WORLD RAINFOREST

The Amazon’s most fertile forests are also most vulnerable to drought: Study (Jul 26 2024)
- Researchers at the University of Arizona analyzed 20 years of satellite data to understand how different Amazon forest ecosystems respond to drought. They found that variations in water-table depth, soil fertility and tree height influence forests’ response to droughts.
- In the southern Amazon, experts observed a strong relationship between groundwater availability and the forests’ drought resilience. But the situation was more complex in the northern Amazon, where drought vulnerability depended on a combination of factors, including water availability, soil fertility and tree height.
- The study suggests scientists may have overestimated the risk of drought-related tree death — and the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere as a result — in the southern Amazon. However, long droughts, like the current one across the Amazon, can push these forests to the brink of collapse.
- The researchers created a map of drought resilience across the Amazon Basin, which shows that forests at high risk of deforestation are also most vulnerable to drought. These forests also play a key role in regional weather patterns by feeding the “atmospheric river” that brings rainfall to major agricultural areas.

Indigenous midwives in Panama strive to preserve traditional medicine for maternal health (Jul 25 2024)
- An organization of midwives from Panama’s Ngäbe-Buglé Indigenous group use traditional medicinal plants endemic to the region to assist women with pregnancy and childbirth.
- Known as ASASTRAN, the organization trains midwives and traditional medicine doctors to provide health services to remote villages where hospitals and clinics aren’t accessible.
- Deforestation has reduced the availability of medicinal plants in the Ngäbe-Buglé territory, and ASASTRAN is seeking more government assistance to preserve the curative plants.
- For some Ngäbe-Buglé women, traditional curative plants are the only healing options during childbirth, as Western medicine is often unavailable.

Short on funds and long on risk, Venezuelan conservation groups worry for future (Jul 25 2024)
- Venezuela’s economic and political crises have driven away many international donors, leaving conservation groups without enough funding to sustain their operations.
- Widespread corruption and organized crime, as well as government hostility to foreign civil society organizations, has made it too dangerous for many conservation groups to carry out fieldwork in the country.
- Should President Nicolás Maduro win reelection later this month, conservation groups say the already dire situation could deteriorate even further.

In Cambodia, Indigenous villagers lose forest & land amid carbon offset project (Jul 24 2024)
- A 3,348-hectare (8,273-acre) protected forest established by a carbon credit project in Cambodia and encompassing the customary lands of several Indigenous Bunong communities has been destroyed largely by outsiders, while Indigenous community patrollers say they lack adequate law enforcement support from the REDD+ project.
- Government rangers supported by WCS are arresting and imprisoning Indigenous peoples – often the poorest and most vulnerable – for clearing land for farming amid ongoing conflicts and confusion over project boundaries.
- An Indigenous community has been blocked from receiving land ownership by the Keo Seima REDD+ project proponent and pressured by government officials to withdraw land claims without free, prior and informed consent, community leaders say.
- This reporting project received support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund.

What’s at stake for the environment in Venezuela’s upcoming election? (Jul 24 2024)
- President Nicolás Maduro is running for a third consecutive term despite overwhelming opposition to his regime. This time, his opponent is González Urrutia, a former diplomat.
- Under Maduro, illegal mining has spread rapidly through the rainforest, while water shortages and the trafficking and flora and fauna have only gotten worse.
- While González Urrutia has promised to address illegal mining and other environmental issues, experts say there’s little chance he can win. The current government has already taken steps to guarantee Maduro’s victory, including disqualifying opposition candidates and uninviting outside electoral observers.

Can a carbon offset project really secure Indigenous rights in authoritarian Cambodia? (Jul 22 2024)
- The Cambodian Ministry of Environment has blocked Indigenous communities from receiving ownership over thousands of hectares of customary farmlands and culturally significant forests in the Keo Seima REDD+ project zone.
- The Wildlife Conservation Society, which works with the ministry to administer the project, did not disclose these land disputes caused by the project’s activities to standard setter Verra, and its auditors failed to identify these issues.
- Indigenous peoples in the REDD+ project face arrests, imprisonment, crop destruction and property confiscation as a result of unclear boundaries and insufficient land allocated to their communities.
- This reporting project received support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund.

Thai plan to redraw boundaries of tiger reserve sparks concern and criticism (Jul 22 2024)
- Government-led proposals to issue land title deeds within Thailand’s Thap Lan National Park have met with heavy criticism from conservation groups and national park management.
- The plans could set a dangerous precedent for similar action in other protected areas in Thailand and might undermine the status of a flagship UNESCO World Heritage Site, critics say.
- The government says the process is necessary to settle historical boundary disputes with local communities who were living in the area long before it was established as a national park in 1981.
- While there is broad agreement that longtime residents have legitimate claims to land within the park boundaries, sections of land included in the government scheme have been encroached on by commercial developers in recent years, with critics saying the initiative risks legitimizing such illegal developments.

A Guatemalan reserve turns from civil war refuge to deforestation hotspot (Jul 22 2024)
- Illegal deforestation in Guatemala’s Sierra del Lacandón National Park is accelerating, driven by cattle ranching and drug-trafficking activities.
- The park is a critical biological corridor, home to numerous threatened species, and connects protected areas in Guatemala and Mexico.
- Indigenous communities, many of which settled in the area during the civil war, are now involved in deforestation activities under pressure from powerful political and economic figures, threatening the region’s ecological integrity.

Space mission that maps forests in 3D makes an early comeback (Jul 17 2024)
- NASA’s GEDI mission, which maps the Earth’s forests in 3D using lasers, is back in operation from a hiatus, six months earlier than expected.
- Since 2018, GEDI has used spaceborne laser altimeters to help scientists gather data on forest structure, aboveground biomass and carbon stored in forests.
- Following resumption of operations, researchers have used GEDI data along with data from other missions as well as analysis tools to estimate the aboveground carbon stored in protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon Rainforest.

‘Extinct’ trees found in Tanzania spark hope for ecosystem recovery (Jul 16 2024)
- Conservationists in eastern Tanzania have found two specimens of a rare tree feared to be extinct.
- Millettia sacleuxii was only known from six specimens in forest reserves that have almost disappeared.
- Thousands of seeds have been collected and seedlings raised, and these are due to be planted out as part of a reforestation project in the Nguru Mountains.
- The two surviving Millettia “mother trees” were found near an area that conservationists hope to soon turn into a wildlife corridor.

Ugandan chimps are eating bat guano, raising concerns over human epidemics (Jul 15 2024)
- Wildlife like chimpanzees have started consuming bat excrement — guano — in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. After analyzing samples, scientists found that the guano not only held high concentrations of minerals but was also full of viruses, including a cousin to SARS-CoV-2.
- Researchers say the weird feeding behavior may be because the animals have lost a primary source of dietary minerals from native trees to tobacco farming.
- Worryingly, some of these viruses can be transmitted to humans, meaning that if wild animals become more exposed to bat-borne viruses, so could humans.
- The scientists underline that social forces like the market and resource extraction can lead to such unintended consequences.

Conservation pays and everyone’s benefitting from it (commentary) (Jul 15 2024)
- In this commentary, Diego Vincenzi, current chief of staff for the Minister of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica, highlights how Costa Rica halted deforestation, achieved 57% forest cover after reaching a low of 21% in the 1980s, and protected 25% of its land while becoming the top per capita agricultural exporter in Latin America..
- Costa Rica’s success stems from a shift in the 1990s towards greener environmental legislation, introducing the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme funded by a fossil fuel tax, which compensates landowners for forest conservation and now includes untitled lands, benefiting native populations.
- FONAFIFO, the institution managing PES, is expanding the program to cover 182,000 hectares annually and introducing biodiversity certificates for estates, aiming to broaden conservation efforts to include mangrove ecosystems, linking land and water for a more sustainable environment.
- This is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

Sumatra pulp & paper giants violate zero-deforestation pledge, activists allege (Jul 12 2024)
- An investigation by an NGO coalition in Indonesia alleges that two pulp and paper giants — Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL) — have cleared natural forests and peatlands in violation of their zero-deforestation pledges.
- The allegations center on a concession operated by PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP) in Siak district of Riau province, a concession managed by an open market supplier to APRIL, PT Selaras Abadi Utama (SAU), in Pelalawan district of Riau province, and a block of land in Riau managed by a local cooperative that has a working agreement with an APP subsidiary, PT Arara Abadi (AA).
- APRIL reiterated its commitment to sustainability and zero-deforestation and APP denied that any illegal timber had entered its supply chain.

Panama’s ‘Caribbean Corridor’ highway threatens three protected areas, critics say (Jul 11 2024)
- Several legal challenges have temporarily stalled construction on a new, controversial highway project in north-central Panama, which allegedly bypassed environmental regulations and could damage several protected areas along the Caribbean coast.
- The highway, known as the “Caribbean Corridor,” is supposed to travel 28.4 kilometers (17.6 miles) from the towns of Quebrada Ancha to María Chiquita, with the goal of increasing tourism and local commerce on the coast of Colón province.
- The $91-million project could endanger Portobelo National Park, Chagres National Park, Sierra Llorona Private Reserve and the Panama Canal watershed that includes Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal.

“Game over” for the Amazon forest and global climate if Trump wins? (commentary) (Jul 11 2024)
- Both global climate and the Amazon Forest are near tipping points beyond which irreversible processes would lead to unprecedented catastrophes. A second Trump presidency would both boost greenhouse gas emissions and would risk a critical delay in global efforts to avert a runaway greenhouse.
- The various interrelated tipping points represent thresholds where the annual probability of a catastrophic change increases sharply, after which the risk of a disaster at some point in time increases constantly.
- Climate change threatens the Amazon Forest, and if the rainforest collapses it would push global warming past a tipping point in the climate system. This risk would be greatly increased by a second Trump presidency.
- This is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

Indonesia’s oil palm smallholders get a boost in bid for sustainability (Jul 10 2024)
- A new set of guidelines aims to help smallholder oil palm farmers in Indonesia, the world’s top producer of palm oil, ensure their products are deforestation-free.
- This would allow them a foothold in markets that are increasingly demanding, and requiring, sustainably produced goods.
- In particular, the smallholder toolkit aims to address the Indonesian government’s main grievance to a new European Union regulation prohibiting the import of deforestation-linked products, namely that smallholder farmers are least able to comply and will be affected the most.
- The toolkit could also contribute to Indonesia’s climate goals, by incentivizing smallholders to embrace more sustainable farming practices and choosing to conserve forests instead of clearing them.

As logging booms in Suriname, forest communities race to win land rights (Jul 4 2024)
- Despite its environmental track record, Suriname is still the only country in South America that hasn’t formally recognized the territorial rights of Indigenous and Maroon peoples.
- The Saamaka claim that a 2007 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights should give them collective land rights, yet the government continues to grant forestry and mining concessions on their land.
- The Surinamese government has granted 447,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of concessions on Saamaka land, or 32% of the territory, according to the International Land Coalition.
- In a letter to the president this month, Saamaka communities asked the government to stop granting land concessions and to officially demarcate their territory.

Climate surprises: Amazonia and the lessons of Brazil’s catastrophic flood in Rio Grande do Sul (commentary) (Jul 4 2024)
- Brazil’s catastrophic flood in the state of Rio Grande do Sul is helping to raise public awareness of climate change but has had no visible effect on the Brazilian government’s actions and plans on greenhouse gas emissions. The flood provides an example of “climate surprises,” which are expected to increase further in frequency and severity with projected global warming.
- Amazonia has already been the victim of a series of such surprises, and these threaten the Amazon forest with collapse and the consequent pushing of global warming beyond a point of no return.
- Except for the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the rest of Brazil’s presidential administration is on the wrong side of the issue, expanding fossil fuel extraction and promoting deforestation in various ways. An immediate turnaround is needed.
- This is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.

Protected areas benefit nature & people, study says — with caveats (Jul 2 2024)
- A new paper in the journal Current Biology that attempts to track how protected areas (PAs) fare on biodiversity protection and economic growth found that PAs “don’t have a negative impact on local economic growth.”
- However, experts say that the encouraging results must be interpreted with abundant caution because the study uses narrow definitions of conservation success and economic development.
- The top 10 countries that were most likely to report harmony between the two objectives included five African countries: Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Zambia and South Sudan.
- The performance of PAs in key biodiversity areas such as the Amazon and Southeast Asia was also lackluster, but this was in comparison with other areas, said Binbin Li, first author of the study. “It is not at the same level [as other regions], but it is not rare.”

Study says 40% of Amazon region is potentially conserved — more than officially recorded (Jul 1 2024)
- A new study reveals that more than 40% of land across nine Amazonian countries is under some form of conservation management, significantly higher than the 28% reported in official records.
- The research highlights the crucial role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in conservation, with Indigenous territories covering 16% of the total land area of the nine Amazonian countries and community-managed conservation areas adding another 3.5%.
- Despite these findings, the Amazon still faces serious threats from deforestation, fire and climate change, leading some experts to question whether the global “30×30” conservation target is adequate.
- The study’s authors propose a new inventory approach to conservation planning, emphasizing the need to understand existing conservation efforts and governance structures before creating new protected areas or allocating resources.

Study: A third of Africa’s great apes at risk from mining of transition metals (Jun 28 2024)
- Rising demand for the metals needed to power the global renewable energy transition potentially threatens more than a third of Africa’s great apes.
- Nearly 180,000 gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos face potential fallout from current and future mining projects for these transition metals, particularly in West Africa.
- Direct and indirect potential impacts from mining on apes include habitat destruction, health threats from light pollution and disease transmission, and safety risks from vehicle traffic.
- Transparent data sharing and a more robust mechanism to mitigate impacts before they materialize could go a long way to protect Africa’s great apes from becoming a casualty of climate action.

‘Miracle’ in miniature as rare new plant defies deforestation in Ecuador (Jun 28 2024)
- Botanists have identified a new plant species, Amalophyllon miraculum, in a small forest fragment in northwestern Ecuador, highlighting the importance of preserving even small patches of threatened ecosystems.
- The tiny plant, only 5 cm (2 in) tall, was found growing on a boulder in an area that has lost 70-97% of its original forest cover due to agricultural expansion and past government policies encouraging deforestation.
- The researchers say this new species represents hope for biodiversity conservation, showing that unique species can persist even in heavily altered landscapes.
- Conservation organizations are working with local landowners to protect remaining forest areas and cultivate rare species, emphasizing the ecological and human benefits of preserving these ecosystems.

Hydropower dams further undermine REDD+ efforts in Cambodia (Jun 28 2024)
- Five hydropower dams are currently being built in the Cardamom Mountains with reservoirs set to collectively span more than 15,000 hectares (37,065 acres) across protected forests.
- Three of these new dams encroach on forests where REDD+ projects are currently operating, pitting “green” energy infrastructure against conservation goals.
- Residents living nearby one of the dam sites fear that history may repeat as hydropower dams have typically been used to illegally extract valuable timber.

History repeats as logging linked to Cambodian hydropower dam in Cardamoms (Jun 27 2024)
- Loggers are targeting protected forests in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains using the cover of a new hydropower dam
- The dam is being built by Ly Yong Phat, a wealthy Cambodian tycoon with ties to the top tiers of government and a long history of environmental vandalism in the Cardamoms
- Timber from the Stung Meteuk hydropower dam has already been sold via a government-facilitated auction, but some timber may have been illegally logged
- The dam also overlaps significantly with the Samkos REDD+ project which is still under validation and verification

Investigation confirms more abuses on Cameroon, Sierra Leone Socfin plantations (Jun 27 2024)
- Findings from a second round of investigations into allegations of human rights abuses on plantations owned by Belgian company Socfin have been published.
- Supply chain consultancy Earthworm Foundation found evidence of sexual violence and land conflict, following similar findings from other plantations in West and Central Africa published in December 2023.
- Around one plantation, in Sierra Leone, a mapping exercise may signal action to remedy some problems, but communities and their supporters elsewhere say it’s unclear how Socfin can be held to account.
- International NGOs point out that the findings are in conflict with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certifications that Socfin holds.