News
Climate change and deforestation pose risk to Amazon rainforest
20 May 2011
Deforestation and climate change will likely decimate much of the Amazon rainforest, says a new study by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre. Climate change and widespread deforestation is expected to cause warmer and drier conditions overall, reducing the resistance of the rainforest ecosystem to natural and human-caused stressors while increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall events and droughts by the end of this century. While...
Moratorium issued to protect primary forests, peatland
20 May 2011
The REDD taskforce led by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto wanted the moratorium imposed on both primary and secondary forests as well as peatland. Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said secondary forests should remain open to commercial exploitation to aid the ...See all stories on this topic »
Indonesia signs moratorium on new permits for logging, palm oil concessions
19 May 2011
After five-and-a-half months of delay due to political infighting, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally signed a two-year moratorium on the granting of new permits to clear rainforests and peatlandsi, reports Reuters.
Indonesia signs two-year deforestation moratorium
19 May 2011
Indonesia will receive $1 billion in funding for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD-plus) activities. The moratorium was expected to begin on January 1, but was delayed pending the signing of the presidential decree. ...See all stories on this topic »
Brazil confirms 473% jump in Amazon deforestation
18 May 2011
New data from the Brazilian government confirms environmentalists' fears that farmers and ranchers are clearing rainforest in anticipation of a weakening of the country's rules governing forest protection.
Debate over rainforest conservation gets heated
18 May 2011
A debate over the need to conserve forests versus converting them for industrial use grew heated last week at Australian National University (ANU). A forum brought together policy experts, scientists, and a forestry lobbyist to discuss Australia's role in overseas forestry. But an exchange between William F. Laurance, an ecologist at James Cook University, and Alan Oxley, a former former Australian trade ambassador who lobbies on behalf of forestry interests, became the focus of the event.
Restoring the world's forests while feeding the poor | Nigel Sizer and Lars Laestadius
18 May 2011
Trees are being cut down for farming, but a new study shows that a lot of land already cleared could be used instead"We are one shock away from a full-blown crisis," stated Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, at a recent meeting of the bank and the IMF. He was referring to a critical increase in poverty, resulting from the escalating cost of food. The UN's food price index has risen 37% since March 2010. Basic cereal prices are up 60% over this period. Wheat is up 63%, and maize...
Under pressure from rising deforestation, Brazil’s IBAMA establishes ‘Zero Deforestation Policy’ in the Amazon
18 May 2011
IBAMA, Brazil’s equivalent of the EPA, is suspending 1,300 planned operations for 2011 in order to concentrate on curbing a spike in regional deforestation through a two-pronged strategy of greater institutional presence and reciprocal agreements with local municipal governments. Following a series of meetings in the Amazonian states of Pará, Mato Grosso, and Amazonas between IBAMA and political leaders, landowners, ranchers, and environmentalists, IBAMA announced a “Zero Deforestation Pact”...
Journalists visit mangroves to learn about REDD+ and climate change
17 May 2011
Source: CIFOR -- 17 journalists from all over Indonesia attended a workshop in Bali in April on REDD+ and the role of wetlands in climate change. Hailing from the big Jakarta newspapers as well as from regional outlets in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua and Bali, the group learnt about the science of climate change from some world-class forest scientists.
Tras las Huella del Cambio Climático
17 May 2011
Source: UNDP -- “Tras las Huellas del Cambio Climático” es un informe que permite apreciar el conocimiento acumulado en el entendimiento del clima, los impactos relevantes de la variabilidad climática, la vulnerabilidad observada desde una perspectiva climática, así como la adaptación al cambio climático emprendidas a nivel del gobierno, sus instituciones e iniciativas de la sociedad civil en general que apuntan a generar experiencia, conocimiento, reducir la vulnerabilidad y realizar acciones...