UN Forest “Protection” Plan Could Displace Millions

Published on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by The Guardian/UK

Forest Protection Plan Could Displace Millions, say Campaigners
Livelihoods of 60m indigenous people at risk from plans to tackle climate change by protecting forests, says Friends of the Earth

by Alok Jha

International proposals to protect forests to tackle climate change could displace millions of indigenous people and fail to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmentalists.

Friends of the Earth International (FoE) will argue in a report to be published on Thursday, that plans to slow the decline of forests, which would see rich countries pay for the protection of forests in tropical regions, are open to abuse by corrupt politicians or illegal logging companies.

Forests store a significant amount of carbon and cutting them down is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions – currently this accounts for around 20% of the world’s total.

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Bureau of Land Management Pulls Auction Parcels on Oil-and-Gas Drilling Near National Parks

Nov 25, 11:03 PM EST

Bureau of Land Management Pulls Auction Parcels on Oil-and-Gas Drilling Near National Parks
By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)–Drilling leases on and near the border of Utah’s scenic national parks have been pulled from an auction block.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced its decision late Tuesday after negotiations with National Park Service officials who objected to noise, lights and air pollution near Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park, all in Utah.

Some of those parcels were within 1.3 miles of Delicate Arch, a freestanding span of 33 feet that is the signature landmark at Arches near Moab, Utah.

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Conservation Groups Move to Rebuild Spotted Owl Population and Protect Old-Growth Forests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2008  3:31 PM

CONTACT: Conservation Groups
Kristen Boyles, Earthjustice: 206.343.7340 x33  /  Shawn Cantrell, Seattle Audubon Society: 206.359.1363  /  Ivan Maluski, Sierra Club: 503-238-0442, x304  /  Steve Holmer, American Bird Conservancy: 202.234.7181 x216  /  Dr. Dominick DellaSala, NCCSP: 541.482.4459 x302  /  Nina Carter, National Audubon Society: 360.789.0792  /  Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity: 503.484.7495  /  Bob Sallinger, Audubon Society of Portland: 503.292.6855  /  Randi Spivak, American Lands: 202.547.9029  /

Conservation Groups Move to Rebuild Spotted Owl Population and Protect Old-Growth Forests
Effort begun to reverse weak habitat protection and flawed recovery plan in Pacific Northwest

WASHINGTON-November 24. Conservation groups challenged inadequate protections for northern spotted owls today in federal district court in Washington, D.C.  The groups asked the court for permission to intervene in an ongoing timber industry lawsuit which is aimed at weakening owl protections in order to log more western mature and old-growth forests.

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New Media Initiative Launch: New Voices on Climate Change

FYI: This project is meant to focus on the perspectives of people much more disenfranchised than the white-male middle-class (thus far the most broadcast voices on this subject). The point is to elevate the voices of those REALLY getting screwed: Indigenous, people of color, wimmin, poor/working-class, etc.

Want to get involved?

ASW

Hi all,

The following is a Media Advisory we sent out today to the U.S. media.  We
will be sending a Press Release on Monday nationally and internationally on
New Voices on Climate Change.  So as not to overload you with emails, we
won’t send that release to this list (something else exciting will most
likely be going out to you then).  But we do however, want you to see the
webpage (still a bit under construction) that we put up on New Voices on
Climate Change http://globaljusticeecology.org/newvoices.php and introduce
speakers that are already involved in this project.

–Colette Oesterle, Global Justice Ecology Project, Media and Campaigns

Media Advisory  26 November 2008

New Media Initiative Launch: New Voices on Climate Change-Monday, 1
December, 2008

New Voices on Climate Change is an innovative initiative of Global Justice
Ecology Project, the goal of which is to broaden the climate debate in the
U.S. by amplifying the voices of peoples around the world who are already
being impacted by climate change.

As the economic downturn stirs up concerns about the viability of
alternative energy development, and with the UNFCCC COP-14 meeting in
Poznan, Poland only days away, discussions on approaches to climate change
are taking center stage. With the incoming Obama administration, the United
States must re-frame its approach to climate change. In order for the U.S.
to avoid falling into the trap of false solutions that reinforce the
status-quo and greenwash polluting corporations in the eye of the public,
the climate change debate in the U.S. must be broadened. Environmental
groups are already putting pressure on this new administration to take swift
and effective action on climate change.

A Press Release with detailed information will be sent on Monday 1 December,
2008 from Poznan, Poland announcing the New Voices Speakers available for interviews
and the New Voices webpage will be introduced.

The New Voices on Climate Change initiative includes the following
components:
* An aggressive media campaign to connect mainstream and alternative media
in the U.S. with individuals representing communities impacted by climate
change.
* Production of a speakers’ directory of these New Voices that will be
distributed to environmental and climate organizations across the country to
encourage inclusion of New Voices speakers in climate-related events.
* A U.S. speaking tour in the fall of 2009.

CONTACT:
Colette Oesterle, Global Justice Ecology Project, Media and Campaigns,
Ph: +1 482 2689, Mobile +1 517 449 3978 Email:
<mailto:newvoices@globaljusticeecology.org>newvoices@globaljusticeecology.org
Orin Langelle, Global Justice Ecology Project in Poznan, Poland, Mobile +48
696 723 046 (30 November-13 December 2008)

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