Southeast Asia’s tropical forests are being cleared at a rate far faster than once believed, threatening the livelihoods of local people, and rapidly destroying the habitat of orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and tigers, according to the recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). If estimates are correct, only 2 percent of Sumatra and Borneo’s rainforests will be left by 2022.

The German EU Council Presidency will host a conference on European and national approaches and challenges to integrating environment, development, and conflict prevention in Berlin from March 29-30, 2007. Representatives from EU member states and the European Commission, civil society, the private sector, and the scientific community will identify and discuss key issues, and recommend ways to address the interdependency of environment, development, and conflict prevention policies and programs. Adelphi Research is a collaborating organizer of this conference.

Registration deadline is March 1.

Need to know what the Department of Defense is doing on the environment? The official version is readily accessible at the Defense Environmental Network & Information eXchange (DENIX). Lots on the mess DOD makes, the rules and regs for making less of a mess, and their steps to lower their ecological footprint.

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In the wake of the 34-day conflict that began in July 2006, Lebanon faces widespread environmental challenges, says a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme. The post-conflict assessment cites an urgent need to remove toxic waste and other hazardous materials from bombed areas—particularly industrial complexes—before they affect the country’s waterways and supply. Additionally, agricultural land in the southern region, where the population greatly depends on crop revenues, needs to be cleared of unexploded cluster bombs.