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Forest Protection Equals Climate Protection

#Forests are critical for #climate protection and for safeguarding indigenous peoples, endangered animals and rare plants. However global #deforestation targets and environmental legislation is lax and falling short. Strong international law is needed to curb deforestation. Along with proactive support for #Indigenous land rights, #agroecology and decolonisation. Act now and help the climate, be #vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Strict #legal protections are needed to protect #forests, #indigenous peoples and #endangered animals 🐒🦎🦬 from #extinction. Reject the #ecocide! When you shop be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🚫 #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8U5

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Governments and law-makers must urgently act to protect #rainforests 🌳🌲 #animals 🐘🐯🦍 and #indigenous peoples from disappearing finds new #report. Help them survive and #BoycottGold4Yanomami #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8U5

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Written by Mary Gagen, Professor of Physical Geography, Swansea University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The world is falling behind on commitments to protect and restore forests, according to the recent Forest Declaration Assessment. There is no serious pathway to fixing climate change while forest losses continue at current rates, because global climate targets, sustainable development goals and forest commitments depend on each other.

Around 1.6 billion people live close enough to forests to depend upon them for their livelihoods, and forests suck down about a third of our CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels.

Amazon rainforest. PxFuel

The UN estimates that forests directly generate US$250 billion (£206 billion) in economic activity a year. Their broader, indirect, value might be as much as US$150 trillion (£12 trillion) per year – double the value of global stocks – largely due to their ability to store carbon. Despite this, subsidies still provide incentives for people to convert forests into agriculture.

Big Business: Failing Promises

There have been multiple global commitments to forests, with hundreds of governments and businesses signing up to pledges named after cities they were signed in: Bonn in 2011, New York in 2014, Glasgow in 2021. But these pledges have not been realised, and deforestation reduction targets are slipping each year.

Global deforestation between 2010 and 2022, in million hectares. Forest Declaration Assessment 2023, CC BY-SA

Global forest loss in 2022 was 6.6 million hectares, an area about the size of Ireland. That’s 21% more than the amount that would keep us on track to meet the target of zero deforestation by 2030, agreed in Glasgow. The loss of tropical rainforest is even more pronounced: 33% over the target needed. Deforestation in 2022 marked a 4% step back on 2021 progress.

Why we are failing to protect forests

There isn’t one simple explanation for why forests are still disappearing. Factors include a lack of Indigenous Peoples rights to their territories, forest-harming financial and trade systems, and the physical effects of climate change and fire.

The lack of consistent and secure land tenure rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities threatens forests and the people who depend upon them. Across the tropics, where forests are under their stewardship, the evidence is clear: deforestation and degradation are lower.

Subsidies that can lead to deforestation are worth between US$381 billion (£314 billion) and US$1 trillion (£825 billion) per year. These could include handing out public land to settlers, building roads or pipes to enable industrial-scale farming, keeping taxes on agricultural products artificially low, or subsidies on specific crops grown on formerly forested lands.

There are also illegal activities. By one recent estimate, 69% of the tropical forest cleared for agriculture between 2013 and 2019 violated national laws and regulations. The illegal timber trade is estimated to be worth US$150 billion per year globally.

There is simply not enough money going to support forests. Public finance for forests is less than 1% ”) of the amount invested in activities that are environmentally harmful or incentivise deforestation.

A warmer world means more forest fires. Ringo Chiu / shutterstock

Around the globe, forests are also being harmed by climate change and shifting patterns of wildfires. Climate change is causing more fires, including in forests that do not usually burn, and producing hotter fires which cause long-term damage even in fire-adapted forests. The length and severity of droughts is increasing, inducing water stress which kills trees. A combination of climate-related stresses means that trees in the tropics, temperate and boreal forests, are experiencing dying younger and massive “die offs” are happening more often.

If the effects of fire and climate change continue post-Anthropocene forests are likely to be smaller, simpler in species, emptied of wildlife and restricted to steeper ground where agriculture is less favoured.

Computer simulations of the future climate, known as climate models, depict very different outcomes for forests depending on whether we limit global warming or not. If emissions are reigned in and we leave some cultivated land to nature, 350 million hectares of forest could return by 2100. That’s an area roughly the size of India. However, in a future where emissions remain high and land use doesn’t change, the models suggest a loss of a further 500 million hectares of forest by 2100.

How To Get Back On Track

The new Forest Pathways Report I worked on sets out an action plan for getting back on track. It asks global leaders and businesses to:

Accelerate the recognition of Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ right to own and manage their lands, territories and resources.
Provide more money, both public and private, to support sustainable forest economies.
Reform the rules of global trade that harm forests, getting deforesting commodities out of global supply chains, and removing barriers to forest-friendly goods.
Shift towards nature-based and bio economies.

At the next COP28 climate summit in Dubai, there is the promise of bilateral announcements between wealthy donor nations and forested nations in the tropics, as part of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership signed in Glasgow, two years ago. These packages could support a move towards sustainable forest management and deforestation-free supply chains around the world.

This would be a valuable success, but leadership is desperately needed on other issues such as environmentally harmful subsidies or illegal logging, the financial scale of which both dwarf the funding provided to protect forests.

Written by Mary Gagen, Professor of Physical Geography, Swansea University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

ENDS

Read more about deforestation and ecocide in the palm oil industry

Forest Protection Equals Climate Protection

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Beautiful and Doomed: Saving Bangladesh’s Langurs From Extinction

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3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

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#agroecology #animalExtinction #animals #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #BoycottPalmOil #Climate #climateChange #deforestation #ecocide #endangered #extinction #forests #indigenous #legal #meatDeforestation #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #plywood #rainforests #report #soyDeforestation #timber #vegan

Palm Oil Detectives Jan 20

Jaguars vs Cows: JBS Fuelling Biodiversity Collapse in Brazil’s Forests

A damning Global Witness investigation exposes how JBS, the world’s largest meat company, is directly linked to deforestation in some of Brazil’s most biodiverse ecosystems, including the Amazon and Pantanal. Despite greenwashing promises, JBS continues sourcing cattle from ranchers involved in illegal deforestation in areas that overlap with protected jaguar territory—pushing iconic species like the jaguar closer to extinction. The company’s failure to track indirect suppliers undermines greenwashing and zero-deforestation claims. JBS is financed by British Bank Barclays who made a whopping $1.7 billion from this decimation of the environment. This scandal highlights the urgent need to divest your wealth from Barclays until they stop funding JBS. Also in the supermarket you can #BoycottMeat and be #vegan for not only farmed animals but also for wild animals like jaguars and countless others. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

#Meat giant 🥩☠️ #JBS is driving #deforestation in the #Amazon🐆 ❌ Jaguars are losing their home to cows killed for burgers 🤮💰 Billions in profits to #Barclays and zero accountability 📣 Divest NOW! NO to #BigCat #extinction! #Boycott4Wildlife #Vegan https://palmoildetectives.com/2026/01/21/jaguars-vs-cows-jbs-fuelling-biodiversity-collapse-in-brazils-forests/

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Global Witness. (2024, May 15). Jaguars vs cows: The biodiversity crisis under JBS’s shadow. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/jaguars-vs-cows-the-biodiversity-crisis-under-jbs-shadow/

A Global Witness investigation has found that jaguars, vital guardians of Amazonian ecosystems and critical apex predators — are under siege as Brazil’s forests are cleared at alarming rates. New findings from Global Witness show that over 27 million hectares of the jaguar’s historic habitat in Brazil have been razed for industrial agriculture, particularly cattle ranching, between 2014 and 2023.

A single supplier to JBS, the world’s largest meat company, illegally cleared over 1,200 hectares of protected jaguar habitat in just a decade. Across the jaguar’s range in Pará and Mato Grosso states, 75% of farms linked to JBS’s supply chain broke environmental laws in the past five years. Deforestation and habitat fragmentation have devastated jaguar populations, classified as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List.

Jaguars are a keystone species, crucial to maintaining ecosystem health. Their decline ripples throughout the Amazon and Cerrado, triggering wider biodiversity loss. Meanwhile, financial institutions in Europe, China, and the US continue backing JBS despite its environmental breaches, profiting while forests fall.

With Brazil hosting COP30 this year, Global Witness is calling for world leaders to show real commitment. They must strengthen laws regulating supply chains and finance to protect remaining forests and Indigenous territories, or risk missing the 2030 deadline to halt deforestation.

Without urgent action, jaguars — once revered as guardians of the rainforest — could vanish forever.

The Global Witness investigation found over 27 million ha of jaguar habitat – an area larger than the UK – had been converted to agricultural land in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará as of 2023.

“We decided to investigate the loss of jaguar habitat driven by industrial agriculture because jaguars are a keystone species. They play a crucial role in stabilising ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity in areas such as the Amazon and Cerrado. When their territories are destroyed, the entire ecosystem suffers,” said Marco Mantovani, a Global Witness investigator leading the data analysis.

A road in Brazil which drives deep into jaguar habitat. Ricardo de O. Lemos/ShutterstockJaguar Panthera onca by Ecuadorian artist Juanchi PérezA jaguar in the jungle of southern Mexico. Mardoz/Shutterstock

“Deforestation is a solvable issue, but it’s one where there is stalling, a lack of political will to actually meet the global agreement to end forest loss by 2030,” said Global Witness’s Reid, referring to the landmark pledge reached at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021.

She told Mongabay that she hopes that at COP30 countries will put forward plans “to actually deliver [on] their commitments when it comes to forest loss.”

British banking giant Barclays was a main financier of the megaproject and made an extraordinary $1.7 billion from financing JBS, surpassing 30 other global financial institutions bankrolling the meatpacker. A key way to take action is to not only boycott meat in solidarity to cows and jaguars, but to also divest your funds from Barclays.

ENDS

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Enter your email address

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Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

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Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

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https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

Pledge your support

#Barclays #bigCat #bigcat #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottMeat #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #extinction #Jaguar #JaguarPantheraOnca #Jaguars #JBS #meat #meatAgriculture #meatAndSoyDeforestationInBrazil #meatDeforestation #News #PalmOil #vegan

Palm Oil Detectives Jun 22, 2022

Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts

Although conservation efforts have historically focused attention on protecting rare, charismatic, and endangered species, the “insect apocalypse” presents a different challenge. In addition to the loss of rare taxa, many reports mention sweeping declines of formerly abundant insects [e.g., Warren et al. (29)], raising concerns about ecosystem function.

#Insects 🪰🦋🪳🪲🐞🐛💌😻🌿 are the incredible engine room of the planet ensuring ecosystems work. They’re under siege by human-caused #climatechange #deforestation #pollution. Report via @PNASnews. #BoycottPalmOil 🌴⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/06/23/insect-decline-in-the-anthropocene-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/

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This report was originally published in PNAS

Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts David L. Wagner, Eliza M. Grames, Matthew L. Forister, May R. Berenbaum, and David Stopak. January 11, 2021
118 (2) e2023989118 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023989118

Nature is under siege

In the last 10,000 years the human population has grown from 1 million to 7.8 billion. Much of Earth’s arable lands are already in agriculture (1), millions of acres of tropical forest are cleared each year (2, 3), atmospheric CO2 levels are at their highest concentrations in more than 3 million y (4), and climates are erratically and steadily changing from pole to pole, triggering unprecedented droughts, fires, and floods across continents.

Indeed, most biologists agree that the world has entered its sixth mass extinction event, the first since the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million y ago, when more than 80% of all species, including the nonavian dinosaurs, perished.

Ongoing losses have been clearly demonstrated for better-studied groups of organisms. Terrestrial vertebrate population sizes and ranges have contracted by one-third, and many mammals have experienced range declines of at least 80% over the last century (5).

A 2019 assessment suggests that half of all amphibians are imperiled (2.5% of which have recently gone extinct) (6). Bird numbers across North America have fallen by 2.9 billion since 1970 (7). Prospects for the world’s coral reefs, beyond the middle of this century, could scarcely be more dire (8). A 2020 United Nations report estimated that more than a million species are in danger of extinction over the next few decades (9), but also see the more bridled assessments in refs. 10 and 11.

Loss of Abundant Species

Insects comprise much of the animal biomass linking primary producers and consumers, as well as higher-level consumers in freshwater and terrestrial food webs. Situated at the nexus of many trophic links, many numerically abundant insects provide ecosystem services upon which humans depend: the pollination of fruits, vegetables, and nuts; the biological control of weeds, agricultural pests, disease vectors, and other organisms that compete with humans or threaten their quality of life; and the macrodecomposition of leaves and wood and removal of dung and carrion, which contribute to nutrient cycling, soil formation, and water purification. Clearly, severe insect declines can potentially have global ecological and economic consequences.

Insect diversity

(A) Pennants (Libellulidae): Dragonflies are among the most familiar and popular insects, renowned for their appetite for mosquitoes.
(B) Robber flies (Asilidae): These sit-and-wait predators often perch on twigs that allow them to ambush passing prey; accordingly they have enormous eyes.
(C) Katydids (Tettigoniidae): This individual is one molt away from having wings long enough to fly (that also will be used to produce its mating song).
(D) Bumble bees (Apidae): Important pollinators in temperate, montane, and subpolar regions especially of heaths (including blueberries and cranberries).
(E) Wasp moths (Erebidae): Compelling mimics that are hyperdiverse in tropical forests; many are toxic and unpalatable to vertebrates.
(F) Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae): A diverse family with 20,000 species, some of which are important plant pests; many communicate with each other by vibrating their messages through a shared substrate.
(G) Cuckoo wasps (Chrysididae): Striking armored wasps that enter nests of other bees—virtually impermeable to stings—to lay their eggs in brood cells of a host bee.
(H) Tortoise beetles (Chrysomelidae): Mostly tropical plant feeders; this larva is advertising its unpalatability with bold yellow, black, and cream colors.
(I) Mantises (Mantidae): These voracious sit-and-wait predators have acute eyesight and rapid predatory strikes; prey are instantly impaled and held in place by the sharp foreleg spines.
(J) Emerald moths (Geometridae): Diverse family of primarily forest insects; their caterpillars include the familiar inchworms.
(K) Tiger beetles (Cicindelidae): “Tigers” use acute vision and long legs to run down their prey, which are dispatched with their huge jaws.
(L) Planthoppers (Fulgoridae): Tropical family of splendid insects, whose snouts are curiously varied and, in a few lineages, account for half the body mass. Images credit: Michael Thomas (photographer).

The Stressors

Abundant evidence demonstrates that the principal stressors—land-use change (especially deforestation), climate change, agriculture, introduced species, nitrification, and pollution—underlying insect declines are those also affecting other organisms.

Locally and regionally, insects are challenged by additional stressors, such as insecticides, herbicides, urbanization, and light pollution. In areas of high human activity, where insect declines are most conspicuous, multiple stressors occur simultaneously.

Considerable uncertainty remains about the relative importance of these stressors, their interactions, and the temporal and spatial variations in their intensity. Hallmann et al. (13), in their review of the dramatic losses of flying insects from the Krefeld region, noted that no simple cause had emerged and that “weather, land use, and [changed] habitat characteristics cannot explain this overall decline…”

When asked about his group’s early findings of downward population trends in insects (12), Dirzo summed up his thinking by stating that the falling numbers were likely due to a

“multiplicity of factors, most likely with habitat destruction, deforestation, fragmentation, urbanization, and agricultural conversion being among the leading factors” (40). His assessment seems to capture the essence of the problem: Insects are suffering from “death by a thousand cuts” (Fig. 1).

Taking the domesticated honey bee as an example, its declines in the United States have been linked to (introduced) mites, viral infections, microsporidian parasites, poisoning by neonicotinoid and other pesticides, habitat loss, overuse of artificial foods to maintain hives, and inbreeding; and yet, after 14+ y of research it is still unclear which of these, a combination thereof, or as yet unidentified factors are most detrimental to bee health.

Death by a thousand cuts: Global threats to insect diversity. Stressors from 10 o’clock to 3 o’clock anchor to climate change.

Featured insects:

Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) (Center)
Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) (Center Right)
Puritan tiger beetle (Cicindela puritana) (Bottom).

Each is an imperiled insect that represents a larger lineage that includes many International Union for Conservation of Nature “red list” species (i.e., globally extinct, endangered, and threatened species). Illustration: Virginia R. Wagner (artist).

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Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction

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