Latest Forests News
Global demand spurring Indonesia's mining boom comes at a cost for many communities
KABAENA, Indonesia (AP) — The crystal blue waters that once surrounded Kabaena are murky brown now, and the octopi and colorful fish that locals used to catch nearby to eat and sell have fled. The lush seaweed they used to harvest is gone. And parents who grew up swimming happily in the Flores...
26 people arrested in crackdown on illegal deforestation along Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina border
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Paraguayan authorities arrested 26 people in a crackdown on suspected illegal deforestation along the country's border with Brazil and Argentina, Interpol announced Monday. Fourteen different agencies collaborated in the mid-October sweep, which relied on...
'Tis the season for roasting chestnuts. But in the US, native ones are almost gone
It's been a very long time since vendors sold the American chestnut on city sidewalks. It's no longer the variety whose smell some people associate with Christmastime as it wafts from street carts. Because it's virtually extinct. But memories of the American chestnut's legacy keep...
Environmental groups condemn new laws threatening soybean restrictions in Brazil's Amazon
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium — a landmark voluntary agreement banning trade in soybeans from recently deforested areas. The...
Brazilian beef and leather companies fall short in tackling deforestation, a study finds
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The next United Nations climate conference, COP30, will be held in Belem, the capital of an Amazon region where widespread deforestation mainly driven by cattle farming has turned the surrounding rainforest from a vital carbon sink into a significant carbon source. ...
Chinese gold mining threatens a protected UN heritage site in Congo
OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo (AP) — Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there. Nestled in eastern Congo's Ituri province, the...
Takeaways from AP's report on Chinese gold mining threatening endangered protected site in Congo
OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo (AP) — For eight years, a Chinese mining company has been vastly expanding inside an endangered World Heritage Site, accused by locals and conservationists of decimating the environment. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve became a protected site in 1996, due...
EU pushes back deforestation law by a year after outcry from global producers
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed to delay by a year the introduction of new rules to ban the sale of products that lead to massive deforestation, caving in to demands from several producer nations from across the globe and domestic opposition within the 27-nation bloc. ...
South Korean politician calls for investigation of biomass energy material imported from Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A South Korean National Assembly member has called for a moratorium on wood pellet imports from Indonesia and an investigation into their environmental impacts after government data and satellite analysis linked the country's biomass imports to deforestation in...
Agribusiness-friendly states in Brazil try to undo forest protections
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Several states in Brazil are trying to rid themselves of rainforest protections, bowing to pressure from cattle ranchers and soybean growers to cut down trees and expand agriculture. Their efforts run counter to those of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,...
