The Leuser ecosystem in northern Sumatra is home to some of the world’s rarest and best-loved animals. Thanks to a new government moratorium on land clearing, conservationists have enjoyed a big win.
After some unusually wet years, our landscape and ecosystems have once again returned to poorer conditions that were last experienced during the Millennium Drought.
Rob Cramb, The University of Queensland and John McCarthy, Australian National University
Over the past few years many companies have committed to sustainable palm oil. But that is threatened by a growing alliance between industry and government.
As Brazil struggles through a political and economic crisis, its soybean farmers are thriving. Their growing clout could trigger new deforestation and undercut the nation’s climate change pledges.
The extinction threat you haven’t heard of: several South American birds teeter on the brink of existence due to habitat loss. And history is not the best guide for how to save them.
Big new investors such as the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank are key players in a worldwide infrastructure, and that could be bad news for the environment.
Growing population, growing demand for food, climate change: Australia’s rural lands are facing a number of pressures. So how can we sustainably use them in the future?
We’re going to have to adapt to climate change, but some of the options on the table could do more harm than good if they destroy the ecosystems that protect us.
New data have revealed a disturbing trend in forest loss: the hearts of the world’s forests are disappearing. To stop them bleeding out, we’ll have to say ‘no’ to some developments.
Susan Letcher, Purchase College State University of New York
Forests that grow back after being cleared for agriculture or by logging grow back much faster than old-growth forests, soaking up carbon and providing vital habitat.
Australia may have reputation for vast areas of wilderness, but in reality the continent’s ecosystems have been chopped and diced. Now we need to protect what’s left.
Forest conservation has been a contentious issue in international climate change discussions for years, but now developing countries are embracing the need to protect their forests.