Avocados: The green gold that wipes western Mexico’s forests from the map
In western Mexico, a forest was cleared in a couple of days. It was the early morning of a spring day in 2020. A dozen workers arrived in two trucks…
Articles by Agustín del Castillo
Forest enterprise in Mexico attempts to present opportunities for Indigenous communities
The Sierra Madre Occidental in northwestern Mexico boasts vast forests that are home to Indigenous communities such as the Wixárika people (or Huichols). Across the largest forest reserves in Jalisco,…
A jaguar refuge in Mexico is an ecological island in the midst of threats
Chamela-Cuixmala sits in the western corner of Mexico, where one of the best-studied dry tropical forests continues to serve as a refuge for at-risk species like the jaguar. The story…
From the ashes of a volcano: Mexico’s Purépecha Forest
It was in Michoacán state in central-western Mexico where the so-called war against drugs began in December 2006. The state fell apart, and in the meantime, the forests were simultaneously…
How Mexican communities are helping to save a fir forest
For 20 years, the Colima fir tree (Abies colimensis) has been at the heart of many disputes to conserve the temperate forests of southern Jalisco, a state in central Mexico.…
Two deaths trigger alarm at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Homero Gómez González took a circuitous path to becoming an advocate for butterflies. After strongly opposing the creation of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, he became one of its most…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- New concession in Botum Sakor National Park handed to Cambodia’s Royal Group
- Elephants invade as habitat loss soars in Nigerian forest reserve
- In Brazil’s Amazon, a ‘new agricultural frontier’ threatens protected lands
- Cambodia awards swath of national park forest to tycoon Ly Yong Phat’s son
Oceans
- From rat-ridden to reserve, Redonda is an island restoration role model
- Seventy-plus nations sign historic high seas treaty, paving way for ratification
- First Nation and scientists partner to revive climate-saving eelgrass
- ‘Totally unsustainable’ sand mining harms marine environments, new data suggest
Amazon Conservation
- New online map tracks threats to uncontacted Indigenous peoples in Brazil’s Amazon
- Brazil Supreme Court quashes time frame proposal in win for Indigenous rights
- EU bill and new green policies spur progress on Brazil’s cattle tracking
- Meatpacking giant and Amazon deforester JBS bid for NYSE listing challenged
Land rights and extractives
- Indigenous community fighting a mine in Palawan wins a milestone legal verdict
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- South Africa community members decry traditional leaders’ power amid mine plans
- Can upcoming referendum in Ecuador stop oil drilling in Yasuní National Park?
Endangered Environmentalists
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
- Indigenous activists demand justice after 5 shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
- Climate of fear persists among Nepal’s eco defenders as threats rise
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- 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
- Aziil Anwar, Indonesian coral-based mangrove grower, dies at 64
- A utopia of clean air and wet peat amid Sumatra’s forest fire ‘hell’
Conservation Effectiveness
- From rat-ridden to reserve, Redonda is an island restoration role model
- Video: Rice as a peace offering in India’s human-elephant conflict capital
- Group certification helps Malaysia’s Sabah aim for palm oil sustainability
- A Philippines NGO project aimed to protect villages from typhoons: What went wrong?
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- 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
- Robust river governance key to restoring Mekong River vitality in face of dams
