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News articles on logging
Mongabay.com news articles on logging in blog format. Updated regularly.
Second Greenpeace activist deported from Indonesia
(10/20/2011) Andy Tait became the second Greenpeace campaigner deported from Indonesia in less than a week.
Illuminating Africa's most obscure cat
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(10/18/2011) Africa is known as the continent of big cats: cheetahs, leopards, and of course, the king of them all, lions. Even servals and caracals are relatively well-known by the public. Still, few people realize that Africa is home to a number of smaller wild cat species, such as the black-footed cat and the African wild cat. But the least known feline on the continent is actually a cryptic predator that inhabits the rainforest of the Congo and West Africa. "The African golden cat has dominated my thoughts and energy for over a year and a half now. When carrying out a study like this one, you find yourself trying to think like your study animal," Laila Bahaa-el-din, University of Kwazulu Natal graduate student, told mongabay.com in a recent interview.
Why is Indonesia afraid of Greenpeace?
(10/18/2011) Last week Indonesian immigration officials in Jakarta blocked Greenpeace director John Sauven from entering the country. Sauven, who two weeks earlier had obtained the proper business visa for his visit from the Indonesian embassy in London, was scheduled to convene with his team in Jakarta, travel to the island of Sumatra, and meet with officials and Indonesian businesses at a forestry conference. The following day, Greenpeace campaigner Andrew Tait was harassed by unknown individuals who attempted to serve him with a deportation warrant.
Old trees necessary for nesting animals
(10/17/2011) Aged, living trees are essential for over 1,000 birds and mammals that depend on such trees for nesting holes, according to a study in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. In much of the world, tree-nesting animals depend on holes formed through maturity and decay—and not woodpeckers—requiring standing old trees.
Indonesia denies Greenpeace director entry despite official visa
(10/14/2011) Greenpeace director John Sauven was today denied entry into Indonesia despite obtaining a business visa two weeks ago, reports Greenpeace.
Paper suppliers risk damaging Indonesia's reputation, argues report
(10/07/2011) Indonesia needs to re-evaluate forest areas and peatlands granted for pulp and paper plantations to reduce the risk of damaging the international reputation of its forest products and undermining its commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, argues a new report published by an Indonesian activist group.
Little-known animal picture of the day: Thomas's leaf monkey
(10/06/2011) With unmistakable coloring and a philosophical, at times almost melancholy expression, the Thomas's leaf monkey (Presbytis thomasi) is one of Asia's little-known primates. Thomas's leaf monkey (also known as Thomas's langur) is found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The monkeys roam forests eating fruits and flowers, and sometimes snails, mushrooms, and coconut stalks.
Tea party versus Madagascar's forests
(10/02/2011) The Tea Party and the African island-nation of Madagascar are having dueling concerts over the issue of illegal logging, reports the Associated Press. A concert in Madagascar over the weekend was meant to highlight the problem of illegal deforestation in one of the world's poorest countries. Meanwhile the Tea Party is holding a rally and concert on October 8th to support Gibson Guitar, a musical instruments company currently under investigation for breaking US law by allegedly purchasing illegally logged wood products from Madagascar.
Madagascar asks CITES to regulate rosewood and ebony
(09/29/2011) Following a logging crisis in 2009 where a number of Madagascar's remaining forests were illegally cut, the African nation has turned to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to help regulate 91 species of rosewood and ebony. "Regulating trade in these high-value timber species under CITES will help ensure that the benefits of trade flow to local people and it will also serve the global community by helping conserve these species, which will be to the benefit of entire ecosystems."
Featured video: new documentary puts human face on logging in Papua New Guinea
(09/27/2011) A new documentary, filmed single-handily by filmmaker David Fedele, covers the impact of industrial logging on a community in Papua New Guinea. Entitled Bikpela Bagarap(or 'Big Damage' in English), the film shows with startling intimacy how massive corporations, greedy government, and consumption abroad have conspired to ruin lives in places like Vanimo, Papua New Guinea.
U.S. Lacey Act, programs in Rwanda and Gambia, awarded for forest protection
(09/23/2011) Forest policies in the United States, Rwanda, and Gambia won U.N. backed awards for contributing to efforts to protect and sustainably manage forests.
Conservationists renew push for 'rainforest bonds'
(09/19/2011) Conservationists are renewing a push for a special class of 'rainforest bonds' to fund efforts to conserve tropical forests.
Old-growth forests are irreplaceable for sustaining biodiversity
(09/14/2011) Old growth rainforests should be a top conservation priority when it comes to protecting wildlife, reports a new comprehensive assessment published in the journal Nature. The research examined 138 scientific studies across 28 tropical countries. It found consistently that biodiversity level were substantially lower in disturbed forests.
Logged rainforests are a cheap conservation option
(09/14/2011) With old-growth forests fast diminishing and land prices surging across Southeast Asia due to rising returns from timber and agricultural commodities, opportunities to save some of the region's rarest species seem to be dwindling. But a new paper, published in the journal Conservation Letters, highlights an often overlooked opportunity for conservation: selectively logged forests.
Deutsche Bank faces money-laundering investigation over dealings with Malaysian chief minister
(09/12/2011) Banking giant Deutsche Bank is under investigation by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for its dealings with the family of Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, reports the Bruno Manser Fund, a group that campaigns on behalf of forest people in Borneo.
Peru president signs indigenous rights act into law
(09/07/2011) Peru's new president, Ollanta Humala, has signed into law a measure requiring that indigenous groups are consulted prior to any mining, logging, or oil and gas projects on their land. If properly enforced, the new legislation will give indigenous people free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) over such industrial projects, though the new law does not go so far as to allow local communities a veto over projects. Still, the law puts Peru in line with the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, which the South American nation ratified nearly two decades ago.
Supermarket challenges toilet paper marker to disprove deforestation allegations
(08/31/2011) A major New Zealand supermarket chain has asked Cottonsoft to prove its environmental credentials after testing by WWF and Greenpeace revealed the toilet paper maker was using mixed tropical hardwoods sourced from Indonesia's rainforests in its tissue. reports The Dominion Post.
Wikileaks: US warned of severe corruption in Malaysia's Sarawak state
(08/30/2011) U.S. government sources characterize the ruler of Malaysia's Sarawak as 'highly corrupt' and plagued with conflicts of interest, according to secret cables released today by Wikileaks.
Big damage in Papua New Guinea: new film documents how industrial logging destroys lives
(08/29/2011) In one scene a young man, perhaps not long ago a boy, named Douglas stands shirtless and in shorts as he runs a chainsaw into a massive tropical tree. Prior to this we have already heard from an official how employees operating chainsaws must have a bevy of protective equipment as well as training, but in Papua New Guinea these are just words. The reality is this: Douglas straining to pull the chainsaw out of the tree as it begins to fall while his fellow employees flee the tumbling giant. The new film Bikpela Bagarap('Big Damage') documents the impact of industrial logging on the lives of local people in Papua New Guinea.
Could "wood bank" ease Madagascar's illegal logging problem?
(08/25/2011) ith illegal timber stocks continuing to build due ongoing logging in its rainforest parks and under pressure from powerful timber traders, Madagascar's political leaders are debating a plan to lift a ban on precious wood exports. Environmentalists fear the move — without proper safeguards — could effectively reward illegal loggers and drive further exploitation the country's remaining forests.
Madagascar may authorize exports of illegally-logged rosewood
(08/22/2011) A meeting scheduled for August 25th between rosewood traders, the Ministry of Forest and Environment, and other government officials may determine the fate of tens of millions of dollars' worth of rosewood illegally logged from Madagascar's rainforests parks.
APP affiliate 'regrets' astroturfing on Indonesia deforestation claims
(08/21/2011) Solaris, an Australian affiliate of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), has been caught astroturfing an article that repeated criticism of APP from Greenpeace. The article, which appeared on Mumbrella—an Australian media and marketing news site—garnered a multitude of negative comments which were later tracked to IP addresses used by Solaris. Astroturfing is corporate or government messaging falsified as coming from the public or a grassroots movement.
WWF to investigate program that partners with notorious loggers
(08/14/2011) The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has announced an independent review of its Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) following a report from Global Witness that criticized the conservation organization for working with a number of logging companies that destroy forests, imperil species, and abuse human rights. While WWF's GTFN is meant to support companies in changing their ways, Global Witness' report argued that it led to greenwashing forest destruction, including illegal logging.
Fuji Xerox Australia dumps paper supplier accused of rainforest destruction
(08/05/2011) Fuji Xerox Australia have severed ties with Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL), an paper products giant accused of illegally clearing rainforests in Sumatra for pulp and paper production, reports Nine News.
Vietnamese military illegally plundering Laos' forests
(07/28/2011) Dwindling forests in the Asian nation of Laos are being illegally destroyed and traded by Vietnamese companies with the Vietnamese army as one of the biggest players in this multi-million dollar smuggling operation, according to an investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). EIA agents went undercover as timber purchasers to discover a long trail of corruption and poor enforcement from the destruction of Laos forests to furniture factories in Vietnam to stores in the USA and Europe. Even a ban on exporting raw timber out of Laos has done little to stop the plunder of the nation's forests for outside gain.
Australian 'green' buildings used illegally logged wood from rainforests allege activists
(07/27/2011) A 'green' building development being built by Frasers Property Australia in Sydney has been accused of using illegally-sourced plywood from Malaysian state of Sarawak in Borneo, according to a new Greenpeace report. The wood in question comes from a subsidiary of Samling, a company that has been connected to illegal logging and abusing the rights of indigenous groups in the past. After the revelations came to light, Frasers Property Australia said they would conduct an audit of the wood which was provided to them by Australian Wood Panels (AWP).
Video: Tiger trapped in Asia Pulp and Paper logging concession dies a gruesome death
(07/25/2011) Caught in a snare and left for days without access to food and water, a wild Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) perished from its wounds hours after forest officers reached it. As reported by Greenpeace—which photographed and filmed the rescue attempt—the tiger was trapped at the edge of a acacia plantation and remaining forest area actively being logged by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) in Riau Province. Sumatran tigers are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List; the subspecies, restricted to the Indonesian island, is in decline due to large-scale habitat loss and poaching.
WWF partnering with companies that destroy rainforests, threaten endangered species
(07/25/2011) Arguably the globe's most well-known conservation organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been facilitating illegal logging, vast deforestation, and human rights abuses by pairing up with notorious logging companies in a flagging effort to convert them to greener practices, alleges a new report by Global Witness. Through its program, the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), WWF—known as World Wildlife Fund in the US and Canada—has become entangled with some dubious companies, including one that is imperiling orangutans in Borneo and another which has been accused of human rights abuses in the Congo rainforest. Even with such infractions, these companies are still able to tout connections to WWF and use its popular panda logo. The Global Witness report, entitled Pandering to the Loggers, calls for WWF to make large-scale changes in order to save the credibility of its corporate program.
Suspects named for assassination of husband and wife activists in Brazil
(07/21/2011) Brazilian authorities have fingered three men for the killing of environmental activist, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva, and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, in May. The grisly murders received international attention, since José da Silva was a well known activist against illegal logging in Pará, a state in Brazil that is rife with deforestation and violence.
Indonesia's new forest moratorium map improved, say experts
(07/13/2011) The latest version of Indonesia's forest moratorium map is much improved over its predecessor, say forestry analysts from Daemeter Consulting.
Another rosewood bust in Madagascar
(07/12/2011) Authorities in Madagascar confiscated six containers of rosewood logs worth $360,000 - $600,000 at a port in the northwestern part of the country, reports AFP.
Lego banishes Asia Pulp & Paper due to deforestation link
(07/07/2011) In response to a campaign by Greenpeace asserting that packaging used for its iconic toy building blocks is contributing to deforestation in Indonesia, the LEGO Group on Thursday announced it is taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of packaging materials and paper used in its products.
Indonesia reduces area of forest protected under moratorium
(07/07/2011) Indonesia reduced the extent of areas protected under the country's moratorium on new logging concessions, reports the Jakarta Globe.
Endangered species trafficking: What did Gibson Guitar know?
(07/07/2011) A motion filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges Gibson Guitar knew it was trafficking in endangered timber when it was busted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in November 2009, reports the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Is the Ministry of Forestry undermining Indonesia's logging moratorium?
(06/28/2011) Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry is already undermining the moratorium on new forestry concessions on peatlands and in primary forest areas, alleges a new report from Greenomics-Indonesia. The report, The Toothless Moratorium, claims that a new decree from the Ministry of Forestry converts 81,490 hectares of forest protected under the moratorium into logging areas. The area affected is larger than Singapore.
Logging company fined $100 million for illegal logging in Papua New Guinea
(06/28/2011) In a landmark court decision a judge has slapped a logging company with a nearly $100 million (K225.5 million) fine for large-scale illegal logging. Last week, Malaysian timber company, Concord Pacific, was sentenced to pay four forest tribes for environmental destruction in the first ruling of its kind for Papua New Guinea.
Green tigers: new research shows protecting forests will deliver new economic boom for Southeast Asia
(06/27/2011) A raft of new studies show that protecting Southeast Asia's forests could provide an enormous economic lift for Southeast Asia. Indeed, the studies suggest, forest conservation, sustainable forestry, and agricultural improvements, along with investments in clean energy, could spur the rise of regional "Green Tiger" economies whose development levels surpass even those achieved during the boom years of the 1990's. The studies provide a striking rebuttal to palm oil and timber industries' claims that deforestation is necessary for the region's growth.
Pictures: Turquoise 'dragon' among 1,000 new species discovered in New Guinea
(06/27/2011) Scientists discovered more than 1,000 previously unknown species during a decade of research in New Guinea, says a new report from WWF. While the majority of 1,060 species listed are plants and insects, the inventory includes 134 amphibians, 71 fish, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, and 2 birds. Among the most notable finds: a woolly giant rat, an endemic subspecies of the silky cuscus, a snub-fin dolphin, a turquoise and black 'dragon' or monitor lizard, and an 8-foot (2.5-m) river shark.
FSC mulls controversial motion to certify plantations responsible for recent deforestation
(06/24/2011) Members of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), meeting in Malaysia this week for its General Assembly, will consider various changes to the organization, including a vote on a controversial motion that would open the door—slightly at first—to sustainable-certification of companies that have been involved in recent forest destruction for pulp and paper plantations. Known as Motion 18, the change is especially focusing on forestry in places where recent deforestation has been rampant, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
FSC to continue allowing baboon killing on sustainably-certified plantations
(06/23/2011) Shooting baboons will continue in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified plantations. After examining a complaint by the NGO GeaSphere against South African plantations for trapping and shooting hundreds of baboons, the FSC has announced it will not place a moratorium on baboon-killing in its sustainably-certified plantations.
Embattled Malaysian minister denies secret Swiss accounts, but not other holdings
(06/22/2011) Abdul Taib Mahmud, chief minister of Sarawak, on Wednesday denied charges that he holds secret Swiss bank accounts containing wealth attained through close ties with logging companies and palm oil firms operating in the Malaysian Borneo state, reports the Associated Press.
Indonesia's moratorium undermines community forestry in favor of industrial interests
(06/21/2011) Indonesia's moratorium on new concessions in primary forest areas and peatlands "completely ignores" the existence of community forestry management licenses, jeopardizing efforts to improve the sustainability of Indonesia's forest sector and ensure benefits from forest use reach local people, say environmentalists. According to Greenomics-Indonesia, a Jakarta-based NGO, community and village forestry licenses are not among the many exemptions spelled under the presidential instruction that defines the moratorium. The instruction, issued last month, grants exemptions for industrial developers and allows business-as-usual in secondary forest areas by the pulp and paper, mining and palm oil industries.
Ahead of meeting, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) loses another supporter
(06/19/2011) The forest organization, FERN, has pulled its support from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), reports FSC-Watch. FERN has quit the increasingly troubled organization due to FSC pursuing carbon credits through forestry. The FSC loses FERN just weeks before its 6th General Assembly, in which FSC partners—including private corporations and some environmental groups—will meet to debate current practices.
Indonesia's forest moratorium
(06/17/2011) World Resource Institute's summary of key elements, and unanswered questions, in Indonesia's recent moratorium on new forest permits.
Poverty doesn't drive deforestation, argues new survey
(06/16/2011) Income from forests and other ecosystem generates a significant proportion of household income in developing countries, finds a six-year survey of 8,000 families from 60 sites in 24 countries.
Sarawak's leader under investigation for corruption linked to logging
(06/10/2011) After months of heavy campaigning by human rights organizations and environmental group, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) announced it is investigating Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud for corruption.
Indonesia's anti-mafia unit seeks to reopen $115 billion illegal logging case
(06/08/2011) Indonesia's Anti-Mafia Law Task Force asked authorities Tuesday to reopen an investigation into illegal logging that may have cost the Indonesian state $115 billion.
Indonesian president urges other countries not to buy illegally logged wood from Indonesia
(06/08/2011) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked consuming countries to join the fight against illegal logging in Indonesia, reports the Jakarta Globe.
Barbie, Legos, other toys linked to destruction of Indonesia's rainforests
(06/07/2011) Some of the world's largest and most prominent toy-makers are sourcing their packaging materials from companies linked to large-scale destruction of Indonesia's rainforests, alleges a new report from Greenpeace. The report, How APP is Toying with Extinction, is based on forensic analysis of toy packaging from Mattel, which manufacturers Barbie and Hot Wheels toys; Disney, which makes a variety of toys linked to its movies; Hasbro, which produces GI Joe, Star Wars, and Sesame Street toys and various games like Monopoly and Scrabble; and Lego, which makes the iconic plastic building blocks. The analysis found traces of mixed-tropical hardwood (MTH) and acacia fiber which are principally sourced from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an umbrella paper products brand that sources from several companies that have been linked to rainforest destruction in Sumatra.
90% of tropical forests managed poorly or not at all
(06/07/2011) More than 90 percent of tropical forests are managed poorly or not at all, says a new assessment by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
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