Tropical forests are valuable for their biodiversity, carbon and water functions even after logging. But they are also highly vulnerable to fire and conversion to other uses. A new focus is needed on saving tropical forests after the bulldozers have left.
… After the chainsaws - tropical forests are still worth saving Bill Laurance … David Edwards | 11th April 2014 Comment Forests logging-truck-kalimantan.png Tropical forests are valuable for their biodiversity, …
Roads, mines, dams, power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure projects are fast eating into the world's 'core forests', writes Bill Laurance. These rare and precious places where wildlife and ecological processes can flourish undisturbed must come before the evanescent gains of 'development'. To save what's left, governments and funders must learn the word 'No!'
… Saying 'No!' A last chance for the world's forests Bill Laurance James Cook University | 5th February 2016 News Forests Development Transport Conservation … are fast eating into the world's 'core forests', writes Bill Laurance. These rare and …
A succession of mega-corporations that have been driving rainforest destruction in Indonesia have recently announced 'no deforestation' policies. Bill Lawrance asks: is it too good to be true?
… leaf? Bill Laurance | 13th February 2014 News Forests Indonesia april-plantation.png A … Indonesia is the world's biggest destroyer of forests and four multinational corporations - … it will immediately halt clearing of all forests and peatlands, and will not buy palm …
Roads are responsible for massive environmental damage around the world, writes Bill Laurance - yet they also bring huge benefits. His solution? A new atlas that shows where the 'goods' of roads outweigh the 'bads', so that developing countries can harness the prosperity new roads can bring, without the destruction.
… Laurance | 28th August 2014 News Transport Forests Natural World … Earth, such as tropical and subtropical rainforests and wildlife-rich savanna-woodlands. … on the global climate. 'Killer roads' open up forests for logging, farms and hunting Why are …
A new WWF report puts eastern Australia among the world's deforestation hotspots, write Martine Maron & Bill Laurance - estimating that 3-6 million hectares of native forest will be cleared there over the next 15 years. Queensland's new Labor government could reverse the destructive policies - but will it turn a new leaf?
… Laurance | 30th April 2015 Comment Australia Forests Farming … in a new chapter of the WWF Living Forests report ' Saving forests at risk ', which identifies the …
The remarkable Leuser ecosystem in Aceh, Sumatra, has faced massive destruction over recent years with rice farms, palm oil, roads and mines, writes Bill Laurance. But that's all set to end with a moratorium on forest clearance that's supported at the highest levels of government, both state and national. This is definitely news to celebrate! But we must also maintain our vigilance.
… James Cook University | 10th May 2016 Comment Forests Indonesia Regulation Farming Mammals … its schemes to destroy much of the region's forests for oil palm, rice and mining … for oil palm plantations in state-owned forests right across the country. To be clear, …
The destruction of the world's wilderness is accelerating with a new clutch of mega projects from dams, roads and mines to large scale agriculture, write James Watson, Bill Laurance, Brendan Mackey & James Allan. It's cost-effective to put a stop to it right now for the carbon value of wilderness alone - never mind the biodiversity and indigenous peoples it safeguards.
… | 16th September 2016 Comment Climate Change Forests Wilderness Conservation alaska-cut.jpg … 1997, human-lit fires razed recently logged forests that housed large carbon stores. This … most of the world's remaining tropical rainforests are under an onslaught of development …
The 'knowns' of climate change are already plenty scary enough, writes Bill Laurance. But far more worrying are the unknowns. And in a system as complex and convoluted as the global climate system there are lots of them, creating scope for many nasty surprises to emerge.
… | 4th August 2015 Comment Climate Science Forests xingu-fires-2011-cut.jpg The 'knowns' … plant species in north Queensland rainforests will experience a dramatic collapse of … enormous stores of carbon held in the world's forests? This question has generated a giant …
Australia's rainforest state, Queensland, is destroying well over 100,000 hectares of native vegetation a year, and rising, write Martine Maron, Bill Laurance & colleagues, including 'at risk' habitats and Koala bear forests. This is more than reversing the entire nation's eco-restoration programs and pushing endangered species ever closer to extinction.
… | 22nd February 2016 Comment Australia Forests Natural World Conservation Extinction … including 'at risk' habitats and Koala bear forests. This is more than reversing the … The loss of remnant habitat, especially from forests along waterways, means more habitat …
What's needed to pull the world's economy out of recession? According to the G20, it's a massive wave of 'infrastructure' development worth as much $70 trillion, writes Bill Laurance. But all the roads, mines, dams, pipelines and 'development corridors' will inflict massive damage on wildlife populations and natural havens, not to mention local communities that stand in the way.
… News Development Transport Mining Ecocide Forests elephant-skull-bill-lawrance-cut.jpg … - which live only in Africa's equatorial rainforests - have been slaughtered by poachers …
Africa is facing an unprecedented surge in road and railway building with 33 huge 'development corridors' planned that threaten 2,400 of the continent's protected wildlife areas, writes Bill Laurance. We must block the most destructive plans and limit avoidable impacts on natural areas - before it's too late.
… Transport Development Protected Areas Mining Forests road-gabon-cut.jpg Africa is facing an … damage critical environments, especially rainforests of the Congo Basin and West Africa and …
It's fine for 'green' groups to plant trees, or rescue baby flying foxes, write Susan & Bill Laurance. But when they campaign for the environment, right wing politicians see red, Moves are now afoot to strip advocacy groups of their charitable status, reflecting a broader clamp down on eco-activism across the Asia Pacific region in China, Cambodia, Lao and India.
… include climate change; dwindling water, forests, biodiversity, and natural resources; …
New development financiers like China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are driving a global attack on the environment, writes Bill Laurance. With their fast track 'no questions asked' procedures, they are financing a wave of destructive mega-projects, giving the World Bank and other lenders the excuse to lower their already weak safeguards.
New development banks propel environmental 'race to the bottom' Bill Laurance James Cook University | 8th April 2016 Comment Finance Development Ecocide China aiib-cut.jpg New development financiers …