cattle ranching
Climate change lawsuits take aim at French bank BNP Paribas
One of Europe’s biggest banks is facing two ambitious new lawsuits that claim it finances some of the worst contributors to environmental destruction and climate change. French bank BNP Paribas is being sued by a group of environmental and human rights advocacy groups that allege it provides financial services to oil and gas companies as […]
Indigenous communities threatened as deforestation rises in Nicaraguan reserves
It’s hard to know exactly what’s happening to the environment in Nicaragua. Data on everything from mining to deforestation to biodiversity loss is nearly impossible to get from the government. Hundreds of journalists and environmental defenders have been arrested or fled the country, including much of the newsroom of La Prensa, Nicaragua’s oldest newspaper. And […]
To cut emissions from cattle ranching, beef up the soil, study says
Flying this November into a remote region of the Orinoquía savanna in Vichada, Colombia, environmental biologist Jacobo Arango could spot the Hacienda San José cattle ranch that his team was using as an open-air laboratory. From the sky, he could see the farm’s greener hue of grass standing out against neighboring pastures. There, he and […]
Beef is still coming from protected areas in the Amazon, study shows
Some of the world’s largest beef exporters are still buying cattle that grazed in protected areas of the Amazon rainforest, despite commitments to stop this practice, according to a new study. The report, published today in the journal Conservation Letters found that millions of cattle grazed in protected areas (PAs) in the Brazilian states of Mato […]
Alternatives to farmwork empower communities and save forests, study finds
Protected areas are important for saving tropical forests and biodiversity, but for them to be effective, local communities living around the reserves need to have access to non-agricultural jobs, a new study says. The research shows that human activity, mainly agriculture, outside of forest reserves has a direct impact on forest cover within the protected […]
Reducing beef’s carbon footprint is key to achieving net-zero in Latin America and the Caribbean, new paper shows
Look up what drives deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the results are many: trade with countries like China and the EU, mining to satisfy growing demand for gold and other metals, speculation and land grabbing tied to U.S. universities and pension funds. While all of these are factors, one of the biggest […]
Big banks fund the heavy machinery used for Amazon deforestation, report says
The deforestation sweeping across the Brazilian Amazon is driven largely by industrial agriculture, mining and cattle ranching. But those activities wouldn’t be possible without heavy machinery like bulldozers and tractors, and the big banks that often finance their purchase. Questionable business practices, weak government oversight and a lack of transparency make buying heavy machinery in […]
Indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador wins decades-long battle to protect land
An Indigenous community in Ecuador has finally obtained national protections for part of its territory after decades of fighting off deforestation and pollution in its mega-diverse rainforests. Ecuador’s National System of Protected Areas now includes the 5,497-hectare (13,583-acre) ancestral Tiwi Nunka Forest, which the Shuar Indigenous community of El Kiim lives in and relies on […]
Net-zero commitments must include more anti-deforestation policies, UN tells private sector
A growing number of companies are committing to net-zero emission goals in an effort to lower their carbon footprint and prevent climate change. But they’ll likely fall short if their business practices don’t do a better job of factoring in anti-deforestation measures, a new report says. Many companies with net-zero commitments have made little, tangible […]
World Bank approves $200 million IFC loan for industrial agriculture in Brazil’s Cerrado
A major loan was approved this week for an industrial food producer operating in Brazil, despite outcries from conservation groups and international shareholders worried that the money would ultimately fund activities that contribute to deforestation. The $200 million loan was granted to industrial agricultural producer Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) for monoculture soy and corn production […]