- There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
- Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
- If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.
Tropical forests
Large consumer corporations say certification isn’t the solution to stopping deforestation (Ethical Corporation).
The shorter stature of some rainforest peoples helps improve their efficiency moving through dense vegetation (Newsweek).
Tire companies are stepping up to address the deforestation that often precedes the establishment of rubber plantations (Reuters).
Scientists say controls on deforestation in Brazil have made farmers more productive (The Conversation).
Orangutan orphans are learning to climb from their human caretakers (Express).
Cambodia’s agriculture ministry says there have been fewer forestry-related crimes this year (Khmer Times).
Hunters killed a female tiger blamed for the deaths of at least 13 people in India (The New York Times).
A new project aims to tackle the problem of deforestation for fuelwood in Africa (CIFOR Forests News).
Leaders from Central Africa are learning how to minimize forest and peatland fires from Indonesia (CIFOR Forests News).
A recent documentary looking at forest certification levels the charge that the schemes aren’t working — and the Forest Stewardship Council responds (FSC Watch).
Other news
Deforestation is pushing koalas closer to extinction (Accuweather).
Helping large, plant-eating mammals come back could stave off the effects of climate change (Anthropocene Magazine).
A Canadian mining company has the go-ahead from the Romanian government to clear 56 hectares (138 acres) of forest in the Eastern European country (Business Review).
Illegal logging remains an issue for Romania’s leaders (Romania Insider).
The bidding starts at $10,000 to name newly identified species through the Rainforest Trust (Green Matters).
Time may have been the key to the proliferation of diversity in the Coral Triangle’s striking reefs (Phys.Org).
As in many parts of the world, air pollution remains a growing health problem in India (The New York Times).
Voters in Washington and Colorado say no to measures that would have taxed carbon and slowed oil and gas drilling (Science Magazine, The Atlantic).
Coral reefs lose an advocate with the death of marine biologist Ruth Gates (The New York Times).
A successful breeding scheme has helped pandas climb back from the brink of extinction (Los Angeles Times).
A return to pastoralism emerges in Kyrgyzstan as a way to deal with climate change, which has hit the country disproportionately hard (Undark).
Shipping companies may soon have to curb their use of a fuel that releases a lot of carbon dioxide (The Economist).
“Sustainable intensification” could be a path toward feeding the world’s humans that also protects the environment (Ensia).
Will climate change mean more rats? (Newsweek)
The Pacific island nation of Palau is the first country in the world to ban sunscreen ingredients that are toxic to coral reefs (NPR).
New research shows that invasive species could be costing South Africa nearly half a billion dollars a year (Nature).
The Earth BioGenome Project could unlock the secrets in the genomes of every complex species on the planet (Nature).
Environmentalists question the wisdom behind “gene drives” to wipe out species, like mosquitos, that carry disease-causing organisms (The Economist).
A judge halts progress on the Keystone XL pipeline, citing climate change issues (The Washington Post).
Australia’s Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies will miss out on a major source of its funding this year (Nature).
A lawsuit by a group of children demanding U.S. government action on climate change will go before the Supreme Court (Nature).
Banner image of an orangutan by John C. Cannon/Mongabay.
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