Brazil’s Yanomami leader asks the Pope to support President Lula in reversing damage to the Amazon
Vatican City AP Pope Francis met Wednesday with a leader of Brazil’s Yanomami people, who asked for papal backing for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ’s efforts to reverse decades of exploitation of the Amazon and better protect its Indigenous peoples. Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman, said he came to the Vatican at Francis’ invitation to brief him […]
Colombia Amazon deforestation forecast down 25 per cent to 35 per cent last year, ministry says
Bogota, Colombia Reuters Deforestation in Colombia’s Amazon region is forecast to have declined by 25 per cent to 35 per cent in 2023, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said on Monday, while warning that evidence shows that destruction has increased so far in 2024. Colombia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, with thousands of […]
Scientists launch research effort at COP28 for Congo rainforest
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters 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 […]
Amazon rainforest destruction slows sharply year to date, report says
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Destruction across the Amazon rainforest so far this year has slowed dramatically, down 55.8 per cent from the same period a year ago in a major turnaround for the region vital to curbing climate change, according to an analysis provided to Reuters. The analysis by the non-profit Amazon Conservation’s MAAP forest monitoring […]
Brazil to propose mega fund to conserve forests at COP28 climate summit
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Brazil plans to propose a “huge” fund to pay for the conservation of tropical forests at the United Nations COP28 climate change summit that begins later this month in Dubai, the country’s top climate negotiator said on Thursday. That potential financing mechanism, not previously reported, would be the latest in a proliferation […]
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls to lowest since 2018
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 22.3 per cent in the 12 months through July, government data showed on Thursday, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made good on a pledge to rein in the destruction that happened under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Some 9,001 square kilometres of Amazon jungle were […]
World far off track on pledges to end deforestation by 2030 – report
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters The world is moving too slowly to meet pledges to end deforestation by 2030, with the destruction worsening in 2022, according to a report by a coalition of environmental organisations released on Monday. More than 140 countries – representing the vast majority of the world’s woodlands – pledged at the 2021 United […]
Wildfires in dry Amazon rainforest choke Manaus city
Manaus, BrazilReuters Clouds of dense gray smoke from dozens of wildfires in the Brazilian Amazon, many of them illegally started, have hung over the region’s capital city Manaus, making the air increasingly unbreathable. Residents complain of stinging noses and throats. Journalist Indiara Bessa looks out from her apartment as smoke from wildfires in the Amazon […]
Amazon nations fail to agree on deforestation goal at summit
Belem, Brazil Reuters Eight Amazon nations agreed to a list of unified policies and measures to bolster regional cooperation at a major rainforest summit in Brazil on Tuesday, but failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has staked his international reputation on improving Brazil’s […]
Tropical forest losses rise in 2022 despite pledge to end them
Reuters The world lost an area of old-growth tropical rainforest the size of Switzerland last year, as deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon continued unabated, a forest monitoring project report said on Tuesday. Global Forest Watch, which is backed by the non-profit World Resources Institute and draws on forest data collected by the University of Maryland, […]