Somali charcoal: funding terrorism through deforestation
Militant terrorist group Al-Shabaab funds itself, in part, through the
Madagascar’s frog haven: rich, underexplored, threatened
Researchers, locals work together to save Ethiopia’s ‘church forests’
Presenting a workshop on ecosystem services to a roomful of priests in Ethiopia may seem like an unlikely scenario for a conservation biologist to end up in, but for Meg…
Colombia proposes protected corridor across South America
Hypsiboas picturatus, a tree frog found in Colombian and Ecuadorian forests. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has announced plans to create the world’s largest protected…
Biofuels are bad news for forests, climate, food security, says report
Oil palm fruit, which can be used for biofuel. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. A new report from the World Resources Institute finds that dedicating land to the production of…
Reports slam Malaysian timber companies, urge reforms in forest management
This article is the second in a two-part series about logging in Malaysia. The first part can be seen here Two international NGOs have called out Malaysia in recent months…
Researchers propose improvements for Peru’s protected areas
This article is the second in a two-part series about the shortcomings of protected area definition in Peru. Read the first part here. In a study published recently in PLOS…
One of Brazil’s rarest primates still holds out in single patch of rainforest
Vanzolini’s squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), with its distinctive black cap. Photo Credit: Arkive. Walking through the Amazon rainforest for the first time is an overwhelming experience, and not in an…
Reports blame illegal logging for felling Sarawak forest
This article is the first in a two-part series about logging in Malaysia. Read the second part here. A recent report by the international affairs think tank Chatham House has…
Brazil arrests ‘Amazon’s biggest destroyer’
Ezequiel Antonio Castanha in custody. Image courtesy of IBAMA Authorities in Brazil have arrested a man they claim to be the single biggest deforester in the Amazon, according to a…
Study finds Peru’s protected areas aren’t where they should be
This article is the first in a two-part series about the shortcomings of protected area definition in Peru. Read the second part here. Many of the world's protected areas may…
$7 million could save lemurs from extinction
Could a website save the world's lemurs? Indri lemur (Indri indri). Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Last year, scientists released an emergency three-year plan that they argued could, quite literally,…
Critically endangered bird gets new addition to its reserve
A pale-headed brush-finch (Altapetes pallidiceps)., one of the most endangered birds in the world. An unassuming brown bird, tiny both in body and population size, hovers on the edge of…
Locals lead scientists to new population of near-extinct reptile
Lazarus turtle: Scientists discover unknown population of Critically Endangered reptile A rare photo of a living Arakan forest turtle. Photo courtesy of Shahriar Caesar Rahman. By the early Twentieth Century,…
New Guinea rainforest being leveled for palm oil, revealing gaps in zero deforestation pacts
Greenomics map showing recent clearing by Austindo Nusantara Jaya Agri in West Papua, Indonesia An Indonesian palm oil firm is destroying rainforests in New Guinea despite high profile zero deforestation…
Scientists sound the alarm on African palm oil investment
Society for Conservation Biology warns that Africa could follow Southeast Asia in losing substantial amounts of its forest Africa’s people, forests and wildlife are in trouble if the mostly unbridled…
Study finds local technicians effective at forest monitoring
This article is the second in a two-part series about carbon stock assessment in Guyana. Read the first part here. Some countries that retain forest wealth have started monetizing their…
Assessing carbon stock value of forests is tricky business, study finds
This article is the first in a two-part series about carbon stock assessment in Guyana. Read the second part here. With financial incentives encouraging maintenance of carbon stocks and the…
Illicit timber feeds Indonesia’s industrial forestry sector, alleges new report
Illegally logged rainforest tree in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Amid government schemes to curb illegal land clearing and systematically enhance a struggling…
Biodiversity may reduce the threat of disease
Frog species used in the study (clockwise from top-right): Scinax hayii, Proceratophrys boiei, Hylodes phyllodes, Brachycephalus pitanga, Hypsiboas bandeirantes. Photo credit: Gui Becker Biodiversity level changes can have consequences for…
Indigenous communities in Paraguay threatened by deforestation despite having land rights
An Ayoreo woman in front of a traditional communal Ayoreo house that was abandoned because of bulldozing activity, according to Survival International. Photo courtesy of Survival International. Their children were…
Illegal logging still a big issue in Cameroon
Forest abutting Sanaga river in Cameroon. Photo courtesy of Google Earth. Cameroon is struggling to make progress in combatting illegal logging. Regulatory budgets are too thin to protect the country’s…
‘Sustainable’ cacao company allegedly defies government’s call to halt plantation development
Global Forest Watch image showing recent FORMA and Terra-I forest cover change alerts that reveal clearing in concessions controlled by a subsidiary of United Cacao. A company aiming to be…
Scientists, NGOs race to save ‘Millennium Trees’
In a tiny area of an isolated archipelago in the southwest Pacific lives a unique tree species on the precipice of extinction. Recent research has shown it is declining dramatically,…
Illegal logging contributed to deadly Malaysian floods, according to government minister
Heavy rains hit peninsular Malaysia in December, leading to severe floods that resulted in at least 21 deaths and the displacement of some 200,000 residents in the states of Kelantan,…
Recently discovered, critically endangered bird gets its first reserve
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…
Pulpwood company may be denying Sumatran community rights to their land
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…
Communities create timber company to protect Sumatran forest
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…
Sulawesi communities build big, unique houses by sustainably managing forests
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...…
Rapid development threatening traditional farms, forests in West Papua
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…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Indigenous groups call for gov’t intervention as land grabbers invade Bolivian protected area
- Indigenous lands under siege as buffalo frenzy grips the Amazon
- Deforestation soars in Nigeria’s gorilla habitat: ‘We are running out of time’
- Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
Oceans
- Advocates welcome halt to shortfin mako shark fishing, call for longer ban
- Technology and tradition team up to watch over a sacred island’s sea turtles
- Countries fail to agree on Antarctic conservation measures for fifth straight year
- Despite deals, plans and bans, the Mediterranean is awash in plastic
Amazon Conservation
- Amazon deforestation unexpectedly surges 22% to highest level since 2006
- COP-26: Amazonia’s Indigenous peoples are vital to fighting global warming (commentary)
- BR-319 highway hearings: An attack on Brazil’s interests and Amazonia’s future (commentary)
- Amazon, meet Amazon: Tech giant rolls out rainforest carbon offset project
Land rights and extractives
- Illegal mining threatens Indigenous land at foot of Philippines’ tallest peak
- Legal challenge to South Africa mine expansion looks to set new landmark
- Struggle endures for Philippine community pitted against gold miner
- In Peru’s Amazon, deforestation and crime sweep through Indigenous communities
Endangered Environmentalists
- Amazon mining threatens dozens of uncontacted Indigenous groups, study shows
- 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
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
- Young forests can help heal tropical aquatic ecosystems: Study
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- ‘Bad science’: Planting frenzy misses the grasslands for the trees
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Bali’s new highway project sparks concerns about agriculture and conservation areas
- Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
- Plantations and roads strip away Papua’s forests. They’re just getting started
- Indonesian farmers refuse to budge for train line through karst landscape
