SOUTHEM ONLINE Southern Hemisphere Forest Industry Journal Online news briefs SOUTHEM Online - Issue 279 12 March

h 2012 Hi and Hola - Welcome to this edition of Southem Online. Our Southem Country Reports on Argentina and Australia are now available. The facts and figures reports include general background on each country geographic, political and economic as well as details of forestry and the forest industries. Please feel free to contact me for more information. Check out the video below recording a visit by award-winning photographer to Stewart Island in New Zealand, a place he calls a wildlife hotspot. Cheers and Saludos from Down Under Mike Smith Editor and Director Email: info@southem.com URL: www.southem.com SOUTHEM COMMUNITY REGISTRATION You can register for this free e-news headlines service. Send an email to subscribe@southem.com LINKEDIN GROUP @ http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=2218173 YAHOO GROUP @ http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/southemonline/?yguid=224336867 FACEBOOK @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/southem/33458700993?ref=ts SPONSORS MESSAGES Help keep this publication free please visit our sponsors today! Contact info@southem.com for sponsorship details. MASTERS OF FOREST RESOURCES AT THE WARNELL SCHOOL Full Fellowships for Master of Forest Resources (MFR) Degrees. The Warnell School (www.forestry.uga.edu) prepares leaders in the conservation and sustainable management of forests and other natural resources; to discover ways to restore and better use the earths natural resources; and to put into practice forestry and natural resources knowledge into practice. Master of Forest Resources (MFR) is a terminal degree for students with a strong desire to gain specialized expertise and advanced training in Forest Resources. The non-thesis graduate degree combines forestry knowledge with other disciplines to prepare individuals for a host of leadership career options in forestry. For more information regarding this degree see: www.forestry.uga.edu/grad/degrees.php For further information, please contact Jacek Siry (706-542-3060 or jsiry@warnell.uga.edu REMSOFT HOLDING OPEN TRAINING IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND IN MARCH Remsoft will be offering two basic and three advanced modeling workshops in Australia and New Zealand, between March 19-29, 2012. Modeling Fundamentals Workshop This workshop is the essential Remsoft training course for all users, new and not-so-new. Over two days, participants are taught how to build and run models, look into various planning issues, and generate results. Cost is $1500. - Rotorua, New Zealand on March 19-20, 2012 - Perth, Australia on March 27-28, 2012

Download the AGENDA at http://www.remsoft.com/training/REMSOFT_Modeling_Fundamentals_Workshop_2012.pdf Modeling Workshop We will also be offering a Modeling Workshop. This one day workshop is designed for more advanced users. It covers best practices and modeling efficiencies, with a hands-on review of all the latest features. Cost is $750 per person. - Rotorua, New Zealand on March 21, 2012 - Sydney, Australia on March 23, 2012 - Perth, Australia on March 29, 2012 Download the AGENDA at http://www.remsoft.com/training/REMSOFT_Modeling_Workshop_2012.pdf Please register early as our training workshops fill up quickly and space is limited! For more information or to register, please contact info@remsoft.com **************************************** 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. ************************************************ RICHARD CHANDLER WALKS AWAY FROM A$280M INVESTMENT IN GUNNS Richard Chandler, one of New Zealands richest men and his Singapore-based investment outfit, seem to have cold feet over a planned investment in Australias Gunns Ltd. Gunns, which has been pushing to build a controversial pulp plant in Tasmania, declared a trading halt via the ASX after it was announced Richard Chandler Corporation had pulled out of A$280 million investment deal. As part of the scoping exercise, RCC had looked not only at the investment potential of the pulp plant but also at social and environmental factors. CHILE EXPORTS ANALYSING NEW MARKETS AS ARGENTINA TIGHTENS IMPORT RULES Chile paper-maker CMPC and the copper giant Codelco are analysing new market opportunities after Argentina placed conditions and requirements on all imports arriving in the country, Diario Financiero reported via Lignum. CMPC general secretary Gonzalo Garca was reported as saying that although the companies could seek out alternative markets, those to suffer would be importers in Argentina who would have trouble sourcing product. Exports to Argentina from Chile amounted to more than US$1.3 billion in 2011. RALLY DEMANDS BRAZIL PRESIDENT VETO FOREST LAW REFORM Two thousand social movement supporters from all over Brazil have taken part in a rally exhorting President Dilma to veto the proposed alterations to the Forest law now under discussion in the Brazilian National Congress. The demonstration was organised by the Comit Brasil in Defence of the Forests and Sustainable Development which brings together around 180 different entities, such as local groups like Instituto SocioAmbiental and the Institute for Environmental Research of the Amazon with the usual multinational environmental groups like WWF Brazil. ARAUCO OPENS UP BIDDING ON SAW LOGS FROM CHILE SME BUSINESSES The Chilean forestry giant Arauco has launched a series of offerings of saw logs for small and medium businesses in the country. This year, Arauco will sell a total of 120,000 cubic metres of saw logs in three tenders. Charles Kinber, Araucos corporate affairs and marketing director, is reported to have said the initiative seeks to provide a specific deal for small and medium timber businesses by making an exclusive log offer in areas in which we have logs available.

ARAUCO AND UNILIN INK JV ON LAMINATE FLOOR MANUFACTURE AND SALE IN BRAZIL Meanwhile, Arauco and UNILIN Flooring, a market leader in the laminate flooring industry in Europe and North America, have signed an agreement to form a joint venture that will manufacture and market laminate wood flooring in Brazil. Upon completion of this transaction, the JV will be one of Brazils market leaders in laminate floors, a company statement said. YORK TIMBERS SHIFTS FOCUS, SUSPENDS ACQUISITIONS AND SLOWS REPLANTING Solid wood products group York Timbers has shifted its operational focus in a different direction than six months ago and has suspended its acquisitions programme and slowed down its replanting programme, CEO Lance Cooper announced in a presentation to shareholders, Engineering News reported recently. FIBRIA RECEIVES VISITS FROM INTERNATIONAL WWF REPRESENTATIVES World Wildlife Fund representatives from around the world have attended the annual meeting of the New Generation Plantations Project in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Those at the meeting discussed the contribution forest plantations to the maintenance of ecosystems, as the same time as providing resources for a rapidly expanding population. The meeting was organised in partnership with Fibria, a leading Brazilian paper-maker, which also brought WWF International representatives to Brazil for the meeting and site visits. CMPC 2011 EARNINGS HAMMERED BY HIGHER COSTS AND WEAKER DEMAND Chiles CMPC has seen earnings drop dramatically in 2011 as a result of higher pressure on costs and operational expenses, at the same time as a weakened pulp price amid global turbulence, La Tercera has reported. Its reported CMPC had earnings of US$494 million in earnings during 2011, against US$640 million in 2010. GATES IN $300M AMAZON BIOTECH DEAL Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and one of Brazils richest men, Eike Batista, are creating a joint venture to explore biotechnology in the Amazon with plans to invest around US$300 million in land there, according to a media statement. The investment is in the state of Para, which has programmes in place to help utilise all areas within the biotechnology industry. AUSTRALIAN FORESTRY HIGHLIGHTS INVESTMENT BENEFITS TO PMS TASKFORCE The Australian Forest Products Association has met representatives of a special Prime Ministers taskforce on manufacturing over the challenges facing the forest industry. The taskforce was told of the industrys challenges involving high capital costs, fiscal tightening, the high Australian dollar, decreasing native forest log support, and the difficulty reflecting the social benefits of forest investment in commercial transactions. BALANCE OF FOREST ARGUMENTS HEAVILY WEIGHTED AGAINST INDUSTRY, REPORT A farmer and forest owner in the Australian state of Tasmania is urging for stronger and more collaborative leadership over the future of the island states forests, the ABC has reported. The report said Peter Downie, whose native forests were the first in Tasmania to meet certification by the Forest Stewardship Council of Australia, has argued that in current forest industry talks, the pendulum has swung too far towards the environment at the expense of the economy or people. PARAGUAY ANNOUNCES STRICT CONTROLS FOR SAWMILLS IN NATIONAL PARK Paraguay has announced stricter controls on sawmills cropping up in the acunday National Park. The move by the National Forest Institute (Informa) comes after about 6,000 people, mostly rural farmers, living in a national electricity zone were transferred to the national park. CUTTING EDGE DNA TECH TO HELP PROTECT LIVING FOSSIL TREES Scientists are working to protect living fossil trees in Fiji from the impact of climate change with cuttingedge DNA sequencing technology, Science Daily has reported.. Dr Peter Prentis, from Queensland University of Technology's Science and Engineering Faculty, said the findings would enable researchers to understand how biological diversity is generated. SA PAPER SKILLS SHORTAGE SEEN AS A WEAK LINK The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Pamsa) is recruiting young postgraduate chemical engineering students into the pulp and paper industry and will, going forward, start its recruitment drive earlier in the year to ensure it meets its targets, Engineering News reported. Ideally,

Pamsa wants to have 18 postgraduate students in the system during any given year. FOREST RESIDUES TO POWER US$15M CHILEAN POWER PLANT Chilean power firm Energia Leon submitted environmental impact declaration for a USD-15-million (EUR 11.3m) forest residues biomass-fuelled co-generation power plant in the country's Biobio region. The co-generation plant will include a boiler to generate superheated steam, a power generation turbine, condenser, cooling towers, water treatment system and a power substation. TENON PURCHASES AUSTRALIAN TIMBER COMPANY'S ASSETS New Zealand-based wood-maker, Tenon, has veered from its usual focus on the North American timber moulding market through a new expansion into Australia following the purchase of assets from Victoriabased Whiteline Timber Products the NZ Herald reported. Chief operating officer Tony Johnston was quoted as saying the move will make Tenon the second biggest supplier in the Australian hardwood mouldings and profile products. The purchase was for an undisclosed sum. SUNSHINE COAST UNI CONSULTS FORESTRY INDUSTRY ABOUT NEW COURSE Forestry industry representatives have been consulted in south-east South Australia about a new national education program, ABC has reported. The University of the Sunshine Coast, with the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry, is looking to develop a university course in forestry operations management. SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE VIDEOS MARK CAWARDINE'S NEW ZEALAND HOT SPOT WILDLIFE TOUR In this video, join Mark Carwardine as he travels New Zealand in search of 'small five' endangered species: Hectors dolphin, kea, kiwi, tuatara and yellow-eyed penguin. (Courtesy Department of Conservation) http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/whats-new/mark-cawardines-wildlife-tour/ ************************************************ ARTICLES OF INTEREST: ALIEN PLANTS Nicol Fuentes, Eduardo Ugarte, Ingolf Khn, Stefan Klotz. Alien plants in southern South America. A framework for evaluation and management of mutual risk of invasion between Chile and Argentina. Biological Invasions, 2010; 12 (9): 3227. http://www.springerlink.com/content/rjk352503206871j/ RESEARCH ON VISITORS TO CONSERVATION AREAS IN AUSTRALIA B. Lovelock, A.C. Reis and A. Farminer. 22 p. A synthesis and gap analysis of research on visitors to public conservation areas in Australia 1995-2010. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/sap256.pdf NOISE IMPACTS IN NATURAL AREAS M.A. Harbrow, G.R. Cessford and B.J. Kazmierow 2011. The impact of noise on recreationists and wildlife in New Zealand's natural areas: a literature review. Science for Conservation Series 314. 88 p. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/sfc314entire.pdf DIVERSIFICATION HISTORY AND HYBRIDISATION Gunnar Keppel, Peter Prentis, Ed Biffin, Paul Hodgskiss, Susana Tuisese, Marika V. Tuiwawa and Andrew J. Lowe. Diversification history and hybridisation of Dacrydium (Podocarpaceae) in remote Oceania. Australian Journal of Botany 59(3) 262-273. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/BT10181 GHOSTS OF GONDWANA LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand. George Gibbs. 2006, reprinted 2007.

Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson, New Zealand. 232 pp. ISBN 978-1-877333-48-4 (ISBN-10 1-87733348-4). NZ$49.99 (hardcover). http://sysbio.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/57/2/329 ************************************************ SOUTHEM KORERO LATIN AMERICAN FOREST INDUSTRY CONFERENCE 26, 27 & 28 March 2012. 2 nd Conferencia de Industria Florestal Latino Americana. Second Latin American Forest Industry Conference. Hotel Transamerica, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. www.latinaforestconference.com AUSTIMBER 2012 29-31 March 2012. AusTimber 2012. Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia. http://www.austimber2012.com.au/ FORESTRY GIS CONFERENCE 18-19 April 2012. Forestry GIS Conference. School of Forestry and ATLAS users forum. Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua, New Zealand. www.scionresearch.com/gis-conference-2012 INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON GREEN ECONOMY 23 May-24 May 2012. The First International Seminar on Green Economy - Ecosystem and Environmental Goods and Services and Finantial Compensation. Vicosa, Brazil. presidencia@institutobrasil.com ACCURACY 2012 International Spatial Accuracy Research Association (ISARA). The Tenth International Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. July 10-13, 2012. Florianpolis, SC Brazil http://2012.spatial-accuracy.org/ FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 8-13 July 2012. International Conference on Forests and Forest Products Actual and Future. Lisboa, Portugal. Includes Willows and Poplars and Wood Quality. For more information: http://www.iufro2012.org/nm_quemsomos.php?id=37 FOUR DEGREES OR MORE? 12-14 July 2012. Four Degrees or More? Australia in a Hot World. Melbourne, Australia. weblink: http://www.fourdegrees2011.com.au LEGAL ASPECTS OF EUROPEAN FOREST SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 19-21 September, 2012 IUFRO Division 9: Forest Policy and Economics. Research Group 9.06.00 (former 6.13.00): Forest Law and Environmental Legislation. International Symposium, Republic of Belarus 2012. 14th International Symposium on Legal Aspects of European Forest Sustainable Development. Minsk, Republic of Belarus. First Announcement and Call for Papers. http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-9/90000/90600/ Contact Peter HERBST, e-mail: HP@net4you.at or Vitalie GULCA, email: vitalie.gulca@gmail.com or vitaliegulca@yahoo.com IMPROVING LIVES WITH POPLARS AND WILLOWS - PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT 24th Session of the International Poplar Commission and 46th Executive Committee Meeting. Improving Lives with Poplars and Willows @ Dehradun, India, 8-12 October 2012. http://www.fao.org/forestry/ipc2012/en/ LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 5-12 November 2012. Biannual IUFRO Forest Landscape Ecology Conference: Sustaining Humans and

Forests in Changing Landscapes: Forests, Society and Global Change. Concepcin, Chile. IUFRO 8.01.02, http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/80000/80100/80102/. Contact: Cristian Echeverria, cristian.echeverria(at)udec.cl; Sandra Luque, sandra.luque(at)cemagref.fr. http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/80000/80100/80102/activities/ 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/ ************************************************* NEWS ONLINE Do you have news items you wish to make available to others on SOUTHEM Online? If so, please send them to info@southem.com ************************************************ MISSING? Did we miss you off the list, or do you have an associate who may want to receive SOUTHEM Online. If so, please feel free to register by sending a message to info@southem.com ************************************************** REMOVE If you would prefer not to receive further issues of this newsletter, please reply to me at email info@southem.com with the word Remove in the subject.