9 May2014, Mongabay news - President Obama elevated the issue of destruction of rainforests for palm oil production during his brief visit to Malaysia last week. In Indonesia and Malaysia, what youve seen is huge portions of tropical forests ... being shredded because of primarily the palm oil industry, he said during a speech...

16 May 2014, Mongabay news - Soon, hard rains will hit the steep hillsides of the Azuero Peninsula in Panama, sluicing soil into the rivers and out to the sea. Centuries of slash and burn agriculture have left fewer trees to stand against the annual deluge of water during the rainy season. The erosion makes it harder for...

13 May 2014, Euflegt news - Stakeholders from government, civil society and industry recommended improvements to the SVLK regulations and standards in a national consultation with stakeholders in Jakarta on 19 March. Regional consultation workshops held in Bali, Medan and Yogyakarta earlier this year led up to the national...

24 April 2014, IISD news - Panama has released a map detailing its forest cover and land use as part of its commitments as a Partner Country of the UN-REDD Programme. The map was formally presented to the public by the National Environment Authority (ANAM) in a 24 April 2014 ceremony held in Panama City, Panama. During the map...

17 April 2014, IISD news - The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Mexico and Nepal will each receive $50-$70 million to demonstrate how Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) can work on the ground. Participants from 11 public and private funds adopted resolutions to support these...

10 April 2014, IISD news - The Government of Viet Nam has announced its accession to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (ITTA, 2006), becoming the 69th Party to join the Agreement, which is focused on ensuring the sustainable management of tropical timber. According to the International Tropical Timber...