Deforestation Archives

Environment

Conserving Forestry in Brazil’s Easternmost State Means a Zero Tolerance Policy on Deforestation

Illegal logging continues to be a persistent problem in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, threatening an already fragmented wildlife habitat and forcing indigenous tribes off their land.

Claire Asher

A truck travels in a deforested section of the Amazon rainforest on June 28th, 2017.

Environment

Are Big Companies Doing Enough to Combat Deforestation?

Hundreds of companies have pledged to cut commodities grown on deforested land from their supply chains, but few have turned those promises into successful policies.

Kate Wheeling

Environment

A Record Surge in New Species Discovery in the Amazon

A new report finds that scientists described 381 new species of wildlife from the Amazon in peer-reviewed scientific journals between January of 2014 and December of 2015. Some, however, are already on the brink of extinction.

Shreya Dasgupta

Indonesian forest rangers patrol the part of the Tripa peat swamp forest occupied by oil palm firm PT Kallista Alam in 2012.

Environment

The Indonesian Government Is Forcing Private Companies to Pay for Damaging Its Forests

The government hopes to use the collected penalties to fund restoration efforts in the degraded Indonesian land and forests. Without the penalties, no restoration work can start.

Hans Nicholas Jong

A Colombian soldier looks at a deforested land formerly used by drug traffickers for poppy plantations.

Environment

The Deforestation Gangs of Colombia

In the country's southeast Guaviare department, harvested wood rots on the ground while gangs and drug traffickers take over the land for illegal mining and agriculture.

Antonio José Paz Cardona

Environment

In Uganda, Paying People Not to Cut Down Trees Is Working

Researchers say a conservation initiative known as a payments for ecosystem services really paid off in terms of preventing deforestation.

Mike Gaworecki

A stretch of jungle, scorched for agricultural use, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Environment

Legislative Loopholes Could Be Helping Norway Fund Deforestation in Congo

A Rainforest Foundation UK briefing highlights very weak governance in the country, which means there is limited ability for the government to control its forest resources and to implement effective planning and management.

Morgan Erickson-Davis

Environment

Accelerating Beef Production Is Not a Solution to Growing Deforestation in the Amazon

Increasing beef productivity and engaging directly with the supply chain may be a flawed approach when seeking positive conservation outcomes.

Mike Gaworecki

Demonstrators hold banners during a meeting of Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg with Brazilian President Michel Temer in Oslo on June 23rd, 2017.

Environment

Brazilian President Temer’s Trip to Norway Marked by Tense Protest

Norwegian government officials are warning Temer that his country risks losing millions in financial aid that Norway pays to Brazil to help rein in deforestation in the Amazon.

Mike Gaworecki

A view of the Atlantic rainforest near Salto Morato Nature Reserve, in Guaraquecaba, in the southern state of Parana, Brazil.

Social Justice

Almost Three Quarters of Brazil’s Population Lives in Its Shrinking Atlantic Forest

Deforestation increased almost 60 percent last year, with the forest losing over 29,000 hectares, a new report says.

Ignacio Amigo