The destruction of tropical rainforests — seen in shocking images of huge wildfires, vast clear-cuts and dying drought-stressed trees — is unfolding annually before the world's eyes. But some serious…
A vital Amazonian superfood suddenly vanishes, leaving thousands of Indigenous and extractivist families reeling.
A protected wildlife refuge in Nicaragua has suffered a wave of deforestation in recent years, fueled by controversial land deals allowing settlers to clear the rainforest for farming, mining and…
This is part five of a series on the operation to evict illegal gold miners from Munduruku Indigenous territories. Read part one, part two, part three, and part four. “We’re…
Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth, appears to be gearing up to renew official estimates of its remaining wildlife populations, following nearly two decades without official updates…
JAKARTA — For years, Mikael Ane, an Indigenous farmer from the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, has faced prison not for harming the environment, but for trying to protect…
Grassroots organizations are settling new areas in the Brazilian Amazon amid disappointment that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been slow to jump-start the stalled land reform agenda.
Authorities managing one of the last protected areas on Earth that still hosts Sumatran tigers must do more to deter poaching and promote alternative livelihoods for local communities, a new…
ABIDJAN — In recent months, the town of Soubré in the southwest of Côte d’Ivoire has experienced a shortage of staple products in local markets. Some of the most widely…
A new report adds to the already overwhelming case that protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon Rainforest serve as a critical carbon sink. The report, based on satellite…
SOUBRÉ, Côte d’Ivoire — “Dry periods never used to last this long before," says Célestin Oura, a farmer in southwestern Côte d'Ivoire. "The dry season used to last a month…
MEXICO CITY — Officials have acknowledged the environmental damage caused by Tren Maya, and say they’re exploring ways to restore cenotes and rainforests disrupted by the railway’s construction through the…
When it comes to reforestation, planting a diversity of tree species could have a plethora of positive effects on forest health and resilience, climate mitigation and biodiversity. That’s based on…
About 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of Cape Town lies the tranquilly-named town of Betty’s Bay in South Africa, home to less than 2,000 people. But it’s not the people…
Global reforestation and forest restoration efforts are facing a serious setback due to the recent U.S. foreign aid freeze. The sudden halt in funding has left projects around the world…
Millions of years ago, as the Indo-Australian plate pushed into the Pacific plate, a volcanic arc of islands began to emerge near the modern-day island of New Guinea that would…
Hidden within the Amazon Rainforest are rare, carbon-rich ecosystems known as peatlands, a type of swamp forest that’s key to combatting climate change through its capacity to absorb and store…
Botanist Andrea Bianchi and local plant experts Aloyce Mwakisoma and his brother Ruben were exploring two tiny village forest reserves in the Udzungwa mountains in 2019, when they stumbled upon…
PURSAT, Cambodia — The Cambodian government has approved at least three new irrigation dams across the Cardamom Mountains, carving even deeper into forests currently being used for the Southern Cardamom REDD+…
This is part two of a series on the operation to evict illegal gold miners from Munduruku Indigenous territories. Read part one, part three, part four and part five. Residents…
KOH KONG, Cambodia — “[Officially], the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project was suspended for more than a year and then restarted/reinstated recently. But what I actually see here on the ground is…
Conservation projects across the world are reeling from the Trump administration’s abrupt decision to shut down USAID and freeze foreign aid, as groups large and small scramble to fill sudden…
As 2025 dawns, here is a look at some of the storylines that could shape the fate of tropical forests this year. More reading: The year in tropical rainforests: 2024…
It might not come as much of a surprise that Tony’s Chocolonely has expressed its support for the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR). The Dutch chocolate maker is known…
The year 2024 saw significant developments in tropical rainforest conservation, deforestation, and degradation. While progress in some regions provided glimmers of hope, systemic challenges and emerging threats highlighted the fragility…
Over the course of his career, Peter Houlihan has hauled light traps across dense jungles to study insects, even climbing up trees to string them up in the canopy. Earlier…
STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — In early October, work began on power lines that will run about 300 kilometers, or 190 miles, and that conservationists have labeled “a death sentence” to…
Cleared or degraded tropical forests around the world covering a combined area larger than Saudi Arabia could regrow on its own, according to new research published Oct. 30 in the…
The task at hand was nothing short of grueling. In the depths of the Amazon Rainforest earlier this year, it was a mad scramble as six teams deployed cutting-edge technology…
José Rafael Lozada had systematically monitored forest plots for almost 25 years in the Caparo Forest Reserve, the last tropical rainforest of Venezuela’s western plains, when about 300 peasant families…
With an internationally backed project to protect core forest in Malaysia’s Sarawak state now quashed at the request of the state’s forest department, both NGOs and Sarawak forestry officials cite…
Joan Carling has made it her life’s mission to fight for the rights of her fellow Indigenous peoples. She has led anti-mining campaigns in the Philippines and faced death threats.…