forestry officials in Laos taking bribes is increasing according to Rangsy Sibounheuang the deputy chief public prosecutor.
According to Sibounheuang logging companies in central Laos have been bribing officials to cut logs beyond their government approved quotas. “If a lumber company’s quota allows them to cut 1,000 cubic meters (35,300 cubic [...]
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s second biggest energy company has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Cosan, Brazil’s most powerful bioethanol producer in a joint venture estimated to be worth $12bn. This makes the Anglo-Dutch company the biggest oil major in biofuels as it battles to restore faith in its investors about profitability.
If finalised, the [...]
A recent study suggests that trees are growing faster as a result of global warming. In one of the forests, located at Maryland, US, researchers discovered that an extra 1.8 tonnes of timber per acre is appearing there each year. The scientists predict that the tree saplings are sprouting up more quickly than at any [...]
There are clear signs wherever you look nowadays that forestry investment is attracting the bigger institutional investments funds. I stumbled across a number of articles over the weekend, here’s one to mull over…
http://www.hedgeweek.com/2010/01/28/32338/earth-capital-partners-hires-sustainable-agriculture-and-forestry-team
The article focuses on Earth Capital Partners (ECP), which is effectively a private equity company specialising in renewable energy markets for investment. Now [...]
