With deforestation as the second leading source of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, experts are focusing the discussion on the viability of compensating countries for protecting their forests, according to information from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The proposal ‘Reduced Emissions from Deforestation’ (RED) was not included in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, but is now being evaluated by scientists, companies and agencies in poor countries that have extensive forested areas.

The CDM allows governments and corporations of industrialised countries (required under Kyoto to cut greenhouse gas emissions) to meet part of their obligations by investing in ‘clean’ projects in developing countries to get certificates of emissions reductions at a much lower cost than reducing emissions at home. “Slowing emissions from deforestation would not stop climate change, but it could be an important part of a many-part strategy,” Head of the Global Ecology Department at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, Christopher Field, told the WBCSD. RED emerged in 2005 at the 11th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, led by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, with support from the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. Its aim was to include ‘avoided deforestation’ in the global market of carbon credits – carbon dioxide being the principal greenhouse gas. Implementation is expected to be finalised at the 13 Conference of Parties, to take place in December in Bali, Indonesia. Brazil, for its part, has proposed a fund with voluntary contributions of public money to compensate the effort made by developing countries to reduce deforestation, and that they would be remunerated based on prevented emissions. In the article ‘Tropical Forests and Climate Policy’, published in May, Field and other researchers proposed to slow the current pace of deforestation 50% by the year 2050. That would be the equivalent of 50,000 Mt of carbon prevented from being released into the atmosphere, or equal to six years of emissions of gases from fossil fuel combustion, the experts said. But that figure is meaningless, according to Britain-based Biofuelwatch campaigner Almuth Ernsting, because RED does not intend to stop industrial-scale logging: “There is growing evidence that many rainforests, including the Amazon forest, will collapse well before the destruction of a further 50%.” The Amazon is the forest ecosystem with the most carbon – 305 t/ha, of which 28% is in the soil, according to a 1998 study. Its destruction would release 120,000 Mt of carbon by 2050, which would be catastrophic to the global climate, Ernsting said. The transformation of natural ecosystems into farmland entails a loss of 75% of the carbon in tropical soils. That implies between 18-20% of the total emissions from deforestation, according to experts. There is about twice as much carbon stored in forests and soils as exists in the atmosphere, said Tuffs University Centre for International Environment and Resource Policy Director, William Moomaw. Planting trees in other areas to compensate for logging does not work because it often is done in areas not apt for forests, he explained. This problem has come up with tree plantations intended to absorb carbon, and could be repeated in a scheme for reducing emissions from deforestation. The carbon market helped finance monoculture plantations, and had negative results for the soil, local communities, water resources and, ironically, carbon emissions, says Ernsting. There is also concern about the difficulties in controlling changes in the carbon stores of forests once the system is applied. “Monitoring entails some costs, but existing satellite technologies make the challenge relatively straightforward,” Field said. National measurement systems can function, according to Moomaw. In the international arena, the European Union, US and Brazil would need to form a coordinated satellite monitoring team, available for countries with few resources but rich in forests. Compensation for avoided deforestation should reduce net emissions, encouraging a change in international frameworks and adopting an emissions tariff for countries with little or no historic deforestation, according to the study ‘No Forest Left Behind’ by Conservation International. Countries with much forest and relatively little deforestation are: Belize, Bhutan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, French Guiana, Gabon, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname and Zambia. These areas are inhabited mostly by indigenous people, they would enter the carbon market through ‘preventive credits’ or compensation that they would forfeit if there was an increase in loss of forest. In order for the system to function equitably, it is important that local communities participate. “The principle of avoided deforestation is not a bad principle, however the means through which it could be realised are complex and fraught with unequal power relations,” according to Helen Leake, of the non-governmental Forest Peoples Program. “The devil is in the details.”

*This report first appeared on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development website

A Forestry Financial expert says the crunch that will determine how long the US lumber crisis lasts will not hit until March or April of 2008, according to a report from online news service, Opinion250. “The sub prime mortgage issue will hit home next spring when all of the mortgages become due” says the analyst.

“The banks and the major financial institutes have already taken their write downs on the loans , now we will have to wait and see what the US consumer does when these mortgages come due. Will it frighten the rest of the public or not is a major question. “That confidence will say whether we are in for the long haul or whether things will loosen up.”  According to the website’s source, most economists are saying that there will be no significant change in the forest industry until the early part of 2009: “We think it will be 12 to 14 months before things pick up.” Asked about the current state of the lumber industry in Canada, he said the “cash burn”, has resulted in companies taking more down time in an effort to cut costs. “The flack is coming from the board rooms; they are saying cut the cloth to fit.” According to the analyst the industry is nowhere near the level that the forest industry needs to operate. In order to cover the costs of the export tax, the US dollar and production costs companies in all of Canada need a price of $275 to $285 for random length 2x4s. “With a price of $225 to $230 right now, you don’t have to be an accountant to see just what is happening.”

Plans by Peel Environmental to develop a GBP 65 million ($99.5 million) waste wood gasification facility at the site of the former Houghton Main Colliery in Barnsley have been given the green light by Barnsley Council  Members of the council’s Planning Board voted to approve the proposals, which will see a Timber Resource Recovery Centre (TRRC) built at the site on the A6195 Park Spring Road.

The Houghton Main Renewable Energy Centre will use biomass to generate up to 20MW of energy for export. The facility will accept up to 150,000 tonnes of fuel per year and use an advanced gasification process to generate enough energy to power around 49,000 homes.
Peel Environmental is at the forefront of developing new infrastructure for the waste, mineral and environmental technology sectors across the UK.

If you would like to include the free tickets in your next digital mail out please feel free to use the following code http://www.ligna.de/promo?ut4y5

Back in October 2014, the Canadian Woodlands Forum (CWF) proudly announced that DEMO International® was returning to the west coast and would be held in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on September 22-24, 2016.  The Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia will host the event at their Malcolm Knapp Research Forest located within an hour’s drive east of downtown Vancouver. The Knapp Forest is truly a multiple use research forest, providing an ideal location and forested venue for an event of the scope of DEMO International® 2016.This world class event, occurring only every four years, will mark the 13th edition of DEMO International®. During the course of its 49 year history, DEMO International® has evolved into one of North America’s largest and unique outdoor equipment shows. The “all live and in-woods” equipment show will feature the latest technologies in equipment, products and services covering all aspects of woodlands operations, and will attract individuals interested in forestry from around the world. The Canadian Woodlands Forum will work once again with Master Promotions Ltd., and along with our host with the Faculty of Forestry at the Knapp Forest, will provide for a great team and event in 2016. Plans are well underway at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in designing a show site that meets the highest of standards and expectations. We are now ready to launch the site selection process for interested exhibitors, providing suppliers an opportunity to visit the forest and choose their site. Please review the attached notice and complete the form to ensure that you are part of the process. If you have any immediate questions, please feel free to contact Mark Cusack with Master Promotions Ltd. or any of the undersigned. We look forward to working with you towards a successful event in 2016!

Tigercat is pleased to announce that Aaron Piper has joined the Tigercat product support team.
Based in Sunbury, North Carolina, Aaron will focus on providing after-sales technical and commercial support to Tigercat’s customer base in the southeastern United States. Aaron will work closely with Tigercat dealers and prospective customers to further grow Tigercat’s market share in this territory.Aaron has worked in the construction and forestry industry for 17 years.  He started in the industry with Komatsu as a resident Field Technician, primarily working on excavators. From there Aaron went to work for a utility contractor providing product support to the entire equipment fleet. Aaron has also worked as a Field Technician for John Deere then moved up to the role of Service Manager. Aaron brings great experience and technical skills to Tigercat. He is very excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Tigercat team and looks forward to meeting and working with the dealer network and end users. Aaron Piper, Product Support Representative

– See more at: http://www.tigercat.com/new-product-support-representative-in-north-carolina/#sthash.uwQeA2ur.dpuf

Designed and built in Dubuque, Iowa, the 1050K Crawler Dozer is the largest, most powerful dozer ever built by John Deere. Utilizing years of research and extensive customer feedback, the 1050K has the durability, reliability, and productivity needed for mining, quarrying, road building, and other large-scale applications.
“The 1050K is a new generation of crawler dozer that provides the uptime, low daily operating costs, and productivity needed on today’s jobsite,” said Mark Oliver, crawler dozers product marketing manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry. “Customer feedback was vital in developing this game-changing dozer. This is a Deere-designed machine that is fully supported by John Deere dealers and it’s unlike any crawler dozer our customers have ever seen in this size class.
” The 1050K incorporates an EPA Final Tier 4/ EU Stage IV PowerTech^TM diesel engine with 350 hp (261 kW). Completely redesigned from the ground up, the 1050K’s dual-path hydrostatic transmission allows an operator to push a full load through turns without losing material, unlike torque-converter transmissions on competitor machines.
Like the smaller 850K, the 1050K features Eco mode. The Eco mode feature optimizes fuel economy while maintaining ground speed by automatically adjusting engine speed and transmission settings based on load. This has the potential to reduce fuel consumption up to 25 percent with no loss in productivity in many applications. Operators don’t have to worry about diesel particulate filter (DPF) cleaning as it still occurs automatically with no impact to machine operation.
Ash service intervals for the diesel particulate filter are condition based, meaning the machine will notify the operator before service is required. Typically, ash service is not necessary until the first engine overhaul. Extensive testing allowed John Deere’s DPF to go up to 15,000 hours before ash removal.

The 1050K also features excellent total fluid economy (diesel fuel and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)). The production-class dozer’s heavy-duty undercarriage is sealed, lubricated, and built to last. Its oval-track design has only one wear-causing forward-travel flex point, for longer life. One-piece welded maintenance resists torsional stress, absorbs shock loads, and delivers maximum strength while allowing easy service access to major components. For added durability, heavy-duty double-reduction planetary final drives are mounted independent of the track frames, where they’re effectively protected from shock loads.

Inside the cab, a deluxe suspension high-back seat is angled 15 degrees to provide a more comfortable view of the ripper and adjusts seven ways for daylong comfort. An updated LCD display monitor provides enhanced onboard diagnostics with real time values for every temperature, pressure, and speed sensor on the machine. The crawler dozers constantly monitor transmission temperature to avoid damage to the hydrostat system. Before tackling the jobsite, operators can set the maximum desired ground speed, and the power management system automatically maintains peak engine RPM and power efficiency without stalling or shifting. An ergonomically correct joystick provides intuitive, low-effort control of steering, direction, and groundspeed.

An exclusive Total Machine Control (TMC) monitor allows an operator to select decelerator mode and response – forward/reverse groundspeed ranges, steering modulation, F-N-R shift rate, and forward/reverse speed ratios. A hydraulic power-pitch option allows the operator to control blade pitch from the cab. The blade pitch is also adjustable to three mount locations for superior performance in a variety of applications and materials. The programmable return-to-pitch settings allows the operator to preset blade-pitch positions, which can be activated with the push of a button. The 1050K’s controls can be customized to meet the individual needs of an operator.
The decelerator can slow both ground-speed and engine RPM, or with the touch of a button, control ground-speed only, to help maintain traction without affecting engine power and hydraulic response. Fully depressing the pedal applies the brakes. With standard Electro-Hydraulic (EH) controls, all 1050K dozers are grade-control ready making adding a grade-control system as easy as plugging in the components, calibrating, and going to work.

John Deere’s “open-architecture” design lets customers easily employ their favorite brand of grade-control system – Trimble, Topcon, or Leica. The 1050K can also have a Topcon 3D-MC2 grade control system installed at the factory for faster availability and the ability to finance the system with the dozer purchase. “The 1050K is 100 percent John Deere and it’s a total machine,” said Dave Rock, equipment asset manager, Sureway Construction. “When providing our feedback, we wanted the hood lower, we wanted to better see the ripper, and the dealers had to be behind this machine for parts, service, sales – everything.”
Operators looking to get the most out of their 1050K can rely on Ultimate Uptime featuring John Deere WorkSight^TM. With Ultimate Uptime, operators receive pre-delivery and follow-up inspections; three years of JDLink^TM telematics, machine heath prognostics, and remote diagnostics and programming capability; and the ability to add additional dealer-provided uptime solutions to customize the package to individual needs.

For additional information and model-specific specifications on the new 1050K, visit www.JohnDeere.com/pushback or contact your local dealer for a demo

Three years in the making and backed by over a half-century of experience in the woods, the John Deere M-Series Tracked Feller Bunchers and Tracked Harvesters are officially making their debut. The latest additions to the John Deere family of tracked forestry machines include the 800M and 800MH-Series Reduced Tail Swing, setting a new standard in midsize machines, along with the 900M and 900MH-Series that improve upon John Deere’s industry-leading large-size machines.To develop the M-Series Tracked Feller Bunchers and Tracked Harvesters, John Deere enlisted loggers from around the world to form a Customer Advocate Group (CAG). The CAG provided real-world insights on what they need in a machine to be successful. Inspired by their feedback and validated by thousands of hours of testing in every day conditions, John Deere listened and responded with machines that change the game in terms of uptime and productivity. “When we designed our new midsize and large-size machines, we relied on the input of the people who are in the machines every day – our customers,” said Cliff Caudill, Manager, Product Marketing, John Deere Construction & Forestry. “After collecting invaluable customer input, we spent over 11,000 hours testing the machines until we got them exactly right. The result is a new fleet of machines that redefine the meanings of uptime, productivity and low daily operating costs.” The M-Series machines are built for the way loggers work, and the proof is in their feedback:

• “It’s so important to get customer input into a product because we’re the ones who spend our lives in the equipment. These machines are very well built, and they represent pretty much everything we asked Deere to build.” – Mark Maenpaa, K&M Logging, Thunder Bay Canada
• “John Deere addressed everything we asked them for. What’s not to like? The stability, the visibility, the serviceability. Hats off to them for building machines that fit many different applications. They’ve done a great job.” – Brent Day, William A. Day Jr. & Sons, Porter Maine
• “I didn’t realize how committed John Deere is to its customers until I was involved in the Customer Advocate Group. It really opened my eyes to how they are as passionate about logging as we are.” – Rick Cuneen, Plantation Harvesting, Myrtleford, Victoria Australia

800M- and 800MH-Series machines share many common components – including the engine, undercarriage, booms and cab – with their 900M- and 900MH-Series counterparts, simplifying maintenance and repairs when needed. Maximize Productivity Rapid Cycle System (RCS) combines automated felling-head arm cycling with simple boom control, dramatically reducing operator fatigue while increasing efficiency and productivity. RCS can be tailored to individual skill levels and specific harvesting conditions, from large single-tree harvesting to high-speed, multistem cutting. An added benefit for operators is its selectable operation, which allows them to engage and disengage RCS with a single touch of a button. Multiple RCS settings can also be saved according to individual operator preferences based on skill levels. RCS is standard on all 800M- and 800MH-Series machines and as an option on the 900M and 900MH-Series. Operate in Comfort The new operator station on all M-Series machines was designed by loggers for loggers. It’s roomier and more comfortable, with ergonomically designed controls. Fully adjustable armrests provide fingertip control of all machine functions, and an air-conditioned seat provides exceptional daylong comfort in the climate-controlled cab. Floor-to-celling front and side windows plus an overhead skylight provide 44 percent more visibility, providing an outstanding view of the cutting area. Increase Uptime All machines feature John Deere’s field-proven boom design from the 900M- and 900MH-Series models. All booms are strong and robust with thick plates and large pins and bushings to ensure long life. Additional uptime increasing features include:

• A through-nose harvester head plumbing option that routes hoses up and out of harm’s way to extend hose life.
• An optional undercarriage-mounted toolbox that provides convenient storage for tools, additional saw bars and other spare parts, minimizing trips to a service truck.
• 800M fuel tank capacity has been increased by 50 percent to extend intervals between fill-ups, allowing loggers to run up to 24 hours without refueling.
• John Deere ForestSight^TM and Ultimate Uptime are also available as an option on all M-Series machines. This integrated suite of technology solutions brings the machine, technology and the dealer together to help loggers better manage their equipment and operations with fast, accurate remote diagnostics, rapid service response and on-demand dealer support.

John Deere’s 800M- and 800MH- Series and 900M- and 900MH- Series family of Tracked Forestry machines are now available in North America. To learn more, view product features and hear real customer feedback, visit www.JohnDeere.com/GameChangers. Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division  Mailing:  P.O. Box 8806  Moline, IL 61266-8806 Media Contact:  Caitlin Haskins  IMRE  Phone: 410-821-8220  E-mail: caitlinh@imre.com

Tigercat® is pleased to announce it has officially broken ground for a new $12 million, 127,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Paris, Ontario, Canada, located approximately 100 km southwest of Toronto.

Several hundred employees, community officials, Tigercat partners and supporters attended an official ground breaking ceremony last week to mark the start of construction and celebrate the companies continued growth. Tigercat also announced the purchase of an existing 66,000 square-foot plant in Kitchener, Ontario. “This is a significant milestone for our company,” states President, Tony Iarocci, who was Tigercat’s first employee when the company started in 1992. Tigercat is one of the few remaining heavy equipment manufacturers in a region that once was at the heart of the industry. Tigercat currently has seven southern Ontario locations, a large parts distribution and training centre in Georgia, a sales and distribution facility in Sweden and a dealer network that spans the globe, covering the forestry regions of North America, South America, Australasia, southern Africa, Europe and Russia. The new building will be located on the same property as the current Paris, Ontario facility, on a previously vacant lot at the northwest corner. The new plant will initially focus on swing machines and cut-to-length attachments including the 200 series material handlers and the 800 series track feller bunchers, harvesters and shovel loggers. Iarocci explains that the new plants do not tell the whole story of the scope or capacity of the ever-growing Tigercat. “These two projects will increase the company’s manufacturing footprint by 20%. The space is urgently needed for existing demand and future growth. We already have over 1,200 employees and 200 or 300 more subcontractors.” Vicano, the construction company hired for the project, will be including numerous crane lanes and flexible assembly lines along with a large office space for an engineering group allowing the building to be flexible for future projects.

About Tigercat
Tigercat Industries designs and manufactures premium quality forestry and off-road equipment with manufacturing facilities in Canada and worldwide distribution. The diverse product range includes complete full-tree and cut-to-length harvesting systems, a growing line of land clearing and vegetation management equipment and specialized off-road industrial and material handling machinery.

Contacts:
Samantha Paul
Marketing Specialist Tigercat Industries Inc.
Tel: 519-753-1539 ext. 4279
Email: spaul@tigercat.com