AMONG THE MANY NASTY things that humans are doing to the environment, few rank worse than destroying tropical forests. Rainforests sustain an astonishing diversity of species and keep our planet liveable by limiting soil erosion, reducing floods, maintaining natural water cycles, and stabilising the climate. Yet roughly 10 million hectares of tropical forest are destroyed every year – the equivalent of 50 football fields a minute.
Governance of Rainforest Resources: Trade-off or Rip-off
I had indicated in last week’s column that I would treat with three particular aspects of global climate funding (aid) as I wrap up for now, my analysis of the LCDS, the Guyana – Norway Agreement and associated arrangements, as well as several environmental topics related to global warming and cl
GEF Publishes Brief on Financing for Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+
July 2010: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has published a brief describing its investment programme for sustainable forest management (SFM) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks ( REDD+), as well as opportunities for funding of forest-related activities in the fifth GEF cycle (GEF-5).
Evidence base for Measuring and Assessing Terrestrial Carbon
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as part of the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD Programme), is developing a project to systematically analyze literature on methods used to measure and assess terrestrial carbon stocks, using an evidence-based approach.
Not even intense international pressure, the BP oil spill, worsening floods, or the fact that the last six months have been the warmest on record globally was enough to push US climate legislation through the Senate. In the end the legislation died without a single Republican supporting it and a number of Democrats balking. Democratic Senate leader, Harry Reid, said they would continue to push climate legislation in the fall, but analysts say success then is unlikely given up-coming elections in November.
Washington - During a meeting with Chilean media in Santiago this month, the United States' special envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, was peppered with questions about last year's United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen and what the world should expect for the talks in Cancún, Mexico
Scientists sound warning on forest carbon payment scheme
Scientists convening in Bali expressed a range of concerns over a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change through forest conservation, but some remained hopeful the idea could deliver long-term protection to forests, ease the transition to a low-carbon economy, and generate benefits to forest-dependent people.
Setting up Nest: Acre, Brazil, and the Future of REDD
22 July 2010 | In the March edition of SinergiA, a quarterly newsletter on environmental services in Latin America, Jacob Olander, Director of The Katoomba Ecosystem Services Incubator (a project of Ecosystem Marketplace publisher Forest Trends), takes a long, hard look at the future of REDD projects.
