News
$11m in funds to help protect forests
2 Sep 2011
The German Government and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) office in Germany have committed 8.2 million euro (US$11.7 million) to enhance the protection of forests...
August in review: Brazil's Forest Code debate, a giant subterranean 'river', India's India's Western Ghats
2 Sep 2011
The two most popular news articles on mongabay.com in August dealt with the Amazon rainforest.
RELEASE: Leaders Announce Global Effort to Restore 150 Million Hectares of Deforested Land
2 Sep 2011
New Global Restoration Council to be led by former Swedish Prime Minister Persson
A global effort to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested lands by 2020 is being launched in Bonn, Germany. The announcement comes during the Bonn Challenge Ministerial Roundtable, where a select group of government officials, business leaders, and international forest experts are gathering to catalyze support for global forest and landscape restoration.
At the meeting, Göran Persson, former...
Sparing or sharing? Protecting wild species may require growing more food on less land
1 Sep 2011
In parts of the world still rich in biodiversity, separating natural habitats from high-yielding farmland could be a more effective way to conserve wild species than trying to grow crops and conserve nature on the same land, according to a new study.
Brazil Forest Law changes threaten to send climate achievements up in smoke
1 Sep 2011
Brasilia, Brazil: Proposed changes to Brazil’s forest laws that will cut back protection and offer wide ranging amnesties for illegal deforestation threaten to undo the country’s impressive performances in cutting back emissions and protecting biodiversity.
"As it stands now, the forest law is a piece of legislation that looks to the future. It is the best possible legal framework for our adaptation to Climate Change through the conservation of ecosystems", the leader of WWF’s Living...
Cameroon's investment plan endangers forest reserves
1 Sep 2011
Push to build port, mines and roads to cut poverty and unemployment threatens the country's shrinking forest reserves
When Will We Cash In on the Carbon Trade?
31 Aug 2011
In 2009, Indonesia announced that it was the first country prepared to host pilot projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, or REDD schemes. These projects involved figuring out how to calculate and distribute the payments ...See all stories on this topic »Jakarta Globe
Bedrock nitrogen may help forests buffer climate change, study finds
31 Aug 2011
For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that forest trees have the ability to tap into nitrogen found in rocks, boosting the trees' growth and their ability to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If trees can access more nitrogen than previously thought, that could lead to more storage of carbon on land and less carbon remaining in the atmosphere.
Supermarket challenges toilet paper marker to disprove deforestation allegations
31 Aug 2011
A major New Zealand supermarket chain has asked Cottonsoft to prove its environmental credentials after testing by WWF and Greenpeace revealed that the toilet paper maker was using mixed tropical hardwoods sourced from Indonesia's rainforests in its tissue. reports The Dominion Post.