Hornbills - Mating Life

Hornbills fascinate me. 

In the forest, I get enthusiastic when I see them flocks together in the sky. And just recently I learned a little bit more about hornbill habitat. 

You see, in the forest, the hornbills always fly at least in a pair: one male and another female. It's rarely you see a hornbill flying alone, except when the male goes out and hunt for food. And this only happens after the mating session. After the mating session, the whole body of the female feather will fall off and the female will use these feathers to make a nest. And yes, her feathers will grow back, but it takes time. So, if you see a hornbill flies alone or the flock of hornbills is uneven numbers, you will now know why.

And from the expert that studied hornbills more than 30 years, Dr. Pilai Poonswad of Mahidol University and the Hornbill Research Foundation (HRF), the male hornbill is never a playboy (I can’t think of any other word that this).

Because, because, because the male hornbill cannot leave his wife and her nest: if not she and the baby birds will die of hunger! Haha, she said so. Based on her research. 30 years of study. Don’t play play.  

Most interestingly, after the mother has lay the eggs out, say for example there is 5 [A, B, C, D, E] babies, based on Dr. Pilai observations, there is always one baby left behind with the parents to look the next generation of babies! It could be A or B or C or D or E, but one will stay back to look after the new baby birds or his/her siblings!

Article Review: CIFOR Blog:: New timber tracking tools to bolster global fight against illegal logging

The post iss related to the new tracking method to curb illegal logging through tracing the species DNA that was discussed in the workshop held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The studies using DNA market to identify timber species and analyze genetic variation in the forest has been carried out for more than ten years. This system is coherent with the existing  EU FLEGT requirement and Lacey Act that has been debating to minimize the risk of illegal logging timber products to enter EU and US market.

What is it about?

The Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) promotes the use of innovative control tools based on the application of DNA and stable isotope research to identify timber species and trace their origins. The Global Timber Tracking Network aims to create a global database featuring genetic and stable isotope markers for commonly traded timber species, a landmark tool designed to reinforce certification standards and legislation and to complement existing paper-based documentation that can be easily falsified. 

How does it work?

Through the DNA and stable isotope markers as the legit information (as indicator in the assessor checklist) enter into the database, where is also accessible to the importers. This  enables to importers to verify the precise species and origin of wood and wood products and provide tangible proof that the products were genuinely derived from a sustainably managed forest or other legally harvested timber.  


How would the wood sample be?

To create the database shall require integrating data generated by different research techniques and that has been collected by scientist working in various location around the world. 


What are the equipment use to test the wood sample, what are the total sample need to quantify and how long does it takes?  

A global standard (i.e.: similar FSC standard) for sampling and lab analysis of genetic and stable isotope data shall be establish in order to ensure the technique used to gather and analyze the data are repeatable and verifiable. 


Any successful pilot project? 

To date, just a handful of projects have created individual databases for certain timber species. 

Malaysia

The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) established an early database of tropical timber species using DNA fingerprinting data. The FRIM database has genetic data for:

1. chengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii) -IUCN Red List
2. ramin (Gonystylus bancanus) -IUCN Red List
3. kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) (Traded Timber Species) (WIP) and 
4. meranti bukit (Shorea platyclados)  (Traded Timber Species) (WIP)

Currently, the GTTN database shall be test whether the data generated by analyses of wood samples match the stated species and origin on the product label.

Africa

Double Helix will design and implement DNA Chain-of-Custody systems for several supply chains. To achieve this we are actively working with government partners, concession owners/managers and community groups. The project will create DNA barcodes for twenty important African timber species and will generate a map of genetic variation across the different participating countries for three commercial tree species: Ayou (Triplochiton scleroxylon), Iroko (Milicia sp.) and Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum). By the end of the project, the trade and Governments will have the ability to verify the species and origin of harvest of these timber species. It will provide a scientific, cost-effective method to verify claims and other supply chain documentation, enforce legislation and exclude illegally harvested timber from being laundered through legitimate supply chains. The genetic reference databases will be held by Bioversity International in Malaysia, the international coordination office for tree identification and origin assignment. Below are the countries covered under this project.

What are the major challenges or obstacle?

In Brazil, a key timber-producing nation believed to have the world’s greatest biodiversity of plant species, correctly identifying timber species is especially challenging, said Milton Kanashiro, a research geneticist at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). “Identifying species is a big problem in Brazil. Different species of trees often end up getting classified under one species because it can be difficult to properly identify so many species in the field,” Kanashiro said. “If species are not identified, we could be losing biodiversity without knowing it. And if you don’t know you are losing a species, you cannot properly protect it.”

My opinion of the major challenges for DNA Timber Tracking:

1. Reaching agreement on standards may be the most difficult aspect of making the timber tracking system operational.
2. The research takes time, have not fully define total isotopes needed for isotope marking
3. At present only covers endanger species, and several tree species have overlaps of isotopes marker.
4. Questionable about the type of equipment needed for the importer or the require knowledge by the importer to ensure they understand the system and also does not take a very long time to verify the legality of the timber in the port.

Article Review: VPA Partner Countries (Current Status)

Find this very useful to update keep up with the current status of the FLEGT VPA partnering countries

 

System Development (TLAS)

Indonesia

Cameroon

C.A.R.

Congo

Ghana

Liberia

Formal Negotiations

Malaysia

Vietnam

D.R.C

Gabon

Moving to negotiation

Thailand

Laos

Article Review: Deforestation and Reduce Impact Logging?

According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the 33 million acres of forestland that are lost annually around the globe are responsible for 20 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. And  the bigger part that contribute to forest loss is deforestation activities.

Came across this post last week, and thought it would be good to review it to recite my memory about deforestation and what I have been working about recently. And the first paragraph caught my eyes was:

Trees are one of the human race’s most valuable resources, and yet we cut and consume them at the rate of 3-6 billion (stands??) a year. What other thing, natural or man made, can absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, clean the soil, prevent erosion and control noise pollution, using only free solar energy?

Deforestation is one of the planet’s most dire environmental issues, and  few people realize that by eliminating our forests, we’re actually signing our own death sentence.

What is deforestation?

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use.  Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.The term deforestation refers to the slow but steady elimination of the Earth’s mature forests. There are many reasons for cutting down trees, but most are felled for profit or to make room for massive commercial agricultural operations. Depending on the species, it can take many decades for a tree to reach maturity.

What is the cause of deforestation?

Trees felled for source of timber or charcoal. The cleared land used as pasture for lifestock, agriculture such as oil palm, plantation for comodities or settlements.

War. Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive an enemy of cover for its forces and also vital resources. A modern example of this, for example, was the use of Agent orange in Vietnam. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland

What are the most destructive tools in deforestation?

Clear cutting is a traumatic process whereby all the trees in a given tract of land are felled and removed.  Although the area may be reseeded with young trees, it can take decades before those trees are absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen at pre-clearcut levels. 

Why clear cutting is destructive?

According to the NRDC, clearcutting can destroy an area’s ecological integrity in a number of other ways, including:

Ø  the destruction of buffer zones which reduce the severity of flooding by absorbing and holding water;

Ø  the immediate removal of forest canopy, which destroys the habitat for many rainforest-dependent insects and bacteria;

Ø  the elimination of fish and wildlife species due to soil erosion and habitat loss;

Ø  the removal of underground worms, fungi and bacteria that condition soil and protect plants growing in it from disease;

Ø  the loss of samall-scale economic opportunities, such as fruit-picking, sap extraction, and rubber tapping; and

Ø  the destruction of aesthetic values and recreational opportunities.

What are the alternatives to clear cutting?

We cannot stop or ban abruptly forest loss activities such as timber felling or land clearing as it is somehow link to human and/or country economic development. In recent years, the environmental NGO's successfully push public awareness to the public being responsible upon their purchasing, daily usage of wood materials and also banning support to illegal logging, which accounts a significant sum to deforestation. In terms of technicality in the forest, a different tree harvesting method such as Selective Harvesting System or Reduce Impact Logging  has been put in place, made as legislation for harvesting in several countries to reduce the impact of sudden loss in the forest.

What is Reduce Impact Logging (RIL)?

Reduced impact logging can be defined as 'the intensively planned and carefully controlled implementation of timber harvesting operations to minimise the environmental impact on forest stands and soils'.

And what are the practice involves?

1.  a pre-harvest inventory and the mapping of individual crop trees;

2. the pre-harvesting planning of roads, skid trails and landings to minimise soil disturbance and to protect streams and waterways with appropriate crossings;

3. pre-harvest vine-cutting in areas where heavy vines connect tree crowns;

4. the construction of roads, landings and skid trails following environmentally friendly design guidelines;

5. the use of appropriate felling and bucking techniques including directional felling, cutting stumps low to the ground to avoid waste, and the optimal crosscutting of tree stems into logs in a way that maximises the recovery of useful wood;

6. the winching of logs to planned skid trails and ensuring that skidding machines remain on the trails at all times;

7. where feasible, using yarding systems that protect soils and residual vegetation by suspending logs above the ground or by otherwise minimising soil disturbance; and

8. conducting a post-harvest assessment in order to provide feedback to the resource manager and logging crews and to evaluate the degree to which the RIL guidelines were successfully applied. 

Other than environmental benefits, RIL has been shown to reduce the percentage of 'lost' logs (those trees that are felled in the forest but not extracted because they aren't seen by tractor operators), thereby reducing timber wastage.

Any successful projects about RIL?

There are many RIL projects with collaboration with ITTO. Through its project program it provides training in RIL procedures; for example, one project in the Brazilian Amazon provided training in better logging to 138 operators and assisted several logging companies to achieve the certification of their operations. A new phase of this project commenced in 2003, and similar projects are under way in Indonesia, Guyana and Cambodia. Global Forestry Services is currently monitoring the overall RIL harvesting method in Sabah, Malaysia from 2010 until 2015. 

Hollow tree: A normal practice under Reduce Impact Logging harvesting technique where before felling a tree in the forest, the timber feller will knock on the tree or "poke" the tree with the "parang" to check for tree hollowness. If a tree marked for felling is hollow, it will be retain and not felled as there is no market value and left behind for habitat or ecology purposes.

Article Review: EU “Timber” Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 995/2010)

A short review about EU Timber Regulation base on this post.

What is EU "Timber" Regulation?

In October 2010 the EU adopted a new Timber Regulation  to combat trade in illegally harvested timber. This is one of a number of actions under the 2003 EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

Why EU 'Timber" Regulation?

1. EU FLEGT Action Plan (2003)

Spurred by discussions at the East Asia FLEG conference in September 2001, the European Commission published its Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in May 2003. Approved by the Council of the EU in October 2003, it included the following proposals:

• Negotiation of bilateral FLEGT voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs) with producer countries. The VPAs will feature a licensing system designed to identify legal products exported from partner countries and license them for import to the EU; unlicensed products will be denied entry. (See Voluntary Partnership Agreements page.)
• Capacity-building assistance to partner countries to set up the licensing scheme, improve enforcement and, where necessary, reform their laws.
• Examination of EU member states' existing domestic legislation, and consideration of additional legislative options, to prohibit the import of illegal timber. (See EU FLEGT: Timber Regulation.)
• Encouragement for the use of government procurement policy to limit purchases to legal (and sustainable) sources. (See Public Procurement page.)
• Encouragement for voluntary industry initiatives to control their own supply chains, and thereby exclude illegal products. (See Supply Chain Management page.)
• Encouragement for financial institutions to scrutinise flows of finance to the forestry industry. (See Banks and Finance page.) 

2. FLEGT Regulation (2005)- Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA)

A key element of the FLEGT Action Plan is a voluntary scheme to ensure that only legally harvested timber is imported into the EU from countries agreeing to take part in this scheme. The internal EU legal framework for this scheme is a Regulation adopted in December 2005, and a 2008 Implementing Regulation, allowing for the control of the entry of timber to the EU from countries entering into bilateral FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) with the EU.  Once agreed, the VPAs will include commitments and action from both parties to halt trade in illegal timber, notably with a license scheme to verify the legality of timber exported to the EU. The agreements also promote better enforcement of forest law and promote an inclusive approach involving civil society and the private sector.

How to implement and what is the obligation?

1. Due Diligence- "operators" shall use procedures and measures called "due diligence system" (DDS)

The core of the ‘due diligence’ notion is that operators have to undertake a risk management exercise so as to minimize the risk of placing illegally harvested timber, or timber products containing illegally harvested timber, on the EU market.

The three key elements of the “due diligence system” are:

• Information: The operator must have access to information describing the timber and timber products, country of harvest, quantity, details of the supplier and information on compliance with national legislation.
• Risk assessment: The operator should assess the risk of illegal timber in his supply chain, based on the information identified above and taking into account criteria set out in the regulation.
• Risk mitigation: When the assessment shows that there is a risk of illegal timber in the supply chain that risk can be mitigated by requiring additional information and verification from his supplier

  

Source of the picture above: FLEGT June 2012 capacity4dev

 

2. Prohibition to place illegally harvested timber or timber products on the EU market

Through Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) of each own country. Source the timber back to the forest license area.

3. Traceability -"Traders" shall be identified to their suppliers and customer

Through the central point of expertise for timber procurement website provides online information on how to meet the UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy, the EU Timber Regulation and the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation.

What is the product scope?

Listed in Annex using EU Custom codes. Covers a wide range of timber products (solid wood products, flooring, plywood, pulp) and includes  printed papers such as books, magazines and newspapers. The product scope can be amended if necessary. The Regulation applies to both imported and domestically produced timber and timber products. Timber and timber products covered by valid FLEGT or CITES licenses are considered to comply with the requirements of the Regulation. 

Does not cover waste and recycled products, packaging material to support or carry another product, certain bamboo and rattan products or other products not listed in Annex (e.g.: toys, musical instruments). Maybe amended to include other products

What is illegally harvested timber?

Harvested in contravention of the applicable legislation in the country of harvest such  as 

1. Legal rights to harvest
2. Taxes and fees linked to harvesting
3. Compliance with timber harvesting laws, including directly related environmental and forest legislation
4. Respect for third parties tenure/use rights
5. Relevant trade and customs rules

Who is liable?

“Operators” = any natural or legal person who places timber or timber products on the EU market.  Liable for exercising of due diligence and prohibition

"Traders” = any natural or legal person who trades on the internal market timber or timber products already placed on the market. Liable for the “traceability”

Who checks? Role of the member state 

Competent authorities =national government bodies responsible for the application and enforcement. This means looking into operators, monitoring organizations (selected from 27 EU member states)  and reports.  List of CA can be found here.  Penalties: effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties

 

How does FLEGT and CITES licenses work?

Products covered by FLEGT or CITES licenses are considered to have been legally harvested for the purposed of the EU Timber Regulation. Means by importing FLEGT or CITES licenses timber, due diligence is exercised.

How about 3rd party verification?

Does not enjoy the "green lane" as FLEGT or CITES license. May be taken into account in the risk assessment and risk mitigation procedures if cover compliance with applicable legislation and if considered credible. Criteria for assessing their credibility in the implementing regulation.

When will EU Timber Regulation take place?

3rd of March 2013

Secondary legislation:

April / June 2012 a delegated Regulation on the procedural rules for the recognition and withdrawal of recognition of monitoring organization (selected from 27 EU member states)

June 2012 an implementing Regulation on the detailed rules concerning the due diligence system, the frequency and nature of the checks on monitoring organizations.

Snap Shots of Plants, Scenery and Nature # 2

This is picture post! Pictures from my recent trip into the forest area. Hope you guys (whoever that reads my blog), arhermm, happy viewing it! :)

I had to hike into this area for about 0.5 hours. All the way hiking, non stop!  And it is tiring  for me. If only this picture can show you guys how steep this area is. 

The gap created within the younger trees served for the purposed activity. Gaps are good for regeneration. Just not too big gap, it will cause "wind" trapped, which can be dangerous.

The left behind trees (biomass). Only if we know what we can do about it besides leaving it behind to fertile the soil.

My biggest excitement in the forest:  my encounter with the big mushroom in the forest!

It is a fungae in the forest. Probably sprout after the rain! And, it looks so delicious, to go with tom yam kung.

This is an unlikely sight for me: abandon log. It take a longer time to decay and fertilize the soil back.

 

I always like to take photos from below to top of a tree. This is picture of below to top macaranga trees. Isn't It beautiful?

And on the way back to the car, I found 2 big mushrooms growing on the decayed wood. Tummy rumbles!

~Happy Viewing~

Young Hornbill

Horn bill! Who wouldn't be excited to see one, especially if it is young, wild and is somewhere reachable to you?

This is a young unsub horn bill. Nobody was a bird specialist there, so no one knows the species and gender of this horn bill. But what they do know, it has become friendlier and talkative!

Its favorite place is the kitchen area. As the ladies in the kitchen fed it when it was young, it has became dependent to them. No one understood how this baby got strayed away from it's parents as horn bill are pretty protective to their young ones. Here is another picture of it "talking". It makes the sound " Urngh Urngh Urngh" all the time. Non stop!

Clearer picture to whom it was talking to. Pity Mr. Meow couldn't have it's meal peacefully.

  And here it is turning to get a candid picture shot!

 Please let me know if anyone of you knows the gender and species of this horn bill, thanks!

~Happy Reading~

EFI EU FLEGT News, January/February 2012

 An update of the TLAS (VPA -EU FLEGT) consultations in Malaysia.

Malaysian National Seminar on Social Forestry

On the 29 November 2011 EFI’s EU FLEGT Asia participated in a Malaysian National Seminar on Social Forestry, entitled ‘Raising Quality of Life of Communities and Sustainable Forest Management’ in Lawas, Sarawak. The event, organised by the Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Sarawak Forests Department and the Sabah Forestry Department, aimed to support Social Forestry efforts in the country to improve the quality of life of communities working towards SFM. The event brought together international speakers and concluded with an active dialogue on social forestry and the role indigenous peoples play in it.

Strengthening of TLAS Linkages in Peninsular Malaysia

A Consultation on Mechanisms to Strengthen Coordination for the Implementation of Malaysia’s Timber Legality Assurance System (MYTLAS) was organised by the Protem Secretariat for the Malaysia - EU FLEGT VPA and held in Kuala Lumpur on 17 January. A total of 66 participants attended from a range of Ministries, the Forestry Departments of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, Labour Departments, Occupational Safety and Health Institutes and Customs, as well as the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB), the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) and the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC). Following several presentations the group discussed progress with the system and made the following recommendations:

• That Malaysia should move ahead with the implementation of the system in order to be seen to support the trade of legally sourced timber and timber products.
• That the MYTLAS should be treated as a living document which could be improved through experience of implementation, increased resources and potentially, the application of new technologies. 
• That the system/process be designed to accept inputs from stakeholders from time to time.

For the first paragraph, it post either a contradiction or  a work out solution being made to my previous post. What I understood was that Sarawak state authorities has an opinion that VPA has put in non certification requirements such as prohibition of logging at Native Customary Rights  (NCR) area and  human right protection and also questioning the Malaysian authorities credibility when issuing the timber licenses to local player. 

And in this post they are working towards striving to support social forestry efforts in the country to improve the communities life quality towards Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). SFM post more stringent requirements than achieving legality. It means not only prohibiting illegal logging in NCR areas, only ensure the current communities livelihood are sustain and protected.

I wonder what the active dialogue has been concluded with between the international speakers and the indigenous people (representative) and would it be recognize, as they did not highlighted the dialogue has included the government or state authority involvement.

And well said in the second paragraph, I am looking forward for the implementation of TLAS system in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. Sabah has already establish their own TLAS system for the Forest Management Units [SFMLA], will be soon to cover stateland and alienated land (Form IIB)  Specifically in Peninsular Malaysia, TLAS implementation should focus on the areas that are non PEFC/MTCS certified, which is the non Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) and alienated land. Treating MYTLAS as living document, I like that idea. 

Just an opinion