A week of Papua: butterfly with eyespots
An unidentified butterfly in Indonesian New Guinea. We haven’t been able to identify this image. If you have ideas, please contact us. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. This week we’ll be posting photos from Rhett Butler’s (mongabay.com founder) recent trip to western New Guinea, one of the world’s most biodiverse and culturally diverse place in the world. To see more photos of...
The middle road to address deforestation in Indonesia – conservation links for Oct 28, 2010
A Middle Way The Jakarta Globe As much as big business is a threat to forests, it is also a likely source of lasting solutions. Governments generally have been ineffective in reducing deforestation, even inside many protected areas. Non-governmental organizations are largely powerless to act at the scales necessary, although they can influence public opinion. Small businesses such as local farmers are numerous, but lack power and...
A week of Papua: Dani elder
Dani elder in traditional dress in Indonesian New Guinea. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. This week we’ll be posting photos from Rhett Butler’s (mongabay.com founder) recent trip to western New Guinea, one of the world’s most biodiverse and culturally diverse place in the world. To see more photos of...
A week of Papua: bowerbird bower
The elaborate bower of a male Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata) is artistically arranged with colorful items from the forest to attract a mate. Female Vogelkop bowerbirds select males based, not on size or strength, but on the best bower. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. This week we’ll be posting photos from Rhett Butler’s (mongabay.com founder) recent trip to western New Guinea, one of the world’s most biodiverse...
Little progress at biodiversity talks – conservation links for Oct 26, 2010
Leading scientists accuse thinktanks of being logging lobbyists Open letter accuses two ‘independent’ groups of distorting facts and having close associations with multinational logging corporations. Industrial farming puts ecosystems at risk of collapse, warns Prince Charles The Guardian (UK) Farming methods must be low-impact, organic and low-carbon to protect natural resources for the long term. Nagoya summit shows...
A week of Papua: domestic life
Domestic life in a Dani village: children, pig, and village. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. This week we’ll be posting photos from Rhett Butler’s (mongabay.com founder) recent trip to western New Guinea, one of the world’s most biodiverse and culturally diverse place in the world. To see more photos of...
Low carbon growth strategy documents for Indonesia
Earlier this year the Indonesian government released draft documents for low carbon growth strategies. While these documents are posted on the web, the file size is such that few people in Indonesia are able to download them. Therefore mongabay has posted reduced file size versions below. * Central Kalimantan Report – low carbon growth strategy (draft) [3.6 MB] * East Kalimantan – low carbon growth strategy (draft) [7 MB]...
A week of Papua: black-capped lory
A black-capped lory (Lorius lory) in Indonesian New Guinea. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. This week we’ll be posting photos from Rhett Butler’s (mongabay.com founder) recent trip to western New Guinea, one of the world’s most biodiverse and culturally diverse place in the world. To see more photos of...
GDP is poor indicator of well-being – conservation links for Oct 25, 2010
Disingenuity: The Worst of all Greenwashing Print Leadership In a presentation at Graph Expo 2010, I spoke about how greenwashing tends to fall into three categories: intentional, accidental, and just plain asinine. Fully aware that it may be a subset of both the first and third of these categories, I’d like to posit one more– “disingenuous.” Of the four, this is the most insidious, the most reckless, and the most dangerous. Wolves in...
Environmental crime costs billions – conservation links for Oct. 24, 2010
Borneo’s majestic rainforest is being killed by the timber mafia The Guardian Felling trees to meet British demand for garden furniture is devastating villages, livelihoods and food supplies, and threatening endangered species Solid Ground Needed for UN Forest Fix to Take Root The Jakarta Post Experts are at odds over whether Indonesia is prepared to implement United Nations-mandated forest protection projects to reduce carbon...
Papuan man in ceremonial dress in New Guinea
Dani man in traditional ceremonial dress in the Baliem Valley of Papua, Indonesian New Guinea. Photo by Rhett A. Butler in July 2010. More pictures from Papua
Photo: Redwood forest in Woodside, CA
Grove of young redwood trees in Woodside, CA. Photo taken today (Oct 23) by Rhett A. Butler
Opposition to geoengineering schemes grows – conservation links for Oct 22. 2010
At UN Convention, Groups Push For Geoengineering Moratorium Scientific American Delegates from 193 nations are meeting in Nagoya, Japan, this week. On their agenda is a proposal for a moratorium on field experiments in potential geoengineering solutions for global warming. Green: Putting a Value on Biodiversity New York Times A new report finds that forests, reefs and oceans account for 47 to 89 percent of the effective income of...
Silk Road mountains
Mountains rise in Xinjiang, the Silk Road region of western China. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. To see more photos of China.
‘Super frogs’ in Australia – conservation links for Oct. 20, 2010
Nature, Forests and Indigenous Peoples Are Not for Sale [PDF] Bolivia Remarks from Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, on the concept of REDD. Toads evolve into super-invaders BBC News Scientists have identified a “runaway evolutionary effect” that could be speeding up the cane toad invasion in...
Plane view: rainforest destruction
Clear-cutting of rainforest as viewed from plane going from Cuzco to Boca Manu in Peru. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. To see more photos of deforestation in...
Which came first the forest or the rain?
By: Douglas Sheil Repost from Bwindi Researchers on Wildlife Direct During the rainy season in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, there’s an impressive storm and our water tanks overflow nearly every day. We’re in the equatorial rain forest after all: we have the location, trees and weather to prove it. But is the forest here because of the rain or is it the other way around? Being in a highland area we probably get...
Tool for comparing value of forest conservation to logging, palm oil
A new tool developed by Lian Pin Koh of ETH Zurich allows users to quickly compare the value of various forms of land use, including oil palm plantation development, logging, and carbon conservation for REDD+ payments. The web-based tool provides a rough estimate for the net present value of economic activities as well as the impact on biodiversity. The tool is available at LU...
How Can You Put a Price on Air and Who Would Buy It?
Guest post by the American Society of Landscape Architects It seems a price on the CO2 in air can be determined, and lots of people will buy it, said Denise Farrell, Environmental Capital, at a meeting of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA. In a session that explored how cities and local communities can access voluntary carbon markets to finance landfill gas elimination, wetland restoration, or reforestation projects,...
Desert horned lizard
A desert horned lizard, more commonly known as a horny toad, in Big Sur, California. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. To see more photos of Big Sur.