http://www.rainforestportal.org/ "Rainforest Portal" is an Internet Search Tool that provides access to reviewed rainforest conservation news and information Rainforest Portal a project of Ecological Internet, Inc. info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/images/eilogo85.gif http://www.rainforestportal.org/ Guardian: The UN has called an urgent meeting on rising global food prices in an attempt to head off a repeat of the 2008 crisis that sparked riots around the world. Seven people, including two children, were killed in Mozambique this week during three days of protests triggered by a rise in the cost of bread. There has also been anger over increasing prices in Egypt, Serbia and Pakistan, where floods destroyed a fifth of the country's crops. The UN's announcement came after Russian ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/03/un-mozambique-food-prices http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181548 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST food price riots | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: David Smith) Reuters: Drought has cut Peru's Amazon River to its lowest level in 40 years and it is already below the minimum set in 2005, when a devastating dry spell damaged vast swaths of South American rainforest in the worst drought in decades. Scientists in Peru and Brazil say the lack of rainfall, which is typical for this time of year, should continue for a few more weeks until the start of the rainy season. But there is some concern that the dryness could persist as what is shaping up to be ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6825EU20100903?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181537 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Amazon drought climate | South/Central America/Caribbean | Brazil info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Carbon Positive: The rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen by almost half over the past year, according to government data. The figures are only preliminary and need to be confirmed with satellite data, but indications are that the estimate of a 47.5 per cent decline in lost forest area in the period August 2009 and August 2010 is close to the mark. Deforestation of tropical forests is a major contributor to greenhouse emissions worldwide. Forest loss adds billions of tonnes of ... http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=2096 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181480 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Amazon deforestation rate down | South/Central America/Caribbean | Brazil info@ecologicalinternet.org (Carbon Positive: none given) AAP: THE world is facing a mass extinction event that could be greater than that of the dinosaurs, new Australian research shows. Macquarie University palaeobiologist Dr John Alroy used fossils to track the fate of major groups of marine animals throughout the Earth's history. He compiled data from nearly 100,000 fossil collections worldwide, tracking the fate of marine animals during extreme extinction events some 250 million years ago. The findings, published this week in ... http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/world-facing-mass-extinction/story-e6frg15u-1225913659680 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181469 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST mass extinction Earth | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (AAP: none given) NYT: Vietnamese forestry officials seized hundreds of pounds of illegal wildlife from restaurants in a popular tourist province this week, in what was one of the country`s largest such enforcement actions. Illegal meat from from pangolins, mouse deer, monitor lizards and sambar deer was confiscated, as well as bear paws and skins from clouded leopards, binturong (also known as the Asian bearcat), and several monkey and ape species. A dozen restaurant owners were arrested, and a ... http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/vietnam-raids-restaurants-selling-illegal-exotic-meats/?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181558 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST wildlife meat | East/South-East Asia | Vietnam info@ecologicalinternet.org (NYT: John Collins Rudolf) AFP: Millions of Africans may lose a key source of livelihoods as a fifth of freshwater African species are threatened with extinction, the updated Red List of endangered species showed Thursday. Scientists conducting a survey on 5,167 African freshwater species found that some 21 percent of species of fish, molluscs, crabs, dragonflies and aquatic plants were at risk of becoming extinct, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a statement. As fish is ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/wl_africa_afp/environmentbiodiversityspeciesiucn http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181401 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST freshwater species Africans threatened | Africa | info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Mongabay: 21 percent of African freshwater plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, according to a five year assessment of 5,167 freshwater species by 200 scientists. The IUCN study cites pollution, invasive species, increased water diversion for agriculture, and dams as the chief threats to aquatic biodiversity. "Freshwaters provide a home for a disproportionate level of the world's biodiversity. Although they cover just one per cent of the planet's surface, freshwater ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0902-africa_freshwater.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181379 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Africa biodiversity freshwater plants animals | Africa | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: A sweep of restaurants in Vietnam's Lam Dong Province turned up hundreds of pounds of illegal wildlife products, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). More than 100 officers from the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department confiscated over 850 pounds of wildlife including meat, animal parts, and skins during raids conducted last week in Da Lat City and surrounding towns. Animals included pangolin, porcupine, mouse deer, black-shanked duoc langurs, clouded leopard, ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0902-wcs_vietnam_wildlife_trafficking.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181378 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST illegal wildlife killing Vietnam restaurants | East/South-East Asia | Vietnam info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) AFP: The Amazon, the world's biggest river, is at its lowest level in over 40 years near its source in northeastern Peru, causing havoc in a region where it is used as the only form of travel, authorities said. According to officials in Loreto province, the Amazon on Tuesday in the northeast city of Iquitos fell to 105.97 meters (347.67 feet) above sea level, 50 cm (1.6 feet) lower than it was in 2005, so far the lowest reference point in four decades. Low levels have brought ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/sc_afp/environmentperuclimateamazon http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181342 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest Amazon river water level | South/Central America/Caribbean | Peru info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Mongabay: More than 80 percent of agricultural expansion in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came at the expense of forests, reports research published last week in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study, based on analysis satellite images collected by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and led by Holly Gibbs of Stanford University, found that 55 percent of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0902-tropical_agriculture.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181389 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST tropical agricultural fores | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: The number of threatened vultures in Cambodia is on the rise according to a new survey by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other members of the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project. The annual census found 296 birds among the country's three vulture species: the white-rumped, red-headed, and slender billed. The population of the latter two species were flat since the 2009 tally, but the white-rumped vulture population rose. All three vulture species are listed as "Critically ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0902-vultures_cambodia_wcs.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181383 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST bird vultures | East/South-East Asia | Cambodia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) National Geographic: There's a new, scalier lord of the jungle: Tarzan the chameleon. Five-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) Calumma tarzan was found recently in a tiny patch of forest on the vast African island of Madagascar, a new study says. The new species' name has multiple roots. For one thing, the chameleon's habitat--in what locals call the Tarzan Forest--is near the village formerly known as Tarzanville (recently renamed Ambodimeloka). For another, the team thought naming the new ... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100901-tarzan-chameleon-tarzanville-forest-science-environment/ http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181359 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST tarzan chameleon forest | Africa | Madagascar info@ecologicalinternet.org (National Geographic: none given) BBC: A species of acacia tree found in Eastern Africa seems to be protected from elephant damage - by the ants that live on it. Researchers from the Universities of Wyoming and Florida, in the US, carried out a series of studies in Laikipia District in Central Kenya, and Tsavo National Park, also in Kenya. Tree cover was decreasing while elephant numbers were increasing. Tree cover stayed the same where elephants were excluded using a high electric fence that other animals can ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11168039 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181339 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST trees wildlife ants Africa | Pacific/Oceania | info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: Katie Alcock) Daily Trust: Nigeria is susceptible to climate change-induced disasters, Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey has warned. Odey said yesterday in Minna that climate induced disasters may soon affect the country as he maintained that research had revealed that Nigeria would succumb to the adverse effects of climate change. The minister's representative, Mrs. Olabisi Jaji, who was speaking at the commencement of the visit of Task Force members of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate ... http://allafrica.com/stories/201009020235.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181287 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST climate disasters warning | Africa | Nigeria info@ecologicalinternet.org (Daily Trust: Ayegba Israel Ebije) AFP: US fast food giant Burger King said Thursday it would no longer buy palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries after Greenpeace campaigned against the Indonesian group's land-clearing practices. Burger King joins the likes of Unilever, Nestle and Kraft in shunning Sinar Mas in a move that will increase pressure on other corporate buyers of its palm oil products, such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and Dunkin' Donuts. Indonesia is the biggest producer of palm oil which is used in ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/ts_alt_afp/indonesiausenvironmentcompanysinarmasburgerking http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181273 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil campany Burger King drops | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) LiveScience: A proposed road through the Serengeti could jeopardize one of the largest migrations of land animals in the world, conservationists warn. The proposed Arusha-Musoma highway would slice through the northern portion of one of the world's best- known wildlife sanctuaries, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Conservation groups are pleading with the Tanzanian government to look at other routes to meet the transportation needs of the region, according to the Wildlife Conservation ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100901/sc_livescience/serengetisgreatmigrationsmaybeonroadtoruin http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181225 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST wildlife migration Serengeti | Africa | Tanzania info@ecologicalinternet.org (LiveScience: none given) Mongabay: Burger King announced it would no longer source palm oil from Sinar Mas, an Indonesian conglomerate, after an independent audit showed one of the company's subsidiaries had destroyed rainforests and carbon-dense peatlands in Borneo and Sumatra, according to a statement on the fast food chain's Facebook page. In a report issued last month, Sinar Mas tried to misrepresent the results of the audit by claiming it cleared its subsidiary PT Smart of environmental transgressions. After the ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0901-burger_king_sinar_mas.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181268 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest destruction Burger King | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Climate Action Reserve: The newest version of the Forest Project Protocol from the Climate Action Reserve, North America's largest carbon offset registry, has been officially released for use in the carbon market. Updates in version 3.2 of the protocol create stronger standards for ensuring integrity and long-term environmental benefit in forest offset projects across the U.S. While other offset project types prevent carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) from entering the atmosphere, forest offset ... http://www.climateactionreserve.org/2010/08/31/updated-standard-provides-new-guidance-for-using-forests-to-address-climate-change/ http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181262 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change forest | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Climate Action Reserve: none given) Guardian: Mankind has a problem. We're heating the Earth and destroying its ecosystems so fast that we're killing off life as we know it. The fragile world around us, from rainforest canopies to marine life in our oceans, is the life support system we all depend on – for food, for shelter, for clean air. But we're trashing it, quickly, many habitats at a time, and putting ourselves in grave danger within our lifetimes. The overriding challenge of our generation is to protect the world around us ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/sep/01/biodiversity-factory-farming http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181168 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest protect diversity | South/Central America/Caribbean | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: Andy Atkins) Sofia Echo: An international coalition of environmental groups says European demand for biofuels has driven local communities off their land in Africa and curbed the production of staple foods. In an effort to protect communal land in Africa,Friends of the Earth, an international network of environmental groups, is criticizing the European Union for driving land acquisition by foreign companies across sub-Saharan Africa. Report: Africa land for sale According to a report released by ... http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/09/01/954286_environmental-group-says-eu-biofuel-targets-create-land-grab-in-africa http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181118 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST EU biofuel land-grab | Africa | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Sofia Echo: none given) Mongabay: Although the mining consortium, United Khmer Group, has been drawing up plans to build a massive titanium mine in a Cambodian protected forest for three years, the development did not become public knowledge until rural villagers came face-to-face with bulldozers and trucks building access roads. Reaction against the secret mine was swift as environmentalists feared for the impacts on wildlife and the rivers, local villagers saw a looming threat to their burgeoning eco-tourism trade, and ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0901-hance_cambodia_mine.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181247 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST untouched forest titanium mine | East/South-East Asia | Cambodia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down significantly since last year, according to preliminary estimates released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazil-based NGO that tracks forest loss and degradation across the Amazon. Analysis of NASA MODIS data by Imazon found some 1,488 square kilometers of forest were cleared during the 12 months ended July 31, 2010, down 16 percent from the same period last year, when 1,766 square kilometers were ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0831-imazon_amazon.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181180 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST deforestation Amazon | South/Central America/Caribbean | Brazil info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: Scientists have discovered a new species of chameleon in a small block of rainforest in Madagascar. The color-changing lizard, which is described in the current issue of Salamandra Journal, is named Calumma tarzan after the nearby town of Tarzanville, in the central eastern highlands of Madagascar. The chameleon is typically yellow or green and adopts an attractive striped pattern when stressed. The Tarzan chameleon was discovered by a team of German and Malagasy researchers, ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0831-tarzan_chameleon.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181090 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest chameleon | Africa | Madagascar info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) NYT: Blasting off mountaintops to reach coal in Appalachia or churning out millions of tons of carbon dioxide to extract oil from sand in Alberta are among environmentalists' biggest industrial irritants. But they are also legal and lucrative. A Massey Energy mountaintop site. Some lenders that previously extended credit have eliminated ties to the company. For a growing number of banks, however, that does not seem to matter. After years of legal entanglements arising from ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/business/energy-environment/31coal.html?_r=1&hp http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180937 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST environmental risk banks | North America | info@ecologicalinternet.org (NYT: none given) Independent: For the humble chopstick, life is predictable. Start off as a tree, one of the 25 million felled each year for the purpose. Spend a brief few weeks, newly-whittled, encased in paper. Then wind up on someone's plate, where you are expertly used to shovel noodles, or rice, or meat into a mouth. Then that's it. It's time to face the great landfill in the sky. Millions of chopsticks meet their end like this. In fact, billions -- 45 billion a year in China alone, taking with them some 100 ... http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/chopsticks-the-cutlery-conundrum-2066109.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180936 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST wood chopsticks | East/South-East Asia | China info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent: Alice-Azania Jarvis) Guardian: Climate change now reveals itself on a weekly basis. Scientists this month identified a colony of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries both yellow fever and the dengue virus, in the Netherlands. This African insect had not been seen in Europe for more than 50 years. A few days later US researchers reported that on the evidence of satellite data, global plant productivity – which had increased by 6% in two decades, in response to the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – has begun to ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/climate-change-bjorn-lomborg http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180881 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate fact life | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: Editorial) Reuters: China's decision to slash export quotas of rare earth elements was a necessary step to protect the country's environment, commerce minister Chen Deming said following criticism from Japanese officials. "Mass extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment and that's why China has tightened controls over rare earth production, exploration and trade," Chen was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying on Saturday. China issued export quotas for 30,258 ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67S03V20100830?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180716 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST mining rare Earths | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Mongabay: The decision last week by the Brazilian government to move forward on the $17 billion Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu river will set in motion a plan to build more than 100 dams across the Amazon basin, potentially turning tributaries of the world's largest river into 'an endless series of stagnant reservoirs', says a new short film released by Amazon Watch and International Rivers. The film, narrated by Sigourney Weaver, uses a Google Earth 3-D tour to illustrate the potential impact of ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0830-belo_monte_google_earth.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180858 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest river | South/Central America/Caribbean | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: Although the last few months have been some of the warmest worldwide on record, including 17 countries reaching or breaking all-time highs, temperatures have not been above average everywhere. Cold air from Antarctica has brought chilling temperatures to parts of South America, including Bolivia where millions of fish and thousands of caimans, turtles, and river dolphins according to Nature. The estimated six million dead fish have poisoned some rivers in the region, forcing officials ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0830-hance_cold_bolivia.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180934 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate cold snap | South/Central America/Caribbean | Bolivia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Jeremy Hance) Antara News: An Indonesian NGO has reminded the government to make sure Indonesia`s sovereignty in managing its own forests in its forest preservation cooperation with Norway. Executive Director of Greenomics Indonesia Elfian Effendi here Monday said the management of funds for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects by the third party might cause Norway`s significant intervention. "In fact, Indonesia`s sovereignty over its forests is at stake in the ... http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1282565287/ri-should-maintain-sovereignty-in-forest-cooperation-with-norway http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180644 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST forest Norway | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Antara News: none given) Guyana Chronicle: NORWAY'S Ministry of Finance has withdrawn comments that seemed to express concern over operations of the Barama Company Limited (BCL) here and has reaffirmed support for this country's low carbon development thrust. "Norway strongly supports and is impressed by the efforts of the Government of Guyana to create a low-carbon and low-deforestation future and remains a committed partner to Guyana in these efforts", Hilde Singsaas, State Secretary in the Norwegian Finance Ministry ... http://www.guyanachronicleonline.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17836:norway-retracts-comment-on-barama-operations&catid=4:top-story&Itemid=8 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180680 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest climate Samling logging | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guyana Chronicle: none given) Mongabay: The European Union's renewable fuels target is driving land grabs in Africa that threaten the environment and local communities, claims a new report from Friends of the Earth (FOE). Africa: up for grabs - The scale and impact of land grabbing for agrofuels [PDF] reviews a series of land deals signed across more than a dozen countries in recent years. It finds that private European companies are active participants in the deals, which sometimes are made without environmental impact ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0829-foe_land_grabs_africa.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180677 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST biofuel land grab Africa | Africa | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Kaieteur: Sarawak-based Samling Global Ltd. has refuted its former investor Norwegian Pension Fund's (NPF) claims that the group had repeatedly breached regulations of its timber activities in Sarawak and Guyana, contributing to illegal logging and severe environmental damage. A company spokesperson said that Samling Global was disappointed with NPF's public characterisation of the group, which was inaccurate and not based on complete information. "Samling Global has invited NPF to visit ... http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/08/28/samling-refutes-norway%e2%80%99s-state-pension-fund-claims/ http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180778 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest Samling | South/Central America/Caribbean | Guyana info@ecologicalinternet.org (Kaieteur: none given) eTurboNews: The Tanzanian government announced last week that they will, in conjunction with development partners and international organizations, establish a climate change research center near Africa's highest mountain. A team of European climate change researchers flew a balloon across the face of the mountain to gather vital data on air pollution just last week. It is understood that the European Union will be a major contributor to the building and equipping of the new center, which will – ... http://www.eturbonews.com/18167/climate-change-center-be-established-near-kilimanjaro http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180726 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change near Klimanjaro | Africa | Tanzania info@ecologicalinternet.org (eTurboNews: none given) Reuters: Brazil's essential role as a provider of food for the world's expanding population is at risk if the government makes good on threats to curtail foreign investment in farmland. The late Nobel laureate and U.S. agronomist Norman Borlaug, who is widely recognized as the father of the Green Revolution, predicted Brazil would become the world's breadbasket in the 21st Century, as the United States was in the 20th. Abundant sun, rain and land that can yield two grain crops a year ... http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24252886.htm http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180720 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST farmland foreign investors | South/Central America/Caribbean | Brazil info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Reese Ewing) Nature: With high Andean peaks and a humid tropical forest, Bolivia is a country of ecological extremes. But during the Southern Hemisphere's recent winter, unusually low temperatures in part of the country's tropical region hit freshwater species hard, killing an estimated 6 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles and river dolphins. Scientists who have visited the affected rivers say the event is the biggest ecological disaster Bolivia has known, and, as an example of a sudden ... http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100827/full/news.2010.437.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180823 28 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change kill wildlife | South/Central America/Caribbean | Bolivia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Nature: none given) Reuters: Environmentalists on Friday criticized a decision by agribusiness giant Cargill Inc to continue buying palm oil from Indonesian firm PT Smart Tbk after SMART received a mixed score in a green audit. Greenpeace has alleged in its reports that SMART -- which is controlled by Indonesia's Widjaja family, owners of the Sinar Mas conglomerate -- cleared forests in Kalimantan without completing the proper paperwork and destroyed carbon-rich peatlands. Big palm oil buyers Nestle and ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67Q24T20100827 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180829 28 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST palm oil slams Cargill | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Mongabay: Norway's Climate and Forests Initiative, which has set aside billions of dollars for efforts to reduce deforestation, should work with the country's Ministry of Finance to divest the Government Pension Fund from companies that destroy forests, says the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an environmental group. EIA is making a push on the issue just four days after the pension fund announced it had sold all of its shares in Malaysian logging conglomerate Samling Global after an ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0827-norway_divestment.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180575 27 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest climate end logging | Europe | Norway info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Mongabay: The number of fires burning in Brazil more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Surprisingly, the news has sparked a Twitter sensation, with more than 120,000 users "tweeting" messages with the hashtag "#chegadequeimadas" about the fires in a 48 hour window. The phenomenon emerged after analysis of satellite data by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) revealed the number of "hot spots" between Jan 1 and Aug 26 reached 41,636 in 2010, up from 17,682 ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0827-twitter_fires.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180561 27 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest fire social networks | South/Central America/Caribbean | Brazil info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) AFP: Indonesia is seeking more than a billion dollars' compensation for environmental damage from an oil spill at a Thai-run rig off Australia's northwest coast, a report said Thursday. Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said the claim was for more than 1.1 billion dollars. "The amount is big enough," Numberi was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires. Government representatives are said to be ready to table the demand during talks with PTT Australasia, a unit of Thailand's PTT ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100826/sc_afp/indonesiathailandaustraliaoilenvironmentpollution http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180490 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill payout | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Mongabay: Cargill has not suspended its relationship with a palm oil company recently exposed for misleading investors and buyers on its environmental transgressions, reports the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group campaigning against environmentally-damaging forms of palm oil production. On August 16 Cargill said it would continue buying from PT Smart, a palm oil grower that had been accused by Greenpeace of destroying rainforests and peatlands in Indonesian Borneo. Cargill made ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0826-cargill_sinar_mas.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180463 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest oil palm Cargill | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Rhett Butler) Kaieteur: Guyana will be lodging formal representations with the Norwegian Government as it relates to the Reuters article that painted Barama operations in Guyana in a bad light. This was confirmed by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud who said that he was a little surprised at the statement given that the information was made available by that country's finance ministry and it is known to them what Guyana's forestry practices are. He said that the reports will not affect the monies ... http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/08/25/guyana-to-lodge-formal-representation-with-norway/ http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180435 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest Samling evili | South/Central America/Caribbean | Guyana info@ecologicalinternet.org (Kaieteur: none given) Free Malaysia Today: In the last three weeks, Sarawak was abuzz with news of a particular climate change mitigation mechanism called REDD (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). First, a news article by Reuters informed that an Australian carbon trading company has signed a carbon offset deal with nine tribal leaders that would purportedly preserved more than 100,000ha of forests in the state. It would be a 50-50 deal, according to the developer of the ... http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/opinion/comment/9604-seeing-redd-in-climate-tool http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180432 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate REDD tool | East/South-East Asia | Malaysia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Free Malaysia Today: Hilary Chiew) Independent: One of the world's tiniest frogs -- barely larger than a pea -- has been found living in and around carnivorous plants on Borneo island, one of the scientists who made the accidental discovery said today. Indraneil Das, a scientist at University Malaysia Sarawak, said he and another scientist from Germany were doing field research on frogs in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island when they chanced on the tiny species on the edge of a road leading to the summit of a mountain in the ... http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/peasized-frogs-found-in-borneo-carnivorous-plants-2062569.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180431 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST plants borneo carnivorous | East/South-East Asia | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent: none given) AP: One of the world's tiniest frogs – barely larger than a pea – has been found living in and around carnivorous plants in Borneo, one of the scientists who made the accidental discovery said today. Indraneil Das, a scientist at University Malaysia Sarawak, and another scientist from Germany were researching frogs in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island when they chanced upon the tiny species on a mountain road in the Kubah National Park in 2006. "For biologists, this is a ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/26/tiny-frog-found-in-borneo http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180412 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST frog small Borneo | East/South-East Asia | info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) Independent: The world's largest tiger reserve, in the wilds of northern Burma, is being rapidly eroded as a businessman with links to the junta replaces trees with cash crops, according to a report published yesterday. The Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve in Kachin State was created in 2001 with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society. When it was expanded in 2004, the society hailed it as "the biggest tiger reserve in the world". "In the northernmost stretches of Myanmar [Burma]," ... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/plantation-linked-to-junta-is-destroying-burmese-tiger-reserve-2062205.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180319 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST rainforest plantation tiger reserve | East/South-East Asia | Myanmar info@ecologicalinternet.org (Independent: none given) Guardian: For the first time since 2007, the big business story of this summer has got nothing to do with banks. Nor does it feature state-of-the-art financial wizardry. No, the real runner on the business pages this month, the major news that has got people in the City and on Wall Street talking, concerns fertiliser. Whichever astute equity analyst came up with the one about how where there's muck there's brass probably did not estimate that it would involve £25.8bn worth of brass. But that is ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/26/editorial-fertiliser-resources-global-economy http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180321 26 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST resources fertilizer | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: Editorial) Reuters: An Australian carbon services firm has signed a deal aimed at protecting tropical forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as boosting renewable energy there, a senior company official said on Wednesday. Shift2Neutral and its partners would help value the carbon storage from forest and land protection, certify carbon related services to communities in the DRC and help sell certified carbon offsets. It had signed the deal with the national government as well as state ... http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE67O3W120100825 http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180315 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST carbon rainforest Congo offset | Africa | Democratic Republic of Congo info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Mongabay: Allegations of government corruption and corporate kick-backs are swirling around a planned 300 MW Chinese coal plant in the Malaysian state of Sabah. While the plan to build the coal plant in Lahad Datu Bay has come up against strong and unrelenting grassroots opposition, the federal government continues to largely turn a deaf ear to opposition, arguing that the energy plant is necessary to power Sabah and stop blackouts. However, critics say the coal plant--which is to be built on ... http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0825-sabah_coal_corruption_alex_oxley.html http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180267 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST coal plant corruption | East/South-East Asia | Malaysia info@ecologicalinternet.org (Mongabay: Alex Oxley) SciDev.Net: An official study in Peru has found no evidence of transgenic maize crops in the valley of Barranca, casting doubt on earlier claims by a researcher of their illegal existence. Those claims were central to a recent court case in which Ernesto Bustamante Donayre, a molecular biologist and vice-president of the Peruvian College of Biologists, was convicted of defamation after criticising research by Antonietta Ornella Gutiérrez Rosati -- that purported to find evidence of such ... http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/gm-report-adds-twist-to-peruvian-defamation-case.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180257 25 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST food maize transgenic | South/Central America/Caribbean | Peru info@ecologicalinternet.org (SciDev.Net: Zoraida Portillo)