11 December 2009 The United Nations has proposed a framework known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) that would provide financial incentives to rainforest nations to protect their forests, in an effort to make forests worth "more alive than dead." Implementing a global REDD system will require that each nation have the ability to accurately monitor and report the state of their forests over time, in a manner that is independently verifiable. However, many of these tropical nations of the world lack the technological resources to do this, so we're working with scientists, governments and non-profits to change this. Here's what we've done with this prototype to help nations monitor their forests: [more...]

28 October 2009 More than 7 000 participants from 160 countries attending the XIII World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires (18-23 October 2009) have called for the broadest possible coalition to address the many challenges the forestry sector is facing. A final declaration, adopted by the Congress, called for immediate “multi-sector responses” to rapid global changes. “Today, the major pressures on forests are arising from outside the forest sector, such as changes in global climates, economic conditions, and population. These changes are creating impacts across multiple sectors. For example, population growth and migration to cities is creating environmental pressures on forests and farm lands. These changes are occurring more rapidly than they did in the past, creating more uncertainty and larger fluctuations - global economic changes and fuel demands and supplies are examples.The path forward lies in shifting to an integrated landscape approach for confronting these changes, working with partners outside the forest sector to develop sustainable multi-sector responses. The accelerating rate and the dimension of changes in economic, social, and environmental conditions require immediate action.” [more...]