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forests > features
New plan to save Costa Rica's national parks
Twenty per cent of Costa Rica's terrority has been granted 'protected status', yet conservationists worry that biodiversity remains threatened without long-term financial commitment to the country's national parks. ... more
Marketing Ghana's forests with care
by Julia Cass
Less than 10 per cent of Ghana rainforest - part of one of the world's richest and most diverse ecosystems - survives. And what is left is under grave threat, jeopardising the country's economic future and the wellbeing of its people. But now an effort is being made to manage what is left in a sustainable way, as Julia Cass reports. _ ... more
New guide to sustainable wood flooring
The darker shades of exotic hardwoods are the new fashion in flooring and manufacturing companies are turning to tropical countries to satisfy consumer demand. But, says the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), shoppers should beware of false claims that the flooring is from sustainable sources ... more
SUCCESS STORY:
A forest is born in India
by Ambujam Anantharaman
Seeds obtained from the droppings of civet cats and other animals can give birth to a rainforest. This simple truth has been put into practice by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), working in the Anamalai ranges at the tail end of India's Western Ghats. The Foundation has successfully demonstrated how denuded rainforests can be restored, with the dual objective of biological conservation and creating a transit corridor for animals. ... more
Brazil's other disappearing rainforest
by Gibby Zobell
Brazil's gigantic Atlantic Forest contains more species of birds than in the whole of Europe. But it has been decimated to a tiny fraction of its size over the past few decades - and the destruction is continuing even now, says this graphic report from Aljazeera. ... more
Good news among the gloom from Asia's forests
by Henrylito Tacio
Asia's forests, covering nearly 700 million hectares - or about 18 per cent of the world's total - are being destroyed at an alarming rate. But says a new book there is also a lot of good news about forest conservation in the region. ... more
Unchecked deforestation endangers Malawi ecosystems
by Charles Mkoka
Deforestation for charcoal burning, slash and burn cultivation, and tobacco curing is threatening human survival and the entire ecosystem of this African rift country. Fresh water has turned saline along the shore of Lake Malawi, and wildlife habitat is disappearing as a result of widespread logging, reports Charles Mkoka. ... more
Profile: Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
by Katy Salmon
The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize was this month awarded to Professor Wangari Maathai, for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace." Here we republish a profile of the founder of the Green Belt Movement which has planted more than 30 million trees across Africa. This first appeared in the millennium issue of People & the Planet magazine soon after the first anniversary of her successful battle to save Karura Forest,� a vital lung for Kenya's ever-expanding capital. Dr Maathai now serves as assistant minister of environment, natural resource and wildlife in the Kenyan government of President Kibaki. ... more
Chocolate offers new hope for saving endangered rainforest
Good news for chocolate lovers: your sweet tooth could help save one of the world�s most endangered rainforests, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. In a study released by the Worldwatch Institute, researchers Chris Bright and Radhika Sarin outline how cocoa�the main ingredient in chocolate�could be grown in a way that would help restore the northern part of the Atlantic Forest biome, while encouraging other forms of development that preserve forest instead of destroying it. ... more
SUCCESS STORY
Regaining paradise in Lombok
by Jeff Sayer
A slump in the travel industry has left many on the Indonesian island of Lombok without employment. Forced onto the land, they have illegally cleared large swathes of forest in order to grow food � threatening the forests as well as the island's water supplies. But now the farmers are replanting trees, helping to protect the natural forest and at the same time improve their livelihoods, as Jeff Sayer reports. ... more
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