As long as this page is open your copy/paste functionality has been disabled. An Indonesian decree allowing mining companies to operate in tropical forests is unlikely to lead to massive deforestation, a forestry expert and government officials said on Tuesday arguing that mining had a limited impact. Krystof Obidzinski, a researcher with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), said historically mining had never been a significant contributor to deforestation.

"Definitely there’s a danger and it’s regrettable but on the overall schemes of things, as far as deforestation per se, we think it’s not a major concern," he told a panel discussion on deforestation with foreign correspondents.

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Woolworths has been under pressure for sourcing its Select Brand paper products from one of Asia’s largest pulp and paper makers, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), in Indonesia.

In 2007, packaging on the company’s Select brand of toilet paper and tissues stated the products come from an environmentally managed company. But a report by Indonesia’s Centre for International Forestry Research last year found that APP relies on the clearing of natural forests in Sumatra for 60 to 70 per cent of its wood supply. Woolworths removed the products from its shelves only to return them weeks later without the claims about their environmental sustainability.

Complaints to the ACCC alleged that Woolworths was engaged in false and misleading conduct.

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Unfair government policies fail to benefit poor people who live in the forests of many developing countries. Those same policies fail even to protect forests, according to a new study. "History shows us that the traditional model of ‘scientific forestry’ management focuses on maximizing profit for a few," said Anne M. Larson of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the study’s other co-author. "Governments have the ability – and we would argue the obligation – to use these resources to combat poverty by first reexamining their forest policies."

While conjecture remains over whether deforestation was to blame for the landslides and floods that killed dozens of people in Indonesia on Dec.26 last year, there appears to be a consensus regarding other consequences of forest destruction. But Frances Seymour, director general of the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), is non-committal regarding the role played by deforestation in the floods and landslides that hit Indonesia’s most populous island in late 2007.

Banyak peraturan dikeluarkan pemerintah bukannya membuat keselamatan dan produktivitas rakyat terjamin, tetapi justru sebaliknya. Peneliti Cifor menyebutkan, selama tujuh tahun terakhir telah disahkan 500 lebih peraturan Menteri Kehutanan untuk mengurus hutan Indonesia. Dalam jangka yang sama, luas hutan menyusut 11,2 juta hektar. Yang paling bersorak tentu pelaku pertambangan. Sejak delapan tahun lalu, berbagai perusahaan tambang asing melakukan lobby hingga ancaman membawa Indonesia ke arbitrase internasional. Kontrak karya mereka terganjal status hutan lindung.

During their meeting in Perth earlier this month, where the Indonesian and Australian foreign ministers signed the Lombok treaty, both spoke of the need for greater understanding of Indonesia in Australia and vice versa. Clare Rawlinson, second year journalism student at the University of South Australia, and intern at CIFOR, pointed out the effect that the program will have on Australian-Indonesia media relations. "Whether we stay here to work as journalists or we go home and work in the media, we now have an experience of the ‘real’ Indonesia, we have been submerged in the lifestyle and culture, and through our work in Australia we can pass on that knowledge," said Clare.

Land-rights disputes leave ownership of much forested land in question. Some environmentalists fear governments might push indigenous people out of newly protected forests – as they did when many national parks were created. "We need to have clear property rights so we know who owns these forests that we’re paying not to convert," said Frances Seymour, head of the Center for International Forestry Research in Indonesia. "We need mechanisms to get (the funds) down to the local level so they are not just skimmed off at the top."

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Gamle tiltak om igjen? Førsteamanuensis Arild Angelsen ved Institutt for økonomi og ressursforvaltning, Universitetet for miljø og biovitenskap (UMB) på Ås er en av Norges fremste regnskogforskere, og har fulgt de mange skogfiaskoene på nært hold i en årrekke. Han var en av flere forfattere av rapporten «Do trees grow on money?», utgitt av anerkjente Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) i forbindelse med klimamøtet på Bali. Rapporten oppsummerer de komplekse årsakene til at verden ikke har klart å stoppe avskogingen.

Angelsen mener det er historieløst å fremstille regnskogvern som noe nytt og enkelt, og frykter at skogmilliardene ikke vil hjelpe dersom politikerne ikke lærer av feilene som er gjort.