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How can Indonesia improve the REDD+ project to stop deforestation?

Indonesia is home to the world's third-largest tropical forest area and since 2009 has operated a forest-based climate action project developed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

How developing countries put forests on the climate agenda

This is part three in a series about how forests and farms came to play roles in addressing climate change. Here are part one and part two. This story is also part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

How do forests function in persistent organic pollutant cycling?

Forests can regulate the global dispersion of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In theory, the forest plays as a "sink" and delays the transport of POPs to remote/cold regions.

How do you bring a forest back to life?

Half a millennia ago, forests covered much of the Iberian peninsula. But that soon changed. Centuries of wars and invasions, agricultural expansion and woodcutting for charcoal and shipping wiped out most of the woods and transformed places like Matamorisca, a small village in northern Spain, in ...

How do you protect what’s ‘everywhere but nowhere?’

Ethiopia - Yesterday Ethiopia began its ambitious 4 billion tree planting program.

How do you save endangered gorillas? With lots of human help

Deep in the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, a 23-year-old female gorilla named Kurudi feeds on a stand of wild celery. She bends the green stalks and, with long careful fingers, peels off the exterior skin to expose the succulent inside.

How fires weaken Amazon rainforests’ ability to bounce back

The flames consuming the Amazon rainforest this year have alarmed the world, renewing concerns about one of the planet’s most biodiverse regions and the release of large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. But there’s another concern that’s been largely overlooked – the eroding capacity of Am ...

How forestry conservation is sustaining both the climate and livelihoods in the Congo

Oliver Griffith explains how a Wildlife Works Carbon forest conservation project is helping to both protect the environment while also sustaining local livelihoods in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

How forests provide value to everyday life in Kenya

Forests are extremely valuable. They provide us with the air we breathe, the water we drink and food we eat. But because they offer all this for free, we take them for granted.

How global sustainable development will affect forests

Global targets to improve the welfare of people across the planet will have mixed impacts on the world's forests, according to new research.

How gorillas stole a Ugandan forest from humans, bloomed it as it bloomed them

In the shadows of giant trees, deep within the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, nature is at its rawest. The maze of green trees, dark and humid undergrowth shrouded in a smoky haze, makes its name ‘impenetrable forest' very apt.

How illegal logging is threatening Romania's unique virgin forests

Romania is home to Europe's richest forests in terms of biodiversity. But every day they're being diminished - by illegal logging

How much can forests fight climate change?

When it comes to fighting global warming, trees have emerged as one of the most popular weapons. With nations making little progress controlling their carbon emissions, many governments and advocates have advanced plans to plant vast numbers of trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere ...

How studying nature's symphony can help scientists determine the fate of rainforests

Every morning, come daybreak, ecosystems around the world break out in song. These are dawn choruses, explosions of sound that happen at the edge of night and day, for reasons scientists don’t fully understand. In terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments at every latitude, insects, fish, ...

How the Heavy Rains of Hurricane Maria Shattered the Forests of Puerto Rico

Wind may have been pointed as the main culprit for the knocked down trees in all the attacks of hurricanes. However, a new survey was recently released of the damage in the Puerto Rican forests following the back-to-back hurricanes back in 2017. This particular survey highlighted the power of a ...

How the pandemic impacted rainforests in 2020: a year in review

Like virtually everything in 2020, COVID-19 defined the year for tropical rainforests. 2020 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for tropical forests. It was the year when global leaders were scheduled to come together to assess the past decade’s progress and set the climate and biodiversity ...

How the world got hooked on palm oil

It’s the miracle ingredient in everything from biscuits to shampoo. But our dependence on palm oil has devastating environmental consequences. Is it too late to break the habit?

How to design a forest fit to heal the planet

Reforestation has enormous potential as a cheap and natural way of sucking heat-absorbing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and restoring the degraded natural world, while supporting local livelihoods at the same time. But there is more than one way to plant a tree – and some of the most wide ...

How to develop the urban forest

Nature is in trouble. A keynote research report, The State of Nature 2019 identified that 58 per cent of UK species have declined since 1970 (by which point nature had already been depleted).

How to save the future of Africa's forests

Africa’s forests are a significant component of the “lungs of the world”, but what does their future look like, especially in the face of increasing agricultural expansion — the primary driver of deforestation?

How wild mushroom delicacies in Goa are threatening its forests

The onset of rains in Goa not only mean change in the weather but also eating habits. As monsoon winds and a two-month fishing ban make fishing in the sea difficult, river fish find pride of place in daily meals. Meanwhile, for vegetarians, it’s the season for Olmi or edible wild mushrooms, wide ...

How your chicken is linked to deforestation in Brazil

There are few pleasures these days, so taking a bite of your flame-grilled chicken burger may be the one highlight of the week. Takeaway obviously, if you're in lockdown. Now, we don't want to take that one pleasure away but that piece of chicken could be contributing to deforestation.

Hurricane Maria study warns: Future climate-driven storms may raze many tropical forests

A new study shows that damage inflicted on trees in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria was unprecedented in modern times, and suggests that more frequent big storms whipped up by a warming climate could permanently alter forests not only here, but across much of the Atlantic tropics. Biodiversity co ...

INTERVIEW-Falling coffee prices mean falling forests - US coffee czar

On a warming planet, prices could experience further "peaks and valleys"

INTERVIEW-From gene sequencing to chocolate, Brazil's Amazon looks for a new development model

Instead of expanding destructive farming and logging, Brazil should "develop" the Amazon region by producing high-value products from its indigenous biodiversity, from nuts and fruits to medicinal plants, a top forest researcher said.

ITTO - International Workshop on Environment Economics of Tropical Forest and green policy planning and budgeting

2 - 5 March 2004, Beijing, China

ITTO-CITES Programme for Implementing CITES Listing of Tropical Tree Species. CITES and ITTO: Working together to sustain tropical tree species.

The survival of CITES-listed tree species in their natural range cannot be separated from broader forest management. In this context, the Secretariats of ITTO and CITES initiated in 2006 a joint program to assist CITES Parties and ITTO Members with implementation of the CITES Convention. During ...

ITTO/IUCN International Workshop. Increasing the Effectiveness of Transboundary Conservation Areas in Tropical Forests

17 - 21 February 2003, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

IUFRO World Congress Meeting

unknown dates, Brisbane, Australia

Impacts on Forests & Biodiversity : from Coal as an Energy Choice

The presentations and discussions in the event will look at the various impacts on biological diversity, both on land and aquatic /marine, of the choice of coal as a major energy source. The reality of India today is the large dependence on coal as energy source for both heating and electrici ...

Implementation of the visual aesthetic quality of slope forest autumn color change into the configuration of tree species

Urban expansion leads to changes in the visual aesthetic quality and ecological degradation of the surrounding slope forest landscapes. Color is a crucial visual element to examine when viewing this large-scale slope forest landscape from a long distance.

Imported deforestation: How Europe contributes to tree loss worldwide

Forest area is increasing in Europe, mainly because farms are getting fewer and smaller. This should be good news, but it must be put into perspective alongside the loss of forest that the EU's growing agricultural imports cause in third countries. We call this "imported deforestation."

Improved estimates of Brazilian Amazon gains and losses

A new study generated improved annual maps of tropical forest cover in the Brazilian Amazon in 2000-2017 and provided better characterization on the spatio-temporal dynamics of forest area, loss and gain in this region.

In Brazil’s Sooretama, a piece of the Amazon thrives in the Atlantic Forest

The forests of the Mata do Tabuleiro region in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo were once listed among Earth’s most biodiverse regions. But much of this richness has been lost due to human occupation, river pollution, and unchecked deforestation.

In Delhi Lies a Forest Uprooted

On the morning of April 4, I visited a little-known but curiously interesting semi-wild patch of forest abutting the Dera Mandi village in south Delhi with my friend Vijay Dhasmana. An immense pile-up of alluvium – more than 80 feet high in places – makes this landscape look like a miniature ver ...

In Israel, Questions Are Raised about a Forest that Rises from the Desert

Israel’s Yatir Forest has been hailed as a green refuge in the Negev that is helping fight climate change. But some Israeli ecologists now contend that it has wiped out important desert ecosystems and shows that forestation projects are not always an unalloyed environmental good.

In Jordan, the Middle East’s first Miyawaki-style ‘baby’ forests take root

It’s a quiet day in Omar al-Faisal Park, in the impoverished industrial outskirts of Jordan’s capital, Amman. Sandwiched between the runway of a military airport and residential streets, the park seems unimpressive at first glance, but it shelters a little-known gem.

In Madagascar, beekeepers persist in the face of fires and forest loss

Madagascar — Requiring a turbulent two-hour car ride followed by a two-hour walk across paddy fields and mountains, access to the small group of beekeepers in the village of Dobolalina is no easy task for newcomers. Their apiculture project isn’t for the faint-hearted, either.

In Nigeria's disappearing forests, loggers outnumber trees

Deep in a forest in Nigeria's Ebute Ipare village, Egbontoluwa Marigi sized up a tall mahogany tree, methodically cut it down with his axe and machete, and as it fell with a crackling sound, he surveyed the forest for the next tree.

In Nigeria, hunters turn into guardians of the rarest gorilla on Earth

Former bushmeat hunter Jacob Osang says poverty and lack of options drove him to the trade. “There were no jobs, no opportunity anywhere,” Osang says. In 1985, after failing to find a job in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, Osang, then in his early 20s, returned to his village in southeastern Cros ...

In Punjab, sacred forests are shrinking due to encroachments and invasive species

Better documentation of the flora and fauna in the groves and traditional practices can help in conserving biodiversity in the green pockets, say experts.

In the Atlantic Forest, the lowland tapir is at risk of extinction

Lowland tapir populations in the Atlantic Forest in South America are at risk of almost complete disappearance, scientists have estimated. Weighing up to 250 kg, the animal can adapt to most habitats in South America—but its populations continue to decline across its range.

In the Himalayas, land-use change is driving the loss of forest birds

Land-use changes in the western Himalayan forests, a global biodiversity hotspot with huge numbers of endemic species, have resulted in a massive decline in forest birds in the region, new research shows.

In the Wake of Climate Week, Here’s a Future Roadmap for Forests

As we were often reminded during the recent Climate Week events, forests are in full retreat around the world—and their loss has dire implications for countless species, including us.

Increased bio-geographical representation for Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Review of Implementation of the Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity

Reference: SCBD/STTM/MG/VA/55131 (2006-067)
To: the CBD National Focal Points and SBSTTA Focal Points of the Asia-Pacific Region

I am inviting your Government to submit the name of an expert who may be called upon to participate in the AHTEG, together with a description of his/her expertise that is strictly related to the mandate of the Group annexed to the present notification (the reports of the first, second, and third ...

Indian Farmers Are Building Food Forests to Fight Climate Change, Agrarian Crisis

While Amazon rainforests remain the world’s largest intact forest, according to recent research, the seemingly untouched forests were in fact manmade food forests. For thousands of years, humans were dependent on forests for food. In time, villages and farms replaced forests.

Indigenous hardwood trees communicate climate resilience

When issues of forest conservation, adaptation, regeneration and restoration are discussed, rarely do we hear about the significance of indigenous hardwood trees’ role in the climate resilience matrix. Is it because they take long to grow or they are just brushed aside as not suitable enough to ...

Indonesia's biodiesel drive is leading to deforestation

Indonesia pledged at the recent COP26 climate summit that its greenhouse gas emissions would peak by 2030 and then start to fall. It's also said that it will end deforestation by that same date. But to reduce emissions from its transport sector, it's relying on using more biofuels - production o ...

Inequality promotes deforestation in Latin America

Tropical deforestation is a major contributor to climate change and loss of local and global ecosystem functions. Latin America accounts for a large share of remaining tropical forests, but also features deforestation rates well above the world average.

Informal Counsultations Regarding Draft Multi-Year Programme of Work of the United Nations Forum on Forests

13 - 16 February 2001, New York, United States of America