Deforestation Archives

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Environment

Timber Companies Have the Opportunity to Protect Forests Long Term

The majority of logging companies, however, fail to protect their lands from unsustainable clear-felling practices and even fewer have systems to monitor and ensure such policies.

James Fair

An Indigenous woman holds a Brazilian national flag stained in with a blood-like red during a march in Brasilia on April 26th, 2019, on the last day of a protest to defend Indigenous land and rights.

News in Brief

The Killing of an Indigenous Leader in Brazil Is Part of a Global Trend of Attacks on Environmentalists

In 2018, more than 160 land and environmental defenders were killed—many of them Indigenous.

Isabela Dias

A victorian crowned pigeon, a species native to Papua New Guinea.

Environment

Papua New Guinea’s Road Expansion Plan Would Escalate Deforestation

In a new paper, a team of scientists cautions that plans to add more than 3,700 miles of roads in the next few years could seriously endanger biological wealth.

John C. Cannon

Environment

Deforestation in Colombia Finally Dips Three Years After FARC Peace Deal

The country's historic 2016 peace deal with former FARC guerrillas closed a chapter on a half-century of armed conflict but also caused rapidly accelerating forest loss in remote regions of the country.

Taran Volckhausen

Environment

Tree-Planting Efforts Could Curb Humanity’s Carbon Emissions

The need to restore forest, both to protect biodiversity and to stabilize the climate, is urgent, experts say.

Gabriel Popkin

A tree stump sits in a patch of secondary forest that was burned down to make way to a field of rice near Andasibe in southwest Madagascar.

Environment

How the End of Civil Conflicts Can Lead to Increased Deforestation

A new study found the loss of forest cover significantly increased in four countries that recently declared peace after years of war.

Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Scenes from Pallisco Logging company's FSC Timber operations in Mindourou, Cameroon.

Environment

Why More Roads in the Congo Basin Could Lead to Increased Deforestation

The construction of logging roads in the region has doubled over the past 15 years, and researchers warn that this increase could have serious environmental ramifications.

John C. Cannon

Environment

A New Study Finds That Cutting Down One Forest Can Make Neighboring Forests Hotter

These temperature rises can also lead to local extinction of the native species living in those regions.

Malavika Vyawahare

Environment

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s Government Is Gutting Environmental Agencies From the Inside

Fines for illegal deforestation were down 34 percent from January 1st to May 15th this year compared to the same period last year—the largest drop ever recorded.

Sue Branford & Thais Borges

Newly planted palm oil trees are seen growing on the site of destroyed tropical rainforest in Indonesia.

Economics

How China’s Growing Soy Demand Is Fueling Brazilian Deforestation

Globally, 80 percent of forest loss stems from turning over forest for agriculture to grow food for livestock and human consumption.

John C. Cannon