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‘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.
Global agarwood trade heavily dependent on wild, threatened trees: Study
- The global agarwood trade heavily depends on wild-harvested endangered tree species, despite international regulations for protection, with significant volumes going undocumented in official trade records, a new study reveals.
- About 70% of the trade depend on Aquilaria filaria and Aquilaria malaccensis, both threatened species, sourced from the wild, raising major sustainability concerns. Meanwhile, there are some tree species that are not even covered by CITES, the global wildlife trade convention.
- Due to discrepancies between CITES and customs data, along with weak enforcement and outdated regulations, researchers suggest the illegal trade is far larger than reported.
- Researchers urge stronger monitoring, updated data, expanded species protection, and a shift to cultivated sources. They also call on consumers and wealthy importers to support conservation and governments to promote sustainable practices.
Succulents die off with expanding desert in South Africa and Namibia
Succulents endemic to South Africa and Namibia are drying up and dying across the increasingly hot northern part of their range. Mongabay contributor Leonie Joubert reports that a combination of climate change and overgrazing are causing desertification that the plants can’t survive. In September 2024, botanists Wendy Foden and Kayleigh Murray surveyed an area Foden […]
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 […]
Daripalli Ramaiah, India’s tree man, died April 12, aged 87
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In Reddipalli, a village tucked into the dry red soils of Khammam district in India’s Telangana state, there lived a man who measured life not in years or wealth, but in saplings. By his own modest estimate, Daripalli […]
Where war once raged in Iraq, Yezidi women plant hope
- Yezidi women, many of whom survived a genocidal campaign by the terror group ISIS, are breaking social barriers by leading environmental renewal efforts in northern Iraq through tree planting, recycling and education.
- The region’s environmental crisis — marked by drought, desertification and water scarcity — has devastated agricultural livelihoods, making sustainable land restoration crucial for displaced families’ futures.
- Despite initial resistance, the Clean Green initiative has enabled Yezidi women to take on leadership roles, challenging traditional norms and helping to rebuild their community’s identity through environmental stewardship.
Indigenous aguaje tree climbers bring down profits in Peru’s Amazon — sustainably
- The aguaje, a tropical palm tree that grows in peatlands and other wetland areas in tropical South America, produces oval-shaped fruits that can be consumed raw or processed to make beverages, soap, oils and other products.
- The discovery of its market potential in the 1990s led to destructive harvesting and genetic degradation as people filed to palm swamps in the Peruvian Amazon to collect the fruits.
- Sustainable harvesting techniques, such as climbing the aguaje tree to collect the fruit instead of cutting it down, have taken hold in local communities that previously cut down the trees.
- Transportation, the lack of phone and internet connections, the impact of climate change on ecological processes and the lack of a secure market to sell aguaje fruits remain a challenge for communities.
Nepal farmers regret planting government-hyped eucalyptus
In the late 1970s, Nepal launched a reforestation project to restore its massively deforested lands in the southeastern Terai landscape. However, the main tree of choice, eucalyptus, after showing initial signs of success has now proven detrimental to the region’s soil moisture and fertility, Mongabay contributor Mukesh Pokhrel reported in February. To prepare for the […]
Betting on future forest carbon storage endangers Paris Agreement targets
- The carbon storage capacity of forests is widely recognized as a crucial factor in curbing global warming and preventing climate catastrophe.
- But a new study finds that the future potential for forest CO2 storage is being overestimated, with global forest health (along with the ability of forests to go on storing carbon) vulnerable to increasing disturbances including wildfires, disease, pests and deforestation.
- Scientists argue that the very real threat of declining forest carbon storage capacity necessitates far faster decarbonization efforts, along with urgent action to monitor and conserve forests, and prevent widespread deforestation.
- Delaying action by as little as five years could incur huge economic costs and jeopardize climate goals, researchers found.
New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot
- A conservation strategy for the next 20 years has been launched to protect Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape.
- The Udzungwa Mountains are home to rare and endemic plants and animals, including a small population of kipunjis, a genus of monkeys only revealed to the world in 2006.
- Sustainable financing is being sought to fund the conservation strategy and boost livelihoods and social well-being in communities surrounding three core protected areas.
- A key part of the strategy will be the rollout of energy-efficient stoves, seen as a priority by local communities who depend on firewood and charcoal.
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.
With Europe’s forests, we can’t manage what we can’t measure (commentary)
- A group of European policymakers are currently trying to derail a law that would harmonize data used to monitor the European Union’s forests.
- The Forest Monitoring Law (FML) was proposed by the European Commission in November 2023, but conservative and far-right members of the European Parliament recently moved to scrap it.
- “We cannot manage what we cannot measure. By ensuring cost efficiency, enhancing competitiveness, transformation to a true bio-economy and responding to the growing demand for forest information, the law positions Europe as a leader in forestry data and management. Let us seize this opportunity,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Australia faces inflation, agriculture losses after Cyclone Alfred
The Australian government has warned of impacts to the country’s economy in the wake of Cyclone Alfred that caused massive losses to infrastructure, agriculture and the dairy industries when it struck in late February. The horticultural industry was among the worst hit, with strong winds toppling and damaging hundreds of orchard trees, and floodwaters inundating […]
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.
Gaza and West Bank farmers salvage olive harvest amid displacement, destruction and Israeli settler violence
- The recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire prompted Gazan farmers to salvage what remained of their 2024 olive harvest two months late.
- However, Israeli settlers tripled their attacks on West Bank olive farmers during the 2024 harvest, destroying 3,100 trees and injuring dozens. Restricted access to their land cost Palestinian farmers 1,365 tons of oil, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
- Despite violence and restrictions, the West Bank produced 27,300 tons of olive oil — far exceeding forecasts.
- Israeli settlers have degraded Palestinian agricultural areas through arson, wastewater pollution and trash dumping as the Israeli state exploits Ottoman-era laws to seize land.
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.
In Australia’s little-known rainforests, tradition and science collaborate for good
- Australia’s Kimberley region houses some of the country’s most botanically diverse ecosystems: monsoon rainforest patches.
- Although they’ve been harvested and cared for by First Nations groups for millennia, the patches remain largely unsurveyed by modern science as the tropical climate and rugged terrain make access difficult.
- Indigenous ranger teams have been working for more than 20 years to implement land management programs, including traditional burning regimes, in order to conserve the rainforest.
- A recently published general interest book has called for the preservation of Kimberley Monsoon Rainforest patches and for ongoing, close collaboration between First Nations communities and academic teams.
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.
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.
Aiding natural pollination can boost cacao yields & climate resilience
- Climate change and rising temperatures pose a major threat to cacao production across the globe, with those impacts already felt in major producers such as Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
- A new study highlights several low-cost, low-tech solutions that support natural pollination, building climate change resilience and increasing cacao yields up to 20%.
- Those methods include upping amounts of leaf litter to improve insect pollinator propagation, increasing the density of cacao tree plantings, utilizing taller native shade trees and limiting agrochemical use.
- Separate research underlines how these agroforestry methods used on farms can be supported by nearby natural forests, further aiding farm productivity.
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.
Over half of Pacific atoll forests are coconut palm plantations — Study
What’s new: More than half of the tree cover in Pacific atolls is largely composed of “abandoned and overgrown” colonial-era coconut palm plantations, reveal satellite images in a study published in December 2024. What the study says: While coconut palm is an integral part of the cultures and economy of Pacific Island communities, colonial powers […]
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.
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.
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.
Digitizing 6 million plant specimens: Interview with Gunter Fischer & Jordan Teisher
- Researchers at Missouri Botanical Garden in the U.S. have launched an initiative to create a digital repository of the 6 million plant specimens stored in the herbarium there.
- The six-year Revolutionizing Species Identification initiative aims to combine data obtained from visual and hyperspectral scanning with artificial intelligence to build up a plant repository unlike any before.
- The team behind the project says they hope the reference database will speed up plant identification; it could also potentially be used to gauge the health of forests in the face of climate change.
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.
In Bangladesh, a botanist brings quick, fun lessons to social media
- A botany expert turned online educator in Bangladesh is proving that anyone can become a plant enthusiast, no educational degree required.
- With his short, snappy videos, Azharul Islam Khan has captivated around a million followers on social media, teaching them about the diversity of Bangladeshi plants and trees.
- His engaging content isn’t just for plant lovers; it’s building a diverse community of students, eco-conscious families and nature enthusiasts.
- Azharul is on a mission to protect the environment, advocating sustainable tree planting and educating the public about the importance of balanced ecosystems.
New alert system can track changes in grasslands, farms, temperate forests
A new global data set makes it possible to track near-real-time changes in several types of vegetation across different ecosystems, including grasslands, savannas, shrublands, croplands, temperate forests and boreal forests. Called DIST-ALERT, the new product can be visualized on the Global Forest Watch platform of the World Resource Institute (WRI). GFW has long offered the […]
India’s latest forest cover report hints at countrywide degradation
The latest forest survey report from India suggests a slight increase in the country’s forest and tree cover in recent years. But experts say the net marginal gain masks considerable declines across many biodiversity-rich forests and mangroves as well as in overall forest quality, reports Mongabay India’s Kundan Pandey. The report, published by the Forest […]
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.
Maker of Jeff Bezos’s yacht fined for using Myanmar ‘blood timber’
Dutch prosecutors have fined the makers of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’s superyacht for its use of dubious Myanmar teak, in the latest instance of authorities cracking down on “blood timber” from the Southeast Asian country. Yacht builder Oceanco will pay a 150,000 euro ($159,000) fine under a settlement reached with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service […]
Trees live out their lives in surprising ways, massive new study finds
- Trees have more complex life histories than previously thought, which scientists must consider to forecast greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and plan conservation efforts.
- Researchers assembled a dataset of 3.2 million tree measurements, covering more than 1,000 species across North and South America.
- Four “growth strategy” groups emerged, ranging from species that live fast and die young to those that live slow and die old.
- Carbon forecasts should take a more nuanced look at how long carbon is stored in this wide variety of trees, the scientists recommend.
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.
PNG climate migrants sail away with native trees to their new home
Residents of the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea are on a “green migration,” contributor Thibault Le Pivain reports for Mongabay. The islanders are leaving their homes due to food shortages resulting from environmental degradation and rising sea levels, and sailing to a larger island in the country, taking with them plants that play important […]
In a Noah’s Ark move, PNG migrants bring thousands of trees to safer ground
- Facing sea level rise and food insecurity, 17 families from the Carteret Islands have relocated to nearby Bougainville, bringing hundreds of specimens of trees and plants, representing dozens of species, across a small stretch of ocean.
- They’ve planted more than 175,000 plants, breathing life into a forest on new lands donated by the Catholic Church.
- This “green migration” is helping them preserve their lifestyle and identity, sources say, echoing the journey of early Polynesian settlers who carried “canoe plants” as they sailed and settled across the Pacific.
- Scientists say green migrations could become part of climate relocation planning, but there also needs to be careful consideration of whether species can be moved and become unsustainably invasive.
Last wild hurricane palm of its kind falls, marking extinction
The last wild Round Island hurricane palm, a rare tree native to Mauritius, snapped during a windstorm in mid-September, marking its extinction. Once thriving on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, the tree had stood alone for decades as the only survivor of its kind. Standing 9 meters (30 feet) tall, the Dictyosperma album […]
Hopes and fears for the Amazon: Interview with botanist Hans ter Steege
- Dutch researcher and tree expert Hans ter Steege is the founder of the Amazon Tree Diversity Network, which brings together hundreds of scientists studying the rainforest to map and understand the region’s biodiversity.
- Ter Steege says the rainforest is in danger of collapse: If the deforestation in Brazil’s Pará state continues at the rate of the year 2000, he warns, “then our models show there will be hardly anything left by 2050.”
- Large trees are dying faster in the Amazon, he said, as they face a greater evaporation demand, which they can no longer meet with the water they extract from the soil, as there are more droughts and less rainfall.
- If the forest collapses, Brazil’s aerial water supply system — and its agriculture — will collapse, Ter Steege says.
Brazil researchers boost timber traceability with new chemical analysis
- Brazilian researchers have opened a new front in the search for a reliable timber tracking system by using chemical analysis to determine where a tree was grown.
- The technique relies on identifying a wood sample’s chemical signature, which can then be matched against various known soil profiles to narrow down its origin.
- As the technology evolves, the researchers say they hope to combine it with stable isotope analysis to increase the precision of timber tracking.
- Most timber provenance inspections in Brazil rely on public documents whose information can easily be faked by illegal loggers.
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.
COP16: ‘A fund unlike any other’ will pay tropical nations to save forests
- For years now, the world’s wealthiest nations have pledged billions to tropical nations to help them afford to conserve their native forests — an effort that benefits the entire world, especially for the carbon storage those tropical forests provide, as the climate crisis deepens.
- But those investment promises by donors have again and again failed to fully materialize. Today, the total funding shortfall for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is in the trillions of dollars.
- This week, a new funding mechanism which is about to launch was greeted with great fanfare at the COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia. TFFF, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, is designed to be “a fund unlike any other.”
- The fund’s innovative design is structured to deliver $4 billion year-after-year to tropical nations to incentivize those countries to keep their native forests standing. The fund’s manager will be independent of governments and investors, and may involve Indigenous groups and local communities to help manage intact tropical forests
Thailand’s budding mangrove restoration plans spark both hope and concern
- Mangrove restoration projects based on mass tree planting have often proved unsuccessful due to a focus on quantity rather than carefully selecting planting sites or prioritizing long-term social and ecological gains.
- Thailand’s state-led and corporate-funded restoration approaches have typically followed this unsustainable model, prompting critics to call for more ecological and community-based approaches that place more emphasis on natural regeneration.
- Several new national initiatives aim to improve mangrove management in Thailand: A collaborative public-private program called the Thailand Mangrove Alliance aims to bring 30% of Thailand’s mangroves under effective management by 2030.
- However, a new carbon credits initiative that aims to link coastal communities with corporate partners has drawn widespread skepticism from environmental groups, who warn the scheme could effectively transform public forests into corporate lands.
Brazil upgrades park to protect Amazon’s tallest tree, allows tourism
South America’s tallest tree, a 400-year-old red angelim in the northern tip of the Brazilian Amazon, is the star of a newly created conservation area called the Giant Trees of the Amazon State Park. The area was officially sectioned off from the larger Paru State Forest on Sept. 30 for stronger protection. At 88.5 meters […]
Experts call for urgent action as invasive species threatens Brazil mangroves
- The Sonneratia apetala plant is native to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, yet biologists have found hundreds of specimens permeating the mangroves in the south of Brazil.
- Researchers believe the seeds were transported on ships from China and released at the port just 2 kilometers (1.6 miles) from the mangroves, where they were carried in the currents and rapidly spread.
- Experts warn that S. apetala could have severe ecological impacts, including the loss of biodiversity as it outcompetes native plants; they also fear it might spread to other mangroves.
- Since May 2023, researchers have been advocating for the total eradication of S. apetala in Brazil. However, Brazilian authorities only announced last month that they would remove the species, and the details of how this will be done have not yet been specified.
To save endangered trees, researchers in South America recruit an army of fungi
- Mycorrhizal fungi live in symbiosis with plants, providing them with nutrients necessary to thrive and potentially playing a key part in preserving threatened species.
- Although research into mycorrhizae has so far been sparse in Latin America, efforts are gaining momentum, with experts studying how the fungi could help save the Colombian black oak, an endangered, endemic species.
- In Huila, Colombia, local communities are successfully working with researchers on a black oak restoration project using seeds “inoculated” with fungi.
Successful Thai community-based hornbill conservation faces uncertain future
- As long-distance tree seed dispersers, hornbills help balance the ecology of the complex tropical forests they inhabit.
- Three decades of hornbill conservation in southern Thailand have been underpinned by efforts to transform former poachers into conservationists who are paid wages as nest guardians.
- A new study indicates that education programs in schools and villages surrounding the region’s hornbill strongholds are key to the success and long-term sustainability of the nest guardian program, which has boosted hornbill breeding success and drawn widespread support from local residents.
- Yet political unrest in the region precludes traditional avenues of conservation funding, such as ecotourism, leaving the community-based initiative threatened by a lack of long-term funding and resources.
Meet the Miombo, the largest forest you’ve never heard of
- The Miombo woodlands are a dry deciduous forest spanning 1.9 million square kilometers (726,000 square miles) across Central and Southern Africa.
- Rural communities across the region depend heavily on the woodlands for building materials as well as a large variety of non-timber forest products including fruits, honey, mushrooms, medicine and more; the Miombo is also a significant source of firewood and charcoal, with fuelwood making up three-quarters of energy-use in the region.
- Population growth, agricultural expansion and increasing demand for fuelwood are the primary drivers of deforestation in the Miombo.
- A new initiative spearheaded by the Republic of Mozambique’s President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi aims to reverse deforestation of the Miombo and promote sustainable resource development.
A one-time illegal logger grows back a forest for his people in Sumatra
- Efron Simanjuntak, once a successful illegal logger in Sumatra, became a committed forest protector after realizing the impact logging had on the livelihoods of villagers and the environment.
- After serving time in prison, Efron began replanting trees that produce resin, such as frankincense and pine, as part of his efforts to restore the damaged forest and ensure a sustainable income for his community.
- Efron credits being indebted to his ancestors and his role in protecting his family’s frankincense-farming heritage as key to his desire to protect the forest.
- Along with civil society organizations, Efron fought for the recognition of his village’s customary forest by the government, which was finally achieved in August 2024, giving his community stronger legal status to protect their forest from outside threats.
Rio’s grassroots agroforestry sustains birds, bees & communities
- In 2017, some residents of the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Governor’s Island spontaneously started tending a neglected garden that originated from a brief corporate event.
- Lacking ongoing governmental or corporate support, the initiative shifted toward agroforestry — a sustainable agroecology system where fruit trees, shrubs, medicinal plants and vegetables are grown in combination to benefit each other — inspiring a dozen more such projects across the island.
- These agroforests have reshaped the urban landscape and now attract an array of fauna, from birds to bees and even fireflies, drawn by the diversity of plant life thriving on improved soils.
- Perhaps most importantly, the agroforests offer free food and medicines to residents in need, plus shade and educational opportunities for the whole community, from schoolchildren to university students and residents.
Amazon Fraud 101: How timber credits mask illegal logging in Brazil
- Sustainable forest management plans in the Brazilian Amazon are intended to ensure compliance with strict environmental rules, but many are used fraudulently as cover for illegal logging, according to new research.
- One expert estimates that 20% of all forest management plans in the Brazilian Amazon fall under this category, where applicants file the plans simply to obtain the timber credits that correspond with the volume of wood they claim to want to harvest.
- These credits are then used to launder illegal timber — often felled in Indigenous territories or conservation areas — into the legal supply chain.
- Criminal groups use many strategies to defraud the timber credit system, including misrepresenting the species of tree they claim to want to log, or its size.
Resilient giants: How the world’s oldest trees stand tall against climate change (commentary)
- As climate change intensifies, the world’s oldest trees offer vital lessons in endurance and adaptation.
- From bristlecone pines of North America to the widely distributed sumaúma tree and more, each of these trees offers valuable lessons in resilience and adaptation, a new op-ed says.
- “Their ability to withstand and adapt to climate change underscores the importance of preserving our ancient forests and the ecosystems they support.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Time for a copal comeback? The natural resin could boost Amazon’s economy
- Copal resin, also known as rosin or jutaicica, historically was a relevant source of income for river and traditional communities in the surroundings of Santarém, in the Brazilian Pará state.
- In the 1980s, however, its use as a varnish was substituted by a petroleum-based solution.
- Researchers say the natural resin could be part of the communities’ sustainable economy again, especially by adding value to Amazon timber products.
Are the Amazon’s biggest trees dying? Forest coroners investigate
- As tropical forests are degraded and decline at increasing rates the world over, the fate of these forests’ largest trees remains unknown.
- Big trees store a huge amount of carbon, so assessing their current mortality rates and causes of death (especially due to escalating climate change) is vital to calculating how much tropical forest carbon sinks could decline in the future.
- The Gigante project, getting started in the Brazilian Amazon in June 2024, is initiating an innovative new protocol utilizing detailed drone surveys combined with ground truthing to evaluate tropical big tree mortality.
- The project has begun an identical survey in Panama and will conduct others in Malaysia, Cameroon and at another Amazon location. Knowledge of how tropical big trees are faring could help improve climate model accuracy. A Mongabay reporting team joined the Gigante project in Brazil at the start of this groundbreaking work.
Protecting Nigeria one child & one tree at a time: Interview with Doyinsola Ogunye
- Nigeria’s Doyinsola Ogunye is known across Africa for her work to help children and women build more sustainable futures; the environmental advocate founded the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC) as well as the Recycling Scheme for Women and Youth Empowerment (RESWAYE).
- She says partnerships with corporations and the ability to scale are important in helping the initiatives grow.
- Many of her initiatives center on activities with children and schools — from cleaning up beaches to planting trees — and now, many of the children she initially worked with have entered university and they have carried their experiences into adult life.
- Doyinsola Ogunye recently talked with Mongabay about her work in the face of some of the biggest environmental challenges in Lagos.
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.
Study finds best plants for bee health and conservation in North America
- A new study analyzed pollen from 57 North American plant species, identifying those most nutritionally beneficial for bees, which could inform conservation efforts and wildflower restoration projects.
- Based on their findings, the researchers recommend emphasizing roses (Rosa sp.), clovers (Trifolium sp.), red raspberry (Rubus idaeus), tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and Tara vine (Actinidia arguta) in wildflower restoration projects, citing their ideal protein-to-lipid ratios in pollen for wild bee nutrition.
- The research found that bees require a diverse diet from multiple plant sources to obtain a balanced intake of fatty acids and essential amino acids, as no single plant species provides the optimal nutrition.
- With many bee species facing significant threats, the researchers say they hope these findings can inform conservation efforts from policy changes to individual actions like planting native flowers and reducing pesticide use.
Beekeeping helps villagers tend coastal forests in Thai mangrove hotspot
- Community-led approaches to mangrove restoration are increasingly recognized as more effective than many state- or market-driven initiatives in terms of both ecological and economic outcomes.
- Nestled within southern Thailand’s mangrove-rich but fast-developing Phang Nga Bay, the village of Ban Nai Nang has developed a mangrove conservation model based on beekeeping.
- By rearing colonies of native honey bees and stingless bees that are important pollinators of local mangrove trees, the villagers earn money from honey sales, which in turn fund their community mangrove conservation efforts.
- Since they began their beekeeping and conservation activities, they’ve observed signs of rejuvenation in their local mangrove forests and are now helping neighboring villages to follow their conservation model through training and mentorship.
If forests truly drive wind and water cycles, what does it mean for the climate?
- Theoretical physicists Anastassia Makarieva and Viktor Gorshkov developed the controversial “biotic pump” theory more than a decade ago, which challenges traditional climate and hydrological science.
- The theory posits that forests drive moisture-laden air currents, thereby governing wind and rain and implying that further global forest loss could have unknown effects on weather and water supplies.
- While yet to be disproven or validated, some scientists say it’s vitally important to study and test this theory, and potentially include it in climate-modeling scenarios.
- Makarieva joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss the theory and its implications for future climate modeling with co-host Rachel Donald.
Experts aim to protect one of Brazil’s giant emblematic tree species
- The giant red angelim (Dinizia excelsa Ducke), a tree species that can reach 60 meters (196 feet) in height, should be protected for its symbolic and ecological value, experts and state environmental agencies in Brazil have advised.
- Found in several Brazilian states, the species is being threatened by encroaching illegal mining and deforestation that is reaching even protected areas. Authorities in the states of Para and Amapá are making efforts to ban the cutting of giant angelims.
- Experts point out that beyond legislation, states also need to tackle illegal activities and protect the giant trees by improving inspections on the ground.
Water is key as study shows restoration of drained tropical peat is possible
- Rewetting of tropical peatland that was drained for agriculture can lead to the recovery of the native ecosystem, a long-term study of a former pulpwood plantation in Indonesia shows.
- Researchers studying the 4,800-hectare (11,900-acre) plot that was retired in 2015 by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) found the water table had risen, soil carbon emissions had gone down, and native trees were springing up and replacing the planted acacia pulpwoods.
- They attributed these outcomes to APP’s efforts to rewet the peat by blocking the canals previously dug to drain the waterlogged soil.
- The findings suggest that “several million” hectares of peatlands in similar condition can be restored this way, “should plantation owners aim to restore forest in parts or all of their peatlands.”
Can Vietnam’s forests survive the spread of acacia and eucalyptus plantations? (commentary)
- The large-scale planting of acacia and eucalyptus monoculture plantations in Vietnam raises concerns about their long-term environmental impact on soil health and biodiversity.
- This aggressive expansion also leads to fierce competition for land, often displacing local communities with limited resources.
- “Fostering a spirit of cooperation between companies and farmers is essential to ensure that the Vietnamese forestry industry thrives while promoting the livelihoods of both parties,” a new op-ed states.
- This post is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
To wipe or to wash? That is the question
- Toilet paper is seen as a vital commodity by many people around the world, but only about 30% of the world uses it, with the rest relying on water and soap to keep clean.
- The way we source and produce toilet paper has a large environmental footprint, so should toilet paper users follow the majority of the world and ditch the paper?
- Consumed is a video series by Mongabay that explores the environmental impacts of products we use in our daily lives.
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.
Innovative Nepali PSA seeks emotional connection to save red pandas
- A public service announcement video featuring actors in costumes resembling red pandas uses a poem and theatrical performance to create an emotional connection with the audience, rather than preaching at them.
- Red pandas, found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and China, are endangered by habitat loss, poaching and accidental snaring.
- The PSA highlights the interconnectedness of human survival and red panda conservation, aiming to foster a deeper understanding and lasting impact on younger generations, the producers say.
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.
Fishers, scientists restore mangroves on a Mexican isle wrecked by salt mining
- For decades, salt mining has deteriorated the wetlands and natural flood patterns of Isla del Carmen, part of Bahía de Loreto National Park in Mexico.
- Collaboration between two conservation organizations and a community of fishers on the mainland are working to restore the mangroves of Isla del Carmen by rehabilitating its hydrology and constructing “vegetation terraces” for the trees.
- The project also involves training and educating communities about the importance of conserving the ecosystem for the sake of wildlife, the local economy and protecting against the effects of climate change.
UK’s Drax targets California forests for two major wood pellet plants
- Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), a California state-funded nonprofit focused on rural economic development, along with the U.K.’s Drax, a global maker of biomass for energy, have signed an agreement to move ahead on a California project to build two of the biggest wood pellet mills in the United States.
- The mills, if approved by the state, would produce 1 million tons of pellets for export annually to Japan and South Korea, where they would be burned in converted coal power plants. The pellet mills would represent a major expansion of U.S. biomass production outside the U.S. Southeast, where most pellet making has been centered.
- GSNR promotes the pellet mills as providing jobs, preventing wildfires and reducing carbon emissions. California forest advocates say that cutting trees to make pellets —partly within eight national forests — will achieve none of those goals.
- Opponents note that the U.S. pellet industry is highly automated and offers few jobs, while the mills pollute rural communities. Clear-cutting trees, which is largely the model U.S. biomass firms use, does little to prevent fires and reduces carbon storage. Pellet burning also produces more emissions than coal per unit of energy produced.
AI model maps global tree canopy heights in hi-res, with carbon counting in mind
- Scientists have used high-resolution satellite images to create a map of global canopy heights, and to also develop an AI model that can predict canopy heights.
- Tech company Meta collaborated with nonprofit organization World Resources Institute to develop the open-source map and model.
- While the map aims to establish and serve as a baseline for conservation initiatives, the AI model could be used to predict canopy heights in areas where high-quality data aren’t available.
- Canopy height is an important indicator of forest biomass and aboveground carbon stock, and is used to measure the progress of forest restoration efforts.
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.
Sierra Leone cacao project boosts livelihoods and buffers biodiversity
- The Gola rainforest in West Africa, a biodiversity hotspot, is home to more than 400 species of wildlife, including endemic and threatened species, and more than 100 forest-dependent communities living just outside the protected Gola Rainforest National Park and dependent on the forest for their livelihoods.
- In the last few decades, logging, mining, poaching and expanding agriculture have driven up deforestation rates and habitat loss for rainforest-dependent species, prompting a voluntary REDD+ carbon credit program in 2015 to incentivize conservation and provide alternative livelihoods.
- One activity under the REDD+ project is shade-grown cacao plantations, which provide a wildlife refuge while generating income for cacao farmers in the region.
- Independent evaluations have found that the REDD+ program has slowed deforestation, increased household incomes, and avoided 340,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually — all while enjoying support from local communities.
Drone cameras help scientists distinguish between drought stress & fungus in oaks
- Scientists have used remote sensing, spectroscopy and machine learning to detect sick oak trees and distinguish between drought stress and oak wilt, a fungal disease.
- A recently published study describes how researchers established a link between physiological traits of trees and light reflectance to monitor the progression of symptoms in trees afflicted by oak wilt and drought.
- They used the data to build a predictive model that can identify symptoms and detect sick oaks 12 days before visual symptoms appear.
- Oaks are vital for climate regulation and carbon sequestration; however, the trees face threats to their survival because of a fatal fungal disease as well as the worsening impacts of climate change.
Tropical forest loss puts 2030 zero-deforestation target further out of reach
- The overall rate of primary forest loss across the tropics remained stubbornly high in 2023, putting the world well off track from its net-zero deforestation target by 2030, according to a new report from the World Resources Institute.
- The few bright spots were Brazil and Colombia, where changes in political leadership helped drive down deforestation rates in the Amazon.
- Elsewhere, however, several countries hit record-high rates of forest loss, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia and Laos, driven largely by agriculture, mining and fires.
- The report authors call for “bold global mechanisms and unique local initiatives … to achieve enduring reductions in deforestation across all tropical front countries.”
Enviva bankruptcy fallout ripples through biomass industry, U.S. and EU
- In March, Enviva, the world’s largest woody biomass producer for industrial energy, declared bankruptcy. That cataclysmic collapse triggered a rush of political and economic maneuvering in the U.S. (a key wood pellet producing nation), and in Europe (a primary industrial biomass energy user in converted coal plants).
- While Enviva publicly claims it will survive the bankruptcy, a whistleblower in touch with sources inside the company says it will continue failing to meet its wood pellet contract obligations, and that its production facilities — plagued by chronic systemic manufacturing problems — will continue underperforming.
- Enviva and the forestry industry appear now to be lobbying the Biden administration, hoping to tap into millions in renewable energy credits under the Inflation Reduction Act — a move environmentalists are resisting. In March, federal officials made a fact-finding trip to an Enviva facility and local communities who say the firm is a major polluter.
- Meanwhile, some EU nations are scrambling to find new sources of wood pellets to meet their sustainable energy pledges under the Paris agreement. The UK’s Drax, an Enviva pellet user (and also a major pellet producer), is positioning itself to greatly increase its pellet production in the U.S. South and maybe benefit from IRA subsidies.
Tanzania’s ‘mountain of millipedes’ yields six new species
- Scientists have recently described six new species of millipedes found in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
- The six were among thousands of specimens collected by researchers studying forest ecology there and in the nearby Magombera Nature Reserve.
- Magombera was damaged by commercial logging in the 1970s-80s, and affected areas have been overrun by woody vines known as lianas.
- But teams working on the ground think that millipede diversity and abundance in liana thickets is equal to that of undisturbed forests, suggesting they may be dynamic places poised for forest regeneration with minimal human intervention.
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.
Conflict in the canopy as human and climate factors drive liana dominance over trees
- Lianas, woody vines that rely on trees for structural support, are growing more abundant in tropical forests around the world, negatively impacting forest recovery and carbon sequestration.
- A new study shows that forest disturbance and climate change give lianas a competitive edge over trees.
- Understanding how climate change and disturbance influence liana growth can help forest managers develop management practices to aid recovering forests.
Megafires are spreading in the Amazon — and they are here to stay
- Wildfires consuming more than 100 square kilometers (38 square miles) of tropical rainforest shouldn’t happen, yet they are becoming more and more frequent.
- Because of its intense humidity and tall trees, fire does not occur spontaneously in the Amazon; usually accidental, forest fires are caused by uncontrolled small fires coming from crop burning, livestock management or clear-cutting.
- Scientists say the rainforest is becoming increasingly flammable, even in areas not directly related to deforestation; fire is now spreading faster and higher, reaching more than 10 meters (32 feet) in height.
A highway project in Chile threatens one of the world’s longest-living tree species
- The Chilean government’s intention to build a final section of a highway through a national park has caused concern among scientists and environmentalists.
- In a letter published in the scientific journal Science, scientists warn that the road will destroy hundreds of the longest-living trees in the world.
- Scientists are also concerned that the road, which may allow large trucks, would impact numerous other endangered species in the park, including a rare canine and small wild cat.
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.
Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos
- The papyrus swamps at the edges of Lake Victoria in East Africa have for generations provided a livelihood to communities living here.
- While some harvest reeds to make into mats, baskets, and handicrafts, others catch the plentiful fish that nurse in the shelter of the reedbeds.
- The swamps are also home to birds that have become specialized to live amidst the papyrus reeds in a narrow geographic range, while the reedbeds serve as filters taking up nutrients and retaining sediment — in the process also allowing carbon storage through the buildup of significant detritus and peat deposits.
- However, development pressure for new resorts and farmland is putting this ecosystem under threat, while the introduction of the Nile perch here in the 1950s has devastated native fish species.
Ghana’s medicinal plants, the ‘first aid’ for communities, are under threat
- Forest communities in southwestern Ghana use 70 species of medicinal trees to treat up to 83 ailments, according to a recent study.
- These plants contain high levels of bioactive compounds with pharmacological benefits, but many are also threatened by factors including overharvesting and agricultural expansion in the area that drives large-scale deforestation.
- Due to a lack of access to Western medicine and cultural perceptions, traditional medicine is the primary source of treatment for many forest-fringe communities.
- The authors say government-led conservation programs and preserving traditional knowledge is important to conserving these medicinal tree species.
Tropical forests share similar mix of common and rare tree species, study shows
- A Nature study reveals surprising similarities among the most common tree species in tropical rainforests in Africa, the Amazon and Southeast Asia, with 2.2% of tree species accounting for half of the trees in each region.
- University College London (UCL) researchers and 356 collaborators analyzed more than 1 million trees across 1,568 locations, identifying 1,119 prevalent tree species through statistical techniques and resampling.
- Despite diverse environmental conditions, tropical forests on different continents exhibit consistent patterns of tree diversity, suggesting possible universal mechanisms shaping these ecosystems.
- The focus on common tree species could aid predictions of forest responses to environmental changes, emphasizing the importance of balancing conservation efforts for common and rare species.
Caribbean traditional plant knowledge needs recognition or it’s lost: Study
- Knowledge of Caribbean ethnobotany has so far been limited and little comprehensive island- or region-wide inventories of Caribbean traditional plant knowledge have been developed.
- A recent study highlights an eight-step action plan to foster greater academic recognition of the botanical tradition of Afro-descendent farmers in research, education and policymaking.
- Considering these farmers’ important roles in promoting plant diversity, the study authors say financial support from local and national governments can strengthen their work as plant stewards.
Bangladeshi farmers eye moringa as a climate and economic solution
- Farmers in Bangladesh are increasingly turning to the fast-growing, drought-resistant moringa (Moringa oleifera) tree, which is indigenous to South Asian nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
- Researchers say moringa is beneficial for human health, as both the leaves and the fruits are rich in nutrients and minerals.
- Researchers also suggest that moringa cultivation could be a part of smart agriculture as climatic patterns change, as the plant can tolerate extreme heat and cold.
- A Bangladeshi entrepreneur has been working to create a social movement and entrepreneurship in moringa cultivation and marketing since 2017; so far, he has engaged some 5,000 farmers in 20 districts of Bangladesh.
To help beleaguered Javan rhinos, study calls for tree felling, captive breeding
- The sole remaining population of Javan rhinos, around 70 individuals, persists in a single national park in Indonesia.
- A new paper argues that conservationists should clear some areas of the park to increase feeding areas for rhinos, and create a captive-breeding program for the species.
- Recent government reports indicate that 13 of the remaining Javan rhinos display congenital defects, likely due to inbreeding.
- Despite intensive monitoring by camera trap, scientists know relatively little about the species’ reproductive behavior and breeding patterns.
Bird-friendly maple syrup boosts Vermont forest diversity & resilience
- A relatively new program in Vermont is helping both maple syrup-producing farms and their customers to improve forest habitat preferred by a diversity of bird species.
- Launched in 2014, the Bird-Friendly Maple Project furnishes a logo to qualifying farms for use on their products, if they can demonstrate that the forests where they tap sugar maple trees contain a diversity of trees and shrubs, which improves the woodlands’ structure and foraging and nesting opportunities for birds.
- Creating a biologically diverse farm is a major tenet of the sustainable agriculture technique of agroecology, because it leads to greater resilience and health of the farm, its farmers and its wildlife.
- Maple syrup operations included in the program cover 7,284 hectares (18,000 acres) of forests via 90 participating farms as the program is now being replicated in New York, Massachusetts and Maine.
To protect its iconic condors, an entire Bolivian town declared itself a reserve
- Quebracho and Condor Natural Reserve in the Cordillera de Laderas was created on Aug. 24 this year in response to the poisoning deaths of 34 Andean condors two years earlier.
- The community of Ladera Norte pushed for their entire territory of nearly 3,300 hectares (8,150 acres) to be designated as a nature reserve, citing the importance of the condor as the national bird.
- The reserve also protects the white quebracho, a tree species native to this region of Bolivia, which is threatened by the loss and fragmentation of habitat.
‘Immense body of knowledge’ at stake in Cambodia’s Prey Lang as deforestation soars
- Researchers have launched a new book that catalogs hundreds of plant species from Cambodia’s Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary that have known medicinal uses.
- The book draws on the knowledge of Indigenous communities who have found a use for these plants over the course of generations, and whose livelihoods and cultures are closely intertwined with the fate of these species.
- The book also serves to highlight the imperiled situation of Prey Lang and its native species as deforestation by politically linked timber-trafficking networks continues to destroy vast swaths of this ostensibly protected area.
- “If the current trends of deforestation continue,” the authors warn, “an immense body of knowledge about nature will be lost, reducing the resilience and adaptability of future generations.”
Community tropical forest management linked to social & environmental benefits: Study
- A study shows that forests in 15 tropical countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities are associated with improved outcomes for carbon storage, biodiversity and forest livelihoods.
- The study finds that the positive outcomes were most likely observed when formal management institutions were in place and Indigenous and local communities had influence in defining their rights and roles in forest use and management.
- The findings suggest that governance reforms, like supporting Indigenous and local community rights or roles to manage forests, can play a role in supporting both human and environmental goals in tropical forested landscapes.
- However, giving local people formal rights is just a starting point, the lead author says; other procedures and support need to be in place to determine whether people actually get those rights and if they are able to use them to good effect.
Palestinian olive farmers hold tight to their roots amid surge in settler attacks
- Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank face economic devastation as a surge in violence by illegal Israeli settlers and the Israeli military prevents them from harvesting their olives. Around 100,000 Palestinian families are estimated to rely on these trees as a source of income.
- The start of the war in Gaza coincided with the autumn olive harvest, but the Israeli military has cut off West Bank farmers’ access to their orchards, while reportedly allowing illegal settlers in to steal the olives and destroy the trees.
- Yet despite the settler attacks and restrictions on the olive harvest, Palestinian farmers are determined to remain steadfast and help each other harvest as much as possible before the nearing end of the season. With its long history of rootedness in the land, the olive tree is often seen as one of the most evocative symbols of resilience, and representative of a generational bond with the land.
- According to a spokesperson for the Israeli military, the restrictions faced by farmers are part of “security operations” in the area aimed at capturing militant groups and protecting Israeli settlers who claim the land, in violation of international law.
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.
The tricky business of commercializing invasive plants to death
- To control the spread of invasive plants, some have offered a different solution: harvest and sell the invaders into extinction.
- But as some initiatives show, making and selling artisanal products from invasive species can come with social, economic and ecological challenges.
- Instead, some conservationists and researchers say that invasive plants may need to be removed at large scales for industries like biofuel, and not just to make artisanal products.
- While some researchers worry this could incentivize keeping invasive plants around, advocates of commercialization contend that for some species, large-scale economic use might be the only way to control their spread.
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.
São Paulo nurseries bring the city’s rare and forgotten trees back to life
- São Paulo’s three municipal nurseries produce around 1.5 million native seedlings every year to green up the city.
- The Harry Blossfeld nursery alone produces 270,000 seedlings from more than 200 species of trees, 22 of which are threatened with extinction.
- By rescuing forgotten tree species, municipal nurseries have become spaces for science and the production of knowledge about the behavior of little-known native plants.
- Public landscaping helps recharge aquifers, combats heat islands, prevents flooding, attracts wildlife, improves air quality, reduces noise pollution, and contributes to city dwellers’ emotional and physical well-being.
Bangladesh survey records invasive alien plants threatening protected forests
- According to a survey, 44 exotic invasive plant species were recorded in five protected forests in Bangladesh. Of them, seven species were found to be harmful, with significant environmental impacts on protected forest areas.
- As a signatory of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the country is committed to protecting ecosystems and biodiversity of flora and fauna.
- To check the number and reduce the negative impacts of the identified alien invasive plant species on ecology and environment, the government has taken five strategic management plans.
‘Lost’ Brazilian holly tree species found again after nearly 200 years
- After nearly 200 years without a confirmed sighting, a rare Brazilian tree species called the Pernambuco holly has been found in northeastern Brazil.
- The team located four trees, two male and two female, in a forest fragment near a sugarcane plantation in the metropolitan region of the city of Recife.
- The trees live in an area that was once Atlantic Forest, but now less than 7% of its original forest biome remains, mostly in small fragments.
- Researchers plan to search for more trees, protect the rediscovered site, and collect seeds for germination, but say these efforts will be costly.
Study finds old pear trees make for surprisingly rich reef habitats
- In a new study, researchers used old pear trees to create artificial reefs and settled them in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands to see what kinds of marine biodiversity aggregated on or around them.
- They found that the tree reefs attracted a surprising amount of biodiversity over a short period of time, including sessile organisms like barnacles and mobile species like fish and crabs.
- The authors say tree reefs can be replicated in other parts of the world, mainly temperate regions.
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.
Can land titles save Madagascar’s embattled biodiversity and people?
- Through its Titre Vert or Green Title initiative, the Malagasy government is opening up a path to land ownership for its most vulnerable citizens in the hopes it will help tackle hunger, internal migration, and forest loss.
- The state is using the initiative to lean on potential migrants to remain in the country’s deep south, where five years of failed rains have left 2 million people hungry, instead of migrating north, where they are often blamed for social tensions and for destroying forests.
- This March, the Malagasy government started work on a Titre Vert enclave in the Menabe region, a popular destination for migrants from the drought-hit south, to dissuade them from clearing unique dry forests to grow crops.
- Critics say the government is holding people back in a rain-starved region without providing enough support; in Menabe, backers of the project hope to provide ample assistance to get migrants out of the forests and onto their feet.
Study: More than 900 at-risk species lack international trade protections
- A recent study reveals concerning gaps in trade protections for the most at-risk animal and plant species.
- To identify potential gaps, researchers compared species on the IUCN Red List with those covered by the CITES, the global wildlife trade convention.
- Two-fifths of the species considered at risk due to international wildlife trade, 904 species, aren’t covered by CITES, the study found.
- The researchers suggest steps that the CITES committees can take to incorporate these findings, including both strengthening protections for overlooked species and relaxing trade controls for species that have shown improvement in their conservation status.
Genetically engineered trees stoke climate hope — and environmental fears
- U.S. climate technology startup Living Carbon has been developing genetically engineered poplar trees that it says can absorb more carbon – a potential tool in the climate crisis.
- Some experts say the company lacks long-term field data and is rushing to commercialize its “supertrees,” potentially putting other species at risk.
- Despite such concerns, Living Carbon is going ahead and planting mixed forests that include its GE trees, funded by carbon offsets.
‘What we need to protect and why’: 20-year Amazon research hints at fate of tropics
- In its bold outlines, many informed people understand that climate change is reducing tropical biodiversity and thereby degrading the functionality and ecoservices of tropical forests. But what are the specific mechanisms by which these forests are being diminished over long time frames?
- One project on the slopes of the Peruvian Amazon has tried to make exactly that type of assessment, via a 20-year ongoing research project that meticulously observes a narrow transect of rainforest stretching from the Amazon lowlands near sea level to the Andean highlands above 3,352 meters (11,000 feet).
- The international team conducting this work, the Andes Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group (ABERG), is painstakingly observing changes in more than 1,000 tree species, birds, frogs, snakes and more to determine not only how much climate change is affecting them, but untangling how the change process works.
- This type of in-depth research is vital to conserving tropical rainforest diversity, the carbon storage capacity it offers, and its assistance in maintaining long-persisting regional and global precipitation patterns vital to agriculture and other water needs. Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso traveled to Peru to observe ABERG at work.
Bangladesh ‘Village of Herbs’ profits from planting rather than cutting trees
- According to the World Health Organization, 88% of all countries are estimated to use traditional medicine; more than 40% of pharmaceutical formulations are based on natural products, and many landmark drugs originated from traditional medicine.
- According to the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, there are 722 species of medicinal plants in Bangladesh.
- Locals who once cut down trees are now actively planting and cultivating medicinal trees. Large pharmaceuticals, Ayurvedic, and Unani medicine manufacturers collect raw materials from this market.
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.
Bangladesh’s new red list of plants shows country has already lost seven species
- Bangladesh’s first-ever red list of plant species shows the country has lost seven species in the last century and now risks losing at least another five.
- Researchers involved in the assessments of the conservation status of 1,000 species cited climate change, pollution, deforestation, and poor management of protected areas as major drivers behind the ecological damage.
- The Bangladesh Forest Department is working to protect native plant species through large-scale planting efforts across the country.
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.
Kenyan baobab trees uprooted for export to Georgia; critics call it ‘biopiracy’
- Georgia’s former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has built a dendrological park that is home to numerous species of giant trees from around the world, as well as exotic birds; now, several living baobab trees in Kenya’s Kilifi region have been uprooted and prepared for export to the park in Georgia.
- The plan to export baobab trees has sparked a public outcry in Kenya and accusations of biopiracy; some baobab species endemic to Madagascar are already endangered or critically endangered, and research shows that the type of baobabs that grow in Kenya face significant threats from climate change.
- Local farmers in Kilifi reportedly were offered cash payments for the trees, which can help them meet their daily needs; while baobab fruits can be sold for use in snacks and other foods, the returns aren’t as much as the farmers could earn by signing a contract to have the trees uprooted and moved.
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.
Nearly 30% of all tree cover in Africa may be outside of forests, study says
- A team at the University of Copenhagen has generated a map of tree cover in 45 African countries down to individual tree crowns by feeding high-resolution satellite imagery into a machine-learning model.
- The analysis showed that nearly 30% of the continent’s tree cover lies outside what are traditionally considered forest areas in land-cover maps.
- For nine countries, trees outside forests account for around half their tree cover: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Mauritania and Sudan.
- Such high-resolution tree-cover data could lead to more precise carbon stock assessments and better monitoring of land-use changes.
In Nepal, Chepang take up the challenge to revive their cultural keystone tree
- In Nepal, the Chepang people have long relied on the chiuri tree (Diploknema butyracea or Indian butter tree) for timber, fuelwood and butter.
- According to folklore, the Chepang tribe, the chiuri tree and bats are all part of a three-pronged system of survival, as each helps the other two; that system — and the chiuri tree — has fallen to the wayside.
- Now, young Chepangs are trying to revive the chiuri tree and market the valuable fruits.
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.
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.
Community pine nut harvests help protect Brazil’s araucaria trees
- Pine nuts from the araucaria trees of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina are driving a chain of sustainable production involving more than a dozen municipalities from the mountain region of the southern Brazilian state.
- With devastating logging by the timber industry, the original extent of araucaria forests has fallen by 98%; today, keeping the trees standing — and selling their nuts – has proven to be a better alternative source of income for the communities living in the highland area.
- Despite these conservation efforts, legal obstacles persist: 70-90% of araucaria pine nut sales take place informally, which opens the way to middlemen, while low levels of mechanization in the production chain hinder the chances of expansion.
Deforestation in Borneo threatens three endangered, endemic plant species
- The rampant deforestation for monoculture plantation and logging in western Indonesian Borneo has exacerbated the extinction risks of three plant species endemic to the island’s riparian lowland rainforests, a new study said.
- The researchers are calling for stricter protection of the forest fragments as a key conservation strategy for the three plant species and for further research to be done to better understand the species’ population status so as to improve their management.
- The island of Borneo, which is split between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, has for the last few decades lost more than a third of its forests due to fires, logging, mining and industrial plantations, particularly oil palms.
Roads, human activity take a toll on red pandas: Q&A with researcher Damber Bista
- Damber Bista is a Nepali conservation scientist studying the country’s population of red pandas, an endangered species.
- He says there needs to be much more work done to protect the species, given that 70% of their habitat falls outside of protected areas.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Bista talks about the added stress that habitat fragmentation is putting on juvenile red pandas, the need for landscape-level conservation measures, and the importance of long-term studies.
In Brazil, scientists fight an uphill battle to restore the disappearing Cerrado savanna
- Countries around the world have made ambitious targets to restore native ecosystems as an important nature-based solution, with Brazil committing to restoring 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of native vegetation by 2030.
- While restoration in places like the Amazon has attracted significant funding and resources, non-forested biomes like Brazil’s Cerrado savanna are struggling to attract the same resources, even as it faces some of the highest deforestation rates in years.
- Researchers working on Cerrado restoration are trying to change this, fighting an uphill battle to generate knowledge, strengthen expertise, and scale up restoration.
- But without more resources and focus on national and international policies, they warn that restoration efforts in the Cerrado won’t come close to reaching their targets.
Do tiger-dense habitats also help save carbon stock? It’s complicated
- A new study centered on Nepal’s Chitwan National Park attempts to identify whether there’s a relationship between successful tiger conservation and habitats with high levels of carbon locked away in the vegetation.
- It found that within protected areas, high-density mixed forests had the most carbon stock sequestered in vegetation; however, tiger density was highest in riverine forests.
- This represents a trade-off that conservation planners need to tackle between tiger and carbon conservation.
- Researchers have cautioned against generalizing the findings, saying that more studies and data are needed to better understand the issue.
Scientists map nearly 10 billion trees, stored carbon, in Africa’s drylands
- A recent study has mapped the locations of 9.9 billion trees across Africa’s drylands, a region below the Sahara Desert and north of the equator.
- The research, which combined satellite mapping, machine learning and field measurements, led to an estimate of 840 million metric tons of carbon contained in the trees.
- This figure is much lower than the amount of carbon held in Africa’s tropical rainforests.
- However, these trees provide critical biodiversity habitat and help boost agricultural productivity, and this method provides a tool to track both degradation and tree-planting efforts in the region.
Deforestation threatens local populations in Republic of Congo’s Sangha
- Between May 2021 and November 2022, more than 200,000 deforestation alerts were recorded around Ouesso, in the northwestern Republic of the Congo.
- Logging has drastically impacted the country’s forest cover.
- In 2016, the Congolese authorities awarded 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of logging concessions to businesses, the majority of which had broken environmental and social standards.
- More recently, mining by Chinese companies (the land in north-west Congo is rich in iron and gold) has accelerated the destruction of ecosystems.
‘During droughts, pivot to agroecology’: Q&A with soil expert at the World Agroforestry Centre
- As the unabating drought in Kenya persists, pastoralists in the region are struggling as millions of their livestock perish and vast swaths of crops die. About 4.4 million people in the country are food insecure.
- International food agencies are calling it a dire humanitarian situation and highlight the vital need to build communities’ resilience to adapt and cope with drought.
- Mongabay speaks with David Leilei, a Kenyan soil biologist at the World Agroforestry Centre, on the agroecological techniques and strategies pastoralists and the government can use to restore healthy soils to promote productive farming.
- Mary Njenga, a research scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre who works with 1,200 households in northern Kenya, also speaks with Mongabay on climate-resilient strategies.
Trees with edible leaves can boost human nutrition: New book, free download
- Tree planting is widely promoted as a solution to challenges ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss, desertification, and more.
- One less-appreciated benefit of growing trees is for their leaves for human nutrition, but a new book, “Trees with Edible Leaves: A Global Manual,” details more than 100 species whose leaves are highly nutritious.
- Trees are also much easier to grow than annual vegetables, being very simple to maintain once established, and benefit other crops when grown in agroforestry settings.
- Mongabay interviewed Eric Toensmeier, the author of this new resource, which is available as a free download.
Kew Gardens joins local partners to save tropical plants from extinction
- The U.K.’s Kew Gardens does far more than preserve and display 50,000 living and 7 million preserved specimens of the world’s plants; it also educates the public about the importance of plant conservation via its famous London facility.
- In 2022, Kew Gardens identified 90 plants and 24 fungi completely new to science. They include the world’s largest giant water lily, with leaves more than 3 meters across, from Bolivia; and a 15-meter tree from Central America, named after the murdered Honduran environmental activist Berta Cáceres.
- The institution is working actively with local partners in many parts of the world, and especially in the tropics, to save these species in-situ, that is, where they were found. When Kew can’t do this, it saves seeds in its herbarium, carrying out ex-situ conservation.
- Kew researchers, along with scientists from tropical nations, are also working together to ensure that local communities benefit from this conservation work. The intention is to save these threatened plants for the long term, helping slow the pace of Earth’s current extinction crisis — the only one caused by humans.
Forest carbon offsets are a tool, not a silver bullet (commentary)
- The Guardian recently published an article questioning the effectiveness of forest carbon offsets, immediately followed by another in Die Zeit about ‘phantom offsets.’
- These criticisms are not without precedent: carbon offsetting is often presented either as a panacea or as corporate greenwashing that distracts from the difficult task of reducing actual greenhouse gas emissions.
- But as two leaders from CIFOR-ICRAF argue in a new commentary, “It is neither one nor the other. It is a tool. No particular policy instrument stands out as a ‘silver bullet,’ but improving the coherence and complementarity of the policy mix across government levels can enhance the effectiveness of policies.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Forest modeling misses the water for the carbon: Q&A with Antonio Nobre & Anastassia Makarieva
- An expanded understanding of forests’ role in moisture transport and heat regulation raises the stakes on the health of the Amazon Rainforest and the need to stop cutting trees.
- The biotic pump theory, conceived by scientists Anastassia Makarieva and the late Victor Gorshkov, suggests that forests’ impact on hydrology and cooling exceeds the role of carbon embodied in trees.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Makarieva and Brazilian scientist Antonio Nobre explain how the theory makes the case for a more urgent approach by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to protect the Amazon.
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.
Elephants promote jumbo trees, boosting the carbon stores in Africa’s forests
- The dietary habits of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) promote the survival of large, high wood density trees better at storing carbon.
- New research finds that forest-dwelling elephants browse on trees with low wood density, making space for bigger, heftier carbon-rich trees.
- The elephants also act as seed dispersers for these larger trees.
- Cautioning that determining exactly what role local elephant extinctions have played in changing forest composition is tricky, the researchers argue that elephants may boost above-ground carbon storage in Central African forests by 6-9%.
U.S. mature forests are critical carbon repositories, but at risk: Study
- A new study quantifies the amount of carbon in a sampling of publicly held U.S. forests, demonstrating the importance of mature and old-growth stands.
- As much as two-thirds of the carbon held in the large trees in these forests is at risk because the trees lack legal protection from logging.
- In addition to the carbon benefits provided by the country’s mature and old-growth forests, which the authors say could help the U.S. meet its emissions reductions targets, the older trees found in them support vibrant ecosystems, regulate water cycles, and are resistant to fires.
The EU banned Russian wood pellet imports; South Korea took them all
- In July 2022, the European Union responded to the war in Ukraine by banning the import of Russian woody biomass used to make energy. At roughly the same time, South Korea drastically upped its Russian woody biomass imports, becoming the sole official importer of Russian wood pellets for industrial energy use.
- The EU has reportedly replaced its Russian supplies of woody biomass by importing wood pellets from the U.S. and Eastern Europe. But others say that trade data and paper trails indicate a violation of the EU ban, with laundered Russian wood pellets possibly flowing through Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to multiple EU nations.
- EU pellet imports from Turkey grew from 2,200 tons monthly last spring to 16,000 tons in September. Imports from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan reportedly rose too, even though neither has a forest industry. A large body of scientific evidence shows that woody biomass adds significantly to climate change and biodiversity loss.
- Enviva, the world’s largest woody biomass producer, which operates chiefly in the Southeast U.S., may be the big winner in the Russian biomass ban. Since the war began, Enviva has upped EU shipments, and also announced a 10-year contract with an unnamed European customer to deliver 800,000 metric tons of pellets annually by 2027.
Botanists are disappearing at a critical time
- The expansive field of botany could be facing a dearth of skilled experts due to a growing lack of awareness of plants, interest in studying them, and fewer educational opportunities to do so.
- Humans depend upon plants for basic survival needs, such as food, oxygen, and daily household products, but fewer students are receiving enough instruction to enable them to do much beyond basic identification.
- This lack of educational opportunities to study plants – and a general lack of interest in them – is leading to less ‘plant awareness’ and could endanger society’s ability to address existential problems like biodiversity loss and even climate change.
- The University of Leeds’s Sebastian Stroud joins the Mongabay Newscast to talk about his research highlighting this increasing lack of plant literacy, the consequences of it, and what can be done to turn it around.
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.
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?
Amazon’s tallest tree at risk as deforestation nears
- Paru State Forest in the state of Pará was Brazil’s fifth-most deforested conservation unit in October, sparking concern for the region’s giant trees — including the tallest in the Amazon.
- The Paru State Forest is the world’s third-largest sustainable-use tropical forest reserve and, together with other conservation units in the region, belongs to a 22 million-hectare (54.3 million-acre) protected mosaic known as the Calha Norte of the Amazon River.
- Deforestation caused by cattle ranchers, illegal land-grabbers and gold miners is advancing in and around the conservation unit, which experts say shouldn’t be happening due to the region’s protected status.
- A new advisory board was formed this November to protect the Paru State Forest for the next two years by monitoring the use of natural resources and deforestation in the area.
The Netherlands to stop paying subsidies to ‘untruthful’ biomass firms
- On December 5, 2022, Mongabay featured a story by journalist Justin Catanoso in which the first ever biomass industry insider came forward as a whistleblower and discredited the green sustainability claims made by Enviva — the world’s largest maker of wood pellets for energy.
- On December 15, citing that article and recent scientific evidence that Enviva contributes to deforestation in the U.S. Southeast, The Netherlands decided it will stop paying subsidies to any biomass company found to be untruthful in its wood pellet production methods. The Netherlands currently offers sizable subsidies to Enviva.
- Precisely how The Netherlands decision will impact biomass subsidies in the long run is unclear. Nor is it known how this decision may impact the EU’s Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) certification process, which critics say is inherently weak and unreliable.
- Also in December, Australia became the first major nation to reverse its designation of forest biomass as a renewable energy source, raising questions about how parties to the UN Paris agreement can support opposing renewable energy policies, especially regarding biomass — a problem for COP28 negotiators to resolve in 2023.
Australia rejects forest biomass in first blow to wood pellet industry
- On December 15, Australia became the first major economy worldwide to reverse itself on its renewable classification for woody biomass burned to make energy. Under the nation’s new policy, wood harvested from native forests and burned to produce energy cannot be classified as a renewable energy source.
- That decision comes as the U.S., Canada, Eastern Europe, Vietnam and other forest nations continue gearing up to harvest their woodlands to make massive amounts of wood pellets, in order to supply biomass-fired power plants in the UK, EU, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere.
- In the EU, forest advocates continue with last-ditch lobbying efforts to have woody biomass stripped of its renewable energy designation, and end the ongoing practice of providing large subsidies to the biomass industry for wood pellets.
- Science has found that biomass burning releases more carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy produced than coal. Australia’s decision, and the EU’s continued commitment to biomass, creates a conundrum for policymakers: How can major economies have different definitions of renewable energy when it comes to biomass?
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.
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.
As EU finalizes renewable energy plan, forest advocates condemn biomass
- The EU hopes to finalize its revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED) soon, even as forest advocates urge last minute changes to significantly cut the use of woody biomass for energy and make deep reductions in EU subsidies to the wood pellet industry.
- Forest advocates are citing a new commentary published in Nature that argues that the EU’s continued expansive commitment to burning forest biomass for energy will endanger forests in the EU, the U.S. and elsewhere — resulting in a major loss in global carbon storage and biodiversity.
- Changing RED to meet forest advocate recommendations seems unlikely at this point, with some policymakers arguing that woody biomass use is the only way the EU can achieve its 2030 coal reduction target. The woody biomass industry is pressing for sustained biomass use and for continued subsidies.
- Russia’s threat of reducing or cutting off its supply of natural gas to the EU this winter is also at issue. In the EU today, 60% of energy classified as renewable comes from burning biomass. If RED is approved as drafted, bioenergy use is projected to double between 2015 and 2050, according to the just published Nature commentary.
Whistleblower: Enviva claim of ‘being good for the planet… all nonsense’
- Enviva is the largest maker of wood pellets burned for energy in the world. The company has, from its inception, touted its green credentials.
- It says it doesn’t use big, whole trees, but only uses wood waste, “tops, limbs, thinnings, and/or low-value smaller trees” in the production of woody biomass burned in former coal power plants in the U.K., EU and Asia. It says it only sources wood from areas where trees will be regrown, and that it doesn’t contribute to deforestation.
- However, in first-ever interviews with a whistleblower who worked within Enviva plant management, Mongabay contributor Justin Catanoso has been told that all of these Enviva claims are false. In addition, a major recent scientific study finds that Enviva is contributing to deforestation in the U.S. Southeast.
- Statements by the whistleblower have been confirmed by Mongabay’s own observations at a November 2022 forest clear-cut in North Carolina, and by NGO photo documentation. These findings are especially important now, as the EU considers the future of forest biomass burning as a “sustainable” form of renewable energy.
A Philippine resin trade proves sustainable for forests, but not tappers
- Almaciga resin, also known as Manila copal, is used as an additive in industrial products like varnish and linoleum, as well as traditionally for starting fires, caulking boats and fumigating against mosquitoes.
- If practiced responsibly, harvesting almaciga resin offers an ecologically sustainable income stream for the Indigenous people and local communities best positioned to protect the Philippines’ diminishing natural forests.
- However, a string of middlemen, little transparency about pricing, and lack of access to formal financial institutions means that the communities that rely on tapping resin for cash remain mired in poverty.
More than half of palm species may be threatened with extinction, study finds
- Using novel machine-learning techniques, researchers found that of the 1,889 species of palms with enough data to investigate, more than half (56%) may be threatened with extinction.
- Researchers hope that the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, paired with data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, can speed up preliminary evaluations of a species’ conservation status, reduce costs, and avoid bias toward vertebrate animals.
- The study found that nearly half of the functionally distinct species were threatened, as well as nearly one-third of species used by humans (at least 185 palm species). The study also identified high-priority regions for palm conservation including Borneo, Hawai‘i, Jamaica, Madagascar, New Caledonia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Sulawesi, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
- Like many other threatened plant and animal species, the greatest risk to palms is habitat destruction from agricultural and urban expansion.
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.
For water quality, even a sliver of riverbank forest is better than none
- Costa Rica currently has laws in place to protect riparian zones along waterways, but they are unevenly enforced.
- Implementing these laws, even at the bare minimum of maintaining a 10-meter (33-foot) strip of riverbank vegetation, could lead to benefits for water quality and people, according to a new modeling study.
- The study shows that a small increase in forest cover around waterways can reduce nutrient and sediment runoff, especially on steeper lands and near farms and cities.
- Increases in water quality from riparian zones would improve drinking water for vulnerable populations in Costa Rica.
Loss of Brazilian pines threatens Kaingáng Indigenous culture
- The decline of the Paraná pine forests in the southern region of Brazil poses serious consequences for the Kaingáng culture, which uses pine trees as an important source of food, culture and resilience.
- The ecosystem is one of the most devastated in Brazil: Only 3% of its original area remains.
- The tree occupies a noble position in the Kaingáng culture, considered the third-largest Indigenous group in Brazil, with 45,000 people living in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and southern São Paulo.
- “Efforts to revitalize Kaingáng culture must be aligned with the resurgence of araucaria planting in the territories of the Kaingáng people,” says an Indigenous expert.
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.
The Fixers: Top U.S. flooring retailers linked to Brazilian firm probed for corruption
- New evidence uncovered by a yearlong investigation by Mongabay and Earthsight reveals the corrupt deals made by Brazil’s largest flooring exporter, Indusparquet, and its suppliers.
- The company was charged in two corruption lawsuits in Brazil over its use of public officials to gain access to timber supplies. Mongabay and Earthsight gained access to dozens of hours of wiretaps and video footage, along with thousands of pages of court records, revealing how the alleged bribery schemes were carried out.
- One of the court cases showed the company used a local official to secure the supply of bracatinga, a tree species native to the Atlantic Forest, for an unnamed “U.S. client.”
- We also found indications that the American client was Floor & Decor, America’s largest flooring retail chain, which was previously involved in illegal timber scandals with Indusparquet, while LL Flooring, fined for breaching the Lacey Act in 2013 over its illegal timber exports, is also an Indusparquet client.
How close is the Amazon tipping point? Forest loss in the east changes the equation
- Scientists warn that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point beyond which it would begin to transition from a lush tropical forest into a dry, degraded savanna. This point may be reached when 25% of the forest is lost.
- In a newly released report, the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) estimates that 13.2% of the original Amazon forest biome has been lost due to deforestation and other causes.
- However, when the map is divided into thirds, it shows that 31% of the eastern Amazon has been lost. Moisture cycles through the forest from east to west, creating up to half of all rainfall across the Amazon. The 31% figure is critical, the report says, “because the tipping point will likely be triggered in the east.”
- Experts say the upcoming elections in Brazil could have dramatic consequences for the Amazon, and to avert the tipping point we must lower emissions, undertake ambitious reforestation projects, and build an economy based on the standing forest. Granting and honoring Indigenous land tenure and protected areas are also key strategies.
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.
More droughts are coming, and the Amazon can’t keep up: Study
- Up to 50% of rainfall in the Amazon comes from the forest itself, as moisture is recycled from the trees to the atmosphere.
- In severe droughts, when the forest loses more water to evaporation than it receives from rain, the trees begin to die. For every three trees that die due to drought in the Amazon rainforest, a fourth tree, even if not directly affected by drought, will also die, according to a new study.
- As trees are lost and the forest dries up, parts of the Amazon will rapidly approach a tipping point, where they will transition into a degraded savanna-like ecosystem with few to no trees.
- The southern and southeastern Amazon are the most vulnerable regions to tipping. Here, deforestation and fires are at their most extreme, driven largely by cattle ranching and soy farming.
British Columbia delays promised protections as old growth keeps falling
- Two years after British Columbia’s majority party promised a logging “paradigm shift” to conserve what’s left of the province’s tall old growth forests, Mongabay observed dramatic clear cutting on Vancouver Island in forests slated for protection. Old growth harvesting continues across British Columbia (BC) today.
- The BC minister of land management told Mongabay that the government, in partnership with First Nations, has deferred logging on 1.7 million hectares of old growth forests. But critics contest those numbers and note that much of these deferrals are for scubby alpine forests that aren’t in danger of being logged.
- First Nation leaders have been tasked by the government to determine which old growth forests to protect. This presents Indigenous communities with an economic conundrum, as many tribes will lose much-needed logging revenue if they choose conservation.
- Today, BC has many second-growth tree plantations that give the appearance of vast wooded expanses. But as Mongabay observed in July, these tree farms are “ecological deserts” that store less carbon than tall tree old growth and harbor little biodiversity as BC experiences intensifying climate impacts partly due to decades of overlogging.
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.”
Even without human-driven deforestation, climate change threatens some forests
- In a study published in Science, researchers analyzed a set of climate and ecosystem models to predict the risks that climate change poses to forests.
- The models displayed consistent risks to forests in western North America, drier tropical forests like the southeastern Amazon, and northern boreal forests.
- Researchers say their findings speak to the need to be careful when evaluating the role trees can play as a climate solution.
In Bali, snakefruit farmers hope agroforestry bears fruit as island reopens
- Sibetan village on the Indonesian island of Bali is renowned for its organic snakefruit, known locally as salak.
- But following each biannual harvest, farmers face plunging prices of the salak fruit due to oversupply.
- Salak farmer Made Surjani says visitors are welcome to view local agroforestry practices, but that Sibetan farmers see themselves as farmers first and foremost.
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.
‘Protection too small, pressure too high’ for tree species globally, study finds
- Researchers looked at the distributions of more than 46,000 tree species around the world and found that more than 13% have no protection. For all species examined, at least half of their distribution lacks protection.
- Further, almost 15% of all species are exposed to high or very high human pressure and 68% to moderate pressure.
- The study goes beyond this assessment to explore which areas need to be protected worldwide to provide maximum benefit for tree diversity.
- Researchers found that the existing plan that would most effectively protect tree diversity is The Global 200, a list of ecoregions identified as priorities for conservation by WWF.
‘Monument trees’ underpin Alaska Native cultural resilience: they must be protected (commentary)
- Access to ancient cedar trees for cultural purposes is key to Southeast Alaska Native peoples, both for their heritage and community resilience.
- Carving and weaving traditions require straight-grained, slow-growth red and yellow cedar trees 450 years and older with few branches or defects. These rare forest giants are referred to as ‘monument trees,’ and many are contained in the Tongass National Forest.
- Despite its significance, the Tongass continues to be threatened by forest management pressures, climate change, and political shifts: more than 1 million acres of forest have been clearcut since it was declared a national forest.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
First-of-its-kind freshwater mangroves discovered in Brazil’s Amazon Delta
- Researchers on an expedition in the Amazon River Delta have found mangroves growing in freshwater — a phenomenon never before documented in deltas or coastal mangroves anywhere else in the world.
- The mangroves, overlooked by previous satellite mapping efforts, increase the known area of mangroves in the region by 20%, or an additional 180 square kilometers (70 square miles).
- Mangroves are a more effective carbon sink than other types of tropical forest, with more than 8% of all carbon stocks worldwide held in Brazil’s mangroves.
- Despite their many ecosystem services, mangroves are not well protected or funded in Brazil.
Red-hot demand for ipê wood coincides with deforestation hubs in Brazil
- Logging to meet demand for the tropical hardwood ipê coincides with hotspots of illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the source of 96% of the ipê used worldwide, a report shows.
- So far this year, the total area of deforestation alerts in the top 20 ipê-harvesting municipalities cover an area an eighth the size of Rio de Janeiro.
- The logging industry says concessions authorized by the government deliver only 2% of the native wood that reaches the markets; the remainder is potentially tainted with illegality.
- Experts recommend sweeping measures to address the destruction of the Amazon for this coveted hardwood, including cracking down on deforestation and encouraging the use of alternative woods.
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.
Tree plantations in Patagonia are the site of wildfires and land dispute
- For decades, Argentina has subsidized the clearing of native forest and planting exotic species, primarily pines, on land often claimed by Indigenous peoples.
- A recent standoff over a land dispute led to gunmen shooting two young Indigenous Mapuche activists, one fatally.
- Pine plantations increase wildfire risk, contributing to several major fires in recent years.
- Wildfires also encourage invasion by pines into native forests, leading to a feedback loop that threatens both native forests and human settlements.
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.
Home away from home: Researchers trial artificial nests for Lilian’s lovebirds
- Researchers and conservationists are experimenting with artificial nest boxes to provide a home for a threatened lovebird in Malawi whose preferred nesting sites — mopane trees — are being lost to logging.
- Lilian’s lovebird prefers nesting in the cavities found in mature mopane trees, and a year-long trial shows it hasn’t taken to the nest boxes as alternative breeding and roosting sites.
- Experts say they’ll continue refining their experiment, including setting up camera traps to better understand the bird’s behavior.
- Artificial nest boxes have been used with some degree of success for other bird species facing a similar loss of their natural nesting sites, including hornbills elsewhere in Southern Africa and in Southeast Asia.
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.
Mahogany, a pillar of the rainforest, needs support (commentary)
- Mahogany has been the wood of choice for furniture and cabinetry for centuries, and is highly sought by guitar makers for its strength and resistance to changes in humidity and temperature.
- But when it was last assessed in 1998, biologists categorized the tree as “vulnerable to extinction” — the same category as cheetahs and polar bears, iconic species that are well known to be threatened.
- Economics must play a leading role in protecting mahogany, and all the species that depend on it, if we are to turn the tide on its decline and slow tropical deforestation, a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Overexploited and underprotected: Study urges action on Asia’s rosewoods
- Rosewood is one of the world’s most trafficked wildlife products: The value of the trade, driven by demand from luxury furniture markets, exceeds that of ivory.
- Despite increased legal protections and export bans in recent years, illegal logging and cross-border trade continues to decimate rosewood populations across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
- A new study reveals the threats facing isolated and fragmented populations of three rosewood species in the Greater Mekong region and identifies where conservation and restoration action could have the most benefits.
- The study recommends a variety of approaches to protect the viability of remaining natural populations and their genetic diversity, including community forestry, smallholder planting initiatives, agroforestry, and storing seeds in gene banks.
Common goals ensure forest restoration success in northern Thailand
- Twenty-five years ago, the Hmong community of Ban Mae Sa Mai village in northern Thailand began a collaboration with researchers and national park authorities to restore agricultural fields to natural forest.
- Between 1997 and 2013, they honed methods of assisted regeneration while restoring 33 hectares (82 acres) of upland evergreen tropical forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park.
- Monitoring teams documented the return of biodiversity and ecosystem services to the restored land, and participants founded a tree nursery that continues to supply thousands of native tree seedlings each year to nearby initiatives inspired by the Ban Mae Sa Mai model.
- However, the Hmong community face the prospect of eviction from their ancestral land, which lies within a protected area. Experts warn that disputes between authorities and the community, coupled with an increasing risk of fire due to climate change, could jeopardize the survival of the recovering forest.
In Jordan, the Middle East’s first Miyawaki-style ‘baby’ forests take root
- Since 2018, a Jordanian architect and a Japanese environmentalist have planted three tiny forests in Amman, Jordan, the largest with a footprint of just 250 square meters (2,700 square feet).
- These are some of the first forests in the Middle East to be designed according to the Miyawaki method, a technique for growing mature forests in a matter of decades at virtually any scale.
- In a country with just 0.03% tree cover and where tree planting is increasingly popular but knowledge about native vegetation is scattered, the effort involved extensive research and experimentation to identify and propagate native plants.
- With more “baby forests” on the way, the goal is to sketch a path toward the restoration of Jordan’s disappearing forest ecosystems while reconnecting urban communities to nature.
Fossil evidence confirms persistence of prehistoric forests in Brunei
- A recent study published in the journal PeerJ reports the excavation of fossilized leaves from ancient forests at least 4 million years old in Brunei on the island of Borneo.
- More than 80% of the leaves the team found were from the Dipterocarpaceae family, trees that remain dominant today, confirming their long-standing role in anchoring Borneo’s species-rich ecosystems.
- The discovery adds to the urgency to protect these forests from logging or development for agriculture because once they’re gone, they will be difficult to get back, the authors say.
Nepal’s Supreme Court axes plans to build controversial new airport
- Around 2.4 million trees, both big and small, had to be cut to construct the two-runway airport.
- The decision forces the government to look elsewhere in the country for possible locations to build the second international aviation hub.
Efforts bloom to save southern Brazil’s last butiá palm groves
- Targeted by the expansion of agriculture and urbanization, the last butiá palm landscapes continue to cling to life in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
- Of the 21 known butiá species in South America, 19 occur in Brazil — all of them under threat.
- An experimental project proposes a rotating cattle management method in butiá areas as a way to protect the shoots of the young palms from being eaten.
- Other efforts to protect the trees include creating a tourism circuit linking butiá groves in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and publishing a book of butiá fruit recipes.
Results of mining tax for reforestation in the DRC leave more questions than answers
- Mining and logging companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are liable to pay a deforestation tax to restore areas impacted by their activities.
- However, after about twenty years since the tax was implemented, reforested areas are few and far between.
- Environmentalists and locals question what the taxes collected from mining companies is being used for, with corruption and financial mismanagement seen as a source of the problem.
- The National Forest Fund (FFN), environmental ministry and political officials did not respond to Mongabay requests for comment.
Asia’s troubled trees need better conservation to reach restoration goals: Study
- South and Southeast Asia’s 19,000 tree species form the foundations of some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests, as well as provide irreplaceable ecosystem services and underpin the livelihoods and diets of hundreds of millions of people.
- However, roughly three-quarters of the land deemed most important to protect regional tree diversity lies outside of protected areas, according to a new study that evaluates the distribution and threats facing 63 native tree species.
- The findings question whether countries will be able to fulfill their ambitious forest restoration targets; in particular, the researchers are concerned that crucial seed resources that could support reforestation efforts are being lost.
- The researchers recommend a more coordinated approach to conservation planning within the region, including improved cross-border collaboration and a holistic, landscape approach that integrates trees into production systems outside of protected areas.
Warming could nip Southeast Asian forests’ mass flowering in the bud, study finds
- Synchronous mass flowering is one of the most spectacular but least-understood phenomena in Southeast Asia’s tropical rainforests; crucially, scientists know very little about how flowering events might be affected by climate change.
- A new study looking at historical tree flowering in Malaysia has found that between 1976 and 2010, the proportion of flowering and fruiting species decreased as temperatures began to increase through that period.
- They also used models to predict future responses to climate change, finding that a rise of 1.2°C (2.2°F) in average global temperatures by the year 2100 could halve the flowering probability of Dipterocarp trees, an ecologically and economically important tree family in Southeast Asia.
- The researchers say we will likely see shifts in tree species composition in forests as those adapted to climate change are outcompeted by more adaptable species.
Tropical trees’ growth and CO2 intake hit by more extreme dry seasons
- A new study has found that dry seasons that are warmer and drier than usual can stunt the growth of tropical trees, causing them to take in less carbon dioxide.
- While trees tend to grow more during the wet season, the researchers found that the dry season actually had a stronger impact on tree growth than the wet season.
- As climate change continues to raise temperatures, tropical trees could face increased risk of mortality and the possibility of becoming a net source of carbon, rather than a carbon sink.
They outlived the dinosaurs, but Brazil’s araucaria trees might not survive humans
- The araucaria tree of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest could go extinct within the next 50 years due to permissive state policies allowing them to be cleared.
- While the species is listed as critically endangered, and there’s a ban on illegal logging of araucaria, the state governments of Paraná and Santa Catarina states still allow them to be felled in the thousands for public works projects.
- Araucaria forests today occupy just 2% of their historic range, scattered in fragments of forests measuring just 3,600 km2 (1,400 mi2).
- The species has been around for more than 200 million years, surviving the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, but could meet its own doom thanks to human-driven climate change.
From land mines to lifelines, Lebanon’s Shouf is a rare restoration success story
- The Shouf Biosphere Reserve is a living laboratory experimenting with degraded ecosystem recovery in ways that also boost the well-being of the human communities living there.
- Previous conservation efforts in the area involved using land mines and armed guards to stem illegal logging and reduce fire risk.
- Today, the reserve builds local skills and creates jobs in a bid to help the local community through Lebanon’s severe economic crisis.
- Managers are also employing adaptive techniques to build resilience in this climate change-hit landscape.
South America hosts nearly half of 9,000 tree species unknown to science
- The most comprehensive survey of Earth’s tree life has just been published, showing that there are some 9,000 species that scientists still haven’t described.
- Nearly half of these unknown trees are found in South America, which in turn accounts for 43% of the estimated 73,000 trees found on Earth, according to the study.
- Almost 150 researchers from across the globe collaborated on the study, which increases the previous estimate for total tree species by 14%.
- The study authors say the unidentified species are mostly rare and more vulnerable to the risk of extinction, hence there’s an urgent need to implement stricter protection and enforcement of environmental laws.
As Australia faces new fire reality, forest restoration tactics reevaluated
- More than 24 million hectares (59 million acres) burned during Australia’s devastating “Black Summer” bushfire season of 2019-2020, which formed part of a confirmed climate change-driven trend of worsening fire weather and larger, more intense forest fires.
- Scientists are still assessing the extent of the damage and are calling for a greater focus on understanding the effects of fires. Bushfires in Australia have been worsening for more than two decades as escalating drought places pressure on forest resilience and recovery.
- Since 2003, alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) and mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnens), the world’s tallest flowering plant, have been the focus of Victoria state’s largest post-fire reseeding effort ever. But the Black Summer fires caused foresters to reevaluate the effectiveness and future of this initiative.
- With future wildfires expected to see ferocity equal to the 2019-20 fire season, forest managers are questioning traditional tree restoration approaches, with some even wondering if regrowing forests is viable. Researchers are actively testing more interventionist approaches, such as replanting seeds and seedlings with genetically fire-resilient traits.
Can the little-known tamanu tree replace palm oil in Indonesia’s biofuel bid?
- Government researchers in Indonesia believe oil from the tamanu tree (Calophyllum inophyllum) could serve an alternative feedstock for biofuel to palm oil.
- They say the plant has shown the ability to grow in burned areas and former mining sites, as well as in waterlogged peat soils.
- Oil from the tree, native to tropical Asia, has been used for centuries across the region as a salve for wounds and scars, and in lotions and balms.
- With the Indonesian government’s ambitious biodiesel program requiring the establishment of more oil palm plantations, alternative feedstocks like tamanu could help stave off the associated deforestation.
Sixty of one, half a dozen of the other: Rare magnolias get a new start in Ecuador’s Chocó
- Currently, only 60 Magnolia canandeana trees are known in the wild, and for Magnolia dixonii, only six. These rare magnolia species inhabit Ecuador’s Canandé Reserve in the Chocó, where scientists and locals are working to help conserve the rainforest.
- However, illegal loggers, exporters of balsa wood, the palm oil industry, cattle ranchers and farmers have steadily pushed in on the forest, leading to high rates of deforestation and a decline in biodiversity that threatens the rare magnolias. Only 2% of the original Chocó remains.
- Faced with limited resources and the global pandemic, conservation groups have needed all the help they can get, even asking one of their cooks to lead germination research.
- Efforts to revive the populations are underway, but the future of the newly planted trees is uncertain while the forest remains at risk from further deforestation.
California redwood forest returned to Indigenous guardianship, conservation
- Ownership of a 215-hectare (532-acre) redwood forest along California’s north coast was returned to Sinkyone tribes and has been renamed Tc’ih-Léh-Dûñ.
- The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council is working with Save the Redwoods League, which donated the land, to protect California’s remaining old-growth forest, along with endangered species such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet.
- The 30-year conservation plan and land transfer deal is funded by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) in order to offset habitat loss that may result from the company’s activities.
- Indigenous forest conservation principles, such as controlled burnings, will be included in the tribal protected area – an inclusion that should be seen in the 30×30 initiative to protect 30% of lands and ocean by 2030, says Save the Redwoods League and the tribal council.
Indonesia’s Womangrove collective reclaims the coast from shrimp farms
- A women’s collective in Indonesia’s Tanakeke Islands has restored dozens of hectares of mangroves since its founding six years ago.
- The Womangrove collective focuses on replanting abandoned shrimp and fish farms that were originally established in cleared mangrove areas, and have to date planted more than 110,000 seedlings.
- Indonesia has more mangrove area than any other country in the world, but has lost half of it in the past 30 years, mostly to shrimp and fish farms.
Global ecosystem restoration progress: How and who’s tracking it?
- Nature-based climate solutions currently being widely touted include the restoration of the world’s degraded forests and other ecosystems in order to store more carbon. But while many restoration pledges have been made by many nations via many initiatives, the monitoring and tracking of their success remains murky.
- That’s because, while deforestation can easily be seen from satellites, effective and accurate ecosystem restoration tracking requires systems for long-term ground-truthing, for measuring carbon storage over decades, and for improvements in biodiversity and the boosting of local economies.
- Among the many ecosystem restoration initiatives now underway are the 2021 Glasgow Forest Declaration and the Bonn Challenge, along with the restoration commitments made as part of national emissions reductions plans under the Paris Climate Agreement (nationally determined contributions or NDCs).
- Strides toward better restoration tracking are being made by initiatives like the Bonn Challenge’s Restoration Barometer and the Brazilian Restoration and Reforestation Observatory — though more work is needed to secure globally accurate tracking.
Mexican firm profits from reforestation, empowers Indigenous people
- The Ejido Verde company, organized in 2009, grants interest-free loans to local communities in Michoacán state, Mexico, to plant and tend pine trees for the tapping of resin, a multibillion-dollar global industry.
- The firm’s innovative business model improves degraded agricultural landscapes by cultivating plantations, while providing traditional communities with long-term sustainable income.
- The company says it has already sequestered more than 200,000 tons of carbon through 2021; it has hopes of cultivating 12,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) of pine on 3,000 family farms by 2030.
- But questions remain about whether the firm’s efforts do enough to repair deforested land in a part of Mexico seeing a boom in commodity agriculture; the company emphasizes that its reforestation efforts — which have increased biodiversity and watershed conservation somewhat — are not equivalent to native forest restoration.
Brazil’s Suzano boasts its pulpwood plantations are green; critics disagree
- Suzano, the world’s largest pulp exporter, is strongly promoting a new green agenda. Its plantations, now being grown in association with native forests, could help curb the global climate crisis, the company says.
- Some conservation groups agree, and are working with the firm to ensure it gets greener.
- But other environmentalists say that the expansion of eucalyptus monoculture is causing widespread environmental damage in Brazil. Plantation carbon sequestration is minimal, they argue, while pulpwood factories are highly polluting and eucalyptus forests lack the biodiversity of rainforests.
- Moreover, they say, eucalyptus plantation expansion is resulting in the usurpation of natural lands and the expulsion of traditional and Indigenous communities who have much more to offer in the fight against climate change and efforts to protect intact forests.
For Mekong officials fighting timber traffickers, a chance to level up
- Global wildlife trade authority CITES held a virtual workshop for customs agents and inspections officials in the Lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia on the physical inspection of timber shipments in October.
- The region’s forests are home to around 100 species of trees for which CITES restricts trade to protect their survival.
- But attendees also note that the ability to accurately identify tree species, as well as the knowledge to spot suspicious shipments, is low in the region.
- Improving that capacity will help to address illegal logging in the region, advocates say.
New restoration “Playbook” calls for political, economic, and social change
- Leading forest and climate experts have come up with a “playbook” for ecosystem restoration that accounts for climate change and forest loss as not just biophysical and environmental problems, but also deeply political, economic and social issues.
- It defines 10 principles for effective, equitable, and transformative landscapes that its authors say could be game-changing if followed.
- The playbook discusses the importance of ending fossil fuel subsidies and shifting those resources toward ecosystem restoration, renewable energy, and supporting the land rights of local and Indigenous communities that are protecting forests.
- The authors invite IUCN members and leaders at COP26 in Glasgow to consider adopting the Playbook to guide biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation in forests and, more broadly, call for structural changes from local to international scale.
Scientists urge Biden to remove logging, fossil fuels, biomass from budget bills
- More than 100 scientists have issued an open letter urging U.S. President Joe Biden and members of Congress to remove provisions promoting logging, forest biomass and fossil fuels from the multitrillion-dollar infrastructure and reconciliation (Build Back Better) bills.
- Both bills contain provisions for logging for lumber and for forest biomass energy, with the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 5.
- Although the infrastructure bill promises $570 billion in tax credits and investments to combat climate change, it also includes a mandate for 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of “additional logging on federal public lands over the next 15 years.”
- “The logging and fossil fuel subsidies and policies in the Reconciliation and Infrastructure Bills will only intensify the rate and intensity of our changing climate,” the letter states.
COP26: “Work with nature in forest restoration,” says respected journalist
- Some large top-down reforestation projects are failing because governments aren’t taking their cue from nature, says renowned environmental science journalist and author Fred Pearce.
- In his new book, “A Trillion Trees,” Pearce argues that it is better to hand over control over forest restoration efforts to local communities who have been working in tune with nature for centuries.
- Pearce’s book offers numerous proofs that despite humanity’s missteps, nature is quietly rebounding in many places, with forests regrowing in parts of the world, and with much maligned alien species at times helping in the process. These are reasons for hope, he says.
- In this exclusive interview, Pearce tells Mongabay that COP-26 climate negotiators in Glasgow, Scotland, need to listen to and empower Indigenous and traditional community leaders, and not “degenerate into an orgy of tree planting” which may well be counterproductive.
Indonesian couple stages ‘ecological wedding’ in hopes of inspiring others
- An increasing number of Indonesian couples are incorporating tree planting into their weddings, either as part of the ceremony or handing out samplings as souvenirs.
- Several towns and villages have adopted local regulations that require marriage applicants to plant a given number of trees as a requirement for getting married.
- The government has an ambitious goal of not just halving the deforestation rate over the next three decades, but also reforesting 10.6 million hectares (26.2 million acres) of land by 2050.
COP26 deforestation-ending commitment must hold leaders accountable (commentary)
- Yesterday at COP26 world leaders announced an agreement to reverse and end deforestation within a decade.
- But lacking language on transparency, regular milestones, a binding legal framework, and a focus on human rights, this commitment may fail as others have before it.
- The New York Declaration on Forests of 2014 pledged to halve deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030, yet rates of forest loss have been 41% higher in the years since. If world leaders are sincere about ending deforestation this time, there is one simple message: prove it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
COP26 Glasgow Declaration: Salvation or threat to Earth’s forests?
- The U.N. climate summit underway in Glasgow, Scotland, served as a venue this week to announce the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use to the world. Signed by 100 countries representing 85% of the globe’s forested land, it pledges to end or reduce deforestation by 2030.
- The declaration comes on the heels of the failed 2014 New York Declaration for Forests–which had more than 200 national, private and civil service supporters–that promised to cut deforestation by 50% by 2020 and end it by 2030. Since then, deforestation has risen, contributing an estimated 23% of total carbon emissions.
- While some hailed this week’s Declaration, others warned that it’s $19.2 billion could be used to convert natural forests to plantations, which under current U.N. rules are counted as “forests.” Plantations to produce palm oil, paper or wood pellets (burnt to make energy), lack biodiversity and are less efficient at storing carbon.
- Said one NGO critical of the Glasgow Declaration: “Just as we must wind down use of fossil fuels, it’s also time for the industrial logging development model to be retired. Countries should apply an absolute moratorium on any further conversion of [natural] forests [to industrial plantations] — whether technically ‘legal’ or ‘illegal.’“
In Zimbabwe, an irrigation project threatens a tribe’s land and trees
- A Zimbabwean minority tribe, the Shangaan people, say they are living in suspense as they face eviction for the construction of an irrigation scheme that will raze 12,940 hectares (31,975 acres) of land containing mopane and baobab trees in their area.
- According to Zimbabwe’s Communal Land Rights Act, communal land is owned by the President who decides how it is to be used and occupied.
- The villagers have been sustainably conserving and living in the region for years through regenerative farming practices, stopping veld fires and preventing deforestation.
Beyond tree planting: When to let forests restore themselves
- Tree-planting schemes are common these days, and they’re touted as one of the best tools we have to combat climate change, species extinction, and other environmental crises.
- But natural regeneration — allowing forests to reestablish themselves — is increasingly being recognized as a more cost-effective strategy for meeting ambitious forest restoration targets.
- Natural regeneration can occur on its own, just by stepping back and letting trees grow. But sometimes it’s more effective to assist regeneration with measures such as putting up fences, removing weeds, and addressing the pressures that lead to logging and other disturbances.
- Recent research focuses on identifying the conditions necessary for natural regeneration to occur.
Inland mangroves reveal a tumultuous climatic past — and hint at our future
- A new study concludes that the presence of inland mangroves along a river in southern Mexico was the result of climate change-driven sea level rise during the Pleistocene Epoch, some 115,000 to 130,000 years ago.
- The researchers’ analysis of the genetic history of the mangrove trees suggests that they are closely related to trees found on the coastline, and sediments nearby are similar to those found in ocean environments.
- Publishing their work Oct. 12 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team notes that their research highlights the impacts of global climate change.
‘Kew Declaration’ unites experts on reforestation, aims at policymakers ahead of COP26
- More than 2,600 experts and concerned citizens from 113 countries signed the Kew Declaration on Reforestation for Biodiversity, Carbon Capture and Livelihoods.
- The declaration expresses the co-signatories’ concern over large-scale tree plantations of single species and/or non-native trees and proposes that forests be planted to reflect the diversity of natural ecosystems.
- The declaration specifically calls upon “policymakers, financiers and practitioners in countries that have made reforestation pledges” to work with Indigenous and local people and respect their land tenure rights. It also calls for funding and positive financial incentives to be targeted toward reforestation.
- Experts have noted that policies surrounding reforestation could be improved by increasing communication and involvement of people at all levels of projects, especially local communities, Indigenous people and landowners.
Jane Goodall launches effort in support of planting 1 trillion trees by 2030
- Primatologist and conservation icon Jane Goodall has formally joined a global effort to counter climate change and the extinction crisis by planting a trillion trees over the next decade.
- On Tuesday, Goodall announced Trees for Jane, an initiative that will raise money for carefully-vetted reforestation and forest conservation projects around the world.
- Trees for Jane is partnering with the Trillion Tree Campaign, an initiative led by the German NGO Plant-for-the-Planet, and 1t.org, a World Economic Forum project, to reach the trillion trees goal by 2030.
- If these combined efforts realize this aim, it would increase Earth’s tree cover by about one-third relative to today. Currently we’re losing about 15 billion trees a year, mostly due to deforestation.
One in three tree species is in the red, new global assessment says
- Of the 60,000 known species of trees, 440 are critically endangered, an assessment spearheaded by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has found.
- There are more threatened tree species in the world today than there are threatened mammal, reptile, bird and amphibian species combined.
- Among tree biodiversity hotspots, which boast a large number of indigenous trees, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia fare poorly.
- Lack of in-country expertise is holding back such initiatives, Frank Mbago, a Tanzanian botanist, told Mongabay.
2015-2016 El Niño caused 2.5 billion trees to die in just 1% of the Amazon
- New research shows how a combination of high temperatures, intense drought, and human-caused fires resulted in dramatic forest loss in the Lower Tapajós Basin in the Brazilian Amazon.
- According to the authors, forest reduction meant that one of the world’s largest carbon sinks generated almost 500 million tons of CO2 emissions, an amount higher than the annual emissions of developed countries such as the U.K. and Australia.
- Due to climate change, more frequent extreme droughts are predicted to affect most of the Amazon basin in this century; in this scenario, the 2015 El Niño could be seen as a window into the future.
Global restoration now has an online meeting point
- Restor is a map-based, open-source platform created so that people can better plan, manage and monitor restoration projects. The locations of more than 50,000 restoration and conservation initiatives are now registered on the platform.
- On the platform, Restor users can view high-resolution satellite imagery of places around the globe to learn about their potential for restoration or conservation. It also allows users to see what tree species are native to a particular location.
- Currently, Restor is collecting data from restoration projects around the world. Anyone with a project can apply for access to the site where they are able to enter data about their project and ecosystem.
- Restor CEO Clara Rowe says they hope to “enable and accelerate ecological restoration … around the globe by making it easy for anyone, anywhere to engage.”
Reforestation done right, from Haiti to Honduras and Ho Chi Minh City
- Local communities around the world are replanting their forests, and on today's episode of the Mongabay Newscast we take a look at why that's so important to combating climate change and building a sustainable future for life on Earth.
- Our first guest is Erin Axelrod, project director for Trees For Climate Health, who tells us about the nearly 40 community-based reforestation initiatives the program has funded based on its "right tree, right place, right community" approach.
- We also speak with freelance journalist and Mongabay contributor Mike Tatarski, who tells us about Vietnam's plans to plant a billion trees by 2025 and the NGOs in the country that are working to make tree-planting more community-centered and sustainable both economically and environmentally.
Cleaning up Cambodia’s kitchens could curb deforestation, climate change
- NGOs and companies across Cambodia are taking action in response to the mass use of charcoal and forest biomass in household and restaurant kitchens countrywide. The shift away from these polluting fuel sources to cleaner energy alternatives is being sparked by health and environmental concerns.
- Education is a key strategy for implementing the shift away from charcoal and wood, as their use is ingrained in the culture, with many Cambodians saying food doesn’t taste as good when cooked with other fuels.
- One innovative solution is turning the country’s coconut husks into “green charcoal,” which is already earning the nation recognition for being a global leader within the sustainable charcoal sector.
- Cambodia’s farmers are also moving away from using forest biomass for energy, and are instead utilizing biodigesters to turn household and farm waste into biogas for cooking and to make organic fertilizer.
When it comes to carbon capture, tree invasions can do more harm than good
- Trees are a logical solution to climate change, but allowing or encouraging trees to move into areas where they don’t typically grow, such as tundras and grasslands, can actually do more harm than good.
- Invasive trees may capture less carbon than the treeless ecosystem they overrun due to soil disturbance, increased risk of fires, and changes in light absorption, a recent review paper shows.
- These results have implications for policies and initiatives, particularly in places where carbon credits have been used to discourage the removal of invasive, non-native trees.
- Land managers need to consider much more than aboveground carbon, according to the paper’s authors, who say that, “Trees are not always the answer.”
In Scotland, the rewilding movement looks to the past to plan its future
- Scotland, host of the COP26 climate summit this November, is the site of an ambitious rewilding project with a centuries-long timeline for restoring the forests that once blanketed the now-familiar landscape of barren moors.
- The effort brings together a patchwork of private landowners, government landholdings and conservation charities, all working to restore the habitat through tree planting.
- Scotland’s forests cover 19% of its land area, the highest proportion of the four nations that comprise the U.K.; but as a whole, the U.K. is one of the least forested countries in Europe, at 13% compared to the average 38% across the EU.
- Advocates of rewilding say it’s about “helping nature to manage itself”: “We kick-start this process by planting trees so in 30 to 50 years, we can walk away.”
Rush to turn ‘black diamonds’ into cash eats up Uganda’s forests, fruits
- As recently as 2018, only a little over 42% of Ugandans had access to electricity — many were too poor to afford it. As of 2016-17, 90% of all households burned wood fuel for cooking, with just 15.5% using charcoal in rural areas, but 66.4% of urban households using it.
- Those using charcoal account for roughly 23% of the country’s total population, which means that some 10.7 million citizens in a nation of 46.8 million rely on charcoal to cook their meals, based on recent U.N. data.
- Charcoal producers are working hard to meet this exploding demand, degrading and depleting the nation’s forest reserves, and now buying up fruit trees on private lands to make into briquettes. Many charcoal producers lack the licenses required by the government, so are cutting trees and making charcoal illegally.
- The surging charcoal industry is destroying Uganda’s forests and biodiversity, while briquette burning is also causing respiratory and other health problems, and its carbon emissions are adding significantly to global climate change.
Bigger is badder when it comes to climate impact of farms in the Amazon
- A 20-year analysis of satellite data shows significant temperature differences in agricultural lands in southern Amazonia, depending on farm size.
- Extensively deforested commercial farms are up to 3 °C (5.4 °F) warmer than adjacent forests, while on smaller farms this difference is 1.85 °C (3.3 °F).
- Management practices that try to balance productivity with the maintenance of essential ecosystem services, such as the water cycle, will be crucial to preserving the Amazon’s remaining forests, the study’s authors say.
Study shows it took the Amazon as we know it over 6 million years to form
- An asteroid impact near Mexico 66 million years ago triggered an ecological catastrophe that claimed nearly half of all plant species and took Amazon forests more than 6 million years to recover from.
- Colombian researchers analyzed fossilized pollen and leaves and found plant diversity declined by 45% after the impact; when plant diversity finally recovered, open forests of ferns and conifers had been replaced by dense, closed-canopy forests dominated by flowering plants.
- The researchers suggested three interlinked explanations for the sudden transition: the extinction of large-bodied dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous reduced forest disturbance; dust from the impact acted as a fertilizer; conifers were more likely to go extinct.
- In the time periods studied, Earth’s climate was warmer and CO2 levels were higher, showing that climate alone is not enough to trigger a forest-to-savanna transition, with the pace of warming and deforestation the crucial puzzle pieces that determine whether today’s forests can survive.
A novel tree nursery gives the Caatinga a fighting chance against desertification
- Nearly half of the Caatinga, the only exclusively Brazilian biome, has been destroyed and 13% of its territory has already been lost to desertification.
- A project at Rio Grande do Norte Federal University is using PVC pipes to lengthen and accelerate root growth in native plant species that have trouble drawing water from degraded soil.
- Previous restoration methods in the Caatinga resulted in mortality rates near 70% after transplant, but this new method reverses that figure, raising survival rates to 70%.
From Flores to Papua: Meet 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove guardians
- Indonesia is home to 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of mangroves, more than any other country.
- These coastal forests, which serve as nurseries for countless fish species and help mitigate tidal flooding and tsunami waves, are being cleared for fish farms, charcoal production, and other commercial activities.
- The Indonesian government in 2020 announced a plan to replant 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of mangroves on degraded coastline by 2024.
- But an unsung army of ordinary Indonesians has been toiling around the country for decades to save and grow mangrove forests. These are some of their stories.
Madagascar’s vanishing trees
- Madagascar has a documented 2,900 endemic species of trees, but a new report shows that almost two-thirds of them are in danger of disappearing.
- Of the 3,118 species covered, more than 90% had never been systematically evaluated before, and one in 10 fell in the IUCN’s critically endangered category, a step away from going extinct in the wild.
- Though the island nation’s protected area network has expanded to more than 7 million hectares (17 million acres), a tenth of the tree species are found outside this safety net.
- Scientists are racing against the extinction clock to document this mind-boggling biodiversity and determine just how imperiled individual species are.
‘Drastic forest development’: Vietnam to plant 1 billion trees — but how?
- After a string of deadly typhoons in late 2020, Vietnam’s prime minister called for the country to plant 1 billion trees nationwide by 2025 to reduce the risk of landslides and flooding.
- Surprisingly, the government says tree planting will be concentrated in developed areas such as cities and industrial zones; it has not released further specifics on what species will be planted, where, by whom, or the cost.
- Past reforestation campaigns have succeeded in increasing the country’s overall tree cover, but mainly by establishing plantations of non-native species that are regularly clear-cut for paper or timber. Some organizations and farmers are working to change the way Vietnam approaches reforestation.
- This story was produced with support from the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.
Click here to plant a tree: Q&A with Ecosia’s Pieter van Midwood
- Ecosia is a search engine that uses its advertising revenue to fund tree-planting projects; since its launch in 2009, the company has financed the planting of more than 124 million trees.
- In March 2021 alone, the Berlin-based company made nearly 2 million euros ($2.4 million), more than 40% of which went directly to tree planting in 14 countries across five continents, according to their financial reports,
- Mongabay spoke with Ecosia’s chief tree-planting officer, Pieter van Midwood, to learn more about Ecosia’s business model, its approach to tree planting, and the reforestation sector.
How to pick a tree-planting project? Mongabay launches transparency tool to help supporters decide
- Mongabay has put together a database to show whether tree-planting and reforestation projects publicly disclose the criteria that experts say are keys to success.
- Our directory is built on a three-month research effort to record publicly available information on more than 350 tree-planting projects in 80 countries.
- Rather than make an assessment (and perceived endorsement) of the quality of the projects, Mongabay’s review is based on how much information is publicly disclosed by an organization.
- Here, we present some key questions to ask and criteria to consider when evaluating the legitimacy and effectiveness of a tree-planting project.
‘Bad science’: Planting frenzy misses the grasslands for the trees
- Planting trees by the millions has come to be considered one of the main ways of reining in runaway carbon emissions and tackling climate change.
- But experts say many tree-planting campaigns are based on flawed science: planting in grasslands and other non-forest areas, and prioritizing invasive trees over native ones.
- Experts point out that not all land is meant to be forested, and that planting trees in savannas and grasslands runs the risk of actually reducing carbon sequestration and increasing air temperature.
- The rush to reforest has also led to fast-growing eucalyptus and acacia becoming the choice of tree for planting, despite the fact they’re not native in most planting areas, and are both water-intensive and fire-prone.
At Vietnam’s southern tip, mangroves defend the land from the encroaching sea
- Bordered by the sea on two sides and exposed to typhoons and rising sea levels, Vietnam’s Ca Mau province is among the most vulnerable regions of a country expected to face some of the worst future impacts from climate change.
- In response, people there are working to restore and preserve mangroves like almost nowhere else in Vietnam in an attempt to protect the remaining coastal land from encroaching seas.
- In Cape Ca Mau National Park, an NGO is aiding the natural generation of a mangrove forest on an open mudflat.
- And the province, where shrimp farming is king, has kept mangrove forests growing amid aquaculture operations on a scale that is unique in the Mekong Delta.
Java’s mangroves pay a high price for stopping plastic flowing out to sea
- Mangroves are known to trap plastic waste and stop it entering the sea, but this defense comes at a high cost to mangrove forests themselves, a new study shows.
- Researchers working in Indonesia’s Central Java province found plastic carpeting half of the mangrove floor across their study area, covering roots and sediment layers and starving the trees of oxygen.
- The plastic accumulation could also harm mollusks, crabs and other soil-dwelling organisms forming the coastal food web’s foundations, which could trigger cascading impacts for larger animals.
- The study authors called for a reduction in plastic waste through education and policies such as bans on single-use plastic packaging.
Study sounds latest warning of rainforest turning into savanna as climate warms
- A recent study from Brazil shows that heat stress is disrupting a critical component of photosynthesis in tree species found in the Amazon and Cerrado belt.
- Leaves heat up faster than the ambient air, and sufficiently high temperatures can cause irreversible damage to them and endanger the tree.
- The area has become hotter in recent decades and faced increasingly intense heat waves, fueled not just by global warming but also local deforestation.
- Tropical forests could look more and more like deciduous forests or savannas in the future, which are better adapted to deal with higher temperatures, the study found.
Traditional healers are preserving their knowledge, and with it, the biodiversity of Brazil’s savanna
- The Brazilian savanna contains almost a third of Brazil’s biodiversity but less than 10% is officially protected and its native vegetation is threatened by a rapidly-advancing agricultural frontier.
- Much of the flora and fauna remain unknown to conventional science.
- A network of traditional healers is at the forefront of finding ways to protect, sustainably manage, and document the biodiversity based on their in-depth knowledge of medicinal plants.
- Experts say that finding ways to value the savanna more, such as through recognizing its immense botanical and pharmacological value, could aid in its conservation.
Scaling up tree nurseries is key to unlocking U.S. reforestation potential: Study
- Restoring forests in areas where they once stood is an important step toward halting climate change.
- Across the 48 states of the continental U.S., there is enough land to plant forests that could sequester the equivalent of about 5% of the greenhouse gases the country emitted in 2019.
- But to take advantage of just half of that carbon sequestration potential over the next couple decades, the country’s tree nurseries will need to more than double production in order to supply an additional 1.7 billion seedlings every year, a recent study found.
- The study also highlighted the need to develop a workforce capable of producing and planting 30 billion trees over the next two decades, something the authors say could be built into post-pandemic economic recovery measures.
Big dream: NGO leads in creating 1,615-mile Amazon-Cerrado river greenbelt
- The Black Jaguar Foundation plans to reforest 1 million hectares (2.4 million acres) along Brazil’s Araguaia and Tocantins rivers in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. The 2,600 kilometer (1,615 mile) long natural corridor will require the planting of around 1.7 billion trees. Tens-of-thousands have already been planted.
- This natural corridor will be established on private lands, and it will have dual ecological and economic goals, resulting in both land conservation and sustainable agroforestry production. It would cross six Brazilian states (Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Pará and Maranhão).
- BJF is well funded and well organized, so the greatest barriers to accomplishing the NGO’s goals are many initially resistant rural property owners who need to be sold on the economic benefits of the green corridor. 24,000 privately owned lots are included in the planned green corridor.
- “Brazil has a huge liability in degraded areas, and the BJF [green corridor] initiative is a huge outdoor laboratory for ecosystem restoration in the center of the country, in the agricultural frontier region,” said one researcher.
Nearly one-third of all oak species threatened with extinction, report says
- Nearly one-third of all oak species (31%) are considered threatened with extinction, according to a new report.
- Of all 430 species of oaks, the highest number of species under threat are found in China, Mexico, Vietnam, and the United States, respectively.
- Globally, agriculture poses the biggest threat to oaks. Urban development, climate change, invasive species, plant diseases, and human disturbance have also strained oaks globally. And in Latin America, which has the highest number of endemic oak species, the use of oak for charcoal is a threat.
- Many of the threats to oaks must be tackled with “transformative systemic change,” but individual actions such as monitoring the oaks in your area, donating to local conservation NGOs, spreading awareness, and switching to more efficient fuels and stoves that do not rely on charcoal could relieve some of the pressures on threatened species.
Fruit-eating, seed-pooping animals can help restore degraded forests
- Restoring degraded forests can be expensive and complicated, but Brazilian researchers may have a simple technique to add to the restoration toolbox: enlisting fruit-eating animals to spread seeds.
- A new study shows that many species of mammals and birds will consume seeds inserted into fruits at feeders and then excrete the seeds over wide areas.
- This novel proof-of-concept study highlights the importance of plant and animal interactions to restore the natural ecology of forests people have destroyed or degraded.
Agroforestry, an ancient climate solution that boosts food production and biodiversity
- On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with three different guests about why agroforestry is increasingly being implemented worldwide to address industrial agriculture’s contributions to the global environmental crises we’re facing as well as to create new livelihood opportunities and build food security for local communities.
- Agroforestry is the practice of incorporating woody perennials like trees and shrubs into a system with agricultural crops or livestock. It’s been practiced by indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and they are still perhaps the chief practitioners of it today.
- We speak with Mongabay's own Erik Hoffner, who edits Mongabay's ongoing coverage of agroforestry, as well as Sarah Lovell, who talks about agroforestry in the US, and Roger Leakey, who discusses agroforestry in the tropics.
Lasers find forest gaps to aid tree mortality studies in Brazilian Amazon
- Using airborne light detection and ranging technology, more commonly known as “lidar,” a team of researchers remotely studied tree death and canopy gaps across the Brazilian Amazon.
- Gaps in the forest, the researchers found, were mostly driven by water stress, soil fertility, floodplains and forest degradation. The data also pointed to strong correlations between the patterns of tree gaps and water deficit, a lack of water that can slow down photosynthesis.
- In the southeastern and western Amazon, a pattern of 20 to 35% higher gap dynamics emerged, meaning trees are dying and creating gaps more frequently there than in other regions.
- Aircraft lidar is helpful for studying remote areas of the Amazon and could be used effectively to monitor for illegal logging and deforestation, as well as for calibrating satellite technology.
Monitoring tropical deforestation is now free and easy
- Thanks to Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment and the satellite monitoring group Planet, anyone with an internet connection can now view monthly updates of high-resolution satellite imagery of tropical forests for free.
- At 5-meter (16-foot) resolution, the imagery allows users to see the removal of individual trees and makes it easier to determine the causes of deforestation.
- The high-resolution, high-frequency imagery is especially powerful when combined with early-warning forest loss alerts such as the GLAD alerts visualized on the Global Forest Watch platform.
- The Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) plans to use this new imagery to enhance its real-time monitoring program, quickly detecting and confirming deforestation in the Amazon to inform its partners in the field. MAAP provides several examples of the new technology in action.
Canopy beetles and flowering trees rely on each other in the Amazon, study
- A canopy scientist collected 859 species of beetles from the canopy species of a healthy lowland tropical rainforest in southern Venezuela.
- More than 75% of the beetle species collected were found living exclusively on flowering trees — many on trees with small white flowers.
- The results suggest that flowering trees play an important role in maintaining canopy beetle diversity in the Amazon and that these trees are being visited by beetles more than any other insect order, including bees and butterflies.
- To fight the global decline of insects, “researchers and conservationists must understand the ecological connections between insects and their food plants.”
It’s time to redefine business to save the planet (commentary)
- Humanity must make an evolutionary leap from a consumer species to a restorer species, and business can lead it. How? Start by embedding trees into every financial transaction.
- With current statistics showing the loss of nature at 68% globally since 1970, it’s clear that we’re not trying hard enough, not all of us. We’re waiting for someone else to solve this, abdicating responsibility en masse.
- “If ever there was a moment to discover what we’re actually capable of it’s now, because this is not what humanity evolved for. Our ancestors didn’t fight to live just for us to shop ourselves into extinction.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Reforestation projects should include tree diversity targets, too (commentary)
- Trees can rapidly remove carbon from the atmosphere, so climate change mitigation efforts often center on reforestation efforts.
- This should not invite the planting of monocultures, but rather a diversity of native trees adapted to the areas being reforested, which support biodiversity.
- Native tree reforestation can also support local communities: “People can be employed to play the role of the spider monkey, the tapir, and the toucan,” in replanting forests, says botanist Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya who is currently working to propagate the critically endangered rainforest species, Pleodendron costaricense.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Without planting more trees in the tropics, we can’t fix the climate (commentary)
- Planting ‘the right tree in the right place’ is key to restoring forests and halting climate change.
- To be effective though, planting should largely be done in the tropics, where they can grow with maximum rapidity vs northern regions (where tree planting can also add to the albedo effect, canceling out some carbon sequestration benefit).
- Other benefits of focusing on the tropics
are those that accrue to developing nations, where tree planting can improve both local environments and economies, through projects like agroforestry.
- This article is a commentary, the views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
‘CSI Amazon’: Epic study looks at what’s killing the rainforest’s trees
- A newly published study provides insight into why trees die in the Amazon, and why the rate of tree death may be increasing. The main risk factor explaining tree death was the mean growth rate of species.
- More than half, 51%, of tree deaths observed over the 30-year study were attributed to structural damage, mostly from windstorms.
- Different regions of the Amazon showed different risk factors for trees: Overall, the southern and western Amazon had higher mortality rates; wind seemed to do more damage in the western Amazon, whereas the southern Amazon had more tree death due to water stress and drought.
- The findings have major implications for the fight against climate change, given that the Amazon accounts for 12% of land-based carbon sink, but is losing that capacity as tree mortality increases.
As 2020 Amazon fire season winds down, Brazil carbon emissions rise
- 2,500+ major blazes burned across Brazil’s Legal Amazon between late May and early November. Many were on recently deforested lands, indicative of land grabbers converting forests to pastures and croplands, while others were within conserved areas and Indigenous reserves. Of concern: 41% of burns were in standing forests.
- Estimates say that nearly 5.4 million acres (2.2 million hectares) of Brazil’s Amazon standing rainforest burned this year — an area roughly the size of the country of Wales in the United Kingdom.
- Brazil’s soaring deforestation rates and Amazon fires point to another problem: the nation is not on track to meet its 2020 goals under the Paris Climate Agreement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, carbon emissions in Brazil did not fall, but rose by 9.6%, in 2019, the first year of President Jair Bolsonaro’s four-year term.
- Under its UN climate commitments, Brazil is only required to measure fire-related greenhouse gas emissions from newly deforested lands, not from fires in standing forests. A questionable practice, say some critics, as fires in the Amazon are routinely set by people and escape into forests. The highest CO2 emissions from forest fires in the Amazon don’t happen during the burn, but years later, a new study concludes, complicating emission estimates.
Chinese demand and domestic instability are wiping out Senegal’s last forests
- After a decade of intensive illegal logging, endangered Pterocarpus erinaceus rosewood trees are becoming increasingly scarce in Senegal’s southern region of the Casamance, which borders the Gambia.
- Despite logging its own rosewood to extinction years ago, the Gambia has become a major trading hub for rosewood and was China’s third-largest source of the rare, valuable timber in 2019.
- An investigation has revealed the rate of trafficking across the border has worsened over the past two years, despite an export ban enacted in 2017.
- A recent move by shipping lines to stop exporting rosewood has led to a lull in trafficking activity; however, observers expect this will only be temporary.
Paper giant APRIL linked to Borneo forest clearing despite zero-deforestation vow
- One of the world’s biggest pulp and paper producers, APRIL, is alleged to have violated its own zero-deforestation commitment by sourcing wood from a company clearing rainforest in Indonesian Borneo, a new report says.
- APRIL denies the allegation and insists it sourced zero-deforestation wood from AHL; the NGOs say the company’s claim is premised on an exceedingly narrow definition of what constitutes deforestation.
- APRIL denies the allegation and insists it sourced zero-deforestation wood from AHL; the NGOs say the company’s claim is premised on an exceedingly narrow definition of what constitutes deforestation.
Solomon Islands environmental defender faces life sentence for arson charge
- Accused of burning logging machinery belonging to Malaysia-based firm Xiang Lin SI Ltd, the “Nende Five” were taken into custody in 2018.
- In June 2020, three of the five were acquitted based on lack of evidence. However, in July the magistrate decided to uphold charges against the two remaining defendants.
- Jerry Meioko was convicted on charges of larceny and unlawful damage while Clement Tauto became the only defendant to be convicted of arson, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Their convictions were based on confessions, which advocates say were made under duress.
- Meanwhile, logging continues to spread in the Solomon Islands in areas that are home to local communities and claimed as ancestral land, and in forest inhabited by unique, endangered species found nowhere else in the world.
Are red pandas related to panda bears? Candid Animal Cam meets the furry red creature
- Every Tuesday, Mongabay brings you a new episode of Candid Animal Cam, our show featuring animals caught on camera traps around the world and hosted by Romi Castagnino, our writer and conservation scientist.
Ex-Wall Street ‘quant’ wields data to replant charred Madagascar rainforests
- After retiring early from a career as a quantitative analyst for stock portfolios worth billions of dollars, Matt Hill started a nonprofit to restore rainforest in eastern Madagascar.
- Applying the data skills he honed in his former career, Hill is working out better ways to regrow rainforest burned accidentally or for agriculture.
- Although few projects have adopted that kind of approach, it is gaining approval among reforestation experts internationally.
- They say reforestation can have far greater success if practitioners develop an evidence base to guide which tree species to plant, where and when to plant them, and how to grow them.
Fight rages on to save centuries-old giant Philippine rosewood tree
- Officials in the southern Philippines have decided to cut a centuries-old Philippine rosewood tree (Petersianthus quadrialatus) that’s believed to be the oldest and tallest of its species.
- The decision comes after assessments showed extensive fungal rot and termite damage in the trunk, presenting a risk of the 56-meter (184-foot) tree falling over onto a nearby highway.
- Experts, however, say there is still hope for the giant tree through a regimen of tree surgery, fungicide treatment and regular checkups, which they accuse officials of failing to do in the past.
Pioneer study maps regions of Amazon tree flora and may help in future efforts at species conservation
- More than 5,000 plants from different stretches of Amazon Forest were analyzed by two Brazilian biologists.
- It was the first spatial division of flora based on species composition. The researchers compiled data on 301 plant communities distributed all over the Amazon.
- The work also indicates the major potential impact of climate change on Amazonian vegetation.
- Knowing the spatial distribution of flora is essential to protect the Amazon, since the subregions allow targeting conservation efforts.
Bubbles, lasers and robo-bees: The blossoming industry of artificial pollination
- Ninety percent of flowering plants require the help of animal pollinators to reproduce, including most of the food crops we eat.
- But massive declines in the populations of bees, the most efficient pollinators around, and the rising cost to farmers of renting them to pollinate their crops, has spurred the growth of the artificial pollination industry.
- The technologies being tested in this field include the delivery of pollen by drones and by laser-guided vehicles and even dispersal via soap bubbles.
- Proponents of artificial pollination say it can both fill the gap left by the declining number of natural pollinators and help in the conservation of these species; but others say there may not be a need for this technology if there was a greater focus on conservation.
How Mexican communities are helping to save a fir forest
- The future of an endemic tree and the ecosystem where it’s found depends, to a large extent, on stopping illegal logging and the expansion of avocado crops in southern Jalisco.
- The Colima fir tree (Abies colimensis) is listed as an endangered species by Mexican authorities that can reach 60 meters (196 feet) in height and 2 meters (6.5 feet) in diameter.
- Its survival has been threatened by logging and, more recently, by fires to clear the land and the avocado orchards that follow.
- But community-driven efforts are finding ways to leave the forest standing while still generating livelihoods and developing the local economy.
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