Dangerous climate change ‘to kill Amazon rainforest’

Global warming will wreck attempts to save the Amazon rainforest, reports the UK’s Guardian newspaper.
It says a study presented at a major climate science conference in Denmark has predicted that one-third of its trees will be killed by even modest temperature rises.
The research, by some of Britain’s leading experts on climate change, shows that even [...]

Brazil sees fall in deforestation rate

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell to 291 square miles (754 square kilometres) between November 2008 and January 2009, reports Mongabay.com.
This was a drop of 70% when compared to the same period 12 months earlier, said Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc.
A decrease in forest clearing had been expected.
Economic turmoil, which has reduced the availability of [...]

Norway to pay Guyana to protect rainforests

Norway will provide financial support for Guyana’s ambitious plan to conserve its rainforests, reports Mongabay.com.
During a meeting in Oslo, Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg signedan agreement to establish a partnership to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
It is also understood that the leaders will also push for the [...]

Amazon rainfall projections ‘underestimated’

Amazonian forests may be less vulnerable to dying off from global warming than feared because many projections underestimate rainfall, Reuters reports.
A study by UK researchers suggested that Brazil and other nations in the region would also have to act to help avert any irreversible drying of the eastern Amazon, the region most at risk from [...]

Ranching ‘biggest driver of deforestation’ in Brazil

Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation in Brazil, says Greenpeace.
In evidence presented at the World Social Forum, hosted by Belem in the heart of the Amazon, the environmental group said it showed that cattle ranching was the biggest driver of Amazon deforestation.
Greenpeace Brazil has produced a series of maps which it said showed [...]

Amazon deforestation trend ‘on the increase’

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon forests has flipped from a decreasing to an increasing trend, ScienceDaily reports.
Commenting on the figures released by the country’s space agency INPE, Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc confirmed that the government was set to announce forest related carbon emission reduction targets.
He added that he hoped that the scheme would link halting [...]

Carbon trading ‘not enough to save rainforests’

Including carbon emissions from tropical deforestation in a future international climate regime will not suffice to protect the world’s remaining tropical forests from expanding palm oil plantations, according to a study by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
Delegates at the recent UN climate summit in Poznan, Poland, reduced emissions from deforestation (REDD) was one [...]

Forests face fiery future, warn UK’s Met Office

Climate change is putting further pressure on forests, with less rain and increased drought leading to increased risk from fire, the UK Met Office’s Hadley Centre has warned.
Deforestation is already a major cause of carbon emissions, it warns, and is currently estimated to exceed those from the global transport sector.
Hadley Centre scientists attending the UN [...]

Hackers ‘aid’ Amazon logging scam

Hackers have helped logging firms in Brazil evade limits on tree felling, says a Greenpeace report.
The hi-tech criminals penetrated a computer system designed to monitor logging in the Brazilian state of Para, according to a report on the BBC News website.
Once inside the system, hackers issued fake permits so loggers could cut down far more [...]

Brazil announces 70% cut in deforestation

Brazil has announced a plan to reduce deforestation rates in the Amazon region by 70% over the next 10 years, the BBC News website reports.
The plan follows a call for international funding to prevent further loss of the Amazon rainforest.
This year, the rate of Amazon deforestation increased after falling for the past four years.
The new [...]