Via the University of Washington: Major forest die-offs due to drought, heat and beetle infestations or deforestation could have consequences far beyond the local landscape. Wiping out an entire forest can have significant effects on global climate patterns and alter...
Tree Plantations and Industrial Forestry
Does UN REDD Finally Bite the Dust? One less incentive for GE Trees?
Nov 18, 2016
UN REDD is the official name for forest carbon offsets programs under the auspices of the UN Climate Convention. But before there was REDD, forest carbon offset proponents (to allow polluters to buy forests rather than reduce emissions) were already scheming ways to...
Ongoing Forest Clearance by Palm Oil Industry Threatens Livelihood for Millions
Nov 10, 2016
San Francisco/Jakarta — As the 14th annual Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil meetings get underway in Bangkok, a new report released today by Rainforest Action Network (RAN) exposes ongoing destruction to one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. The RAN...
International Tropical Timber Organization Faces Financial Meltdown After $18M Fraud Losses
Nov 9, 2016
ITTO governing body meets in Yokohama amidst grave crisis – Bruno Manser Fund demands full transparency and legal action against former Executive Director Emanuel ZeMeka and his staff over $18 million investment losses YOKOHAMA, Japan - Representatives of the...
Forest Guardian Clovis Razafimalala Imprisoned on Fabricated Charges
Nov 7, 2016
Via Rainforest-Rescue.org: Madagascar’s nature is unique – half of all chameleon species and all of the world’s lemurs live there. A large number of the island’s plant species are also endemic – i.e., they occur nowhere else on the planet. However, 80 percent of...
WATCH: Nearly Half of Earth’s Forests Have Been Cleared or Degraded
Nov 3, 2016
Via World Resources Institute: Nearly half of Earth’s forests have been cleared or degraded – but we have the power to change this! WRI’s Global Restoration Initiative works with governments and international partners to inspire, enable and mobilize action to restore...
Mass Plantation of Conocarpus Could Bring Disaster To Pakistan
Nov 1, 2016
The Daily Times in Pakistan reports that the plantation of an alien plant species, the conocarpus, has become widespread throughout the city of Karachi. Former Mayor of Karachi Mustafa Kamal led City District Government Karachi (CDGK), planted around 2.2 million...
Small Oil Palm Plantations Having Big Impacts on Peru Rainforest
Oct 31, 2016
Originally published at MongaBay.com: A closer look at a deforestation “hotspot” in central Peru finds oil palm expansion to be the primary driver of forest loss. That’s according to a recent report by Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), which analyzed...
Deforestation Rates Climbing in Dominic Republic of Congo, REDD+ Not Helping
Oct 28, 2016
Deforestation rates have been climbing in the Dominic Republic of Congo (DRC), threatening wildlife and releasing huge quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to a new report published by Land Use Policy. The report also shows that research conducted in the...
America’s Southern Forests Being Decimated to Supply Europe With Energy
Oct 26, 2016
AlterNet recently published a piece by Adam Macon of the Dogwood Alliance on the increasing damage caused to southern forests in the US as the result of wood pellet exports to Europe. From the AlterNet piece: Hurricane Matthew and the aftermath of devastating flooding...