Jungle in Belize. New research finds Belize has been drying out for over a century, likely due to pollution from burning fossil fuels in the northern hemisphere which has left…

Male Araripe manakins (Antilophia bokermanni) have bright plumage, while the females are olive green in color. Photo by Rick Elis Simpson. In an 11-square mile strip of forest on the…

Three-month-old Bornean elephant calf next to dead mother. This elephant, and 13 others, were poisoned in 2013 near an oil palm plantation. Photo by: Sabah Wildlife Department Authorities in Sabah…

Alberta tar sands. Photo courtesy of Dru Oja Jay, Dominion. In its first-ever report on responsible investing, Norway's pension fund announced last week that it has divested from 114 companies…

A bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) covered in pollen. Photo by: P7r7/Creative Commons 3.0 Saving the world's pollinators may be a public health issue, according to recent research from Harvard and the…

United Cacao's plantation area near Tamshiyacu, Peru A prominent group of scientists have sounded the alarm over forest clearing by a cacao company in the Peruvian Amazon. In a statement…

Zebra Shark (Stegastoma fasciatum). Photo credit: Jürg Brand The government of Madagascar has established the Indian Ocean island's first shark sanctuary in an area famous for its marine biodiversity, reports…

Tropical forests provide countless goods and services that help sustain human life. Given the rapid conversion of forests to agricultural lands, scientists say it is critical that we prioritize conservation…

These charming bivalves of tropical reefs have myriad purposes, but just how many and to what extent are now more easily knowable The world’s biggest bivalves are the aptly named…

Palm tree and termite mound: typical scenery in Okavango Delta in Botswana. Photo by Tiffany Roufs. Some termite species erect massive mounds that look like great temples springing up from…

First of its kind audit of world's largest pulp and paper producer yields mixed results Arara Abadi acacia plantation near Pekanbaru, Riau, Sumatra. All photos by Rhett A. Butler. An…

Sumatra is home to many threatened and unique species, such as the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). Photo by Rhett A. Butler. For over a decade, a conflict has…

A new short documentary highlights the innovative, locally-grown tourist ventures sprouting up in the buffer zone around Peru's Tambopata National Reserve. Not only do these tourist adventures--some specializing in rehabilitating…

Manu National Park in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Last year, more than 6,000 people gathered for the World Parks Congress 2014, an event held around every…

Local farmer in Indonesian New Guinea Countries poised to receive World Bank funds for achieving reductions in deforestation have insufficient safeguards for ensuring that local communities don't lose out in…

Forests like this rainforest in Borneo provide an array of 'ecosystem services' including carbon storage, flood and erosion control, transpiration, climate moderation, and biodiversity, among others. Forest Trends, a non-profit…

A group convened by one of the world's leading scientific institutions has issued a call for greater protection of primary forests and more inclusive approaches to conservation. Last month the…

Local and indigenous communities play an important role managing and protecting forests. Research published in 2014 by World Resources Institute and the Rights and Resources Initiative concluded that community-managed forests…

As atmospheric CO2 levels rise, so too do those in the sea, leading to ocean acidification that outpaces that of any other time in tens of millions of years. Some…

Acacia seedlings are grown and planted in and around communities in Lampung, Sumatra, to help relieve logging pressures on natural forest. Photo by Ridzki R. Sigit. The village of Pekandangan…

Poison dart frog in Yasuni National Park. Some scientists believe the park is in the epicenter of the most biodiverse region on the planet, yet Ecuador has been exploiting the…

Activists have petitioned the world's largest sovereign wealth fund to drop its investment in a company they say is linked to large-scale corruption in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. In…

Reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) swim off Nusa Penida in Indonesia. Photo Credit: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace For the first time, Indonesia has sentenced an illegal manta ray trafficker to jail time…

Sierra Nevada fox caught on camera trap in Yosemite National Park. Photo by: National Park Service. For years, biologists believed the Sierra Nevada fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) was down to…

Oil palm plantation in Indonesia IOI Corporation officially committed to what its subsidiary, palm oil trader IOI Loders Croklaan, pledged last November: it will no longer source palm oil linked…

Bonoran community members sustainably harvest bamboo from the surrounding forest to build traditional houses. Photo by Eko Rusdianto. "If we don't have forests, community grounds, burial place, and rice fields...…

Excavators beside a canal cutting through recently deforested peatland. © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace A year after it pledged a dramatic shift in how it operates in Indonesia's fast dwindling…

Tall, forested mountains surround the village of Demaisi in West Papua. Photo by Duma Tato Sanda. A half-kilometer south of the village of Demaisi, Yohan Ullo pulls weeds from his…

Pregnant mothers, children, and even adults could face health problems from gold mining pollution in Amazonian Peru An aerial view of artisinal open pit gold mining in the Amazon. Photo…

Seabirds, aerial ocean predators, are known to amass harmful contaminants over their lifespan. Scientists believe this exposure to pollutants, such as blood mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and persistent organic pollutants…