SOUTHEM ONLINE

Southern Hemisphere Forest Industry Journal Online news briefs

SOUTHEM Online - Issue 263 – 19 April 2011

Hi and Hola - Welcome to this edition of Southem Online.

Cheers and Saludos from Down Under

Mike Smith
Editor and Director
Email: info@southem.com
URL: www.southernhemisphereforestry.co.nz and www.southem.com

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CENTER FOR FOREST BUSINESS

The University of Georgia’s Center for Forest Business integrates pioneering
academic research and sound financial methods to provide education and
service to forest industry, investors and landowners throughout the world.

For more information, go to:

Rich Molpus
Center for Forest Business
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
University of Georgia, Athens
Phone (706) 542-5079
molpusr@warnell.uga.edu
www.ugacfb.com

FORESTS FEATURE NEW FANTASY NOVEL

A mystical forest plays a leading role in new fantasy novel by Rotorua, New
Zealand-based author Sarah Groot. “The Forgotten” is the first book in The
Faynon Chronicles in which beautiful Princess Sindra rises from the street to
take control of her destiny as leader of Galadon Knights who have spent
generations hidden deep in the forests. Now available from Amazon.com in
paperback and for Kindle download. For more details and to buy, go to:

Paperback at http://tinyurl.com/sgpaper

Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/sgkindle

NEW FORESTRY COUNTRY REPORTS NOW AVAILABLE

The suite of Southern Hemisphere forestry country reports has been updated
and is now available. Included in the package are Argentina, Brazil, Chile and
Uruguay in Latin America; Australia and New Zealand; and South Africa. The
reports provide new details on the geography, politics and economics of each
country; along with industry details and trade updates – all at a reasonable
price. For more details, email:
sales@southem.com

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Items headlined in SOUTHEM Online are drawn from a number of sources.
The source of the item is quoted, either by publication or organisations in line
with the practice of fair reporting. Items originally published in Spanish are
translated by TMS Ltd. Every effort is made to ensure use of paid wire
service material is avoided at all times. Should users wish to utilise
SOUTHEM Online on their own web sites, we request that this is done to
accurately reflect the current layout to ensure attribution is appropriate.

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AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES SET TO SUPPLY TEMP HOUSING TO

TSUNAMI HIT JAPAN
The Australian timber and forestry sector’s close ties with Japanese industry
have seen Australia move quickly to help supply temporary housing to its
tsunami-ravaged trading partner. The move comes after an appeal for help
through the Japanese embassy in Australia, The Australian newspaper has
reported. The article said officials at the embassy contacted the National
Association of Forest Industries after the tsunami for help in supplying about
30,000 temporary dwellings Japan will need in the next couple of months.

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NZ LETS COMMODITIES BOOM OPPORTUNITIES SLIP BY

New Zealand has failed to match Australia in taking advantage of the
commodities boom, missing out in agriculture and forestry, says a leading
business commentator. Brian Gaynor was commenting in his NZ Herald
column on a recent International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook.
The reasons included New Zealand’s “overemphasis on investing in land for
capital appreciation, lack of investment and the running down of our forestry
industry under foreign and Graeme Hart ownership.” The country also
compared poorly to Argentina and Uruguay in terms of GDP growth.

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BRIC COUNTRIES COULD GAIN FROM OWN CURRENCIES, SA

MINISTER
The “Bric” nations could benefit considerable by trading directly in their own
currencies, a South African Government Minister has said. An article in SA
Business Report and sourced from Sapa quoted South Africa’s Trade and
Industry Minister, Rob Davies, as saying such an arrangement would cut out
unstable internationally convertible currencies, helping to protect
Bric members – Brazil, Russia, Industry and China – from the volatility
affecting internationally convertible currencies, notably the dollar. He was
speaking after a meeting at which South Africa made its debut in the club of
fast-growing economies.

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MONDI GOOD TO GO WITH E750M CREDIT FACILITY SIGNING

The South African and London-listed fine paper-maker, Mondi, has
announced that it had signed a new Euro750-million credit facility, with a
consortium of ten banks. Chief Financial Officer Andrew King said in a
statement that the facility would further strengthen the group by extending its
debt maturity profile and provide it with additional financial flexibility.

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JOHN DEERE SELECTS ARTISAN ACADEMY TO HELP BOOST SA

SALES
Engineering News has reported a South African the black-owned artisan
training academy Ikhaya Fundisa Techniskills Academy (IFTA), based in
Gauteng, will be assisting farm equipment manufacturer John Deere to train
its artisans as it rolls out dealership and distribution outlets in Central Africa.
John Deere marketing manager Carel Theron was quoted as saying the
continuous expansion, which started at the end of 2009, would increase the
manufacturer’s market presence in Africa and would be underpinned by a
major focus on training.

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ARAUCO PULP SALES PROVIDE LIFT COPEC TO 70% EARNINGS

BOOST
Chilean conglomerate Copec is putting down 90% of a nearly 70% increase in
earnings to the benefits gained from its forest industries based around
Arauco. The group has reported earnings before interest and tax reached
US$1,853 million in 2010, up US$754 million or 69% on the previous year. A
company statement said US$677 million of that increase came via Arauco
and was based on the rising price of pulp and an expansion in the sales of
panel products. Source: Estrategia via Lignum

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CMPC INVESTS US$200M IN BIOMASS-BASED SELF GENERATION OF

ELECTRICITY
Meanwhile, the other major forest industry company in Chile, CMPC, has
reported it is investing US$220 million in order to become self sufficient in
supplying 100% of its production plants with electrical energy, El Mercurio
reported. The report quoted CMPC secretary Gonzalo García as saying it
was planned that within a decade, the company would not have to depend on
external supplies for electricity, with supplies increasingly coming from
biomass facilities built to serve pulp plants at Santa Fe and Laja.

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JAPAN EXPECTED TO FURTHER LIFT LOG EXPORTS

Meanwhile, the recovery effort in disaster-ravaged Japan could help sustain
the forest industry growth in the New Zealand region of Northland. The
Whangarei Leader has reported that forestry and logging is Northland's
fastest-growing industry, increasing 20% from 2009 to 2010. The article
quoted spokesman Rowan Struthers, the area manager of Hancock Forest
Management, as saying the industry is being driven by demand for logs from
China and India, with record exports at the moment.

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AUS GOVT NEW TRADE THINKING QUESTIONED

Australian forestry and forest industry agency, A3P, has questioned the
government’s thinking on free trade, saying a new policy statement fails to
address issues being faced by producers or attacking subsidies provided by
international competitors’ governments. The government has announced an
overhaul of Australia’s trade policy which strongly reendorses Australia’s
commitment to free trade and continued trade reform.

PLANS FOR AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION WIN

SUPPORT
Meanwhile, members of the industry body representing the paper
manufacturing and plantation growing sectors have voted in favour of the
formation of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) by the
merging of A3P and the National Association of Forest Industries. The
approval came at the A3P General Meeting on 14 April 2011.

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NZ GOVT WELCOME FORESTRY’S BOOST TO ETS

The New Zealand Government has claimed the emissions trading scheme
(ETS) is working effectively in the forestry sector following a report showing
the country will have a surplus of 21.9 million tonnes for the Kyoto Period of
2008-2012. The “Projected Net Position Report” shows this level is an
improvement from 11.4 million tonnes estimated in 2010. New Zealand
switched hit a period of deforestation before the ETS was implement but
planting has increased slightly since then and Climate Change Minister Nick
Smith, in a statement, noted caution was required in interpreting the net
position to 2012, given this involves projections into the future.

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FARMERS ADMIT TO KNOWING ‘LESS THAN NOTHING’ ABOUT

EMISSIONS TRADING
Farmers in New Zealand are still failing to grasp opportunities available under
the country’s emissions trading scheme (ETS), a report in the Waikato Times
said. The article quoted Glen Martyn, a director of accountancy firm BDO
Waikato, as reporting that the majority of farmer clients had told him “we know
less than nothing” about the ETS.

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NZ PROJECTED LEVELS OF AG GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ON

NUMBERS REJIG
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) says it has revised down its
projections for New Zealand’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions due to
advances in the scientific methodology used to calculate them. Emissions
from agriculture are now projected to be around four percent lower over the
first commitment period (CP1) (2008-2012) of the Kyoto Protocol, than
projected this time last year. MAF manager, Information and Analysis, Alice
Marfell-Jones, said in a statement that the change is largely due to more
accurate science being applied to calculations and specifically, to a change in
the method of calculating nitrous oxide emissions from dung and urine.

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NZ TRADER IN DEAL TO RAISE US$30-100M FOR CHINA BIOMASS

VENTURE
Global financial services organisation GA GROUP has been appointed lead
manager to China ’s Shenzhen based Hanyuan Green Energy Co.for a major
capital raising for a China -based biomass energy enterprise venture,in
collaboration with New Zealand ’s Environmental Intermediaries & Trading
Group Ltd (EITG). With the aim of raising USD$30-100 million, GA GROUP
will be responsible for exploring all market options - whether public or private -
for raising the target capital and EITG will manage the associated carbon
credit business surrounding the venture.

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NEW LINCOLN UNIVERSITY CENTRE GETS THE MEASURE OF

GREENHOUSE GAS
The National Centre for Nitrous Oxide Measurement at Lincoln University was
formally opened recently by the Minister of Agriculture, David Carter. The
Centre provides a tripling in New Zealand’s capacity to measure nitrous oxide
greenhouse gas emissions. With a capacity to process more than 1000
nitrous oxide samples a day, the new Centre is one of the best specialist
facilities of its type in the world. Funding of $0.5m for the new facility was
provided by the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre
(NZAGRC), located at AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North, in
response to an urgent need to increase New Zealand’s nitrous oxide
measurement capacity.

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SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE VIDEOS

ARKIT'S PREFAB HOUSE

This time-lapse video shows the construction of the latest prefab house
designed by Melbourne-based design studio, ARKit.
http://www.australiandesignreview.com/feature/17733-ARKit-s-prefab-house-
ARKit

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ARTICLES OF INTEREST:

LESSONS FROM THE PAST 40 YEARS

Andrew McEwen, President, New Zealand Institute of Forestry. Lessons from
the last 40 years - A view from a New Zealand Forester. New Zealand Journal
of Forestry (2011) 55(4): 3–5.
http://www.nzjf.org/abstract.php?volume_issue=j55_4&first_page=3

NON-TIMBER VALUES FROM PLANTED FORESTS: RECREATION IN

WHAKAREWAREWA FOREST
James A. Turner, Bhubaneswor Dhakal, Richard Yao, Tim Barnard and Colin
Maunder. Non-timber Values from Planted Forests: Recreation in
Whakarewarewa Forest. New Zealand Journal of Forestry (2011) 55(4): 24–
31.
http://www.nzjf.org/abstract.php?volume_issue=j55_4&first_page=24

TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN CHILE

Alejandro Vega, Leonora Romero. Innovación Tecnológica Forestal,
Desarrollos y Desafíos Científico- Tecnológicos en Chile (Forest Sector
Technological Innovation, Developments and Scientific Challenges in Chile).
Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, Vol 1, No 4 (2006).
http://www.jotmi.org/index.php/GT/article/viewArticle/art23

FUNGI DESCRIBED
Gadgil, P. D., & Dick, M. (2011). Fungi silvicolae novazelandiae: 9. New
Zealand Journal of Forestry Science, 41, 87-94. Popular summary: Gadgil
and Dick (pp. 87-94) describe a number of fungi that have been recorded but
not fully described from New Zealand.
http://www.scionresearch.com/general/science-publications/science-
publications/nzjfs/nzjfs-volume-41-2011

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ANZIF FORESTRY CONFERENCE

2-5 May 2011. NZ Institute of Forestry and Institute of Foresters of Australia.
Joint Conference ANZIF 2011. Sky City, Auckland, NZ.
www.anzifconference.co.nz

IUFRO TREE BIOTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

26 June-2 July 2011. IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Conference 2011 - From
genomes to integration and delivery. Arraial D’ajuda, Porto Seguro, Bahia,
Brazil. Contact: Dario Grattapaglia, Email: dario(at)cenargen.embrapa.br.
http://www.treebiotech2011.com/

BREEDING AND GENETIC RESOURCES OF FIVE-NEEDLE PINES

15-25 Aug 2011. 4th Conference on the Breeding and Genetic Resources of
Five-Needle Pines. Tomsk, Russia. IUFRO 2.02.15, Contact: John King,
Email: John.King(at)gov.bc.ca.
http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-2/20000/20200/20215/.

BRAZIL TO HOST 2015 WORLD STATS CONGRESS

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics will host in the second half
of 2015, the 60th World Congress of Statistics, organised by the International
Statistical Institute. Go to:
http://www.isi-web.org/

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