After being a lone voice in the wilderness for decades, Dr. Glen Barry and Ecological Internet's biocentric forest protection position has been adopted by most major forest protection organizations. It remains to be determined how those committing to keeping such logging out of UN carbon finance can reconcile with their support for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of first time old forest logging. Regardless, time to unite the forest and climate movements going into Copenhagen with strong message of protecting and restoring standing old forests for local development and biodiversity benefits, and regional and global climate and ecosystem sustainability.

Continue reading "VICTORY/RELEASE: Global Consensus Emerging Regarding Need to End Industrial Primary Forest Logging as Keystone Climate Change Response" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

A fascinating yet terrifying new study [ark] finds that 24% of the Earth's land is degrading, some of it formerly quite productive. This is the first accurate satellite based quantification of land degradation [search]. Prior to this it was assumed to be limited to 15%. Land degradation -- the decline in the quality of soil, water and vegetation -- is of profound importance. Comparison with land use reveals that 19% of the degrading area is cropland and 43% forest, releasing at least a billion tons of carbon in 22 years at a cost of at least $50 billion. Old forest logging, biofuel plantations, urban sprawl, climate change, water diversion and countless other methodical diminishments of intact natural ecosystems are to blame. As goes the land (and sky and water and oceans and animals) will go humanity.

Blog entry with Rainforest Rescue

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

A Time Magazine article [ark] late last year highlighted well our objections to industrial agrofuels [search], indicating there are some hard choices to be made on ethanol by President Obama and his Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Both have been strong supporters of biofuels. Yet there is strong scientific evidence that using cropland to grow fuel instead of food is highly environmentally and economically damaging. Doing so both raises food prices around the world, while intensifying the conversion of forests and wetlands into croplands.

Because Vilsack and Obama both have a deep interest in climate change, it is hoped they will join other devoted biofuels advocates in changing their mind, after recognizing biofuels are making climate change worse [search], and that they contribute to food insecurity worldwide. Sadly, it appears they are going to increase ethanol requirements in gasoline [ark]. Yet, Vilsack is clearly aware of the new research suggesting that biofuels in general, and corn ethanol in particular, create more carbon emissions by accelerating deforestation than they save by replacing fossil fuels. Vilsack goes on to falsely suggest that second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol production will be more ecologically sound and not displace food crops.

In the end it all comes down to land, and whether it will be covered with natural carbon and biodiversity rich ecosystems, or toxic single species monocultures. We recognize that industrial agriculture and the growth of agrofuels will always intensify pressures upon natural rainforests, as has been the case for millennia.

Blog entry with Rainforest Rescue

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

First mistruths about recycled content, now old growth forest use is under scrutiny

By Paul IJ Oosting
Pulp Mill Campaigner, The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.

A new report released by Australian conservation groups The Wilderness Society and, Still Wild, Still Threatened, shows that, despite claims to the contrary, Japanese paper manufacturers are the purchasers of wood chips derived from the destruction of Tasmania’s oldgrowth forests [search].

This revelation comes after a major scandal in Japan where it was revealed that Nippon and Oji were misleading consumers about the amount of recycled paper content in their products. That scandal led to major embarrassment for the companies and Nippon Paper’s president, Masatomo Nakamura resigned after the revelations his company had been lying. In January 2008 Shoichiro Suzuki, chairman of the Japan Paper Association and Oji Paper admitted they had been falsifying the amount of recycled content in their paper products.

Continue reading "GUEST BLOG: New Japanese Paper Scandal" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Help avert a serious threat to the largest surviving Elephant Population in India – the imminent severance of the Muthanga Elephant Corridor in Kerala

TAKE ACTION! The largest and potentially most viable population of Asian elephants [search] is found in the mountains of the Western Ghats where the three Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka meet. Of a total population of about 2000 elephants surviving in Peninsular India in various fragmented habitat islands, the largest single population which may number over 1000 individuals is found in a near contiguous habitat extending over this 4500sq km tract. A major inter-state highway linking Bangalore with Calicut is planned which will further fragment the elephant's seasonal migration corridor. The Wayanad Nature Protection Group (Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samati) and Rainforest Information Centre have appealed to the world community to help prevent the severance of this critical corridor. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

The enormity of Australia's climate disaster is further illustrated by the fact that Victoria's bushfires released nearly as much carbon dioxide [ark] as a year of the nation's industrial activity. Climate change caused heat and drought made already fire prone forests a death trap. It is noted this is "far, far more than we're ever going to be able to sequester from planting trees or promoting carbon capture." Australia's bushfires [search] are but one type of carbon feedback [search] -- along with the Arctic absorbing more heat when melted, permafrost melt releasing methane and North American forest die-back -- that, when coupled with our inability to stop cutting and burning, ensures climate chaos and seals humanity's dire fate.

The extent to which the biosphere and atmosphere are collapsing is further demonstrated by the latest climate models which show meager efforts to date [ark] to limit greenhouse gas emissions will do little to ease climate change. Now is the time to give incentives for small families, tax carbon and consumption heavily, end coal and ancient forest logging, and prepare for a stewardship revolution. Without such dramatic and immediate transformative social change, we are fucked.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Supposedly "Green" Finland's unprotected intact old growth forest landscapes, including 300 year old trees in Northern Forest Lapland, continue to be destroyed to make throw-away paper products

By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet
CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Seattle, WA) -- Finland's last unprotected intact old growth forest landscapes [search] continue to be destroyed by the Finnish government and timber industry. Trees more than 300 years old are being industrially destroyed by the government's logging body Metsähallitus, ending up in timber giant Stora Enso's pulp [search] wood piles. Less than 5% of Finnish forests have remained untouched by modern forestry.

Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network is supporting Finnish NGO demands that Northern Forest Lapland's natural treasures are fully protected. Some 1,630 people from 66 countries have sent 345,578 emails in a peaceful protest intended to put international pressure on the Finnish government and Stora Enso [1].

"There are too few large, connected and relatively intact terrestrial ecosystem habitats globally to sustain the Earth system," explains global forest protection expert Dr. Glen Barry. "Finland and the World's old-growth must be strictly protected and restored to sustain the Earth's biosphere and ecosystem processes including climate, water and biodiversity upon which all life depends."

Continue reading "RELEASE: World Outraged by Finland's Continued Old Growth Logging" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Protest Finnish timber giant Stora Enso and the government profiting from destroying Finland's last ancient forests. Let them know Finland and the World's old-growth must be protected and restored to sustain the Earth's biosphere and ecosystem processes including climate, water and biodiversity.

TAKE ACTION! The last unprotected intact forest landscapes in Northern Finland are currently being destroyed by the Finnish government and timber industry. Low-productive old-growth boreal forests [search] located hundreds of kilometres north from the Polar Circle are being logged systematically. Trees more than 300 years old are mainly ending up in pulp wood piles of timber giant Stora Enso. Only less than 5% of Finnish forests [search] have remained untouched by modern forestry. Please, help Finnish NGOs to save Finland’s natural treasures and to put international pressure on their destructive forest industry.

This is the latest protest in Ecological Internet's global campaign to protect all remaining old growth forests, and promote regeneration and restoration of secondary forests to late successional old-growth status. Increasing old forest cover globally is critical for achieving global ecological sustainability -- including climate, water and biodiversity. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

Olympic National Park [search] in Washington state is protected, but still ecologically threatened due to the extirpation of wolves [ark]. Turns out that without its top predators, the ecosystem suffers "trophic cascade" [search], whereby prey species become too numerous, over-grazing natural vegetation, and innumerable additional follow-on effects occur. Protected areas in the U.S. and throughout the world are generally too small to support viable populations of their top predators -- and in others they have been deliberately slaughtered -- and as a result "protected" ecosystems are collapsing.

Large, connected, strictly preserved terrestrial ecosystems with intact ecological core areas [ark] are a prerequisite for a livable Earth. It is critical that remaining wildernesses not be whittled down to token, small protected areas; and that already altered natural habitats are assisted to restore themselves to be larger and more connected. A whole range of ecosystem services including water availability and carbon retention depends upon ending destruction and diminishment of ancient forests and other natural habitats, and ushering in an era of ecological restoration. We can start with the reintroduction of wolves [search] and other locally absent predators to all areas large enough for their sustenance.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

President Obama now has chance to protect America's forest legacy, and allow Oregon and the nation's overworked forest biodiversity and carbon stores to recover ecologically

(Seattle, WA) -- Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski's decision to block Bush administration plans to sharply increase logging [search] on 2.2 million acres of BLM forests in Western Oregon. Kulongoski concluded that President Bush's hastily arrived at logging plan did not conform [ark] to federal environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, and failed to protect and restore mature forests to sequester carbon. It would have locked in Bush's anti-environment, industrial forestry model for decades.

By waiting until the deadline and calling for revisions and a 30-day extension for public comment, Kulongoski put off final approval until the administration of Democratic President-elect Barack Obama. This decision will ultimately be made by the new U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Congress. This forbearance was not a foregone conclusion, as Oregon has a long history of forest patronage and destroying terrestrial ecosystems for short term economic gain causing long term environmental pain.

This is a major victory for Ecological Internet and others that campaigned for this outcome, and portends greater ecological restoration of America's biodiversity and carbon stores once the "Toxic Texan" has left town, and the much anticipated era of ecological hope commences. EI's Earth Action Network got just what we asked for, and this most recent victory once again demonstrates our global leadership in using the Internet to facilitate environmental conservation.

Continue reading "VICTORY RELEASE: Oregon's Governor Stymies Bush's "Midnight" Forest Raid" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

Like his Presidency, it is time for President Bush's looting, plundering, and pillaging of America’s natural beauty, ecological treasures and vital ecosystems to end

TAKE ACTION! The Bush Administration is rushing out long-term plans that would convert over 2 million acres of Oregon's national forests, with their towering trees, rushing rivers, and superb wildlife habitat, to empty clearcuts. Much of the forests under siege are in the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion [search] nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Crest, which contains some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the continent. There are some 20,000 miles of rivers, where wild Pacific salmon thrive. Ancient old-growth forests are abundant -- home to huge Douglas fir, western hemlock and western red cedar trees -- some well over 400 years old.

The plan increases logging by 400% and would target 100,000 acres of old-growth forests for destruction. Oregon Governor Kulongoski is the only elected official standing between the Bush Administration and western Oregon's forests, rivers and salmon. He is allowed a 60-day "consistency review" period to propose recommendations for changes to land use plans. Please encourage the governor to propose significant amendments, pushing this decision to the Obama administration. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

New research in Royal Society journal Philosophical Transactions A "suggests that chopping down forests could accelerate global warming [ark] more than was thought, and that protecting existing trees could be one of the best ways to tackle the problem." The report quantifies how the release of the chemical terpene from forest canopies [search] leads to cloud formation that cools the climate. Given ancient forests' massive canopies, the findings further clarify intact forest wildernesses' critical role in maintaining an operable atmosphere.

Much remains to be learned regarding Gaia's workings, forests' interaction with climate, and the need for ecologically sufficient policy-making, yet it is gratifying to see formal science continue to catch up with Ecological Internet's biocentric campaigns. Given additional recent scientific findings that old-growth forests continue to remove atmospheric carbon indefinitely, and primary forests lose much of their carbon permanently when first logged, there is no longer any justification for destruction of ancient forests. And presenting "sustainable" logging of such sacred and life-giving primeval treasures as having environmental benefits is ecologically bereft and criminally negligent (you know who you are, and we are coming for you).

Through a combination of ecological science and intuition, Ecological Internet and predecessors have long known that loss of intact forest habitats is the key cause of climate change, as well as general biodiversity, ecosystem and biosphere collapse. We know that ending humanity's cutting and burning of itself to death is key to our shared survival. In particular, global ecological sustainability is going to require giving up timbers accessed from ancient forests, and restoring old-growth forests worldwide. Ecological Internet is going to keep on saying this, confronting those that say otherwise, whatever the costs, because it is the ecological truth necessary to sustain being.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Deforestation, eviction, drought and murder are too high of price to pay for toxic soybeans

TAKE ACTION! In Paraguay, genetically modified (GM) soya plantations [search], planted in vast toxic monocultures, are the main cause of deforestation, destruction and pollution of other ecosystems, and violence and eviction of small farmers and indigenous peoples. Paraguay has nearly 2.6 million hectares of soy plantations for animal feed exports and, more recently, for agrofuel. The remnants of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest [search] and of the Alto Parana forest [search], as well as wetlands, grasslands and rivers are being destroyed and polluted by the expansion of immense soya fields. Deforestation is worsening global warming and also causing severe regional warming and droughts.

Local peoples are resisting ecocide bravely, and against long odds, and need our support. Please write to the authorities in Paraguay and urge them to fully support small farmers and their demands for protection from pesticide spraying, unlawful evictions, environmental destruction and pollution; while supporting their demands for food sovereignty and land reform. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

You know there is something deeply wrong with global ecology [search] when populations of previously common and widespread birds catastrophically crash, and in some cases move towards extinction. A new study from BirdLife finds birds are threatened [ark | more\ark] by agriculture, fishing, logging and climate change; concluding these findings are no less than a "sign of a deteriorating global environment and a biodiversity crisis." This is a dangerous under-statement.

All the world's key ecosystems including forests, oceans, water and the atmosphere are being liquidated by excessive populations and their consumption, and they are collapsing. Together they comprise the biosphere which is required for all life. If widely mobile, advanced bird species are imperiled; humans are clearly next. I suppose someone living in Haiti, Darfur or the world's swelling slums know this already.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

FEATURE ARTICLE
New ecological science increases calls for forest protection movement to unite in campaign to protect all ancient forests

By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)

A new study in the journal Nature [ark] finds old-growth forests are "carbon sinks" [search] and continually absorb carbon dioxide [1]. Australian researchers recently found logging primary forests releases 40 percent of their carbon [2]. These findings discredit decades of thought that primary forests are carbon neutral, they can or should be "sustainably" logged, and only young forests continue to remove carbon.

The Earth's remaining ancient forests need to be fully protected not just because destroying them will release huge stores of greenhouse gases while destroying biodiversity -- but because science now knows what many of us intuited -- they continue in perpetuity to absorb massive amounts of new carbon dioxide. The environmental movement must respond accordingly.

This causes discomfort for groups like Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) that actively support ancient forest logging. They campaign for certified industrial first-time harvest of primary forests, and to establish some protected areas, while acquiescing to ancient forest logging elsewhere. They work to end coal use, but not ancient forest logging. New ecological science indicates their discredited forest campaigns cause climate change and block ecologically sufficient policies.

Continue reading "FEATURE: Old-Growth Carbon Findings Cause Forest Protection Schism" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Press/Social Media Release

Rainforest Action Network greenwashes destruction of half of Ontario, Canada's boreal forests; despite lack of any detail regarding vague promised protections, and without scientific findings that doing so is ecologically sufficient

By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet
Dr. Glen Barry

(Earth) -- Rainforest Action Network (RAN) of San Francisco has long been one of America's leading rainforest campaign organizations. Yet in July their campaign to protect Ontario, Canada's boreal forests [search] doomed half this vital global ecological system to industrial destruction. In return, RAN and other proponents received vague promises of protections over a decade from now, but no protected area boundaries or protection plans.

Canada's boreal forests are home to hundreds of sensitive species of animals including polar bears, caribou and wolverines. Boreal forests are some of the world's largest carbon storehouses, with holdings equal to decades of global emissions from fossil fuels, while continually absorbing new emissions. The boreal region is also the world's largest reservoir of clean fresh water.

Continue reading "RELEASE: RAN Sells-Out Canadian Boreal Forests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)

An important new Australian study, reported upon in a new book entited "Green Carbon:The role of natural forests in carbon storage", finds that "untouched natural forests store three times more carbon dioxide [ark] than previously estimated and 60 percent more than plantation forests" and that first-time "logging resulted in more than a 40 percent reduction in long-term carbon compared with unlogged forests." They conclude that "in Australia and probably globally the carbon carrying capacity of natural forests [search] is underestimated and therefore misrepresented in economic valuations and in policy options."

This resoundingly confirms Ecological Internet's forest campaign's key principle: sustaining intact ancient primary forests, by virtue of their holding of carbon and species, is a requirement for global ecological sustainability. This Earth Action Network's shared commitment to ending ancient primary and old-growth forest logging has been validated by the emerging ecological science. And we hope this motivates you to continue taking action and to participate regularly in future email protest campaigns.

Continue reading "Untouched Natural Forests Store Three Times More Carbon" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)

Clayoquot Sound, Canada's Ancient Temperate Rainforest Valleys to Again Fall to Logging. These ancient forests must be fully protected and all industrial development ended to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem health, focusing upon employment from standing trees and fully intact ecosystems, and failure to do will lead to a renewed "War of the Woods" and global anti-B.C. markets campaign

TAKE ACTION! Canada's precious temperate rainforests [search] are again threatened with industrial logging. Clayoquot Sound [search], which lies along the West coast of British Columbia (B.C.), is a spectacular mosaic of lush coastal rainforests, fjord-like inlets and islands covering 850,000 acres. Such intact coastal temperate rainforests are globally rare, covering only about one-fifth of one percent of the Earth’s land area, half of which has already been destroyed. They are amongst the most biologically productive temperate ecosystems in the world. Clayoquot Sound is the most magnificent expression of temperate rainforest in North America.

There is no such thing as ecologically sustainable industrial logging or other industrial activities in a fully intact ancient forest ecosystem. Ancient forest logging must end worldwide to solve climate change, protect all biodiversity and achieve global ecological sustainability. Encourage all involved in British Columbia's forest policy to commit themselves fully to developing methods for employment and community advancement based upon standing forests and fully intact ecosystems. Or else promise you support a return to the blockades and protests that halted logging in Clayoquot in 1993, as well as a massive overseas campaign targeting B.C.'s markets. Surely rich Canada can find a way to spare Clayoquot Sound's vital ecosystems.TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Continued industrial forestry [search] in combination with surging greenhouse gas emissions [search] are forming a vicious cycle, whose climate/ecosystem positive feedbacks [search] are destroying more forests while releasing carbon. We know deforestation changes climate [ark | search], yet modern forest management techniques treat forests like tree plantations, and have decimated forest structure and dynamics making them more fire prone. Overlaid upon this has been climate change caused drought and heat which makes damaged canopies all the more prone to cataclysmic crown fires.

California has been hit by 2,000 fires this year [ark] and things will get worse. We simply must allow much more forest landscapes there and globally to regenerate old-growth features and prohibit industrial forestry there and in remaining primary forests, while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Failure will herald in massive lightening storms causing hellish wildfires [ark] bearing down upon ourselves and our families.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The Rights and Resources Initiative provides some interesting cautionary advice in new reports, suggesting that rushing to pay for forest protection with carbon funds (REDD) will fail unless land rights [ark] in tropical countries, where much of the money is being directed, is addressed. And another report highlights the growing pressure upon forests to provide food and fuel [ark]. The latter may seem obvious, yet plans continue for tree based biofuels [search], and ever soaring populations need more agricultural lands for food and fuel.

Progress on forest land rights has slowed in recent years. A spokesperson states: "We have huge concerns about sending all this money in the name of fighting climate change if the land rights for people living there are not resolved. It could cause more violence, benefit only a wealthy elite and lead to even greater carbon emissions." Without clear tenure rights for local peoples, money aimed at protecting forests is likely to go to central government officials in countries known for corruption, human rights abuses and lack of environmental commitment. And in many cases local people protect forests better. The suggest more effort is needed to map remote forests and register the people who live there to protect their interests. If massive payments to keep forests intact go to local communitues, one wonders just how supportive governments in fact will be.

Continue reading "Carbon Forest Protection Payments: Who Gets the Check?" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

PRESS RELEASE

Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes news that ANZ Bank of Australia will not fund the Gunns Tasmanian pulp mill [search]. In a statement ANZ announced it will not provide finance for the AU$ 2 billion project to pulp ancient forests for throw-away paper products, but did not provide a reason for withdrawing. International environmental protest spearheaded by Ecological Internet, in support of local protests, certainly played a major role.

ANZ Bank, and the Australian and Tasmanian governments, have been targets of environmental protest in country and from Ecological Internet and other overseas groups for years. Most recently, in early April, nearly 3,000 EI Earth Action Network participants from 87 countries sent a quarter of a million protest emails to ANZ and the Australian government asking that ANZ withdraw funding. The Australian national government was also called out for their hypocrisy in supporting protection of forests overseas to address climate change, but not in Tasmania.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Ecological Internet Welcomes ANZ Bank Withdrawal from Tasmanian Pulp Mill Disaster" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Australian media reports "Plans for Tasmania's controversial $2 billion pulp mill are dead [ark | search]... following reports the ANZ bank will pull out of funding the project." ANZ has not yet publicly confirmed the decision, yet should they do so, this would be a tremendous victory for the ancient forest protection movement.

Let's hope this is more than Green wishful thinking. Yet, clearly the Gunns' much maligned Tasmanian pulp mill proposal [alert] -- the focus of protest by many including Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network -- is facing troubles as its construction is much delayed. We have protested the mill on half a dozen occasions over past years, most lately targeting ANZ funding apparently with some impact. We must intensify protests until Australian ancient forest logging ends.

Ancient forest logging releases vast carbon stores [search] at great expense to the climate. The Australian government must end its ridiculous double-standard regarding international and domestic forest protection in regard to climate.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It is easy to rail against "illegal" logging [search], when in fact typical "legal" commercial logging is far more extensive and destructive in total to the world's biodiversity [search], climate [search], water [search] and biosphere [search]. Both liquidate life giving natural habitats, and more people are realizing they are mostly ecologically indistinguishable [ark]. Ancient primary forests industrially harvested for the first time are in fact destroyed -- in terms of being a fully intact ecological system with a unique, unimpaired evolutionary trajectory -- regardless if society considers it legal or illegal. Natural and planted secondary forest ecosystems managed industrially as tree farms become further ecologically diminished with each successive harvest including continued toxification, soil diminishment, species and genetic loss, reduced carbon and water holding potential, and so many other symptoms of ongoing biological homogenization.

Humanity's relationship with all forests must be transformed if we are to stop the hemorrhaging of lost species and halt transformation of the atmosphere. Industrial forestry [search] is incompatible with sustaining the full range of natural forest values [search] -- from species to genes, from soil microbes to local microclimates, from a forest stand to the Earth system and everything in between. Solving the biodiversity [search], climate [search] and water [search] crises requires a new forest protection paradigm that optimizes ecosystem, biodiversity and climate values while ecologically sustainably harvesting the annual growth increment (minus ecological restoration of natural capital to account in the future for past damage).

Continue reading "Legal Logging Destroying the Earth's Biodiversity, Climate, Water and Biosphere" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

Patagonia's wild rivers to be dammed, destroying ancient temperate forests, for 50 years of electricity; please let supposedly environmentally responsible Home Depot know they should not be doing business with the project's primary Chilean advocate

TAKE ACTION! One of Chile's last true pristine and intact wildernesses is to be dammed and logged to provide hydroelectricity. The dams -- two on the Baker River and three on the Pascua River -- would irretrievably damage Patagonia [search], one of the Earth's wildest and most beautiful places. The HidroAysén project will flood river valleys containing several thousand hectares of ancient primary forests. The project's transmission line would require extensive clearcutting of further pristine Chilean native forests [search], clearing more than a 1,500-mile swath that will impact fourteen national parks and wilderness reserves.

Shockingly, the main Chilean project proponent -- the Matte Group -- does extensive business with U.S. mega-corp Home Depot [search], broadly perceived as being "green". In consultation with International Rivers, Ecological Internet is working to get Matte to withdraw from the project by highlighting their business interests with Home Depot. Please challenge Home Depot to live up to their green image and refuse to participate in the greenwashing of Patagonian wild river and ancient forest destruction. Insist Home Depot cease doing business with Matte until they withdraw from HidroAysén. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Greenpeace warns in a new report entitled "Turning Up the Heat" that industrial logging in Canada's boreal forests [ark] threatens to turn the country's vast northern forest into a source of global warming. Greenpeace-Canada diagnoses the problem -- Boreal ancient forest logging causes climate change -- while being myopic and inconsistent on the solution, insinuating that industrial logging of ancient forests can be done acceptably. Yet we know first-time selective logging of primary forests releases immediately at least 40% of their carbon, while forever dimininishing future carbon holding potential, leaving behind much diminished tree plantations.

Continue reading "Greenpeace's Inconsistent Forest/Carbon Message on Display in the Canadian Boreal" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Done properly tree planting [search] is a hope filled expression of love for nature. But making a hole in the ground and dropping in the seedling is only the beginning. Nearly all planted trees require years of care including watering, weeding and even fencing to become established. Ill-conceived mass tree planting efforts are failing in Nigeria and worldwide [ark] because of failure to plan for this aftercare and other issues like using the wrong species in the wrong place. This is but one misunderstanding regarding tree planting and the environment.

Trees help remove carbon and help restore terrestrial ecosystems, but planted trees are generally not forests. Plantations of only one, often exotic, tree species are crops and not forests. Forests include diverse native tree species with associated understory plants, wildlife and soil microcobes. A natural forest provides ecological processes that are generally absent in tree farms including cycling of water and carbon, while creating soil and habitats.

Continue reading "Planting Trees is the Easy Part" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Strong Link Between Land Clearance and Climate Change Found in Queensland" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have resisted as long as I could pointing out the fact that Western forest fires are precisely in line with long-standing predictions regarding regional impacts of climate change [ark] [more\ark] expected in West/Southwestern United States. Ecological truth must be spoken often and loudly. Of course there are other exacerbating factors that interact with global heating including poorly planned urban sprawl [search], fire suppression in wildlands [search] evolved to burn, and over use of ecosystem water [search].

But these all are exacerbated by, and pale in comparison to, well known overwhelming implications of regional climatic shifts: "The catastrophic fires that are sweeping Southern California are consistent with what climate change models have been predicting for years... and they may be just a prelude to many more such events in the future – as vegetation grows heavier than usual and then ignites during prolonged drought periods. 'This is exactly what we’ve been projecting to happen, both in short-term fire forecasts for this year and the longer term patterns that can be linked to global climate change... In the future, catastrophic fires such as those going on now in California may simply be a normal part of the landscape.'"

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION: Australian media reports that Australia's Federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, will be announcing this week whether the federal government will provide environmental approval for the proposed Tasmanian ancient forest fed pulp mill. As expected the Tasmanian state parliament recently rubber-stamped the project. However, Malcolm Turnbull then announced a six week extension to decide whether the federal environmental would approve the project. Of particular concern was the mill's proposed effluent discharge into the area's fragile marine environment. This extended period of consideration is nearing its end.

It is also reported that Gunns logging and Tasmanian government have sent a high profile delegation to Canberra for last minute lobbying. Meanwhile Australian and international protest continues to surge against the ill-conceived, fast-tracked doubling of logging in Tasmania's ancient forests for throw away paper products. Ecological Internet's network alone has sent 387,476 protest emails to Australian authorities form 3,545 people in 83 countries. The world's forest and climate protectors need to make a final push on this difficult and detestable matter. TAKE ACTION!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)

ALERT UPDATE! The Tasmanian state parliament has, as expected, approved the proposed ancient forest fed pulp mill. However, in a positive development, the Australian federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced that he is extending the time available to decide whether to grant federal environmental approval for the project for another six weeks. This comes as Australian and international protest is surging against the ill-conceived, fast-tracked doubling of logging in Tasmania's ancient forests for throw away paper products.

This provides extra time to let federal politicians know that Australians and the World do not want or need this polluting forest-hungry pulp mill. The momentum is on our side! The alert has been updated and is now targeting the Environment Minister. Please send or resend in order to have your concerns registered within the federal public commenting process, which offically ends on Friday, August 31st (but this alert will remain live nonetheless). YOU MAY WANT TO NOTE WHETHER YOU ARE AN AUSTRALIAN OR GLOBAL CITIZEN BY EDITING THE SAMPLE LETTER.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

In a last minute effort to hand out forests to cronies before his term ends, the Bush administration has proposed eliminating protections from 1.5 million acres from Northwest forests considered critical to the survival of the northern spotted owl [search]. This will reopen the 1990s battle between timber production and wildlife habitat on public lands, and there is little reason to believe that this is scientifically justified in terms of owl habitat and forest health. This comes as the scientific basis for Bush's languishing "Healthy Forests" [search] policy of logging and replanting burned forests [more] rather than allowing them to regenerate naturally has been shown definitively to be bad science. An important new study has found that subsequent fire severity is much worse in logged and planted areas, compared to those that had burned severely and were left alone in an earlier fire. There appears to be no ecological truth (or for that matter truth of any kind) that the Bush Administration is unable to spin, twist or outright lie about. How did this man come to be trusted with the Earth's climate and America's forests? Let's hope the planet can survive another year and a half of what will certainly be renewed last minute assaults upon life giving ecosystems.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION! Let the Finnish government know that the age of ancient forest logging is over; that these forests are needed for climate buffering, biodiversity protection, forest restoration seed stock and are vital to achieving global ecological sustainability

The Finnish government is destroying the largest unprotected ancient forests in Finland. Only 4.4 percent of Finnish forests are classified old-growth forests. Still a large part of the little that remains is in danger of being destroyed. In Finnish Lapland the state owned logging company Metsahallitus has started clearcut logging huge areas of old-growth forests in November despite the strong national support for protection and several international biodiversity declarations Finland has signed. Logging and road construction have already started or are being planned in at least six areas. Finnish Lapland's forest wilderness is one of the largest and most important remaining in Europe, and Finland and other European countries have zero credibility in demanding tropical rainforests are protected in developing countries even as they mop up the remainder of their ancient forest ecosystems. This highly damaging industrial clearcut logging will permanently destroy unique natural values including reindeer herding and nature tourism. These unique ancient forests with up to 500 year old pine trees are being logged mainly for pulp and paper. In an evil ecological crime, old growth forests which maintain the biosphere in an inhabitable condition are being processed into magazine papers, envelopes and copy paper. Please ask for an immediate end to these outrageous ancient forest loggings. Let the Finnish government know that the Age of Ancient Forest Logging is over; and that all remaining old-growth must be protected and assisted to expand and restore itself.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Their survival depends upon maintaining and establishing corridors between large habitats

TAKE ACTION: Asian elephants once ranged throughout most of Asia, but their habitat has been reduced to isolated fragments, often with boundaries that restrict traditional migrations and gene flow. An expanding human settlement/wildland interface has lead to increased pressure on populations due to human-elephant conflicts ranging from poaching to crop-raiding and roadkills. Habitat fragmentation [search] leads to the isolation of populations, and for wide-ranging animals, it may result in several isolated populations that are too small to be viable. It is imperative for continued existence of Asian elephants in India [search] that immediate efforts be focused towards protecting known key populations and creating corridors that can facilitate animal migration and gene flow. We are appealing to you to PLEASE immediately write to the Government of India, to DEMAND that they get serious about protecting South India's wild elephants!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

The on again, off again, U.S. roadless forest rules of former President Clinton are back in effect. In a setback for the Bush administration, a federal judge rejected a rule that allowed logging roads in national forests' last large roadless [search] wilderness areas. Whoop, whoo - this is a major victory for the many groups working daily on this matter for years - a movement really - of which Ecological Internet and our network has been a part - including generating thousands of comments in the rules original formulation. We have done at least a half dozen alerts on the matter over the past 10 years (for an oldie but goodie see this 2001 alert). Ecological Internet and its predecessors including Forests.org are becoming ancient like the forests they seek to protect ;-)

Continue reading "VICTORY: U.S. Roadless Forests Sleep More Safely for Now" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The latest development in America's roadless forest catastrophe (search) has unfolded, as the Bush administration moves ahead with turning the fate of America's last large forest wildernesses over to states and ultimately industry cronies. It is reported that three Eastern states' petitions to continue protecting their roadless forests have been granted, in a predude to old-growth forest logging handouts in the West. Already in Oregon the Bush Forest Service continues with plans to log roadless forests that burned (more) a few years ago but are regenerating nicely and remain a large roadless wilderness, despite the state's Governor asking that logging of roadless forests end. Which is it Mr. Bush? Can states determine the fate of their forest heritage or will your government do so (as long as more logging is the guaranteed outcome).

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Numerous important forest land holdings are becoming available for purchase in the United States as logging companies realize these forests are more valuable for other purposes other than logging. The big question is whether land trusts and government will have the funds to buy and protect these lands, or whether they will be bought and developed for residential development. Given requirements for terrestrial ecosystem sustainability, and the shortage of intact natural ecosystems across many landscapes, one would hope these lands remain intact and are preserved. Think preserves not condos!

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION
Protest against Gunns of Tasmania goes global, ask business partners to divest from Gunns
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gunns

Tasmania, Australia's old growth forests are highly threatened by the woodchip industry, as ancient forests are reduced to throw-away paper products. On March 6th, outraged world citizens protested Gunns Ltd's destruction of old-growth forests, and their undermining of democracy, at Australian embassies and consulates in America, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. Protestors wore tape over their mouths with the word "Gunns" printed on it to protest Gunns Ltd's continued attempts to use its wealth and power to crush dissent and silence its critics through the courts. Tasmania's iconic forests contain massive eucalyptus trees, some of the tallest hardwood trees in the world, and are home to many endangered species. Gunns Ltd exports over four million tonnes of native-forest woodchips each year, mostly to the Japanese paper industry, with more than 65% sourced from old-growth, high conservation value forests. This alert targets Gunns Ltd's business partners, with copies to the Australian embassies targeted by the street protests, asking that they divest themselves of investments in Gunns and end their involvement in old-growth logging. For more information and to take action now: http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=gunns

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Bush Administration continues its disregard for peer reviewed science which has irrefutably found that salvage logging of forests post fire is ecologically damaging - hindering natural regeneration while increasing the risk of additional fires. An ecological crime of vast proportions is being waged as efforts are made to discredit ecological science and its proponents. When America's large natural forests burn, do we want to replace them with monoculture tree plantations, or do we want to allow them to regenerate naturally as they always have after burning? America's political leadership will stop at nothing to further their political interests, including dooming their country to abject ecosystem collapse in the not too distant future. Shame on those proponents of salvage logging suckling on the teat of logging companies.

In Fire's Wake, Logging Study Inflames Debate

Logging after the Biscuit fire, the study found, has harmed forest recovery and increased fire risk. What the short study did not say... is that the White House has ignored science to please the timber industry... Logging after fires... generates about 40 percent of timber volume on the nation's public lands... Salvage logging and replanting can often succeed... if the intent is to turn a scorched landscape into a stand of trees for commercial harvest. If, however, Congress wants to promote the ecologically sound recovery of burned federal forests... the overwhelming weight of scientific research suggests that "salvage logging is not going to be appropriate."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

All around us are indications of regional ecosystem collapse that together threaten humanity with global ecosystem collapse. The recent Philippine mudslide can be directly traced to deforestation, climate change and overpopulation. To say otherwise is to deny reality and scientific facts, and amounts to deadly obstructionism. We simply must confront these issues head on or we are doomed.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Rev up the chain saws, the Toxic Texan has renewed his war upon America's forests. A White House budget proposal released this week recommends more than doubling the annual timber harvested on public lands in Oregon, Washington and California ? to 800 million board feet.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The American Scientist presents a good review of the science behind the environmental assessment of selective logging in ancient forests. Many important scientific and policy points are made which fly in the face of industry and mainstream environmental rhetoric that "sustainable logging" (usually mixed with additional vague assurances such logging is selective, ecosystem based, follows best management practices, or has been certified) has environmental benefits and can contribute appreciably to forest conservation in the world's remaining large primary forest wildlands.

Carbon storage in selectively logged forests has been shown in numerous studies to be appreciably reduced (from 25-70%). It has also been found that tropical forests take much longer to regenerate than generally accepted - in many cases hundreds of years, far longer than most "sustainable logging" operation's cutting cycles.

The potential for truly reduced-impact logging, what I call "eco-forestry" that is not large scale or industrial, to surgically remove individual trees maintaining ancient forest composition, dynamics and structure is noted. But in reality such codes are rarely followed.

Continue reading "The Myth of Selective Logging: Carbon and Regeneration" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the aid of greenwashing by the large mainstream and even "radical" environmental groups, 2/3 of Canada's ancient temperate rainforests are to be heavily industrially logged in return for vague protections in 1/3 of this planetary ecosystem treasure trove. Ecological Internet's network has campaigned against this deal in the past. There are no assurances these protection levels are adequate for regional ecosystem sustainability, that the logging can be done in a manner that maintains the full range of species, or that later the protected forests will not come under logging pressures.

Continue reading "The Great Canadian Temperate Rainforest Sell-Out" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

An important component of policy to achieve global ecological sustainability will be restoring terrestrial ecosystems. Restoration ecology goes beyond plantation reforestation, seeking to reconstruct native communities of trees - indeed constructing a new forest modeled on what occurred there historically. The problem has been that restoration ecology efforts are usually small, token efforts that achieve little in regards to appreciably conserving and restoring regional ecosystems and biodiversity. One of the best examples of large scale ecological restoration of large forested landscapes of which I am familiar is taking place in Scotland, where more than seven million trees could be planted during an initiative to regenerate Scotland's native woodland. The Earth's biosphere is in a state of overshoot, meaning more ecosystems have been lost than the Planet can bear. Humanity must swiftly ramp up efforts to identify and restore ecosystems that are optimally placed for the most ecological benefit.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What to make of the recent scientific discovery that plants are a major source of methane - a particularly potent greenhouse gas? It is very important that these findings not be misconstrued to suggest that natural vegetation including forests are not important ecologically. Certainly forests are critical ecologically as repositories of biodiversity, wildlife, carbon, water, etc. But it is incorrect to assert that planting forests will have a major impact on remediating climatic change.

Continue reading "Plants Found to Release Methane" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have written at length regarding how forest fires are often a natural part of forest ecology - resetting the system and providing for ecosystem renewal. And new scientific evidence establishes that logging following forest fires further damages forests - impeding regeneration, increasing the risk of further fires, and exacerbating climate change. "A general lesson has been the great resilience and recuperative capacity that are characteristic of natural forests."

Continue reading "Salvage Logging Hinders Regeneration, Increases Fire Risk, Causes Climate Change" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rational, logical Darwinian science has won out over superstitious, antiquated creationism. And in a further repudiation of "unintelligent" design, Science magazine has named recent advances in the study of Evolution the science story of the year.

?Intelligent Design' Barred From Biology Class

A federal judge has ruled ?intelligent design? cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, concluding that several school board members lied about their motives for introducing the concept to students.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Environmentalists are frequently disparaged for blaming supposedly "natural disasters" as being attributed to environmental decline. In the past year I have highligted the role of coastal development and ecosystem loss as a cause for damaged done by the Asian Tsunami and the Gulf Coast Hurricanes. It appears I missed one sign of ecological collapse in 2005 - the damage caused in Pakistan by the recent earthquake were greatly exacerbated by deforestation of the steep mountain slopes. Land slides claimed many lives and many deaths could have been prevented by maintaining and restoring natural forest cover on land slide prone areas in earthquake zones.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The issue of biofuels being made from oil palm and soya which are destructive to rainforest ecosystems is taking on a high profile in the conservation community. This issue was first raised by Forests.org and our international network earlier in the year with an alert to the EU. At that time, in my exhaustive perusal of forest news I had seen no mention of the the topic. Since our alert many other groups have become active on the matter. This is one example of the critical role that Forests.org plays in identifying and mobilizing actions against emerging threats to the world's forests and climate. Our innovative network has more impact than appreciated, and suble moves forward are as frequent as outright conservation victories.

EU must ensure bioenergy is really 'green'

Travelling in a car fuelled by biodiesel seems like a great, environmentally-friendly thing to do. However, if the biodiesel has come from soya planted in the Brazilian Amazon or palm oil from Indonesia, the green consumer is likely to be unwittingly driving another nail into the coffin of the world's great ecosystems."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

The interplay between forests and the atmosphere is complex and largely unknown. The conventional wisdom is that planting trees is a laudable response to climate change, but it is not so simple. A new study indicates trees planted in temperate areas actually raise temperatures by aborbing more heat - while trees in tropical areas transpire this heat more effectively thus leading to more cooling. These impacts may outweigh whatever benefits in terms of reduced warming result from carbon capture.

There is a whole array of unknowns regarding the interplay between forests and climate. Those with a vested interest in tree planting for alleged climate benefits must take heed or risk being label as charlatans. Other issues include whether replacing ancient forests with plantations may lead to more lost carbon storage than is gained by growing forests, and the possibility that if global warming continues apace forests - planted and otherwise - may suffer tremendous dieback and carbon release.

The lesson here is that given current knowledge humanity is well advised to focus upon reducing emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, energy efficiency and keeping existing carbon stored in intact ancient forests. Planting trees - particulary in monocultures outside of their natural ranges - should not be embraced as a climate change remedy at this point. By all means restoring of native forests where they traditionally occurred is another matter and should be pursued aggressively.

7/12/2005 -- Study: Forests could worsen global warming

A study by the Carnegie Institution and U.S. government scientists says planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide may worsen global warming... the researchers found that while tropical forests help keep Earth cool by evaporating a great deal of water, northern forests tend to warm the Earth because they absorb sunlight without losing much moisture. In one computer simulation, the scientists covered much of the northern hemisphere with forests and saw a jump in surface air temperature of more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION
Industrial logging of ancient primary forests is ecologically and socially indefensible
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=world_bank_congo

The World Bank is moving forward with plans to subsidize ancient rainforest logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) mighty ancient rainforests. On Thursday December 8th, the Board of the World Bank will consider whether to approve more than $200 million in new funding for the government of DRC, some of it linked to 'development' of the country's rainforests. The World Bank is laying the basis for the destruction of Congo's rainforests, and it has breached many of its own internal safeguard policies in the process. Under the World Bank plan some 600,000 square kilometers of Congo's precious rainforest could eventually be handed over to logging companies. Forests are being zoned into areas for timber felling against the wishes of many local communities. On the eve of this important decision by the Bank's Board, twelve organizations representing the various indigenous 'Pygmy' peoples of the Congo have submitted a formal complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel, an
official independent watchdog, stating the Bank has failed to take into account the impact that its plans would have on people depending on the forest for their survival. The World Bank Board must urgently be called upon to suspend any further funding for forestry and mining in DRC until there has been a thorough review of the Bank's activities in DRC's forests to date, and until the Inspection Panel has conducted an investigation. Please take action now.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The World Bank is moving forward with a plan to open up the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) mighty rainforests -- the world's second largest -- for massive industrial felling of timber. Forests are being zoned into areas for timber felling against the wishes of many local communities including the 'Pygmy' peoples. Nonetheless, the World Bank continues with funding plans for the DRC government, which include commitments to begin massive industrial rainforest development through highly exploitative logging. I am sure that WWF and other ancient forest logging apologists providing cover to such ecological sacrilege are giddy with the prospects of having more ancient forest logging to certify as being environmentally sound. Shame on those that destroy ancient primary forests, and mislead saying this slaughter reduces poverty or is environmentally benign. May their ecological desecration and social upheaval bring them the eternal damnation they deserve.

Continue reading "World Bank Threatens Congo's Rainforests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Glen Barry: How to tame the logging beast
Source: Copyright 2005, Independent
Date: November 28, 2005

The enchanting cry of the bird of paradise, a refreshing swim in a cool swollen river, dozens of exotic and tasty foodstuffs cooked on a fire, and a kaleidoscope of brilliant and diverse culture - welcome to Papua New Guinea's (PNG) rainforests.

Deep in PNG's still abundant rainforests most local peoples continue to live traditional lives. While life may be lacking in material goods, it is full of leisure and tight family bonds, as bountiful rainforests provide dependable stores of groceries, hardware and medicine. Sadly, increasingly the whirr of chain saws can be heard, signalling an end to rainforests and their human habitats.

Continue reading "How to Tame the Logging Beast" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION
The last thing Indonesia's rainforests need now is more pulp and wood mills
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=indonesia

Two major Austrian corporations are constructing and financing a huge pulp mill and wood chip mill in South Kalimantan, Indonesia by the company "United Fiber System" (UFS). Andritz AG and RZB of Austria are reported to be financing the destruction of at least 113,000 hectares of largely intact tropical rainforest.

Continue reading "ACTION ALERT: Austrian Companies to Destroy Indonesian Rainforests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The world's remaining large ancient forests are priceless - providing the ecosystem services, habitat, evolutionary potential and spiritual awe upon which all life depends. Sadly some people can only appreciate this tapestry of life if expressed in economic terms. A new report on Canada's Boreal forests shows what so many have shown before - that these and other large forest wildernesses purify water, regulate climate and produce oxygen - all services worth billions of dollars. I remain slightly disturbed that the self-evident truth that ecological systems are the base of all aspects of human life including economics is not more generally recognized and acted upon. When all the forests, arable land, clean water, breathable air and ocean abundance are gone - go ahead, try eating money.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment was released, finding that some 13 million hectares of mostly natural forests are destroyed each year. FAO set the net loss of forest area between 2000-2005 at some 7.3 million hectares a year, compared to 8.9 million hectares in the 1990-2000 period. As in the past, the FAO falsely indicates that this continued massive devastation of the world's forests is somehow good news. They downplay the loss or modification of six million hectares of primary forests each year, failing to grasp the ecological value of these ancient and sacred ancient forest landscapes. Global forest loss remains by at least an order of magnitude too severe to sustain global forests and the Earth's biosphere.

Continue reading "World Forest Loss Alarming as Deforestation Remains at High Rate" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

TAKE ACTION: Insist Colombia not cancel natural forest protections
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=colombia

The Fundación GAIA of Colombia reports that Forests.org's alert on behalf of Colombia's rainforests has already had positive impact. "The debates on the Forestry law are taking place every Tuesday in the House of Representatives. Last Tuesday, the opposition used the letter signed by environmental NGOs. It had impact. Those who promoted the project did not succeed in getting it approved. The debate continues next Tuesday. We made progress in the sense that it has been accepted that the concept of "vuelo forestal" (separating rights to land from rights to the forest cover, PV) will not be applied to indigenous or afro-colombian territories. In spite of this, they want to cancel all norms that protect natural forests." It was suggested that our campaign also send copies to the media. The alert at http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=colombia has been updated to include this new information and to send messages to media as well.

FUND RAISING UPDATE: We are 40% to our goal with $15,000 still needed to be raised in order to guarantee we can remain operational. If you value global forest ecological sustainability and Forests.org efforts on their behalf please donate now at http://forests.org/donate/ .

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The world's second largest rainforest expanse found in the Democratic Republic of Congo is threatened by new illegal timber concession allocations. Nearly 150,000 square kilometers of forest (an area the size of England and Wales) have been allocated to timber companies within the last three years in violation of an existing "moratorium" or ban on new logging concessions.

Africa's rainforest ecosystems - vitally essential for local, regional and global ecological sustainability - are threatened by illegal logging, as are virtually all of the World's remaining large, contiguous rainforests. These rainforests provide critical habitat to indigenous, local and by virtue of their ecosystem services and biodiversity - all of the Earth's peoples and species.

Meanwhile WWF, and even Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network, advocate misguided policies to log many if not most of the Earth's ancient forests in an "environmentally sustainable" manner. Environmentally sustainable ancient forest logging is perhaps the ultimate oxymoron. Natural rainforest management in an ecologically sustainable manner is impossible. Once logged ancient forests are no longer primary forests, and they enter a period of permanent and ultimately fatal decline.

Continue reading "Africa's Massive Illegal Rainforest Giveaway" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is an excellent article on the issue of indigenous peoples being removed from their lands in the name of conservation. As a conservation biologist I realize that indigeneous and local traditional livelihoods must be respected and maintained just as surely as any other force of nature. But I will not go so far as to say if indigenous people want to whack down all their forests and destroy their ecosystems it is acceptable. Where you draw the line between ecology and human rights is tricky -- as without the former you can forget about the latter.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Many in the U.S. Congress continue to embrace the industry sponsored fraud that logging of forests is required to make them healthy. It is hard to imagine how forests survived for all those millenia pre-human industrial logging. The recent gamesmanship involves Congressional efforts to open up forests that have been burned and undergone other natural disturbances to industrial logging. Again they couch it in terms of forest health and restoration. What a sham. Burned forests are completely natural, and they possess the processes to naturally regenerate themselves. Efforts to log and then replant mostly monocultures of timber species turns a healthy, regenerating forest landscape full of life and ecosystem outputs into a toxic tree plantation.

Bill to Force Logging Public Forests After Fires Introduced

Nearly 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sponsored legislation that they say would expedite the cleanup and restoration of federal forests after catastrophic events such as wildfires, hurricanes and windstorms.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Think gold is glamerous and worldly? How about poisonous and deadly? It is unconscionable that a consumer item of no intrinsic value routinely leads to tons of land being pulverized and spewed with toxics to yield an ounce of gold. The mining industry is destroying the Earth and must be stopped.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PRESS RELEASE
New Science Indicates Selective Logging of Amazon Highly Destructive

Forests.org calls upon mainstream environmental organizations and funders to heed this warning and embrace the goal of ending old-growth logging in all ancient forests

October 20, 2005
By Forests.org < http://forests.org/ >, a project of Ecological Internet
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, +1 920 776 1075

Tomorrow the leading scientific journal "Science" will publish a report that indicates that selective logging is destroying the Amazon rainforest twice as fast as previously thought. A new satellite survey of the Amazon Basin in Brazil using new methods reveals that selective logging destroys an area of pristine rainforest big enough to cover the state of Connecticut every year.

It has long been known that first time selective logging of ancient forests - be it illegal or "certified" - is not sustainable in any meaningful ecological sense; as sunlight dries out the forest floor, which along with roads causes more forest fires, while heavy equipment damages the soil. Selectively logged ancient forests are diminished forever; containing different species in different abundances, changed size classes, differing forest structure, loss of genetic diversity and reductions in important soil microbes.

The new report indicates climate change is one of the biggest concerns when primary forests are selectively logged, as forest debris left behind decomposes and releases an estimated 100 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year in just the Amazon. This carbon release just by selective primary forest logging is enough to alter climate change forecasts on a global scale.

Continue reading "New Science Indicates Selective Logging of Amazon Highly Destructive" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

In response to our network's unprecedented expression of dismay over the Internet to fellow conservationists that are deeply involved in the promotion of industrial certified forest logging, Greenpeace Canada has issued this response http://www.ecoearth.info/talk/viewtopic.php?p=1983#1983 which was probably sent to many of you. Below is a point by point rebuttal and follow-up questions that should be asked to Greenpeace and others supporting the ancient forest logging in Canada's temperate rainforests and elsewhere.

The point is that some day relatively soon there will be no ancient forests to log. The question is whether there will be any large ancient forest landscapes remaining or not at that time. Do you really think that after 80% is logged the industry is not going to go after the remaining 20% that is "protected"? The Earth is not going to be sustained by "saving what we can" - this is not adequate to maintain ecosystems upon which we utterly depend for life. It is going to be saved by confronting and ending practices which are destroying it. To be continuing to log ancient forests at this late date is literally killing us.

Ultimately what we want is for the formerly ground-breaking and effective campaign organizations to stop negotiating acceptable levels of ancient forest harvests, and to work to end ancient forest logging by disassociating themselves from the "consensus" and resuming their market campaigns.

Continue reading "Responding to Greenpeace's Acknowledgement of Ancient Forest Logging Complicity" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (2)

Deforestation and Climate Change Feedbacks Set In

The Amazon rainforest region is suffering a severe drought highly likely to have been caused or at least exacerbated by rainforest loss and climate change. This is a very severe drought, with water levels in some Amazon tributaries up to 15 meters lower than usual. In response, the Brazilian government has declared parts of the Amazon River a disaster area. Dry spells in the Amazon occur regularly, and are believed to be tied to cycles in water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean which affect the quantity of rainfall in rainforests. This year the Atlantic Ocean's waters are warmer as the result of climate change, the same phenomenon that intensified recent hurricanes, and this is contributing to the severity of this drought. The common practice of using fires to clear land of forests and brush is also aggravating the dry spell.

Continue reading "Amazon May Be a Carbon Source" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Legitimate questions are being asked regarding biofuel production from agricultural products - namely, whether the production of biofuels will result in higher food prices. And as any first year economics student can tell you, of course it will - increased demand will lead to higher prices. And this is where ecological issues come into play - higher prices will lead to greater supply. And if history is any guide, forest and other natural ecosystems will be displaced by agriculture. In working to address decreasing oil reserves, climate change and national security, we must not replace one set of ecological and social problems with another. The cheapest source of energy is conservation. Remaining demand must be met by a basket of renewable technologies that are as Earth friendly as feasible.

Planet Ark : FEATURE - Green Fuel Revolution a Challenge for Grain Sector

More and more, crops like corn and soybeans -- now primarily used as animal feed and ingredients in hundreds of food products -- will be used to make ethanol and biodiesel in coming years, in what could have a ripple effect in the form of higher food prices, some economists say.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (3)

Development of oil sands in northern Alberta is just beginning to ramp up with predictable dire consequences for Canada's forest landscapes and the Earth's atmosphere. Oil sands are one of several possible unconventional oil and gas sources (others include tar sands, shale oil, coal bed methane and coal gasification) that are abundant and highly polluting. The growing oil sands industry will destroy massive areas of Canada's boreal forest, require huge volumes of water, and result in increased emissions that cause acid rain. And if as conventional oil and natural gas fade we turn increasingly to oil sands and further use of coal, there is no way that climate change can ever be addressed. The atmosphere can not absorb all the carbon dioxide and pollutants found in these fuels and the further expansion of oil sands and coal really is the death knell for a functional and stable atmospheric system. As more traditional sources of oil and natural gas grow scarce, it is unconscionable that the fossil fuel industries are turning towards coal and oil sands rather than renewable energy. The biggest and cheapest source of energy is conservation and greater efficiency. Humanity can and must choose to not develop these highly polluting energy sources.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (3)

The U.S. Forest Service's efforts to restrict public input has been stymied by a judge's ruling throwing out limits on the public's right to participate in forest decisions. In an act of petulance, they are stopping hundreds of forest management activities - including harvesting the Capitol Christmas Tree - rather than accept legitimate public oversight of their activities. Thankfully the U.S. courts are present as a last line of defense against the Bush administration's forest onslaught.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Anyone who spends time outdoors or is reasonably in touch with nature can tell you that climate is changing, and rapidly. The signs are all around us. In 2003 Europe experienced a heatwave that most blame upon climate change which killed 35,000 people and cost some £7bn. A recent report demonstrates the degree to which climate initiated heatwaves of this sort decimate forests and other native vegetation. The heatwave's scorching temperatures and prolonged drought were found to have stifled Europe's forest growth and released huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, during the 2003 heatwave, European plants produced more carbon dioxide than they absorbed from the atmosphere. Few doubt the existence of global warming in Europe as a result. Oh that America were willing and able to acknowledge that climate change is behind their hurricane disasters. Overcoming denial of the obvious is the first step towards getting help.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking to fast track a major gutting of the Endangered Species Act. Their bill would make it more difficult for the federal government to set aside land it deems crucial to the health of endangered species. This is an egregious example of Republicans using the distraction caused by the Hurricane Katrina disaster to usher through controversial environmental legislation. Abandonment of three decades of policy which values biodiversity as a national priority deserves to be more fully considered. Biodiversity is a critical component of ecosystem stability, maintaining services we depend upon to live. And all species have intrinsic value. Shame on them.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The following intriguing article questions the effectiveness of agreements reached between environmentalists and Canada's provincial British Columbia (BC) government to protect priceless temperate rainforest wildernesses including the Great Bear Rainforest. Covering some 20 million acres of endangered temperate rainforest, the Great Bear Rainforest is the most lucrative final frontier forest in North America. The article asks whether campaigns to reform industrial logging of old-growth forests can meaningfully succeed in promoting lasting forest conservation.

Continue reading "Failed BC Compromise Shows Need for No More Ancient Forest Logging" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The World Bank has issued a warning regarding resource depletion in poor, developing countries. According to a new World Bank study, resource depletion and surging population growth are draining the net "savings" of the world's poorest countries and could cripple future generations. That the World Bank is issuing such a warning would be almost comical if it were not so tragic.

Continue reading "World Bank Warns on Resource Depletion" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

After a twenty year struggle that included peaceful protests and arrests, nearly 26,000 acres of Hawaii's natural rainforests have been protected. Wao Kele is the largest remaining intact tract of Hawaiian rain forest, and it had been threatened by geothermal energy development for two decades. Wao Kele is home to 200 native Hawaiian plants and animal species, some listed as threatened or endangered, and contains a large portion of an important regional aquifer. The agreement reached ensures that Native Hawaiians will be able to continue to use the Wao Kele site as they have for generations, while Wao Kele is retained in its natural state in perpetuity.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Hawaiian Rainforest Protected After Long Struggle" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times today editorialized regarding Brazil's apparent short term progress in slowing the rate of Amazonian deforestion. In "A Healthier Amazon Jungle" they do a good job of reviewing the salient points. Namely, that deforestation rates are down over the past year, and that this is due partly to increased government vigilance and partly to dropping agricultural commodity prices. The latter will eventually go up, and the survival of the mighty Amazon depends upon the former remaining strong as well.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Some conservationists have argued that biodiversity conservation resources should be targeted towards "hotspots" - areas where species' diversity is greater than normal. Others have argued for a different focus, such as upon areas faced with imminent destruction, large intact ecosystems, and even not prioritizing at all given that all land benefits from conservation. Here is a good article regarding a new study which add credence to these contrarians. A primary concern that I have and have enunciated over the years is the detachment between the amount of natural habitat required for global ecological sustainability, versus the relatively unambitious targets in terms of extent of habitats to be maintained under a hotspot approach. I do not believe the hotspot approach is sufficient to maintain either species or ecosystems, nor the integrity of the global biosphere.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since President Bush election he has waged an unprecedented assault on the natural environment, particularly forests, greatly decreasing the nation's ecosystems which are critical for averting natural disasters. The Bush administration has weakened protections for old-growth forests and biodiversity, put in place industrial logging supposedly to protect against forest fires, and has once again opened America's last large and unprotected forest wildernesses to development. As the New York Times notes, this last measure is facing resistance not only from the vast majority of Americans, but from Western governors where many of these last ancient forest landscapes are found. Western governors are challenging the rollback of protections for roadless forest wildernesses. Forests.org's network has worked on this issue for years, and it appears we are on the ascendency and all is NOT lost.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a major victory for the international rainforest conservation movement, the Ecuadorian government has temporarily halted a Brazilian oil company's building of an access road into Yasuni National Park and Biosphere Reserve located in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon. You may recall the park contains one of the highest known levels of plant diversity per hectare in the world. Wildlife abounds as jaguars still roam, woolly and spider monkeys still swing through the trees, and harpy eagles patrol the canopy.

In June of 2004, Forests.org with Rettet den Regenwald e.V. (Rainforest Rescue, a German NGO) first brought the situation to a wide international audience. On numerous occasions Forests.org?s massive international network -- YOU and I -- generated thousands of protest emails. A wide coalition of environmental groups and scientists both locally and internationally worked hard to achieve this temporary halt -- including working with the Huaorani peoples to amplify their protests against this intrusion upon their traditional lands.

The political situation in Ecuador remains fluid to say the least, with this and other conflicts over oil rife. Sadly, final protection of this priceless rainforest and its inhabitants -- as with virtually any rainforest Worldwide -- is far from assured. And this campaign to protect Ecuador?s Yasuni National Park and Biosphere Reserve was a long-shot from the start. Yet the attached news account demonstrates the political machinations through which our voice -- the global rainforest movement -- has been heard.

It is good news indeed that we still have an opportunity to maintain the priceless ancient rainforest as a large, contiguous and unfragmented whole. Lest we lose the momentum, please respond to this updated alert - Oppose Oil Road Construction in Ecuador's Ultradiverse Yasuní National Park.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Burning peat bogs set alight by rainforest clearance in Indonesia are releasing up to a seventh of the world's total fossil fuel emissions in a single year. Time and time again lack of ecological understanding, and the desire to make short term profits at any cost, has lead to disasterous ecosystem destruction. It is ludicrous to destroy ecosystems that are millions of years old, contain unaccounted for biodiversity, and provide crucial planetary and regional ecosystems in order to turn large swaths of peat swamps into rice plantations. Similar ecologically depauperate decisions lead to the catastrophic situation in Katrina's aftermath. The article ends with a prescient quote: "People just don't understand peatlands and don't understand wetlands, as we've seen with the situation in New Orleans. People have a misguided impression of our abilities to manipulate natural ecosystems."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

California, New Mexico and Oregon have filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration for dismantling restrictions on roadbuilding and logging in nearly 58.5 million acres of United States' last roadless forest wildernesses. This continues the tug of war over what happens to these pristine large roadless forests. The Bush administration has tried devious and underhanded means to open these areas to development. Perhaps the best we can hope for until the Toxic Texan rides off into the sunset is for the issue to be tied up in the courts until he is gone.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Malaysia has increased penalties for illegally logging their rainforests to include mandatory prison time. This is a welcome and much belated move. Now the Malaysian government should similarly crack down on the many Malaysian logging companies and individuals that are conducting illegal logging operations overseas. The Malaysian timber mafia threatens the existence of ancient forests in Papua New Guinea, Russia, Brazil, Cameroon and elsewhere. These violent and corrupt entities are no less deserving of hard time in Malaysia's jails.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Intelligent design is a vacuous, superstitious theory of human origin propogated by Christian neanderthals. This brilliant Op/Ed in the New York Times, Show Me the Science, shreds the "theory" which dreams of replacing evolution as the explanation for human and other biological existence. The author makes clear that there is not a shred of scientific evidence behind the intelligent design hypothesis as the explanation for any biological phenomena. The fanatic Christian right is largely a bunch of science hating kooks. Evolution is truth, knowledge and scientific. Intelligent design is supersitious stupidity and signifies nothing.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Brazilian government has announced that the rate of Amazonian deforestation has been halved (2)over the past year - from some 18,000 sq km to 9,000 sq km - due to recent policy initiatives on their part, including a crack down on illegal logging. Though this is a crude estimate over a very short period of time, if this tentative trend were to be confirmed, consolidated and built upon, it could portend well for the future of the Amazon.

Continue reading "Brazil Claims Amazon Deforestation 'Halved'" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Brazilian Amazon is severely threatened by a surge in massive agricultural projects. The trend is so significant that the Brazilian Amazon will soon exist as only relatively small protected areas and areas unsuitable for agriculture. This is not a case of struggling small farmers eking a living. These are massive agri-businesses that are often clearing massive tracts of rainforests, and then mining the soil of precious nutrients. This agricultural boom is responsible for much of the deforestation occurring in the environmentally sensitive Amazon region.

This boom in industrial scaled agriculture is a global catastrophe. The Amazon?s large and unfragmented rainforests power the global ecological system. Agriculture has historically been the largest cause of outright deforestation of primary forests. Unless rules are put in to place to strictly control and in most cases prohibit conversion of Amazon?s primary rainforests to industrial agriculture, we can kiss the Amazon goodbye. The deforestation will eventually change Brazil's ? and the Earth's ? climate, reducing rainfall and the supply of water for irrigation. And there will be an upsurge in species extinction, moving the World that much closer to final ecological collapse.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A new map of global bird diversity provides far more detail on patterns of distribution than was previously known. This is good on many levels, not least of which that scientific knowledge for its own sake is valuable. But to suggest as is frequently the case with such findings that this information should be used to target conservation is dangerous.

The Earth has far surpassed the amount of natural ecosystems that can be lost while sustaining life of all sorts. To suggest that these small albeit diverse areas should be more likely to be protected inherently dooms other much more widespread areas to continued degradation. This is unacceptable. If humanity is to avoid endangerment we need extensive areas of natural ecosystems to be protected and restored far beyond but perhaps including biodiversity hotspots.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is an ill-conceived suggestion - creating a massive wildlife park in the United States to protect large mammals. This approach totally misses the point that these animals' native habitats provide ecosystem services upon which all life depends. We need adequate intact ecosystems to meet these species needs while providing global ecological sustainability, not massive zoos.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just what the ecologically ravaged island of Borneo needs - to have its last relatively intact rainforests converted to an oil palm plantation. Indonesia and Malaysia are suffering mightily as a result of inappropriate tropical land management including large monocropped plantations and industrial scale logging - witness the recent resurgence of haze as damaged rainforests burn. Ecological sustainability in these countries depends upon stabilizing and reversing forest loss - not wiping out the last remnants which provide important ecosystem services such as water retention.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Invasive and exotic species threaten much of the World's biodiversity and ecosystems. Humanity has had very little success in addressing these super competiters which thrive in human disrupted ecoystems. Yet genetically modified super weeds that share these traits and more are a real possibility in the age of Franken-agriculture. Now it has been reported that a wild relative of the oilseed rape has picked up the traits of engineered crops. Genetic pollution has been feared by environmentalists and pooh poohed by agribusiness, but now apparently it is real and happening. I have never really understood the need for biotech agriculture. Do we not have enough agricultural products now, so that we need to risk the stability of eco/agri systems that have sustained humanity for millenia? When will humanity stop destroying natural ways of meeting our needs under the pretentious and false paradigm that we can and should bio-engineer a global ecosystem? It is simply outrageous that scientists are playing Russian Roulette with the biological underpinnings of all life.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is stunning how brazenly the current United States administration consistently ignores science when making environmental policy. The latest controversial selective and biased use of science finds the Bureau of Land Management disregarding government scientists' warnings concerning adverse environmental impacts of excessive cattle grazing on federal lands. Why are the getting away with this sort of thing?

Federal Officials Echoed Grazing-Rule Warnings

Continue reading "Brazen Disregard of Livestock Grazing Environmental Science" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Below is disturbing information regarding illegal logging of the Canadian Boreal by Weyerhaeuser. There is a vibrant campaign that is showing signs of success in defending this massive and magnificent old-growth forest ecosystem. In the story below, the groups which include the Rainforest Action Network correctly highlight the predatory, law-breaking behavior of industrial loggers. Weyerhaeuser was found to have exceeded its logging and road building allowances to supply corporations including Xerox with paper. Shockingly, this corporate criminality was certified as being "sustainable" by a patsy industry certification organization.

However, where the campaign goes wrong is identifying achievement of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification as the desirable alternative. Canada's ancient boreal forests power planetary ecosystem functions ? these ancient behemoth trees should not be used to make paper or plywood. FSC certified industrial logging still involves bull-dozers rumbling through ancient forests, irreducibly diminishing an ecological treasure. No natural primary forest has ever been harvested more than a couple times under such standards. Yet implicitly FSC's green rhetoric, with which even WWF, RAN and Greenpeace have become enamored, suggests that their standards are environmentally benign. This is far from the truth. In reality, these areas will be further reduced with each harvest, eventually becoming virtually tree plantations.

Continue reading "Weyerhaeuser's Predatory Logging in Canadian Boreal, Inadequate Campaign Response" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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There are many men and women around the World who have made a life out of understanding biological life, ecological systems and requirements for global ecological sustainability. One such man ? Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Society, truly a hero of the planet ? is profiled in this Guardian article. Here is an individual fully engaged with the preposterous task of reconciling unlimited human desires, the needs of biodiversity and ecosystems, with the reality of global poverty and the crying need for equitable, just and global sustainable development. The Guardian story goes into these issues in depth.

Continue reading "Finding Your Ecological Niche, Giving Yourself to Gaia" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Bush deserves plaudits for his disingeous dismantling of roadless forest protections. First his administration refused to defend the rule in court without actually rolling them back, as courts threatened their position they then introduced a new rule passing management of federal forests to the states, and they have now finally succeeded in court because their new rule trumps the old one that was never actually implemented in the first place! This is a textbook example of resource cronyism, albeit through subtle maneuvering. President Bush would sell and/or destroy any natural wonder for the right price - monetary or political support.

Continue reading "America's Roadless Forests Threatened" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

TAKE ACTION
Tell Nippon Paper Group to Stop Buying Old-Growth
Comment Form: http://www.np-g.com/e/csr/ideology/materials_form.html
Background: http://www.np-g.com/e/news/news05061701.html

Japanese company Nippon Paper Group is following the lead of a key rival by reviewing its policy for purchasing woodchips from old growth forests. Nippon is the latest customer of Tasmanian exporter Gunns Ltd to consider new policies after Mitsubishi Paper Mill moved to reject woodchips derived from Tasmania, Australia's old growth and high-conservation value forests late last month. The Earth's forest conservation movement has a unique opportunity to follow up upon our recent victory in Tasmania ? taking the next step to transition the paper industry to a No Old-Growth stance. Nippon is carrying out a public consultation on their raw materials policy which would provide the opportunity it needs to follow the lead of Mitsubishi and dump Tasmanian old growth woodchips. Comments are being taken only through a form on their web site, where they ask for the "Main Point" and "Reason or Background" in regard to their raw materials procurement policy. Below are suggestions for the basic message we should be trying to communicate, which you can copy and paste, but please add your own language if possible.

Continue reading "End Old-Growth Woodchip Market in Tasmania and the World" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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From Mining, Logging, Capitalism and Population Growth

Coveting of protected natural forest for logging, mining and drilling ? both legal and illegal ? never really diminishes. Several recent stories regarding mining in "protected" forests clearly illustrates that no forests are every truly preserved. The story is pretty much the same in Indonesia, India and the Philippines - in the face of unlimited human demands, any forest or other bit of nature could be lost at any time.

Continue reading "No Forests Are Ever Truly Protected" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Blow to Australia?s Tasmanian Timber Industry

The Japanese company Mitsubishi Paper Mills has announced it will stop using woodchips from old-growth forests. Their new policy is to buy only woodchips "sourced from plantations or second growth forests of environmentally benign, and reclaimed wood." Mitsubishi is a major customer of Tasmanian woodchip exporter Gunns ? and the new wood-chip buying policy would rule out sourcing woodchips from old growth Tasmanian forests. Shockingly, until now most old growth timber from large-scale clearfelling in Tasmania has been converted to woodchips, largely for export to Japan.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Mitsubishi to Stop Buying Old Growth" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In a welcome move, Brazil has introduced laws against developing products from native species without sharing the benefits with local communities and governments. If enforced (a big if), the law could potentially lead to greater community development on the basis of biodiversity conservation. It is important that in implementing the law, collection of biological samples for scientific purposes, which increases knowledge and benefits all, is not impeded in any way; and differentiated from biopiracy, which is stealing.

Brazil gets tough on 'biopirates'

Brazil has introduced a law to regulate the development of commercial products from its native species. Those who use indigenous resources without permission or without sharing the benefits with the state or local communities could face a fine of up to US$20 million. The money obtained by penalising such 'biopiracy' will be used to fund conservation science in Brazil.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Bush White House is again dictating science based upon ideology, this time altering a scientific analysis of the environmental impact of cattle grazing on public lands. Never has a modern presidency acted so cavelierly towards scientific knowledge, and with such potential for disasterous impacts. The ecological damage caused by cattle grazing upon range and forest lands is well known. Do the Bush people think this can just be ignored? This is the second example in two weeks of the Bush administration policy-makers rewriting science - the other being downgrading the risk of climate change through strategic edits of supposedly unbiased science by an oil industry stooge. Science needs to stand on its own, particularly matters of global ecological sustainability which will effect us all. This criminal contempt for what science has to tell us in this regard must end.

Administration excised scientists' warnings in grazing report

The Bush administration altered critical portions of a scientific analysis of the environmental impact of cattle grazing on public lands before announcing relaxed grazing limits on those lands, according to scientists involved in the study.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Amazon, the Earth's mightiest life-giving rainforest, is being bulldozed to grow soybeans. What sort of species destroys 60 million year old ecosystems upon which they depend for habitat - air, water, soil and weather - for short term economic benefits for the few? What will humans do when the biosphere is no longer able to maintain the narrow band of conditions conducive for human life? When will indigenous peoples that understand we are of the land stop being abused and instead be embraced?

What is to be done? Not buy soybeans? Boycott Brazil? Peaceful protest? Armed revolution? Or live life as we are while we can?

Continue reading "Ancient Amazon Rainforests Mowed for Soybean Farms" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Russia's massive boreal forests are ablaze as a result of fragmentation caused by illegal logging and climate change caused mostly by affluent over-consumption elsewhere. Russia's forests are the largest contiguous forest wilderness in the World, with vast almost pristine areas. This massive collection of plants and animals together provide a major global ecosystem engine, without which the Earth's life support systems may not work.

Continue reading "Siberia's Massive Forests Ablaze" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The world's rainforests are being lost because of human greed and deeply embedded corruption. In each of the Earth's remaining large and intact rainforest regions, it is dreadfully evident who is benefitting from illegal logging. What has been lacking is the political will to confront these rainforest liquidating spivs. Sadly, I am unable to think of a manner they are likely to ultimately be confronted and stopped, short of violence directed at them by rainforest defenders. Perhaps the time has come for armed resistance against these Earth destroying vandals? It seems most everything else has failed, and the problem of biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse from rainforest loss continues to accelerate.

Graft Driving Amazon Deforestation - Campaigners

The arrests of two top environmental officials in Brazil's Mato Grosso state in a rare police crackdown have shown that corruption in high places is feeding the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, environmentalists say. More than 90 people were arrested in the sweep launched by Federal authorities on Thursday. Nearly half were from the government's environment protection agency Ibama, including its chief for Mato Grosso.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Following recent shocking news that Amazon deforestation had accelerated, the Brazilian government is showing a new political willingness to arrest illegal loggers. This show of resolve deserves to be applauded. When 80% of Amazonian logging is estimated to be illegal, and the act of clearing thousands of hectares of rainforests illegally is a bit hard to hide, one would expect that given political will -- illegal logging could be greatly reduced.

Dozens held over Amazon destruction

Brazil mounted its biggest swoop against environmental criminals this week as 85 people, including 48 officials, were arrested and accused of allowing the illegal extraction of enough Amazon timber to fill 66,000 giant logging trucks.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is good to see the World Bank and WWF forest conservation behemoths seeking more ambitious goals than working to make logging of ancient forests better and aiming to establish small protected areas in vast intact landscapes, many on contested indigenous lands. Finally there is recognition that the only measure of successful forest conservation is dramatically reducing the loss of forest cover, stabilizing, and then restoring forest landscapes.

Continue reading "World Bank and WWF Aim to Reduce Deforestation by 10% Annually" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Thinking Needed on Rainforest Conservation

Amazon rainforest loss increased some six percent in 2004 to near record levels - as ranchers, soybean farmers and loggers burned and cut down a near-record area of 10,088 square miles of ancient rainforest ecosystems. Rainforest deforestation and diminishment is spiraling out of control wherever the World's last ecologically and evolutionarily rich rainforests are found - and particularly in the world's last large rainforest wildernesses found in Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea.

Continue reading "Global Crisis as Rainforest Loss Soars" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

All available scientific evidence would suggest that the Earth has already overshot the amount of native forests and other natural terrestrial ecosystems that can be lost while reliably and adequately maintaining ecological processes such as water retention, wildlife habitat, soil formation, atmospheric cycles, etc. The type of large scale restoration of Scottish native woodlands discussed in the following article will have to occur globally as a matter of some urgency. It is the dawning of the age of ecological restoration.

Return of the native woodland on giant scale

A HUGE tree-planting project aimed at creating an area of native woodland on a scale unseen in Scotland since the Middle Ages will be launched today. The afforestation of an 8500-hectare area, twice the size of Dundee, will begin taking shape across the heart of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park over the next 20 years.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As ancient forests the World over come crashing down, the world's governments and United Nations have marshalled their forces to - talk about it some more?! Global governments are failing miserably to protect the Earth's ancient forest heritage, and Forests.org supports calls for immediate agreements to protect ancient forests from any sort of industrial development wherever they are found.

New international law for ancient forest protection

Forest ministers from around the world will gather today to discuss the future of the forests at the start of the Fifth Conference of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) at the UN's headquarters in New York. Greenpeace is calling on governments to bring an end to the UNFF talk-shop which to date has done nothing to protect the forests nor the communities or the biodiversity that they house and create a legally binding agreement that will ensure the protection of the world's last remaining ancient forests.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The true nature of the perilous condition of the Earth is rarely appreciated, and thus there is little hope of ever achieving global ecological sustainability. Even ardent environmentalists tend to be concerned with climate change, wildlife loss or any number or other environmental issues mostly in isolation. There is a general failure of most to appreciate that climate change, extinction, water shortages, ocean dead zones and others are all symptoms of the same problem. Too many people are consuming too much while failing to maintain adequate intact ecosystems that provide humans and other animals with their habitat. Inequitable, unjust and unsustainable economic growth running rampant over ecosystems required for all life is the disease. Climate change, forest loss, other environmental issues, poverty and conflict are the symptoms - and each is amplifying the others. The world's protected areas are too small relative to the human enterprise. The problem with the environment is that we are experiencing global ecological collapse.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here are two updates on long-standing campaigns by Forests.org. The first involves a long overdue World Bank ombudsman investigation of their activities in the Cambodian forest sector. The second regards President Bush's formal rescinding of roadless forest protections. Together they demonstrate how two of the most powerful institutions in the world - the U.S. government and World Bank - are utterly failing to protect the forest ecosystems upon which all life depend.

Continue reading "America and World Bank Forest Conservation Under-Achievers" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Top predators (other than humans) are absolutely essential for the maintenance of ecosystems - be they terrestrial, aquatic or marine. When predators are absent - which is nearly always the case in the human dominated world - plant and smaller animal communities spiral out of control. Such chaotic plant and animal communities lead to unstable ecoystem composition, and is not sustainable. We must learn to live with all of Earth's species. And if we lose an occasional cow or even human life because of it, this is the cost of global ecological sustainability.

Without Top Predators, Ecosystems Turn Topsy-Turvy

...a classic cautionary tale of the dangers of removing top predators from an ecosystem. "Taking out predators has a cascade of effects on other populations, down to the plant life," said John Terborgh, a professor of environmental science at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Abuses against indigenous peoples by the dominant money-grubbing, Christ driven culture continue apace. Too often we place such issues in the past, when in fact the rape and pillage of traditional peoples and their lands continues towards an apocalyptic finale.

Pygmies emerge from forests to demand equal rights

About 2 500 pygmies emerged from their forest homes in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to demand equal rights in the vast Central African nation, the United Nations radio station in the country said. The pygmies, many of whom reportedly made their first trips outside their villages in the trek to the town of Isiro for the demonstration, decried killings and abuses committed against them by other ethnic groups, it said. "We also exist, the pygmies," "Justice, equality and rights for the pygmies in the DRC," and "Pygmy killers must be brought to justice like any other guilty person," read signs carried by demonstrators, Okapi radio reported.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has ratified the Raposa Serra do Sol Indian Reserve, with a belated stroke of the pen granting protection to some 6,370 square-miles (16,498 square-kilometers) of Amazonian rainforest in Brazil's northern state of Roraima. After more than thirty years of struggle, the traditional land of 15,000 Macuxi, Patamona, Ingarico, Wapichana and Taurepang people has finally been officially and fully recognized as theirs.

Efforts to establish the Raposa Serra do Sol Indian Reserve have been one of the main struggles of the indigenous movement of Brazil for years. Violence and murder have marred this important justice and sustainability campaign, as ranchers and other economic interests have resisted the policy of recognizing and demarcating indigenous lands.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Huge Brazilian Indian Reserve Established in Disputed Amazon Rainforest" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 3:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

The World Bank is seemingly unable to put its house in order regarding ensuring its funding does not damage forest and water ecosystems necessary for both ecological and economic sustainability. A new report - entitled "Broken Promises" - says that the Bank has failed to implement its own Forest "Safeguard" Policy, adopted in 2002, and that not one of the conditions the Bank promised to fulfill has been met. Across the World ? from Cambodia to India, from Brazil to the Democratic Republic of Congo ? the World Bank continues funding projects that are destroying tropical forests.

Continue reading "UPDATE: World Bank Policies Harm Forests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The rainforest movement and Forests.org have registered another major victory, as the government of Chile has decided to safeguard from logging the endangered and ecologically special alerce tree - withdrawing reservations for CITES Appendix 1 listing. The alerce, Fitzroya cupressoides, is unique to the coastal temperate rainforests of southern Chile and the mountains of western Argentina - only 15 percent of the habitat remains. The slow growing species can live for thousands of years, and the trees are a national monument in Chile. Local Chilean activists tirelessly exposed major illegal logging of this species, and asked their government for additional protections for the species.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Chile Drops Reservation to CITES Trade Ban on Endangered Trees" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are valid reasons to be concerned about the drug trade and the ravages of drug addiction. But this does not justify spraying toxic chemicals upon some of the most biodiverse rainforests habitats on the Planet found in Colombia, that are tens of millions of years old. Who can forget the suffering caused by similar spraying of Agent Orange? Certainly not the maimed and poisoned victims. It is not fair nor just that America's drug habit leads to widespread destruction of rainforest habitats necessary for global ecological sustainability and local livelihoods. If drugs are to be fought, there must be another way short of imposing chemical laden ecocide upon a region of evolutionary and ecological brilliance.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Protected areas are too small and unconnected in most of the World to provide long-term permanent protection for their species - particulary wide ranging predators (other than humans). Protected areas must be expanded from 10% to 50% of most land masses to maintain viable populations of all species and ecosystem services that make all life possible. Anything less is museum-like and prone to episodes such as poaching of an entire species' population - as happened below to Indian tigers in one particular park.

Poachers empty Indian wildlife park of tigers

One of India's most prestigious national parks has been emptied of tigers by poachers, prompting international wildlife conservation experts to order an emergency census of the country's tiger population. All 18 tigers in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan were taken between July and December last year. The scandal has led to allegations of government corruption and negligence over the tigers' protection.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Clearly the Earth has lost too much of its terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems to sustain all life including humankind in the long-term. And if there is money to be made in there restoration, all the better. Movement towards regenerating ecosytems as a business must be commended with some small caveats. It will always be more cost and ecologically effective to preserve important intact ecosystems in the first place. While restoration can reconstruct much of the structure, function, dynamics and composition of a native ecosystem; it does not get it all. Valuable genetic strains are lost and often communities are not complete. Nonetheless, the growth of the ecological restoration industry is very exciting, a cause to which Ecological Internet is devoted. Could this be the dawning of the Age of Ecological Restoration?

Eco-firms see growing profits

Just a niche market in the 1980s, ecosystem restoration has surged in the past five years, with announced multi-year projects exceeding $70 billion worldwide and annual revenues in the US of more than $1 billion a year, industry sources say.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

The following article raises an interesting point - whether humanity can do something it has never done before. Can humans control our avarice and growth to maintain ecological sytems that have great value because humanity needs them to live? Every rainforest in the world would make someone rich if it were cut down. But rainforest are human habitats required for our being. We will evolve or die, taking much of this Earth's fascinating and sacred biological life with us.

Brazil: Battle for the heart of the rainforest

Sister Dorothy Stang's murder is a reminder that the financial benefits of Brazil's jungle outweigh the political will to preserve it...

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China's demand for timber threatens the existence of the largest relatively intact forest wilderness on the planet found in Russia. Indeed, as predicted decades ago, China's development to Western standards of crass materialism and wasteful resource use threatens all forests found throughout the world. Have no fear though - WWF is there to certify the plunder is done in an orderly fashion.

The Standard - Industry plunders forests - Top Stories

Increasing demand for wood by China's booming construction and furniture industries is endangering huge areas of Russia's Siberian forests, despite pledges by the respective governments to protect environmentally-sensitive areas...

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Panama's government is accelerating efforts to build a road through the Darien Gap - one of Central America's last great rainforest wildernesses. There will always be a somewhat reasonable excuse to wipe out the Earth's last rainforests and other vital ecosystems. Money can almost always be made for a select few by liquidating natural ecosystems. At some point destroying terrestrial, oceanic, atmospheric and hydrological ecosystems leads to ecological collapse. It is only after a critical threshold has been reached - such as has happened in the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere - that the land, water and air can no longer support affluent life for more than a few. Perhaps the Darien gap can be destroyed and the ecosystems of the region remain intact. Or maybe it is the proverbial straw that will break the ecosystem's back, leading to climate change, drought, more deforestation and lack of other critical services provided to humanity by intact rainforests. The well-being of future generations of Panamanians is best served by keeping the Darien gap natural, and stopping road construction.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

While no one should doubt that forest management activities can not lose money and continue for long, the search for the holy grail of sustainable forest management seems to always mention ecological sustainability as an afterthought if at all. Bottom line: primary forests must be made off-limits, first time harvest forever reduces them. Activities that seek to sustainably manage planted and regenerating natural forests are welcome. Even in the latter case, economics must be secondary to environmental considerations, and if harvest can not occur profitably, the forests should be left standing and untouched.

U.N.: Economic Viability Critical for Sustainable Forest Management

Economic viability, including the environmental and social benefits deriving from forests, is a pre-requisite for wider adoption of sustainable forest management practices, says a new report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It has just been reported that the United States intends to block Tony Blair's G8 initiative combating illegal logging. Intensive industrial logging - both legal and illegal - destroys ecosystems and livelihoods throughout the World. Particularly in tropical rainforests, a timber mafia has emerged which is raping, pillaging and plundering ecosystems and local peoples.

Continue reading "America Blocks Efforts to Combat Illegal Logging" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Atmospheric and terrestrial ecosystems are tightly coupled, largely mediated by water exchange. From such interactions emerge self-regulating systems that maintain the conditions conducive for life. This is Gaia.

Reuters AlertNet - Australian scientists prove less trees, less rain

Australian scientists have found that deforestation along the Amazon River in South America was reducing rainfall and causing climate change in the region.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Time is running out for Rimbunan Hijau, as their particular brand of heavy industrial logging threatens to cut their financing options.

GreenBiz News | Citigroup Leans on Logging Company to Clean up Its Act

Citigroup, the U.S.-based financial institution, now requires Southeast Asian timber client Rimbunan Hijau to obtain independent, third-party certification. The company has won praise from forest protection advocates, human rights activists, and socially responsible investors for its proactive, constructive engagement to help end endangered forest destruction, rampant illegal logging, and related human rights abuses in Southeast Asia.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China is following the capitalist path to riches - including exporting its environmental problems. The world can not supply enough timber - nor oil, natural gas and other resources - for China to industrialize to the extent it wants. What we are witnessing is the building of a huge economic bubble that is draining the Earth's ecology and will soon pop - leaving neither economic gains or ecological systems. There are no easy answers, but a global set of rules regarding acceptable national patterns of resource use would be a start.

KR Washington Bureau | 02/28/2005 | China protects own timber while smuggling rare woods

NANXUN, China - China's voracious appetite for timber is threatening exotic forests as far away as Brazil, West Africa, Indonesia and Russia's Far East. Much of the timber bound for Chinese sawmills comes from countries where illegal logging is rampant. Environmental groups are sounding an alarm, saying the trade in illegal timber fosters corruption and encourages the devastation of some of the globe's most fragile regions.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The following alert represents perhaps the most important opportunity to protect the Amazon in our lifetime. Unfortunately, the turn out for the alert has been less than expected. PLEASE forward this widely and respond as a matter of some urgency. It was purposefully timed to follow-up on recent developments, and keep the issue in the forefront.
Dr. Glen Barry

ACTION ALERT
Urge Brazil to End the Violence, Protect the Amazon

By Forests.org, a project of Ecological Internet, Inc.
February 25, 2005
http://forests.org/action/brazil/

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Major developments in Brazilian rainforest conservaton policy are coming in so fast and furious that Forests.org is still analyzing them. The Brazilian government has announced that they intend to slow down Amazonian destruction - we must work hard to ensure this is an absolute decline and not just a slow in the rate of growth. Expect commentary and action alerts soon - your suggestions of how international voices could support national efforts at rainforest conservation would be much appreciated.

Planet Ark : Brazil Vows Slow Down Of Amazon Destruction

Destruction of Brazil's Amazon rain forest will slow down in 2005 after the murder of a US nun prompted the government to launch an unprecedented crackdown on illegal loggers and ranchers, the head of Brazil's environment agency said on Monday.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emergent diseases are largely the result of a deteriorating global environment. A major pandemic resulting from say rainforest destruction may well be the sleeper environmental issue that catapults global ecological sustainability, and changes required for its attainment, onto the world stage. A good first candidate: Avian flu.

New diseases arise as environments destroyed, says UN

Changes to the environment that are sweeping the planet are bringing about a rise in infectious diseases, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has warned. Loss of forests; the building of roads and dams; urban growth; the clearing of natural habitats for agriculture; mining; and pollution of coastal waters are promoting conditions under which new and old pathogens can thrive...

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The world's rainforests are slipping into a state of anarchy, and for the most part those tasked with doing something about it are failing. In particular, big conservation organizations and governments are failing to conceive, develop and implement policies sufficient to address this global ecological crisis.

Everywhere large, ancient rainforests exist - massive illegal logging operations and other industrial activities threaten their existence. Yet most mainstream conservation organizations insist that certified first time logging of such primary forests will conserve them - a statement that flies against all scientific knowledge and on the ground experience. Out of control timber mafias threaten the very existence of large rainforests worldwide. Should illegal logging be stopped, or reformed? Can it be reformed?

A new report indicates huge trade in stolen timber products from West Papua, Indonesia to China. An American born Brazilian nun was murdered last week for working with forest peoples on behalf of sustainable development in Brazil's Para state. A new international treaty aimed at protecting the rainforests of the Congo Basin promotes industrial logging, ignores local people's rights, would do nothing about corruption, and continues to support human rights abuses in protected areas.

Continue reading "Anarchy in the Rainforests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is simply outrageous, dangerous and out of control:

U.S. Scientists Say They Are Told to Alter Findings

More than 200 scientists employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, a survey released Wednesday says.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

VICTORY
***********************************************
FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
Court Rules in Favor of the Saemangeum Wetland, South Korea
***********************************************
Forests.org a project of Ecological Internet, Inc.

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Portal
http://www.EnvironmentalSustainability.info/ -- Eco-Portal
http://www.ClimateArk.org/ -- Climate Change Portal
http://www.WaterConserve.info/ -- Water Conservation Portal

February 4, 2005
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Dr. Glen Barry, Forests.org

Today a court in Seoul, South Korea ruled that the Saemangeum Reclamation Project - which would destroy one of the most important wetlands in East Asia - must be halted immediately and be fully re-evaluated. This is a major victory for South Korean environmental sustainability, which Forests.org and you supported in no small way - as we generated many thousands of protest emails on the request of local organizers. The ill-conceived project intended to construct a 33-km long seawall, closing off 40,100 ha of tidal-flats and sea shallows for conversion to agriculture and a 17,000 ha reservoir for irrigation purposes. Saemangeum tidal flat provides important habitat for marine fisheries and migratory birds.

The Saemangeum reclamation project which has already commenced was to be the largest known coastal reclamation project in the world. The project has been the focus of intense criticism and opposition for a number of years, both locally and internationally. The Court clearly recognised the immense and irreversible damage that would be done to the tidal-flat system by the reclamation. Our partner Birds Korea is now calling for the government to officially halt the project ? information on taking part in their campaign is included below. Forests.org intends to soon re-issue a supportive alert on the matter. Congratulations to all that participated in this monumental victory ? yet there are more actions to be done on behalf of the Earth at http://forests.org/action/ .
g.b.

Continue reading "VICTORY: Court Rules in Favor of the Saemangeum Wetland, South Korea" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

What follows is a cautionary tale. Humans have long had the power to destroy their habitats. Until relatively recently, they simply moved elsewhere. As the Earth's humanity has eclipsed natural habitats, global ecological sustainability is in question. Forest loss, climate change, water scarcity are all symptomatic of the same disease.

Large Fires Created Australian Desert

Settlers who came to Australia 50,000 years ago and set fires that burned off natural flora and fauna may have triggered a cataclysmic weather change that turned the country's interior into the dry desert it is today..

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What is described below as "good news for threatened plants" may more accurately be portrayed as "bad news for terrestrial ecosystems". What we have here is failure to see the ecosystem through the plants. Plants are the foundation of virtually all food chains and the fact that many exist only in museum like botanical gardens means that the Earth is becoming deeply impoverished.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Good news for threatened plants

Some of the world's most endangered plants have a firmer grasp on survival than anyone had suspected until now. A study by Botanic Gardens Conservation International says about 9,000 species which are threatened in the wild are in fact thriving in botanic gardens.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The dangerous myth that the only way for rainforest peoples to advance themselves it to destroy their rainforest habitats must be shattered.

Mail and Guardian Online: Thriving deep in the jungles of Equador

Here we find the Kapawi Lodge, an example of gentle tourism. All the houses and huts were built by Achuar Indians in the traditional style with timber... They need the money for medicine, clothing and such things as batteries and pencils because the children go to school... Oil extraction might bring income, but bad things as well. The oil fields in northeastern Equador near the city of Coca are an example. First the workers came, then came crime, environmental degradation and prostitution.

"We want to live in peace in our forest," Cristobal says. "We don't want any bulldozers and oil wells. We would rather have bird watchers and eco-tourists".

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I like this seemingly simple, innocuous story because it highlights the fact nicely that trees are the antithesis and antidote to poverty. Ecological decline and even collapse negate opportunities for genuine community self-development. Grotesque global poverty is unlikely to be abated unless ecosystems are maintained and restored.

Planet Ark : Britain's Brown Tours Africa Slum, Plants Tree

British finance minister Gordon Brown visited one of Africa's largest slums on Wednesday at the start of a tour of the continent aimed at making the fight against poverty a top priority for the world's richest nations.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

There is rot in the Earth's bosom, showing itself in dying trees. Everywhere a trained eye looks, ecosystems are dying and collapsing - of which emergent plant, animal and human diseases are symptoms. It may be over soon.

Yahoo! News - USDA moves to protect nation's trees from 'sudden death' syndrome

Tough new federal regulations designed to protect the nation's flora against the devastating plant disease known as sudden oak death syndrome take effect today, requiring nurseries in California, Oregon and Washington to be inspected, tested and certified before they can ship out of state.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Protected areas are a vital part of any long-term strategy to maintain global biodiversity and ecosystems. Nonetheless, the problems with protected areas as defined, practiced and espoused by Western nations are many and well-known. Too often relatively benign uses of habitats by indigenous peoples are not viewed as part of what is to be protected. Traditional uses can, if skillfully designed and implemented, continue in a protected area. And obviously, way too frequently, protections are in name only. Most protected areas are anything but, as illegal activities and "exemptions" to their preserved status proliferate.

All too often local needs are confused with industrial greed - and protected areas are opened to precisely the types of development their status should preclude. In particular, oil and mining threaten virtually every protected area in the world. What is the use of "protection" if economic use always outweighs ecological necessity? The western lead economic growth machine is hell bent to drill, mine and log in every natural habitat on the Planet - releasing every last bit of carbon into the atmosphere as possible - before exploring alternative economic arrangements. Forests.org has been in the forefront of unveiling industrial threats to officially protected areas, most recently in Ecuador's ultradiverse Yasuní National Park which is threatened by oil development < http://forests.org/action/ecuador/ >.

Continue reading "Oil and Mining Threaten "Protected" Rainforests" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just what America's forests need - the burden of powering America's insatiable energy use. Use of forest materials as biomass energy sources is a slippery slope indeed. When America's forests have already been ravaged by over-development, what reason is there to believe that this will not exacerbate forest fragmentation and diminishment? Once established, the past shows such an industry would surely overwhelm the resource base. To pursue forest biomass energy production will almost certainly lead to more natural forest loss, increased pressures upon endangered forests including old-growth (even if indirectly), and more herbicide laden monoculture genetically modified tree plantations. Perhaps America would be better off in pursuing energy conservation and truly renewable energy sources.

Biomass: power from the forests

Californians face both a serious energy crisis and dangerously overcrowded forests. These challenges may share a potential solution: biomass energy. There's power in trees. Power in their branches and in the fiber left over from turning trees into lumber, furniture, and everything else for which we use these renewable resources.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Awareness is growing in the Asian region that tsunami damage was worsened by poor environmental management of coastal areas. After witnessing first hand that devastation was less in areas with intact mangroves, a state government in India is embarking upon a mangrove restoration project. The suggestion that coastal deforestation, development and climate change could have exacerbated the destruction has been ridiculed by many - including apologists for the global growth machine.

The ecological fact that degraded ecosystems resulted in more damage than would have otherwise been the case was misrepresented as "environmentalists blame tsunami on climate change". What a bunch of Neanderthals (growth machine's apologists | shameful exploiters | unfair and unbalanced Fox).

However, those in harms way know better, and have had a rude awakening that rich/poor or technologically advanced/traditional; ecosystems give us life and protect us from natural harm. Shame on those that would suggest otherwise, to protect their narrow economic interests at the price of developing nation lives.

After the disaster, Kerala's green drive

This may sound like locking the stable after the horses have bolted. The state government has decided to float a Rs 35-crore project aimed at insulating Kerala coasts against tidal surges with mangroves and castanea. The sudden move to adopt an eco-strategy stems from the fact that the tsunami attack left smaller scars on coasts with a green buffer than barren beaches and sea-facing landscapes. The government is mooting heavy incentives for institutions who adopt a shoreline and give it a protective belt.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Toxic Texan's environmentally challenged administration has again released a controversial forest policy over the holiday period. They have announced a new management framework for the national forest system, granting federal land managers increased authority to approve logging, drilling, grazing and mining with less environmental review than currently required. Of particular concern is weakening of the requirement to seek public input, and elimination of a way to monitor how human activities affect wildlife. Last year during the same period he finalized a rule that opened roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest to new roads and logging. The Clearcut Cowboy has little interest in protecting the wild character of the national forests and rather is focused on appeasing the timber industry. Commercialization of the National Forests is only Bush's most recent unsustainable draw down of the nation's and Earth's natural capital. America and the World will be paying for this carelessness for generations to come.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We are starting to see some critical examinination in the Asian region of how degraded coastal ecosystems played a role in exacerbating the impacts of the tsunamis. Meanwhile, the growth machine's apologists continue to insist that more economic development of the Western sort would be the best means to protect humanity from such natural calamities. Here is the absolutely worst piece - condemning environmentalists for "shamefully exploiting tragedy", taking their remarks out of context, while unabashedly promoting the growth machine agenda. And of course the fair and balanced Fox network can't wait to jump in and bash greenies.

While certainly much of the world does need more economic opportunity, the idea that more consumption, more use of resources and thus less natural ecosystems will make humanity more secure is preposterous and totally lacking in scientific basis.

Such a view is totally devoid of an ecological understanding that humanity is utterly dependent upon the Earth for food, air, waste disposal and just about every other necessity of life. The real source of wealth and security is healthy, functioning and non-diminishing ecosystems. New York city would have been devastated by a similar tsunami, despite its over-development. There are limits to economic growth - and if every household in the world consumes as desperately as the U.S., we shall soon see some "natural" disasters of previously undreamt of magnitude.

Are nature's protective safeguards being misused?

In the aftermath of the most severe quake to strike the planet in the last 40 years, it is time perhaps to assess where the environmental balance is being thrown of gear, how nature's protective safeguards are being misused and abused resulting in such calamities. It ranges from poorly planned coastal development and weakening of natural defences from swamps to coral reefs, to phenomena of global warming and the like. Nature has a way of paying back for mankind's atrocities on it. And it did.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There exists a wealth of scientific evidence to back my earlier assertion that the impacts of recent natural tsunamis in Asia have been amplified through the negligence of humankind. In particular, mangrove forests are a vital ecosystem in terms of protecting coastlines. This is science, factual, not opinion. Those that disagree do so because it opposes their dogma that humans are meant to command the Earth. Ecological ignorance is the greatest peril facing humanity.

Mangrove forests 'can reduce impact of tsunamis'

Dense mangrove forests growing along the coasts of tropical and sub-tropical countries can help reduce the devastating impact of tsunamis and coastal storms by absorbing some of the waves' energy, say scientists. When the tsunami struck India's southern state of Tamil Nadu on 26 December, for example, areas in Pichavaram and Muthupet with dense mangroves suffered fewer human casualties and less damage to property compared to areas without mangroves.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Exotic and other over-abundant invasive plant species threaten much of America's lands with ecological collapse. Such species choke off native flora and fauna, and reduce ecosystem services provided by natural plant communities arrayed across landscapes. We have gotten to this situation through widespread fragmentation and over-management of most natural ecosystems, and will only recover through restoration of large and connected natural plant communities across most of the land.

In a chokehold

Southern California's environment is fast approaching the tipping point as an onslaught of foreign plants overwhelms efforts to protect the region's natural landscape.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We are witnessing the opening salvos in what will be the most anti-forest U.S. administration ever. Logging prevents fires, is required to keep forests healthy, is good for the economy - hell, probably cures cancer too. While I continue to rue the day that the Toxic Texan stole the country's leadership, at some level after the recent election, my reaction is America deserves what it asks for. By the end of this term, America's forests will be severely degraded, water and air futher polluted, and it will likely be to late to turn the tide. As ecological collapse places it numerous suffocating tentacles around each and every American life, I particularly hope it is right wing born again anti-Earth kooks that suffer the most. Because it is their fault the Earth is dying...

Yahoo! News - New Forest Plan Would Lessen Restraints

Managers of the nation's 155 national forests will have more leeway to approve logging and other commercial projects with less formal environmental review under a new Bush administration plan... The long-awaited plan will overhaul application of the landmark 1976 National Forest Management Act, which sets the basic rules for management of nation's 191 million acres of forests and grasslands and protects forest wildlife.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The huge increase in new emergent infectious disease is symptomatic of global ecological collapse. Teaming masses of consuming humans have decimated natural ecosystems - nowhere is this more advanced than in Asia. Previously natural ecosystems buffered humans from disease agents through biodiversity and other natural patterns and processes. But no more. Humanity has overshot the carrying capacity of the Earth - and these emergent diseases may well be Gaia's means to pull the system back into equilibrium. Immediate strict conservation and restoration measures are humanity's only hopes to ameliorate looming sickness and chaos brought on by ecological overshoot.

Planet Ark : Southeast Asia Fights Bird Flu, Top Health Risk

SINGAPORE - Bird flu, which risks being deadlier than the SARS outbreak, is endemic to Southeast Asia and poses the biggest risk to public health in the region, Singapore officials and international health experts said on Monday. The avian flu virus could trigger a lethal pandemic among humans if not contained...

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The World Bank has lost all credibility in regards to its claim to be a good faith partner in forest conservation. They have become so large, and so entwined with the global growth machine, that they continue to subsidize activities that destroy rainforests. The latest is a massive cattle ranch in the Brazilian "arc of deforestation". There may be no option but to work for the Bank's dismantlement as they have shown they are not trustworthy environmental custodians.

Amazon cattle plan draws fire from environmentalists - Environment - www.smh.com.au

The World Bank is proposing to fund a cattle project in the Brazilian Amazon which environmentalists say will destroy more rainforest.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

At root the global environmental crisis is a result of over-population and excessive wasteful consumption by the rich.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | UN warns of population surge
"The United Nations has published new predictions on the size and age of the world's population 300 years from now... if fertility stays at the current level, the global population could rise to 134 trillion."

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are witnessing the demise of a sacred and holy ecosystem in the Brazilian Amazon. Through an accident of geography, ecology and history the Brazilian government finds itself the custodian of the most important terrestrial ecosystem on the Earth. And they are failing miserably in their custodial duties. Loss of the Amazon as a large, contiguous whole ecosystem will damn the Earth to an ecological collapse.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Deforestation Inflates Inventory of Gases in Brazil

Brazil is responsible for three percent of global emissions of greenhouse gases, and tropical deforestation is to blame for three-fourths of the country's emissions.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

U.S. Forest Service public comment periods have become something of a farce, as viewpoints considered against their interests are excluded, and clearly rule changes proposed by the environmentally challenged Bush administration are a foregone conclusion. Criminal ecological conduct is the law of the land.

U.S. Workers' Group Says EPA Censors Comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency censored warnings that a Bush administration plan to build roads in national forests could harm drinking water, a group representing government workers said Monday.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Philippines are being ravaged by massive human-induced floods that have resulted from decades of horrendous forest mismanagement. And now finally, after hundreds of deaths, the Philippine government has suspended logging.

There are reasons that most moist tropical areas including the Philippines were naturally densely forested. Closed canopy forests protected fragile soils from intense downpours. Forests and their soils and root systems acted like a sponge - holding water in times of torrential rains, and releasing water slowly in times of drought. You can attribute this to your God, Gaia and/or evolution. But human greed exhibited through both legal and illegal logging has dramatically impacted life giving rainforests. Tropical logging is murder, now, and in the future.

Continue reading "Logging Suspended in Philippines" »

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Extinctions are one manifestation of collapsing ecosystems. Clearly the human enterprise has surpassed the ability of natural systems to provide services and absorb wastes. Ecological systems are fraying and falling apart. Humanity is oh so naive to believe that loss of animal species does not portend their own demise. America is criminally negligent in failing to protect and restore its human habitat.

Governors Seek Easing of Endangered Species Act

Western governors gathered here Friday to plan with the Bush administration and members of Congress how to change the Endangered Species Act, the 31-year-old law they say has imposed costly hardships on the energy industry, developers, loggers and property owners.

Posted by Dr. Glen Barry at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)