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……………..to read the articles click on the date link below …………….
27th Jan 2006 - Burma - Burma loggers resume pirate trade - By Connie Levett, Bangkok - The Age
18th Jan 2006 - UK and Australia - The Random House Group gains FSC-CoC certification - FSC news -
18 Jan 2006 - Nairobi - Global unions & UN green action plan - LabourNet. Resource website of the Labour Council of NSW - with Links
16/01/06 - Uruguay - Pulp Factions: Uruguay’s Environmentalists v. Big Paper - Raúl Pierri, Special to CorpWatch
4th Jan 2006 - U S - Amcor warns of 'price-fixing' fallout - Blair Speedy - The Australian
3rd January 2006 - Afghanistan - UN agency helps Afghanistan develop pioneering environmental legislation, UN News Agency
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By Connie Levett, Bangkok
January 27, 2006
WHEN Chinese contractors stopped illegally logging Burma's northern forests last year after a damning report was released, environmentalists thought they had won a significant victory.
For four months, the log trucks that had crossed the Chinese border into Yunan province at a rate of one every seven minutes all but disappeared from the roads, according to observers in Burma and China for Global Witness, a London-based organisation that monitors logging in South-East Asia.
But just as the group prepared to celebrate, the Chinese logging trucks were back, feeding China's enormous appetite for hardwood. China banned logging of its own land in the late 1990s because of concerns about deforestation.
In its October report, A Choice for China, Ending the Destruction of Burma's northern frontier forests, Global Witness targeted the Beijing Government, believing it would be more responsive to international pressure than Burma's military junta.
Initially, both the Chinese and Burmese governments denied the illegal trade.
However, it is the Burmese who have since shown signs that they were taking the problem seriously, said Susanne Kempel, a spokeswoman for Global Witness.
That may be because the illegal trade costs the Burmese junta an estimated $A330 million a year in lost taxes. Under the illegal trade, the money is funnelled directly to regional military commanders and semi-autonomous indigenous "ceasefire" groups for concessions.
Last August, the Burmese northern regional commander was replaced. By September the new commander had banned logging and locals say a shoot-to-kill policy on illegal loggers was being enforced.
Burma's Forestry Minister then travelled to Beijing and Yunan province for talks on the illegal border trade, according to Burmese press reports.
In January the Burmese Forestry Ministry acknowledged that 100,000 metres of teak wood was being illegally traded in northern Burma. Global Witness maintains that the figure for all illegal timber traded in the north is eight times that figure.
"There were some very positive signs. The Burmese Government was not denying (the trade)," Ms Kempel said. "A little bit of transparency is a significant movement in Burma. We know that at the top of the Burmese regime there is concern about loss of revenue."
With the renewal of logging, Global Witness is now looking at less appealing explanations for the four-month halt to logging.
"It could be a concern for the environment," Ms Kempel said. But, she said, it also could be that the motivation to stop the illegal logging was that it hurt the treasury, that it might increase the depressed international price for teak, and it could at the same time undermine the indigenous ceasefire groups for whom the timber trade is the main source of income.
"Or the new regional commander may just want to get control of the concessions himself," Ms Kempel said.
The latest logging was definitely coming from Government-controlled areas, she said. "It makes us question what their intentions are and whether they are serious."
Global Witness Forests - Past success in Cambodia
The Random House Group gains FSC-CoC certification
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January 18th, 2006The Random House Group is delighted to announce that it has been successful in its application for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody, making it the first consumer publishing group to be awarded the certification.
The FSC Chain of Custody tracks timber through every stage in the supply chain from the forest to the final user. All Random House Group titles that are printed on FSC paper will now carry the FSC logo and consumers are able to buy FSC certified books secure in the knowledge there is a third-party verified system in place that ensures the sourcing of the wood. The award of Chain of Custody demonstrates the Random House Group’s commitment to environmentally and socially responsible forest management.
Nick Cliffe, Director FSC Working Group said: "We are delighted with the news that the Random House Group has gained FSC certification, clearly demonstrating their commitment to using paper from well-managed forests. By taking this step they remain at the vanguard of sustainable paper procurement in the UK publishing sector and can offer independent assurance to all their readers that they support responsible management of the Worlds’ forests."
Stephen Esson, Group Publishing Operations Director, said: "I am delighted that we have achieved this certification after a great deal of hard work by Katherine Hockley, Ebury Production Manager. This objective was identified a year ago during a structured environmental review of our paper procurement policy and strategy. We can now appropriately identify the increasing number of b/w titles that we publish using FSC paper and while there is still a great deal to do, we continue to work with existing suppliers to increase the volume of viable FSC grades." The Random House Group is the largest general book publishing company in the UK. The group is based in London with subsidiary companies in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The Random House Group is a federation of 31 diverse publishing imprints under four autonomous divisions that between them publish 1500 new books every year. Each imprint is highly individual with its own culture and values and a commitment to publishing the best books in its particular area. Novelists published by the Group include Martin Amis, Jilly Cooper, J M Coetzee, Sebastian Faulks, John Grisham, Robert Harris, Joanne Harris, Ian McEwan, Terry Pratchett, Kathy Reichs, Ruth Rendell, Salman Rushdie, Joanna Trollope and Irvine Welsh.
For further info, contact Clare Harington, Group Communications Director, on 020 7840 8878 or charington@randomhouse.co.uk
More on other FSC accredited products in Australia
Also
- AUTHORS JOIN TOGETHER TO SAVE TREES - The Green Press Initiative is bringing authors together from different genres for one common cause: to help the book publishing sector potentially save millions of trees. Authors including Deepak Chopra, Paul Hawken, Winona LaDuke, Dr. Andrew Weil, Julia Butterfly Hill, Fritjof Capra, and David Suzuki are serving as Founding Authors and spokespeople for the Green Press Initiative http://www.greenpressinitiative.org
Date: 18 January 2006
This week’s Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment in Nairobi concluded yesterday with a series of undertakings from the trade union movement and key United Nations bodies.
The Assembly brought together more than 150 trade union representatives from developing and developed countries along with environment and sustainable development experts, governments and UN representatives.
The UN bodies ILO, UNEP and WHO affirmed their commitment to supporting trade union engagement on sustainable development, while the trade union organisations set out plans to extend practical work on sustainable development, building on programmes which are already in place.
The Assembly also mapped out steps for joint follow up actions involving the UNEP, the ILO and the WHO.
The assembly agreed on major objectives including strengthening the links between poverty reduction, environmental protection and decent work, integrating the environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development with a rights-based approach, and establishment of effective and democratic governance to ensure sustainable development.
The Assembly also recognised that urgent action on climate change has to be taken, and that sustainable production and consumption patterns will have to be promoted.
To achieve these objectives, the trade union representatives at the Assembly committed themselves to strengthen trade union action on sustainable development and work on areas such as the reform of government policies and practice, and ratification and implementation of key conventions and instruments.
Working with civil society allies to encourage workplace and community actions were among other important fields of work approved by the Assembly.
Through a common platform of the UNEP, ILO and WHO, the Assembly decided to undertake capacity building and training in areas such as climate change mitigation, corporate environmental and social responsibility and multilateral environmental agreements and law among other important issues.
The Assembly also underlined the need to facilitate engagement of the trade union movement with public authorities, support engagement with other major groups with common goals and promote environmentally and socially responsible job growth, including through of employment implications in environmental policy design.
The Assembly decided to create and maintain a website to collect case studies such as those presented at the Assembly, which are being considered for eventual publication.
For further information - The first Will conference - The Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment is organized by UNEP in co-operation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), Sustainlabour and Global Compact. The event, which takes place from 15th to 17th January 2006, at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, aims to reinforce the social and labour dimension of environmental conservation and sustainable development. It also aims to strengthen the relationship between UNEP, and the world of labour.
Pulp Factions: Uruguay’s Environmentalists v. Big Paper
By Blair Speedy
January 04, 2006
AMCOR has warned US investors that it could lose customers angry about its alleged involvement in a price-fixing cartel in the cardboard box industry.
This comes as alleged conspirator Visy works on its own defence to an upcoming Federal Court case brought by the competition regulator.
In a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, Amcor also warned that while the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had granted it immunity from prosecution in return for co-operating with the investigation, the company could still face damages claims from third parties who might have been affected by the alleged cartel.
In addition, the New Zealand Commerce Commission is still investigating cartel conduct on the other side of the Tasman, where Amcor has also been granted conditional immunity.
"It is not possible at this stage to predict whether any alleged cartel conduct in Australia or New Zealand will result in third party proceedings for damages against Amcor or the loss of customers by Amcor," the company said.
At least two major law firms have canvassed alleged victims of the cardboard box cartel to mount a multi-million-dollar civil action.
"There can be no assurance that any damages which ultimately may be awarded will not be material to the results of operations or the financial condition of Amcor," it said.
The ACCC's statement of claim against Visy says corporate giants such as Foster's, Lion Nathan, Coca-Cola Amatil, Goodman Fielder and Nestle Australia were targeted by the alleged cartel.
The ACCC has alleged that Visy, its chairman and owner Richard Pratt, Visy Board chief executive Harry Debney and former Visy Board general manager Rod Carroll breached the Trade Practices Act by striking deals with Amcor.
Mr Pratt and Mr Debney deny the allegations, and Mr Carroll is yet to comment.
Neither they nor Visy have yet filed a defence to the case, which will first come before the court in a directions hearing scheduled for February 10.
Visy could try to derail the competition watchdog's price-fixing case by launching action against its key witnesses.
It is understood the company is considering targeting ACCC witnesses such as former Amcor boss Russell Jones in a private legal action, alleging they breached the Trade Practices Act.
The immunity granted to Mr Jones and other Amcor witnesses protects them only from the ACCC, not other parties.
If Visy were to launch a case, it could make a Federal Court application to add the Amcor witnesses as respondents to the ACCC's action, effectively removing the immunity.
UN agency helps Afghanistan develop pioneering environmental legislation
3 January 2006
– Laws aimed at protecting Afghanistan’s wildlife, waterways and forests, believed to be the first legal conservation tools in the country, have been developed by the Government with assistance from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the agency announced today."The Environment Act is the cornerstone for the development of an effective and integrated environmental management regime that secures environmentally sound sustainable development and use of natural resources, while still promoting economic and social well-being and development, Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director, said.
"If we are to help deliver a stable future for this country and for countries across the globe, the environment must be factored into rehabilitation and future planning," he added. "For the environment is not a luxury but the basis for economic development and livelihoods."
According to UNEP, over 80 per cent of Afghanistan's population relies directly on the natural resource base to meet its daily needs, but two decades of conflict, exacerbated by a recent drought, have heavily damaged the country’s natural resource base.
The new Environmental Act, developed in partnership with the World Conservation Union and international experts, consists of the frameworks needed to manage Afghanistan's natural resources in a sustainable way, and to rehabilitate its damaged environment. The Act also clarifies institutional responsibilities and contains compliance and enforcement provisions.
In other news from Afghanistan, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced today that 130 former officer and soldiers are graduating from the vocational training provided by the New Beginning Programme (ANBP) which aims to reintegrate ex-military into civilian life.
The graduation ceremony for the training, which is provided by the non-governmental organization (NGO) World Vision, will take place Wednesday in Kabul.
Finally, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is coordinating the provision of blankets and stoves to areas of the northern part of the country battered by heavy rains in the last few days.