European environmental groups know they are exposed because there is no place the poor in their strategies. In response, they have started to contend that their forest conservation policies support the poor because more than 1 billion people are “forest dependent”. This is another number that cannot be supported. The forest research agency, CIFOR, argues it might be 200 million at best. Greenpeace has now taken to advocating for the forest-dependency of the largely pre-industrial and nomadic the orang asli in Southeast Asia. True, the region’s indigenous people do depend upon the forests. But the result of this dependency is a near subsistence lifestyle of which normal features are high rates of infant mortality, illiteracy, low life expectancy and low standards of living.

But Copenhagen also revealed the difficulties of reaching consensus among nations unwilling to go beyond what their domestic politics will allow, said Daniel Murdiyarso, a senior scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research, a global organization focused on environmental conservation. “The spectrum of debate is getting broader and broader, but climate cannot wait any longer,” said Mr Murdiyarso, referring to the expansion of a mechanism initially aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in return for financial incentives.

The story also appeared in Ecobusiness.com

Daniel Murdiyarso, a climate change scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) in Bogor, said the funding issues were evidence that there was still no clear international guidance as to the implications of the non-legally binding status of the Copenhagen Accord. “Meaning that the [climate change] governance is weak. The only strong governance is still the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire very soon,” Daniel said. “If you look back, it is very clear that the countries agreed to curb emissions by 5 percent, an important small step. But now we only have two years left, and the complexities are huge. The geopolitics are also different.” “These figures are pledges; if they are non-legally binding then how can we be sure that they will be met?”

Dusun Pelaik, menjadi dusun pertama di Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu yang memiliki mikro-hidro. Sistem pembangkit listrik itu pun merupakan bantuan dari Kedutaan Jerman. CIFOR-Riak Bumi dan swadaya masyarakat, membangunnya pada tahun 2007 lalu. “Tapi sekarang lagi rusak. Bendungannya jebol karena ndak mampu menahan laju tekanan air belakangan ini,” kata Kepala Dusun Pelaik, Alexander Burong.Jauh dari jangkauan perhatian pemerintah soal listrik, kembali warga setempat secara swadaya memperbaiki bendungan yang dibangun sederhana tersebut. Muncul pernyataan dari rekan sesama jurnalis, bahwa mikro-hidro di Dusun Pelaik itu, dapat dijadikan alternatif pilihan bagi pimpinan PLN negeri ini untuk ketersediaan listrik di daerah pedalaman. Meski disampaikan dengan nada gurauan, tahulah saya arah pernyataan itu dilontarkan.

Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) yang berkantor pusat di Jl CIFOR Situgede, Bogor menjamu Walikota Bogor Diani Budiarto dan jajaran Muspida Kota Bogor di ruang Amazon, kantor CIFOR, Rabu (3/2). Penasehat Senior CIFOR Dr. Efiansjah mengatakan, tujuan perjamuan makan siang itu untuk mempererat hubungan CIFOR yang sudah 15 tahun berkiprah di Bogor dengan para pemangku pemerintahan Kota Bogor. Dalam acara yang berlangsung cukup singkat, mulai pukul 11.00-13.30 WIB itu, Direktur Jenderal CIFOR Frances Seymour memaparkan tujuan CIFOR untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat terutama yang berada di sekitar konservasi lingkungan hutan. Frances juga meminta Walikota untuk memperhatikan kondisi Jl CIFOR yang sudah mulai rusak supaya menjadi wilayah yang asri, hijau, dan aman.

In 2005, researchers reported the first documented use of tools among lowland gorillas in the wild, with photographs showing two female gorillas using sticks and stumps to test the depth of the water as they crossed a swamp in the Republic of the Congo. But there is no previous documentation of western gorillas using tools in an aggressive way, according to Sunderland Groves, who is now a visiting researcher with the Center for International Forestry Research based in Bogor, Indonesia.

Same article appear in San Diego Union Tribune

“La importancia de los bosques en el Acuerdo de Copenhague demuestra que REDD podría realizarse. Pero debemos prestar mayor atención a las medias, los informes y la verificación de los flujos financieros relacionados con REDD. Muchos de los países que poseen la mayor parte de los bosques del mundo tienen estructuras de gobierno débiles o en evolución para controlar la corrupción”, afirmó Frances Seymour, directora general del Centro de Investigación Forestal Internacional (CIFOR).

The story also appeared in Planeta Azula.com

The report was put together by the Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), whose partners include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). “The states have pledged heaps of money without agreeing to any framework or standards for REDD,” RRI coordinator Andy White told SPIEGEL ONLINE. As White sees it, the fact that the world failed to reach a climate agreement in Copenhagen has meant that there are no rules or enforcement measures in place for properly implementing projects aimed at protecting forests.