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Tropical forest losses rise in 2022 despite pledge to end them

An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil, on 21st January, 2023.

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, […]

UN hopes water meeting can create ‘rippling effect’ to stave off crisis

An outdoor exhibition is seen during the 2023 United Nations Water Conference at the United Nations in New York City, US, on 24th March, 2023.

New York, US Reuters The United Nations’ first meeting on water in nearly half a century drew towards a close on Friday with hopes it would spur political momentum and fears that too little is being done to tackle chronic water stress globally. There is no international binding agreement for water like the one reached […]

Rich nations urged to pay $US60 billion a year to protect developing-world nature

Nepal Chitwan National Park

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thomson Reuters Foundation As talks on a new global pact to protect nature ramp up this month, international green groups have called on the world’s richest nations to commit at least $US60 billion a year to protect and restore biodiversity in developing countries. Governments are working to finalise an agreement to safeguard the planet’s […]

Global rainforest loss “relentless” in 2020, but South-East Asia offers hope

Indonesia firefighters

Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation Tropical forest losses hit their third-highest level in almost two decades last year, despite improved conservation in parts of South-East Asia, researchers said on Wednesday, warning of rising deforestation risks as nations restart pandemic-hit economies. The loss in 2020 of 4.2 million hectares of primary forest – intact areas of […]

Pandemic likely made 2020 “another devastating year” for world’s forests

Brazil Amazon Indigenous lands deforestation

Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation The rate of destruction of the world’s tropical forests is likely to have gathered pace last year, green groups warned, as the pandemic weakened environmental regulations, cut funding for protection work and forced city migrants back to rural areas. In 2019, tropical rainforests disappeared at a rate of one football pitch […]

“Seat at the table”: Women’s land rights seen as key to climate fight

India woman harvesting grain

Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation From legislative loopholes to cultural norms, women worldwide still face barriers in accessing land, researchers said on Thursday, despite evidence that tenure rights can protect them from the worsening effects of climate change. Women make up more than half the global population that relies almost exclusively on land and natural resources […]