Australia sees rise in greenwashing front groups
Industrial rainforest logging is often posited as a benign activity by groups funded by the logging industry. Australia is seeing a rise in groups that purport to champion environmental causes…
Extractive industries and apes
Current thinking in the private and public sectors asserts that economic development needs are in conflict with, or mutually exclusive of, the need to conserve the biosphere on which we…
What’s an environmental journalist to do with so much good news?
As an environmental journalist covering stories from the great Arctic ice melt to the rhino poaching crisis in Africa, you'll forgive me if sometimes in the morning—before I turn my…
Despite green pledge, Wilmar partner continues to destroy forest for palm oil
Editor's note: updated at 11:55 EDT on 6/12/14 with response from Wilmar. Logs being transported on a road was built by PT Sawindo Cemerlang. The photo was taken in the…
More is better: high bee biodiversity boosts crop yields
Scientists have discovered that blueberry plants visited by more diverse bee species increased their seed number, berry size and fruit set, and quickened their ripening time. They hope their findings…
Next big idea in forest conservation? Learning from innovations to make REDD+ work
Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Dr. Amy Duchelle Brazil nut producer in Pando, Bolivia. Photo by: Amy Duchelle. A scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)…
Chile drops hugely controversial mega-dam project in wild Patagonia
One of the world's most controversial mega-dam projects met its likely end this week when Chile's Committee of Ministers voted to cancel the permits for the HidroAysén project. Costing around…
Oil overthrow: Soco to suspend operations in Virunga National Park after sustained campaign by WWF
Mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park. Photo by: Cai Tjeenk Willink/Creative Commons 3.0. In a surprise announcement, British oil company Soco International has said it will suspend exploratory operations in…
Survey finds huge biological value in Baja California, stalls resort development
Against an endless blue sky, the blazing sun beat relentlessly onto the sands, throwing off a blinding white glare. Pausing for a moment in the generous shade of a cliff,…
PhD students ‘thrilled’ to rediscover mammal missing for 124 years
In 1890 Lamberto Loria collected 45 specimens—all female—of a small bat from the wilds of Papua New Guinea. Nearly 25 years later, in 1914, the species was finally described and…
Despite poaching, Indian rhino population jumps by 27 percent in eight years
The world's stronghold for Indian rhinos—the state of Assam—has seen its population leap by 27 percent since 2006, despite a worsening epidemic of poaching that has also seen 156 rhinos…
EPA carbon proposal may be crucial step in addressing global climate change
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) June 2nd regulation proposal hit all the expected chords. Following on the heels of a January regulation for new power plants, the Clean Power…
Mountain forests store 40 percent more carbon than expected
It's not easy to measure carbon in mountain forest ecosystems. For one thing, climbing into these forests can be difficult, exhausting, and even treacherous. For another, many mountain rainforests are…
Tropical nations make progress in slowing deforestation
Rainforest in Costa Rica. Efforts to slow destruction of tropical forests seem to be paying off in a number of countries, argues a new report published by the Union of…
By the bones: herring populations were superabundant before commercial fisheries
Scientists analyzed almost half a million fish bones to shed light on the population history of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in the North Pacific Ocean. Their paper, published in the…
New species has its anus behind its head
An image of the new species showing the lack of eyes. This specimen had its flesh cleared and researchers stained the bones to show the skeleton. Photo courtesy of: Chakrabarty…
Bears, cats, and mystery mammals: camera traps in ‘paper park’ prove it’s worth protecting
Camera traps catch endangered species in remote park in Cambodia A rare Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) dashes past a camera trap in Virachey National Park. This species is listed…
APRIL’s forest policy failing to stop rainforest destruction, say green groups
Recent large-scale clearance of peatland forest inside a PT. Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (PT RAPP) pulpwood concession on Pulau Pedang. © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace. Asia Pacific Resources International…
National doughnut chains contributing to rainforest destruction, says report
Oil palm plantation in Malaysia. Activists have leveraged National Doughnut Day to call to major chains on their palm oil sourcing policies. Forest Heroes and SumOfUs say some of America's…
Tree-huggers: koalas cuddle up to keep cool
Animals that live in hot climates have various behavioral adaptations to help keep them cool. Kangaroos lick their wrists; rats lick their testicles. New-world vultures urinate on themselves. Humans and…
Another year of fires, another year of inaction
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Terra satellite on Feb. 28, 2014. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined…
Greenpeace rates companies’ zero deforestation commitments
Greenpeace has released a basic rating system to gauge the strength of companies' zero deforestation commitments related to palm oil sourcing. The rating system, dubbed the Tiger Challenge, incorporates five…
New study finds environmental damage globally may cost more than U.S. GDP
A new study published in Global Environmental Change added up all the world’s ecosystem services – from carbon storage and crop pollination, to recreation and flood mitigation – and found,…
Mining company attacks scuba diving tourists in Indonesia
Please note: the article originally listed "Sumatra" instead of "Sulawesi". Bangka Island indeed lies off Sumatra, but this case relates to a smaller island named Pulau Bangka in northern Sulawesi.…
Next big idea in forest conservation? Work locally, relentlessly, and, if necessary, ignore the government
Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Dr. Gabriella Fredriksson Sun bears with tracking collars. Photo courtesy of Gabriella Fredriksson. In 1997, Gabriella Fredriksson, then a young PhD student, was…
In cutting deforestation, Brazil leads world in reducing emissions
In past decade, Brazil has done the carbon equivalent of taking every car off America's roads for three years Brazil's success in reducing deforestation in the world's largest rainforest has…
Oil company breaks agreement, builds big roads in Yasuni rainforest
National Geographic photos show how large the so-called flowline corridor really is. Photo © Karla Gachet. Click to enlarge. When the Ecuadorian government approved permits for an oil company to…
Colorful bird on remote Indonesian islands should be classified as distinct species, say scientists
Male Wakatobi Flowerpecker that was caught on Tomia Island. Flowerpecker are passerine birds widely distributed in tropical Asia and Australia. They typically feed on nectar, small invertebrates, and berries. A…
Ignoring boreal forests could speed up global warming
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activity have caused global air and sea surface temperatures to rise approximately 0.8 Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the beginning of the 20th century, contributing…
April 2014: 350th month in a row with temperatures above average
This April was notable for being the 350th month in a row where temperatures exceeded the 20th Century average. This means, monthly global temperatures have not fallen below average for…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- As plastic talks wrap up in Canada, fishers in Indonesia count the costs
- ‘Our life support system is at risk’: Interview with ‘Her Deepness’ Sylvia Earle
- No answers for Ghanaian fishery observer’s family months after suspected death
- Fewer fish and more rules lead to illegal catches, Italian fishers say
Amazon Conservation
- New ban threatens traditional fishers in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state
- Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities
- Amid record-high fires across the Amazon, Brazil loses primary forests
- A web of front people conceals environmental offenders in the Amazon
Land rights and extractives
- Women weave a culture of resistance and agroecology in Ecuador’s Intag Valley
- Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest
- Brazil’s illegal gold trade takes a hammering, but persists underground
- Maluku bone collector unearths troubling consequence of coastal abrasion
Endangered Environmentalists
- Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
