Bulletin Issue 55 – February 2002

OURVIEWPOINT

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  World Bank Forest Policy: holding our breath

  As this latest WRM Bulletin is being sent out, those of us who have closely followed the World Bank’s efforts to develop a new Forest Policy are holding our breath.
  (Read More)

LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS

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  Ethiopia: Deforestation and monoculture plantations behind the fires

  A mountainous tropical country with altitudes of over 4,000 metres, Ethiopia has many regions which were once rich in vegetation and are now rocky, desert areas. Desertification and erosion have
  (Read More)
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  Kenya: Forest destruction for the benefit of government cronies

  Kenya’s ecosystems are on the edge, unable to continue providing water, plant materials and other basic human needs to its burgeoning population. Forests remain on less than two percent of
  (Read More)
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  Madagascar: IMF-promoted mining threatens littoral forests

  Madagascar is considered as the world’s 11th poorest country and one its top 3 biodiversity hotspots. Originally inhabited by different groups of mixed Asian and African origin who lived on
  (Read More)
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  South Africa: Tree plantations’ impacts on bird populations

  South Africa (including South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland)) has been blessed with 40 or so endemic bird species. Twelve of these are endemic to the Grassland Biome, while nine of
  (Read More)
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  India: Road brings death for isolated tribe

  The Jarawa are one of four surviving tribes living in the Andamans, a cluster of islands in the Bay of Bengal, India. Two of these tribes were settled by the
  (Read More)
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  Indonesia: Pulp and paper company APRIL and forest destruction

  Friends of the Earth-UK has just published a detailed report on forest destruction in Indonesia, focused on the damaging environmental and social impacts of Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Ltd,
  (Read More)
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  Malaysia: Forests are much more than trees for the Semai

  In national forest policy, forests usually refer to land and trees, which can include primary forests of native (indigenous) trees, forests of secondary growth and plantations of commercial trees cultivated
  (Read More)
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  Vietnam: Na Hang dam threatens forests, people and wildlife

  The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is endemic to northern Vietnam and is one of the world’s most endangered mammal species. Before a group was spotted in Na Hang district in 1992,
  (Read More)
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  Costa Rica: Will it be declared free from oil exploration and extraction?

  A few weeks ago we visited the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica –from Limón to Manzanillo– and we were really impressed. We are not referring to the scenic beauties of
  (Read More)
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  Guatemala: Champerico fisherfolk win over shrimp farm firm Camarsa

  The community of Champerico –localized in Retalhuleu, at the Pacific Ocean coast of Guatemala– has been fighting in defence of their livelihoods since 1995, when the shrimp farming firm Camarones
  (Read More)
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  Argentina: The end of the Green Corridor?

  In December 1999, Provincial Law No. 3,631 was sanctioned in Argentina, creating the Overall Conservation and Sustainable Development Area, known as the “Green Corridor of the Province of Misiones.” It
  (Read More)
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  Bolivia: The defense of the Chiquitano forest continues

  Since 1999, the WRM has been reporting profusely (WRM Bulletins 20, 21, 24, 28 and 50) on the dangerous situation of the last significant remaining primary dry tropical forest in
  (Read More)
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  Brazil: Aggravated deforestation rates in Amazonian forests

  An independent scientific investigation carried out by a research team of U.S. and Brazilian scientists led by William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, has provided compelling evidence that
  (Read More)
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  Chile: Poverty and wealth generated by plantation forestry companies

  The Chilean forestry model, based on the promotion of large-scale monocultures of pine trees and eucalyptus for export, has been implemented at the expense of the environment and of the
  (Read More)
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  Australia: Joint Submission against tree plantation scheme in Tasmania

  Residents of the Waratah-Wynyard Municipality, a tree plantation-devastated community and environment in Tasmania, have issued a Joint Submission to the national authorities, the media, interested bodies and concerned people on
  (Read More)
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  Papua New Guinea: Guns, drugs and logging in a disappearing paradise

  Ninety seven percent of the land area of Papua New Guinea still is customary land owned by the people, who voluntarily give 3% to the government to build schools and
  (Read More)

GENERAL

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  Seeing the forests through women’s eyes

  Forests are very important for people who live in or close to forest areas and use forests for their livelihood. However, people’s use of forests for daily subsistence, provision of
  (Read More)
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  International Day of Action Against Dams and For Rivers, Water and Life

  International Rivers Network is inviting to participate in the 5th Annual International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life on March 14th, 2002, which it defines
  (Read More)