n 2000, Naomi Oreskes, a geologist by training, was working at the Scripps Institute for Oceanography in San Diego, an organization with a long history of climate change research. “All…
The recent Paris climate agreement included REDD+, the UN’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation program, as a key tool for combating climate change. It is widely expected — or…
n December 12, 2015 representatives from 196 nations approved the Paris Agreement to address the challenges of climate change. Proponents praised the agreement as a long-term pathway to curbing global…
Secondary forests are known to sequester carbon more rapidly than old growth forests, meaning they have an important role to play in our efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate…
The Paris Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC has come and gone, and all but the most cynical would agree that the outcomes were on the positive side and…
Between Indonesia's massive forest fires, the official approval of REDD+ at climate talks in Paris, and the establishment of several major national parks, there was plenty to get excited about…
Between the landmark climate agreement signed in Paris in December 2015, Indonesia's fire and haze crisis of the late summer and early fall, and continuing adoption of zero deforestation policies…
Over-hunting contributes to forest carbon loss, claims a study published this week in the AAAS journal Science Advances. After looking at data from 31 sites from the Atlantic Forest --…
The Norwegian government has extended its multi-billion dollar forest protection initiative. At the Paris climate convention on Friday, Norwegian Minister of Environment and Climate Tine Sundtoft said the country would…
PARIS: At last, forests! — The final draft of the binding Paris Agreement on climate change directly and boldly addresses the necessary role of the world’s forests, working in concert…
Protecting, restoring, and better managing tropical forests could provide as much as half the net carbon emissions required to meet a 2-degree Celsius climate target, argues a commentary published this…
Not only are the world’s forests valuable carbon sinks, but deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for about 10 to 15 percent of global carbon emissions every year. In other…
Norway and several European Nations, along with the United Nations and the World Bank, today committed to a new initiative that takes aim at the underlying causes of deforestation in…
ommercial agriculture causes more than two-thirds of deforestation worldwide, which has led to much scrutiny and numerous calls for change. Both private industry and governments have made many promises to…
Subsidies aimed at helping farmers produce food more efficiently often end up leading to the loss of forests, according to a recent report.
The Norwegian government has fulfilled its billion dollar commitment to Brazil for the South American country's success in reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. In a statement issued Wednesday, Norway…
The development of REDD+ in Indonesia as an experiment in bringing together carbon abatement, equity development and biodiversity protection is continuing to attract global attention.
Choco rainforest in Colombia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Norway and Colombia are in talks to establish a partnership to protect the South American country's rainforests. According to a joint…
A rainforest in Borneo. Photo credit: Rhett Butler. Negotiators at U.N. climate talks in Bonn, Germany, have produced a draft agreement on the technical provisions of a plan to reduce…
CAO lasers easily penetrate forest canopies to reveal minute variations in ground elevation associated with soils. This images shows a ground elevation map in dense tropical forest of western Amazon.…
Summary of main pressures on forests in different deforestation fronts. Graphics courtesy of WWF's LIVING FORESTS REPORT: SAVING FORESTS AT RISK. Click to enlarge. Environmental group WWF has released a…
A baby orangutan in North Sumatra. The species is critically endangered. Photo: Rhett A. Butler In Indonesia, preferential targeting of REDD+ projects in high-carbon areas won't do much for biodiversity.…
Blue and yellow macaws (Ara ararauna) are a common sight in the Cerrado. Photo credit: Brendan Borrell At the Los Angeles auto show in November 2008, Hyundai made a groundbreaking…
World leaders are continuing to overlook the worsening condition of tropical forests despite the biome's vast potential to help mitigate climate change, support local livelihoods and ecosystem services, and stabilize…
Part 3 of 5 of a series on palm oil financing. Part I and Part II. Note: this article draws heavily from Seymour el al 2015. Rainforest canopy seen from…
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…
Kenneth MacDicken and Francesco Tubiello work at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The views expressed in this commentary are their own. Old-growth rainforest in Malaysian…
Mangrove forest in Masoala National Park, Madagascar. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Protecting Mangrove Forests Good For Environment And Economy: UN Global destruction of mangrove forests impacts biodiversity, food security,…
Brazilian rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Click to enlarge. A new campaign is calling on consumers to directly support forest conservation with their wallets. "Stand For Trees" is an…
Indonesia kills first-of-its-kind REDD+ Agency Strangler fig in Sulawesi. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. The world's first cabinet-level ministry dedicated to implementing REDD+ has been dissolved. In accordance with Indonesian…
