Update Newsflash 12-18-2016

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming its commitment to the Non-legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests and Agenda 21, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted at the Millennium Summit in 2000, the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002,

Recalling the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and other relevant conventions dealing with the complexity of forest issues,

Recognizing that forests and sustainable forest management can contribute significantly to sustainable development, poverty eradication and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals,

Recalling Economic and Social Council decision 2006/230 of 24 July 2006,

Emphasizing the need for sustainable management of all types of forests, including fragile forest ecosystems,

Convinced that concerted efforts should focus on raising awareness at all levels to strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations,

1. Decides to declare 2011 the International Year of Forests;

2. Requests the secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, to serve as the focal point for the implementation of the Year, in collaboration with Governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and international, regional and subregional organizations and processes as well as relevant major groups;

3. Invites, in particular, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as the Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, within its mandate, to support the implementation of the Year;

4. Calls upon Governments, relevant regional and international organizations, and major groups to support activities related to the Year, inter alia, through voluntary contributions, and to link their relevant activities to the Year;

5. Encourages voluntary partnerships among Member States, international organizations and major groups to facilitate and promote activities related to the Year at the local and national levels, including by creating national committees or designating focal points in their respective countries;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session on the state of preparations for the Year.

(source: www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/index.shtml)

About production levels: “Assuming a mean production of 3 m3/acre/year, then 17 million acres would be required... - ...some 300,000 annually. This equates with 10 percent of annual planting in developing countries...”

Reviewing the temporarily research results R.G.I. can look forward to a significant increase in aral production on the farms where underground drainage systems have been applied... as such production increments from 10 to 30% could be expected

“In comparison, real estate e.g. has been shown to experience volatility. Comparatively, Teakwood has demonstrated much less fluctuation and sustained increases in value for long periods of time.
Your asset grows in value every year, independent of stock markets. The global Teakwood market is driven by growing demand and shrinking supply, making your asset more valuable each year as it grows to maturity.”

There is a global trend towards greater reliance on plantations as a source for industrial wood... ...Other significant developments include private investment in plantations in developing countries.

About greenhouse gasses: Quantification of accumulated carbon can be estimated in plantations. For example, assuming a growth rate of 10 m3/ha/year under a quality species like teak, grown continually on 30 years rotations would accumulate about 100 tonnes/ha (R. Matthew, nd). This means that an area of 2.4 million ha under a species like teak would have the potential to accumulate 240 million tonnes of carbon

The estimated net annual change in forest area worldwide during 1990-2000 was –9.4 million hectares representing the estimated annual rate of deforestation of 14.6 million has. and the annual rate of forest area increase of 5.2 million has