Deforestation

Thais allot US$1 bln to forests after King expresses concern
The Thai government has put forest rehabilitation and preservation on the national agenda by allocating about USD99 million to regenerate land over the next five years, the Bangkok Post reported on Tuesday.
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Environmental footprint growth vs costs 2002-10 (Trucost 2012)
Full environmental costing would cut average earning 41%
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
February 17, 2012
New research from KPMG International has found that that if companies had to pay for the full environmental costs of their production, they would lose 41 cents for every USD in earnings on average. The finding is contained in a newly released study by the firm, Expect the Unexpected: Building Business Value in a Changing World, which identifies 10 “megaforces” that will significantly affect corporate growth globally over the next two decades.
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Asia Pulp & Paper communication strategy
Certifiers distance themselves from APP's sustainability claims
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
February 15, 2012
Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) claims of independent sustainability certification for its operations aren’t supported by the certification schemes and assessors it has nominated, an investigation by WWF has found. None of these certifications cover the most controversial operations of APP’s wood suppliers – mass clearing of native forests which are home to critically endangered tigers, elephants and orang-utans and clearing and drainage of peat areas which result in massive greenhouse gas emissions.
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Bangladesh's Department of the Environment flexes its muscles
Bangladesh's environment directorate has suspended tree felling in the Korean Export Processing Zone (EPZ) near the southern port city of Chittagong. While the country is suffering serious national deforestation, the move is nonetheless unusual. A demand by the environment department for the inspection of papers authorising tree cutting in the Korean EPZ is likely to upset the controlling company, the YoungOne Group. Over 2,500 acres are being prepared as industrial plots in the EPZ area.
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Bali governor call for halt to geothermal exploration
Bali's governor could run into central government approbation following his official position that a geothermal energy project to generate power should be scrapped. Made Mangku Pastika said the three existing exploration sites at Bedugul have destroyed four hectares of protected forests, something Bali does not have a lot of, but without any positive results, reported the Jakarta Globe.
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India's environmental court extends its reach
India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ruled that it can listen to anyone's complaint that the environment requires protecting. The decision means any citizen can make a complaint against a project even if they are directly affected by it.
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India biodiversity
Now India's rich biodiverse regions under threat
Yet another bio-diversity hotspot in under threat according to a new report looking at India. Only recently a new WWF report identified the Greater Mekong as a biodiverse area also under imminent threat. Conducted by the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation at the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology in Bhuj, western India and the College of Environmental Sciences at Tajen University in Taiwan, the study will be published in the Journal for Natural Conservation.
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Deforestation risk
Deforestation 'extreme' in Asia as questionable palm oil spreads
Gerry O'Kane
November 28, 2011
Four Asian countries have been named as being among the world's worst perpetrators of deforestation. Indonesia, Cambodia, North Korea and Papua New Guinea were rated as being at 'extreme risk' with economic growth, poverty, corruption and the rise of biofuels being identified as being among the major causes of deforestation. In addition increasing demand for products like palm oil and an intensifying scrutiny of business and environmental practices at home, have pushed large Asian companies to expand their activities to West Africa in particular.
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$600 mln US aid to boost Indonesia’s green economy
While on her visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an agreement to provide the country over USD600 million in aid, more than half of which will go to a "green prosperity" program. 
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US provides aid to Indonesia's Green Prosperity Program
Indonesia is to receive USD600 million in US aid, half of which will go to the country's "green prosperity" program. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the agreement which aims to kick-start economic development through clean energy and sustainable management of Indonesia's natural resources.
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