Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bush fires
A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi pines, a prehistoric species known as "dinosaur trees," from Australia's unprecedented bush fires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the ...
Florida plans biggest purchase of Everglades land in a decade to protect it from drilling
Florida has reached a deal with a private real estate firm to buy a large swath of environmentally sensitive wetlands in the heart of the Everglades to spare the tract from oil drilling, the governor announced on Wednesday. Florida's agreement to purchase 20,000 acres (8,094 ...
Brazilian government may open up indigenous lands for oil and gas exploration
The Brazilian government will propose legalizing oil and gas exploration as well as hydroelectric dam construction on indigenous land, a report said Saturday, citing a draft of a bill to be sent to Congress. Opening up protected native territory was a key campaign pledge for ...
The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest grew 30.5 percent in 2019 from the previous year, according to data released by space research agency INPE on Wednesday. According to INPE, the number of fires detected in the Amazon region was 89,178 in 2019, compared ...
Scientists have discovered what could be the world's oldest forest, potentially rich in information on the link between forests and climate change, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. The title of world's oldest fossil forest had previously been given to ...
Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon climbed more than 100% in November year-on-year: government agency
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon jumped to the highest level for the month of November since record-keeping began in 2015, according to preliminary government data published on Friday. Destruction of the world's largest tropical rainforest totaled 563 square kilometers (217.38 square miles) in November, 103 percent ...
As forestry work gets easier in graying Japan, young hires opt for paths less taken
Young Japanese are increasingly joining the forestry industry thanks to a government program and labor-saving improvements made possible by the expanding use of machines. Many also see the sector as an opportunity to escape urban life. "It's tough to deal with nature, but I enjoy ...
Loss-making Japanese public-private farm fund may be dissolved
The finance and farm ministries will "thoroughly" review the operations of a struggling public-private investment fund aimed at supporting the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, and may opt to dissolve it, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. They believe it would be difficult ...
Sydney gasps for air as smoke from Australia's bush fires reaches record levels
The Australian state of New South Wales is gasping amid its worst levels of air pollution on record as smoke from bush fires causes a spike in hospital visits and reduces visibility for drivers. Sydney, the country's most populous city, woke up to a thick ...
One-third of tropical plants in Africa threatened with extinction, study estimates
A third of the species of tropical plants in Africa are potentially threatened with extinction, according to a preliminary estimate published Wednesday by the journal Science Advances. The most authoritative list of threatened species is the famous "Red List" maintained by the International Union for ...
After protests, India drops plan to let officials use force to evict tribes from forests
India has dropped plans to give forest officials the right to use force against indigenous people and open up more land for commercial plantations after nationwide protests. Proposed amendments to a century-old Indian Forest Act aimed to give officials the power to arrest and shoot ...
Unprecedented wildfires in eastern Australia have turbocharged demands that the conservative government do more to tackle climate change and have rekindled an ideological fight over the science behind the blazes. The huge fires have affected communities up and down the east coast, killing four people ...
