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…
Local farmer in Indonesian New Guinea Countries poised to receive World Bank funds for achieving reductions in deforestation have insufficient safeguards for ensuring that local communities don't lose out in…
A group convened by one of the world's leading scientific institutions has issued a call for greater protection of primary forests and more inclusive approaches to conservation. Last month the…
The forests of the Bukit Barisan mountains support high levels of biodiversity, prevent landslides, and protect local watersheds. Photo by Sapariah Saturi. Television inspired Syafrizal to act. As he watched…
Map of REDDX countries. Only a small fraction of the $7.3 billion pledged under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program has actually been disbursed, find a new…
Deforestation in Riau, Sumatra in 2014. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. When Indonesia's former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a moratorium in May 2012 on the issuance of new permits…
Peat forest in Riau, Sumatra. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Indonesia's cabinet-level agency tasked with reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (BP REDD+), may be dissolved after only one year…
What's in store for rainforests in the new year.
2014 could be classified as "The Year of the Zero Deforestation Commitment". During 2014, nearly two dozen major companies, ranging from palm oil producers to fast food chains to toothpaste…
Illegal logging road through the Murunahua reserve for isolated indigenous peoples. Image © Chris Fagan of Upper Amazon Conservancy (UAC). Forest-dependent peoples face grave threats from deforestation and other depredations,…
The Indonesian government has agreed on reference levels for measuring reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest and peatland degradation, reports Antara. The Forest Reference Emission Levels (FREL) will be…
Protecting biodiversity may be crucial for successfully storing carbon in forests, scientists say. A recent publication on Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation suggests that biodiversity loss –especially through…
Even if the world stopped cutting down forests, carbon dioxide emissions from land use change would still pose a major challenge, according to a new paper in Nature Climate Change.…
Carnegie Airborne Observatory map showing carbon in along the main stem of the Amazon in Peru. All images courtesy of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory/Greg Asner Nearly a billion tons of…
Between the Forest and the Sea: Passing Down Traditions Part I of this series: Life & Climate Change in Guna Yala Part II of this series: The Yarsuisuit Collective In…
Part I of this series: Life & Climate Change in Guna Yala Part III of this series: Passing Down Traditions The indigenous Guna of Panama are at the forefront of…
Part II of this series: The Yarsuisuit Collective Part III of this series: Passing Down Traditions The island-dwelling Guna people of Panama are one of the most sovereign indigenous communities…
Report argues that a jurisdiction-based approach could be a solution if commodity certification fails to reduce deforestation Cattle pasture and a forest reserve in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo by Rhett…
Balancing the old world and the new, the Kuna people keep their heritage intact Jesús Smith is sitting at his old wooden desk facing the entrance to his house. He's…
Cleared timber plantation and peat forest in Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Dozens of companies, non-profit organizations, and governments pledged to work together to halve forest loss by 2020…
Editor's Note: The following is a response from a group of scientists' — including 6 members of the National Academy, 3 IPCC Lead Authors, and 1 IPCC Co-Chair — to…
Indigenous boy paddles in the Colombian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Since 2008, governments have invested $1.64 billion in funds to kick-start REDD+, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and…
Forest map in the Peruvian Amazon developed from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, an airplane-based platform that uses advanced LiDAR to measure forest carbon values and other properties. Photo courtesy of…
Panama's efforts to gain funding for standing forests roiled by indigenous opposition There isn’t a word or phrase in the Kuna language for "carbon trading,” and much less for something…
Scientists say both rich and developing countries must recognize primary forests as a conservation priority. Primary rainforest in Imbak Canyon in the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The forest is…
Tropical rainforest. Photos by Rhett Butler. Since 2008 Norway has been the single largest foreign donor to tropical forest conservation, putting more than 10 billion Norwegian Krone, or $1.6 billion,…
