Wood residues – the materials left over when trees are logged and processed – hold the potential to support resource-efficient energy access, revitalize rural economies and help mitigate climate change, according to this new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In many countries, wood …
On the occasion of the XIV World Forestry Congress, this publication from the FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa supports countries in the region to present the best practices, challenges and opportunities in the forestry sector of Southern Africa. The forests of Southern Africa provide significant benefits in terms of …
Lilongwe — Impoverished villagers are hacking down Malawi's forests to make charcoal, undeterred by government efforts to confiscate the dirty fuel as a power deficit stokes demand. Only 9 percent of the southern African country's population have access to electricity, ensuring a good market for the charcoal produced by communities …
At least 67 percent of the country's 8,500 brick kilns are running without the permission of the Department of Environment, said Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) at a press conference yesterday. However, an annual government report shows that there are only 5,879 brick kilns of which only 2,778 kilns have permissions …
Residential heating with wood and coal is an important source of ambient (outdoor) air pollution; it can also cause substantial indoor air pollution through either direct exposure or infiltration from outside. Evidence links emissions from wood and coal heating to serious health effects such as respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and …
The new rules for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector under the Kyoto Protocol recognized the importance of Harvested Wood Products (HWP) in climate change mitigation. The researchers used the Tier 2 method proposed in the 2013 IPCC KP Supplement to estimate emissions and removals from HWP …
Over half of all wood harvested worldwide is used as fuel, supplying ~9% of global primary energy. By depleting stocks of woody biomass, unsustainable harvesting can contribute to forest degradation, deforestation and climate change. However, past efforts to quantify woodfuel sustainability failed to provide credible results. The researchers present a …
Rawalpindi - As the un-availability of natural gas marred the lives of people in chilly weather, the logger mafia is out on the dangerous mission of stealing woods from forests illegally and to sell it out at the hands of wood-sellers in various areas of the division, reliable sources told …
At least 82 brick fields, out of 150, in the Lakshmipur district are operating without the approval of the administration. They also did not follow any guideline while being set up. These illegal kilns, made with old style tin-chimney, are using wood instead of coal creating an environmental hazard. Moreover, …
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet on Monday decided to lift the over two decades long ban on forest harvesting besides managing forests along scientific lines in line with a working plan made by the government. “Now, forests will be managed under the government’s approved working plan,” information minister Mushtaq Ahmad …
For years, wood and charcoal were the most common source of energy for cooking, but it requires cutting down trees which causes deforestation. Biomass remains the main source of energy, at 85 per cent, of which 26 per cent is charcoal, according to a recent study by the Rwanda Natural …
Sweden estimates that wood valued at as much as 600 million kronor ($87 million) was destroyed in the country’s largest forest fire in modern times as fire-fighters managed to contain the spread of the blaze. The Swedish Forest Agency estimates that the affected area contains some 2.37 million cubic meters …
NAGPUR: Most of the conservation effort in tiger range countries is concentrated on a few, relatively large protected areas (PAs) but it is high time governments focused on forests outside the PA network, especially in Central India. "India supports largest proportion of the global wild tiger population but has less …
A new policy by the Himachal Pradesh Government to allot trees, instead of timber or wood, at subsidised rates for constructing or repairing houses has streamlined the process in the State, an official said. Under the amended rules, `500 per cubic metre standing volume is being charged for deodar and …
Environment and Forests Minister B. Gopalakrishna Reddy has said that the State government is mulling options for speedy disposal of the seized red sanders that are lying idle in various repositories in the State. According to an estimate, the State has more than 12,000 tonnes of red sanders logs seized …
A ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ hub for Asia and Pacific was launched on Wednesday aimed at mobilising investment and finding innovative ways to bring clean, modern energy to people in the region. With the creation of the hub, the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) was formally …
Japan, the world’s fourth-largest buyer of timber products, needs to introduce laws and stricter oversight to stamp out imports of illegally logged wood, said the Environmental Investigation Agency, a lobbyist group. The country’s laws do not require private buyers of foreign timber to ensure it was legally logged nor do …
Southampton-based plastic manufacturer Biome Bioplastics has released ground-breaking research that demonstrates the feasibility of creating low-cost, high-performance bioplastics using lignin derived from wood. The research, undertaken in conjunction with the University of Warwick's Centre for Biotechnology and Biorefining, reveals that lignin - a waste product of the pulp and paper …
Beetles are obliterating forests throughout Colorado and the U.S. West, draining budgets as property values decline and threatening tourism at national parks, including the home of Mount Rushmore. Voters in Colorado communities raised taxes to protect ski resorts that bring in $3 billion annually to the economy. The pine beetles, …
This study focuses on evaluating and improving the assessment of forest wealth. In its broad purpose, the study is intended to help improve the current forest wealth assessment methodology by the World Bank to enable more accurate estimates of forest wealth and other related indicators. The effort has involved three …
