‘Racing against time’ to save the taguá and its vanishing Chaco home
Skittering in small clans among the hard-scrabble brush of the Gran Chaco in South America, the taguá looks like a cross between a svelte pig and an over-sized hedgehog. Also…
Companies need to do more to avoid deforestation, study finds
Many companies that deal in commodities such as beef, timber, palm oil and soy beans know that the production of these items can come at the cost of forests. But…
Are global commodities producers living up to their climate promises?
More than 90 countries have now ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, which will enter into force tomorrow. Just 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas…
Global brands’ beef is putting South America’s tropical forests at risk: report
The beef purchasing policies of global name-brand companies are failing to protect South America’s tropical forests from destruction, according to a new report. A scorecard released today by the Union…
New ‘sleeping beauty’ frog discovered in fragmented Peruvian forest
The world of amphibians has a new official member, with a species of rain frog discovered recently in and near Tingo Maria National Park in Peru's central Andes. The new…
Cattle driving big forest loss in Peru’s ‘under-appreciated’ Amazon
When one thinks of cattle ranchers destroying the Amazon rainforest, one usually thinks of Brazil. And for good reason: cattle ranching continues to be the leading cause of deforestation in…
“Less meat, less heat:” Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron call for less meat consumption to combat climate change
Avatar director James Cameron and former California governor/actor Arnold Schwarzenegger are joining the call for less global meat consumption to combat climate change. The two Hollywood legends have been tapped…
The prosecutor who lassoed deforestation
Three years after getting his law degree at the age of 26, Daniel César Azeredo Avelino moved to the Amazon region. He arrived in Belém, capital of the state of…
Many commitments, little transparency in cutting deforestation from corporate supply chains
Halting deforestation was a major topic of discussion at the Paris climate talks last December, so much so that the UN’s program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation…
“Species X:” The blue-eyed dove rediscovered in a global deforestation hotspot
The Blue-eyed Ground-dove hasn’t been seen since 1941 and was believed to be extinct — that is, until this year, when scientists revealed that they'd managed to document twelve of…
Here’s what’s driving deforestation in South America
Halting deforestation is such a critical part of combating climate change that it was enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement as a standalone article — yet few countries systematically monitor…
Declining pastureland around the globe presents significant conservation opportunity
New evidence that global pasture extent is declining presents an important conservation opportunity, according to a researcher. Some 62 million hectares of pasture (about 153 million acres, an area three…
Major Brazilian supermarket chain will stop stocking Amazon-destroying beef
The biggest supermarket chain in Brazil has agreed to stop buying beef from cattle ranches that destroy the Amazon or use slave labor. Pão de Açúcar, which operates 832 stores…
A plane survey of Central America’s last remaining forests
If you were to fly over Central America on a small plane, from north to south, starting in Guatemala and ending in Panama, you'd be able to see isolated yet…
Is intensification helping the cattle industry go Amazon deforestation-free?
Though deforestation in Brazil has fallen sharply over the past decade, the production of beef and other cattle products continues to be a significant driver of forest destruction in the…
One year after New York Declaration on Forests, less progress on cattle and soy than on palm oil and timber
Palm oil is one of the most popular vegetable oils in the world, though much of it comes with well-documented, severe impacts for forests and the people who depend on…
New report aims to show companies how they can actually achieve zero deforestation in their supply chains
News of another company or country adopting some kind of policy on deforestation is so common these days it’s safe to say that awareness of the need to conserve what’s…
Big reserve expansion gives tigers a boost in Nepal
Good news for tigers came last week with government approval of an extension for Parsa Wildlife Reserve in Nepal.
New hope for the world’s most endangered zebra
An interview with Dr. Zeke Davidson on efforts to save Grevy's zebra. Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) is the largest of the zebra species and also the most threatened. Listed as…
Indonesia, Brazil subsidizing forest loss far more than REDD+ slows it
Excavator working in a plantation with rainforest in the background in Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. International aid to protect forests in Indonesia and Brazil pales in comparison to…
Perched on the precipice: India’s vultures threatened by E.U. sale of killer drug
Poisoned by cattle carcasses treated with Diclofenac, India’s vultures died by the millions in the 1990s. A captive breeding program is helping to save the once-ubiquitous birds, but the very…
Beef, palm oil, soy, and wood products from 8 countries responsible for 1/3 of forest destruction
Four commodities produced in just eight countries are responsible for a third of the world's forest loss, according to a new report. Those familiar with the long-standing effort to stop…
Global warming emissions from meat consumption rising rapidly
Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production have increased by more than 50 percent over the past 50 years and are set to zoom higher as the developing world consumes more…
A taste for wildlife: what’s driving bushmeat hunting in Tanzania?
New research refutes previous findings Barbed-wire snares, spent shotgun shells, the lingering smell of gunpowder, and strips of curing meat: glimpses from a bushmeat hunt. Bushmeat hunting is the illegal…
Connecting forests, saving species: conservation group plans extensive wildlife corridor in Panama
Soon, hard rains will hit the steep hillsides of the Azuero Peninsula in Panama, sluicing soil into the rivers and out to the sea. Centuries of slash and burn agriculture…
The beef with beef: how 12 strategies could drastically cut agricultural emissions
Herd of cattle in Colombia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Eating less beef, cutting food waste, and utilizing farm landscapes to sequester carbon are three ways a new report suggests…
Climate change increased the probability of Texas drought, African famine, and other extreme weather
Map shows the level of drought and dryness across the US in July 2011. Map courtesy US Department of Agriculture. Click to enlarge. Climate change is here and its increasing…
Wealthy consumption threatens species in developing countries
Deforestation of tropical forests for oil palm plantations in Sabah, Malaysia. Palm oil is one of over 15,000 commodities in a recent study that have been linked to biodiversity loss…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- The Pantanal is burning again. Will it be another devastating year?
- Deforestation sweeps national park in Brazil as land speculators advance
- Drug trafficking threatens Indigenous Shipibo communities in Peru
- Fires rage in Bolivia’s Chiquitania region
Oceans
- Researchers express alarm as Arctic multiyear sea ice hits record low
- With coral cover halved, curbing climate change is only way to slow the loss
- Faroe Islands to evaluate traditional hunt after slaughter of 1,400 dolphins
- For sustainable global fisheries, watchdogs focus on onshore beneficial owners
Amazon Conservation
- Amazon, meet Amazon: Tech giant rolls out rainforest carbon offset project
- Rich countries may be buying illegal gold that’s driving Amazon destruction
- New study offers latest proof that Brazilian Amazon is now a net CO2 source
- With their land on the line, Indigenous Brazilians gather for landmark ruling
Land rights and extractives
- ‘On the map’: App shines light on 5,000 ‘invisible’ families in Brazil’s Cerrado and beyond
- As illegal logging route in Peru nears Brazil, Indigenous groups warn of calamity
- Vale told Brazil communities they were in danger. They say Vale wants their land
- With their land on the line, Indigenous Brazilians gather for landmark ruling
Endangered Environmentalists
- The Kichwa woman fighting drug traffickers and loggers in the Peruvian Amazon
- Rights groups demand end to Cambodia’s persecution of green activists
- With Indigenous rights at stake in Brasília, a territory is attacked in Paraty
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro vowed to work with Indigenous people. Now he’s investigating them
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- From Flores to Papua: Meet 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove guardians
- Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time
Conservation Effectiveness
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- ‘Bad science’: Planting frenzy misses the grasslands for the trees
- A Malagasy community wins global recognition for saving its lake
- Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Plantations and roads strip away Papua’s forests. They’re just getting started
- Indonesian farmers refuse to budge for train line through karst landscape
- UNESCO calls for closure of road running through World Heritage park in Papua
- Indonesia’s Gorontalo road runs into forest, swerves environmental checks
