The forces shaping forests in the coming decade extend beyond any single driver. Shifts in politics, finance and technology are unfolding at once, often in ways that reinforce each other.…
In March, after decades of negotiations, the free trade agreement between Mercosur nations and the European Union (EU) was ratified by Paraguay, the last founding member of the Latin American…
In the southern tip of Colombia’s Cauca department, known as the “boot” for its shoe-like shape, volunteer members of an Indigenous guard patrol their territories in the Andean foothills to…
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s deforestation surged in 2025, rising 66% from the previous year, marking a sharp reversal after several years of decline, according to new data from the NGO Auriga…
HONORIA, Peru — Jacqueline Flores sits cross-legged on a wooden platform inside a dim Asháninka maloca, the Indigenous longhouse where her dress, painted with geometric patterns, seems to merge with…
In 2023, when the European Parliament passed a law meant to keep products linked to deforestation out of the EU single market, environmentalists were riding high. The landmark piece of…
CIÉNAGA, Colombia — A handful of men swarm around a coffee collection center in the city of Ciénaga, shouldering burlap sacks of coffee as they move in and out of…
BRASÍLIA — Indigenous leaders and researchers in Brazil say an end to a key zero-deforestation agreement, the Amazon Soy Moratorium, will increase deforestation around Indigenous lands and encourage the invasion…
The production of food continues to eat its way into the world's tropical forests. Agricultural expansion drives nearly 90% of global deforestation, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of…
PADANG, Indonesia — The government of West Sumatra plans to move forward with a legal pathway for up to 300 small mines operating illegally in the heavily forested province, joining…
As global soy giants walk away from a landmark pact, land grabbers move in to clear the forest for new crops.
A week ago, the media reported that the Ministry of Forestry estimated the total cost of rehabilitating Indonesia’s forests and critical lands at Rp153.78 trillion, or about US$9.2 billion, over…
LOEHA RAYA, Indonesia — The road to the headquarters of the Loeha Raya Farmers’ Cooperative is inundated from the monsoon, and a baby cayman splashes around in a puddle formed…
JAKARTA — Indigenous rights activists have condemned the Indonesian government’s decision to grant 328,000 hectares (810,505 acres) of cultivation rights for a massive rice plantation project in Papua, warning that…
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has revoked the permits of 28 companies over environmental violations that authorities say exacerbated the deadly floods and landslides that struck the island of Sumatra…
JAKARTA — In the wake of the deadly floods and landslides that struck Indonesia in late 2025, the nation’s environment ministry has sued six companies, seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($284…
On Dec. 2, 2025, Guinea celebrated a milestone when a ship loaded with iron ore departed from the newly constructed port of Morebaya on the Atlantic coast. The shipment of…
After years of uneven progress, deforestation in Indonesia is poised to accelerate, owing to widespread logging, expanding plantations and mining. In December, Indonesia’s forestry minister, Raja Juli Antoni, indicated the…
The wildcat gold mining boom that swept across the Amazon beginning in the 1970s left behind an environmental catastrophe of staggering proportions. At least 350,000 hectares (almost 865,000 acres) of…
JAKARTA — Best known as the home of the world’s rarest great ape, the mountainous Batang Toru forest landscape on the island of Sumatra has become a test case for…
MEXICO CITY — Throughout 2025, Latin America remained a battleground between efforts to conserve some of the world’s most valuable ecosystems and mounting pressure from organized crime and legal extractive…
As Belém's COP30 ended in compromise, political forces moved swiftly to accelerate destruction far from the global spotlight.
JAKARTA — One of the world’s biggest pulp and paper companies has acknowledged to Mongabay a potential breach of its no-deforestation commitment in its supply chain, raising questions about the…
Amid growing pressure for beef supply chains to be deforestation-free, a new certification system in Brazil will allow meatpackers, importers and retailers to guarantee that the meat cuts they sell…
JAKARTA — A major global forestry certification body is under scrutiny for endorsing one of Indonesia’s largest recent deforesters, raising concerns that consumers may be misled about the origins of…
JAKARTA — A Tapanuli orangutan, the world’s rarest great ape, has been discovered dead in mud and log debris in a village in northern Sumatra — a grim sign of…
KAPUAS HULU, Indonesia — A palm oil company is rapidly clearing rainforest inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that’s home to orangutans and sun bears, adding to concerns over Indonesia’s efforts…
BELÉM, Brazil — A new analysis warns that the world is overlooking a major source of future emissions hidden beneath tropical forests — and that Brazil’s newly launched Tropical Forest Forever…
Phaseout plan gained unexpected momentum at the summit, only to vanish from the final deal and unlock a new stage.
Operational rifts and budget constraints choked ambitious funding from rich nations for TFFF at Belém’s summit.
BELÉM, Brazil — At a Nov. 19 press conference at the U.N. climate summit currently underway in Brazil, European Union officials spoke for half an hour without a single mention…
The Tapajós supported Indigenous people for millennia, but now vessels, pollution and waves may disrupt their lives.
