After clearing way for rural land reform, China's top legislature ended its latest session on Friday to prepare for the upcoming annual parliamentary session.

Legislators agreed to suspend a number of laws in 33 localities to help pave the way for rural land reform. Under the pilot programs, rural construction land will enjoy the same rights and market price as other land, while the right of use for existing collectively-owned rural construction land can now be transferred, leased and traded for shares.

In addition, approval for building a rural dwelling was delegated to lower levels: townships can approve existing construction land, while counties can approve new construction land. Compensation, housing and social insurance must be properly managed for those whose land is expropriated, and authorities must provide training, pensions and medical care for those eligible.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), stressed that that public ownership of land would not be changed, the "red-line" minimum of arable land would not be breached and farmers' rights were not undermined. He called for adequate supervision of the pilot programs which will run till the end of 2017.

The meeting also reviewed a bill on revisions to the Law on Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements, aimed at making innovation profitable for research institutes and universities.

A draft of the Counterterrorism law including a new, narrower definition of the term "terrorism", was also reviewed, as was a draft report on the work of the NPC Standing Committee. Zhang Dejiang noted "new progress and achievements" by the committee in the past year.

"We will uphold democracy, handle proceedings in line with the law, and host the session in a democratic, uniting, pragmatic and endeavoring way," he said. Zhang also called for an NPC session in line with the CPC's frugality rules, and urged members of the standing committee to forge closer ties with other lawmakers to improve the quality of their work.

Friday's meeting appointed Chen Jining as Minister of Environmental Protection, replacing Zhou Shengxian, and approved two cooperation agreements with Ukraine and Turkmenistan and a consular agreement with the Republic of Korea.

Lawmakers approved the draft agenda of the annual session, a draft list of candidates for the session's presidium and secretary-general, and the list of observers for the session.

Go here to read the rest:
Top legislature ends bi-monthly session

MG Corp chairman Des Hill says it's important that the Knox Plain development of Ord Stage 2 proceeds this year as planned.

Traditional owners of Ord Stage 2 land have travelled to Canberra to stress the importance of Federal environmental approvals for the project to meet its timeline.

MG Corporation directors Des Hill and Ted Hall made the trip on behalf of all traditional owners, meeting the Department of Environment about the required approval and potential conditions for development of the next stage, Knox Plain.

Late last year, Chinese-backed developer Kimberley Agricultural Investment indicated it would be important for its land-clearing program to stay ahead of farm development work.

General manager Jim Engelke said this would require a smooth transition from work at Goomig Plain to land clearing at the 6000ha Knox Plain lot.

Mr Hill, MG's chairman, agreed it was an important that the Knox Plain development proceeded in 2015 as planned, with works expected to start in September.

"If we can achieve that then continuous work for the staff building the Ord expansion could occur," he said.

"MG is aware of the need for scale to make the agricultural sector robust and we know we, along with the WA Government, need to play our part in helping with that.

"Like all people, the MG people want and expect to see the environment well managed and we think we can do that and still have the development."

Mr Hall said the pair discussed the need for freehold title to the buffer land to be transferred to MG Corporation to enable it to use the land into the future.

View post:
Message sent on Ord Stage 2 expansion

Comments(2)

A marriedcouple has spent nearly 200,000 on clearing an eyesore mountain of waste wood from their land following legal action.

Syed Akhtar and his wife Ilyas allowed thousands of tonnes of wood to be dumped at Dottrell Hall Farm near Royston without permission.

They have also been ordered to pay an additional 6,000 in fines and costs after being prosecuted by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Cllr Peter Topping, who represents the area, said: This dumping of thousands of tonnes of waste wood was not only an eyesore but was a real concern for local residents.

Although he did finally remove the wood it was after legal action had started and shows that enforcement action was needed.

He added: I hope this will act as a warning to others who think they can get away with dumping waste.

On Monday, the Old Bailey heard that the council served a planning Enforcement Notice on the couple instructing them to stop the dumping and to restore the land by June 24, 2013.

Though no further dumping of wood took place, the waste was not removed until a year later once the council began legal action against them.

The total cost of removing the waste wood and restoring the land came to 192,000.

See the rest here:
Royston couple Syed and Ilyas Akhtar ordered to pay 6,000 for allowing flytipping on land

Published: Monday, February 23, 2015 at 3:16 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, February 23, 2015 at 11:23 p.m.

OAK HILL The City Commission on Monday night approved a landowners request to add manufacturing to the list of allowable uses on the 415 acres he and his partners own in the south end of town, possibly opening the door for a mystery company to set up shop and hire an initial 100 people.

Also approved was a request to increase the maximum height limit of buildings on the land from 35 feet to 100 feet.

The vacant property on the east side of U.S. 1 from Church Street on south was previously zoned to allow for up to 75 percent to be developed as homes and 25 percent as commercial retail or offices.

The approvals, by a 4 to 1 vote and then a unanimous vote, came after more than two hours of highly impassioned testimony from the public, which included those in opposition who asked why the identity of the potential user of the land, known by locals as the Unatin property, was shrouded in secrecy, as well as those who saw the request as an opportunity to create well-paying jobs and long-sought water/sewer lines through the city along U.S. 1.

Kent Sharples, president of the CEO Business Alliance, a group of Volusia County business leaders who have been working with the mystery company codenamed Project Panther, told the audience prior to the commissions vote that if the amendment request was approved, I promise you Ill bring the site selector to offer more details regarding the proposed project at a future meeting.

Sharples confirmed that the company was looking to initially create 100 jobs, which could eventually grow to 300. He added that it was unlikely the company, whom he declined to identify, would build a manufacturing facility 100 feet in height.

Beth Lemke, president of Planning Solutions Corp., which provides planning services to the city, said the amendment changes would restrict development of the Unatin property to no more than 145 acres, if it were to be used for manufacturing, with the rest set aside as conservation land. The environmental impacts of the development would remain the same as allowed under the citys existing comprehensive plan for the so-called activity center.

Prior to the meeting, which drew an overflow crowd of more than 100 people, three environmental groups Audubon Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida, and the National Parks Conservation Association sent letters to Oak Hill Mayor Douglas Gibson and members of the City Commission urging them to hold off on approving the requested amendment changes until adequate data and analysis about the proposed project could be conducted.

We have reason to believe that the proposed comprehensive plan amendment is an attempt to site ground support for launch facilities associated with the proposed spaceport outside the process required of the National Environmental Policy Act, wrote Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon Florida, referring to the proposed Shiloh space complex in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge just south of Oak Hill.

View original post here:
Oak Hill approves land use change

February 22, 2015

Gua Musang MP urges govt to monitor logging activities to protect environment

GUA MUSANG: Gua Musang Member of Parliament, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, does not exclude the possibility that uncontrolled land clearing for agricultural purposes and logging activities are the main causes of the massive floods which hit Kelantan last December.

He said these activities had resulted in the riverbeds of several main rivers, especially Sungai Belatop in Lojing, to rise and the rivers to overflow during heavy rain in the monsoon season.

I dont dismiss the possibility that these activities had caused the recent major floods, and residents in low-lying, food-prone areas in Hulu Kelantan must be prepared in facing the monsoon in future.

He said this in his speech at the Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sri Wangi 2, Parent-Teacher Association annual general meeting, here, today.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is also Gua Musang Umno division chief, said the Orang Asli in several villages in Pos Brooke and Lojing had previously voiced their concerns over the uncontrolled land clearing.

Their worries turned to reality when the massive flooding occurred and we did not expect the flood waters to rise so fast, he said.

Tengku Razaleigh said the authorities should monitor closely the land clearing and logging activities to protect the environment.

BERNAMA

More here:
Ku Li: Land clearing could have caused floods

EQC between a rock and a hard place

Liquefaction in an Avondale street after the December 23, 2011, quakes.

EQC is arousing suspicion again with its manoeuvring on the coming payouts for flood and liquefaction land damage. But is it just doing the right thing in a somewhat impossible situation? JOHN McCRONE reports.

So it was an "Oh, shoot!" kind of moment for you then? A few sheepish grins break out around the table. Officially they can't say that. But yes, pretty clearly it was.

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has been taking a fair old battering for how it has been handling the Christchurch recovery. And it is no surprise that people are already suspicious about how it will deal with the next phase of its land damage payments.

EQC has now paid out on much of the city's visible land damage, what it calls the category 1 to 7 claims which are to do with mending cracks in lawns or digging out silt from under floorboards.

And while some of the compensation amounts have seemed derisory - cheques for $10, the price of a few shovels of fill, which some home owners have posted back or framed to hang in the toilet - when spread across the whole of greater Christchurch, it is still costing EQC around $1 billion.

But this year EQC needs to sort out its category 8 and 9 claims, or what it calls the hidden land damage in the form of increased liquefaction vulnerability (ILV) and increased flooding vulnerability (IFV).

It has already mailed out notices to some 14,000 home owners advising them they may qualify. The wash-up is expected to be around 6000 with liquefaction risk, 6000 with flood risk, a further 2000 with both. And the sums involved could be generally more serious.

EQC is keeping the figures close to its chest but a 2014 budgeting document flushed out under the Official Information Act suggests well over half a billion dollars has been set aside for these land settlements. Divided up, the average would be $36,000 a property.

Read more:
Land settlements put EQC between a rock and a hard place

Feb. 19, 2015, 8:03 p.m.

There are claims that NSW could see unprecedented levels of land clearing and threatened species will become extinct if the "radical" recommendations of a review of NSW Biodiversity Legislation are adopted by the NSW government.

The Independent Biodiversity Legislation Review Panel handed down its final report in December.

It recommends repealing the Native Vegetation Act 2003 as the act "has not met expectations as a central pillar of biodiversity conservation in NSW".

The panel also recommends repealing the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and parts of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 Act and "reconstituting elements of them in a new Biodiversity Conservation Act".

Greens candidate for Kiama, Terry Barratt, said the report portrayed current biodiversity legislation as an impediment to agricultural and other types of development, rather than recognising that it was there to protect NSW's biodiversity.

Mr Barratt said the proposed approach was "radical" and intended to clear away the obstacles and responsibilities biodiversity protection laws impose on the corporate farming, mining and development industries.

He said the failure to achieve legislative biodiversity objectives was largely due to poor government resource allocation, rather than inadequate legislation.

"Both Labor and Liberal governments have for years been progressively reducing the capacity of government departments to respond to the challenges associated with biodiversity protection," Mr Barratt said.

Gerroa Environmental Protection Society secretary, Howard Jones, said current laws helped protect areas such as the Illawarra escarpment.

Read the original:
Environment fears if 'radical' overhaul ratified

Feb. 16, 2015, 5:11 p.m.

SHELLHARBOUR Village Uniting Church will celebrate a significant milestone next Sunday when parishioners mark the 150th anniversary.

The original Wesleyan Church and the modern Uniting Church are celebrating the old stone church's 150th anniversary this weekend.

SHELLHARBOUR Village Uniting Church will celebrate a significant milestone next Sunday when parishioners mark the 150th anniversary.

After the founding of Shellharbour by the district's pioneers, starting from land clearing in 1851, the village gradually started taking shape after the then Peterborough was divided into 80 farms.

In 1858 the stone Church of England and Presbyterian churches were built, followed by the Catholic Church in 1860.

As the town grew a courthouse and police station were built in 1863. The town's fourth stone church, then known as the Wesleyan Church, was also constructed in 1863. The church became the Uniting Church in 1977.

Current Church Council secretary Cliff Bell said the church's congregation was extremely excited to be celebrating such a significant milestone.

"The church was first used on February 23, 1865, with the Reverend W. Curnow conducting the opening service," Mr Bell said.

"The church has made somewhat of a comeback in recent times, with numbers falling quite alarmingly at one stage, but with around 70 members now, the church is, thankfully, in quite a strong position again.

See the original post:
Shellharbour Village Unit Church marks 150 years

TBG 640 - Land Clearing

By: TerexEnviroEquip

Continued here:
TBG 640 - Land Clearing - Video

Dominos 45 Fir Trees
Tree and Brush Clearing in Eugene, Oregon Our Services include: Brush Cutting/ Brush Clearing Land Clearing (Building sites, Orchards, Golf Courses, etc.) Pasture Restoration Road and Trail...

By: WLandImprovement

See the original post:
Dominos 45 Fir Trees - Video