Forest Destruction
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 […]
Palm oil firms not acting fast enough on no-deforestation vows: Report
JAKARTA — Less than a quarter of companies producing or sourcing palm oil from Indonesia have forest-related policies in line with best practices, a new report says. The report, by CDP, a global nonprofit that promotes environmental reporting and risk management by companies and cities, analyzed data provided by 167 firms. While 86% of companies […]
More droughts are coming, and the Amazon can’t keep up: Study
The world’s largest rainforest makes its own weather. Up to half of all the rainfall in the Amazon comes from the forest itself, as moisture is recycled from the trees to the atmosphere and back again. So, what happens as droughts grow more severe and less rain enters the system? For every three trees that […]
Even without human-driven deforestation, climate change threatens some forests
When it comes to climate solutions, trees are in vogue right now. From the Trillion Tree Campaign to the stream of vigorous — if somewhat vague — promises made at last year’s COP26 climate conference to halt global deforestation, harnessing the carbon-sequestering power of forests has become a goal of governments, cities, and policymakers across […]
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 […]
Protecting global forests with a limited budget? New study shows where and when to start
Money for conservation is limited, and deciding how to prioritize spending raises questions not only about where to channel resources but also when and in what order. In a newly published study in Nature, researchers used modeling to figure out when and where to protect forests to “get the most bang from our buck,” said […]
Climate change hits northern Mexico, as officials look to solve water crisis
In northern Mexico, it’s become common to see tankers delivering thousands of gallons of water to local middle and high schools. People wait in long lines outside of convenience stores to purchase water jugs. And in some cases, armed men intercept delivery trucks and take water back to their own neighborhoods for distribution. Water has […]
‘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 […]
Fighting extractive industries in Ecuador: Q&A with Indigenous rights activist María Espinosa
National protests overwhelmed Ecuador in June, with Indigenous groups mobilizing in nearly every province of the country and President Guillermo Lasso announcing a state of emergency that restricted travel and allowed law enforcement to use aggressive force. The protests were in response to a variety of grievances — gas prices, healthcare, education — but they […]
Commodity kings Cargill, Bunge buying soy from stolen Indigenous land, report says
Two of the world’s largest agricultural producers are caught up in another scandal involving soy grown on illegally seized Indigenous land in Brazil. Both Cargill and Bunge source some of their soy products, used in products like chicken feed and pet food, from land where Indigenous communities have suffered violence and displacement, according to a new […]