Urgency
Sustainable timber in Tanzania experiences huge growth
The level of Tanzanian timber forest certified as sustainable increased by 700 percent earlier this month. The certification not only represents an environmental win, but is expected to bring opportunities and money to the communities which exist within and around the forests.
Old-Growth Forests Are What Giant Pandas Need
Old-Growth Forests Are What Giant Pandas Need
Peru's rainforest highway triggers surge in deforestation, according to new 3D forest mapping
September, 2010
3D forest mapping with lasers reveals substantial climate impact of selective logging in the Amazon
High-resolution example of deforestation and degradation in the Peruvian Amazon.
Borneo province selected for Indonesia's first pilot under REDD program
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
December, 2010
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has selected Central Kalimantan as the pilot province for the country's Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, according to the President's office on climate change.
Central Kalimantan was selected over eight other forested provinces, including Aceh, Jambi, Riau, and South Sumatra on the island of Sumatra; West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo; and Papua and West Papua in Indonesian New Guinea. Central Kalimantan was chosen due to its high rate of forest conversion, large expanses of peatlands and rainforests, the advanced state of carbon conservation test projects, and political interest in reducing deforestation and degradation, according to Dr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Chairman of Indonesia's REDD+ Task Force, which reports directly to the president.
To Help Costa Rican Jaguars Survive, Ease Their Commute
LAS LOMAS, Costa Rica — Héctor Porras-Valverdo tried to adopt a Zen attitude when he discovered recently that jaguars had turned two of his cows into carcasses.
The jaguars’ numbers may have dwindled, but they still roam the forests here in eastern Costa Rica, making their presence known by devouring the occasional chicken, pig or cow.
“I understand cats do this because they need to survive,” said Mr. Porras-Valverdo, 41, a burly dairy farmer.
A few years ago, he acknowledged, his first reaction might have been to reach for a gun. But his farm now sits in the middle of land that Costa Rica has designated a “jaguar corridor” — a protected pathway that allows the stealthy, nocturnal animals to safely traverse areas of human civilization.
