...sub-alpine and alpine forest stands have also allowed the infestation to reach areas never that were at one time not affected by the infestation due to the environments low temperature. Overcrowding and understory litter have drained conifer tree stands of water, nutrients and sunlight. This outbreak allows for wildfire to thrive and has changed the intensity of wildfires in the Rocky Mountain area. Wildlife, recreational forest users, timber industry and the nation’s water resources have all been affected by this infestation through the increased threat of wildfire,...
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...Noncommercial forest | 4,296,786 | 14.4 | Marsh: | | | Fresh | 168,657 | | Salt | 438,155 | | | 606,812 | 2.0 | Open grassland | 5,203,620 | 17.5 | Cultivated | 6,434,348 | 21.6 | Total | 29,740,972 | 100.0 | Approximately 97.5 percent of the forest is owned by the Government and is administered by the Bureau of Forestry; 2.5 percent is privately owned. The greater bulk of the forest is in large blocks on the principal islands such as Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, and Palawan. Most of the forest is of the tropical rain type, complex in its composition. More than 3,000 species of trees attain a diameter of 30 centimeters (one foot) or more; however, less than sixty of these are marketed. Seventy-five percent of the stand consists of dipterocarps, commonly called lauan, to which "Philippine mahogany" belongs. It is conservatively estimated that the aggregate commercial standing timber is around 2,105,000,000 m3 ® (464,729,000,000 bd. ft.). Based on forest charges (government stumpage tax), this stand has a value of P2,341,550,000.1 Its commercial value is placed at P58,092,434,000, based on a minimum price of about P26.5 per m3 ® (P120 per 1,000 bd. ft.). 1 One peso is equivalent to $0.50 U. S. Smoking Mt. Mayon Volcano in Mt. Mayon, National Park, one of the several scenic parks in the Philippines. The Bureau of Forestry administers national parks as well as national forests. Under sustained-yield...
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...Case Study Country Case Study 8 February 2008 Systems for Verification of Legality in the Forest Sector, Malaysia: Domestic Timber Production and Timber Imports Adrian Wells (a.wells@odi.org.uk), Thang Hooi Chiew and Chen Hin Keong Contents 1. 2. Executive summary . . . . . . . pg. 3 . . . . . . . pg. 6 3. Law and policy governing forest management . . . . 3.1 Forests under the Federal Constitution . . . . 3.2 Forest management by the States . . . . . 3.3 Key jurisdictional differences between the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak . . . . pg. 7 pg. 7 pg. 8 pg. 9 4. Law and policy on wood-based industries and the timber trade . . . pg. 19 5. Responses to illegality in the forest sector . 5.1 Control of domestic timber production . 5.2 Control of timber imports . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 21 pg. 21 pg. 27 6. 7. Institutional structures for legal verification of domestic timber production and imports 6.1 Overview . . . . . . . 6.2 Peninsular Malaysia . . . . . . 6.3 Sabah . . . . . . . . 6.4 Sarawak . . . . . . . . 6.5 Timber imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 30 pg. 30 pg. 30 pg. 42 pg. 55 pg. 67 The...
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...The traditional Malay house 1. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. I Title of practice or experience The traditional Malay house 1.2 Category o practice/experience and brief description f The traditional Malay house is one of the richest components of Malaysia’s cultural heritage. Designed and built by the villagers themselves, it manifests the creative and aesthetic skills of the Malays. This is a near-perfect houseform which is appropriate to local climatic conditions and expresses the way of life of its inhabitants. The house is extremely well designed to suit the warm and humid Malaysian climate and for the multifunctional use of space. Its design is also flexible as it caters to the widely different needs of the users and it has an addition system which allows the house to be extended to meet the growing needs of each family. 1.3 Name of person or institution responsible for the practice or experience The Malay communities in Malaysia 1.4 Name and position of key or relevant persons or officials involved Not applicable 1.5 Details o institution f Not applicable PART II: I NDIGENOUS AND TRADITIONAL 74 KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES 1.6 Name of person and/or institution conducting the research Lim Jee Yuan, Consumers’ Association of Penang 1.7 Details of research person/institution (a) (b) (c) (d) Address: 228 Macalister Road, 10400 Penang, Malaysia Telephone:++ (60) (4) 229 35 11 Fax: ++ (60) (4) 229 8 I06 E-Mail: elawmalaysia@igc.apc.org ...
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...agriculture … [so] … that not a tree remains, and the land is given over to non-forest purposes … [and where] very heavy and unduly negligent logging … [result in a] … decline of biomass and depletion of ecosystem services … . So severe that the residual forest can no longer qualify as forest in any practical sense of the world.” Alan Graigner (1980, AS quoted in Saxena and Nautiyal, 1997) asserts that selective logging does not “lead to forest clearance and does not constitute deforestation”, whereas Norman Myers (1980, 1993) thinks that logging is crucial because, although it may only affect a small proportion of trees per hectare, it damages wide areas and is the precursor of penetration by the forest farmers. For the purpose of this study, the FAO’s latest definitions (1993) will be used. The FAO defines forests as “ecosystems with a minimum of 10% crown cover of trees and/or bamboo, generally associated with wild flora, fauna, and natural soil conditions, and not subject to agricultural practices” and deforestation as a “change of land use with a depletion of tree crown cover to less than 10% crown cover”. “A livelihood comprises the assets (natural, physical, human, financial and social capital), activities, and the access to...
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...Kapuas Hulu district, West Kalimantan. Through the cracks of the timber walls in the 122 metre wide long-house, the faint sound of shuffling feet on squeaky floors penetrated to the compartments, as people went back and forth to the kitchens at the back of each living quarter. Not long afterwards, the clattering of tin kettles and stirring of teaspoons could be heard right, left and centre. The long-house was awakening. The village of Malapi is one of the home villages of the Tamans, a sub group of the Iban Dayak. There are about 6000 Tamans in all, their community spread through about a dozen villages in Kapuas Hulu. The village of Malapi is one of them, and consists of a string of four hamlets, one of which is Kunsali Patamuan, and six long-houses. Each long-house lodges between 20 and 40 family units. All are close to the river which runs through the village. Our particular long-house was only recently relocated here as the ever-moving Kapuas river bed had turned its erosive powers right up to the front of the old long-house. The old site had to be abandoned. An increasing rate of riverbank erosion is one of the environmental problems facing this community as a result of upstream logging, both legal and illegal. Every family living in the old long-house builds their own compartment or bilik, and it might take ten years or more before all are completed. The wood used in the structure can be newly cut timber from the surrounding village forest; it can be purchased from outside...
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...Degradation of lignin 16 3.2.3 Cellulose degradation 16 4.0CASE STUDY 19 5.0 Control of wood deterioration 21 5.1 CONCLUSION 24 REFERENCE 25 MICROBIAL DETERIORATION OF WOOD AND ITS CONTROL BY AGWULONU JOSEPH SU11311020 DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES SALEM UNIVERSITY LOKOJA, KOGI STATE. Background Wood is a hard, fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It has been used for thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by them. It also mediates the transfer of water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber. However, various microorganisms attack woody trees since they are ubiquitous and this effect leads to the detrimental deterioration of wood. This paper would discuss the different microorganisms that affect woody trees, the...
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...approximately one million chimpanzees in Africa. This number has declined down to 150,000. Mountain gorillas have halved in size over the last ten years, leaving only 320 to roam the trees of their homeland. Some say these great apes will face extinction within a decade. Why is this the case and should we let this happen? These apes lose areas of habitat on a daily basis. They are also constantly slaughtered for meat and body parts. These two enormous contributors of great ape depletion are just unnecessary additional threats to the existence of our relatives. We must not forget that there is also disease and environmental catastrophes that kill off these intelligent human-like primates. Humans share up to 98% of their DNA. This makes the great apes a very valuable and important subject for study. There is a lot we can learn from them. Because we are so closely related, this may also be a link to global extinction. Perhaps a more thorough evaluation of each of the factors which contribute to the depletion of the four great apes may help to understand how damaging and unnecessary this depletion has become for them, as well as for us. One of the most influential causes for the mass decline in great apes is due to habitat loss. Habitat loss includes the clearing out of forests for agriculture, timber extraction, and fuel wood. The orangutan may be in the most trouble because of this. The last large groups of these primates are located in the large rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia...
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...Conflict and the Environment The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) military escort for UNEP fieldwork near El Geneina, Western Darfur. Intense competition over declining natural resources is one of the underlying causes of the ongoing conflict. SUDAN POST-CONFLICT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Conflict and the Environment 4.1 Introduction and assessment activities 2. an overview of the role of natural resources in the instigation and continuation of historical and current conflicts, listing the major resources of concern and focusing specifically on conflicts involving rangelands and rain-fed agricultural land; and 3. a brief environmental impact assessment of the various conflicts, evaluating the direct and indirect impacts of conflict on Sudan’s environment. Chronic environmental problems are covered in other chapters, though it should be noted that at the local level, the boundary between chronic and conflict-related environmental issues is often unclear. Assessment activities The assessment of conflict-related issues was an integral part of fieldwork throughout the country. In addition, UNEP carried out a number of specific activities, including: Introduction Sudan has been wracked by civil war and regional strife for most of the past fifty years, and at the time of finalizing this report, in June 2007, a major conflict rages on in Darfur. At the same time, Sudan suffers from a number of severe environmental problems, both within and outside current and historical conflict-affected...
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...Rainforest produces about 20% of the earth’s oxygen because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen. It has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" (Amazon Rainforest). This rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and covers over a billion acres. The areas included would be Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, and Peru. Figure 1 “Why is the Amazon Rainforest so important?” The Amazon is very ecologically important for many reasons. First of all, the rainforest has probably the largest collection of plant and animal species in the whole world. It is estimated that a single hectare (2.47 acres) of Amazon rainforest contains about 900 tons of living plants, including more than 750 types of trees and 1500 other plants (Rainforest Facts). The Amazon rainforest is considered the richest biological incubator in the world. Amazingly, the Andean mountain range and the Amazon jungle are the home to more than half of the world's species of flora and fauna; and are home to over 438,000 species, and many more are yet to be discovered (Rainforest Facts). These numbers alone should show the importance the Amazon Rainforest is to the whole world. While Rainforests may be thought of as a plentiful place of green plants and unique animals; the Amazon rainforest is home to the mighty Amazon River. The Amazon River is considered the life force of the Amazon Rainforest and is the...
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...What are business ethics and sustainability? Introduction Steel is a unique and vital material. It touches almost every part of modern life. It is a key element of our infrastructure. From buses to buildings, from canned food to computers, almost everything we see around us is either made of steel or is made using steel. Steel is essential to modern society. TATA Steel Ltd. is the third largest steel producer in Europe and has its main steelmaking plants in the UK and Holland. It supplies steel and related services to major industries, such as construction, vehicle production and packaging. The European operations are a subsidiary of TATA Steel Ltd. ,one of the world’s top ten steel producers. The combined Group has around 50,000 employees. The challenges of sustainability A commitment to environmentally-sound practices is part of many businesses’ commitment to act responsibly. Social responsibility refers to an organisation’s obligations to maximise its long-term positive impacts and minimise its negative impacts on society. For TATA Steel Ltd., it is a core part of its vision to be ‘the global steel industry benchmark for value creation and corporate citizenship.’ TATA Steel Ltd. is committed to tackling the challenges of sustainability. This means that it takes its responsibility towards both the environment and its communities seriously, balancing these against the need to make a profit. It has put systems in place to meet international standards for environmental...
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...scientists have been analyzing ways in which we could keep Earth alive and well. Our dependency on natural resources is increasing; therefore, the planet we live on is beginning to deteriorate. In specific, attention has been brought upon issues such as: global warming, droughts, wild fires, etc. However, we forget to mention something that tends to be affected by some, if not all, of these issues: deforestation. Deforestation plays a key part on not only human lives, but on the lives of animals, creatures, insects that depend on trees for survival. Before getting to the root of the problem, we must know what deforestation is. According to, Andrea Becker, who writes for Seattle Pi, defines deforestation as “forest loss through urban sprawl, land clearing of agriculture, wildfire or timber harvest.” In other words, it can be described as the clearing of trees. It may not seem like an issue that is severe, but when it comes down to it, the clearing of trees tends to affect the ecosystem in a number of ways. It is important to keep in mind that deforestation does not only occur in the United States, it is a big problem in the Brazilian and Bolivian Amazons. In addition, deforestation threatens our climate as well as the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people that rely on forests for food and economic activity (Greenpeace). Forests also serve as habitats to rare and undiscovered animal and plant species and play a key role in providing water and preventing flooding and erosion (Greenpeace)...
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...percent. The most dominant species are Algarrobo (Prosopis pallida), Faique (Acacia macracantha) and Zapote (Capparis scabrida), which are normally evergreen and in some cases thorny. This type of ecosystem also contains many shrubs with a height lower than 5 m like Overo (Cordia lutea), Charamusco (Encelia canescers), Satuyo (Capparis cordata) and Vichayo (Capparis ovalifolia). During wet seasons herbaceous and gramineous species appear. (AIDER 2010). The...
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...The tropical rainforest is full of life with approximately 15 million different species of animals. A few examples of the many biotic feature are the rubber and bamboo trees, sloths, anteaters, poison dart frogs, lemurs, bromeliads, etc. Many of these animals and a multitude of insects never set foot on the ground. Where abiotic factors of the rainforest include soil, water, rocks, light, and climate. One of Brazil’s most valuable assets is its dense covering of rainforests. Of course, the Amazon Rainforest is the most significant of these, covering a vast portion of the country and providing the ideal habitat to approximately one-third of all animal species in the world. To date, there have been identified approximately 56 000 species of plants (described), 1 700 bird species, 695 amphibian species, 578 mammal species and 651 reptile...
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...PHILIPPINE BIODIVERSITY Deforestation Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.[1] Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use. The term deforestation is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area are removed.[not in citation given][neutrality is disputed] However in temperate climates, the removal of all trees in an area[not in citation given]—in conformance with sustainable forestry practices—is correctly described as regeneration harvest.[2] In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic.[3] Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.[4][5] Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of charcoal) or timber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of commodities and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive the enemy of cover for its forces and...
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