Gangs of illegal rosewood loggers continue to pillage the wildlife-rich forests of northeastern Madagascar, reports a local source. “More and more people are entering the [protected area] to cut wood,” said the source, whose identity has been concealed for protection. “All the rosewood — regardless of its diameter — will disappear.” The source adds that […]
by Jeremy Hance A new analysis shows that the heavily-deforested Amazonian region of Mato Grosso is particularly susceptible to ‘savannization’ due to repeated burning that has likely depleted the region’s soils of precious nutrients. According to the study, published in the Journal of Geophyscial Research, savannization, or the process of tropical ecosystems shifting to savannah, […]
By Peter Greste, BBC News, Nairobi Kenya has mobilised 3,500 security personnel to fight a series of bush fires raging out of control in some of the country’s most important forests. The government estimates that more than 4,600 hectares (11,370 acres) of bushland have already been destroyed. At least 10 people have been arrested on […]
Armed gangs are logging rosewood and other valuable hardwoods from Marojejy and Masoala parks in Madagascar following abandonment of posts by rangers in the midst of the island nation’s political crisis, reports marojejy.com and local sources. "It is with great sadness that we report the temporary closure of Marojejy National Park to tourism," stated the […]
NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 23 (Reuters) – Game wardens fear wildlife is trapped in the crater of an extinct Kenyan volcano that was engulfed by a bush fire for a third day on Monday. The blaze at on Mount Longonot — one of the best-known trekking spots in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley — has sent […]
by David Adam in Copenhagen Global warming will wreck attempts to save the Amazon rainforest, according to a devastating new study which predicts that one-third of its trees will be killed by even modest temperature rises. The research, by some of Britain’s leading experts on climate change, shows that even severe cuts in deforestation and […]
Friedman has become quite the doomer lately: …Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the […]
Severe fires in Indonesia — responsible for some of the worst air quality conditions worldwide — are linked not only to drought, but also to changes in land use and population density, according to a new study. "During the late 1970s, Indonesian Borneo changed from being highly fire-resistant to highly fire-prone during drought years, […]
New study warns that even "safe" level of global warming will lead to huge increase in rainforest mortality rates by James Murray The impact of global warming on tropical rainforests will be so severe that even increases in temperature that are widely regarded as "safe" could raise tree mortality rates to such a level that […]
by Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com Nearly one quarter of Papua New Guinea’s rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002, report researchers writing in the journal Biotopica. The results, which were published in a report last June, show that Papua New Guinea is losing forests at a much faster rate than previously believed. Over […]
