eco media

APP accused of breaching its forest protection commitments to international lenders

seamas — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:23:56 +0000

WWF and Indonesian environment groups claim that European and Japanese taxpayers are among those unwittingly underwriting the continued destruction of important forest in Sumatra, including habitat for endangered tigers. A new report from Sumatra-based NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest, shows that Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) agreed to protect high conservation value forest under debt restructuring agreements it made with taxpayer-backed financial institutions in nine countries, in 2004. However, Eyes on the Forest believes subsequent forest clearing blatantly breaches that commitment.

Call for comprehensive packaging recycling system

seamas — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:16:44 +0000

The National Chair of Keep Australia Beautiful National Association, Don Chambers, has called for cooperation and increased partnerships to help develop an improved recycling system that covers all used packaging materials in order to reduce litter. Chambers emphasized the need for “good partnerships between stakeholders and a focus on personal responsibility” to improve recycling rates nationally.

Flawed consultation on Murray-Darling rescue plan

seamas — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:50:50 +0000

Public consultation on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s $9 billion draft plan to save the river system has been roundly criticized for being initiated before the results of an important CSIRO study on the environmental benefits of returning environmental flows is released.

Japan terminates whaling season early

seamas — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:04:54 +0000

Japan has cut short its whale hunt with less than a third the kills it’s annual quota allows. Japan’s Fisheries Agency blamed adverse weather conditions and sabotage by activists. Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd meanwhile claimed success in it’s campaign to disrupt the hunt.

Massive fine a warning for palm oil industry

seamas — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:39:54 +0000

PT Hindoli, a subsidiary of agribusiness giant Cargill, has been fined $1 million for clearing land to grow palm oil trees beyond its concession in in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Environmental group Greenomics-Indonesia believes the fine could set a precedent and act as a warning to other palm oil companies clearing land illegally.

Southern shark numbers bounce back

seamas — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:18:10 +0000

In some rare good news for sharks, whose global populations have been devastated by decades of overfishing, researchers have found numbers in Tasmanian waters are showing signs of recovery.

Save Our Seas says the World Bank

seamas — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:02:15 +0000

The World Bank has announced a new alliance and funding commitment to protect the world’s oceans from threats such as over-fishing and pollution. World Bank President Robert Zoellick highlighted the importance of sustainable healthy oceans to a living planet and healthy global economy, declaring the Bank’s aim to “leverage as much as $1.2 billion to support healthy and sustainable oceans,” in partnership with governments, the scientific community, civil society organizations, and the private sector. Commentators say market mechanisms will be key to putting fisheries and other ocean dependent industries on a sustainable path.

No winners if Tassie forest deal unravels

seamas — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:24:50 +0000

The Forest Industry Association, Tasmania’s peak timber industry group, has announced it is suspending support for the groundbreaking Intergovernmental Agreement to protect forests signed in August 2011. The Wilderness Society’s National Director, Lyndon Schneiders, says that if the peace deal unravels, it will be a tragedy for Tasmania’s forests and timber industry as well. Schneiders is calling on cool heads to prevail and for all parties to step back from the brink while awaiting key soon-to-be-released reports on how much of the State’s forests should be permanently protected and what lower conservation value forest could be made available for logging.

Indonesia exploits loopholes to grant new logging and plantation concessions

seamas — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:16:36 +0000

Back in 2010, we featured commentary by Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Campaigns Director Shailendra Yashwant on a landmark commitment by Indonesia to protect its remaining forests with $1 billion financial support from Norway. The pact was agreed in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions caused by the destruction of forest and carbon packed peat-land; it promised to be a flagship large-scale example of REDD+ in action. At the time, a moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions was announced on a supposed ‘no reduced deforestation, no money from Norway’ basis.

Now, Jakarta-based NGO Greenomics-Indonesia has revealed that over 1 million acres in Indonesian New Guinea was revised out of the moratorium in November 2011. How will Norway react to this worrying revision of the parameters? Do Indonesia’s actions bode ominously for other REDD+ initiatives? Is it possible to save the ambitious moratorium? We hope the Greenomics report will invite greater scrutiny of how this keystone pact is being implemented.

Clean coal lobby demands more federal funding

seamas — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:35:15 +0000

Developing ‘clean coal’ power plants won’t make business sense for at least two decades unless the Australian Government assists the carbon capture and storage industry more, says Dick Wells, Chairman of the National Low Emissions Coal Council. The Government has budgeted $1.68 billion for a carbon capture and storage ‘flagships’ program, but NLEC estimates $10-17 billion in development funding from public and private sources is necessary to make clean coal technology a commercial viable investment for power plants within the next decade.