Climate Change And Forests
Peru is tackling water scarcity with nature-based solutions, leading the way in Latin America
Josefa Mería has lived in the Peruvian city of Moyobamba, where the Andes meet the Amazon rainforest, for more than 30 years. Even in this humid tropical climate, she remembers when some 20 years ago there was such little water that services to the city were frequently cut off, angering the entire city. “There was […]
Where is the money? Brazil, Indonesia and Congo join forces in push for rainforest protection cash
The world’s three forest giants — Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — have signed a joint statement calling for the negotiation of new payment mechanisms to preserve the tropical rainforests that help regulate the world’s climate and house millions of plants and animals. The announcement marks the beginning of a strategic […]
Honduran forest governance agreement brings cautious hope
Community-based groups in Honduras have expressed optimism that a new timber export agreement with the European Union will help curb illegal logging and other illicit activities impacting the country’s forests and forest communities. Nearly a decade in the making, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA-FLEGT) took effect Sept. 1, […]
Locals in the dark about oil auctions in DRC: report
One of the first on-the-ground investigations into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s proposed oil exploration blocks suggests that in some of the regions marked for auction, many residents are wary of the government’s plans. In a report released by Greenpeace Africa along with a group of international and Congolese NGOs, villagers living inside four of […]
How close is the Amazon tipping point? Forest loss in the east changes the equation
Scientists warn that the Amazon is hurtling toward a tipping point, beyond which it would begin to transition from lush tropical forest into a dry, degraded savanna, unable to support the immense diversity of life that call the world’s largest rainforest home. This change could be triggered when 25% of the forest has been lost […]
EU votes to keep woody biomass as renewable energy, ignores climate risk
While forest advocates had high hopes, the EU parliament voted this week not to declassify woody biomass as a renewable energy source, paving the way for more EU, U.S., and Canadian forests to be turned into wood pellets and burned.
Forest fires are getting worse, 20 years of data confirm
Across Russia, Europe, Indonesia, the Amazon Basin, North America, Australia, and beyond, we have watched fires blaze across landscapes, causing immense damage to life and land. Now, a new analysis confirms what many have witnessed firsthand and in the news: forest fires are getting worse. Researchers at Global Forest Watch, an environmental monitoring platform developed […]
We’ve crossed the land use change planetary boundary, but solutions await
Just weeks after visiting a patch of Malaysian rainforest, Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler learned it had been logged for wood chips to supply a paper plant. A teenager at the time, Butler recalls being devastated. “This place of wonder and beauty was lost forever,” he wrote in a 2018 story. “The orangutan, the hornbills, […]
For companies shopping for quality carbon credits, a new guide offers help
A new guide published in May is helping companies make smarter decisions about purchasing tropical forest credits, a strategy for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, slowing deforestation and mitigating climate change. The Tropical Forest Credit Integrity (TFCI) guide provides support for companies seeking to purchase high-quality carbon credits, which will bring them closer to decarbonizing their […]
El Salvador declares rare ‘red alert’ amid surge in forest fires
Fires in El Salvador are spreading farther and lasting longer than in previous years, threatening protected areas and reforestation efforts throughout the country. As it enters the peak of its dry season, El Salvador is seeing the rate of fires, many of them brush and forest fires, almost triple from the previous year, according to […]