U.N. data suggests slowdown in forest loss
Highly anticipated data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows that global forest loss has slowed significantly over the past five years relative to the…
Articles by Rhett A. Butler
Rhett Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay. Rhett founded Mongabay out of his passion for wildlife and wild places. He has traveled widely in the tropics and enjoys photography, hiking, and scuba-diving.
How many trees are cut down every year?
When it comes to the world's forests, two of the commonly asked questions are "How many trees are are on Earth?" and "How many trees are cut down each year?"…
California takes step toward banning elephant ivory, rhino horn trades
Today the California Senate approved legislation that would ban the ivory and rhinoceros horn across the state. AB 96 passed 26-13, reflecting widespread support for the measure, which aims to…
Global forest loss reached 46 million acres in 2014
Global forest loss amounted to 18.7 million hectares (46 million acres) in 2014, a decline of about 9 percent relative to 2013 and 20 percent compared to 2012, according to…
Brazil’s deforestation alert system reports surge in Amazon forest clearing
Confirming what civil society groups have been saying for months, new data from the Brazilian government suggests a steep increase in deforestation over the past 12 months. The satellite data,…
Rainforests doomed unless world adopts ‘development without destruction’, warn scientists
Tropical forests face a dire future unless humans adopt a radically different approach to protecting and managing them, warns a review published last week in the journal Science. The paper,…
Amazon paradox: drop in large-scale deforestation makes enforcement more difficult
While deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen sharply over the past decade, a larger share of forest loss is now being driven by actors who are more difficult to…
Controversy and awareness-raising (commentary)
Leveraging controversy to raise awareness on threats to indigenous peoples and forests.
APP to clear plantations to restore peatlands
In a notable shift away from business-as-usual in Indonesia's plantation sector, forestry giant Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) will undertake ecosystem restoration in 7,000 hectares of commercial timber plantations,…
After long battle, big swath of Sumatran rainforest wins protection
In what conservationists are hailing as a major breakthrough in efforts to protect Sumatra's fast-dwindling lowland rainforests, the Indonesian government on Wednesday finally approved an ecosystem restoration license for more…
Forest data platform now mobile-ready
Global Forest Watch, a platform that maps a wide range of forest data, is now optimized for mobile users, potentially extending the tool for ground-based forest monitoring and deforestation detection.…
Cleaning up cacao: making the chocolate business more sustainable
While most people love chocolate, few are aware of the problems associated with the production of its main ingredient, cacao. The cacao business has traditionally been an ugly one, associated…
Welcome to the new Mongabay
As you may have noticed, over the weekend Mongabay.com changed. This is the first phase of a roll-out that will take place over the next few weeks.
Conservation win in Madagascar: 7 new reserves established
Indri Lemur. Photo by David Cook. Good news on the environmental front in Madagascar has been rare and fleeting in recent years, but today the Indian Ocean island's Prime Minister…
Scaling bottom-up conservation in Latin America
NCI's buriti project helps local communities benefit while protecting areas of this wild palm , working to provide added value sales of palm fruit and extracts. Courtesy of NCI. One…
Fires rage in Indonesian park illegally trashed for palm oil
Fire burning in Tesso Nilo. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Dozens of fires are raging across Indonesia's Tesso Nilo National Park National Park, a protected area that has lost more…
Dilma disappoints with weak rainforest target
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff disappointed environmentalists with what they call weak commitments on reducing deforestation and supporting renewable energy. In a joint declaration issued with President Obama after her visit…
Do we need to move ‘beyond certification’ to save forests?
Over the past two years dozens of companies have established "zero-deforestation" or "deforestation-free" policies for the commodities they source, trade, and produce. The pace of adoption has been staggeringly fast…
Bunge: if you clear peatlands, we won’t buy your palm oil
Publicly-traded firm suspends new business with company planning to clear peatlands in Sarawak Palm oil growers who plan to convert peatlands and rainforests for new plantations have been warned: one…
Controversy emerges over alleged deforestation policy breach by APRIL supplier
Less than three weeks after APRIL unveiled a sustainability policy that is supposed to protect natural forests, an environmental group is alleging that one of the Indonesian forestry giant's subsidiaries…
Special series
Endangered environmentalists
- Arson attack in Indonesia leaves activist shaken
- For embattled environmental defenders, a reprieve of sorts in 2018
- 7 convicted of killing Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres
Indonesias forest guardians
- Giant pines a tourist draw, cash cow for Yogyakarta farmers
- In West Papua, a development plan that doesn’t require clearing forest
- Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
Amazon infrastructure
- Amazon at risk: Brazil plans rapid road and rail infrastructure expansion
- New appointments, new policies don’t bode well for Brazilian Amazon
- Will President Bolsonaro withdraw Brazil from the Paris Agreement? (commentary)
Asian rhinos
- India-Nepal agreement to boost transborder conservation of rhinos, tigers
- Nepal court blocks road construction in rhino stronghold of Chitwan Park
- Conservation couture: Batik artisans make rhinos a fashion statement
