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☆ 'We can save our planet faster': Robotics tech and software offer efficient reforestation solutions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Christine Macintyre | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Companies are using drones and special software to plant trees and overcome reforestation pain points. Robotics making reforestation more efficientThe tech-driven company Mast Reforestation uses drones and biotechnology to help landowners restore forestland after wildfires. Another company using robotics to plant trees is Flash Forest, which employs automated drones to restore burn sites and other damaged forest areas. To combat this issue, Mast Reforestation uses its custom-built software as a seed-inventory and seed-collection logistics platform. The software helped Mast Reforestation collect enough seeds last year to reforest about 2,100 acres on Sheep Creek Ranch in Montana.

Persons: Matthew Aghai, Aghai, Grant Canary, they're, Chris Ireland, Flash, Randy Johns, Jeff Renton, Forest's Organizations: Service, Global Forest Watch, Forest, Ireland, Business, Flash, Boreal, Keewatin Community Development Association, Flash Forest Locations: forestland, Technology, —, Canada, Ireland, Keewatin, Canadian, Saskatchewan, Montana, , Montana

☆ Images of Malaysian wild cats you’ve probably never heard of
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

It is most famous for its tiger population, but eight other species of wild cats also roam, such as the clouded leopard, the bay cat, and the flat-headed cat. Sebastian Kennerknecht/PantheraThese wild cats are notoriously elusive and, besides the tiger, understudied. Despite this, almost all Malaysia’s cat species are classified as endangered, vulnerable or near threatened, due to habitat loss, poaching and climate change. Roshan Guharajan, project coordinator for Panthera Malaysia, focuses on the Malaysian region of the island of Borneo, which is home to five species of wild cat. By monitoring the different species, Panthera is hoping to gather information on population sizes, range estimates and the threats that they face.

Persons: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Roshan Guharajan, ”, Guharajan Organizations: CNN, Malayan, IUCN, Malaysia, Global Forest Watch Locations: Sabah, Borneo, Malaysian, Malaysian Borneo, Malaysia, Asia

☆ Scientists Launch Research Effort at COP28 for Congo Rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jake SpringSAO PAULO (Reuters) - Hundreds of scientists at the United Nations COP28 climate summit on Sunday launched a research coalition aimed at correcting a historic lack of information about the Congo River basin and its rainforest, the second largest in the world. The Science Panel for the Congo Basin, backed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, aims to issue a report in 2025 that offers the most detailed scientific assessment to date about the Congo Basin. "Our current knowledge of the functioning of the Congo Basin ecosystem is really very, very limited." The Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to most of the forest, had the second highest rate of tree cover loss in the world last year after Brazil, according to Global Forest Watch. More than 300 scientists are expected to contribute to the Congo report, Tshimanga said.

Persons: Jake Spring, Raphaël Tshimanga, Tshimanga, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Jake Spring SAO PAULO, Reuters, United, Sunday, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions, University of Kinshasa, Democratic, Global Forest Watch Locations: United Nations, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil

An agent of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) inspects a tree extracted from the Amazon rainforest, in a sawmill during an operation to combat deforestation, in Placas, Para State, Brazil January 20, 2023. "Our current knowledge of the functioning of the Congo Basin ecosystem is really very, very limited." The Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to most of the forest, had the second highest rate of tree cover loss in the world last year after Brazil, according to Global Forest Watch. The scientific effort is modelled on the Science Panel for the Amazon that in 2021 issued a roughly 1,300 page report summarising the scientific consensus on the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest. More than 300 scientists are expected to contribute to the Congo report, Tshimanga said.

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Raphaël Tshimanga, Tshimanga, Jake Spring, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Brazilian Institute for, Environment, Natural Resources, REUTERS, SAO PAULO, United, Sunday, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions, University of Kinshasa, Democratic, Global Forest Watch, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Placas, Para State, Brazil, United Nations, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

☆ Bolivia Gets Green Light for Full Mercosur Membership
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Lucinda ElliottSAO PAULO (Reuters) - Bolivia is set to become a full member of the South American Mercosur trade bloc following a decision on Tuesday by the Brazilian Senate to approve the country's admission. The vote on the accession of Bolivia to Mercosur is expected to be formally concluded during a regional summit on Dec. 7 in Rio de Janeiro. "Thank you to the senators for completing this process and congratulations to President Arce and Bolivia for joining us in Mercosur," Lula said on social media. Prospects for finally concluding the trade agreement with the EU gained traction following the election of ultra-liberal Javier Milei, a staunch critic of Mercosur, as president of Argentina. Bolivia was one of the worst offenders of primary forest clearances last year, behind only Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Global Forest Watch that monitors deforestation rates.

Persons: Lucinda Elliott, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Arce, Lula, Javier Milei, Milei, Mark Porter Organizations: Lucinda Elliott SAO PAULO, Reuters, South American Mercosur, Brazilian Senate, European Union, EU, Mercosur, Democratic, Global Forest Watch Locations: Bolivia, Brazilian, Mercosur, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ Bolivia gets green light for full Mercosur membership
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lucinda Elliott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia is set to become a full member of the South American Mercosur trade bloc following a decision on Tuesday by the Brazilian Senate to approve the country's admission. The vote on the accession of Bolivia to Mercosur is expected to be formally concluded during a regional summit on Dec. 7 in Rio de Janeiro. "Thank you to the senators for completing this process and congratulations to President Arce and Bolivia for joining us in Mercosur," Lula said on social media. Prospects for finally concluding the trade agreement with the EU gained traction following the election of ultra-liberal Javier Milei, a staunch critic of Mercosur, as president of Argentina. Bolivia was one of the worst offenders of primary forest clearances last year, behind only Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Global Forest Watch that monitors deforestation rates.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Arce, Lula, Luis Arce, Javier Milei, Milei, Lucinda Elliott, Mark Porter Organizations: SAO PAULO, South American Mercosur, Brazilian Senate, Bolivia, Senators, European Union, EU, Mercosur, Democratic, Global Forest Watch, Thomson Locations: Bolivia, Brazilian, Mercosur, Rio de Janeiro, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo

[1/2] People watch drones creating a 3-D display outside the United Nations Headquarters calling attention to the Amazon rainforest and climate change in New York U.S., September 15, 2023. The analysis by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation's MAAP forest monitoring program offers a first look at 2023 deforestation across the nine Amazon countries. That estimate is likely low as there are some holes in the data, Finer said. Brazil's Lula has led a push among its Amazonian neighbors and other rainforest countries to get rich nations to pay for woodland conservation. While the country is battling massive wildfires, many of them are not in the Amazon, Finer said.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Matt, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Jair Bolsonaro, Carlos Nobre, Nobre, Brazil's Lula, Gustavo Petro, Jake Spring, David Gregorio Our Organizations: United Nations Headquarters, New York U.S, REUTERS, SAO PAULO, Reuters, United, University of Sao, Amazon, NASA, Union, Democratic, Watch, Thomson Locations: New York, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, United Nations, Jan, Puerto Rico, University of Sao Paulo, Amazon, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, COLOMBIA, PERU Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo

☆ Five graphics that show some of the biggest threats facing the natural world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Flo Cornall | Woojin Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In a series of graphics, we take a look at some of the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. Global wildlife populations plummeted by 69% on average between 1970 and 2018, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022. Swipe to see more Forest loss Note: These figures do not include regrowth or regeneration of forest. But many are facing threats from pesticides and crop monocultures, as well as the destruction of their habitats. Swipe to see more Bird populations Source: BirdlifeDespite the scale of the challenges, there are countless groups and individuals committed to protecting our planet.

Persons: it’s Organizations: CNN, Resources Institute, Global, UN, University of Sheffield, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, British Trust for Ornithology, Birdlife Locations: California, Hawaii, India

Panama's legislature first agreed a contract extension with Canadian mining company First Quantum and it's local subsidiary, Minera Panama, in March. Eight lawsuits were also filed with Panama's Supreme Court arguing it was unconstitutional. Critics warned using a new law to revoke the contract could leave the government liable to legal action from Minera Panama. Earlier in the day nurses marched to the Supreme Court building to demand judges prioritize the constitutionality lawsuits. The mine is “in the middle of a jungle,” according to Minera Panama’s own contractor, Jan De Nu Group.

Persons: —, Laurentino Cortizo, Cortizo, Minera, Jan De, El Organizations: PANAMA CITY, National Assembly, Minera, Mineral Resources, Panama's, Toronto Stock Exchange, Supreme Court, Jan De Nu, Global Forest Watch, El Nino Locations: PANAMA, Minera Panama, Colon, Panama

[1/3] A general view shows the water conditions of the Piraiba river before a summit of Amazon rainforest nations, in Belem, Para state, Brazil August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoSAO PAULO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Eight Amazon rainforest nations are expected to face divisions over proposals to block new oil drilling and end deforestation when they meet on Tuesday for their first summit in 14 years. But at a pre-summit meeting last month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro pushed his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to block all new oil development in the Amazon. Brazil is weighing whether to develop a potentially huge offshore oil find near the mouth of the Amazon River. "Are we going to let hydrocarbons be explored in the Amazon rainforest?

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Gustavo Petro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Petro, Lula, Jake Spring, Oliver Griffin, Lucinda Elliott, Brad Haynes, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Ueslei, Ueslei Marcelino SAO PAULO, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, Brazilian, Miami Herald, Global Forest Watch, Thomson Locations: Belem , Para, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Belem, Amazon, Lula's, Leticia, Bolivian, Bogota, Montevideo

Nearly 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of rainforest were cleared in July, a significant fall from the 1,487 square kilometers (574 square miles) cleared last July. There has been a sharp decline in deforestation since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was inaugurated as president in January. Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, said government policies, including increasing surveillance and fining perpetrators, has played a big role in bringing rates of deforestation down. The reduced rate of deforestation is positive news at a time when the Amazon remains critically vulnerable. In 2022 an area of global tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost as forest destruction rose by 10% compared to the previous year, according to a recent report from the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Global Forest Watch.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair, Marina Silva, ” Silva, Moraes Almeida, Nelson Almedia Organizations: CNN, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, Getty, Resources, Watch Locations: Brazilian, Para, Brazil, AFP, Belem, Switzerland

☆ Farm boom, fires make Bolivia No. 3 in world for forest loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Lucinda Elliott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A burnt forest is pictured at the Guarani Nation Ecological Conservation Area Nembi Guasu in the Charagua region, an area where wildfires have destroyed hectares of forest, Charagua, Bolivia, August 23, 2019. REUTERS/David Mercado/FILE PHOTOMONTEVIDEO, June 28 (Reuters) - Forest loss in Bolivia accelerated by about a third last year with clearances in the country trailing only giant neighbor Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a forest monitoring project report shows, blaming farm expansion and fires. The South American country lost nearly around 3,860 square kilometers (1,490 square miles) of primary forest in 2022, according to Global Forest Watch, an area nearly the size of Rhode Island. Fires, some linked to land clearances, have also played a big part in forest loss in recent years, the Global Forest Watch report said. In a report on Monday Global Forest Watch, backed by the nonprofit World Resources Institute and drawing on forest data collected by the University of Maryland, said the world lost an area of old-growth tropical rainforest the size of Switzerland last year.

Persons: David Mercado, Marlene Quintanilla, Daniel Larrea, Lucinda Elliott, Adam Jourdan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Ecological Conservation, REUTERS, Democratic, Global Forest Watch, Nature Foundation, Global, Watch, Monday Global Forest Watch, World Resources Institute, University of Maryland, Thomson Locations: Guarani, Charagua, Bolivia, MONTEVIDEO, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rhode Island, Santa Cruz, Beni, Bolivian, Switzerland

Despite a recent global pledge to reach zero deforestation by 2030, tropical forest loss last year exceeded 2021 levels. Global Forest Watch assessed 'primary forests', which includes mature forests that have not been cleared or regrown in recent history. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bolivia suffered the greatest losses of tropical forest after Brazil. The Global Forest Watch analysis found deforestation in 2022 was more than 10,000 sq km (3,900 sq miles) in excess of what would be needed to halt it by 2030. The world lost 10% less forest in 2022 than 2021, as fewer big fires burned in the Russian boreal forest, though the country still lost 43,000 sq km (16,600 sq miles) of tree cover last year.

Persons: Jair, Francis Seymour, Rod Taylor, Gloria Dickie, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Global Forest Watch, World Resources Institute, University of Maryland, Watch, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, Brazilian, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Bolivia

☆ Rainforest destruction soared in 2022 despite global pledges to halt deforestation, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Caolán Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The destruction of the world’s rainforests ramped up last year, despite global pledges to end deforestation by 2030, according to a new report. The country’s rate of forest loss rose 15% from 2021 to 2022. Bolivia saw a record-high level of primary forest loss last year, with a 32% increase compared to 2021. It came in third behind only Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for area of primary forest loss, the report found. Despite the global increase in deforestation, there has been a sharp reduction in forest loss in Indonesia and loss levels in Malaysia have remained low, according to the report.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Gustavo Moreno, Jair Bolsonaro’s, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Boris Johnson, Jane Barlow, Rod Taylor, ” Organizations: CNN, World Resources, Watch, University of Maryland, Democratic, UN, WRI’s Locations: Switzerland, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Glasgow, Indonesia, Malaysia

☆ These endangered leopards could be about to disappear in Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —The Indochinese leopard is dangerously close to becoming extinct in Cambodia, according to wild cat conservationists, who spent more than a decade looking for the creatures and found just 35. During that period, they only spotted 35 adult Indochinese leopards, and when they returned in 2021, not a single leopard could be seen. Historically, the Indochinese leopard was found throughout Indochina – spanning Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and parts of southwestern China – but almost all the territory they once roamed has disappeared due to human encroachment. Only 35 adult Indochinese leopards were seen between 2009 to 2021 in Cambodia, conservationist group Panthera found. While leopards are vanishing from Cambodia, their numbers in the wild along the Thailand-Myanmar border are likely less than 900, Rostro-García added.

Persons: Oxford University’s WildCRU, Hun Sen, ”, Susana Rostro, Gareth Mann Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Oxford, Biological Conservation, WWF, FA Cambodia, Global Forest Watch, IUCN Locations: Hong Kong, Cambodia, Indochina, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, WWF Cambodia, Malaysia

☆ This startup helps early-stage forestry projects get funded. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck carbon credit marketplace Xilva used to raise $2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zurich-based Xilva helps early-stage forestry projects access the capital they need to scale up. The startup has developed its own propriety vetting process to help build trust in the carbon market. A startup helping forestry projects access capital has just raised 1.8 million euros in fresh funds. The voluntary carbon market, where carbon credits are bought and sold, has been plagued by quality issues. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Xilva used to raise the funds below:

☆ Analysis: Brazil's Lula hopes to unite rainforest nations, tap funding at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Michael Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

read moreIn the run-up to the COP27 U.N. climate summit, taking place in Egypt from Nov. 6-18, green groups urged Brazil and other forest nations to team up to increase their bargaining power during talks with potential donors over rainforest protection. Brazil was the climate-change success story of the early 2000s when its government - led then by Lula - slashed deforestation rates in the Amazon, she said. But enforcing forest protection laws in remote areas is a problem for all three, conservationists said, while Bolsonaro's allies form the largest bloc in Brazil's Congress, which could hinder Lula's policy push. Other forest nations - like Colombia - could also take part in talks and join any new alliance at COP27 to create a "more robust and effective" coalition, he added. "Done right, collaboration and exchange of experience between rainforest countries can help in tackling deforestation," Jaeger said.

The pledge was praised widely at last year's COP26 climate summit, particularly as Brazil, Indonesia and Congo all signed on. To fulfill the pledge, the world would need to ensure 10% less area is deforested on average each year from 2021 to 2030. Most countries under the pledge have yet to detail plans for passing stronger forest protections or implementing them. BRAZILThe biggest rainforest country also leads the world in deforestation, as the Amazon falls rapidly to illegal logging, agriculture and land speculation. Deforestation driven by land-clearing for palm oil plantations continued to slow in the first seven months of the year - even as palm oil prices soared.

☆ Palm oil is in almost everything, and it's devastating rainforests. This Bill Gates-backed company used microbes to create an alternative
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Palm oil grows best in the regions right around the equator, so palm oil producers chop down rainforest and clear that felled vegetation by burning it, making it a prime target of conservation organizations like the Rainforest Rescue and the World Wildlife Fund. Palm oil trees grow at the Cikasungka palm oil plantation, operated by PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII, in Bogor Regency in West Java, Indonesia, on Monday, June 20, 2022. To make its palm oil alternative, C16 Biosciences uses a wild yeast microbe that makes a functional equivalent to palm oil with a kind of fermentation process. Photo courtesy: Cat Clifford, CNBCChemically, the palm oil that C16 Biosciences makes is not identical to the palm oil that is grown in industrial agriculture farms. However, "it contains the same fatty acids, which are the molecular fingerprints of fats and oils, that palm oil does," Heller told CNBC.

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