The government of Madagascar has been accused by conservation groups of allowing the illegal trade in precious wood to flourish.
Environmental campaigners claim that an executive decree issued last month legalising the export of raw hardwood, including rosewood and ebony, has given free rein to criminal gangs who fell endangered trees to sell on the international market... [Continue]
WWF has reiterated its concern over Asia Pulp and Paper's (APP) logging activities in high-conservation-value forest in Indonesia.
A spokeswoman for the conservation organisation said its concerns follow its recently published report on the situation.
WWF has repeatedly levelled allegations of illegal logging in Indonesia at the Singapore-headquartered APP... [Continue]
Brazil plans to create a "green barrier" to deter deforestation in the Amazon and will seize and sell cattle, grains and timber produced illegally in the region, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said.
Minc, who spoke to reporters today in Brasilia, blamed ranchers and farmers seeking to boost beef and soybean output as international prices climb for increasing deforestation... [Continue]
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea ' Satellite images show that PNG is rapidly losing its extensive forest cover, under pressure from industrial logging, agricultural expansion and forest fires.
At the same time that the Government of Papua New Guinea is seeking compensation for conserving the carbon-trapping capacity of its vast tropical forests, destruction of these same lands is occurring so fast that by 2021 most of the areas accessible to loggers will have been cleared or degraded, according to a new report released today... [Continue]
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - Ecologists warn that if logging continues unabated in Kyrgyzstan, the whole of Central Asia will face dire consequences.
Environmentalists in Kyrgyzstan are raising the alarm over the speed with which this Central Asian country is losing its forests.
In the last 50 years, the former Soviet republic has lost more than half its forests, and experts are warning that if logging continues at the current rate, the whole Central Asian region will suffer from a scarcity of water, health problems and more frequent natural disasters... [Continue]
A report published this week by Global Witness, the Independent Forest Monitor in Nicaragua, documents weaknesses in the management of forests that pose a serious threat to future environmental and economic security.
Despite budgetary limitations, the current administration of the Nicaraguan Forest Authority, INAFOR (Instituto Nacional Forestal) has made important efforts to improve the transparency and probity of the institution, but insufficient enforcement capacity prevails, which, coupled with long-standing poor practice on the ground, creates the conditions to leave the door open to illegal practices... [Continue]
Indonesia - Field investigations held by the activists found that the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park was under threat from illegal logging, forest clearing for plantations and road building that were linked to the operation Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and its partners.
Green activists strongly criticized the ongoing forest conversion work at Bukit Tigapuluh, saying it would speed up the loss of Sumatra's endangered species and further harm the environment... [Continue]
