When forest communities are given legal control over their own lands they are at least as effective in conserving wildlife as national governments. An important new report from Forest Trends documents what should be self-evident - that endangered forests are conserved more effectively when under the control of their local peoples including indigenous groups. The report found that national parks created by governments are not faring as well as community-policed areas.

Efforts to pursue sustainable conservation management and protection of ancient and other important endangered forests would be well advised to give indigenous people a larger role in policy-making as well as strengthened rights to produce and sell forest products. The future of the World's endangered large forest wildernesses in particular depends critically upon limiting their commercial development to community based small and medium scaled ecologically sustainable development activities.

Different social situations call for different forest conservation strategies. In terms of maintaining ecosystems, species and genetic resources found in ancient and other endangered forests - nothing can compare to strict protected status for large and contiguous forest areas. But in many cases local needs and aspirations make this difficult or even infeasible.

Ideally, in terms of conservation and community advancement, community forestry by forest dependent peoples in a portion of a landscape should be coupled with preservation of adjacent ecological core areas. Indeed, the protected area is a critical component of the ecological sustainability of the entire ecosystem, including managed forests. Such a strategy holds
the best promise for advancing indigenous community well-being and long term sustainability of expansive and natural forest landscapes.

Clearly potential for indigenous people to help curb the destruction of forests is being overlooked by the international community. In my own experience, this observation has at times been pushed to unwarranted extremes. Certainly indigenous peoples are as susceptible as the rest of us to greedy appeals to liquidate resources for one time financial advantage.

This is why indigenous land ethics must be defended, and those in the overdeveloped world can help with information and technical assistance in this regard. Human rights are integral to environmental sustainability.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Bush has announced plans to open some 60 million acres of America's roadless national forests to road building and eventual commercial logging and other developments. Individual states are to be given the right to exempt national forests from a federal rule that bans roadbuilding and logging in some of America's most remote and unspoiled public land < lots more info here > .

The Toxic Texan has again lied to the American people - by earlier claiming he intended to protect these forests - and now giving away the nation's natural resources to corporate interests. Only partly in jest, how I long for the days where President's lied about their private sex lives rather than preemptive unilateral war, controlling carbon emissions to stop climate change and now maintaining America's wild forest legacy.
g.b.

P.S. Should you wish to comment on Mr. Bush's plan to log America's last wild forest landscapes, comments may be mailed during the next 60 days to Content Analysis Team, ATTN: Roadless State Petitions, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122, or e-mailed to: statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.gov. I would expect the comments to be ignored as they were previously. So comment with your vote as well.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (0)

The World Bank's dubious and misguided plan (at best, and malicious and evil at worst) to finance industrial logging of the Earth's second largest intact rainforest continues to generate controversy. The Bank is pushing through new laws and a 're-zoning' of the Congo forests - the second largest in the world - that could see up to 60 million hectares (an area the size of France) handed out to logging companies. Despite the lack of a functioning government, banditry and civil war, and lack of local support - the world blank wants to zone most of the forests for commercial logging, turning the country into a vast logging concession.

In March we joined with the Rainforest Foundation in protesting World Bank and UN Food and Agriculture Organization plans to stealthily increase logging by some sixty times in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Hundreds of local and international groups have joined the Rainforest Foundation in protesting this immoral use of tax-payer funds. Most recently, the pygmy peoples occupying many of these forests have joined the protest - reported on below. It is simply atrocious that the world blank continues to operate with impunity against the aspirations and human rights of local peoples, undermining the ecological sustainability of their rainforest homes as well as the function of the Earth's biosphere. This must not stand.

The World Bank and FAO must immediately halt plans for the expansion of industrial logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo and remaining ancient primary forests around the World. Rather than subsidizing rainforest destruction the World Bank should be initiating a participatory process to establish land rights for forest peoples, and developing economic alternatives to industrial logging that are community based and ecologically sound. The action alert at http://forests.org/action/africa/ is still current, and will be updated and reissued shortly.

g.b.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: Congo 'Pygmies' put case for forest protection and peoples' rights to President of the World Bank
Source: Rainforest Foundation
Date: July 8, 2004

'Pygmy' peoples today urged World Bank President James Wolfensohn to halt plans that could unleash a wave of destruction on the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where they live.

The 'Pygmys' put their case directly to Mr Wolfensohn during a video conference organised by the Rainforest Foundation UK [1], which is challenging Bank plans for a massive increase in industrial logging in the Congo. The Bank is pushing through new laws and a 're-zoning' of the Congo forests - the second largest in the world- that could see up to 60 million hectares (an area the size of France) handed out to logging companies.

"You must not forget that the lives of indigenous peoples depend on the forest," Adolphine Muley of the Congolese Union of Indigenous Women (UEFA) told the World Bank President. "For a 'Pygmy' to talk of forest exploitation is to talk of reinforcing misery and poverty. You must put strategies in place so that the 'Pygmy' peoples are not damaged by the system that you are developing."

According to the Bank's own estimates, as many as 35 million of the Congo's 50 million people depend on the forests for their very survival. [2]

Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK said: "The World Bank must strictly apply its own environmental and social safeguards, and fully respect international laws, to avoid what could be the world's first major environmental and humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st century. We will be working to ensure that the people of Congo have a say on the future of their forests, and that the rights of the people living in the forest are respected," he said.

Responding to these pleas, James Wolfensohn pledged the Bank to further discussion with Congolese people and non-governmental organisations about the future of the of the country's rainforests.

The Rainforest Foundation first raised its fears about the threatened 'carve-up' of Congo's rainforests with the World Bank in early December 2003. The UK All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region and Genocide Prevention (APPG), which has a membership of 148 MPs and Peers, has said that it "intends to follow closely" the World Bank's response to the concerns of the Foundation and Congolese campaigners [3].

For more information:
Simon Counsell, Rainforest Foundation, London
Tel: +44 (0) 207 251 6345 (office)
+44 (0)7941 899 579 (mobile)
www.rainforestfoundation.org.uk

Specific page: http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/s-Stop%20the%20carve%20up%20of%20the%20Congo%20forests [cut and paste in to internet address bar]

Notes to editors:
[1] The Rainforest Foundation supports indigenous people and traditional populations of the world's rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfil their rights.
2] According to the World Bank, the average income in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the lowest in the world, at $90 per year.
3] The APPG covers the Great Lakes region of Africa: Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Northern Uganda. APPG was formed following the UK's failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda and provides information so that Parliamentarians can play their role in preventing future genocides. In recent years, the Group has played an active role in investigating and bringing about parliamentary scrutiny to the illegal plunder of Congo's vast mineral and forest wealth.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (1)

In a callous pre-election resource grab, the Bush administration is to open tens of millions of acres of roadless forests - America's last wilderness legacy - to logging. What a stupid, evil little man.

ENN News Story - Bush administration proposes plan to open more national forests to logging

The Bush administration Monday proposed lifting a national rule that closed remote areas of national forests to logging, instead saying states should decide whether to keep a ban on road-building in those areas. Environmentalists immediately criticized the change as the biggest timber industry giveaway in history.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (0)

Below you will find a remarkable statement of support for the World's endangered forests from ForestEthics. They are asking that your group endorse the statement in order to demonstrate to companies that there is broad support for the protection of endangered forests. For some time I had hoped to develop a similar "forest conservation manifesto" that details an end-game for halting the loss and beginning the restoration of the world's mature natural forests. Global ecological sustainability of both species and ecosystems is utterly dependent upon forests. I encourage forest conservationists to reject incremental reform which saves a bit here and there at the expense of legitimizing continued forest loss and diminishment. The world's remaining ancient old-growth and primary forests must ALL be protected. Anything less fails to address systematic ecocide of humanity's habitat. Let us commit to protection of all remaining endangered forests - and the shifts in consumer behavior, finance and economics, and politics and society required to make this happen. Please join ForestEthics in urging corporations to make commitments to stop using, selling, and buying products that contain Endangered Forests. I am very interested in developing and implementing strategies to make this a reality - input and discussion on the topic is welcome at http://forests.org/web/

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: Sign-on to for the protection of endangered forests
Source: Liz Butler, ForestEthics
Date: June 29, 2004

To sign on to the statement of support below, please send me the
organization name, a contact person, a street address, a phone number and an
email address. Send the info to liz@forestethics.org.

To: Organizations concerned about endangered forests
From: Liz Butler, ForestEthics
Re: Sign-on to for the protection of endangered forests

We need your organization's help to save critical endangered forests. I am writing to ask your organization to sign-on to an international statement of support for the protection of endangered forests.

Right now, endangered forests from around the globe are ending up on store shelves. They are coming from the forests of the US, the Canadian Boreal, Chile, Indonesia, and many other countries around the globe.

There are many organizations involved and working very hard to protect these forests. A majority of these groups are working at the local, regional and national level to change legislative and administrative policies that affect these endangered forests.

A set of organizations including ForestEthics have been focused on getting companies to make commitments to stop buying & selling endangered forests. This has been very successful over the last five years. Companies such as Staples, Home Depot, Kinko's, Ryland homes, and many others have agreed to stop the destruction of endangered forests.

We have been able to leverage these commitments to help save endangered forests. In a number of cases these companies have used their influence with the logging companies and governments to work towards stopping the destruction of endangered forests in British Columbia, Chile, and the US.

We need your help to continue to show companies that there is broad support for the protection of endangered forests and that organizations are paying attention to corporate actions on endangered forests. The statement of support for the protection of Endangered Forests will help them see that many organizations think that it is important for companies to make a commitment to protect endangered forests.

I hope that you will sign on your organization on to the statement of support for the protection Endangered Forests.

To sign on to the statement of support, please send me the organization name, a contact person, a street address, a phone number and an email address. Send the info to liz@forestethics.org.

I would also like ideas of other groups to contact about the statement. If you have thoughts about local, state, regional, national, or international groups that you think would sign on to the statement of support please send me the name of the group, a contact, and how to get in touch with them.

If you have questions or want more information let me know.

Liz Butler ForestEthics 301-864-3244 or liz@forestethics.org
________________________________________________________________

Statement of Support for the Protection of Endangered Forests

We, the undersigned organizations, representing people of conscience globally, are deeply concerned about the destruction of Endangered Forests around the globe.

Endangered Forests are the most valuable forests remaining on the Earth today. They are humanity's last chance to protect large original and old growth forests, and the planet's rapidly-disappearing biodiversity.

Endangered Forests include:
. intact forest landscapes (also known as Frontier Forests),
. restoration and remnant forest types,
. areas with exceptional biodiversity values (e.g., rare forest types, forests exhibiting high endemism or species richness), and;
. core habitat of focal conservation species.

Endangered forests in need of protection are found around the world. They include the endangered forests of US public lands, the Southern US Cumberland Plateau, the Canadian Boreal, the Amazon rainforests, British Columbia Inland rainforest, Chile's siempre verde forests, Indonesia, and others.

Endangered Forests are so rare, threatened or ecologically vulnerable, and are of such global biological importance that industrial resource extraction in Endangered Forests causes them irreparable harm.

We are alarmed that the world's Endangered Forests are being destroyed to make lumber, catalogs, office paper, packaging, windows, doors and many other products. These products, made by global corporations, end up on store shelves and in the mailboxes of people in the US and around the globe.

These corporations have customers that care about endangered forests. These customers must be educated about the products made from endangered forests, and encouraged to take actions that cause these companies to change the way they do business.

We call for the protection of Endangered Forests. We urge corporations to make commitments to stop using, selling, and buying products that contain Endangered Forests. We expect these products to be replaced with alternatives such as post consumer recycled paper and third party independently certified wood.

Humanity must act urgently to ensure that the global treasure of our Endangered Forests will be here for future generations of people and all creation.

Organization ____________________________________

Contact ____________________________

Title __________________________

Phone____________________________

email ____________________________

Address_____________________________________

City _____________________

State ________

zip _______________

website ______________________________

Liz Butler
Organizing Director/ForestEthics
301-864-3244p/202-487-4908c
liz@forestethics.org/
4208 32nd street
Mount Rainier, MD 20712
www.forestethics.org

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sick land = sick humans.

As humans alter land, infectious diseases follow

As people remake the world's landscapes, cutting forests, draining wetlands, building roads and dams, and pushing the margins of cities ever outward, infectious diseases are gaining new toeholds, cropping up in new places and new hosts, and posing an ever-increasing risk to human and animal health.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry | Permalink | Comments (1)