September 2010

A new initiative has been launched by Brazilian government agencies that will see the distribution of more that 2.2 million reals worth of funding to sustainable forestry projects before the end of the year.

The National Fund for Forestry Development (FNDF), which is being managed by the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), is encouraging applications for funding from projects that aim to use the nation's forests in both enterprising and environmentally friendly ways.

As oil and natural gas reserves are being depleted, the world's attention is increasingly turning to plant-based energy sources.

The long-debated issue of what part forestry should be play if any in the European Union’s climate change effort is again at the fore. The European Commission last week opened a consultation on whether land-based activity, the LULUCF sector in Kyoto Protocol jargon, should be included in the EU’s 2020 emissions reduction effort.