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topic: Reforestation
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New study points to private land as key to Atlantic Forest recovery
- A new study shows that restored private lands in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest achieved up to 20% more forest cover than unrestored neighboring private lands.
- With 75% of the Atlantic Forest in private hands and a 6.2-million-hectare (15.3-million-acre) deficit of native vegetation, according to the law, private landowners are key to recovery.
- Over the past decade, forest gains and losses in the Atlantic Forest have essentially stagnated; but last year, half of all deforestation hit mature forests over 40 years old, threatening biodiversity and carbon stocks.
Navigating the complex world of reforestation efforts
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Reforestation has become a feel-good global rallying cry. From corporations touting “net zero” targets to philanthropies seeking visible impact, planting trees has become shorthand for planetary repair. Yet behind the glossy photos of saplings and smiling farmers lies […]
Top-down projects, exotic trees, weak tenure: Congo Basin restoration misses the mark
- Despite a panoply of projects — from tree-planting drives to agroforestry schemes — a new study finds that much of what’s happening in the name of “forest restoration” in the Congo Basin may not be restoring forests at all, but largely focused on growing nonnative, commodity species.
- The research found nearly two-thirds of projects favored planting exotic species over native ones, primarily because they grow more quickly, require less care, and their seeds are easier to source.
- It also noted a lack of ecological monitoring, with few initiatives tracking tree survival rates, soil recovery or carbon storage, and most lasting less than five years — far too short to measure real ecological impact.
- Beyond agroforestry and fuelwood plantations, the study calls for approaches that promote natural regeneration, restore native biodiversity and reconnect fragmented habitats.
As fish catches fall and seas rise, Douala’s residents join efforts to restore mangroves
- Cameroon’s coastal fisheries are in decline, leaving fishers with dwindling catches — a crisis linked directly to the depletion of the country’s mangroves, experts say, which are breeding grounds for fish.
- The expansion of urban settlements, conversion of coastal land for agriculture, and sand extraction drives mangrove loss in Cameroon; another key driver is the use of mangrove wood for smoking fish.
- The Cameroon government and NGOs have set themselves an ambitious goal of restoring 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres) of mangrove forests by 2050.
- A key strategy involves engaging local communities in the replanting process and providing alternative livelihoods, such as urban farming and beekeeping, to reduce dependence on mangrove wood.
Reforestation and wild pig decline spark surge in miniature deer in Singapore
- Once thought extinct in Singapore, a little-known species of miniature deer has reemerged in unprecedented numbers on a small island reserve in the Johor Strait.
- Researchers documented the greater mouse-deer thriving on Pulau Ubin at the highest population density recorded anywhere in the species’ range.
- The team put the surge down to increased availability of prime habitat following a decade of forest restoration, as well as reduced competition for food after the collapse of the island’s wild pig population due to African swine fever.
- Experts say the dramatic “ecological cascade” underscores the need for long-term, ecosystem-wide monitoring throughout Southeast Asia, particularly at sites impacted by sudden shifts triggered by disease.
Philippine mangroves survived a typhoon, but now confront a human-made challenge
- A new study shows mangroves in Tacloban, the Philippine city hit hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan in December 2013, have expanded beyond pre-storm levels.
- This recovery was driven by community-led reforestation efforts from 2015-2018, when residents planted 30,000 Rhizophora mangrove seedlings across 4 hectares (10 acres) of Cancabato Bay.
- Satellite image analysis and modeling reveal how the forest was destroyed by Haiyan and how it later withstood 2019’s Typhoon Phanfone.
- However, experts warn that the recovering mangroves may be threatened by an ongoing project to build a causeway across the bay, which could generate pollution and physical disturbances.
Amazon’s stingless bee propolis shows potent healing power, studies show
- Researchers in Brazil identified anti-inflammatory properties of a cream made with the propolis of Amazon stingless bees, with results similar to commercial healing ointments.
- Stingless bees (meliponines) are the primary pollinators for the açaí berry, making their conservation crucial for both the Amazon ecosystem and a billion-dollar global industry.
- For one Amazon family, swapping cattle ranching for beekeeping and cosmetics is a real-world example of a bioeconomy that experts say offers a powerful alternative to deforestation.
In Thailand, a cheap bottle crate hack gives tree saplings a fighting chance
- A recent study in Thailand finds that raising native tree seedlings inside repurposed bottle crates improves performance compared to standard methods in community-run nurseries.
- Saplings grown in bottle crates had better root formation and superior growth when planted out in a deforested site, thanks to better air circulation for the roots.
- Crating the saplings also saved on labor costs, which more than offset the cost of purchasing the crates.
- Adoption of the new method could improve the quality of saplings grown in community nurseries, a benefit for reforestation projects where sapling survival is key to success.
As fires flare in Brazil’s Cerrado, heat-resistant seeds offer restoration lifeline
- Research from Brazil shows that tree species adapted to extreme heat may be key to reforesting areas affected by fires.
- The ongoing research focuses on plants native to the Cerrado savanna, a biome where fire is a natural mechanism for vegetation regeneration and seeds can germinate after the land is burned.
- The findings have practical implications for the Cerrado, which is the most burning-prone biome in Brazil, with the risk of fire exacerbated by agriculture.
- Proponents say restoration strategies that include heat-resistant species can minimize the impacts and prepare the restoration site for other species to take root.
Saalumarada Thimmakka, mother of trees, has died, aged 114
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Along a dusty road between Hulikal and Kudur in southern India, banyan trees rise like sentinels. Their thick roots grasp the earth, their canopies stretch wide, casting deep shade over the red soil. Travelers who pass beneath them […]
New directory helps donors navigate the complex world of global reforestation
- The Global Reforestation Organization Directory provides standardized information on more than 125 major tree-planting organizations, making it easier for donors to compare groups and find the ones that match their priorities.
- Researchers from the University of California Santa Cruz evaluated groups across four categories: permanence, ecological, social and financial, each backed by scientific literature on best practices.
- Much of the evaluation relies on the organization’s self-reporting through surveys or website statements and, while researchers acknowledge this limitation, they say it still provides a valuable framework and a starting point for donors.
- The directory doesn’t rank organizations but rather shows what organizations publicly share about following scientific best practices, avoiding common mistakes and monitoring their results.
Tech for the Trees
Tree planting has been widely embraced as a climate and biodiversity solution, but many reforestation projects fail before the saplings even mature. This series explores how emerging technologies are reshaping the future of forest restoration. These innovations — from AI-driven species selection to drone planting and real-time forest monitoring — could be vital for meeting […]
Researchers define the importance of the ‘circular seabird economy’
In a review article published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, researchers have introduced a new term to describe the importance of seabirds across land and marine ecosystems: the circular seabird economy. Although seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, they return to land to breed, often forming colonies of thousands of individuals. This influx of […]
Senegal’s great green wall progress falters amid unfulfilled pledges: Study
- A recent study has examined the progress to realize Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative in Senegal, which is often hailed as the model for this continent-wide project.
- The study finds Senegal has achieved encouraging social and economic results — but far less success on the ecological front.
- The study’s authors, echoing complaints from African officials, say that far less money has actually reached implementing countries and organizations than has been announced at global forums.
Forest Declaration Assessment reveals a forest paradox
- Tropical forests are regenerating across millions of hectares, with Latin America and Asia showing dramatic gains—but this apparent recovery conceals a deeper contradiction: deforestation remains stubbornly high.
- The world continues to clear about 8 million hectares of forest each year, far off the path to meet the 2030 zero-deforestation pledge, as fires, drought, and agriculture erase progress almost as quickly as it appears.
- Primary forests, rich in carbon and biodiversity, are disappearing fastest, driven mainly by agriculture; current funding for forest protection is dwarfed by subsidies for industrial farming.
- Natural regrowth offers hope—young secondary forests sequester carbon efficiently—but without halting new clearings, these green shoots risk becoming temporary pauses in an ongoing cycle of loss.
Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024
- The five Mekong countries lost nearly 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of tree cover in 2024, with nearly a quarter of which was primary forest, and more than 30% of losses occurring inside protected areas.
- Cambodia and Laos saw some of the highest levels of loss inside protected areas, driven by logging, plantations and hydropower projects, though both countries recorded slight declines from 2023.
- In Myanmar, conflict has complicated forest governance, with mining and displacement contributing to losses, though overall deforestation fell slightly compared to the previous year.
- Thailand and Vietnam bucked the regional trend, with relatively low forest losses in protected areas, supported by logging bans, reforestation initiatives, and stricter law enforcement.
Removing rats helps revive forests, birds & coral in the Marshall Islands
On Bikar Atoll and Jemo Islet of the Marshall Islands, seabirds are returning, forests are regrowing and coral reefs are recovering. And it all stems from the removal of a single invasive pest: rats. Rats were once so abundant on Bikar and Jemo that they “utterly dominated the lower levels of the forest,” Paul Jacques, […]
There’s far less land available for reforestation than we think, study finds
- In recent years, policymakers have made pledges for huge tree-planting projects a cornerstone for meeting national carbon reduction goals, while doing little to seriously cut fossil fuel emissions. But a new study shows the carbon sequestration estimates made for those forestation projects may be wildly optimistic.
- The new research determined that land found suitable for forestation in past studies — an area about the size of India — shrank by as much as two-thirds when adverse impacts on biodiversity, food security and water resources were taken into account.
- When the new study figured in environmental and social constraints, the potential for existing tree-planting pledges to store a promised 40 gigatons of carbon by 2050, was reduced to just 12.5 gigatons — a significant sum, but far from what’s needed to offset continued fossil fuel use.
- The new study urges policymakers to be more pragmatic in their planting strategies, and prioritize lands best slated for permanent reforestation. Other researchers urge decision-makers to put more effort and money into protecting already existing biodiverse forests, which hold high carbon storage potential.
In the Andean Amazon, countries struggle to fight deforestation
- Goals to reduce deforestation by 2030 set by Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia have been undermined by policies that drive deforestation.
- In Colombia, the Petro administration aims to reduce land inequality by redistributing confiscated land, while investing in rural infrastructure with the hope of motivating individuals to stay in previously deforested landscapes.
- In Ecuador, although illegal deforestation is subject to criminal prosecution, infringers are seldom prosecuted and the permitting system is largely used to manage the timber trade.
- Despite its conservation policies, Peru has no coherent, integrated policy to fight illegal deforestation, while many local public officials are compromised by their participation in the illegal land market.
In Guatemala, young Kaqchikel Maya protect their sacred forest with open mapping
- The Indigenous community of San José Poaquil is using technology to monitor the health and integrity of their ancestral forest.
- As a result of an open mapping project started in 2022, locals have created online maps for their forest, which have allowed them to keep track of wildfires, deforestation and other illicit activities that threaten the area.
- The Kaqchikel Maya have long fought to own the title of their communal forest, which was finally granted by the Constitutional Court in 2016, yet tensions persist.
- The community has obtained payments for the ecosystem services they provide through forest monitoring and restoration; these will allow them to further invest in protecting their territory.
From shamba to PELIS: Kenyan farmers derive livelihoods from government timber plantations
- Under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) enlists communities living near timber plantations to support replanting of trees in exchange for temporary access to land to grow crops.
- A successor to the widely-criticised “shamba system”, PELIS relies on leaders of community forest associations to curb previous problems such as farmers overstaying on plantation land and and corrupt forest officers allocating large pieces of land to themselves and others.
- KFS is satisfied that the revamped scheme provides a cheap, effective way to restore tree cover, but some environmentalists want further changes to improve the ecological impact of PELIS.
Putting the right plants in the right place boosts restoration (commentary)
- A recent study used machine learning to ask the question: What would land look like if humans didn’t exist?
- The results tell us all we need to know, a new op-ed argues: If we want to restore land effectively, we must understand the land.
- “This research is a reminder that ecological restoration isn’t about chasing a single, idealized pristine past without people. It’s about managing land in ways that are place-based,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Critics say FSC update risks weakening accountability for forest harm
- The world’s biggest sustainable timber certifier has updated how it applies its “corporate group” rules, which determine whether certified companies are held responsible for violations by affiliates, suppliers or subsidiaries.
- NGOs like Forest Peoples Programme, Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network warn the change could let forestry giants such as APP and APRIL rejoin the FSC without fully remedying past deforestation and land conflicts.
- The NGOs took part in the review process, but say it favored corporate voices and misrepresented civil society input, raising concerns that the update prioritizes company reputations over community rights.
- Critics say narrowing the corporate group scope risks shielding parts of conglomerates from scrutiny just as the FSC tests its remedy framework with some of the world’s largest forestry companies.
Women-led patrols and fire prevention restore forests in northern Thailand
- Each year, northern Thailand struggles with choking haze caused by crop burning and forest fires, taking a severe toll on human health.
- Over the past two decades, a group of women in Lampang province have taken action to improve their local environment and curb sources of haze by restoring their local community forest.
- Their bold approach to fire prevention — combining regular patrols, check dams and fire breaks, as well as an innovative wildfire alert system — has earned them a reputation as a regional model for other communities.
- Now thriving, the community forest also yields wild mushrooms, leafy vegetables and other marketable produce that support local livelihoods.
More deforestation leads to a drier dry season, Amazon study finds
- Between 2002 and 2015, forest loss in Brazil’s southern Amazon reduced the amount of rainfall during the dry season by more than 5%, a recent study found.
- Researchers studying how deforestation in the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso affected the atmospheric water cycle between 2002 and 2015 found that a reduction in forest cover reduced evapotranspiration and disrupted regional atmospheric systems.
- Lower rainfall during the dry season can compromise crops, boost wildfires, and reduce water supplies and river levels, sometimes leaving communities isolated.
Kenya’s PELIS trades biodiversity for livelihoods and tree cover gains
- Kenya’s forest plantations and livelihoods scheme (PELIS) allows communities to farm plots in plantations while helping replant trees, aiming to increase tree cover and support rural incomes.
- The system, a successor to the shamba scheme, has shown mixed results: boosting seedling survival and community cooperation in some areas, but also enabling corruption, encroachment and biodiversity loss where mismanaged.
- Critics, especially Indigenous groups like the Ogiek, argue PELIS replaces diverse natural forests with exotic monocultures that harm ecosystems and undermine traditional forest-based livelihoods.
- Despite past suspensions, President William Ruto revived PELIS in 2022 to support Kenya’s ambitious target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, intensifying debate over whether plantation forestry can truly substitute for natural forest restoration.
New study pinpoints tree-planting hotspots for climate and biodiversity gains
- Reforestation is gaining global momentum as a climate solution, but its success depends on how and where it’s done.
- A new study mapped locations where tree planting and forest regrowth are most likely to deliver climate, biodiversity and community benefits, while avoiding negative trade-offs. It identified 195 million hectares (482 million acres) of reforestation hotspots, a figure significantly smaller than previous estimates.
- Previous studies have been criticized for including grasslands and drylands, where planting trees may harm biodiversity and compromise ecosystem services. Some experts, however, argue that restrictive approaches risk excluding important ecosystems from restoration agendas.
- Scientists caution that tree planting alone won’t solve climate change, and that protecting existing forests while cutting emissions would provide greater climate benefits.
Discovery of dazzling blue butterfly underscores peril facing Angola’s forests
- Scientists have described a new butterfly species, Francis’s gorgeous sapphire (Iolaus francisi), from Angola’s Namba Mountains, where its survival depends on mistletoe plants.
- High-altitude evergreen forests, known as Afromontane and covering about 590 hectares (1,460 acres) in the Namba Mountains, are the largest of their kind in Angola but remain without legal protection.
- Researchers warn that fires, timber harvesting, and especially unregulated farming could devastate the forests, as has happened at Kumbira, another Angolan Afromontane forest.
- Conservationists say community-led initiatives are key to protecting Namba, as Angola’s parliament moves to consider protected status for nearby Mount Moco, another Afromontane oasis.
Ecosystems as infrastructure: Tim Christophersen on how to rebuild humanity’s ties to nature
- Tim Christophersen argues that humanity’s crises of climate, biodiversity, and pollution stem from a fractured relationship with nature—one that cannot be abandoned, only repaired.
- He sees restoration as both urgent and possible: ecosystems, once given diversity and space, can recover quickly, offering resilience, carbon storage, and abundance.
- From UN diplomacy to corporate initiatives, he presses for treating ecosystems as essential infrastructure, requiring imagination, investment, and a “century of ecology” to secure civilization’s future.
- Christophersen was interviewed by Mongabay Founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in August 2025.
Pulp and paper giant APP moves closer to regaining FSC stamp despite pending review
- The Forest Stewardship Council has allowed Asia Pulp & Paper — “one of the world’s most destructive forestry companies” — to resume its remedy process toward regaining certification it lost in 2007 for deforestation and land conflicts.
- Watchdog groups say the decision is premature because a legal review of APP’s links to Paper Excellence/Domtar, the biggest pulp and paper company in North America, is still unfinished.
- Critics warn the move could erode trust, enable greenwashing, and expose communities in conflict with APP-linked companies to further harm.
- NGOs are calling for the remedy process to be paused until the review is completed and for full transparency on corporate ownership and compliance.
How urban greening is helping Singapore bounce back from widespread forest loss
Singapore, the smallest country in Southeast Asia, lost most of its original forest cover in the early 1800s to agriculture. But since the 1960s, when Singapore began pursuing urban greening initiatives, Singapore has greened 47% of its spaces, according to an episode of Mongabay’s podcast published in July. Speaking with host Mike DiGirolamo, Anuj Jain, […]
Reversing deforestation relies on resource ownership (commentary)
- The transition from deforestation to reforestation will rely on local resource ownership, because this ownership is an unavoidable prerequisite for the financing of carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services provided by forests, the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- “From Himalayan foothills to reforested cattle ranches in Central America, individuals and communities that own tree-covered land are being paid to safeguard forest ecosystem services. But even where conservation payments are not on the table, property rights, alone, make environmental improvement more rewarding for those individuals and communities,” they write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Indigenous leadership and science revive Panama’s degraded lands
Two Indigenous groups in Panama are collaborating with researchers in a long-term reforestation project that promises them income in return for growing native trees for carbon sequestration, Mongabay contributor Marlowe Starling reported in May. As part of the project, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have partnered with the local leadership in the […]
Ethiopia’s national tree campaign underway with aim to plant 700 million seedlings in one day
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia has launched a national campaign to plant 700 million trees in one day. The ambitious goal, announced Thursday, is part of a conservation initiative seeking to plant 50 billion trees by 2026. The reforestation campaign has been a personal project of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2019. Authorities say […]
Ambitious Denmark project starts farm-to-forest conversion
In December 2024, Denmark embarked on an ambitious plan to cut carbon emissions and restore 250,000 hectares (617,763 acres) or almost 6% of the country into forested area. One local initiative is afforesting agricultural land in Aarhus municipality, home to the country’s second-largest city, where nature is being allowed to take its course — with […]
A forest garden project attempts to expand into the Sahel
- A project in the Sahel and East Africa claims to fight both soil erosion and poverty through regenerative agroforestry.
- U.S.-based NGO Trees for the Future (TREES) trains farmers in what it calls the forest garden approach, an ancient model to plant diverse species next to each other.
- The approach is one of seven selected by the U.N. as a world restoration flagship program and aims to scale up massively to plant a billion trees by 2030.
- However, some experts say the potential for scaling up is limited, especially in the semiarid Sahel region, given the need for easily accessible sources of water.
Hope and frustration as Indonesia pilots FSC’s logging remedy framework
- Indonesia is the first test case for the Forest Stewardship Council’s new remedy framework, which allows logging firms to regain ethical certification by addressing past environmental and social harms.
- However, NGOs have found serious flaws in the process, including lack of consent, rushed assessments, and exclusion of many affected Indigenous communities.
- The process also faces backlash over poor transparency, intimidation of Indigenous rights activist, and allegations of undisclosed corporate ties to ongoing deforestation.
- Some communities see the framework as a rare chance to reclaim land and rights — but only if it becomes truly fair and accountable.
From deforestation to renewal: Why reforestation isn’t just about trees
- Sociologist Thomas Rudel explores the social and political forces behind global reforestation, arguing that forest regrowth is rarely automatic and often depends on human decisions and local conditions.
- He critiques top-down climate pledges for failing to engage with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities, who are frequently the key actors in both forest loss and recovery.
- Rudel highlights the importance of “corporatist coalitions” that link global funders with grassroots actors, enabling more flexible and locally effective forest restoration efforts.
- Rudel spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in July 2025.
What’s holding back natural climate solutions?
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Natural climate solutions, or NCS, range from reforestation and agroforestry to wetland restoration, and have long been championed as low-cost, high-benefit pathways for reducing greenhouse gases. In theory, they could provide more than a third of the climate […]
The forest guardians along Nepal-India border leading red panda conservation
- In eastern Nepal’s Taplejung district, Forest Guardians like Surya Bhattarai are on the frontlines of red panda conservation — monitoring habitat, deterring poaching and gathering scientific data to help protect the species.
- With fewer than 10,000 wild red pandas left globally and major threats from road construction, habitat fragmentation and stray dog attacks, conservation efforts have expanded beyond protected areas into community forests.
- To reduce pressure on forests and foster local stewardship, the nonprofit Red Panda Network combines habitat restoration, eco-tourism, education and alternative livelihoods such as nettle-based handicrafts and homestays.
African Parks earns over $7 million from carbon credit sales in Benin and CAR
African Parks has generated $7.35 million in carbon credit sales from Chinko National Park in the Central African Republic, Helge Mahne, global funding director for African Parks, confirmed to Mongabay in an email. An unspecified sum was also raised via sales from a similar project in Benin’s Pendjari and W national parks, although the nonprofit […]
A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
- The decline of mangroves significantly weakens Kenya’s coastal protection, leaving shorelines susceptible to erosion, storm surges and rising sea levels, disrupting marine ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, leading to reduced biodiversity — and lost livelihoods for locals.
- A U.S.-based organization called Seatrees is working with the local Community Based Environmental Conservation (COBEC) and residents of Marereni to restore and protect coastal and marine ecosystems as a natural solution to climate change.
- Since 2024, Seatrees has offered donors the option of buying $3 “biodiversity blocks,” each of which represents a single tangible conservation action: planting one mangrove tree on site in Marereni.
- The work goes beyond just planting trees, as community members turn mangrove restoration into a livelihood by establishing and maintaining nurseries — and, in some cases, starting side businesses with the income.
Will tropical dry forests survive the next 50 years?
- Tropical dry forests are critically endangered ecosystems that once covered vast areas of the planet but have been largely destroyed, with less than 8% of the original extent remaining in some regions due to conversion to agriculture and development.
- These forests support hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for essential resources, such as food, medicine and economic opportunities, while also hosting remarkable biodiversity, including jaguars, tapirs and numerous endemic species.
- A 2022 study revealed that more than 71 million hectares of tropical dry forests were lost between 2000-2020 alone — an area twice the size of Germany — with remaining forests under immediate threat in rapidly expanding deforestation frontiers and from climate change, with some areas experiencing two additional months of drought compared to the 1960s.
- Immediate conservation action is crucial as scientists warn that without aggressive intervention, including land restoration, assisted migration and emergency management techniques, these ancient ecosystems face collapse within decades.
After controversy, Plant-for-the-Planet focuses on the trees
- Plant-for-the-Planet, a global forest restoration and youth empowerment initiative, oversees reforestation projects in Mexico, Spain and Ghana.
- The organization was founded by Felix Finkbeiner at just 9 years old, when his school tree-planting project happened to make the local news in Germany. Now 27, he continues to help run Plant-for-the-Planet as it juggles rapid growth with the slow, painstaking work of planting trees.
- In recent years, the organization has been plagued by controversy, with news investigations exposing exaggerated planting numbers, poor record-keeping, and plans to invest in controversial real estate development.
- Now Plant-for-the-Planet is focusing on data collection and longer-term restoration strategies, hoping to leave its mistakes in the past.
Resilient forests are key to ecological, economic and social resilience, report finds
- Human society depends economically and socially on resilient forests, a new report from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations demonstrates.
- As a result, pushing forests toward collapse threatens human well-being globally, not just in communities in or near forests.
- The report authors recommend approaches for improving forest resilience, including more inclusive governance and remedying power imbalances.
- They also advocate managing for resilience in ways that include social and ecological concerns, not just the extraction of commercial and monetary value from forests.
From local planting to national plan, Belize bets on mangrove recovery
- Mangroves in Belize protect coastlines, are nursery grounds for fish, and store vast amounts of carbon.
- In 2021, the government of Belize committed to restoring 4,000 hectares (nearly 10,000 acres) of mangroves, and protecting an additional 12,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) within a decade, as part of its emissions reduction target under the Paris climate agreement.
- To support this restoration target, WWF Mesoamerica is developing a national mangrove restoration action plan.
- Restoration initiatives are already underway in areas like Gales Point, Placencia Caye and elsewhere.
Guinea-Bissau’s grassroots efforts offer a blueprint for global mangrove restoration (commentary)
- Guinea-Bissau’s mangroves have declined by nearly a third over the past 80 years, but the country still has the largest mangrove area as a proportion of its total area in the world.
- A grassroots revolution is underway, spearheaded by national organizations, international partners and local communities to restore the country’s mangrove landscapes.
- Called Ecological Mangrove Restoration, this method focuses on optimizing conditions for the mangroves to restore naturally, as well as collaborating with communities to ensure sustainability and resilience by fostering ownership of the project while leveraging local knowledge and resources.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Conservation tech without Indigenous knowledge and local context has limits (commentary)
- Local and Indigenous communities can now track deforestation, monitor biodiversity and respond to threats on their territories quickly with tools like drones, GPS apps and satellite imagery.
- These are powerful tools, but must not be introduced as standalone solutions, disconnected from the local knowledge of those who have stewarded ecosystems for generations.
- “When introduced with care, technology can help communities act faster, plan better and advocate more effectively, but only when it reflects local realities, and only when it supports — not supplants — cultural wisdom,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
To collect native seeds, Ugandan botanists are climbing forest giants
- To access the best seeds for the propagation of native species, botanists often need to safely and sustainably collect from a variety of mother trees.
- In Uganda, Sebastian Walaita at the Tooro Botanic Gardens has been honing his skills and training botanists in high tree climbing for more than 25 years.
- These skills allow the botanists to collect seeds from even the tallest trees, in a way that captures genetic diversity.
- In October 2024, Walaita and a fellow Ugandan held a training in high tree climbing and seed collection in Côte d’Ivoire.
Photographer Sebastião Salgado (1944-2025) planted a forest and grew a global movement
- Sebastião Salgado, the renowned Brazilian photographer, passed away at 81, leaving behind a legacy of powerful black-and-white images that highlighted the dignity of labor and the fragility of nature.
- His work spanned global photojournalism, social commentary, and environmental advocacy, with early acclaim for documenting human suffering and later a focus on environmental issues, particularly through his reforestation project, Instituto Terra.
- Salgado’s Amazônia project captured the beauty of the rainforest and Indigenous tribes, offering a rare, hopeful portrayal of the Amazon amidst rising environmental threats.
- Despite his fame, Salgado remained humble, seeing his photography not just as art but as a call to action, aiming to inspire change and environmental justice, with his legacy continuing to inspire long after his passing.
In Panama, an Indigenous-led project rewrites the rules of reforestation
- Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute are collaborating with local communities in the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, a protected Indigenous territory, to foster a ground-up reforestation strategy using native trees and carbon payments.
- The project involves about 30 plots totaling 100 hectares (247 acres) of land, giving participants full ownership of their trees.
- The approach is based on carbon-sequestration data and other scientific metrics collected from Smithsonian’s Agua Salud research site in Colón.
- The work also leans on economic analyses to ensure that reforestation projects can become reliable and sustainable livelihood strategies for Panama’s rural communities.
Protection is only the beginning: Creating connection through Belize’s Maya Forest Corridor
- In central Belize, the Maya Forest Corridor, a narrow section of forested land, is key for wildlife movements across Belize, conservationists say.
- A land acquisition by the Maya Forest Corridor Trust in 2021 was a major step forward in protecting the corridor.
- Members of the Trust are now working on ways to secure and bolster the ecological integrity of the land, but face threats like roads, fire and even a national sporting event.
Borneo project hopes to prove that forests and oil palms can coexist
- Monoculture palm oil production has come at the cost of rainforest habitat, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Researchers are conducting experimental trials in Malaysian Borneo to see if native trees can be planted in oil palm plantations without significantly reducing palm oil yields.
- While still in the initial stages, the experiment is so far showing there are no detrimental effects to oil palm growth.
- In fact, interplanting with native forest trees may benefit oil palm, with the researchers finding oil palm trees had more leaf growth in agroforestry plots than in monoculture ones.
Global prize longlists Mongabay feature on Maxakali reforestation in Brazil
A Mongabay feature on Indigenous-led reforestation efforts in southeastern Brazil’s Atlantic Forest has been longlisted for the environmental reporting category of the 2025 One World Media Awards, a leading journalism prize. Mongabay senior editor Xavier Bartaburu reported the story from Maxakali Indigenous land in Minas Gerais state, where the Maxakali, who also refer to themselves […]
Seeds rescued from India’s coffee farms could help forest restoration
Coffee agroforests in India’s Western Ghats mountains, where coffee shrubs are grown under the shade of trees, could be a good source of seeds for forest restoration efforts, according to a recent study, reports Mongabay India’s Simrin Sirur. Much of India’s coffee is grown in the rain-rich Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot. Coffee farms […]
We can’t plant our way out of climate change
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Forests with diverse tree species are more resilient to climate extremes and better at storing carbon, according to recent studies conducted in China and Panama. Though hardly groundbreaking, these findings reinforce an increasingly evident truth: Biodiversity in reforestation […]
‘It has been worth it’: The local women saving Yucatán’s mangroves
- Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services, from acting as nurseries for fish to buffering coasts from storms.
- Mangroves along the northern coast of the Mexican state of Yucatán have been impacted by deforestation and highway and port development.
- A group of women called Las Chelemeras has for the past 15 years worked to restore the region’s mangrove forests and ecosystem function.
- Their restoration tasks involve opening and maintaining channels so that water can infiltrate and drain with the tides, and planting mangrove tree seedlings.
Proforestation: The case for leaving trees alone
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a quiet corner of northern New York state, the white pines of the Adirondack Forest Preserve rise like sentinels, untouched for more than 125 years. Their silence speaks volumes. These towering trees, some 150 feet (about 46 […]
For scandal-ridden carbon credit industry, Amazon restoration offers redemption
- As REDD projects around the world face setbacks, restoration projects in the Amazon are flourishing as a means of reviving market confidence in forest-based carbon credits.
- In Brazil, the golden goose for restoration, this business model has attracted companies from the mining and beef industries, banks, startups, and big tech.
- Federal and state governments are granting public lands to restoration companies to recover degraded areas.
- Restoration projects require substantial investments and long-term commitment, face challenges such as increasingly severe fire seasons, and deal with uncertainty over the future of the carbon market.
Funding freeze threatens global reforestation and restoration efforts
- The sudden halt in U.S. foreign aid has left reforestation and forest restoration projects around the world scrambling for alternative resources, jeopardizing years of progress.
- Without consistent funding, ongoing projects face the threat of scaling back or shutting down entirely, potentially impacting, in the long-term, both the environment and the communities that rely on these initiatives for their livelihoods.
- According to Mongabay’s research, the funding freeze has affected the operations of many nature-based projects worldwide, particularly in biodiversity hotspots and some of the world’s poorest regions.
- Despite the challenges, affected organizations are working tirelessly to diversify their funding sources and fill the gaps left by the U.S. government, including launching online campaigns to request donations and calling the international community to step up.
Forest restoration is booming but biodiversity isn’t
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay’s founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives, and story summaries. Global efforts to restore forests are gathering pace, driven by promises of combating climate change, conserving biodiversity and improving livelihoods. Yet a recent review published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity warns that the biodiversity gains from these initiatives […]
Kenya’s cities adopt Miyawaki method to restore lost ecological glory
- Due to urbanization and human settlements destroying natural forests, African cities are increasingly experiencing high traffic noise, harmful emissions, and a “concrete jungle” development.
- In Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, forest cover decreased from 14% in 1976 to 3.3% in 2000. The city’s natural vegetation, too, decreased from 15% in 1979 to 2.7% in 2000.
- Since 2007, a restoration practice known as the Miyawaki method has successfully established mini forests in three areas in the capital, Nairobi, planting over 236,212 seedlings between 2011 and 2020.
- The project has benefited local communities by providing tree seedlings and forest maintenance activities; one resident has provided over 30,000 seedlings to the reforestation company and is currently working on their projects.
Beyond reforestation, let’s try ‘proforestation’
- “Proforestation” describes the process of allowing existing forests to continue growing without human interference as they achieve their full ecological potential for carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
- Old forests sequester a higher amount of carbon than younger ones, with large, old trees containing the most carbon.
- Many species are old forest specialists, relying on ancient forests for survival. Losing these forests may mean their extinction.
Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods
- For International Women’s Day, Mongabay puts a spotlight on a community forest restoration effort to protect Ghana’s shea trees, which are economically and ecologically important species for the country.
- The majority of participants are women, as they traditionally play a central role in every part of the value chain, from harvesting shea nuts to producing shea butter.
- The people from Yazori and Mognoni have so far planted over 53,000 seedlings over about 158 hectares of land to divert attention away from indigenous shea trees, which locals increasingly cut down for charcoal and firewood.
- The other trees have many benefits over shea species, like growing faster and being more resistant to fires, but shea trees still produce more efficient charcoal and women depend on the project to pay for new seedlings.
Collaboration, data and tracking move Africa’s Great Green Wall toward its goal
- After years of delays due to insufficient funding and prevailing conflicts, the Great Green Wall in the Sahel, aimed at preventing desertification, gained momentum with an accelerator program announced in 2021.
- As part of the accelerator, efforts are underway to address delays, improve monitoring progress of different projects that are part of the GGW initiative, track them by country, and evaluate their effectiveness, including building a new online database.
- GGW partners say they hope the harmonized monitoring and progress tracking can help sustain funding and realize the objectives of the ambitious initiative in the Sahel.
Agroforestry stores less carbon than reforestation, but has many other benefits, study finds
- New research finds that a reforestation and agroforestry project on Indigenous land in Panama missed its carbon sequestration goal, but returned better-than-average results and had many other benefits.
- The study found that tree planting had higher carbon storage, but agroforestry brought benefits to the local community in terms of extra income and food security.
- Fire was the biggest reason why the carbon goal was missed, which is an increasingly common challenge for carbon projects worldwide due to climate change.
- Researchers say project funders need to work closely with local communities to align goals around carbon storage and livelihoods.
Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems
- Contrary to popular conception, Lake Chad is not shrinking; new research shows that the volume of water in the lake has increased since its low point in the 1980s.
- However, more intense rain in the region, coupled with the impacts of historic drought, increases the risk of flooding.
- The region is also plagued by continuing conflict and insecurity, making to harder for people to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- A Lutheran World Federation project is working with communities in the Lake Chad Basin on sustainable agriculture and fisheries, land restoration, conflict resolution and more.
Reforesting Malawi’s ‘Island in the Sky’ to save its vanishing woodlands
- Malawi’s Mount Mulanje harbors unique biodiversity and numerous endemic species, protects vital watersheds, and is of high cultural value to local communities
- The mountain has experienced significant deforestation over the past few decades, both in both the miombo woodlands on the lower slopes and in the higher-elevation forests.
- For the past two decades, the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust and other partners have been working to bring back the Mulanje cedar (Widdringtonia whytei), an endemic species and Malawi’s national tree
- Conservation groups are also working on reforestation and income generation projects in the miombo woodlands, to alleviate poverty and reduce pressure on the upper mountain.
To benefit biodiversity & climate, restoring lost forests works best: Study
- A new study in Science indicates that reforestation projects, which restore degraded or destroyed forests, are the most effective land-based method for carbon removal and biodiversity protection.
- Meanwhile, the authors found that afforestation, in which trees are added where they didn’t exist before, and bioenergy cropping, in which carbon-removing crops are planted to make biofuels, can have negative effects on wildlife, outweighing the benefits of carbon removal.
- The research highlights the importance of identifying the best places for reforestation projects, but the authors emphasize that reforestation is not a replacement for fossil-fuel reduction.
In Kenya, grassland restoration can help reduce conflict, study says
- A study says that grassland restoration, which uses nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, can enhance Kenyan farmers’ security, reduce conflicts and mitigate wildlife retaliatory actions.
- Researchers report that grasslands in Kenya provide 60% of fodder for livestock and 70% of wildlife, requiring proximity for survival.
- Rangelands are degrading, causing animals like elephants and zebras to enter farms for food, causing conflict with farmers; healthier rangelands would prevent wildlife from entering farms.
- The researchers call for including grassland restoration in both national and international environmental plans, specifically in Kenya, along with funding and resources for this effort; additionally, they advocate for policies that consider human-wildlife conflicts and social issues while being sensitive to the specific challenges men and women face in these regions.
Seeds of 19 African tree species added to Svalbard Global Seed Vault
- Seeds from 19 species of African trees have been added to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
- The trees were selected by the World Agroforestry Center for their value to communities across Africa.
- Traditional seed preservation and institutional seed banks are vulnerable to damage.
- The seeds deposited in Svalbard in February add to a vast collection intended to secure the world’s vital genetic heritage against any eventuality.
In Nepal, a eucalyptus boom became an ecological cautionary tale
- Nepal’s Sagarnath Forest Development Project which ran a reforestation program from 1977-1984 and introduced eucalyptus as a fast-growing, low-maintenance solution for deforestation and fuelwood needs.
- While eucalyptus initially thrived, it depleted soil moisture and negatively impacted nearby crops, leading to reduced yields and financial losses for the farmers who had replaced traditional crops like rice and mustard with large-scale eucalyptus plantations.
- Discontent over eucalyptus’s effects, and the lack of guidance by those who promoted the planting scheme, led to widespread removal of trees, legal disputes among farmers, and complaints to local governments.
- Experts say such large-scale exotic tree plantations are no longer permitted under national and international biodiversity laws, with the project’s failure highlighting the importance of considering ecological sustainability, soil health and informed decision-making in reforestation efforts.
Mangrove deforestation for commodities limits conservation funding in SE Asia
- Southeast Asia’s mangrove forests are still at risk of conversion for oil palm, rice and aquaculture, despite their immense potential for mitigating global biodiversity and climate goals.
- Commodity-driven deforestation and a range of climate change-related risks threaten the long-term survival of 85% of the region’s mangrove forests that could feasibly host carbon credit projects, a new study finds.
- The long-term risks undermine the integrity of blue carbon credits as a potential source of much-needed conservation funding, the study says, ultimately jeopardizing the capacity of mangroves to sequester carbon and provide ecosystem benefits.
- The authors recommend a diverse suite of conservation funding mechanisms rather than relying solely on blue carbon credits, and also urge greater investments in community-led mangrove initiatives.
Protecting peatlands and mangroves could halve Southeast Asia’s land-use emissions
- Protecting and restoring peatlands and mangroves across Southeast Asia could cut regional land-use emissions by half, equivalent to 16% of global land-use emissions, according to a new study.
- It found that rewetting 5.34 million hectares (13.4 million acres) of drained peatlands, along with restoring degraded peat swamp forests and mangroves, could significantly enhance carbon sequestration, with Indonesia having the highest mitigation potential.
- Southeast Asia lost 41% of its peat swamp forests and 7.4% of its mangroves from 2001 to 2022, largely due to plantations and aquaculture, contributing 691.8 million metric tons of CO2 annually, with peatland burning alone accounting for up to 20% of emissions.
- The study underscores conservation and restoration as cost-effective climate solutions capable of drastically reducing national emissions, and calls on governments to integrate these efforts into their climate strategies to meet and enhance their Paris Agreement commitments.
In the high Andes, a dream to restore a special forest takes root
- In 2024, the United Nations recognized seven landmark projects worldwide as outstanding examples of success under its ongoing Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
- One of them was Acción Andina (Andean Action), an initiative that has launched 25 restoration and conservation projects focused on the high-altitude Polylepis forests of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia.
- More than 25,000 people from 200 communities have restored nearly 5,000 hectares (12,400 acres) of these forest and protected more than 11,250 hectares (27,800 acres) of existing woodland.
- The initiative next aims to expand into Colombia and Venezuela.
Darfur’s women refugees lead reforestation of war-blighted Sudan–Chad borderland
- The Darfur conflict has caused a massive increase in tree cutting for charcoal and firewood, as lack of cooking gas forces families to rely on these resources.
- To mitigate this, in the Adré refugee camp in neighboring Chad, a small organization plants neem trees to restore vegetation, provide shade, and reduce tensions over access to firewood.
- The influx of displaced populations into camps like Adré strains fragile ecosystems: Overcrowding increases pressure on water resources and vegetation, leading to further desertification, soil erosion, and conflict over shared natural resources between refugees and host communities.
- Grassroots and U.N. initiatives, such as reforestation and the promotion of energy-efficient stoves, aim to mitigate the damage, but more funding is needed to scale up these efforts.
Study says land restoration worldwide can be funded with tiny fraction of global GDP
- A new study reveals that implementing global land restoration pledges across 115 nations would cost between $311 billion and $2.1 trillion, representing only 0.04-0.27% of annual global GDP over 10 years.
- The research analyzed 243 restoration projects worldwide, finding that costs vary significantly by method: from $185 per hectare ($75 per acre) for forest management, to more than $3,000 per hectare ($1,200 per acre) for silvopasture systems.
- While nearly half of all global restoration commitments are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, this region would need to spend 3.7% of its annual GDP to fulfill its pledges, highlighting the need for international financial support.
- The study’s cost estimates focus primarily on direct implementation costs and exclude important factors like monitoring and opportunity costs, suggesting actual restoration expenses could be higher than projected.
How to tell if mangrove restoration is working? Listen to the birds
- Mangrove restoration is often motivated by the desire to bring back biodiversity to degraded coastlines, but it’s difficult to know exactly when that objective has been achieved.
- Researchers in Malaysia say that monitoring mangrove-dwelling bird communities using bioacoustics could be a game-changer for managers tracking mangrove ecosystem recovery.
- Bioacoustics, the use of audio recording devices to listen to animals in their natural habitats, is increasingly being used as a rapid and relatively cost-effective way of measuring ecosystem health.
- The new study found bird species richness increases across a range of mangrove forest characteristics, including greater canopy cover, tree height and ground cover, indicating birds could serve as useful indicators of mangrove health.
Native trees, local wildlife thrive under Philippine tribes’ ‘rainforestation’
“Rainforestation” projects led by Indigenous communities in the southern Philippines are reaping benefits for both native trees and local wildlife, reports Mongabay’s Keith Anthony Fabro. On the island of Mindanao lies Mount Kalatungan Range Natural Park, a protected area that’s two-thirds primary forest and is home to Manobo tribespeople. Since 2021, NAMAMAYUK, an Indigenous organization […]
Lures that attract seed-dispersing bats could aid tropical reforestation
- Fruit-eating bats play an important role in maintaining forest health by being seed dispersers. For decades, researchers have explored ways to harness this capacity as a reforestation tool.
- One method has been to use fruit-derived essential oils to attract bats to deforested sites, where their seed-loaded feces may help stimulate regrowth.
- A recently published study goes one step further by using chemical compounds derived from those oils to attract bats. This new way of making lures could prove less expensive, so cheaper to scale up. But before such reforestation tools are widely implemented, more research and evidence are required.
- Long-term testing is needed to show that bat lures, and the seed dispersal they bring, markedly aid regrowth — a complex process that can fail due to seed competition with grasses and seed predation. Some experts say planted tree patches are better attractants; others say combined methods may work best.
To conserve chimps, understand their genetic traits and local adaptations, says study
- Chimpanzees are adapted to live across diverse habitats in Africa, but little is known about the potential adaptation of chimps in different environments.
- A new study has found that these apes possess genetic traits that help them adapt to different habitat conditions, some of which may be protecting them against malaria.
- The scientists say that, as human activities and climate change continue to threaten chimpanzees’ existence, understanding their genetics and natural history enhances knowledge of how to ensure their long-term survival and conservation.
- Given their vital ecological roles, evolutionary significance, and precarious status, chimpanzee conservation is an urgent global priority.
Lessons from successful mangrove forest restoration in El Salvador (analysis)
- Mangrove forests are important coastal ecosystems worldwide, and many areas that have suffered loss of these trees are the focus of restoration projects, but these suffer from a 70% failure rate.
- Not only are they key habitats for numerous organisms from crabs to fish and birds, they also supply a wealth of seafood for local communities.
- That makes community involvement a key aspect of the Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) method, which focuses on improving local hydrology and topography while removing or reducing mangrove stressors, and encouraging the trees’ natural regeneration.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
In Uganda, a women-led reforestation initiative fights flooding, erosion
- Changing rainfall patterns have led to increasingly frequent flooding in western Uganda’s Kasese district, destroying farmers’ homes and fields.
- The damage is exacerbated by the loss of tree cover, as many trees have been cut down by locals for firewood.
- Janet Nyakairu Abwoli from Kasese organizes workshops to teach women how to plant and care for trees, particularly Dracaena and Ficus species.
- These native species can help prevent erosion of slopes and riverbanks, retain soil moisture, and provide fodder for small livestock and ingredients for traditional medicine.
Brazil’s ‘innovative’ reforestation agenda discussed in Davos (commentary)
- At the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos this week, a coalition of leaders from across Brazilian sectors will discuss the integrated, pre-competitive agenda needed to scale forest restoration.
- Forest restoration is a key part of successful climate action, providing carbon removal, biodiversity protection and sustainable economic growth, but it requires immediate investment and action, the authors of a new op-ed write.
- Brazil’s coordinated approach across business, finance, and conservation sectors has resulted in approximately $528 million in restoration investments in the past 18 months, setting a global example for impactful forest restoration and climate action.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Ogoni women restore mangroves and livelihoods in oil-rich Niger Delta
- After decades of crude oil spills and the introduction of invasive plant species, thousands of hectares of mangroves in the Niger Delta are destroyed, impacting aquatic species and women’s livelihoods.
- Ogoni women from coastal villages, supported by the Lokiaka Community Development Centre, have been at the forefront of reforestation efforts.
- The women have planted 2.6 million mangrove trees since 2018, drawing attention from a government agency that hired them to share their knowledge and plant mangroves for its oil spill rehabilitation project.
- Around 300 women from Ogoni communities have been trained in mangrove reforestation.
After trial and error, Mexican fishers find key to reforesting a mangrove haven
- David Borbón and his community are working to restore mangroves in a fishing village within Mexico’s El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, one of the country’s largest protected areas.
- The mangroves act as a natural barrier, protecting the coastal community and ecosystems from hurricanes and other severe weather.
- Borbón, who wasn’t formally educated in any science, conducted a series of experiments to find the best method to reforest the area’s declining mangrove forests and settled on a direct sowing technique that replicates natural patterns.
- With the support of his family and community, he has now planted more than 1.8 million mangroves and largely facilitate the recovery of the mangrove ecosystem.
Experts question benefits of Colombian forestation project led by top oil trader
- Trafigura, one of the world’s largest oil traders, has recently invested $100 million to grow 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of forest in the eastern plains of Colombia’s Vichada department.
- The company says it aims to plant mixed-species trees, but has seeded primarily eucalyptus trees — nonnative species notorious for hogging water resources.
- That’s prompted skepticism from experts about the project, on top of the fact that the area Trafigura plans to turn into forest was never a forest to begin with.
- Even as the initiative vows to produce and sell carbon credits to slow the climate crisis, the company is simultaneously encouraging oil production and trade in Colombia.
Indonesia reforestation plan a smoke screen for agriculture project, critics say
- Critics say an Indonesian government plan to reforest 12.7 million hectares (31.4 million acres) of degraded land is a smoke screen to offset deforestation from a massive agricultural project.
- The food estate program includes a plan to establish 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of sugarcane plantations in Papua.
- A new study by the Center of Economic and Law Studies estimates the food estate program would emit 782.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, nearly doubling Indonesia’s global carbon emission contribution.
- Indonesia climate envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who is also the brother of President Prabowo Subianto, says the food estate program is necessary for food security and that forest loss will be offset by reforestation; critics, however, say reforestation cannot compensate for the destruction of natural forests.
Study looks for success factors in African projects that heal land and help people
- Land degradation across Africa impacts the lives of rural Africans, who depend heavily on natural resources.
- Reversing land degradation while improving livelihoods can be tricky, and not all initiatives succeed.
- A recent Sustainability Science study examined 17 initiatives in 13 African nations to tease out what factors contribute to success or failure.
- The study finds that tapping into social relationships, providing adequate incentives to overcome risk-adverse behaviors, and maintaining momentum over the long term emerged as key factors in an initiative’s success.
Loggers and carbon projects forge odd partnerships in the Brazilian Amazon
- Mongabay examined four REDD+ projects in Pará state and found that all were developed in partnership with sawmill owners with a long history of environmental fines.
- The projects were developed by Brazil’s largest carbon credit generator, Carbonext, a company linked to a major fraud involving REDD+ projects and illegal loggers in Amazonas state.
- According to experts, REDD+ projects may have become a new business opportunity for individuals who have profited from deforestation for decades.
Agroecology offers blueprint for resilient farming in northern Ghana
- Erratic rainfall and rising temperatures have hit farmers in Ghana’s semiarid Upper East region hard in recent years.
- Planting rows of trees and allowing goats and sheep to graze their fields is helping retain soil moisture and fertility, while encouraging birds and bats to return, helping to control pests.
- The trees and small livestock also provide additional sources of income for farmers.
- These agroecological practices of alley cropping and mixed farming can be adapted to other drought-prone regions across Africa, proponents say.
How are mangrove restoration projects doing? Interview with Tom Worthington
- A new tool aims to help managers of mangrove restoration projects track their progress and measure final outcomes against initial goals.
- The Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool was developed by the University of Cambridge, WWF and the Global Mangrove Alliance in a bid to streamline global data on mangrove restoration projects around the world.
- Mangroves are crucial ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks and act as a buffer against coastal erosion; however, they’re threatened by deforestation as well as by the impacts of global warming.
How a holistic approach aims to heal mangroves in Guinea-Bissau
- Though small, Guinea-Bissau has sizable amounts of mangroves, which cover 9% of this West African country.
- Farmers clear patches of mangroves to grow rice, but climate change and socio-economic shifts mean that many hectares of former rice fields lie abandoned, and could be restored.
- Wetlands International is using an approach called Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) to regenerate abandoned rice fields in and around Cacheu and Cantanhez national parks; 2,600 hectares have been restored to date.
- Community involvement is a cornerstone of the approach, and the project also supports income generation and educational activities.
Nations should redirect 1% of military spending towards reforestation, Mexico proposes
- Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed to the world’s biggest economies to allocate 1% of their annual military spending, a total of about $24 billion, to support massive reforestation around the world.
- If carried out successfully, the effort could reforest an area equivalent to the surface of Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador combined.
- The President’s proposal comes at the same time as in Mexico the congress plans to cut funding for conservation in other government agencies.
Huge deforested areas in the tropics could regenerate naturally, study finds
- A new study shows that 215 million hectares (531 million acres) of degraded and deforested land in the tropics could regenerate naturally.
- The researchers developed a model based on satellite images of where forest had regrown, using machine learning to filter out places where humans had planted trees.
- The analysis also incorporated a range of biophysical variables, such as rainfall, fire frequency, and the distance from the edge of standing forest.
- While natural regeneration could be cost-effective, scientists also say the permanence of regrown forests is critically important to the benefits it can provide to biodiversity and the climate.
Tree islands help restore biodiversity in oil palm plantations
Large-scale monoculture plantations have devastated tropical forests worldwide, but a recent study finds that creating islands of native trees can be a way to restore biodiversity on degraded lands. The Indonesian island of Sumatra is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. However, the demand for palm oil has led to rapid deforestation […]
Experts welcome Brazil’s revived reforestation plan as much-needed boost
- By 2030, Brazil aims to restore 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of degraded land through the Planaveg initiative, revised and launched by the government at the recent COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia.
- Experts have welcomed the move amid growing international commitments to protect biodiversity and stabilize the climate, but point to challenges such as securing resources and social mobilization.
- As ambitious as the target is, it still falls short of the 20.7 million hectares (51.2 million acres) of native vegetation that have been illegally degraded just on private rural plots.
Organizations tackle droughts, floods in Brazil by planting forests
- Many areas of Brazil have been hit with severe droughts and floods in recent years; scientists say climate change is increasing the incidence of extreme weather events.
- Forests protect against erosion and pollution and help store water in soil and aquifers, buoying water security.
- Organizations across the country are leading efforts to reforest cleared areas — particularly along rivers and other water sources —to mitigate the damaging effects of droughts, floods and other effects of climate change, as well as safeguard and improve habitat for wildlife.
- Experts and stakeholders say broader support is needed at the federal level, while a representative of Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says the government is rolling out conservation plans of its own.
Weak laws on native seeds undermine Brazil reforestation efforts: Study
A recent study found that collectors of seeds of native plant species in Brazil lack the legal framework needed to achieve the nation’s large-scale reforestation goal. Last month, Brazil announced a reforestation plan for 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of degraded land over the next five years, an area half the size of the […]
Brazil renews plan to restore degraded land half the size of the UK
Brazil recently announced a plan to restore an area of degraded land about half the size of the U.K. by 2030, in a bid to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. The Planaveg 2.0 initiative, launched at the U.N. biodiversity summit, COP16, in Colombia on Oct. 28, aims to restore 12 million hectares (30 million […]
Conservationists mobilize to save Sierra Leone national park and its chimpanzees
- Sierra Leone’s Loma Mountains National Park (LMNP) encompasses the highest mountain peak in West Africa, along with valuable habitat for many threatened animals — including critically endangered western chimpanzees.
- However, satellite data show the park lost 6% of its primary forest cover between 2002 and 2023.
- Clearing in the park is being driven by farmers and ranchers who say there is not enough agricultural land in their communities and no other livelihood options; illegal marijuana cultivation is also an issue in the park.
- Conservationists, park officials, international agencies and local residents are working together to protect the park through efforts such as planting trees, training rangers, implementing educational programs in schools and promoting alternative livelihoods for surrounding communities.
Defending the hidden forest gems of Zambia’s Copperbelt Province
- A local community has taken over protecting and managing patches of small evergreen forests, known as mushitu forests, that have recently been subject to illegal logging.
- Forest officers armed with smartphones are going up against the loggers while also enforcing community-driven prohibitions against overuse by locals.
- During times of severe drought, like this year, the forest is a lifeline to villages within the Ndubeni Chiefdom, whose members depend on it not just for water, but for food and medicine.
- The forest has enormous cultural and historical significance, and protecting it is key to protecting the community’s cultural history.
Marshes are cost-effective for protecting coasts: Study
Climate change effects, including rising sea level and increasingly powerful storms, have put many coastal communities at risk. To mitigate damage, governments have responded by building higher seawalls. But a new study finds there is a more cost-effective, green solution: Instead of blocking water with walls alone, absorb it with marshes first. Previous studies suggest […]
Brazil’s native seed collector networks drive wider social change, study finds
Brazil’s native seed collector networks supply hundreds of tons of seeds critical to forest restoration across the country’s many ecosystems. From the Amazon’s lush rainforests in the north to the shrinking Atlantic Forest along the coast, the networks are a lifeline not only for degraded landscapes, but also for the people on the frontlines, a […]
Botanical gardens play key role in biodiversity & climate conventions (commentary)
- “As world leaders and scientific institutions from across the globe gather to discuss the biodiversity crisis at COP16 and climate change at COP29 this fall, it’s critical that they do not neglect the important work that is already being done by one of the world’s key stewards of nature – botanical gardens,” a new op-ed argues.
- Botanical gardens have an important role to play in the overall effort to combat the dual climate and biodiversity crises and can offer important solutions, but they are often underutilized, despite housing a wide array of experts on plants and fungi.
- “At the rate the planet is warming, there is no time to leave their untapped potential behind,” writes the CEO of The New York Botanical Garden.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Across reforestation organizations, best practices claims abound, but details are scarce
- Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, reviewed the websites of 99 international organizations that promote and fund reforestation projects to determine how well they report following best practices.
- They found that while these organizations increasingly acknowledge the importance of clear goals, local community involvement, and monitoring, few publicly report in detail the measures used to track progress and results achieved.
- For the study’s second phase, the researchers plan to investigate the links between reported practices and tree-growing outcomes, and identify effective reforestation models.
- Readers can nominate organizations for the new research and share information about tree-planting projects via Mongabay’s Reforestation.app.
In the Brazilian Amazon, seedlings offer hope for drying rivers
- In Brazil’s Maranhão state, the advance of monoculture and decades of forest destruction have driven a shift in precipitation patterns, diminishing rains and drying out springs that feed important rivers.
- This represents a major threat for the Guajajara Indigenous people, for whom these springs hold spiritual significance and guarantee the health of the rivers they depend on for fishing, bathing, drinking and cultural rituals.
- In an effort to restore drying springs, Indigenous people in the Rio Pindaré reserve are mapping headwaters and planting species native to the Amazon rainforest – like buriti, pupunha and açaí palms – along their margins.
- Scientists say this type of reforestation could help restore balance to water cycles in the region, mitigating the broader impacts of drought and climate change.
As Malawi government struggles to protect a forest, communities show the way
- In Malawi’s Zomba Forest Reserve, a community that once destroyed the forest has become its custodian, protecting a source of streams, which provide water for them to irrigate crops.
- The Department of Forestry, the lead government agency in forest protection in Malawi, is struggling to stem the tide of deforestation on its side of the reserve due to lack of resources.
- Malawi is suffering massive deforestation, with Global Forest Watch figures estimating that the country has lost quarter of a million hectares (617,000 acres) of forest cover between 2001 and 2023.
- Government officials and experts say engagement with communities offers opportunities for effective forest management.
Logging done sustainably doesn’t have to harm ecosystem services, study finds
- A new study finds that low-intensity logging doesn’t negatively affect a forest’s key ecosystem services such as carbon storage and food availability.
- The study, focused on a selective-logging concession in Gabon, concluded that tree removal rates weren’t high enough to make a dent in ecosystem services.
- Researchers found that while even low-intensity logging did have some impacts on plant diversity, these remained small and largely dissipated in about a decade.
- Experts says forest nations should strive to be “high forest, low deforestation” (HFLD) nations, like Gabon, for which the defined threshold is at least 50% forest cover and less than 0.22% annual deforestation rate.
In the Sundarbans, women are embracing mangrove restoration as an alternative livelihood
- The vast Sundarbans mangrove forests along the southern coast of Bangladesh act as a shield and protect the coastal people and their livelihoods from tropical cyclones and tidal surges.
- In the last couple of years, the number of mangroves in the zone has increased as the government and some NGOs have introduced programs to plant mangrove trees on the coastal embankments as protection measures.
- Women from coastal villages, who know the ecosystem well, have been at the forefront of these reforestation projects and have also become entrepreneurial with mangrove forest resources.
- The involvement of local women and cooperative societies in mangrove restoration and conservation prompts a sense of ownership and agency among mangrove-dependent communities.
Birdsong rings out once again in Togo’s sacred forest of Titiyo
- Logging for firewood, charcoal and timber for construction almost wiped out the sacred forest of Titiyo in northern Togo.
- The degradation of the forest had a major impact on wildlife and the surrounding population.
- But since 2015, Sylvain Tchoou Akati, a native of the area, has led the restoration of this forest, and is today bringing his model of community-led conservation to other areas.
Harnessing ‘invisible forests in plain view’ to reforest the world
- Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo’s reforestation project in Niger was failing, with 80% of his planted saplings dying, until he stumbled upon a simple solution in plain sight: stumps of previously cut trees trying desperately to regrow in the dry, deforested landscape.
- Rinaudo realized that the degraded land contained numerous such stumps with intact root systems capable of regenerating themselves, plus millions of tree seeds hidden in the soil, which farmers could simply encourage to grow and reforest the landscape, something he refers to as “an invisible forest in plain view.”
- Today, the technique of letting trees resprout and protecting their growth from livestock and wildlife is called farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) and is responsible for reforesting 6 million hectares (15 million acres) in Niger alone.
- Rinaudo joins Mongabay’s podcast to speak with Rachel Donald about his journey implementing this technique and its massive potential to help tackle biodiversity loss and food insecurity through resilient agroforestry systems.
Conservation pays and everyone’s benefitting from it (commentary)
- In this commentary, Diego Vincenzi, current chief of staff for the Minister of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica, highlights how Costa Rica halted deforestation, achieved 57% forest cover after reaching a low of 21% in the 1980s, and protected 25% of its land while becoming the top per capita agricultural exporter in Latin America..
- Costa Rica’s success stems from a shift in the 1990s towards greener environmental legislation, introducing the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme funded by a fossil fuel tax, which compensates landowners for forest conservation and now includes untitled lands, benefiting native populations.
- FONAFIFO, the institution managing PES, is expanding the program to cover 182,000 hectares annually and introducing biodiversity certificates for estates, aiming to broaden conservation efforts to include mangrove ecosystems, linking land and water for a more sustainable environment.
- This is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.
New approach to restore coral reefs on mass scale kicks off in Hawai‘i
- ʻĀkoʻakoʻa is a recently launched program aiming to restore a 193-kilometer (120-mile) stretch of coral reef along the west coast of Hawai‘i Island — one of the first to attempt restoration at a large scale.
- The project will identify individual corals with high thermal tolerance and other high-performance traits, then use them to breed genetically resilient coral larvae for release onto the reefs during natural spawning periods.
- ʻĀkoʻakoʻa is working with partners to reduce other stressors to the reefs, which can help corals be more resilient to rising sea temperatures, and drawing on Hawaiian traditional values of environmental stewardship.
- If successful, the project could provide knowledge for how to restore ailing reefs around the world suffering from an onslaught of human-driven thermal stress.
Zambian forest reserve rebounds with a little assistance
- Conservationists and farmers have restored large parts of a forest reserve in Zambia in just four years through natural regeneration.
- The Katanino Forest Reserve had lost more than 58% of its forest cover by 2019, when dozens of families living inside it and cutting trees to make charcoal were finally evicted by state officials.
- A restoration project launched that same year by conservation group WeForest and local partners has used assisted natural regeneration, a light-touch forest restoration method, to grow back more than 500 hectares (1,240 acres) of the reserve’s tree cover.
- The success is tempered by continued tree losses on farms outside the reserve, though WeForest is working to promote alternative livelihoods there that encourage farmers to protect trees on their land.
As Big Tech eyes the carbon market, will it work this time?
- Tech giants Meta, Microsoft, Google and Salesforce have announced the launch of an alliance that aims to invest in nature-based carbon removal projects.
- The Symbiosis Coalition has promised to purchase carbon credits worth 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.
- The collaboration comes at a time when the voluntary carbon market has faced increasing scrutiny over allegations of greenwashing, human rights abuses and lack of transparency.
- The coalition says that it will focus initially on afforestation, reforestation and revegetation, and that it has worked with independent experts to establish guidelines to ensure accountability and benefit sharing with local communities.
Indigenous people and NGO grow a wildlife corridor in the world’s oldest rainforest
- Environmental charity Climate Force is collaborating with the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people and rangers to create a wildlife corridor that runs between two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Australia: the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
- Wildlife habitats in this region have become fragmented due to industrial agriculture, and a forested corridor is expected to help protect biodiversity by allowing animals to forage for food and connect different populations for mating and migration.
- The project aims to plant 360,000 trees over an area of 213 hectares (526 acres); so far, it has planted 25,000 trees of 180 species on the land and in the nursery, which can also feed a range of native wildlife.
- The project is ambitious and organizers say they’re hopeful about it, but challenges remain, including soil regeneration and ensuring the planted trees aren’t killed off by feral pigs or flooding.
Campesinos bring life back to a deforestation hotspot in the Colombian Amazon
- More than 700 campesinos from the municipality of Cartagena del Chairá have started restoring 4,762 hectares (11,767 acres) of degraded rainforest in one of Colombia’s deforestation hotspots. To date, they’ve planted almost a million trees.
- In collaboration with researchers from SINCHI, the Amazonian Scientific Research Institute, and the Association of Community Action Boards (Asojuntas), the families have recorded more than 600 plant and more than 100 animal species in the area.
- Environmental education, research and restoration activities have also included children and teenagers from several communities, with many young people motivated to pursue environmental careers by applying to universities.
All conservation is local: Interview with Angolan conservationist Kerllen Costa
- Kerllen Costa is the manager for a project run by the Kissama Foundation to protect Afromontane forests on Mount Moco, Angola’s highest mountain.
- Costa says he approaches conservation by looking at how communities already manage their landscapes and resources, and trying to introduce measures that recognize and enhance those systems.
- He says building on traditional ecological knowledge can help to sustain landscapes and the communities and wildlife they support, even in the absence of formally recognized protected areas.
Tracing Africa’s ‘fading biological fingerprints’ in Angola’s threatened forests
- Angola’s Afromontane forests are considered to be the country’s most threatened habitat type due to logging, wood harvesting and fire.
- Experts say the forests are relics that harbor “fading biological fingerprints” from a previous epoch.
- It’s not just species living in the closed-canopy forests that could be threatened by the loss of this ecosystem, but those that live alongside them.
- They include the Huambo cisticola, a species now known to be unique to Angola that lives in the ecotone, or transition zone, between forest patches and surrounding grasslands.
A forest restoration project brings birdsong back to Angola’s highest mountain
- Fires and unsustainable wood harvesting have depleted the Afromontane forests on Mount Moco, Angola’s highest mountain.
- The forests are home to a diverse variety of birds, some found only in Angola.
- Since 2010, a conservation project has sought to regrow some of the forest patches and to protect them from wildfires.
- The work is promoting bird conservation, but also benefiting the local human community by ensuring a reliable flow of freshwater out of the forest.
New database unveils the role of Asian hornbills as forest seed dispersers
- Equipped with bulky beaks and impressive wingspans, hornbills are vital long-distance seed dispersers in tropical forests. But while a lot is known about the eating habits of hornbills, many mysteries still remain.
- A new study has compiled an open-source, publicly available database of Asian and New Guinean hornbill frugivory and seed dispersal research.
- The new resource aims to help researchers, students and conservation organizations pinpoint knowledge gaps so that they can target their efforts and limited resources.
- The new frugivory database could also prove useful for reforestation projects, many of which increasingly recognize the importance of planting food plants to attract natural seed dispersers, which in turn helps to further regenerate the forest.
DRC’s 1 billion trees program makes progress, but hurdles remain
- According to the FAO, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) loses 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of forest cover every year due to shifting cultivation, mining and illegal and informal logging.
- As part of addressing this, a Congolese government program aspired to plant 1 billion trees between 2019 and 2023, aiming to strengthen climate resilience, alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity.
- Program officials say they achieved 90% of their target. A forestry specialist says that future reforestation efforts should include feasibility studies, informing tree species selection to maintain ecological balance.
Indonesian capital project finally gets guidelines to avoid harm to biodiversity
- Beset by criticism over its environmental and social impacts, the controversial project of building Indonesia’s new capital city in the Bornean jungle has finally come out with guidelines for biodiversity management.
- The country’s president has hailed the Nusantara project as a “green forest city,” but just 16% of its total area is currently intact rainforest.
- The new biodiversity master plan outlines a four-point mitigation policy of avoiding harm, minimizing any inevitable impacts, restoring damaged landscapes, and compensating for residual impacts.
- The master plan considered input from experts, but several didn’t make it into the final document, including a call for the mitigation policy to extend to a wider area beyond the Nusantara site.
Protected areas bear the brunt as forest loss continues across Cambodia
- In 2023, Cambodia lost forest cover the size of the city of Los Angeles, or 121,000 hectares (300,000 acres), according to new data published by the University of Maryland.
- The majority of this loss occurred inside protected areas, with the beleaguered Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary recording the highest rate of forest loss in what was one of its worst years on record.
- A leading conservation activist says illegal logging inside protected areas is driven in part by demand for luxury timber exports, “but the authorities don’t seem to care about protecting these forests.”
- Despite the worrying trend highlighted by the data, the Cambodian government has set an ambitious target of increasing the country’s forest cover to 60% by 2050.
New U.S. agroforestry project will pay farmers to expand ‘climate-smart’ acres
- The Nature Conservancy is leading the Expanding Agroforestry Project to provide training, planning and funds for 12,140 hectares (30,000 acres) of new agroforestry plantings in the U.S.
- Goals for the program include enrolling at least 200 farmers, with a minimum of 50 from underserved communities.
- Initial applications have surpassed expectations — 213 farmers applied in the first cycle with 93% coming from underserved populations.
- The first round of payments is set for distribution in fall 2024.
‘Planting water, eating Caatinga & irrigating with the sun’: Interview with agroecologist Tião Alves
- In an interview with Mongabay, Brazilian agroecologist Tião Alves tells how he has been teaching thousands of rural workers to survive in the Caatinga biome, severely afflicted by drought, climate change and desertification.
- At the head of Serta, one of the most important agroecology schools in the Brazilian Northeast, he teaches low-cost technologies that ensure food security with a minimum of resources, both natural and financial.
- Currently, 13% of the Caatinga is already in the process of desertification, the result of a combination of deforestation, inadequate irrigation, extreme droughts and changes in the global climate.
Toilet paper: Environmentally impactful, but alternatives are rolling out
- While toilet paper use is ubiquitous in China, North America, parts of the EU and Australia, its environmental impact is rarely discussed. Environmentalists recently began urging people to be more aware of the real price paid for each roll — especially for luxury soft, extra-absorbent TP made from virgin tree pulp.
- Though not the global primary source of tissue pulp, large tracts of old-growth forest in Canada and Indonesia are being felled today for paper and tissue products, impacting biodiversity and Indigenous communities. Eucalyptus plantations to provide pulp for TP are mostly ecological deserts, and put a strain on water supplies.
- The environmental impacts of toilet paper occur all along its supply chain. Making TP is an energy- and water-intensive process, and also requires toxic PFAS and other chemicals. Upon disposal, toilet paper can become an insoluble pollutant that resists wastewater treatment and adds bulk and chemicals to sewage sludge.
- Many large tissue makers are investing in improved technologies to lighten this impact. But emerging markets in the developing world, beyond the reach of environmental watchdogs, are raising alarms. Bidets, recycled paper, bamboo, sugarcane and other alternative pulp sources offer more environmentally friendly options.
Reforestation and restoration: Two ways to make the Pan Amazon greener
- Mongabay is publishing a new edition of the book, “A Perfect Storm in the Amazon,” in short installments and in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese.
- Efforts to save agroforestry zones require long-term patience and heavy investment, but ensure that plantations sequester up to 20% of the carbon stored in a natural forest, and even more carbon can be retained through natural habitat restoration.
- Killeen explains that tropical areas need to retain around 70% of their canopy cover to maintain the atmospheric recycling that sustains historical rainfall levels. In the southern Amazon, this would need to be applied to 15 million hectares with an investment of between $20 and $100 billion.
- For the author, these issues are all the more urgent as the threat of climate change is accelerating the Pan-Amazonian region to an irreversible tipping point. Are carbon markets providing incentives that ‘reward’ conservation in the Pan-Amazonian region?
Rewilding Ireland: Healing from a history of deforestation, one tree at a time
- Eoghan Daltun has spent the past 14 years successfully rewilding 29 hectares (73 acres) of farmland on the Beara Peninsula in southwestern Ireland.
- Ireland is one of the most ecologically denuded countries in the world, only possessing about 11% forest cover but on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, co-host Rachel Donald speaks with Daltun about how he came to accomplish his rewilding feat simply by letting nature take its course and erecting a good fence, which has rapidly led to the regeneration of native forest, wildflowers and fauna.
- They also discuss the historical drivers of ecological devastation that have led to the classic, tree-less Irish landscape, from ancient times to imperial colonization and the advent of modern farming, and what the potential of rewilding is to change that and boost biodiversity.
Indonesia to offer tax perks to companies investing in reforestation of its new capital city
- The Indonesian government is appealing to the private sector for investors to help transform 82,891 hectares (204,800 acres) of barren lands around the new capital of Nusantara into tropical rainforests.
- Mining companies that are required to rehabilitate their concessions after their permits have expired will be able to count reforestation in the capital region toward their quota.
- In addition, the government is offering significant tax deductions to companies that invest in rehabilitating degraded lands.
- East Kalimantan, once covered in tropical forests and home to charismatic species and vast regions of biodiversity, is the country’s most intensely mined province with 7 million hectares (17.3 million acres) of coal mining concessions.
What principles should define natural climate solutions? A new study has some answers
- The increased popularity of natural climate solutions (NCS), which aim to protect and restore natural ecosystems to address climate change, has resulted in misunderstandings and confusion around what constitutes such a solution.
- Researchers distill five foundational principles of natural climate solutions and 15 operational principles to guide their implementation; among others, the principles include equity, emphasizing the need for practitioners to respect human rights and self-determination of Indigenous peoples.
- Researchers argue that natural climate solutions that adhere to these principles are durable and effective in tackling climate change in the long run, resulting in widespread adoption.
- While experts agree that the outlined principles reduce confusion and spur climate action, they call for tightening the definitions of some principles to strengthen the proposed framework.
Mini rainforest project aims to serve as Kalimantan reforestation blueprint
- The government, researchers and companies are combining forces to build a miniature tropical rainforest in Kalimantan, hoping it will serve as a blueprint for the reforestation of barren lands in the region of Indonesia’s planned new capital, Nusantara.
- Tree species of different heights – tall, low and understory – will create layers of vegetation in a reforestation method that hasn’t been used in Indonesia before; the program is the first of its kind to reintroduce tropical rainforest into a degraded ecosystem in Indonesia.
- The project, involving Mulawarman University and three companies — Danone, PT Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITM) and PT Multi Harapan Utama (MHU) — will cover 96 hectares (237 acres) some 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) away from the government’s core area of the new capital.
In Colombia, race is on to save 8 rare tree species found nowhere else
- Researchers from Colombia’s Humboldt Institute are working with residents of the Claro River Basin in Antioquia department to conserve eight tree species in serious danger of going extinct.
- The species are endemic to Colombia: five are found only in the middle section of the Claro River Basin, while the others have been recorded in the neighboring departments of Santander and Caldas.
- Of the eight tree species being studied, Matisia serpicostata presents the most worrisome situation: only one specimen has been found in the area.
- Researchers and residents have established three tree nurseries to grow these species from seeds and cuttings, and eventually plant the seedlings in the wild.
Reforestation of Indonesia’s new capital city stumped by haphazard planting
- Less than a tenth of the reforestation target for Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, has been achieved to date, planners say.
- The main obstacles that experts have identified include a preference for nonnative tree species, poor planting practices and monitoring, and a general misapplication of reforestation principles.
- Officials have acknowledged that progress is off-target, but note that the government is joined by the private sector and NGOs in carrying out tree-planting efforts.
- They also say a master plan is in the works to better guide these efforts, as Indonesia prepares to inaugurate its “green forest city” later this year.
Traditional healers in Philippines keep their ‘forest pharmacy’ standing
- The island of Siquijor in the southern Philippines is famed for its traditional healing practices; less well known is the role its healers play in conserving the island’s forests.
- Traditional practices and beliefs encourage respectful and sustainable harvest of medicinal plants.
- The island’s healers’ association also collaborates with researchers and a government reforestation initiative to monitor and cultivate medicinal trees in the island’s forests.
Pakistan bucks global trend with 30-year mangrove expansion
- Around the world, mangrove forests have undergone a decades-long decline that is just now slowing to a halt.
- In Pakistan, by contrast, mangroves expanded nearly threefold between 1986 and 2020, according to a 2022 analysis of satellite data.
- Experts attribute this success to massive mangrove planting and conservation, as well as concerted community engagement.
- Many in Pakistan are looking to mangroves to bolster precious fish stocks and defend against the mounting effects of climate change — even as threats to mangroves, such as wood harvesting and camel grazing, continue with no end in sight.
India’s new forest rules spark dismay — and hope: Q&A with activist Soumitra Ghosh
- India has recently adopted amendments to its forest laws that have sparked an outcry from activists and NGOs that say the changes severely weaken protections for biodiversity, forests and the people who depend on them.
- However, journalist-turned-activist Soumitra Ghosh says the new rule changes merely codify what had been happening for years: a gradual dilution of the regulatory powers for protecting India’s forest and environment laws, beginning with a system called “compensatory afforestation,” which he says commodified India’s forests.
- Ghosh talked with Mongabay about the history of India’s forest laws, as well as his hopes that despite the “draconian” new amendments, forests will still be protected since their primary authority still lies with the communities that live within and depend upon them.
Forest restoration planned for Colombia’s Farallones de Cali National Park
- Farallones de Cali National Park, located on the Pacific coast, will undergo long-term habitat restoration to reverse the damage done by illegal gold mining, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development said in an announcement late last month.
- The $3.7-million project could take several decades because of the severity of the environmental damage done by illegal mining, which has deforested the park and polluted its rivers with mercury.
- The 196,364-hectare (485,226-acre) national park is an important biological corridor along Colombia’s Pacific coast.
In Brazil’s Caatinga, adapted agroforests are producing food from dry lands
- In northeastern Brazil, the model known as Agrocaatinga has proven to be the most productive and effective in increasing food security for families, generating income and preserving native vegetation.
- Previously degraded lands now produce around 50 types of food, thanks to the combination of an agroforestry system with rainwater harvesting techniques.
- Agrocaatingas emerged from the commercial demand for wild passion fruit, a native fruit that today yields up to $600 per harvest for families — four times the local per capita monthly income.
In Brazil’s Caatinga, these families excel in farming productivity
UAUÁ, Bahia, Brazil — In northeastern Brazil, the innovative Agrocaatinga model is revolutionizing food security, income generation, and native vegetation preservation. This sustainable approach combines agroforestry with rainwater harvesting techniques, revitalizing previously degraded lands to produce over 50 different food types. Originating from the growing commercial demand for wild passion fruit, this model enables families […]
Cocopah Tribe aims to restore Colorado River habitat — and tribal culture
- On the lands of the Cocopah Tribe in the U.S. state of Arizona, declining water levels on the Colorado River have paved the way for invasive plants to take over a riverside once full of native trees.
- Native vegetation along the river not only provides habitat for wildlife but also has shaped Cocopah culture by providing resources to build homes, art and other items.
- This year, the Cocopah Tribe’s Environment Protection Office cut the ribbon on a project to restore land along the river to what it looked like decades ago, complete with a walking trail.
- For 2024, the tribe plans to use $5.5 million in grant funding to restore habitat and plant native trees along an even longer stretch of the river, helping to preserve Cocopah culture for generations to come.
Brazil’s mammals help humanity, but those services are at risk, study says
- Most of Brazil’s 701 native mammal species provide critical ecosystem services that benefit people, according to a new study.
- However, more than half of the species providing ecosystem services are categorized as threatened and have likely lost their ability to provide these services in a meaningful way.
- Armadillos are among the most important service providers, transporting nutrients and engineering ecosystems through burrowing activities; however, they are heavily hunted.
- The study authors say that communicating conservation in terms of real-world human benefits rather than just wildlife preservation itself may increase support for conservation.
Protecting the Brazilian Caatinga from desertification
UAUÁ, Bahia, Brazil — In northern Bahia, 35 communities have united to protect and restore nearly 100,000 acres of the unique Caatinga dry forest in northeastern Brazil. Through the Recaatingamento project, families are learning essential skills to conserve native vegetation, manage goat overpopulation, and explore sustainable income sources, such as foraging for wild fruits. The […]
Tropical deforestation increases even as a few hotspots see respite, new data shows
- Emissions from deforestation in tropical forests rose by 5% in 2022, even as temperate forests strengthened their role as carbon sinks, according to data from a carbon mapping tool developed by nonprofit CTrees.
- According to the data, emissions from deforestation saw a dip in Indonesia and the Congo Basin in 2022; in Brazil, however, emissions continued to rise through 2022, and only started dropping this year.
- The JMRV platform uses satellite imagery and machine learning to map forests and non-forest lands around the world to monitor forest cover, carbon stocks and emissions.
- In addition to broader global data, the tool can also help local jurisdictions monitor and verify their carbon stocks to keep track of their emissions-reduction progress under the Paris climate agreement.
A community-led strategy to save Brazil’s dry forests from desertification
- In northern Bahia state, 35 communities have come together to conserve and recover close to 100,000 acres of Caatinga dry forest in northeastern Brazil.
- With the Recaatingamento project, families learn to preserve native vegetation, control the overpopulation of goats, and invest in sustainable sources of income, such as gathering wild fruits.
- Affected by recurrent droughts, the Caatinga is one of the regions most susceptible to climate change in the world; it’s also Brazil’s third-most deforested biome, which contributes to accelerating desertification — 13% of the soil there is already sterile.
A Brazilian NGO restores widely degraded Atlantic Forest amid mining threats
- Iracambi is a Brazilian NGO in the Serra do Brigadeiro mountain range, located in the heart of the Atlantic Forest, a biome largely destroyed by rampant deforestation.
- Leveraging partnerships with local schools and communities, Iracambi hopes to replant 1 million native trees by 2030 and restore the lost Atlantic Forest; 250,000 trees have already been planted.
- The Serra do Brigadeiro region has the second-largest reserve of bauxite in Brazil, attracting mining interests to the region.
- Relentless activism swayed a prospecting mining company to invest in important social development projects in the region, but activists remain concerned about the possible impacts mining will have on the environment and small producers’ livelihoods.
NGO restores the Atlantic Forest amid mining threats in Brazil
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil — Serra do Brigadeiro State Park in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is not only a stunning natural haven but also home to Iracambi, a dedicated NGO focused on conservation and environmental education within the Atlantic Forest biome. This vital area has faced significant destruction due to deforestation, making Iracambi’s work even more crucial. […]
Keeping herbivores at bay helps in early stages of restoration, studies show
- Excluding herbivores from restoration areas may lead to an increase in both vegetation abundance and plant diversity, according to a new analysis.
- The global-scale analysis, which reviewed hundreds of studies, found that herbivores tend to be more common in areas undergoing restoration and can slow down vegetation recovery.
- While native herbivores play a crucial role in healthy ecosystems, researchers argue it may be beneficial to keep them from entering heavily degraded areas in the early stages of restoration.
- The impact of herbivores on restoration varies, and project managers should consider timing and local conditions when deciding whether to exclude, tolerate, or introduce herbivores.
Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- Restoring degraded forests to boost biodiversity, store carbon and reconnect fragmented habitats is a burgeoning area of tropical forest conservation.
- But uncertainty remains around the long-term impacts of various restoration approaches on forest biodiversity and functioning, with experts suggesting, for instance, that overly focusing on biomass accumulation for climate mitigation can come at the expense of species diversity.
- A new study in Malaysian Borneo has found that actively restoring logged forest plots with a diversity of native timber species, coupled with management of competitive vegetation, actually boosted adult tree diversity after nearly two decades compared to plots left to regenerate naturally.
- While the results add to a growing body of evidence that active restoration can lead to biodiversity gains, the authors caution that restoration approaches must be conducted in ecologically sensitive ways to avoid unintended outcomes.
Do tree-planting projects on grasslands increase fire risk?
- Global tree-planting initiatives, aimed at storing carbon from the atmosphere, could include plantations in fire-prone African savannas.
- 58% of tree plantations grown in South African grasslands between 1980 and 2019 burned, polluting water and releasing carbon dioxide back into the air.
- As efforts to plant trees for carbon storage in Africa expand, researchers suggest cutting fossil-fuel emissions would be a better approach — but scientists are hotly debating the issue.
Can impermanent carbon credits really offset forever emissions?
- A team of researchers has put forth a method that they say makes it possible to compare credits for carbon from forests projects against more permanent storage solutions.
- The carbon emissions that these credits are meant to offset can last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the atmosphere. Forests, by comparison, are subject to fires, disease and deforestation, meaning that their climate benefits can be more temporary than longer-term solutions, such as direct air carbon capture.
- By “discounting” the credits from forest carbon projects based on conservative upfront estimates of how long a forest will safeguard or sequester carbon, the authors say that “like-for-like” comparisons would be possible.
- The team published their work Oct. 30 in the journal Nature Climate Change.
How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
- Decades of deforestation to make way for oil palm monoculture have transformed the Kinabatangan River floodplain in east Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, dividing wildlife populations and confining many of the region’s most iconic species to small fragments of forest that cling on along the river.
- Local communities and conservation initiatives are working together to restore and reconnect pockets of remaining habitat along the river to preserve the vital wildlife corridor, but restoration in the unpredictable and often-waterlogged floodplain is notoriously difficult.
- One such initiative, Regrow Borneo, is facing the challenge by leveraging the expertise of scientists and local knowledge of community members who have been planting forests along the Kinabatangan for decades.
- They say that by focusing their approach on a model that benefits both people and wildlife, they hope their program inspires others to shift away from simply planting numbers of trees toward restoring forests where they’re most needed, including in areas that present challenging conditions.
Jamaica battles relentless plastic pollution in quest to restore mangroves
- In recent decades, mangroves in Jamaica have declined rapidly, from about 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) in the 1970s to about 9,945 hectares (24,574 acres) now.
- Currently there are several efforts to restore mangroves in the island country, as experts recognize the many ecosystem services they provide, including the protection and stabilization of coastlines as human-induced climate change worsens.
- However, restoration efforts face numerous challenges: Near Kingston, the main one is voluminous tides of plastic waste, which can stunt mangrove growth or kill them.
Forests hold massive carbon storage potential — if we cut emissions
- A new study finds forests could potentially store 226 billion metric tons of carbon if protected and restored, or about one-third of excess emissions since industrialization.
- Nearly two-thirds of this potential lies in conserving and letting existing forests mature.
- The authors say that restoring deforested areas through community-driven approaches such as agroforestry and payments for ecosystem services is essential.
- Planting trees can’t replace cutting fossil fuel emissions, as climate change threatens forests’ carbon uptake.
Calls grow to repurpose land squandered in Cambodia’s concession policy
- The mismanagement of large swaths of Cambodia’s land by the country’s elites under the policy of economic land concessions has displaced thousands of rural families and accounted for 40% of total deforestation.
- With even the government seeming to acknowledge the ineffectiveness of ELCs as an economic driver, calls are growing to return the land to dispossessed communities or repurpose them in other ways.
- One expert says the role of local communities will be central to the success of any reformation of the ELC system and will need to be carefully considered to avoid the pitfalls of the old system.
- Another proposes giving land currently owned by nonperforming ELCs to agricultural cooperatives managed by communities, placing more negotiating power in the hands of farmers rather than concessionaires.
Ex-FARC members aim to restore 1 million native trees in the Colombian Amazon
- Former fighters in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are working to restore the Colombian Amazon through a cooperative called Comuccom.
- Their goal, despite ongoing conflicts and danger, is to plant 1 million native trees to counteract deforestation from illegal mining, logging, ranching and coca cultivation.
- Those involved in the effort, many of whom were just children when they joined FARC, have already planted 125,000 trees; another 250,000 trees are ready in their cooperative nursery.
Community forest association helps hold the line to protect Mount Kenya forest
- The volunteer members of the Chehe Community Forest Association are playing an active role in protecting forests on the southwestern slopes of Mount Kenya.
- Despite this, 20% of the Afromontane forests in this region have been lost to fire, illegal logging and invasive species over the past 20 years.
- The forest association’s chair says some local residents continue to encroach on forest reserves in the area — and that enforcement could be stronger.
Amazon recovery offers hope of big rewards but poses equally big challenges
- While deforestation rates have plunged, up to 80 million hectares (198 million acres) of the Brazilian Amazon have already been destroyed, most of it on private and undesignated public lands.
- Reforestation pledges have promised to replant more than 12 million hectares (30 million acres) in the coming decade.
- Carbon credit enthusiasts say they believe the market could inject billions into the region and pay for reforestation.
- Experts are skeptical that either of these plans would work at the scale needed, as landowners often see value in clearing the forest.
Indigenous Suruí turn invaders’ crop into high-quality Amazonian coffee
- The Indigenous Paiter Suruí people of Brazil have reclaimed the coffee farms established by invaders on their land, in the process opening up a new source of livelihood and strengthening community bonds.
- Through training and partnerships, this Indigenous community has learned how to process coffee beans to specialty standards, yielding a high-quality and highly valued product.
- Today, coffee production is a significant source of income for 132 families of various Indigenous ethnicities living in Rondônia state.
- Growing coffee has also become an opportunity for the Suruí to tell their own story, through ethnotourism and the training of Indigenous baristas like Celesty Suruí.
Sound recordings and AI tell us if forests are recovering, new study from Ecuador shows
- Acoustic monitoring and AI tools were used to track biodiversity recovery in plots of tropical Chocó forest in northwestern Ecuador.
- The study found that species returned to regenerating forests in as little as 25 years, indicating positive progress in forest recovery.
- Acoustic monitoring and AI-based methods proved to be powerful and cost-effective techniques for assessing biodiversity levels in restored forests, including insects and animals that don’t vocalize.
- The authors hope these methods make biodiversity monitoring more transparent, accountable, and accessible to support land managers and market-based conservation mechanisms that rely on forest restoration, such as payments for ecosystem services.
Restoring degraded forests may be key for climate, study says
- Scientists have found that focusing on restoring degraded forests, which cover more than 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) globally, can enhance forest carbon stocks more efficiently than replanting in deforested areas, with natural regrowth being a cost-effective method.
- In Central America’s “Five Great Forests,” there’s a goal to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) by 2030. The study identified 9.8 million hectares (24.2 billion acres) as top restoration priorities, with 91% being degraded forests.
- Restoring just 5% of these priority zones was calculated to potentially sequester 113 million tons of CO2, equivalent to taking more than 20 million cars off the road for a year.
- The research emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in restoration planning and suggests that current forest management practices, like those in the timber industry, need to adapt for more sustainable outcomes.
99% of Caatinga biome could lose plant species due to climate change: Study
- An unprecedented study analyzed 420,000 occurrence records for 3,060 Caatinga plant species and concluded that 99% of the plant communities there are expected to lose species by 2060.
- Even though the species in the biome are theoretically adapted to extreme climates, researchers found that the Caatinga is much more vulnerable to climate changes than previously believed.
- Protecting the more sensitive areas and restoring landscape vegetation connectivity is crucial for the resilience of Caatinga ecosystems; the biome is one of Brazil’s least protected, as less than 9% of its area lies within Conservation Units.
Cut down once again: Uncontrolled logging puts new Sahel reforestation projects at risk
- Reforestation projects to restore degraded lands in Chad and Cameroon, like the “Great Green Wall” and the “Reforestation 1400” projects, are facing increasing pressure from logging activity.
- Facing poverty, war and corrupt local authorities, locals and refugees are cutting trees in new protected areas for firewood or to sell charcoal.
- Local environmental defence organizations, officials and administrations who lead these reforestation projects are raising the alarm about the extent of deforestation which is contributing to desertification in these areas.
- Despite alternative solutions to excessive logging being proposed and implemented, locals are still harvesting from reforested areas.
Forest restoration can fare better with human helping hand, study shows
- A two-decade-old experiment in the tropical rainforest of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, is beginning to reveal that human-assisted restoration of logged forests can increase the speed of an ecosystem’s recovery.
- The researchers also found that planting a diverse suite of seedlings, instead of only one species, led in just one decade to greater biomass and forest complexity.
- The study provides more weight to the argument that greater forest species diversity in general — and specifically for restorations — delivers more ecosystem services, possibly including carbon sequestration.
- However, there is the possibility that the particular life cycle of the type of trees used in this study — hardwood tropical species from the Dipterocarpaceae family, chiefly found in Southeast Asia — could have especially enhanced diversity in this case.
From rat-ridden to reserve, Redonda is an island restoration role model
- In 2016, conservationists began restoring the island of Redonda, part of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean, by removing invasive rats and goats.
- Shortly after removing these invasive species, vegetation on the island sprang back to life, and seabirds and other wildlife recolonized the island.
- In September 2023, the government of Antigua and Barbuda announced it had established the Redonda Ecosystem Reserve, covering nearly 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land and sea.
- Experts say they hope Redonda’s restoration and successive protection will be used as a model for similar projects across the Caribbean.
In São Paulo’s cityscape, community gardens prompt a new food paradigm
- The NGO Cidades sem Fome (Cities Without Hunger) has established more than 80 urban and school gardens across São Paulo, turning vacant lots that were once breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes into sources of income, health and food security.
- The project’s largest garden, beneath transmission lines run by power utility Enel, measures nearly 1 hectare (2.5 acres) and produces up to 6 metric tons of 33 different types of leafy and root vegetables per month.
- One-third of São Paulo territory is zoned as rural, with more than 700 commercial agricultural units registered on the city’s Sampa+Rural platform, contribute to food security and helping fight climate change impacts.
A Philippines NGO project aimed to protect villages from typhoons: What went wrong?
- Concepcion is a low-income fishing town in the central Philippines’ Iloilo province where Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, made its fifth landfall nearly a decade ago, destroying houses and fishing boats.
- In 2015, the U.S.-based nonprofit Conservation International (CI) introduced so-called green-gray infrastructure to enhance the climate resilience of five Concepcion villages, employing a combination of nature-based and engineering solutions.
- A little more than a year after the project ended, a Mongabay visit to Concepcion found most project components degraded or destroyed, leaving residents with little more protection than they had when Yolanda devastated their communities in 2013.
- A CI official acknowledged the project’s challenges, expressing an organizational commitment to learn from the experience and attempt to secure new funding to sustain the initiative.
Can agroforestry chocolate help save the world’s most endangered rainforest?
- Ecuador’s Jama-Coaque Reserve, home to a vibrant cloud forest ecosystem, is part of what may be the world’s most endangered tropical forest, of which only 2.23% remains.
- Third Millennium Alliance (TMA) manages the Jama-Coaque Reserve, protecting one of the few remaining forest areas by monitoring and rebuilding the surrounding forest and with sustainable cacao farming that supports the local economy.
- Through their regenerative cacao program, TMA pays local farmers to transition from unsustainable practices to shade-grown cacao cultivation while providing access to premium markets to sell their cacao.
- TMA is also working to build “the Capuchin Corridor,” a 43-kilometer (27-mile) wilderness corridor connecting some of the remaining forest fragments through land purchases, agroforestry and reforestation.
Transgenics contaminate a third of Brazil’s traditional corn in semiarid region
- A new study identified the presence of up to seven transgenic genes in single seeds of traditional, or “creole” corn from more than 1,000 samples collected in 10% of the towns in Brazil’s Caatinga.
- The results indicate cross-contamination in the fields; it is estimated that pollen from transgenic corn can travel up to 3 kilometers, contaminating nearby traditional corn crops.
- The loss of agricultural biodiversity due to contamination by transgenic plants leaves Brazil vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity. Farmers have put their faith in community creole seed banks.
Mongabay Explains: How high-tech tools are used for successful reforestation
- This Mongabay Explains’ episode is part of a four-part Mongabay mini-series that examines the latest technological solutions to help tree-planting projects achieve scale and long-term efficiency.
- Using these innovative approaches could be vital for meeting international targets to repair degraded ecosystems, sequester carbon, and restore biodiversity.
- Advanced computer modeling, machine learning, drones, niche models using data, robotics and other technologies are helping to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of lost and degraded forest worldwide.
Conservationists work to restore last remnant of a once-great Ugandan forest
- Earlier this year, conservation group Nature Uganda launched a forest restoration project aimed at restoring degraded areas and reducing illegal harvesting of forest products in Mabira Central Forest Reserve.
- A remnant of a much larger forest ecosystem, Mabira is home to 300 bird species, 23 reptile species, and 360 different species of plants.
- A community forest management scheme has successfully engaged nearby communities in self-regulating use of forest resources, but delays in renewing the scheme threaten that progress.
- “When we enter these agreements,” says one community leader, “we promote the sense of ownership so that we can share the roles of making the forest available and managing it sustainably.”
Communities not the true threat to Mabira Forest: Q&A with Ugandan conservationist Achilles Byaruhanga
- Mabira is a surviving fragment of lowland forest that’s now an important refuge for a diverse range of animals and plants in central Uganda.
- The NGO Nature Uganda, led by Achilles Byaruhanga, is working with communities and government agencies to preserve and restore degraded sections of the forest reserve.
- Having seen off a government plan to clear a third of the forest to grow sugarcane, Byaruhanga says community use of Mabira is not necessarily a threat.
- By supporting alternative income activities that replace commercial harvesting of firewood and other forest products for sale in nearby Kampala, and helping local communities reduce their own demand for wood, Byaruhanga says the forest can be preserved.
What drives and halts tropical deforestation? Analyzing 24 years of data
- Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 320 studies covering a period of 24 years, to identify the key drivers of tropical deforestation.
- Deforestation is driven largely by agriculture and cattle ranching, building roads, expanding cities into forests, and population growth.
- Factors halting deforestation include steeper, less accessible terrain, stronger protections for parks and reserves, Indigenous land management, commodity certification programs, and payments for ecosystem services.
- Researchers say they hope the study can be “a resource to guide policies and management toward actions that help reverse deforestation.”
Progress is slow on Africa’s Great Green Wall, but some bright spots bloom
- Africa’s ambitious Great Green Wall, a mosaic of reforestation efforts to stop desertification, has been plagued by delays and challenges.
- Some reforestation efforts, however, have tasted success, becoming a model for many to follow.
- Experts suggest moving away from viewing the initiative as merely a tree-planting exercise and instead seeing it as a holistic, participatory approach that involves local communities and helps them build their livelihoods and incomes.
- Challenges still abound, however, including a volatile security situation, lack of water, coordination challenges, and scattered long-term monitoring of reforested patches.
How seed networks across Brazil are helping to restore biomes
- In early June, a meeting of Redário — a group of seed networks from all over Brazil — brought together members of traditional peoples, NGOs and government agencies in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park.
- Seed networks are community organizations that have multiplied in the last decade in different Brazilian biomes to collect, trade and plant native seeds in degraded areas.
- They promote more inclusive ecological restoration as they generate income for traditional peoples and family farmers who preserve their territories.
- Brazil has signed international commitments planning to restore 30 million acres by 2030.
Nursing oil palm plantations back to nature in Malaysian Borneo
- The Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF), a conservation NGO, is working to create wildlife corridors in eastern Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo, by reforesting land converted for oil palm plantations — a strategy that includes purchasing land legally being farmed.
- RFF works closely with the Sabah government, and reports that rare species are already making use of the developing corridor, including Bornean elephants, orangutans, sun bears and clouded leopards.
- However, raising funds to buy oil palm plantations has proven challenging, with many funders more focused on preserving intact forests or shying away from any involvement with the oil palm industry.
- Unable to rely on piecemeal donations, RFF is looking for other sources of revenue, including a plan to harvest and sell oil palm fruit while restoration gets underway.
Green gains: Localized efforts leave a mark, notably in drier areas, study shows
- Spurts of green spread across the African continent taken together accounted for over 400,000 square kilometers (154,000 square miles) of greening, an area the size of Zimbabwe.
- According to researchers, it’s important to distinguish how much of this greening is due to human efforts and how results much from broader climatic shifts.
- The team compared greening trends in target plots with neighboring plots; the latter, they hypothesized, would reflect changes in vegetation driven by broader climatic trends.
- Despite these advances, satellite imagery-based monitoring of vegetation growth can be a blunt instrument, especially where the data don’t capture differences in the greening, like those arising from agricultural expansion or reforestation.
São Paulo students plant mini-forests on school grounds as urban oases
- Four thousand students planted nearly 10,000 trees on public school grounds in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2022, and another eight mini-forests will be planted in 2023.
- The project, created by the NGO formigas-de-embaúba, could be implemented at 650 public schools in the city, according to a MapBiomas study.
- Guarani leaders from the Jaraguá Indigenous Territory participate in the project, which was inspired by Indigenous knowledge and cosmology.
- Specialists see mini-forests at schools as a strong strategy for creating a democratic network of “cooling places” or urban oases in the face of intensifying global warming.
From cardamom to carbon: Bold new Tanzanian project is regrowing a rainforest
- Farmers in eastern Tanzania are regrowing rainforest trees on part of their land.
- The farmers receive payments from the sale of carbon credits to supplement their incomes and to compensate them for loss of land and cash crops.
- So far, close to 270,000 trees have been planted on 200 hectares (494 acres) of farms located on the flanks of the Nguru Mountains.
- Nguru’s forests, home to a wealth of unique animal and plant species, are under increasing pressure from farmers who fell trees to grow crops, including valuable cardamom spice.
New Tree Tech: Real-time, long-term, high-tech reforestation monitoring
- This four-part Mongabay mini-series examines the latest technological solutions to help tree-planting projects achieve scale and long-term efficiency. Using these innovative approaches could be vital for meeting international targets to repair degraded ecosystems, sequester carbon, and restore biodiversity.
- Many people see reforestation as a quick fix to the climate emergency, but tree-planting projects often fail to put in place the monitoring programs needed to track newly planted forests. Traditionally, forest monitoring has been done by hand, one tree at a time, which is extremely expensive and time-consuming.
- Satellites are mapping and remapping the entire planet daily, providing real-time data that can be used to monitor forests remotely. Drones can fly over or through forests to collect data on tree growth, bridging the gap between on-site measurements and distant satellites.
- Sensors can be installed to monitor individual trees directly, while people can collect and analyze the data electronically from a safer and easier-to-access location. Multiple sensors can form a distributed network that returns detailed information on the growth of each tree within huge reforestation plots.
New Tree Tech: Cutting-edge drones give reforestation a helping hand
- This four-part Mongabay mini-series examines the latest technological solutions to help tree-planting projects achieve scale and long-term efficiency. Using these innovative approaches could be vital for meeting international targets to repair degraded ecosystems, sequester carbon, and restore biodiversity.
- Restoring hundreds of millions of hectares of lost and degraded forest worldwide will require a gigantic effort, a challenge made doubly hard by the fact that many sites are inaccessible by road, stopping manual replanting projects in their tracks.
- Manual planting is labor-intensive and slow. Drone seeding uses the latest in robotic technology to deliver seeds directly to where they’re needed. Drones can drop seeds along a predefined route, working together in a “swarm” to complete the task with a single human supervisor overseeing the process.
- Drone-dropped seed success rates are lower than for manually planted seedlings, but biotech solutions are helping. Specially designed pods encase the seeds in a tailored mix of nutrients to help them thrive. Drones are tech-intensive, and still available mostly in industrialized countries, but could one day help reseed forests worldwide.
New Tree Tech: Data-driven reforestation methods match trees to habitats
- This four-part Mongabay mini-series examines the latest technological solutions to help tree-planting projects achieve scale and long-term efficiency. Using these innovative approaches could be vital for meeting international targets to repair degraded ecosystems, sequester carbon, and restore biodiversity.
- To create healthy, diverse ecosystems, native tree species need to be identified that will thrive at each unique site within a habitat. But with more than 70,000 tree species worldwide, gathering and analyzing the data needed to understand species’ needs, habitat preferences and limitations is no small feat.
- Environmental niche models use data on climate, soil conditions and other characteristics within a species’ range to calculate a tree’s requirements. Artificial intelligence helps sort through vast data sets to make informed predictions about the species suited to an ecosystem, now and in a warmer future.
- Biotechnology company Spades uses laboratory testing of tissue samples from plant species to quantify what growing conditions a species can tolerate and to identify its optimum growing conditions.
Timber harvests to meet global wood demand will bring soaring emissions: Study
- At a time when the world desperately needs to reduce its carbon emissions, global timber harvests to meet soaring demand for wood products — including paper and biomass for energy — could produce more than 10% of total global carbon emissions over coming decades, a new groundbreaking study finds.
- Global wood consumption could grow by 54% between 2010 and 2050, creating a demand for timber that would result in a “clear-cut equivalent” in area roughly the size of the continental U.S., adding 3.5 to 4.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually for years to come.
- The study scientists warn that flawed national climate policies and faulty carbon accounting are failing to accurately forecast these potential carbon emissions resulting from the cutting of natural forests.
- The researchers point out that less natural forests need to be cut to meet the rising global demand for wood products. That demand could partially be met by increasing wood production in already existing plantation forests.
New Tree Tech: AI, drones, satellites and sensors give reforestation a boost
- This four-part Mongabay mini-series examines the latest technological solutions to help tree-planting projects achieve scale and long-term efficiency. Using these innovative approaches could be vital for meeting international targets to repair degraded ecosystems, sequester carbon, and restore biodiversity.
- Current forest restoration efforts fall far short of international goals, and behind the hype lies a string of failed projects and unintended environmental consequences that have left a bad taste in the mouths of many investors, politicians and conservationists. Projects are often expensive and labor-intensive.
- Applying cutting-edge technology to the problem is helping: Advanced computer modeling and machine learning can aid tree-planting initiatives in identifying a diverse set of native species best able to thrive in unique local conditions, today and in a warming future.
- Drones are revolutionizing large-scale tree planting, especially in remote and inaccessible locations. Once trees are planted, satellite-based and on-site sensors can help monitor young forests — offering long-term scrutiny and protection often missing from traditional reforestation initiatives, and at a lower cost.
Five ways to increase tree cover in cities (commentary)
- As cities in the U.S. and other nations suffer from current heat waves, one proven way to cool urban areas and clean the air is by planting trees.
- The solution sounds simple but there are numerous barriers to increasing tree cover in urban areas, from high mortality rates to capacity limitations within municipal forestry, parks, and recreation departments.
- “Trees are as integral to city infrastructure as sidewalks and power lines,” a new op-ed that shares useful resources says: people need improved information and tools to advocate for, plan, and implement urban tree conservation, maintenance, and planting activities to support cities’ future livability, equity, and public health.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Fire imperils Madagascar’s baobabs: Q&A with park director Diamondra Andriambololona
- Kirindy Mite forest is a unique ecosystem that is home to three of Madagascar’s six endemic species of baobab trees.
- The forest is facing increasing anthropogenic pressure, especially from bushfires.
- Mongabay spoke with Diamondra Andriambololona, the director of Kirindy Mite National Park in southwestern Madagascar and the nearby Andranomena Special Reserve, about how the increase in fires is affecting the region’s unique forest and what is being done to reduce them.
- “The pressures on the forest will continue to increase as long as the people remain poor,” says Andriambololona.
What’s in store for Colombia’s forests? New modeling tries to predict.
- In an attempt to chart some outcomes for the future of Colombia’s forests, the Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Energy (FABLE) consortium looked at three different directions the country could take with its current policies.
- One was more passive, while the others were more hands-on and creative. All of them relied on evolving agriculture, forestry and bioenergy trends, represented by a model known as GLOBIOM-Colombia.
- Overall, FABLE found that the country will need a more consistent and innovative approach to deforestation to meet many of its conservation goals.
Is Jeff Bezos’s $500 million yacht made with ‘blood timber’ from Myanmar? (commentary)
- The founder of Amazon.com and the second wealthiest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has donated billions of dollars through his Earth Fund to combat climate change and protect nature.
- Yet he also commissioned Oceanco to build the largest sailing vessel in the world, at a reported cost of $500 million, a 127 meter-long ‘mega yacht’ which uses the highly prized tropical wood teak for its decking, much of the world’s best supply of which comes from Myanmar.
- Myanmar teak has been labeled ‘blood timber’ following the country’s violent February 2021 coup d’état, and so far, Oceanco has declined to confirm its source, making it a “very controversial choice for a European yacht builder, especially one seeking to source the finest materials for a client burnishing his environmental credentials,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Miyawaki forests are a global sensation, but not everyone’s sold on them
- The Miyawaki method is an afforestation technique for cultivating fast-growing groves of native plants, with the dense, mixed planting intended to simulate the layers of a natural forest.
- Originally developed by Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki in the early 1970s for Nippon Steel, the method has been adopted by various Japanese corporations, which planted Miyawaki forests both domestically and overseas.
- Although the popularity of Miyawaki forests has skyrocketed in India, some ecological restoration practitioners question the method’s applicability to the country’s diverse ecological environments.
‘Tree islands’ boost diversity in oil palm plantations, study finds
- Having “islands” of trees peppered across oil palm plantations can boost the biodiversity of the landscape while maintaining crop yields, a new study shows.
- Researchers found that biodiversity and ecosystem functioning improved within five years of planting these tree islands, with larger patches providing greater benefits for species such as birds and bats.
- Though these islands can boost biodiversity, the study authors underline that they are no replacement for protecting natural forests.
- “It is very important for conservation to maintain natural forest and avoid deforestation as the top priority,” said first author Delphine Clara Zemp.
Forests & finance: communities turn to tree-planting, zero-logging, and mushrooms to protect forests
- Communities in Gabon and Kenya organise to protect forests against logging.
- Renewed forest restoration efforts by a local council in Cameroon’s East region.
- Mushroom profits may help protect Tanzania’s forests.
Rare Amazon dark soils could help forest restoration, study shows
- A recent study shows that Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs), through their high nutrient and microbiological contents, could help to restore deforested areas in the Amazon region.
- Furthermore, these unique soils, enriched with beneficial microorganisms like bacteria and archaea, can boost the fertility of typically nutrient-depleted soils in the Amazon region.
- Building on these findings, researchers plan to further analyze the composition and microorganisms of ADEs, aiming to help restore and conserve the Amazon Rainforest.
Africa’s land and forest restoration initiative gathers pace in Malawi
- In 2015, African countries launched the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), committing to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded forests and landscapes by 2030.
- A June 2022 progress report on the initiative showed that nations had put 917,014 hectares (2.27 million acres) under restoration between 2016 and 2021, 63% of that as agroforestry.
- Malawi, which has committed to restoring 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) by 2030, is seen to be making progress with a raft of frameworks formulated to support the initiative and more partners joining the cause, building on some previous interventions.
- Experts insist there needs to be decisive action to tackle deforestation, which they say is a significant threat to the restoration initiatives in Malawi.
U.S. conservation investment routed to eucalyptus expansion in Brazil’s Cerrado
- The Timberland Investment Group (TIG), owned by investment bank BTG Pactual, is expanding its planted forest operations in the Cerrado. Its newest office is next door to the world’s soon-to-be largest paper and pulp factory, under construction.
- U.S. President Joe Biden pledged $50 million toward the initiative, claiming it would help conserve Latin America’s most critical ecosystems. The funds have not yet been released, but TIG has already started acquiring new land.
- From 2018-22, BTG Pactual financed $1.67 billion in forest-risky products including soy, beef, timber and pulp and paper, according to Forests & Finance data analyzed by Mongabay.
- The planted forest industry advertises environmental benefits and is increasingly joining bids for green finance. Critics say stored carbon is released after harvest and these monoculture plantations are distracting funds and attention away from real biome conservation.
Extreme reforestation: Baobab planters confront fires, loggers, cattle and more
- In Madagascar, the August-to-December bushfire season wreaks havoc on the southwest and west of the island.
- Dry Forest, a young Malagasy NGO, is attempting an extreme form of reforestation to save the forest in Kirindy Mite National Park.
- In addition to the bushfires, the NGO faces many other challenges linked to local poverty.
Trapping holds back speed of bird recovery in a Sumatran forest, study shows
- A decade of protection and natural regeneration of tropical forests has helped bird populations increase in the southern lowlands of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, a new study says.
- However, it adds that continued wild trapping is preventing the reforestation effort from achieving its greatest results.
- The Harapan Forest, which straddles the provinces of Jambi and South Sumatra, in 2007 became the site of Indonesia’s first ecosystem restoration concession to recover biodiversity in the region after commercial selective logging ceased in 2005.
- Since 2004, Indonesia has awarded 16 licenses for ecosystem restoration concessions, including for the Harapan Forest, covering an area of 623,075 hectares (1.54 million acres) in Sumatra and Borneo, according to 2018 government data.
Palm oil giant hands over sacred community land for reforestation project
- After two years of local organizations campaigning in Cameroon’s Mbonjo village, palm oil giant Socapalm has handed over three sacred sites, totaling approximately three hectares (about seven acres) of land, to a community.
- However, the total is still short of what the community asked for, which was initially 30 hectares (about 74 acres).
- The local environmental organization and traditional leaders who campaigned for the sacred sites say reforestation and land restoration projects are now in the works.
- Socapalm is highlighting its commitment to respecting the rights and traditions of communities in accordance with its social and sustainability certifications, while local critics continue to accuse it of land grabbing.
World’s ‘largest’ tropical reforestation project slowed by Covid, Bolsonaro, fires
- In 2017, Conservation International launched what was dubbed the “largest tropical forest restoration in the world” and slated for the Brazilian Amazon. Despite a goal of completing the project by the end of this year, CI is less than 20% of the way there.
- According to project managers, the initiative has been slowed by two main factors: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019-2022 presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.
- But fire, once a rarity in the Amazon, has also played a role, destroying 2,700 hectares (nearly 6,700 acres) of restoration areas in 2021 alone.
- Still, the initiative is moving ahead across the “arc of deforestation,” with organizers hoping to prove it’s possible to restore the rapidly receding southern edge of the Brazilian Amazon before a large part of the rainforest biome hits a tipping point and changes over to savanna — releasing huge amounts of carbon to the atmosphere.
Forests & Finance: Agroforestry in Cameroon and reforestation in South Africa
- An agroforestry initiative in a cocoa-growing community on Cameroon aims to prevent the expansion of cocoa farms into the nearby forest while also providing additional income to farmers.
- A community effort in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province is restoring the region’s mistbelt forest that’s home to the iconic Cape parrot, and since 2011 has planted 52,000 trees while allowing participants, mostly women, to earn a living.
- A program meant to ensure the legality of timber in Gabon’s supply chain was briefly suspended between March and April over what the government says was missing paperwork — a justification that proponents have called into question.
- Forests & Finance is Mongabay’s bi-weekly bulletin of briefs about Africa’s forests.
Madagascar bush fires prompt exasperated NGO to curtail tree planting
- Graine de Vie, a Belgian NGO present in Madagascar since 2009, claims to be the leading reforestation organization in the country.
- Weary of repeated bush fires and an alleged lack of government action, the NGO announced in January that it would reduce its activities by a third.
- The announcement followed the catastrophic loss of thousands of freshly planted saplings to a bush fire.
Saving forests to protect coastal ecosystems: Japan sets historic example
- For hundreds of years, the island nation of Japan has seen various examples of efforts to conserve its coastal ecosystems, vital to its fisheries.
- An 1897 law created protection forests to conserve a variety of ecosystem services. “Fish forests,” one type of protection forest, conserve watershed woodlands and offer benefits to coastal fisheries, including shade, soil erosion reduction, and the provision of nutrients.
- Beginning in the late 1980s, fishers across Japan started planting trees in coastal watersheds that feed into their fishing grounds, helping launch the nation’s environmental movement. Although the fishers felt from experience that healthy forests contribute to healthy seas, science for many years offered little evidence.
- New research using environmental DNA metabarcoding analysis confirms that greater forest cover in Japan’s watersheds contributes to a greater number of vulnerable coastal fish species. Lessons learned via Japan’s protection and fish forests could benefit nations the world over as the environmental crisis deepens.
Could biodiversity be a key to better forest carbon storage in Europe?
- A new project is reintroducing key species into Europe’s forests to help restore natural balance and boost the ability of woodlands to store carbon. But there are concerns that unless such reintroductions are made on a much wider, landscape scale, they will have little positive impact in a region so dominated by humans.
- Others argue that the best way to improve Europe’s carbon storage potential is via heavy forest management, even going so far as to clear-cut some older stands and replace them with fast-growing new forests to encourage rapid carbon uptake, and using thinnings from timber operations to burn as biomass to make energy.
- This heavy management approach has raised deep concerns within the scientific community. Many researchers say this method ignores the growing body of evidence that plantation forest monocultures are not only bad for biodiversity and store less carbon, but also increase the risk of spreading devastating diseases.
- A middle ground could see more natural management of some forests where timber is harvested, while other woodland areas are left undisturbed, with a mixture of tree species, deadwood allowed to rot where it falls, and native animals reintroduced to help restore a natural balance and healthy ecosystems.
Where Indigenous land rights prevail in Brazil, so does nature, study finds
- A study that looked at changes in forest cover in 129 Indigenous territories in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest between 1995 and 2016 has found that deforestation rates were lower and reforestation rates higher in those where land tenure had been formalized.
- Among the reasons for this, researchers suggest, is the fact that Indigenous peoples felt more encouraged to revive the forest, safe in the knowledge that they will be protected by the law.
- However, securing land tenure, a process known as demarcation, has proved difficult for many Indigenous communities, with former president Jair Bolsonaro refusing to sign off on any demarcation during his time in office from 2019-2022.
- Under the new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indigenous leaders say they’re more optimistic about having their land tenure formally recognized.
To restore Brazil’s Cerrado, planting trees is a bad option, experts say
- Almost half of Brazil’s Cerrado savanna has been deforested, and restoration proposals now center largely on planting trees in the degraded areas.
- However, as a grassland, and not a degraded forest, restoring undergrowth and some bushes would be the best option for recovering it, experts say.
- Reforesting the Cerrado with trees would change the biome’s core traits, alter its biodiversity, and impact the availability of groundwater.
- The Cerrado is able to regenerate itself, even after fires; the challenge lies in recovering native vegetation after agricultural use, especially the industrial farming of monoculture crops.
Reconnecting ‘island habitat’ with wild corridors in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
- This three-part Mongabay mini-series examines grassroots forest restoration projects carried out within isolated island ecosystems — whether those islands are surrounded by ocean as on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, or cloud forest mountaintop habitat encircled by lowlands in Costa Rica, or forest patches hemmed in by human development in Brazil.
- Reforestation of degraded island habitat is a first step toward restoring biodiversity made rare by isolation, and to mitigating climate threats. Though limited in size, island habitats can be prime candidates for reforestation because extinctions are typically much higher on isolated habitat islands than in more extensive ecosystems.
- Scientists mostly agree that the larger the forest island habitat, the greater its biodiversity, and the more resilient that forest system will be against climate change. Forests also store more carbon than degraded lands, and add moisture to soil and the atmosphere as a hedge against warming-intensified drought.
- The projects featured in this series are small in size, but if scaled up could become big forest nature-based climate solutions. In this third story, the NGO Saving Nature works to create wild corridors to reconnect fragmented patches of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
Mountain islands: Restoring a transitional cloud forest in Costa Rica
- This three-part Mongabay mini-series examines grassroots forest restoration projects carried out within isolated island ecosystems — whether those islands are surrounded by ocean as on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, or cloud forest mountaintop habitat encircled by lowlands in Costa Rica, or forest patches hemmed in by human development in Brazil.
- Reforestation of degraded island habitat is a first step toward restoring biodiversity made rare by isolation, and to mitigating climate threats. Though limited in size, island habitats can be prime candidates for reforestation because extinctions are typically much higher on isolated habitat islands than in more extensive ecosystems.
- Scientists mostly agree that the larger the forest island habitat, and greater its biodiversity, and the more resilient that forest system will be against climate change. Forests also store more carbon than degraded agricultural lands, and add moisture to soil and the atmosphere as a hedge against global warming-intensified drought.
- The projects featured in this series are small in size, but if scaled up could become big forest nature-based climate solutions. In this second story, two tourists vacationing in Costa Rica and stunned by the deforestation they see, buy degraded land next to Chirripó National Park and restore a transitional cloud forest.
From ukuleles to reforestation: Regrowing a tropical forest in Hawai‘i
- This three-part Mongabay mini-series examines grassroots forest restoration projects carried out within isolated island ecosystems — whether those islands are surrounded by water as on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, or cloud forest mountaintop habitat encircled by lowlands in Costa Rica, or forest patches hemmed in by human development in Brazil.
- Reforestation of degraded island habitat is a first step toward restoring biodiversity made rare by isolation, and to mitigating climate threats. Though limited in size, island habitats can be prime candidates for reforestation because extinctions are typically much higher on isolated habitat islands than in more extensive ecosystems.
- Scientists mostly agree that the larger the forest island habitat, the greater its biodiversity, and the more resilient that forest system will be against climate change. Forests also store more carbon than degraded agricultural lands, and add moisture to soils and the atmosphere as a hedge against global warming-intensified drought.
- The projects featured in this series are small in size, but if scaled up could become big forest nature-based climate solutions. In this first story, two ukulele makers strive to save Hawai‘i’s koa tree, found nowhere else in the world. In the process they restore a biodiverse tropical forest on the slopes of the Big Island’s Mauna Loa volcano.
Companies eye ‘carbon insetting’ as winning climate solution, but critics are wary
- A tool that wields the techniques of carbon offsets is surging among companies claiming that it reduces their carbon footprints. The tool, known by some as “insetting,” had simmered for more than a decade on the fringes of climate action among brands that rely on agriculture, but is now expanding to other sectors.
- Insetting is defined as company projects to reduce or remove emissions within their own internal supply chains. Proponents say it is valuable for agriculture-based firms struggling to address indirect emissions from land that has already been deforested. Like offsets, insetting can bring social and economic benefits to communities.
- Some oppose the tool outright, saying it is subject to the same problems as offsets (including lack of permanence and enforceable standards), but can also be worse as it can lead to double-counting climate benefits and can have weaker oversight.
- Having now become popular with major corporations such as Nestlé and PepsiCo, insetting as a climate tool is poised to see increased scrutiny as companies and researchers figure out its place in corporate action and reckon with the urgency to reduce emissions from agriculture.
Restoration turns pastures into wildlife haven in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
- After centuries of intensive deforestation, experts say fragmentation and degradation are worse in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest than in the Amazon.
- Experts say restoration can complement primary forest conservation by helping to reconnect fragments of original forest and to bring back lost biodiversity.
- The nonprofit Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve conserves 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) of Atlantic Forest in the Guapiaçu River Basin, protecting both the environment and the water supply of 2.5 million people.
- In two decades, the nonprofit has planted 750,000 trees, seen a return of hundreds of birds, and reintroduced the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) to Rio de Janeiro for the first time in 100 years.
Forests & finance: A lawsuit, an import ban, and restoring Zambian forests
- Campaigners sue Ghana’s government to block mining of Atewa Forest biodiversity hotspot.
- Conservationists assist a forest reserve in Zambia to restore itself.
- Forest certification is expanding rapidly across the Congo Basin.
- EU bans imports of products linked to deforestation.
Saving Masungi, a last green corridor of the Philippines: Q&A with Ann Dumaliang
- The Masungi Georeserve is an important geological region about 30 miles from Manila, within a watershed and conservation area that is home to more than 400 species of flora and fauna, several of which are rare and threatened.
- Ann Dumaliang is a co-founder of the foundation that manages conservation and geotourism in the reserve, which is threatened by illegal quarrying, logging and development.
- Masungi’s rangers have faced violent attacks in recent months, but Dumaliang, her family and colleagues are working with numerous organizations and individuals to reforest and preserve the area.
Kenya’s youngest environmental ambassador: Q&A with 10-year-old Karen Kimani
- Karen Kimani has spent many of her 10 years working to save the environment in Kenya, planting thousands of trees, speaking out against air pollution and representing her country in international events, including COP27.
- Kimani is also a model and has created clothing from recycled plastics; she uses modeling as an opportunity to spread her message about the environment.
- Kimani hopes to become a doctor and says a better environment will make her work easier, as fewer people will become sick from environmental pollution.
From Japan to Brazil: Reforesting the Amazon with the Miyawaki method
- Reforestation using the Miyawaki method seeks to restore nature to its original state with results that can be seen in around six years.
- Miyawaki works around three concepts: trees should be native, several species should be randomly planted, and the materials for the seedlings and the soil should be organic.
- The method is suitable for urban areas, which gives it a significant capacity to connect human beings with nature, with benefits for the health and well-being of the population.
- Different from other reforestation methods that may seek a financial return, like agroforestry, the motivation of the Miyawaki method is purely ecological.
Colombia’s ‘tree of life’ births a new culinary and conservation movement
- Tamandua is a collective of families and small farmers who create food products from the nuts of the guáimaro tree, a keystone species of Colombia’s tropical dry forest, as well as from other nut-bearing native trees and other plants that can be grown in the shade.
- Guáimaro flour and other tropical dry forest products, produced through a regenerative agroforestry model that provides an alternative to cattle raising and monocropping, are beginning to enter Colombia’s culinary scene as sources of high-quality nutrition.
- This bioeconomy model could help save and expand tropical dry forests and provide a sustainable income for small farmers, proponents say.
- Colombia’s tropical dry forests are home to hundreds of plant and animal species, many of them endemic. They’re also one of the country’s most endangered forest ecosystems, occupying only 8% of their original extent.
‘One of our greatest climate solutions’: Q&A with the U.S. National Agroforestry Center’s new director
- Agroforestry is a climate solution that’s growing in popularity in the U.S., where a new leader is set to promote and support its adoption.
- The new director of the National Agroforestry Center brings decades of experience to the task, and previously served as the organization’s acting director.
- “Agroforestry is particularly appealing as it has the potential to be one of our nation’s greatest natural climate solutions, while providing so many other benefits,” Anne Marsh tells Mongabay in a new interview.
For restoration, microbes below ground are just as crucial as the plants above
- Planting soil microbiome like fungi together with trees as a part of ecosystem restoration could lead to an average 64% increase in plant growth, a new study has found.
- The research suggests that managed landscapes like farmland and forestry plantations have the greatest potential for restoration using soil organisms as they cover half of Earth’s habitable land area.
- Southeast Asia, in particular, presents an interesting case study for incorporating microbial communities in forest restoration, as it has vast swaths of degraded land that could be restored.
Dollars and chainsaws: Can timber production help fund global reforestation?
- As global reforestation commitments grow, how will companies, governments and communities pay to restore forest ecosystems and help sequester carbon over the long-term?
- One option: Grow and sell timber on the same plots of land where reforestation work is underway, as exemplified by pioneering restoration projects in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, where a single harvest of fast-growing eucalyptus grows up amid restored native trees. Eucalyptus sales then help pay for long-term restoration.
- Another approach is to concurrently grow tree plantations and forest restorations on separate, often adjacent, plots of land, with a large portion of the profits from timber harvests going to support the long-term management of the reforestation projects.
- But some scientists and forest advocates worry that projects or businesses that become overreliant on timber revenues to finance restoration could undermine an initiative’s environmental benefits, and lock in unintended harvesting within native ecosystems. Experts ask: Can we truly pay for new trees by cutting others down?
In Vietnam, a forest grown from the ashes of war falls to a resort project
- Planted in the 1970s as part of Vietnam’s post-war reforestation program, the Dak Doa forest has become both a burgeoning tourist attraction and a lifeline for ethnic minority farmers living in the district.
- The forest is under threat due to a planned tourism, housing and golf complex slated to cover 517 of the forest’s 601 hectares (1,278 of 1,485 acres).
- Work on the project is currently suspended due to the death of more than 4,500 trees in a botched relocation operation, as well as sanctions imposed on local leaders by central party leadership, which found local officials to have committed a series of violations related to land management.
- While currently suspended, the project could still be revitalized if a new investor takes over.
Japan’s example: Can forest planting reduce climate disaster risk?
- In disaster-prone Japan, torrential rains exacerbated by the climate crisis have caused serious flooding and landslides in recent years, including in the country’s many forests.
- While acknowledging the limits of forests’ ability to prevent landslides occurring in the bedrock, Japan’s Forestry Agency is implementing both forest improvement activities and erosion control facility construction to help mitigate future landslide disasters.
- Japan’s monoculture plantation forests, which represent 40% of the nation’s total forest cover, are seen by some experts and civil society members as insufficient to prevent mountain disasters. However, other experts say that a much wider range of geological and environmental factors, not just tree species, determine a forest’s disaster mitigation ability.
- Along Japan’s Pacific coast, others are using trees planted on raised embankments as an as-yet-untested countermeasure against future tsunamis, a type of disaster experts say can also be exacerbated by sea level rise due to climate change.
In Sierra Leone’s fishing villages, a reality check for climate aid
- In April, Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo visited the Sherbro estuary, a sprawling riverine ecosystem of mangroves and coastal fishing villages on the Sierra Leonean coastline.
- Like other coastal areas in West Africa, the Sherbro estuary is already suffering the impacts of climate change, including flooding and higher temperatures.
- Between 2016 and 2021, USAID financed mangrove replanting and the construction of makeshift seawalls in villages here as part of a coastal climate resilience aid project.
- The project’s struggles here are an example of the difficulties that climate aid efforts can face when they meet the economic and social needs of people in vulnerable areas.
Nearly half of replanted trees die, but careful site selection can help
- A recent survey of reforestation efforts in South and Southeast Asia found that about half of trees planted as part of such projects died within a decade.
- The study also identified factors that increase the chances of survival; for example, trees planted in sites with existing forest were more likely to survive than trees planted on open land.
- The researchers also noted that few projects carry out long-term monitoring after the initial planting, even though it takes decades for forests to regrow.
Report calls on palm oil firms to make up for nearly 1m hectares of forest loss
- Palm oil companies across Southeast Asia are liable for the recovery of a Puerto Rico-sized area of forest because of their history of environmental harm, a new report shows.
- The Earthqualizer Foundation derived the figure of 877,314 hectares (2.17 million acres) based on the deforestation that the companies continued to carry out after they became aware that an increasing number of buyers had adopted sustainability policies.
- The report also calls on buyers who bought from these suppliers to shoulder some of the liability, which it said could count toward the forest restoration goals pledged by many of the buyers, including Nestlé, Kellogg’s and Unilever.
- The Earthqualizer report highlights some palm oil companies that are already undertaking recovery initiatives, but notes that these are few and far between, and any progress will need to be assessed over the long term.
COP27 long on pledges, short on funds for forests — Congo Basin at risk
- The world’s wealthiest nations have made grand statements and offered big monetary pledges to save the world’s tropical rainforests so they can continue sequestering huge amounts of carbon.
- But as COP27 draws to a close, policy experts and activists agree that funding so far is far too little, and too slow coming, with many pledges still unfulfilled. Without major investments that are dozens, or even hundreds, of times bigger, tropical forests will keep disappearing at an alarming rate.
- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offers a case study of just how dire the situation is becoming. While some international forest preservation money is promised and available, it is insufficient to stop companies from leasing forestlands to cut timber and to convert to plantations and mines.
- Some experts say that what is urgently needed is the rapid upscaling of carbon markets that offer heftier carbon credits for keeping primary forests growing. Others point to wealthy nations, who while still cutting their own primary forests, encourage poorer tropical nations to conserve theirs without paying enough for protection.
Amid conflict and chaos, a reforestation project surges ahead in Haiti
- An important reforestation project is forging ahead in Haiti, despite the nation’s economic and political upheavals.
- Reforesting 50 hectares (124 acres) with native plants this year in Grand Bois National Park, the NGO Haiti National Trust (HNT) is working closely with local communities to ensure the restoration project’s long-term survival.
- On an island buffeted by governance woes, severe deforestation and climate change, reforestation can save lives by mitigating the impacts of extreme rain events, droughts and hurricanes, and even reduce the risk of landslides caused by earthquakes.
- If ongoing funding can be secured, the group hopes to continue replanting efforts into the future with larger restoration goals.
Deadly landslides prompt Philippine president to call for tree planting
- Typhoon Nalgae, which made five landfalls on Oct. 29, killed 123 people across the Philippines, including at least 61 who died in floods and landslides on the southern island of Mindanao.
- After inspecting the damage wrought by the storm, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. blamed deforestation and climate change for the scale of the disaster, and called on flood control plans to include tree planting.
- The Philippines already has an ambitious tree-planting program, but an audit found it has so far fallen short of its target.
At the mouth of the Amazon, sustainable açaí leaves a sweet taste for communities
- Residents of the Bailique Archipelago, which lies at the mouth of the Amazon River, established a community protocol to promote their traditional açaí cultivation and strengthen their cultural identity.
- In 2016, the açaí collected by Amazonbai, the local cooperative composed of more than 2,000 people, became the world’s first and only açaí production chain to gain Forest Stewardship Council certification.
- A key challenge to this sustainable livelihood is the increasing saltwater intrusion into the islands’ water sources, the result of both climatic factors and human interference in the regional landscape.
Meet the Millennium Forest: A unique tropical island reforestation project
- A two-decade reforestation project on the tropical island of St. Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean has not only restored trees found nowhere else in the world, but has also involved nearly every member of the island community in the effort.
- The Millennium Forest, as it’s called, has struggled with invasive species and irregular funding, but has still managed to thrive, adding new plant species — several of them threatened and two thought to have gone extinct. The growing forest is attracting animal species to its habitat, including St. Helena’s only endemic bird.
- Ocean islands pose special challenges for forest restoration, since many plant species evolved in isolation on remote islands, and saw drastic population crashes to the point of extinction, or near-extinction, when people and invasive species arrived.
- As a result, island reforestations typically can’t match original forest composition, but must mix both native and non-native species. The Millennium Forest project has now become a legacy that the current generation is handing down to upcoming ones, according to project founder Rebecca Cairns-Wicks.
With FSC rule change, deforesters once blocked from certification get a new shot
- The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has adopted a number of significant changes during its recent general assembly in Bali, chief among them moving its cutoff date for eligibility from 1994 to 2020.
- With the change, logging companies that have cleared forests since 1994, but before 2020, will be allowed to obtain certification from the body, something they weren’t allowed to do before.
- To qualify, companies will have to restore forests and provide remedy for social harms done in the 1994-2020 period in their concessions.
- The decision has sparked responses from both critics and supporters, with the former saying the new rule rewards known deforesters, and the latter saying it opens opportunities for forest restoration and remedies for Indigenous and local communities.
Drive for restoration and remedy behind some NGOs’ cautious support for FSC changes (commentary)
- Earlier this month, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) held its General Assembly in Bali.
- Grant Rosoman, a senior campaign advisor to Greenpeace International, argues that decisions made at this year’s General Assembly marked “the most significant change in direction” for the certification scheme in the last 20 years.
- Rosoman specifically identifies stakeholders’ approval of Motion 37 which will allow certification of forest areas cleared for plantations after November 1994 provided the party involved commits to restore an equivalent area of natural forest.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Successes and struggles: Brazil’s 20-year Amazon reforestation carbon sink project
- The Peugeot-ONF Forest Carbon Sink project, implemented more than 20 years ago in northwestern Mato Grosso state, within the “arc of deforestation” of the Brazilian Amazon, has achieved significant ecological restoration and carbon sequestration results.
- Reforesting 2,000 hectares of degraded cattle pasture on the São Nicolau Farm in Cotriguaçu municipality, the project has been Verra certified for reducing carbon emissions, with 394,400 metric tons of CO2 sequestered to date, equal to 85,000 cars taken off the road for a year. This CO2 reduction is being traded as carbon credits on Pachama, an online marketplace.
- Today, São Nicolau Farm is a living laboratory documenting the dynamics of forest restoration and carbon capture in the Amazon. The farm also offers ecotourism, training and educational opportunities.
- But Brazil’s volatile sociopolitical context is posing major risks to the project. Threats include a rising wave of forest crime, along with weakened environmental regulations, and controversial development proposals for the rainforest biome.
In Madagascar, a tree-planting business goes long on social, short on eco
- Bôndy, a young Malagasy company, has social-impact tree planting at the heart of its “business model.”
- Bôndy makes money by offering social and environmental responsibility solutions to other companies, by planting trees on farmers’ land on their behalf.
- Although it has only been operating since 2018, the company’s model is proving successful with both the rural people receiving tree-planting services and the companies financing the projects.
- Some conservationists, however, are skeptical about the environmental impacts of Bôndy’s approach, which focuses mainly on planting non-native acacia and eucalyptus trees that can be cut for fuel and timber, as well as fruit trees.
Forests & Finance: Sit-ins, seeds over seedlings, and fuel-saving cookstoves
- Liberian communities affected by logging have staged a sit-in protest in front of the country’s ministry of finance, demanding unpaid royalties.
- Cookstoves and woodlots are the first step in a plan to halt deforestation in southern Zimbabwe.
- And a reforestation initiative experiments with providing Zimbabwean farmers seeds from indigenous trees rather than seedlings.
- Forests & Finance is Mongabay’s bi-weekly bulletin of briefs about Africa’s forests.
Mangrove restorers in Haiti bet on resilience amid rising violence
- Haiti is one of the most deforested countries in the world today, with its mangroves in particular now dotting just 30% of its coastline, much of it in thin, fragmented pockets.
- The main threat to the mangroves is the cutting of the trees to produce charcoal, an important fuel for cooking in a country where only a quarter of the population has access to electricity.
- Several mangrove restoration projects have been initiated over the years, and many abandoned due to waning community interest, natural disasters, or poor planning.
- More recently, rising rates of violence have prevented restoration teams from going to the field and coordinating with one another, but some are hopeful that communities remain receptive to mangrove restoration despite all the other hardships they’re experiencing.
In Brazil’s Ribeira Valley, traditional communities combine farming and conservation
- The Traditional Quilombola Agricultural System (TQAS) of the Ribeira Valley was declared part of Brazil’s intangible cultural heritage in 2018.
- The slash-and-burn farming system practiced by the Afro-Brazilian communities in this area is based on land rotation, thus bringing together production and conservation in the largest contiguous remnant of the Atlantic Forest.
- The communities, or quilombos, here have a long history of struggling to practice their traditional agriculture, threatened by lack of proper land planning and the imposition of various restrictions by the authorities.
- But they persevere, growing organic food for their own sustenance and for sale, as well as establishing a seed bank that both saves native tree species for use in restoration projects, and generates an income for community members.
New tech aims to track carbon in every tree, boost carbon market integrity
- Climate scientists and data engineers have developed a new digital platform billed as the first-ever global tool for accurately calculating the carbon stored in every tree on the planet.
- Founded on two decades of research and development, the new platform from nonprofit CTrees leverages artificial intelligence-enabled satellite datasets to give users a near-real-time picture of forest carbon storage and emissions around the world.
- With forest protection and restoration at the center of international climate mitigation efforts, CTrees is set to officially launch at COP27 in November, with the overall aim of bringing an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability to climate policy initiatives that rely on forests to offset carbon emissions.
- Forest experts broadly welcome the new platform, but also underscore the risk of assessing forest restoration and conservation projects solely by the amount of carbon sequestered, which can sometimes be a red herring in achieving truly sustainable and equitable forest management.
After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
- Redansyah first began working in conservation around Indonesia’’s Tanjung Puting National Park in the 1980s alongside renowned conservationist Biruté Galdikas.
- In a 20-year career, he has planted tens of thousands of seedlings in a once-pristine landscape beset by logging and fires since the 1990s.
- The 68-year-old has no plans to retire: “I just want to work on the job of introducing trees to this community.”
Tiny new tree frog species found in rewilded Costa Rican nature reserve
- On a private nature reserve in Costa Rica, Donald Varela-Soto searched for the source of a shrill frog call for six months. What he found turned out to be a new species, a tiny green tree frog that has been named Tlalocohyla celeste.
- Scientists think the Tapir Valley tree frog may be critically endangered. Its only known habitat is the 8-hectare (20-acre) wetland within the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, which adjoins Tenorio Volcano National Park.
- Varela-Soto and a partner bought the reserve, a former cattle pasture, to protect and restore forest and provide habitat connectivity for wildlife, including the native Baird’s tapir. The reserve has since become a living laboratory for different restoration techniques.
- Today, the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve hosts species such as jaguars, collared peccaries, and tapirs, and many birds. Ecotourism provides income for Varela-Soto’s family and others. The reserve has been hailed as “a great example of how wildlife and humans can co-exist.”
Java communities rally as clock ticks on cleanup of ‘world’s dirtiest river’
- A national program to transform Java’s Citarum River into a source of drinking water expires in 2025.
- A reforestation program in uplands near the source of the river is drawing on community volunteers.
- West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil tells Mongabay that residents will see improved water quality by 2025 and that there is political will to tackle the crisis.
Healthy mangroves build a resilient community in the Philippines’ Palawan
- According to historical accounts, the fisheries of Malampaya Sound in the Philippines’ Palawan province were once so rich it was difficult to wade to shore without stepping on crabs.
- This bounty fueled migration to the area from across the Philippines, and by the turn of the 20th century, much of the areas’ mangroves had been cleared or degraded, leading to a decline in fish catches.
- From 2011-2013, mangrove restoration efforts were initiated as part of the Philippines’ National Greening Program, but, as elsewhere in the country, the initiative performed far below target.
- Today, however, thanks to ongoing outreach initiatives, community partnerships and Indigenous belief systems, the importance of preserving mangroves is widely recognized and the area’s coastal forests and fisheries are seeing a recovery.
Big Oil’s capture of IPCC assessment for policymakers ‘shakes our faith’ (commentary)
- Although the IPCC’s technical summaries on climate change are a key resource for assessment and future projections, the group’s recent recommendations for policy makers appear to have been influenced by fossil fuel stakeholders.
- “The public needs to know that representatives from oil and gas industries, as well as fossil fuel-dependent governments, were writing this report,” a new op-ed states.
- With billions of dollars moving toward technology-driven carbon removal schemes that benefit the fossil fuel industry’s favored status quo, climate philanthropy must increasingly support climate justice, a just transition to renewable energy, and grassroots activism.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Niger Delta mangroves in ‘grave danger’ from oil spills, poverty, invasive species
- Southern Nigeria’s vast Niger Delta boasts Africa’s most extensive mangrove forests — and some of the world’s largest fossil fuel reserves.
- Efforts to extract oil and gas have resulted in numerous oil spills, which have damaged the region’s biodiversity, as well as the livelihoods of coastal communities.
- Niger Delta mangroves are also affected by logging, farming and urban expansion, and are being replaced by invasive nipa palm.
- Research suggests Niger Delta’s mangroves could be gone within 50 years at the current rate of loss.
Let it grow: Q&A with reforestation and land restoration visionary Tony Rinaudo
- Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a community-led approach to naturally restoring degraded landscapes and ecosystems, and it’s credited with reforesting many millions of hectares of degraded land, globally.
- Though FMNR has literally sprouted in many places over time, Tony Rinaudo is the best known and most vocal proponent of this technique that’s reforested an estimated six million hectares of Niger alone.
- Encouraging cleared forests to resprout makes resilient, climate-positive agroecology practices like agroforestry possible, as crops grown in the cooling shade of trees also benefit from improved soil health and water levels.
- In a wide-ranging interview, Rinaudo shares his hopes, dreams, and insights about FMNR with Mongabay readers.
Aziil Anwar, Indonesian coral-based mangrove grower, dies at 64
- Aziil Anwar, a civil servant turned award-winning mangrove restorer, has died from diabetes-related complications.
- Aziil gained prominence in the 1990s by pioneering a way to boost the success of mangrove planting in coral damaged by blast fishing on the island of Baluno in Indonesia’s West Sulawesi province.
- With the help of local children, he managed to plant some 100 hectares (nearly 250 acres), fully covering the island and extending the mangrove forest out toward the mainland.
Natural regeneration and women-led initiatives help drive Atlantic Forest Pact
- Having restored 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of forest on Brazil’s coast, the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact plans to double this by 2025, with the ultimate goal of restoring 15 million hectares (37 million acres) by 2050.
- The Pact focuses on areas with high potential for natural regeneration, in order to reduce restoration costs; reforestation through active tree planting, however, remains an option for creating jobs on large rural properties.
- One of the members of the Pact, the Copaíba Environmental Association, has planted 700,000 seedlings on 600 hectares (1,500 acres) and produced more than 3 million seedlings in its nursery.
- Members of the Pact see gender equity as an aspect to be monitored in restoration projects, with a high degree of women’s participation in their work.
Cameroon’s Nigerian refugees who degraded their camp are now vanguards of reforestation
- Nigerian refugees and Cameroonian villagers are taking part in efforts to reforest the area around the Minawao refugee camp near the border between the two countries.
- The influx of the refugees, driven from their homes by the advance of the Islamist group Boko Haram, led to a surge in logging for fuelwood and timber, and also sparked conflict with the locals.
- A reforestation program supported by the UNHCR, French development NGO ADES and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and carried out by refugees and locals, has to date planted more than 400,000 trees across 100 hectares (250 acres).
- Initially, government experts chose the trees to be planted based on their ability to grow quickly and survive in arid places, but since 2017, community members have been brought into the decision-making process as the project’s managers realized that a participatory approach could generate better results.
Mongabay’s new-look Reforestation.app makes finding the right tree-planting project easier
- Mongabay has launched an upgrade to Reforestation.app, our global directory of tree-planting projects, aimed at improving transparency in the sector.
- Reforestation.app is a free online tool for people to support reforestation by providing a means to identify projects that align with their interests and motivations.
- The update features an improved project search functionality, a step-by-step guide for filtering projects, and the ability to update and add new projects.
Dig, dump, repeat, then watch the forest grow: Q&A with mangrove restorer Keila Vazquez
- Las Chelemeras is a group of 18 women in the Mexican port town of Chelem who, since 2010, have worked to restore and protect their local mangrove forests on the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.
- To date, they have contributed to the reforestation of approximately 50 hectares (124 acres) of mangroves, accounting for half of Chelem’s forest cover.
- “We have learned that our work is not only a job or a paycheck, but a collaboration with the environment, and that gives us satisfaction,” says Keila Vazquez, a founding member of the group.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Vazquez talks about her work with Las Chelemeras, the challenges ahead for her community, and how the reforestation of their environment has impacted younger generations.
In São Paulo, Indigenous Guarani unite over their reclaimed farming tradition
- At the southern end of the São Paulo city limits, a Guarani Indigenous community has reclaimed degraded land once used for eucalyptus monoculture.
- After collecting seeds from communities in other states and countries, the Guarani have more than 200 varieties of native plants, free of any genetic modification.
- The crops include nine types of corn, 15 types of sweet potato, four types of peanut, as well as fruits native to the Atlantic Rainforest.
- Guarani society is built around agriculture, and the recovery of these ancient planting traditions is bringing the community together in a way that wasn’t possible before.
Can wonder plant spekboom really bring smiles back to sad South African towns?
- Botanists are working on an ambitious project to restore 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of degraded land in South Africa that were previously covered by thickets of the indigenous succulent spekboom (Portulacaria afra).
- Farmers have stripped the land of its native thicket over the course of decades of commercial agriculture and livestock keeping, and following extended droughts, it’s now turning to desert.
- Spekboom, much praised for its ability to sequester carbon, is not only a resilient native plant, but its growth naturally promotes the recovery of other species.
- Carbon credits are one promising source of funding for restoration that could prove profitable for landowners and workers, though some critics say planting spekboom as an offset lacks a scientific basis.
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