forest degradation
Island shopping: Cambodian officials buy up the Cardamoms’ coast
KOH S’DACH, Cambodia — Bristling with coral reefs, marine life and palm trees, the islands dotting Cambodia’s western and southwestern coasts have long lured tourists and investors alike with white sandy beaches sloping into the azure waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Beyond the postcard views, limited regulation and the availability of 99-year leases for […]
With FSC rule change, deforesters once blocked from certification get a new shot
JAKARTA — Environmental activists have slammed a rule change by the Forest Stewardship Council that will allow some loggers who couldn’t qualify over the past 30 years to now be certified sustainable. Known as Motion 37, the rule moves a crucial cutoff date from 1994 to 2020: Under the long-standing rule, companies that had cleared […]
Indonesia and Norway give REDD+ deal another go after earlier breakup
JAKARTA — Indonesia has signed a new climate deal with Norway that will see the Nordic country pay the Southeast Asian one to keep its forests standing. The deal comes a year after Indonesia terminated a nearly identical scheme between the two countries over the lack of payments. Land-use change, forest degradation, and deforestation account […]
‘More responsible forest management is needed’: Q&A with FSC’s Kim Carstensen
Forests are an integral part of Earth’s ecosystems as they provide essential social, economic and environmental benefits, such as forest products, biodiversity, and carbon storage and sequestration. However, large swaths of forests are being razed at alarming rates due to agricultural expansion, logging, burning, and livestock grazing. To address the problem, forest certification emerged in […]
2019 fires in Indonesia were twice as bad as the government claimed, study shows
JAKARTA — In 2019, fires raged through Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands, sparked by the deliberate burning of land for agriculture, and fanned by an El Niño system bringing drier-than-usual weather conditions. Ultimately, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry would put the total affected area at 1.64 million hectares (4.05 million acres), an area half […]
Indonesia’s flip-flop on zero-deforestation pledge portends greater forest loss
JAKARTA — Indonesian officials have backtracked on the country’s pledge at the COP26 climate summit to end deforestation by 2030, calling it unfair and inappropriate to demand that it stop clearing the world’s third-largest swath of tropical rainforest. The flip-flop has prompted concerns among environmental activists that Indonesia — one of the world’s largest greenhouse […]