Climate ‘adds fuel to Asian wildfire emissions’

In the last decade, Asian farmers have cleared tens of thousands of square miles of forests to accommodate the world’s growing demand for palm oil, an increasingly popular food ingredient, reports Science Daily.
Ancient peatlands have been drained and lush tropical forests have been cut down.
As a result, the landscape of equatorial Asia now lies [...]

Campaigners link tiger attacks to deforestation

The Sumatran tiger, a critically-endangered subspecies, is hanging on by a thread in its island home, reports Mongabay.com.
Biologists estimate that, at most, 500 individuals remain, with some estimates dropping as low as 250.
Despite the animal’s vulnerability, large-scale deforestation continues in its habitat mostly under the auspices of one of the world’s largest paper companies, Asian [...]

Human activity ‘triggers rise in Borneo forest fires’

Severe fires in Indonesia – responsible for some of the worst air quality conditions worldwide – are linked not only to drought, but also to changes in land use and population density, according to a new study in Nature Geoscience.
“During the late 1970s, Indonesian Borneo changed from being highly fire-resistant to highly fire-prone during drought [...]

Africa’s tropical forests ‘absorbing more carbon’

Trees across the tropics are getting bigger and offering unexpected help in the fight against climate change, scientists have discovered.
A report in the Guardian newspaper described how a study of the girth of 70,000 trees across Africa has shown that tropical forests are soaking up more carbon dioxide pollution that anybody realised.
Almost one-fifth of our [...]

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 [...]

High coffee prices ‘triggers Indonesian deforestation’

High coffee prices were responsible for a marked increase in deforestation on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, say researchers in a report in Mongabay.com.
But they added that law enforcement efforts could deter deforestation in protected areas, despite high pressure from agricultural expansion.
The study was assessing the effectiveness of conservation in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park [...]

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 [...]

Canopy penetrating system boosts forest carbon monitoring

A tool for monitoring tropical deforestation has gotten a boost from the one of the world’s largest supporters of Amazon conservation, reports Mongabay.com.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded a $1.6m grant to the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology to expand and improve its tropical forest monitoring tool known as the Carnegie [...]

Tropical farms ‘aid biodiversity’

A study has shown that certain farming methods can help sustain the biodiversity of tropical forests, reports BBC News’ environment reporter Mark Kinver.

Researchers found that an areca nut plantation in south-west India supported 90% of the bird species found in surrounding native forests.
The low-impact agriculture system has been used for more than 2,000 years and [...]

EU crack-down on imports of illegal timber

The European Union has taken steps to crack down on illegal timber imports, according to the European Commission.
On its website, the Commission said that illegal logging destroyed millions of acres of forest each year.
It warned that much of the timber ended up in Europe, one of the world’s largest markets for wood products like lumber, [...]