THE BURNING SEASON has been invited to compete in the ‘World Documentary Feature Competition’ at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April.

THE BURNING SEASON is the only Australian documentary that will screen in competition at Tribeca. This is second time in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival for director Henkel – she won the coveted award for ‘Best Documentary’ with her very personal film, THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER’S FACE in 2004.

Despite the serious nature of the subject matter, THE BURNING SEASON is both positive and inspiring and has already been garnering local awards. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2008 and the IF Award for Best Documentary (an award voted by audiences).

Subsequently, independent distributor Gil Scrine approached the producers with the offer of a cinema release. The editing of the new cinema version received support from the Queensland Government’s Pacific Film and Television Commission. Other investors in the film are Screen Australia and the NSW Film and TV Office.

THE BURNING SEASON is co-produced by Cathy Henkel (Virgo Productions) Jeff Canin (Hatchling Productions) and Trish Lake (Freshwater Pictures) and narrated by Hugh Jackman. The film will be released in cinemas across Australia in mid May with an innovative distribution plan to be managed by a partnership between Virgo Productions, Freshwater Pictures and Gil Scrine Films.

“For me, the widest possible audience for this film is a matter of urgency. My hope is that it will help people understand why forests and the orangutans need to be saved, and remind us that we mustn’t give up. This film is an anthem to optimism and a call to action. It reflects my profound belief in the mantra of “Yes We Can”, says Director Cathy Henkel.

The scheduled screening times for The Burning Season at Tribeca are:

Saturday, April 25, 6:15 pm, AV7-07
Sunday, April 26, 3:00 pm, AV7-04
Tuesday, April 28, 10:15 pm, AV7-07
Thursday, April 30, 12:30 pm, AV7-03

All screenings take place at:

AMC Village VII (AV7)
66 Third Avenue (at 11th Street)
New York, NY 10003

Learn more at the official blog of The Burning Season

Please visit Mongabay to learn more about REDD and view original graphics accompanying this article.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) is increasingly seen as a compelling way to conserve tropical forests while simultaneously helping mitigate climate change, preserving biodiversity, and providing sustainable livelihoods for rural people. But to become a reality REDD still faces a number of challenges, not least of which is economic competition from other forms of land use. In Indonesia and Malaysia, the biggest competitor is likely oil palm, which is presently one of the most profitable forms of land use. Oil palm is also spreading to other tropical forest areas including the Brazilian Amazon.

Comparing the profitability of preserving a 10,000 ha forest to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) versus converting it for palm oil production over a 30-year period. (Above) Accumulated net operating profit from 2009 to 2039. (Below) Net present values. REDD profitability is based on carbon prices of voluntary and compliance markets, including Voluntary Carbon Financial Instruments (CFI) from the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange, Joint Implementation (JI) under Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, Certified Emission Reductions (CER) under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and European Union Allowances (EUA) issued under the European Union Emission Trading System. Palm oil production profitability was modeled for the scenarios of high-yield and constant price (HYCP), and low-yield and variable price (LYVP).
To compare how REDD stacks up with oil palm, ETH Zürich ecologists Lian Pin Koh and Jaboury Ghazoul and I devised economic models to evaluate returns from each land use under different price scenarios. We found that as long as carbon credits from avoided deforestation is limited to voluntary markets where it fetches 10-20 percent of the price in compliance markets like the European Union’s Emission Trading System, REDD will fail to be competitive with palm oil.

Our analysis reveals that the development of the concession for oil palm agriculture will generate a net present value ranging from $3,835 to $9,630 per hectare over a 30-year period. Under the second scenario of REDD, we determined that voluntary markets will limit REDD operating profit to $614-$994 per hectare in NPV over the 30-year period–substantially less than profits from oil palm conversion. However, giving REDD credits price parity with carbon credits in compliance markets would boost the profitability of avoided deforestation to $1,571-$6,605 per hectare, and possibly as high as $11,784 per hectare if carbon payments are front-weighted, that is, if credits are allocated and sold during the first 8 years when deforestation actually occurs instead of distributing the credits over the full 30 years.

We believe our results are applicable for both market and non-market mechanisms for compensating tropical countries for avoiding deforestation.

We of course recognize that economics isn’t the sole determinant of land-use decisions, but it is nevertheless an important one. Furthermore, other ecosystem services — including biodiversity conservation and watershed protection — that may be derived from avoiding deforestation would also augment the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of REDD schemes.

We strongly believe that REDD will be more widely adopted under a climate framework that values forest carbon at levels considerably higher than present. This could happen if REDD becomes recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a legitimate emissions reduction activity during its upcoming Conference of Parties in Copenhagen in December this year.

Butler, R.A., Koh, L.P., and Ghazoul, J. 2009. REDD in the red: palm oil could undermine carbon payment schemes. Conservation Letters DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2009.00047.x

WWF Press Release

31 Mar 2009

Brussels, Belgium – European citizens overwhelmingly want stricter controls on illegally sourced timber, according to a poll commissioned by WWF and Friends of the Earth (FoE) Europe.

With an overwhelming 92% of respondents believing it is important that a new EU wide law is introduced to halt the trade in illegal timber and timber products on the European market, WWF and FoE Europe are urging the European Parliament and EU governments to act accordingly and adopt a strong legislation without further delay.

According to the survey, carried out with citizens from 14 countries, an average 56% of polled people do not believe that nearly all wood products they buy in the EU are legal with a further 19% not being sure – undermining the efforts of companies that have been trying to crack down on illegally sourced timber and have proved determined to work towards credible and effective solutions.

“Illegal timber is still a major problem in the EU, with an estimated 16-19% of EU imports being illegal or from suspicious sources,” said Anke Schulmeister, Forest Policy Officer at WWF. “We need a specific and effective timber law in the EU, for which it is clear, there is wide public support.”

In Bulgaria, where illegal logging still occurs, 83% of those asked do not believe that the timber they buy is legally harvested and an amazing majority of 97% think it is important to guarantee legality, demonstrating a clear sign that action is needed. Dutch, Czech and Swedish citizens are among the most doubtful about the legality of timber on the EU markets, with more than 80% saying they do not think the timber they buy is legal or are unclear about it.

In the Mediterranean countries, support for the need for legality and new timber laws that can assure it is almost unanimous. Some 98% of Italians and Spanish and 99% of Portuguese want to be sure that the wood they buy is legal and an average of 97% support the introduction of a new European law.

Support for penalties for infringements against any law was strong overall, and particularly from Bulgaria (96%), Mediterranean countries (average 97%), Poland and France (95%) and major timber supplier Finland (91%).

“EU citizens are showing themselves commendably supportive of the needs of local communities in developing countries where illegal logging is the daily practice,” said Anne van Schaik from Friends of the Earth Netherlands.

“Illegal logging leaves these communities with degraded or destroyed forests, disrupted social structures and loss of livelihoods. It is high time the EU takes responsibility and installs legislation to guarantee the legality of all timber products”.

An EU timber regulation is currently being discussed by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers and will be voted on in the next few months.

“Negotiators should acknowledge public opinion and support legislation that gives all players in the timber supply chain clear indications about what they need to do to prove the legality of their timber,” said Anke Schulmeister. “To be fair to those companies that have been trying to operate ethically, the legislation needs to provide more certain consequences to those who continue to flout the rules.”

WWF and Friends of the Earth urge the European Parliament and EU governments to agree on the legislation before the European elections in June.

Ismira Lutfia
The Jakarta Globe

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to respond to a United Nation’s report that states Jakarta’s failure to respect the rights of its indigenous peoples, arguing that it is under no obligation to do so.

The ministry also argued that there was no such thing as an indigenous person, as every Indonesian citizen was equal in the eyes of the Constitution.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in a letter to Indonesia’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, says it is “concerned” about the Indonesian government’s failure to respect the rights of indigenous people in their own forests and the increasing conflict between local people and palm oil plantations.

The letter said that the government also failed to provide information on the way it had followed up recommendations laid out by the committee in August 2007, despite being asked to do so within one year. The request was in response to a complaint from a coalition of nine local and one international nongovernmental organizations regarding a planned palm oil plantation project in West Kalimantan that threatened to encroach on local Dayak people’s land.

The UN letter also noted the “high number of conflicts arising each year throughout Indonesia between local communities and palm oil companies.”

Wiwiek Setyawati Firman, the ministry’s director for human rights and humanitarian affairs, rejected the UN’s process and said Indonesia had its own internal mechanism to deal with such issues, such as the National Commission on Human Rights.

Wiwiek also said that she had checked with the West Kalimantan administration, which said the project did not exist.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/article/14709.html

By Ooi Tee Ching Business Times, Malaysia

Malaysian palm oil exporters are benefiting from the US recession, as cost-conscious Americans buy more ready-to-eat meals that are mainly cooked in palm oil and margarine.

Demand for palm oil is also rising when more authorities in the US ban artificial trans fats after medical tests linked it to heart ailments, Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) deputy chief executive Dr K. Sundram said.

“Artificial trans fat is proven to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Many food companies in the US and Canada are voluntarily switching to natural palm oil and bakery fats that are trans fat free,” he said.

Sundram said many food companies choose palm oil because in its natural form, it can straight away be made into bakery fats. Palm stearin formulations, which can withstand high heat of 200°C, have good baking characteristics.

New York City started the ball rolling, and now California has also declared that by January 2010, all 88,000 restaurants in the state will be prohibited from using partially-hydrogenated soft oils that contain artificial trans fats.

“In view of California’s compliance deadline, we’re hopeful of more demand for palm oil and fats in the second half of this year. We should be able to export 1.1 million tonnes of palm oil to the US this year, 10 per cent more than last year,” Sundram added.

In a separate interview, IOI Group’s Loders Croklaan vice-president of research and development and marketing Dr Gerald McNiell confirmed that its operations in Chicago and Toronto are benefiting from these trends.

He said North American consumers are dining less often at restaurants, choosing instead to save costs by cooking at home. They buy more ready-to-eat meals, which are mostly cooked in palm oil and shortening.

Loders Croklaan’s non-hydrogenated, trans-free SansTrans brand was launched in 2003, and by 2006 more than 30 new products based on palm oil had been developed for the US market.

Last year, the company sold 250,000 tonnes of SansTrans in North America. McNiell hopes to increase sales by 10 per cent to 275,000 tonnes this year.

Since New York City’s ban on trans fat last year, Loders Croklaan has sold more SansTrans shortenings there to bakeries and restaurateurs for use in cakes, pastry, cookies, biscuits, candies, icing cream, pie crust, and pizza dough.

McNiell said these achievements were not easy, as palm oil in general had to overcome decades of negative perception and propaganda before it won over North America’s baking and confectionery community, and its customers.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20090331004752/Article/index_html

BY Anya Kamenetz

Carbon cap-and-trade efforts are becoming one long chain of unintended consequences. To whit: Greenpeace released a report arguing that allowing official trade in carbon credits representing forest preservation would crash the price of carbon by up to 75%.

Deforestation is responsible for up to 20% of all carbon emissions, so stopping it would seem to be a pretty effective way to halt global warming, as I chronicled last year. But there are too many forests worldwide, and the oversight and regulation in the tropical, less developed countries where they are located is generally too weak to allow robust verification of reforestation or preservation projects, according to Greenpeace. Polluting countries could meet their targets by buying cheap, dubious forest offsets, instead of investing in clean-energy projects stateside, delaying the hard work required to truly halt global warming.

Now Greenpeace wants to cut forests out of the carbon trade. Instead, they’re proposing a dedicated public-private international fund that would invest to protect people and forests without demanding a monetary return. The report will be released at the United Nations climate meetings in Bonn tonight, part of the run-up to the renegotiation of the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen in December; Obama’s climate adviser, Todd Stern, is in attendance and has signaled that the U.S. is ready to get real.

Source: Fast Company blog

Written by Erik Meijaard
Published on March 30th, 2009
Source — Cool Green Science: The Nature Conservancy Blog

Finding a new population of any species is good news in conservation. But finding a hitherto undiscovered population of orangutans (see one in the video above) is really exciting. And we did just that.

In December 2008, we found a significant population of Bornean orangutans. This is some welcome news on a generally gloomy conservation agenda.

Orangutans are among the rarest primates on Earth. Populations are plummeting under the various pressures on their forest habitats. An increasing demand for timber, palm oil, coal and other things desired by the world’s growing human population makes life for orangutans very difficult these days.

So, we all got pretty excited when our field team came back from a survey in a really inaccessible part of Borneo with photos and videos of orangutans. They had traveled to the heart of a 2-million-acre forest area situated in the rugged Sangkulirang limestone mountains in East Kalimantan Province.

Since I first surveyed the vicinity of these mountains in the mid 1990s, I had heard rumors of orangutans in this largely unexplored part of the island. In 2003, The Nature Conservancy organized a major expedition to this same region, and confirmed that at least on the western fringes of the area there were orangutans. But we didn’t expect any significant orangutan populations further east.

Our recent preliminary survey seems to have proven us wrong. Along some six miles of forest transect we found 219 orangutan nests. We cannot yet determine the density from this, but such number generally indicates medium densities of orangutans.

A rapid botanical analysis showed the presence of several orangutan food trees. And because we know that there are very few people in this area and that the forest remains largely untouched, it is quite likely that this area has a population of several hundred orangutans, possibly more than a thousand.

On a total population on Borneo of probably fewer than 50,000 animals, such a find is really important.

The next steps are to work with the local governments to protect these crucial orangutan habitats, and keep orangutan populations from declining further.

The Conservancy is working closely with Indonesian and international partners, including 18 local NGOs, the Indonesian Orangutan Forum, the USAID-funded Orangutan Conservation Services Program, and the Indonesian government, industries, and local communities to develop and implement more coherent and effective strategies to reverse the rapid decline of orangutans.

It’s a struggle, but one that we cannot afford to lose.

(Video: Male orangutan encountered in the Sangkulirang limestone forests. Credit: Nardiyono/TNC.)