In a speech at CIFOR Indonesian President Yudhoyono admitted to mistakes in policy in the past which encouraged deforestation, but asserted that Indonesia is now set to become a leader in "sustainable forestry". However, CIFOR’s Daniel Murdiyarso pointed out several concerns which weren’t addressed by the speech, including the fact that a reduction in the deforestation rate does not correlate directly with a reduction in emissions: much of Indonesia’s deforestation is happening in carbon-dense peat forests which are targeted for palm oil estates and pulp and paper plantations and deforestation of these areas has a greater impact on emissions than deforestation in other areas.

In a speech at CIFOR Indonesian President Yudhoyono admitted to mistakes in policy in the past which encouraged deforestation, but asserted that Indonesia is now set to become a leader in "sustainable forestry". However, CIFOR’s Daniel Murdiyarso pointed out several concerns which weren’t addressed by the speech, including the fact that a reduction in the deforestation rate does not correlate directly with a reduction in emissions: much of Indonesia’s deforestation is happening in carbon-dense peat forests which are targeted for palm oil estates and pulp and paper plantations and deforestation of these areas has a greater impact on emissions than deforestation in other areas.

Environmental groups have welcomed President Rousseff’s veto of key articles of the legislation, but warned that it remains to be seen how effective enforcement of the new law will be. The veto was on key articles which would have reduced requirements upon landowners to maintain forest cover, lifted restrictions on forest clearance near rivers and given an amnesty to landowners who had carried out deforestation prior to 2008 – an article which the Union of Concerned Scientists warned would have set a dangerous precedent encouraging landowners to continue with forest clearance on the assumption that further amnesties would follow in the years to come.

Two ecologists in Switzerland have designed and built a flying drone which they believe could be used to monitor illegal logging in remote and hard-to-reach regions. It was initially intended to video and photograph orangutans from the air in order to monitor their populations. However, on its debut flight over Sumatra it recorded evidence of rainforest logging. Flight launches are planned in Malaysia and Borneo in the coming months and the researchers will make public the instructions for assembling similar crafts.

Letter from Purwadi Soeprihanto, Executive Director, Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires
Published on the Chatham House Illegal Logging website this letter draws attention to the new certification system for Indonesia’s timber sector called SVLK (or TLAS using the English acronym). It is intended to address the requirements of the EUTR, which comes into force in March 2013, by providing assurance that Indonesian wood products are produced in a legal and sustainable manner.

Article covering the new campaign by Survival International, backed by Colin Firth, which looks at the plight of one of the last remaining nomadic hunter-gathering Amazonian tribes whose existence is under threat from the activities and violence carried out by illegal loggers and cattle ranchers. Despite the overall decrease in the rate of deforestation in Brazil, the state which is home to the threatened tribe has recorded a sharp rise in deforestation.

Pacific West Commercial Corp are looking to reopen a NewPage paper mill which closed in September last year as it struggled with soaring electricity and shipping costs, a strong Canadian dollar and declining demand. Workers have voted through their union to accept a deal to work on a contract basis.

Japanese pulp company solidifies its position as the world’s biggest pulp trader by buying a 24.9% stake from M-Real in Finnish pulp producer, Metsa Fibre. Increasingly volatile pulp prices are thought to have been a key driver in the deal for M-Real which wanted to reduce its pulp surplus.

Summary of the latest developments in the Greenpeace APP campaign. It notes the change in tone in APP’s response: they have responded to the latest allegations regarding their use of ramin (a CITES-listed species) only by saying they are cooperating with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry’s investigation, and didn’t follow their usual line of defence which is to question the substance of Greenpeace’s allegations.