Southem Online 230

SOUTHEM ONLINE Southern Hemisphere Forest Industry Journal Online news briefs SOUTHEM Online - Issue 230 – 21 October 2009 Hi and Hola - Welcome to Southem Online Issue 230. Will the World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week prove to be yet another talkfest? Or can the sector’s global leaders really galvanise themselves and their agencies into taking a lead role in placing forestry at the forefront of issues such as climate change, social equity and economic development? As reported in the June 2009 edition of our Southern Hemisphere Forest Industry Journal, countries from Brazil to Chile and Australia and New Zealand are mobilising programmes aimed at promoting the benefits of wood products. But even as the New Zealand Government frames its new emissions trading scheme to combat climate change, forest owners are taking fright at the potential impact on new investment and have raised doubts as to whether the expected levels of new planting can be achieved. It is a reminder for those at the congress that political will can batter the best intentions of our sector. Cheers and Saludas from Downunder Mike Smith Editor and Director Email: [email protected] URL: www.southem.com

REGISTRATION FOR SOUTHEM ONLINE SOUTHEM Online is sent out to 14,000 recipients worldwide, including those involved in forestry and forest industries as well associated services and agencies. You can register for this free e-news headlines service. Send an email to [email protected] or go to Subscribe. Want to send this edition to a friend? Just click Forward to a Friend. If you would prefer not to receive further issues of this service, please reply to me at email [email protected] with the word ‘Remove’ in the subject. If you have any queries or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. SPONSORS’ MESSAGES Help keep this publication free – please visit our sponsors today! Contact [email protected] for sponsorship details. GIS/REMOTE SENSING SPECIALIST Pöyry Forest Industry are seeking to recruit an additional GIS specialist within the remote sensing/GIS team located in our office in Auckland, New Zealand. The position involves processing, mapping and analyzing GIS and remotely sensed data to support the forest valuation resource assessment and remote sensing activities of the company. Preferred skills are: experience with ArcGIS, good analytical and written communication skills, ability to travel periodically. Familiarity with image processing (optical, radar and LiDAR), remote sensing packages (ENVI and IDL) and forestry experience would be an advantage. Applications close 12 November 2009. For further information please contact Pete Watt on +64 9 918 1090 or email your application to [email protected] CONTINUING EDUCATION IN FOREST FINANCE AND ECONOMICS COURSE The Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa is presenting a Precision Forestry Symposium in Stellenbosch from 1 to 3 March 2010. For detail refer to www.sun.ac.za/forestry or contact Pierre Ackerman at [email protected] FOREST BUSINESS MASTERS DEGREE ASSISTANTSHIP The University of Georgia Center for Forest Business announces the availability of a Master

of Forest Resources Graduate Assistantship in Forest Business beginning January 2010. For details please contact: Bob Izlar, + 1.706.542.6819, [email protected] For more information about MFR, MS or PhD degree programs in Forest Business see: http://www.forestry.uga.edu/h/centers/cfb For University of Georgia Graduate School admission requirements, please see: http://www.gradsch.uga.edu HELI HARVEST LTD PROVIDING AERIAL HEAVY LIFTING SERVICES Heli Harvest is New Zealand’s leading heavy helicopter operator. The company has vast experience in heavy lifting tasks, including timber harvesting, firefighting, disaster relief, construction, vineyard frost protection and cellphone tower installation. Heli Harvest operates two Mi-8 helicopters. For more information, go to: http://www.heliharvest.co.nz/index.cfm/ PODCAST: VICTORIA PREPARES FOR BUSHFIRE IMPACTS ON CHILDREN Psychiatrist Professor Raphael of the Australian National University and the University of Western Sydney highlights work being done to alleviate the psychological impact on children of the disastrous bushfires in Victoria in February 2009 and prepare for the fire season. http://www.southem.com/index.php? option=com_seyret&Itemid=47&task=videodirectlink&id=74 **************************************** COPYRIGHT NOTICE Items headlined in SOUTHEM Online are drawn from a number of sources. The source of the item is quoted, either by publication or organisations in line with the practice of fair reporting. Items originally published in Spanish are translated by TMS Ltd. Every effort is made to ensure use of paid wire service material is avoided at all times. Should users wish to utilise SOUTHEM Online on their own web sites, we request that this is done to accurately reflect the current layout to ensure attribution is appropriate. ************************************************ CANADA AND ARGENTINA TEAM UP ON MODEL FOREST NETWORKS Canadian and Argentinean forestry experts will combine at the XIIIth World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires this week to highlight work they are doing on model forest networks. The teams will be showcasing a collaborative project on community engagement in sustainable forest management, a congress statement said. For the past two years, the Canadian Model Forest Network, the Model Forest of Newfoundland and Labrador and Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Forest Service have been working with the Argentinean Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Argentina Model Forest Network to help develop local level indicators for sustainable forest management that could be applied to Argentinean circumstances. Through annual workshops involving the six Model Forests, a suite of local level indicators has been developed and is now being tested “on the ground” by the Model Forests. Discussions are underway with the Ibero-American Model Forest Network to explore expanding the project to other countries in Latin America. **************************************** HANCOCK AND MASISA FORGE ‘GREENFIELD’ FORESTRY AGREEMENT Chilean forest products company, Masisa has forged an agreement with the North American timber management organisation, Hancock Natural Resources Group to work together on expanding potential opportunities for investment in “Greenfield” forests planting projects, Diario Fianciero reported. The venture would start in Brazil, where the first project was considering the acquisition of about 40,000 hectares of land for planting. "The agreement signed between Masisa and Hancock helps to ensure our supply of long-term fibre supplies in Brazil, which will allow us to continue projecting the future growth of our operations," Masisa

general manager Roberto Salas said in a statement. Masisa and Hancock agreed to an exclusive arrangement to mutually develop “Greenfield” forestry projects in previously agreed territorial zones. **************************************** BUSHFIRES ADD TO ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IMPACT FOR VICFORESTS The devastating February 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia, and the economic downturn have led to state-owned VicForests posting a A$5 million net loss for the 2008-09 financial year. VicForests CEO David Pollard said in the annual report that the February wildfires saw the loss of the best harvestable areas along with a sizeable store of logs ready for delivery. The third set of catastrophic fires in six years had severely affected the year-end results and VicForests was currently attempting to resolve a pricing dispute with a major customer, which was also having a significant impact on the year’s performance. **************************************** RUSSIAN WATERBOMBERS REJECTED AS BUSHFIRES RAZED VICTORIA Meanwhile, a Russian Government offer to send two of the world’s biggest and most advanced waterbombers into action against February’s bushfires consuming lives, forests, homes and townships in Victoria, Australia, was knocked back, The Age newspaper has reported. Each of the giant Ilyushin-76 jets could drop in a single pass 42,000 litres of water or retardant on a fire - almost five times the maximum capacity of the ''Elvis'' skycrane helicopters. However, the offer, which came from the highest levels of the Government of the Russian Federation, was rejected, according to the Russian embassy in Canberra, The Age reported. ************************************************ AMAZONIAN PROTECTED AREAS In Brazil, the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) has extended 26 October, the date of recommendations on the Amazonian Program Protected Areas (ARPA in Portuguese) that foresees the expansion of the National System Conservation Areas (Snuc) in the Amazonian states, SBS reported. Considered the biggest biodiversity programme on the planet, the ARPA contributes aims to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere triggered by deforestation. The public consultation is being undertaken by a committee consisting of representatives of governments and civil society. ************************************************ ARAUCO AND STORA ENSO CONCLUDE US$355M DEAL IN URUGUAY Chilean forest products group Arauco and the Scandinavian Stora Enso have completed a business deal involving the Uruguayan assets of the Spanish company, Ence. The value of the deal was US$335 million and a statement from Arauco said it would include the future construction of a pulp mill which would consolidate Arauco’s leadership in the production of pulp. Erwin Kaufmann, ARAUCO executive, will be the Chief Executive Officer in this new venture. “The joint assets in Uruguay have secured the strategic foundation for a world class pulp mill, operating with state of the art technology, which will allow us to strengthen our position among the main pulp producers around the world, though Arauco and Stora Enso have not made a decision regarding the construction of this mill”, Arauco CEO Matías Domeyko said in a statement. ************************************************ ILLEGALLY SOURCED TIMBER DRAFT IMPACT STATEMENT RELEASE

An Australian Government draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on illegally logged timber has been released for stakeholder consultation by 30 November 2009, industry agency A3P has reported. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) engaged a consultant, the Centre for International Economics (CIE), to prepare the draft RIS and consult with stakeholders. The draft RIS does not recommend a preferred policy option, rather it explores a raft of potential policy options. The RIS then asks that stakeholders make suggestions or express detailed views about the possible regulatory and non-regulatory policy options. ************************************************ REVISED TIMBER APPLICATION STANDARDS NEAR A3P has reported that revisions of Australia’s AS1720.1 (timber structures) and AS1684 (timber framing) standards are nearing completion with publication by Standards Australia expected in the New Year. A mong other things AS1720.1 will present amended MGP grade properties and, accordingly, AS1684 will have amended span tables for MGP grades. Current advice from the Australian Building Codes Board is that these new documents will not be called up in the forthcoming 2010 Amendment of the Building Code so, unfortunately, there will be a period where both old and new standards will have to co-exist. A3P will be formulating a plan over the coming weeks to ensure this issue is handled in the most appropriate way to minimise the inevitable confusion both in the industry and the market. ************************************************ ‘PROTESTORS ON SHAKY GROUND’ - EDITOR An editorial in Tasmanian newspaper, The Examiner, has attached the credibility of some groups protesting over for the Gunns pulp mill in the Australian island state. Examiner Editor Fiona Reynolds noted that few community-based anti-pulp mill protestors seemed to grasp the concept that the high moral ground is indeed a shaky place to stand. She was commenting on critics of a new group, Pulp The Mill, which seemed well-organised with one plan – peaceful protest. Fiona Reynolds has been fighting something of a running battle with a more activist group of protestors. ************************************************ FIRST SCIENCE REPORT FROM FUTURE FORESTS RESEARCH Research on increasing the value and quality of plantation grown trees, reducing costs and maximising the environmental benefits of forestry feature in the first science report from Future Forests Research, a statement said. Future Forests Research (FFR) was established by the forest industry in 2007 to strengthen forestry and increase returns to New Zealand and forest owners through partnerships between growers, scientists and government. The 2009 Annual Science Report sets out a broad range of research under way in each theme. Chief Executive Russell Dale said in releasing the first Annual Science Report that FFR had secured significant long-term funding support from the government and from industry to strengthen the partnership between growers, scientists and government to drive and implement research that will benefit both the industry and New Zealand. ************************************************ AFRICA URGED TO BE MORE PROACTIVE ON BRIC Africa's links with Bric countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - could help end the continent's era of marginalisation, Business Report said in a report on a presentation entitled “Bric in Africa”. The article quoted Simon Freemantle, a Standard Bank economist, as advising African governments to make the most of their relationships with these emerging economies. And he said that the benefits of the relationships were not one-sided, but were rooted in "mutual advantage". At a presentation on "Bric in Africa", he said much of the

impetus - trade partnerships and diplomatic initiatives - so far had come from the Bric countries, which had increased their ties with Africa at a "staggering" speed. Freemantle was reported as saying: "There needs to be more proactivity from the African side." ************************************************ UGANDAN FORESTRY OFFICIALS HELD OVER BRAZIL SEEDS THEFT In Urganda, police are holding three staff of the National Forestry Authority over the theft of seeds worth sh300m, The New Vision website reported recently. The seeds were imported from Brazil to support the national tree planting campaign. The authority’s public relations manager, Moses Watasa, was reported as saying that the seeds were stolen on October 8 from the national tree centre at Namanve in Wakiso district. ************************************************ INVESTORS FLOCK TO URUGUAY Mercopress has reported that investors from Argentina, Brazil, Spain’s Basque province and China are looking for opportunities in Uruguayan assets given the excellent political stability record of the country and proven reliability of its judiciary. It’s reported that Argentine government decisions had virtually “expelled” some of the most advanced farmers who had settled in Uruguay helping to promote a truly technological “revolutionary” transformation of Uruguay’s agriculture, which historically had been more traditional and adverse to risk. ************************************************ INVESTORS URGED TO ADAPT LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Not forestry but maybe a warning to potential foreign investors: New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay has announced consecutive losses since floating in 2006 and does not expect to even break even until 2011. The company had said it had been hit by the economic impact on the price of dairy products and a one-in-30-year drought. However, the Dominion Post has quoted Daniel Conforte, a Uruguayan senior lecturer of Agribusiness at New Zealand’s Massey University, as saying he was surprised NZSFU had imposed the New Zealand pasture-based model on the country when there was pre-existing knowledge about what worked. ************************************************ NZ CITIES TO BENEFIT FROM WAIKATO UNIVERSITY PROJECT A major project at New Zealand’s Waikato University which rebuilds native ecosystems in urban areas will now be spread to three New Zealand cities. A statement said the university’s urban restoration project has had four years of funding from the government’s Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and has just been granted another three years of funding at nearly NZ$300,000 a year. The initial funding saw Hamilton used as a template to discover the best way to restore natural ecosystems in city areas where development has depleted their biodiversity. This further funding will enable Waikato University researchers to decide on two or three mid-sized New Zealand cities that will benefit from the work. The university’s Professor Bruce Clarkson, who heads the project, says those cities should be selected by the end of the year. Work will begin early next year on scoping the cities and determining the size of the problem. “We’ll be having a close discussion with FRST about the cities that could benefit most from this,” Prof Clarkson said. ************************************************ OUR WORLD ON VIDEO

PRINCE CHARLES SENDS MESSAGE TO THE XIII WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS Prince Charles encourages the 5,300 participants and the forestry community at large to act decisively and to act soon in order to save forests. http://www.southem.com/index.php? option=com_seyret&Itemid=47&task=videodirectlink&id=75 JAN HEINO, FAO: THE WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS FOUNDS COOPERATION ON RESPONSIBILITY FAO Assistant Director General Jan Heino talks about what distinguishes the World Forestry Congress from other international meetings on forestry. http://www.southem.com/index.php? option=com_seyret&Itemid=47&task=videodirectlink&id=76 **************************************** ARTICLES OF INTEREST COMPARATIVE WOOD ANATOMY Moglia, Juana Graciela; Bravo, Sandra; Gerez, Roxana. Comparative wood anatomy of two select origins of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae), implanted in Santiago del Estero, Argentine Chaco Region. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica. vol.43 no.3-4 Córdoba Aug./Dec. 2008. http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S185123722008000200008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en STEAM BOILER EFFICIENCY Golato, Marcos A. et al. Methodology to calculate thermal efficiency of steam boilers. Rev. Ind. Agríc. Tucumán vol.85 no.2 Las Talitas July/Dec. 2008. http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S185130182008000200003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en INVASIVE EUCALYPTS G.G. Forsyth et al. - A rapid assessment of the invasive status of Eucalyptus species in two South African provinces. http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/2173 RAT CONTROL AND FOREST INVERTEBRATES S.R. Rate. Does rat control benefit forest invertebrates at Moehau, Coromandel Peninsula? 2009. DOC Research & Development Series 316. 29p. DOC Marine Conservaion Sevices Series http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/drds316entire.pdf **************************************** MEETINGS CARBON EXPO AUSTRALASIA 26-28 October 2009 – Carbon Expo Australasia. Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland, Australia. The 2009 event will feature a high level conference hosting leading international and Australian practitioners of the emerging carbon market, a major trade fair and in-depth technical workshops that draw on the skills and knowledge of experts actively participating in global carbon markets. For more info, go to www.carbonexpo.com.au APPLYING NATIVE FORESTRY TO LAND RESTORATION 28 October 2009 – Brazil’s Institute of Forest Research and Studies (IPEF) is to holding a technical meeting on applying native forestry to restoration. The meeting will be held at the Department of Forest Sciences of ESALQ/USP, in Piracicaba - SP.

www.ipef.br/eventos/2009/silviculturanativas.asp. CARBON FOOTPRINT MISTAKES AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES 2-3 November 2009 - Carbon Foot print mistakes and lost opportunities – getting it right. Carbon Accounting Systems and Strategies - 2 day course Perth 19-20 October (closing soon) Brisbane. Email [email protected] BOLIVIAN FOREST INDUSTRY MEETING 6 November 2009 – The fourth meeting of the Bolivian Forest Industry. Salón Magno del Hotel Buganvillas de Santa Cruz. Email: [email protected]. CARTOGRAPHY CONFERENCE November 2009 - Santiago will host Latin America’s first International Cartography Conference in 2009 Santiago is hosting the 24th International Cartography Conference (ICC) in November 2009. Organised by the International Cartography Association (ICA), the ICC is an important event for the cartography community. For more info, go to: www.icc2009.cl SHORT ROTATION CROPS AND BIOENERGY 2-4 December 2009 – Short Rotation Crops: Linking Technology and Biomass. Taupo, New Zealand. Organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Task 30, supported by Scion and Pure Power Global. For more info, go to: www.shortrotationcrops.org/events.htm FOREST DAY 3 13 December 2009 - Copenhagen, Denmark. So far, this year’s event will see over 100 official negotiators that will be directly involved in shaping the historic Climate Agreement. They will be joined by more than 100 forest and climate experts from Africa, 150 from Asia and more than 50 from Latin America. For more information, please contact: [email protected] www.forestday3.org DUBAI WOOD AND WOOD PRODUCTS SHOW . 13-15 April 2010. Dubai International Wood & Wood Products Show. Dubai Airport Expo. The WoodShow is the leading specialized show in the Middle East covering the entire wood industry supply chain including top manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and traders involved in the wood industry. http://www.dubaiwoodshow.com/home.php PARANÁ UNIVERSITY TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF FORESTRY COURSE 30 May 2010 – The Forest Engineering Course at Universidad Federal do Paraná in Brazil will celebrate 50 years in existence. For more info, go to: www.fupef.ufpr.br. ************************************************* NEWS ONLINE Do you have news items you wish to make available to others on SOUTHEM Online? If so, please send them to [email protected] ************************************************ MISSING? Did we miss you off the list, or do you have an associate who may want to receive SOUTHEM Online. If so, please feel free to register by sending a message to [email protected] with subscribe in the subject box providing details about yourself. Or you can register at the web site at:

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