Illegal Logging & Forestry Crimes News Archive
This is a list of articles from around the world related to deforestation, wood as a commodity, forest ecosystem health, and forestry rights as well as timber trafficking, illegal logging, and all forms of wood and timber poaching. This list is meant to provide background or sources to recent forestry crimes and crises and is listed in roughly reverse chronological order by year and month.
The Archive is maintained by PoachingFacts, but all articles are copyright their respective owners. Please support the agencies and organizations who provide this content. This page is continually being updated and articles are added retroactively. This list has been retired and may return in a new form.
Articles from 2018
September
Researchers model tree species distributions in Amazonia
Indonesia: National park with largest orangutan population being cleared for palm oil and illegally logged – Sebangau National Park.
August
Indonesian government appeals ruling on tighter peat fire regulations
Uganda: Rice Growing Threatens Wetland Conservation
As Bali reclamation project dies, activists seek conservation status
Fires and haze return to Indonesia as peat protection bid falls short
Deforestation continues upward trend in Brazil, says NGO
Vietnam: Forests sold within four to six years after planting
Study finds widespread degradation, deforestation in African woodlands
Seeing REDD: a database of forest carbon emissions reduction projects
Brazil hits emissions target early, but rising deforestation risks reversal
Vietnam: A Rem ethnic minority take oath to protect forests
Vietnam: Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong to become nature reserve
In Brazil, a forest community helps seed new trees far and wide
Colombia: Govt rushes to save national park from rampant deforestation
South American soy fed to EU livestock drives Gran Chaco deforestation
Links between tax havens, deforestation and illegal fishing exposed
RSPO should ban deforestation, say investors representing $6.7 Trillion in assets – Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Ecology monks in Thailand seek to end environmental suffering
Trase.earth tracks commodities, links supply chains to deforestation risk
Vietnam: Uncontrolled ecotourism threatens sanctuaries, national parks
Death foretold? A courageous Amazon peasant couple resists illegal loggers
‘High risk’ that China’s timber from PNG is illegal: New report
Vietnam: Illegal occupation of forested Central Highlands land
Madagascar proposes paying illegal loggers to audit or buy their rosewood
Myanmar’s milling industry devastated by new logging policies
Fire, more than logging, drives Amazon forest degradation, study finds
July
New report highlights global trade in wild plant ingredients
Will the RSPO ever stop palm oil from causing deforestation? Its new draft standard suggests not
Myanmar’s Karen people call ‘foul!’ over plans to impose new national park in ancestral lands
EIA responds to Vietnam wood industry over criticisms of timber crime exposé
June
Enhancing Practical Skills for Sustainable Trade in Wild Plants in Guangxi
Uganda hosts 6th annual forum on illegal timber trade
Indonesia to investigate death of journalist being held for defaming palm oil company
Orangutan forest school in Indonesia takes on its first eight students
Drones provide an up close look at the health of forests
Facebook video shows orangutan defending forest against bulldozer
Last March of the ‘Wooden Elephants’: Africa’s Ancient Baobabs Are Dying
Namibia’s Giant Baobab Trees Are Dying, Climate Change Blamed
Africa’s strangest trees are stranger than thought—and they’re dying mysteriously
Forest database key for Vietnam
Namibia: Consultant Promises Full Report On Chinese Timber Project
South Africa: Knysna Fires – ‘There Was No Life Left Here. Just Death. No Butterflies, No Birds, No Nothing’
May
Vietnam: Protecting forests by purging forest ranger staff, converting illegal loggers
Vietnam: VIPs build wooden houses as illegal loggers continue to decimate forests
Vietnam: Yok Don forests “attacked” from all four sides
Brazil has the tools to end Amazon deforestation now: report
Vietnam: Quang Tri forms team to combat illegal logging
Brazilian Amazon oil palm deforestation under control, for now
Vietnam’s dipterocarp forest conservation zone targeted by loggers
New study could improve monitoring of tropical trees in face of climate change
Protecting forests and people from tropical storms
Australia: Logging burns conceal industrial pollution in the name of ‘community safety’
Critically endangered South American forests were man made
Whole-tree logging may not hinder plant biodiversity
Ecologists expose bias in forest restoration studies
New technique reveals details of forest fire recovery
Greenpeace disowns paper giant over deforestation allegations
Greenpeace: Paper giant cut forests during conservation pact
Extinct in Algeria: Rare Plant Declared Lost
Tanzania Opens Pristine Reserve for Logging, Hydropower
Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast
Poland ready to end extensive logging in pristine old forest
Peatland contributions to UK water security
Forests are growing again where human well-being is increasing, finds new study
Higher incomes, not higher carbon dioxide levels, drive forest gains, study finds
Typo derails landmark ruling against Indonesian palm oil firm guilty of burning peatland
Indonesia enlists plantation companies to ensure haze-free Asian Games
Vietnam: Disciplinary action against 9 forest rangers
Vietnam deforestation cases in decline
Vietnam: Violations to forest protection regulations drop in four months
Vietnam: Police raid huge illegal logging site in national park
Can India’s “People’s Forest” also serve as a haven for rhinos?
Debate ensues over British supermarket chain’s decision to ban palm oil
Colombia’s supreme court orders government to stop Amazon deforestation
UN forest accounting loophole allows CO2 underreporting by EU, UK, US
Religious Leaders Mobilize to Protect Indigenous People and Forests
New study finds mangroves may store way more carbon than we thought
Major Islamic financier singled out for deforestation in Indonesia
New film shines light on cattle industry link to Amazon deforestation
April
Palm oil supplier to food giants clears forest, peatland in Indonesia, Greenpeace says
Forest fires keep billions of liters of water on the ground
Vietnam: Thanh Hoa coastal forest swamped by rubbish
MPCC Takes Action on Malawi’s Forests
Vietnam: Illegal logging uncovered in Quang Nam Province
Vietnam’s forest coverage ratio reaches over 41%
Bamboo conservation park in Da Nang protects 100 species
‘Shocking and worrying’: Selective logging has big, lasting impact on fish
Study puts a figure to hidden cost of community-company conflict in palm oil industry
Restoring flagging oil palm plantations to forest may benefit clouded leopards, study finds
Indonesian oil palm smallholders sue state over subsidy to biofuel producers
Island logging must go beyond current ‘best practices’ to avoid erosion: New study
Bornean bantengs feeling the heat in logged forests, study finds
March
Study: Indonesia’s ambitious peat restoration initiative severely underfunded
How a series of shady deals turned a chunk of Borneo into a sea of oil palm
Indonesian graftbusters put a price tag on environmental crime
The World Needs New Tools to Fight Illegal Logging. You Can Help.
To prevent collapse of tropical forests, protect their shape: study
Land degradation pushing planet towards sixth mass extinction
Vietnam: Land and forest battle in Central Highlands as forests devastated
Agroforestry bolsters biodiversity and villages in Sri Lanka
Brazil: Cerrado Manifesto could curb deforestation, but needs support: experts
Do environmental advocacy campaigns drive successful forest conservation?
Cerrado: U.S. investment spurs land theft, deforestation in Brazil, say experts
Draining peatlands gives global rise to greenhouse laughing-gas emissions
Borneo’s elephants prefer degraded forests, a new study finds
Salvage logging is often a pretext for harvesting wood
A small-scale farmer leads the way for big changes to rubber farming in Myanmar
Vietnam: Central Highlands forest protection program considered a failure
Vietnam: Forestland left fallow as land disputes in Highlands spike
New book on fungal diseases of urban trees
New life for Portugal’s oldest forest ravaged by fires
Alberta’s boreal forest could be dramatically altered by 2100 due to climate change, study says
Colombia scraps Amazon highway plans due to deforestation concerns
An important win for the world’s largest tropical wetland
On UN Forests Day, new studies put EU in position to take action on deforestation
An illegal logger in Tanzania becomes a forest defender
Myanmar palm oil concessions trample on communities, act as a cover for extracting timber
‘A real surprise’: Study reveals low phosphorus doesn’t hinder rainforest growth
Pearl Jam invests in Amazonian reforestation to offset emissions from current Brazil tour
Oil palm plantations’ dearth of biodiversity rubs off on nearby forests, study shows
Five years after zero-deforestation vow, little sign of progress from Indonesian pulp giant
Chocolate and agroforestry accelerate in El Salvador
Illegal cattle ranching deforests Mexico’s massive Lacandon Jungle
Philippines President’s ‘terrorists’ hit list jeopardises lives of human rights and forest defenders
Outcomes of Cameroon–China timber trade project evaluated
Malaysia: Sarawak makes 80% forest preservation commitment, but some have doubts
Oil palm, rubber could trigger ‘storm’ of deforestation in the Congo Basin
How deforestation risks for investors can become opportunities for conservation (commentary)
Carbon credit prices too low to protect forests from rubber, study finds
Tropical Deforestation: the Need for a Strategy Adjustment (commentary)
Analysis: the Brazilian Supreme Court’s New Forest Code ruling
In Colombia, a national park’s expansion announced as deforestation progresses
In eastern Indonesia, a forest tribe pushes back against miners and loggers
Mangrove deforestation releases more CO2 than Poland, study finds
Brazil high court Forest Code ruling largely bad for environment, Amazon: NGOs
‘S.O.S.’ carved out of former plantation shines a light on palm oil-driven deforestation
February
Vietnam: Forest rangers investigate seized trees
Vietnam: Illegal logging bedevils central provinces
‘We need to act’: Scientists urge prioritization of intact forests
Tropical forest fragmentation nearing ‘critical point,’ study finds
Protected areas with deforestation more likely to lose status in Brazilian state
Deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon dropped 13 percent in 2017
Borneo, ravaged by deforestation, loses nearly 150,000 orangutans in 16 years, study finds
Study Says Deforested Areas in the Amazon Vulnerable to Loss of Legal Protections
Backtracking on reform: how Indonesia’s Government is weakening its palm oil standards
Faith in the forest helps Indonesia’s Dayaks keep plantations, loggers at bay
A Tale of Two Laws – how European and US legislation can better combat illegal timber
All eyes on European Commission as crucial EU decision on deforestation due “in a matter of weeks”
Scientists find ‘surprising’ connections between tropical forests – Relation of tree species.
Carbon pricing could save millions of hectares of tropical forest: new study
Deforestation wanes in Indonesia’s Aceh and Leuser Ecosystem, but threats remain: NGO says
Amazon rainforest hit by surge in small-scale deforestation, study finds
Maps tease apart complex relationship between agriculture and deforestation in DRC
Zero-deforestation pledges need help, support to meet targets, new study finds
Articles from 2017
November
Tropical deforestation is getting bigger, study finds
Carbon dreams: Can REDD+ save a Yosemite-size forest in Madagascar?
Among global companies, efforts on deforestation lag
Peru: Illegal mining devastates forests in Amazonas Region
Long-term droughts are throttling growth in Hawaiian forests, finds airborne laser-based study
Peru: the man who overcomes fear to defend the forest
Vietnam: New forestry law looks beyond protection to development
September
Vietnam: Illegal loggers on the move – again
Harvard forest report: Forests, funding, and conservation in decline across New England
Lengwe Loggers Appeal: Sentences Doubled – 32 suspects have their sentences doubled after appealing to judge.
Oil palm firms advance into Leuser rainforest, defying Aceh governor’s orders
Does social forestry always decrease deforestation and poverty? (commentary)
Vietnam: Authority confirms serious deforestation in Dien Bien
Vietnam: Binh Dinh investigates huge forest destruction crime
Chocolate industry driving deforestation of Ivory Coast: report
Forest fires are not limited to hot or temperate climates
Scientists: Ash tree species pushed to brink of extinction
Samsung won’t partner with Korindo following outrage over forest destruction in Indonesia
Helping Chinese farmers tackle erosion, increase profits
Earth’s oldest trees in climate-induced race up the tree line
Palm oil giant FGV will ‘endeavor to rehabilitate’ peatlands it trashed in Borneo
Forest regeneration experiment of 30 years yields results
Carbon cycling in forest soils research presented
Deforestation in Cambodia linked to ill health in children
August
July
Saving the cycads from poaching
Offset Your Summer Plans And Protect Forests with New Carbon Calculator
HSBC triggers investigation into its own palm oil client
Vietnam: Rampant deforestation in the central region
Sierra Leone: FAO says deforestation leads to land degradation in Salone
WWF helps a mountain community protect forests and adapt to climate change
Protecting Forests in the Most Dangerous Place to Be a Ranger
Paying Uganda farmers not to cut down trees halved deforestation: study
June
Leaked terms of huge EU-Japan trade deal spark environmental alarm – Illegal timber laundering, other concerns.
International illegal logging conference touches on myriad issues
Vietnam: Forest sanctuary has four hydropower plants
Timber crime evidence is released as probe starts
Central Africa: Gabon Pledges to Protect Forests in Regional Drive to Save Congo Basin
Safeguarding sustainability through forest certification mapping
Study links deforestation and malaria – In undeveloped and developing nations.
Lightning sparking more boreal forest fires
Amazon basin deforestation could disrupt distant rainforest by remote climate connection
Logging in Malaysia’s Ulu Muda forest threatens wildlife and water supplies
Vietnam: War veteran now fights for his local forest
Tanzania: 280 Million Trees ‘Needed Annually’
Supporting communities and forests in Laos
Is intensification of beef production really a solution to Amazonian deforestation?
Tanzania: Villagers – We’re Given a Raw Deal in Forest Conservation
Uganda: Masaka Timber Dealers Reject New Tax On Forest Products
Liberia: Deforestation Threatens Environment
Vietnam targets 42 percent forest coverage by 2020
Vietnamese officers learn how to identify the real deal timber
May
Timber crime evidence is released as probe starts
In Crackdown, Malawi Jails 35 Illegal Loggers Seized in National Park
Mozambique battles illegal logging to save tropical forests
Corrupt Vietnam officials & Cambodia timber theft
DRC arrests 14 Chinese for wood smuggling
Malawi: Illegal Lengwe Loggers Put Behind Bars
April
Primeval forest risks sparking new EU-Poland clash
Scientists examine impact of high-severity fires on conifer forests
Bugs have stranglehold on Southern California region’s urban forest
Mozambique battles illegal logging to save tropical forests
Singapore convicts rosewood trader in historic CITES seizure
Zambia announces indefinite ban on “In Transit” timber
Rainforest conservation may be aimed at the wrong places, study finds
Flammable floodplains are weak spot of Amazon forest
Kenya: KFS Signs Deal With Private Firm On Industrial Bamboo Production
Kenya: Kilifi Govt to Plant 1.8 Million Trees to Battle Deforestation
Gambia: Environment Ministry Temporary Reopens Exportation of Timber Trade
Malawi: President’s Missing Tree – Retrogressive Indicator to Reforestation
New study highlights timber trade challenges in eastern and southern Africa
Threats against forests: illegal logging, tourism development
To conserve tropical forests and wildlife, protect the rights of people who rely on them
Satellites map carbon sequestered by forests, with accuracy of up to ten metres
Carbon and nitrogen cycles interact with vegetation shifts
Successful Colombian rainforest project exposes problems with carbon emissions trading
Indigenous groups, Amazon’s best land stewards, under federal attack
In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, conservation efforts drown in a sea of eucalyptus
Rotten beef and illegal deforestation: Brazil’s largest meatpacker rocked by scandals
African forests threatened by global demand for commodity crops
Jurisdictional certification approach aims to strengthen protections against deforestation
March
Vietnam: Forestry company head to be prosecuted for forest destruction
Illegal trade still a major risk for endangered rosewoods
Forest fragmentation may be releasing much more carbon than we think
New research shows role ancient peoples might have played in shaping Amazon rainforest
‘Forest mobilisation:’ Unlocking Europe’s wood energy potential
Researchers discover tree trunks act as methane source in upland forests
Vietnam: PM’s instruction to close natural forests ignored by illegal loggers
Almost 1M hectares ‘missing’ from land holdings of major palm oil companies
In Tanzania, a surge in sesame farming poses threat to natural forest
Vietnam: Forests enrich illegal loggers: NA deputies
Thua Thien – Hue plants mangrove forests for eco-tours
Illegal logging, smuggling found in protected Central Highlands forest
Hanoi’s greenery areas fall short of expectation
Chinese businesses carry off precious medicinal herbs in Central Highlands
Cameroon: Eyes in Sky and On Ground Are Helping Forest Conservation
Aggressive forest protection needed to meet US climate goals
In defining plantations as forest, FAO attracts criticism
Denmark prohibits companies from selling Myanmar teak on European Union markets
Myanmar gives commitment to legal timber system
Ecologist proposes a new model to help meet global forest restoration goals
Cocoa industry agrees plan to tackle deforestation
Communities in Mexico step up to protect a disappearing forest
Vietnam: Illegal logging in Quang Nam
13,000 acres of cloud forest now protected in Colombia
Denmark sanctions entire Burmese teak industry
Crime and not enough punishment: Amazon thieves keep stolen public land
Americans live increasingly further from forests — which is a problem for wildlife
Alarms raised as timber firm said to pierce one of Indonesia’s last orangutan strongholds
Microbes measure ecological restoration success
Huge swathe of Australian mangroves ‘die of thirst’
Slave labor in the Amazon: Risking lives to cut down the rainforest
Investigation reveals slave labor conditions in Brazil’s timber industry
Big data timber exchange partners with FSC in Brazil
Vicious circle of drought and forest loss in the Amazon
Landmark legal win boosts oil palm sector transparency
Successful forest protection in DRC hinges on community participation
China closes natural forests, Vietnam fears timber shortage
February
Forests worldwide threatened by drought
Sum of their parts: Researchers use math to foster environmental restoration
Indonesia thwarts illegal logging in South Sumatra
Latin America palm oil production doubled since 2001 without massive uptick in deforestation
New study finds timber harvesting in Madagascar out of control
Trees need a little help to reclaim deforested land, study finds
Increasing tree cover threatens world’s most endangered antelope
In one Tanzanian village, survival is intimately linked to forest conservation
Chain saw injuries in Myanmar tied to illegal logging
Brazil’s “river people” join forces with indigenous communities, offer alternative to deforestation
Anger rises over human-elephant conflict in Tanzania
Fighting rhino poaching in India, CSI-style
Indonesian government moves farther from community forestry target
Reversing “Empty Forest Syndrome” in Southeast Asia
Will there really be enough sustainable palm oil for the whole market?
Expedition sets out to explore isolated, mysterious forest in DRC
Documenting the consequences of palm oil production beyond Southeast Asia
Vietnam: A nipa palm forest nurtures a commune
Vegetation resilient to salvage logging after severe wildfire
Forest protection funds flow to DRC despite ‘illegal’ logging permits
January
Deforestation-free commodities represent a major investment opportunity: Report
Thap Lan: Thailand’s unsung forest gem under threat, but still abrim with life
Deforestation rises with incomes in developing economies
Colorado’s wildfire-stricken forests showing limited recovery
New miniaturised hyperspectral cameras to monitor the health of Australian landscapes
Study documents tree species’ decline due to climate warming
Cameroon: Illegal Logging – Fierce Fight to Stop Fraudsters
Mozambique’s ban on raw timber exports
Smuggled to death: How loopholes and lax enforcement have sealed the fate of Siamese rosewood
What to expect in rainforests in 2017
No let-up in Thailand’s relentless, violent Siamese rosewood poaching
Jokowi grants first-ever indigenous land rights to 9 communities
As forests in East Africa disappear, so does an industry of artisans
Sudden sale may doom carbon-rich rainforest in Borneo
Articles from 2016
December
The year in tropical rainforests: 2016
Illegal logging shows little sign of slowing
Myanmar Reporter Killed While Investigating Illegal Logging
Peru pledges tougher stance against illegal timber
Grasslands in US Great Plains are being destroyed at “alarming rate”
Sapphire boom propels thousands into Madagascar rainforest
Vietnam faces dilemma on forests as climate change threatens coffee crops
Brazil: Deforestation in the Amazon increased 29% over last year
November
Laser technique boosts aerial imaging of woodlands
Indonesian lower court rejects bid to protect prized forest
Which tropical forest conservation strategies are proving most effective?
New drone analysis highlights conservation challenges in Myanmar
Corrupt logging practices in Liberia could mar new era in community forestry
Indonesia shifts emissions-reduction burden from energy to forestry sector
Southeast Asia: Conservation in oil palm is possible
The people of Ethiopia’s forests
Vietnam: Officials punished for illegal logging in Quang Nam
Sweden sets legal precedent with prosecution of Myanmar teak trader
Sweden prosecutes Myanmar teak trader
Landmark Indonesia/EU legal timber deal goes live today
Are conservation policies a driver of deforestation in Tanzania?
Call for global action to stamp out illegal timber trade
Gold mining invades new areas of Peruvian Amazon
Industry, NGOs agree to single approach to eliminating deforestation from palm oil supply chain
Forests: A Parallax View in Music – DJ Spooky on creating a composition out of a forest.
Illegal logging decimating Ha Giang forests
Madagascar joins International Tropical Timber Organization
Without birds, tropical forests won’t bounce back from deforestation
Myanmar’s logging ban feeds shadow economy of illegal trade
Nearly $1 billion in forest carbon finance committed in 2015
October
One Tanzanian man’s quest to save the forest
For the palm oil industry, ‘engagement’ means turning a blind eye to deforestation
Republic of Congo: Brazzaville-issued mining permits dip into Congo’s flagship park
Small oil palm plantations are having big impacts on Peru rainforest
Thirst for coltan, gold threatens Venezuelan forests, indigenous lands
Small oil palm plantations are having big impacts on Peru rainforest
Does the Brazil nut business work in Bolivia? – Forestry impacts.
Could REDD help save an embattled forest in Cambodia? – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)
Forest land illegally encroached in Dak Nong
RSPO loses key backer in Australia: ‘We just can’t trust them anymore’
Efforts to stop deforestation in DRC may be misplaced, study finds
Hectare by hectare, an indigenous man reforested a jungle in Indonesia’s burned-out heartland
Logged but not out: Altered landscapes important for conservation
Wildfire management vs. fire suppression benefits forest and watershed
Innovative Forests Bond Issued to Unlock Private Financing for Forest Protection
In Myanmar’s Irrawady Delta, a rapidly disintegrating mangrove forest
The fight against deforestation: Why are Congolese farmers clearing forest?
Failed economic development plans drive deforestation in Andean Amazon
Study finds Brazil isn’t counting all deforestation in official estimates
Myanmar teak importers violate European law
Papua New Guinea activist receives prestigious award for protecting forests
Decline in forest diversity could cost billions per year
Gold mining deforestation in Peruvian reserve surpasses 450 hectares
Scientists call for urgent rethink of tropical peatland palm oil and drainage-based agriculture
Significant deforestation in Brazilian Amazon goes undetected, study finds
Rainforest rapidly cleared for sugarcane in Bolivia
Airbus to marshal its satellites against deforestation
Scoring palm oil buyers on their sustainability commitments
Ethiopia’s vulnerable tropical forests are key to securing future of wild coffee
Fires ravaged forests in Indonesian palm oil giant Astra’s land in 2015
Peru’s REDD+ conservation efforts paying off
Palm oil trade to develop in Congo Basin – Gorillas threatened.
Brazil revises Amazon deforestation 6% upward
Victory for forests: Rosewood gets enhanced protection at wildlife summit
Enlisting an Army to Save a Forest
Solid backing for timber at CITES
Tanzania: Sumbawanga Forest Fire Damage Reaches 226 Million Tanzanian Shillings
September
Contrary to popular belief, coca not the driving force of deforestation
Gambia announces ban on imported timber, but expert sceptic
Indonesia exploring new model to fund national parks
Fires driving deforestation in Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem
Myanmar’s forests face myriad problems as logging ban continues
Schweighofer’s ongoing sourcing of illegal timber in Romania and Ukraine again revealed
Deforestation jumps into Peru reserve, 1,600 hectares of rainforest lost
Innovative tax credit takes aim at deforestation in Peru
China’s reforestation program a letdown for wildlife, study finds
Dalbergia Rosewood Receives Protection Needed Under CITES
Mega-Highway Imperils ‘Biological Jewel’ of Nigeria – Proposed highway may lead to poaching, illegal deforestation, and more in Cross River National Park.
August
Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Reserve: 40% Decline in Illegal Logging; Threats from Climate Rage on
Deforestation has been occurring continuously in New England since the 1980s
Zimbabwe: Parched Forests Fall Prey to New Pests
Timber from Peru 90 percent illegal, finds report issued by U.S. gov’t
Smoke from Indonesia’s fires begins to drift into Malaysia
Why is Brazil regressing in its fight against deforestation?
Don’t Get Burned by Misinformation about Dead Trees and Wildfire
Indonesia’s Mangroves One of the World’s Best Solutions to Climate Change
Vietnam’s forest management model not sustainable – Says former deputy head of the Central Highlands Steering Committee on Forest Management.
RSPO lifts suspension of Malaysian palm oil giant IOI
Vietnam: Thanh Hoa moves to realise green growth goals
Vietnam: National Assembly deputy urges strict protection of Central Highland forests
DR Congo: A dangerous, illegal necessity: charcoal reform comes to Virunga
Vietnam has over 14 million hectares of forest: ministry
July
Vietnam: Quang Nam police probe pomu wood thefts
Ethiopia’s Big Jump in Afforestation
Logging in Mount Kenya Forest Pits Politicians Against Local Community
California regulators approve plan to log 100-year-old redwoods
Indonesia’s palm oil permit moratorium to last five years
Tropical forests overexploited by unsustainable logging
Vietnam: Police hunt for leader of illegal logging ring
Vietnam: Are Central Highlands’ forests still open for illegal loggers?
Vietnam: PM’s order on forest closure ignored
Preserving forest carbon sinks top of donors’ climate mitigation agenda
Deforestation from illegal gold mining spreads to northern Peru
Bunge joins ranks of palm oil users to sanction Malaysia’s IOI
Agroforestry helps farmers branch out
Drought stalls tree growth and shuts down Amazon carbon sink, researchers find
Singapore to pursue firms over fires, despite Indonesian ire
Understanding forest fire history can help keep forests healthy
UK takes action against companies importing timber from Cameroon tied to illegal logging
Indonesia: Timber plantation licenses canceled as Mentawai fight off another threat to their traditional lands
Indonesia: Under gov’t pressure, palm oil giants disband green pledge
June
Forest degradation in Brazil can have just as drastic an impact on biodiversity as deforestation
Malaysian palm oil giant IOI under pressure after Cargill ultimatum
Kenya hosts timber trade forum
Vietnam: Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asks for investigating deforestation in Kon Tum
Scientists call on EU businesses, govts to support greener palm oil
Search warrant executed at Global Plywood over alleged Lacey Act violations – Alleged illegal timber imports into the US.
Vietnam: Government declares closing of natural forests
California to fire up burners to battle dead tree epidemic
Norway, U.S. pledge to coordinate forest protection efforts
Canadian forests a refuge as warming creeps north
The prosecutor who lassoed deforestation
EIA Issues Statement Following Executed Search Warrant at Global Plywood (en Español)
Droughts across Europe affect British trees most
Remote sensing and forest inventories contribute to saving tropical forests
Norway pledges $14M to strengthen forest monitoring platform
In unprecedented move, Michelin adopts zero deforestation for rubber sourcing
Tropics’ tallest tree found in Malaysia
May
New hope for Africa’s largest forest park
Vietnam: Old trees in Tra Vinh threatened, say researchers
Here’s what’s driving deforestation in South America
SE Asia’s damaged peat swamps could release 8.7 gigatons of CO2
New Cambodian protected forest offers hope for endangered wildlife
Norway commits to zero deforestation
Investors register for afforestation projects, exploit land for minerals
Senegal’s southern forests may disappear by 2018: ecologist
Indonesia’s forestry ministry follows through on palm oil permit freeze
Zimbabwe: Stop aiding deforestation, forestry firm told
Poland begins logging primeval forest despite activist pleas
NASA satellite data shows rapid recovery for some California forests despite drought
Proposed Amazon dam attracts illegal loggers, threatens local farmers
Indigenous Dayak tribe pitted against palm oil giant in new film
Nigeria: Emirs Frown Upon Illegal Mining, Tree Cutting
Poaching of Elephant Matriarchs Destroys Rainforests
Keeping the timber trade legal: Malaysia’s Customs officers given a helping hand
New Forest Commitments Bring Peru’s Pact for Legal Wood to Life
How “due diligence” is helping curb the illegal timber trade in key markets
Symposium highlights threats to the world’s plants, but solutions are to hand
Brazilian soy industry extends moratorium on deforestation indefinitely
No logging ban for Myanmar despite reported announcement
Malaysian palm oil giant IOI sues RSPO over suspension
Vietnam: Fokienia forest in Quang Nam recognised as heritage tree
Kenya’s forests squeezed as government pressures environment groups
Malaysian palm oil companies say their concession maps are state secrets
Central Highlands’ residents cut down forests to get land for cultivation
Unprecedented deforestation on old Herakles plantation, now under new management
RSPO orders Peruvian palm oil plantation to stop development
Indigenous and forest community leaders tour the EU to call for conflict-free palm oil
India plans to spend $6 billion on creating new forests
Cambodia protects 1 million hectares of vital forest
April
FOUND! Sarawak’s Stolen Wealth Is Locked In A Treasure Trove In The United States! – Malaysian assets allegedly tied to illegal timber trade.
Indonesia takes aim at palm oil after forest fires
Cambodia to add 1 million hectares of protected forest
Palm oil in Cameroon – ‘a blessing or a curse’ to small-scale farmers?
Peru’s climate commitments threatened by advancing oil palm
Tanzania: Forest Conservation At Risk As Funds Run Out
A decade in the making: EU, Indonesia to start licensing scheme for legal timber shipments
Recent plantation expansions on peatlands came with huge carbon costs
Illegal logging “mafia” arrested in Peru
International forest conservation finance is flowing to Africa
India: Red sanders smuggler has links with international gangsters: police
Cambodia Bans Film About Murdered Rainforest Activist
Kenya aims to reverse deforestation, plant 20 million new trees
Indonesian President Joko Widodo bans new oil palm and mining concessions
Rainforest study shows biodiversity loss worse than anticipated
Congo Signs Historic Rainforest Preservation Pact
“Zero Deforestation” Champion Creates New Risks for Indonesia’s Forests
Activists appeal to EU over Polish logging of primeval forest
India: Red sanders logs worth Rs. 3-cr. seized, 2 held
March
Agriculture expansion could reduce rainfall in Brazil’s Cerrado
Mozambique: 250 Illegal Logs Seized in Nampula
Stakeholders meet to formulate sustainable practices in India’s medicinal and aromatic plant trade
Massive wildfire rips through Congo rainforest – is logging to blame?
Poland approves logging Europe’s last primeval forest
Data from 1800s can help researchers, forest managers maintain healthy forest ecosystems today
China’s forest recovery shows hope for mitigating global climate change
Vietnam: More land taken from natural reserves, national parks
Vietnam: Nearly 11,000ha of Dak Lak forest destroyed
Vietnam: Forest fires threatens areas across country
The Relentless Rise of Two Caribbean Lakes Baffles Scientists – Displaced local farmers turn to illegal logging and charcoal.
February
Mozambique: Illegal Loggers Devastating Gile Reserve
Vietnam: High risk of deforestation across country
Africa’s forests menaced by palm oil rush
Five ways China’s overseas investments are impacting African forests
January
German Forest Ranger Finds That Trees Have Social Networks, Too
Zoos Pledge to Fight Palm Oil’s Big Threat to Pygmy Elephants
Vietnam: Local authorities remain powerless against illegal loggers
EIA Denounces Termination of Peruvian Forest Oversight Body President, in apparent effort to allow illegal wood to enter the United States (en Español)
India, China, Indonesia score lowest when it comes to tropical forest protection
World’s largest palm oil trader criticised for lack of progress on deforestation
Vietnam: Despite tougher regulations, deforestation plagues Ca Mau
Ghana: Illegal Loggers Creating Problems in Wa District
Articles from 2015
December
Vietnam: Illegal logging cuts down national park
Vietnam: National Park loses 100 trees a month to illegal loggers
Vietnam: Central Highland forest is being destroyed
Vietnam: Forest surveys support police law enforcement, conservation success
Unseen harvest: Southeast Asia’s illegal orchid trade
November
Amazon Trees Face Extinction Crisis, but There’s Hope
Protecting a forest across generations
Zimbabwe: Crippling Power Cuts Fuel Zimbabwe’s Illegal Logging Trade
October
Vietnam: Forest protection law falls short
Vietnam: Dak Nong seeing heavy deforestation
September
Singapore air worsens to ‘hazardous’ over Indonesia fires
Blacklists protect the rainforest
Chopping down trees will haunt East Africa
Deforestation ruins Kilimanjaro
Zimbabwe: Call to Reduce Deforestation
Zambia: State Ponders Setting Up Mungwi Timber Estate
Severe wildfires not increasing in western dry forests, study finds
Mapping wood production in European forests
Ground-breaking declaration to curb illegal timber trade in East and Southern Africa
Tree planting can harm ecosystems
As demand for African timber soars, birds pay the ultimate price
Indonesian fires send smog over Singapore, Malaysia
Crop rotation boosts soil microbes, benefits plant growth
Wildfires threaten Russia’s unique Lake Baikal
Vietnam focuses on coastal eco-system, mangrove forest protection
August
Decade-long Amazon rainforest burn yields new insight into wildfires
Three trillion trees: Study finds there are 7.5 times more trees than previously believed
Tropical forests in trouble in SE Asia, west Africa: analysts
Tropical forests ‘on the edge’
Increasingly severe disturbances weaken world’s temperate forests
Documentary Tracks Illegal Peruvian Wood Entering U.S. (see also: video)
Fire damage to soils sets back bushfire recovery
Boreal forests challenged by global change
Indictment Says Rare Trees Were Poached to Make Guitars
Malaysia announces sweeping new protections for orangutans
Saving Thirty Hills – The forests of Indonesia’s Sumatra island.
WWF and partners secure protection for critical Sumatran rain forest
Angola, Namibia and Zambia vow to take action on illegal timber trade
July
Discovering untapped value in Europe’s forests
SE Asia sees little progress on haze as fires rage
Insect-killed forests pose no additional likelihood of wildfire
China ire as Myanmar jails scores for illegal logging
Three Arrested for Felling 200 Trees – In the Bao Lam district of Central Highland Lam Dong Province, Vietnam.
Success of traditional Chinese medicine environmental governance project celebrated in China
Climate change just one of many risks to trees in the tropical Andes
Forest Rangers Blamed for Illegal Logging Cases Near Da Nang, Vietnam
Vietnam: Alarming deforestation in Central Highlands
Cycad poacher sentenced to 10 years of prison – Individual had tried to smuggle Karoo cycad (Encephalartos lehmannii) trees.
Tropical peatland carbon losses from oil palm plantations may be underestimated
Rubber expansion threatens biodiversity and livelihoods
June
Lax rules put Congo’s forests, key carbon reserve, at risk
Researchers seek least destructive balance of agriculture vs. forests
Some forestlands cool climate better without trees, study finds
April
Romanian forests face ‘acute’ illegal logging problem
March
Amazon deforestation ‘threshold’ causes species loss to accelerate
January
Study yields surprising insights into the effects of wood fuel burning
Corrupt cop walks out of prison and disappears despite being jailed for timber theft
‘Gold rush’ threatens tropical forests in South America
Articles from 2014
December
Brazil to launch new satellite to track deforestation
Ambitious Indigenous Forest Monitoring Program Underway Across Peru (video)
November
Small New Zealand population initiated rapid forest transition c. 750 years ago
October
High-yielding crops are a double-edged sword for tropical forests
Image: Deforestation in the state of Rondônia in western Brazil, from orbit
September
Guilt-free doughnuts: UN summit hails palm oil pledges – Companies pledge to stop using palm oil in an effort to reduce rainforest deforestation.
Illegal Loggers Blamed for Peru Forest Campaigner’s Murder
August
Brazil cracks ‘biggest’ Amazon deforestation gang
NASA image: Signs of deforestation in Brazil
July
China’s Illegal Timber Imports Ransack Mozambique’s Forests
November
Stop Burning Rain Forests for Palm Oil
August
Gibson Guitar to pay $300,000 for violating Lacey Act with illegal timber imports from Madagascar
April
Forests Equal to Half of Delhi lost, reveals report
Articles from 2011
November
Seized red sanders lying waste
August
PD Act cases on red sanders smugglers
Articles from 2010
October
The $1M bed: why Madagascar’s rainforests are being destroyed
March
Madagascar bans rainforest timber exports following global outcry
January
Satellites being used to track illegal logging, rosewood trafficking in Madagascar
Coup leaders sell out Madagascar’s forests, people
Articles from 2009
May
Rubber plantations could have ‘devastating’ impact in Asia
Articles from 2007
February
New industry standard for collection of wild plants
Have a heart: a third of Borneo’s rainforests to be conserved
Articles from 2003
November
Hybrid oil palms bear fruit in western Kenya
Header image: “Oil Palm Concession” (2007) by H Dragon on Flickr. CC2.0. Oil palm concession in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia.