Rainforest Agriculture News
In the rice-rich Mekong region, will husk briquettes take hold?
by Lauren Crothers 28 August 2019
Sanu Kaji Shrestha was wandering along a Cypriot coastline 10 years ago, enjoying some downtime from a workshop he was leading on green energy technology, when he decided to collect…
Logging road construction has surged in the Congo Basin since 2003
by John C. Cannon 24 June 2019
The length of roads in Congo Basin logging concessions has doubled since 2003, according to new research, raising concerns about the impacts of these incursions into the world's second-largest bank…
'Livestock revolution' triggered decline in global pasture: Report
Globally, the land we use for pasture is contracting, according to a new report from the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, California. The technical know-how also…
Out on a limb: Unlikely collaboration boosts orangutans in Borneo
by Nina Finley 12 June 2019
BUKIT BAKA BUKIT RAYA NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia -- In the heart of Indonesian Borneo, a dwindling population of orangutans is getting a new lease on life thanks to a group of…
Chinese banks risk supporting soy-related deforestation, report finds
by John C. Cannon 30 May 2019
The homegrown banks that back the flood of soy into China have with little knowledge of the deforestation their funding is potentially supporting, according to the nonprofit CDP, an international…
Altered forests threaten sustainability of subsistence hunting
by Mongabay.com 29 May 2019
The way humans have changed the forests of Central and South America may be making it impossible for subsistence hunters to continue their way of life, according to two conservation…
'Green' bonds finance industrial tree plantations in Brazil
Investments known as green bonds that are intended to slow climate change can finance the operation of tree plantations in ways that have few, if any, environmental benefits, according to…
EU holds the key to stop the 'Notre Dame of forests' from burning (commentary)
by Claire Wordley 30 April 2019
Last week, a tearful Greta Thunberg begged the EU to act on the climate and ecological crises we are facing. "It's OK if you refuse to listen to me," she…
Scientists urge overhaul of the world's parks to protect biodiversity
by John C. Cannon 11 April 2019
Countries should concentrate on outcomes instead of actions when they set aside areas for parks and reserves to shore up the loss of biodiversity, according to a group of scientists.…
Tapirs could be key in helping degraded rainforests bounce back
by Mongabay.com 20 March 2019
Tapirs may help rainforests recover after destructive human use and increase the amount of carbon they hold, new research has found. The study, based in the Brazilian Amazon, found that…
Investors warn soy giants of backlash over deforestation in South America
by James Fair 18 March 2019
The world's leading companies involved in the soy trade are being challenged to come clean about their impact on the environment and to completely eliminate deforestation from their operations. The…
Europe, in bid to phase out palm biofuel, leaves fans and foes dismayed
by Hans Nicholas Jong 15 March 2019
JAKARTA — The European Commission has officially approved a measure to phase out palm oil-based biofuel by 2030. But while the move has angered major palm oil producers, it hasn't…
New maps show where humans are pushing species closer to extinction
by John C. Cannon 15 March 2019
Animals around the globe are losing ground to farming and ranching, and their numbers are dwindling at the hands of human hunters. But the question of where to direct precious…
European Parliament to vote on timber legality agreement with Vietnam
UPDATE (19 March 2019): The European Parliament voted March 12 to consent to the VPA with Vietnam by a vote of 632-14 with 23 abstentions. The resolution, including the explanatory…
EU action plan on tropical deforestation must be beefed up, or it will fail (commentary)
by Sam Lawson 8 February 2019
Through its insatiable consumption of agro-commodities like soy, palm oil, and beef, the EU is contributing to a global deforestation crisis. After stalling for years while it carried out study…
House of the Royal Lady Bee: Maya revive native bees and ancient beekeeping
by Jennifer Kennedy, Richard Arghiris 31 January 2019
Engineered by insect intelligence, the hive was a convoluted mesh of waxy secretions and labyrinthine cavities. Worker bees streamed through its recesses. Bulbous pods brimmed with fresh honey. It was…
Saving the forests of the Congo Basin: Q&A with author Meindert Brouwer
by Mongabay.com 23 January 2019
It was an ambitious project from the start: to capture the Congo Basin rainforest in the pages of a book. Stretching across an area larger than Saudi Arabia, the world's…
Peccary's disappearance foreboding for other Mesoamerican wildlife
by Mongabay 20 December 2018
The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), a hairy, pig-like mammal that once lived throughout the forests of Central and South America, now only skitters around in 13 percent of its former…
Stop importing illegal timber, PNG activists tell China at APEC Summit
by John C. Cannon 22 November 2018
China's imports of timber from Papua New Guinea (PNG) are winnowing away the country's forests, according to a group of NGOs, researchers and landowners. Without action by Chinese leaders, they…
Deforested, degraded land restoration a top priority for African leaders
by Mongabay.com 19 November 2018
African leaders came together on Nov. 13 to back the restoration of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of degraded ecosystems ahead of the start of the U.N. Biodiversity Conference.…