Eucalyptus project sows disputes.

(From Business Daily Update)

Byline: September, 28,600 hectares of eucalyptus trees had been planted in

Author: d A scheme to convert huge tracts of land into eucalyptus forest in Yunnan Province has come under scrutiny by nature conservationists and organizations advocating naure and environment protection. The government of Southwest China's Yunnan Province in 2002 signed an agreement with Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), the largest pulp and paper group in Asia outside Japan, to convert 1.8 million hectares of land in the regions of Wenshan, Lincang and Simao into fast-growing eucalyptus forests. The wood will then be used for materials for APP's pulp and paper manufacturing. In a Greenpeace report, released on November 16, the project was accused of causing illegal logging and environmental degradation by planting eucalyptus trees on such a large scale. Local farmers' interests are also being violated as the local economy is expected to suffer in the long run, the report said. The paper and pulp project could devastate the province's natural forests and pose a threat to local biodiversity, the report claims. It calls for the project to be stopped and reassessed. Illegal logging in Simao should be stopped and those who destroy natural forests, punished. APP is urged to stop transforming natural forests into planted ones and end illegal logging. Greenpeace China said it had forwarded its report to the department for forest management …