environmentalpolitics
By Timothy J. Killeen Investment capital flows when prices are high, but companies scale back investments when they fall. Nonetheless, companies do not often abandon projects once underway; in part, this is a natural resistance to writing-off an existing investment, but experienced businessmen also know that markets are cyclical. If companies wish to ‘cash in’ when prices are high, they must have installed capacity in order to ramp up production when the price is right. The prices of industrial minerals were at historical lows prior to 2000 but increased dramatically through the next two decad...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Criminal groups have made a renewed push into one of Guatemala’s largest rainforests this year. As new trails open up and fires spread, officials have raised concern not just about deforestation but potentially losing control of the area altogether. The Maya Biosphere Reserve, stretching 2.2 million hectares (5.3 million acres) across northern Guatemala’s Petén department, has seen a wave of land invasions in areas that have historically gone untouched. Many of the invaders are well-armed and have the backing of organized crime, experts say. “The lack of governance in the pro...
Mongabay
By Hans Nicholas Jong JAKARTA — Fear among Indonesia’s ruling class of losing control of natural resources to Indigenous people is why the country’s parliament continues to delay passing a long-awaited bill on Indigenous rights, according to activists. The bill was proposed in 2012 and has been placed on parliament’s list of national priority legislation every year since 2014, but never passed since. A lawmaker on the legislation committee discussing the bill now says that’s because it keeps being blocked by two of the biggest parties in parliament. Luluk Nur Hamidah said her committee had as ...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Panama is holding elections this week for president, vice president and all 71 seats in its national assembly. With questions looming about climate change, water shortages, waste disposal and mining closures, there’s a lot at stake for the future of the country’s environment. When it comes to the presidential race, several candidates are still competitive. Whoever wins will take over after the tumultuous five-year term of current President Laurentino Cortizo, who has been extremely unpopular, with less than a 30% approval rating. He isn’t eligible for reelection this time aro...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin Environmental activists in Bolivia say they’ve become the targets of discrimination, death threats and even bombings after speaking out against harmful mining operations in the department of Oruro. The activists, most of them women, have faced escalating violence this year because of their opposition to mining pollution, water scarcity and land use change near the Indigenous Quechua community collective, or ayllu, of Acre Antequera. In some cases, they’ve even been attacked with sticks and dynamite. Now, they’re making a renewed push to raise awareness about the conflict. “Th...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin The cattle ranching industry in Brazil is one of the largest in the world, but it could see huge financial losses if it doesn’t adapt to climate change and increasingly rigorous deforestation policies to protect the Amazon, a new report says. Domestic beef production in Brazil could drop by 25% by 2050 as governments and the private sector look to step up climate change and forest conservation strategies, according to a new report from Orbitas, an initiative of Climate Advisers. The industry will have to find ways to adapt soon or else risk major losses. “The future of the Br...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin The government in Suriname said it cancelled a controversial pilot program that would have brought hundreds of Mennonites to the country to carry out agricultural activity, likely in forested areas. Suriname President Chan Santokhi confirmed to local media this week that he shuttered a pilot program setting aside 30,000 hectares (74,131 acres) for 50 Mennonite families, easing some fears that the country was on the verge of destroying large parts of the Amazon Rainforest. “We in the international conservation movement congratulate President Santokhi and the people of Suriname...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin By now, dozens of countries have some version of a forestry incentive program, with the government paying local property owners to keep their trees in the ground. But a lot of the programs have come under scrutiny because they’re easy to manipulate and hard to monitor. The one in Ecuador, Socio Bosque, one of the first in Latin America, is no exception. Since its creation in 2008, it’s been criticized for failing to pay participants and for mismanaging who’s applying for which plots of land. A conflict over thousands of hectares of Chocó forest in the Imbabura and Pichincha p...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin It was supposed to be a major milestone, back in 2014, when hundreds of governments and companies came together to sign the New York Declaration on Forests, aimed at eliminating natural forest loss worldwide. But many of the declaration’s goals have come and gone over the last decade, and companies continue to lag behind on meeting future ones. One organization, Global Canopy, a U.K.-based not-for-profit, has been monitoring major players in the private sector since the declaration was signed. Its database, named Forest 500 because of the 350 companies and 150 financial insti...
Mongabay
By Maxwell Radwin A new lawsuit in New York claims that one of the world’s largest beef producers has been misleading the public about its efforts to curb deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against JBS USA Food Company and JBS USA Food Company Holdings for misrepresenting plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. In reality, the company lacks concrete sustainability calculations and even plans to expand operations, the lawsuit claims. “JBS Group and JBS USA have used greenwashing and misleading statements to cap...
Mongabay
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