One million acres of rainforest to be restored

One million hectares of rainforest and other ecosystems in Sumatra and Kalimantan, are to be restored and supported by Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP) the organisation has announced; an area equivalent to the total acreage of pulp plantations APP currently manages.

The decision comes a year after APP’s implemented its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP), which saw an immediate and permanent cessation of natural forest clearance across its supply chain.

The initiative will require collaboration with other land managers, communities, government agencies and including Greenpeace, NGO members of APP’s Solutions Working Group and WWF who greeted the news cautiously.

“WWF and other NGOs have identified the lack of attention to APP’s deforestation legacy as a major shortcoming in the original Forest Conservation Policy,” said Rod Taylor, Director of WWF’s Global Forest Programme. “We are encouraged by this announcement and look forward to working with APP and other stakeholders to figure out the details of where and how forests will be restored and conserved under this initiative.”

Continued

Lowland heath restoration in Staffordshire – Volunteers needed

Brighter future for Cannock's precious heathland

October 2012. It's as rare as the rain forest and as fragile as an ancient wood - and now a major move has been launched to restore more precious lowland heath on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.

The Connecting Cannock Chase - Lowland Heathland Project will work to restore 73 hectares of heath on three areas where the Forestry Commission has cleared 40,000 conifers. And now Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is appealing for volunteers to take part in the restoration project.

Lowland heath
About 20% of the planet's lowland heath is found in Britain. But Staffordshire has lost more than 90% of this habitat due to development, afforestation and agriculture, making every precious hectare restored important. By restoring heathland in the three project areas, the partnership will be linking together existing heathland which is part of a Special Area of Conservation.

Restoration will involve scrub and bracken control and grazing animals will be introduced as a more sustainable way of managing one of the areas.

Read more:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cannock-chase.html

Scottish Budget: RSPB Scotland call on budget to ‘invest in nature’

As the Scottish Government proposes its draft budget to Parliament, RSPB Scotland has said there is a need for adequate Government spending to ensure the country’s outstanding natural environment is protected and restored.

RSPB said as well as being important in its own right, such investment would contribute to ‘green growth’ by underpinning many industries including tourism, farming and crofting, fishing and Scotch Whisky. It would also help maximise the contribution of nature to the fight against climate change.

RSPB Scotland will be seeking a number of commitments when Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP delivers his Draft Budget for 2013-2014 including continuation of adequate funding for Scotland’s agri-environment schemes, to support farmers and crofters choosing to manage land in an environmentally friendly manner; a real commitment of £12m a year over ten years to fund peatland restoration across Scotland, both for its wildlife value but also for its carbon storage and capturing capacity; and adequate resources for Scotland’s statutory nature conservation body, SNH, and other public bodies, such as SEPA, the National Parks, etc, so that they can grasp the challenges of managing and protecting our special wildlife sites (SSSIs) and that of meeting the Government’s 2020 targets for biodiversity.


Continued:  http://www.govopps.co.uk/scottish-budget-rspb-scotland-call-on-budget-to-%E2%80%98invest-in-nature%E2%80%99/