Environmental Services News

The Maya city of Tulum. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Researchers have garnered further evidence for a smoking gun behind the fall of the great Maya civilization: deforestation. At the…

Collared puffbird (Bucco capensis) in Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. As the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on…

Forest destruction for cattle ranching in the Peruvian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Recognizing the global importance of the world's vanishing forests, a 10-year-long research program will focus on…

Kivu giant pouched rat caught on camera trap eating a seed of Carapa grandiflora. Photo by: Aisha Nyiramana. Rats are rarely thought of as heroes. In fact, in many parts…

Black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) feeding on a tamarind. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Many tropical plants depend on other species to carry their progeny far-and-wide. Scientists are just beginning…

Bunda Bokitsi. Photo by: Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM). The effort to save wildlife from destruction worldwide has many heroes. Some receive accolades for their work, but others live in…

Jason A. Sohigian, the Deputy Director of the Armenia Tree Project (ATP), presents at TEDx on the often-unacknowledged economic value of forests, including wildlife habitat, safeguarding watersheds, soil health, and…

The Turkana tribe of northern Kenya are buffeted by constant drought and food insecurity, which recent research says may be worsening due to climate change. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.…

Soy fields meet Amazon rainforest in Brazil. A new study argues that the destruction of rainforests for agriculture must stop. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. At the end of this…

Singa betina mempertahankan wildebeest yang terbunuh di Tanzania. Foto oleh: Rhett A. Butler. Populasi serigala di seluruh dunia telah turun sekitar 99 persen dari jumlah populasi yang pernah ada dalam…

Richard Blaustein is a freelance environmental journalist writing primarily on climate change, biodiversity, and genetic resource issues. He has written articles for BioScience, World Watch and Ecosystem Marketplace, and other…

An aerial view of an Amazon tributary in Peru, one of the top countries for projects in the young forest carbon market. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Investors funneled $178…

The Atlantic Forest in Brazil is one of the most fragmented and damaged forests in the world. Currently around 12 percent of the forest survives, with much of it in…

Rainforest in the Panama Canal Zone. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. As demonstrated by growing enthusiasm for conserving forests and the rise of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation…

When most of Asia is cutting down its forests, China stands apart. In the last two decade the massive country has gained over 30 percent forest cover. However, a new…

Converting West African rainforests into cropland reduces rainforest in adjacent forest areas, reports research published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study, based on a computer model used to simulate rainfall…

Reversing global forest decline will require private sector engagement and finance, argues a new report published by the United Nations and a coalition of more than 200 financial institutions. The…

The coastline of the 'Patagonian Sea' covered with seabirds and seals. Photo by: W. Conway. Claudio Campagna will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on…

Tropical forest in Ghana, an irreplaceable habitat for many species. Photo courtesy of Ben Phalan. Given that we have very likely entered an age of mass extinction—and human population continues…

World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse clearly describes in terms of national and social security how the looming current threat to our collective global future…

A new study of Uganda's Kibale National Park refutes the conventional wisdom that parks cause poverty along their borders. "Apparently the park provides a source of insurance; [locals] can hunt,…

Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Suriname. A jaguar (Panthera Onca), a Near Threatened species. Of the sites researched, Suriname's site presented the highest number of species diversity. Photo courtesy of Conservation…

Forest fragments under research in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project. Photo by: Richard Bierregaard. For over 30 years, hundreds of scientists have scoured eleven forest fragments in the…

An Asian elephant wanders through tea fields in the Western Ghats. Photo © Kalyan Varma. When one thinks of the world's great rainforests the Amazon, Congo, and the tropical forests…

Tungara frog singing in Panama. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. New understanding of how female tungara frogs sort out the din of multiple males singing may lead to insights into…

New research in the Journal of Applied Ecology shows that some ground beetles help farmers in the UK by devouring weed seeds before they can sprout. The researchers say the…

Rambutan fruit. Photo courtesy of Orangutan Foundation International. Among conservationists and biologists, the mega-island of Borneo is a sort of Mecca. Its rich plant and animal biodiversity, as well as…

Lioness defends wildebeest kill in Tanzania. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Worldwide wolf populations have dropped around 99 percent from historic populations. Lion populations have fallen from 450,000 to 20,000…

This commentary was originally published in February, but given that South Sudan has just celebrated independence over the weekend, we thought it apt to re-publish. Oryx and WCS Cessna shadow,…

Berikut ini adalah versi asli satu editorial, berjudul Will Indonesia lose the next oil palm?, yang muncul hari ini di the Jakarta Post. Hutan hujan Indonesia di Kalimantan. Foto oleh…