Sustainable Forestry News
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Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Habitat for Humanity Expand Mutual Support for Responsibly Built Affordable Homes
In an agreement of support between the two organizations, PEFC’s North American member theSustainable Forestry Initiative(SFI) and Habitat for Humanity International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and pledged to expand the cooperation between the two groups by encouraging the use of wood products certified to the SFI Standard on Habitat construction sites. "SFI and Habitat ...
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FAO launches new satellite-based data on forest resources on the International Day of Forests
New data released on the occasion of the International Day of Forests confirm that forest areas continue to decline globally, with the biggest losses of tropical forests occurring in South America and Africa. Improving information on forest resources is a key factor in halting illegal deforestation and forest degradation, said FAO on the International Day of Forests (IDF), celebrated by the ...
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Australia, New Zealand and Beyond: Towards the Tipping Point on Forest Certification in Asia Pacific
“With the growing momentum in Asia Pacific for the adoption of sustainable forest management practices and PEFC certification, I am looking forward to discussing with stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand how they can best benefit from and support the expansion of PEFC in the region,” said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest ...
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Forest Community agrees to take joint action towards greening the economy
The Rovaniemi Action Plan for the Forest Sector in a Green Economy was adopted today by the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) and the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC). The Action Plan provides a solid platform for the forest sector to support transformation to a green bio-based economy in Europe, North America, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Forest leaders decided ...
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Forests are key to the greening of European economies
European countries are encouraged to apply the principles of a green economy in the forest sector by 2020, FAO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said today at the opening of the European Forest Week (9-13 December) in Rovaniemi, Finland. Europe's forest ministers and other high-level delegates from 40 countries gathered today in the Finnish town to discuss how forests ...
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FAO urges policy-makers to strengthen forest producer organizations
Strengthening forest producer organizations should contribute significantly to reducing poverty, improving livelihoods and enhancing economic development of smallholder forest owners and farmers, FAO said today at the International Conference on Forest Producer Organizations, taking place in Guilin, China, 25-28 November 2013. Being part of a producer organization can give individual forest ...
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COP19: new public-private forest protection initiative receives $280m pledge from Norway, UK, and US
The new "BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes" aims to advance forest protection efforts up until 2020. The multi-million dollar initiative, designed to protect some of the world’s most valuable forest habitats, was announced at the United Nations Summit in Warsaw today. Ministers from the UK, Norway, and the US have jointly announced that they will be providing a ...
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Two Organizations Join PEFC International as International Stakeholder Members
“PEFC is pleased to welcome the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) and theInternational Council of Forest and Paper Associations(ICPFA) as PEFC International Stakeholder members,” said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Secretary General, following their acceptance during the PEFC General Assembly. “We are looking forward to enhanced opportunities for collaboration in our common effort to ...
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EBRD and FAO set pathway to sustainable forestry investment in the Russian Federation’s Far East
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have joined forces to promote viable forestry investment and innovation in the Russian Federation's Far East based on sustainable use of forest resources. An Investment Roadmap, defining the pathway to sustainable investments in the region's forest industry, was ...
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African countries agree to curb illegal timber trade in the Congo Basin
Governments from Africa's main timber producing countries, together with timber industry representatives and civil society organizations agreed to jointly combat illegal timber trade in the Congo Basin, FAO said today following an international wood industry meeting in Brazzaville. Covering an area of 300 million hectares, the Congo Basin harbours the world's second largest tropical forest. It ...
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EU and Indonesia sign historic deal to curb illegal timber
Today the European Union and Indonesia signed a historic trade agreement which will contribute to halting the trade in illegal timber. Under the agreement, only verified legal timber and timber products will be exported to the EU. Indonesia is the first Asian country to enter into such an agreement, and by far the largest Asian timber exporter to the EU. European Environment Commissioner Janez ...
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EU and Indonesia sign historic deal to curb illegal timber
Today the European Union and Indonesia signed a historic trade agreement which will contribute to halting the trade in illegal timber. Under the agreement, only verified legal timber and timber products will be exported to the EU. Indonesia is the first Asian country to enter into such an agreement, and by far the largest Asian timber exporter to the EU. European Environment Commissioner Janez ...
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Forest resources in the EU
A new Forest Strategy responding to the new challenges facing forests and the forest sector has been published by the European Commission today, which underlines the importance of forest resources in the EU. The EU currently contains 5 % of the world's forests and EU forests have continuously expanded for over 60 years, although recently at a lower rate. EU Forests and other wooded land now ...
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Commission presents new EU forest strategy based on new, broader, approach to forest
A new Forest Strategy responding to the new challenges facing forests and the forest sector has been published by the European Commission today. Covering 40% of the EU area, forests are a key resource for improving the quality of life and creating jobs, in particular in rural areas, the Strategy states, while also protecting ecosystems and providing ecological benefits for everyone. EU ...
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Frankincense tree has not regenerated for the last half century
Frankincense is a resin that is tapped from a dry forest tree in the Horn of Africa, the Arabian peninsula and India. The European market is dominated by frankincense from Ethiopia. But the tree populations are under threat. “We found no frankincense trees younger than half a century”, says Motuma Tolera Feyissa, who defended his PhD thesis on this subject yesterday. Frans Bongers is ...
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Responsible Forestry and CSR – The Business Case
The significance of responsible timber sourcing practices to promote sustainable forest management and combat climate change will be the focus of the keynote speech by Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General at the forthcoming World Engineers Summit (WES) in Singapore next week. Sustainable forest management is key to maintaining the forest carbon stock and has been identified as an ...
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The Drive Towards Forest Certification in New Zealand
“International customers are increasingly demanding wood to be sourced sustainably,” said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC, during a recent interview with Radio New Zealand’s Morning Rural News. “Not only are a growing number of countries demanding verification that timber has been sourced legally, but international companies are also playing a big role in the push ...
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Building EU-Mongolia relations on agriculture and rural development
The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloș will visit Mongolia, 18-21 July 2013 to discuss prospects for increasing cooperation with the Mongolian authorities in the fields of sustainable agriculture, food security and rural development. "We have a strong interest in enhancing our bilateral relations in the area of agriculture and in discussing ways to ...
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SFI and Audubon Team Up Bird Scientists with Forest Managers to Implement Conservation Programs
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) announced today that it has awarded the National Audubon Society $60,000 under the SFI Conservation and Community Partnership Grant Program. The three-year project is designed to develop and implement the latest bird conservation best practices by engaging Audubon scientists working closely with forest managers across six states along the ...
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EU will continue to foster resilience among poor, says Barroso
The European Union (EU) will continue to build long-term resilience among the most vulnerable, tackle the root causes of hunger and poverty and improve nutrition, said José Manuel Barroso, addressing the FAO Conference. Barroso, President of the European Commission, accepted an award for the EU's €1 billion initiative against hunger, partly implemented together with FAO in response ...
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