“BERLIN – It’s been 30 years since the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched the Tropical Forestry Action Plan, the first global intergovernmental initiative to halt forest loss. Since then, deforestation has continued unabated, and the latest international effort to stop it – an initiative known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) – looks no more likely to be effective. Far from protecting the world’s forests, the most notable outcome of these two agreements has been, ironically, the production of reams of expensive consultancy reports.

“If the climate negotiators meeting in Paris are truly interested in halting forest loss and bringing climate change under control, they should pull the plug on REDD+ and address the underlying causes of these problems. Rather than attempting to control the lives and actions of forest peoples and peasant farmers, the effort in Paris should focus on ending large-scale deforestation and leaving fossil fuels in the ground.”  From: www.project-syndicate.org

“More than £150m worth of deals recorded amid post-Scottish referendum boom as forestry starts to lure institutional investors.

“Forestry sales have reached a record £151m in Scotland, smashing the previous record by 50%.”   From: www.theguardian.com

GR:  This is how Scottish investors fight deforestation and ecocide.

“On Tuesday at COP21, the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, global leaders are talking about forests, and how to protect and restore the world’s remaining wooded lands. The focus is primarily on halting global deforestation, which comes largely from industries like logging, agriculture, and ranching. But officials would be wise to keep in mind that deforestation is also occurring as a result of suburban housing development.”  From: www.citylab.com

GR:  Unfortunately, housing development in the U. S. is in the hands of local zoning authorities. Since building houses is a profitable business, it is not reasonable to assume that the locals can prevent continued sprawl into patented and deeded land.

It is interesting that urban-sprawl areas aren’t like closed-canopy or continuous forests yet they burn anyway. This raises real doubts about the efficacy of thinning and let-it-burn policies.

It is important to keep in mind that the real loss is not the burned houses; it is the loss of soil and vegetation destroyed during construction. People and houses are increasing, but wild animals and the natural habitats they need are declining.

U. S. leaders must grow the courage to insist that local zoning authorities force developers to build high-rise clustered housing and save the land for wildlife.  This reduces deforestation and protects biodiversity.

“World leaders at the climate summit today presented a joint statement in support of new partnerships for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from deforestation while promoting forest restoration and sustainable rural development.”   wwf.panda.org

GR:  Until we achieve effective population control, deforestation will continue.

“Between 2001 and 2013, greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation across the world’s tropical forests were, on average, larger than Russia’s economy-wide emissions in 2012. That’s 2,270 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide every year.

“Emissions from tropical deforestation have significant implications for implementation of the new national climate plans (INDCs), as well as international initiatives like the New York Declaration on Forests, whose signatories aim to cut global deforestation in half by 2020.”  blog.globalforestwatch.org

Great graphics!

“A total of 140,356 hectares (346,827 acres) of forest cover was lost in Colombia in 2014 versus 120,934 hectares (298,834 acres) in 2013, per IDEAM, a division of Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

“Illegal logging, mining, and coca cultivation, as well as conversion for other agricultural purposes and ranching, were reported to be the largest drivers of deforestation in Colombia last year.”  From: news.mongabay.com

GR:  I don’t think we can find a single forested area in the world that is not threatened by human impacts.  If it’s not outright clearcutting, it’s livestock grazing, invasive species, energy mining and transmission, roads and recreation, and climate-change associated drought.