Dear Readers”
Happy New Year to readers in Cambodia” Lao PDR” Myanmar” and Thailand!
Before the festivities” Bangkok is hosting the United Nations climate change talks this week. Attendees will follow up on the Cancun Agreement from the Conference of the Parties last year. For a quick refresher on Cancun and what it means for the Asia-Pacific region” browse through RECOFTC and FAO’s Forests and Climate Change After Cancun booklet with experts’ responses to 12 big questions on REDD+ and land use. To keep you current on the discussions” RECOFTC staffers will be blogging from the event all week. Meanwhile” our Twitter feed will cover the latest news headlines.
At RECOFTC” the month saw the signing of a new project on forest livelihoods in the Mekong region with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and a commitment to expand our activities in Vietnam. As we prepare for our midterm review at the end of the month” we invite you to take part in a short survey on the quality of our products and services.
Until next month”
Alison Rohrs
Editor” People and Forests E-News
International: Involving Communities Boosts Biodiversity” Local Income
A new study found that both biodiversity and the livelihoods of forest communities were higher when local populations directly participated in rule making. Researchers analyzed data from 84 villages in Kenya” Tanzania” Uganda” India” Nepal” and Bhutan.
Southeast Asia: Palm Oil Plantations Equal Deforestation
A new study confirms environmentalists' fears that palm oil plantations create deforestation and hurt biodiversity. However” Indonesia has pledged to double oil palm production by 2020.
Bangladesh: Novel Way to Save Forests
The government is training 5″500 indigenous families to protect the Madhupur forests” earning praise for balancing rural people's needs with conservation efforts.
Cambodia: 1″000 Villagers Lodge Complaint to Cancel Land Concessions
Phnom Penh Post” 15 March 2011
A lawmaker will submit a formal complaint from residents of four provinces” requesting the cancellation of more than 6″000 hectares of land concessions to rubber companies in Prey Lang forest.
Related Article:
Cambodians Prevented from Protesting Destruction of Their Forest (Mongabay)
India: 10″000 Forest Dwellers March into City for Land Rights
Hindustan Times” 15 March 2011
Exasperated by the government's indifference toward the Forest Rights Act” thousands of forest dwellers marched to Mumbai” seeking legal documents for land they had occupied for decades.
Indonesia: Fighting Illegal Logging by Giving Communities a Stake in Forest Management
Where traditional models of forest management are returning in the country” forests are recovering. For example” “people's forests” in Java are re-growing for the first time in generations. In this interview” the president of Telapak” a local NGO that fights illegal logging” discusses how communities can conserve forests and can help make REDD+ a reality.
Indonesia: Curb on Forest Use May Cost 3.5 Million New Jobs a Year
International aid programs intended to curb the expansion of forest-related industries in Indonesia will likely deprive the country of an opportunity to create 3.5 million new jobs annually and reduce export revenues” a new report claims.
Malaysia: Forestry Claims Refuted by GoogleEarth Satellite Images
While officials in the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo have insisted that 70% of the region's forest cover is intact” satellite images indicate that far more widespread deforestation is taking place. Advocacy groups claim that 90% of Sarawak's primary forest may have been logged.
Thailand: Villagers Trained to Prevent Forest Fires
Bangkok Post” 8 March 2011
With the Royal Forest Department’s trainings” villagers in Chiang Rai province are creating firebreaks and establishing patrols to save resources and reduce health problems.
Read the rest of the newsletter here.