Forest Fires
Amazon Rainforest loss could reach new height in just 5 years, study says
Within just five years, the Amazon Rainforest could lose half the total forest cover that it lost in the first 20 years of this century, a recent study has shown, as deforestation rates continue to accelerate in almost all nine Amazonian countries. From 2001-20, the rainforest lost 542,581 square kilometers (209,492 square miles), an area […]
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 […]
Indonesian palm oil billionaire gets 15 years for corruption
JAKARTA — A court in Indonesia has sentenced palm oil billionaire Surya Darmadi to 15 years in prison for his role in the biggest corruption case in the country’s history. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court ruled on Feb. 23 that Surya had conspired with the elected head of Indragiri Hulu district in Sumatra, Raja Thamsir Rachman, […]
Amazonian countries must act together to reverse rainforest loss, experts say
A transnational, large-scale restoration strategy for the Amazon basin would allow the countries that share it to create an alternative future for the world’s largest tropical forest, by making it resilient to climate change and reaping social and economic benefits for the people in the region, according to a recent report by the Science Panel […]
Indonesia’s Supreme Court rules President Widodo not liable in 2015 fires
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Supreme Court has ruled President Joko Widodo not liable in the disastrous fires in 2015 that devastate large swathes of rainforests and peatlands in the country, despite three previous court rulings that found the president liable for the disaster. In 2016, a group of citizens and environmental activists in the province of […]
2022 Amazon fires tightly tied to recent deforestation, new data show
This year’s Amazon fire season was milder than the previous two years, but there were still nearly 1,000 major fires, many of them in recently cleared areas in the Brazilian Amazon, highlighting a key link between deforestation and fires. Using ground and atmospheric data, the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) documented 983 major […]
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 […]
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 […]
In revising its criminal code, Indonesia risks unraveling environmental laws
JAKARTA — An ambitious and long-anticipated plan by Indonesian lawmakers to revise the country’s criminal code, inherited from the Dutch colonial era, could make it much more difficult to prosecute polluting companies, experts warn. The latest draft of the revised penal code, known as the RKUHP, was only recently made publicly available after an uproar […]
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 […]