Search Climate Insights Directory

A coalition of environmental organizations warns that the Amazon rainforest is nearing a critical tipping point, noting that 17% of original forests are gone and 6.7 million hectares burned in 2024. The statement calls for the rejection of the EU-Mercosur trade deal and the preservation of the soy moratorium to prevent the biome from becoming a net carbon source and to protect the indigenous peoples defending the territory.

The document details how illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon is sustained by a complex network of corrupt politicians, logistics providers, and international smuggling routes for mercury and aviation fuel. It highlights a systemic failure of Brazilian regulatory agencies to coordinate efforts, leading to significant gold exports lacking proper documentation. The report also establishes strong links between illegal mining and other serious crimes, including drug trafficking by organizations like the First Capital Command (PCC), forced labor, and sexual exploitation. Geographically, the illicit activity extends across borders into Guyana, French Guiana, and Venezuela, with specific hotspots identified in Roraima, Rondônia, Pará, and Amapá states.

The bioeconomy, currently valued at USD 4 trillion and projected to reach USD 30 trillion by 2050, is interpreted through three primary lenses: biotechnology, bio-resources, and bio-ecology. While Global North countries like the US, China, and India prioritise biotechnology for economic growth, the EU and regions like the Amazon emphasise sustainability and equity. Brazil is a central actor, launching the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) and implementing national strategies to protect the Amazon. The document highlights that without inclusive frameworks—such as the 'sociobioeconomy' approach—the bioeconomy risks exacerbating social inequalities and environmental degradation. It details successful funding models including payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica and Mexico, and benefit-sharing for genetic resources via Brazil's SisGen system.

The document argues that treating wood burning as renewable energy has led to forest degradation, high CO2 emissions, and public health risks. It outlines the legal requirements of RED III and urges Member States to use their discretion to phase out biomass subsidies, implement the cascading principle, and adopt stricter sustainability criteria to protect European forests and the climate.

The Amazon biome is facing a critical situation due to deforestation, degradation, and climate change, which threaten its role in global climate regulation and its immense biodiversity. Key drivers include cattle ranching, mechanized agriculture, illegal logging, and unsustainable infrastructure projects like dams. The report emphasizes the vital role of indigenous territories and protected areas in maintaining resilience and proposes an integrated landscape management approach, the protection of free-flowing rivers, and the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy to avoid an ecological tipping point.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment concludes that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While Tropical Asia is the only region currently on track to halt deforestation, global rates of forest loss and degradation remain too high, and financial investments are less than 1% of the required amount. The report highlights a gap between ambitious national goals and actual implementation, noting that voluntary corporate actions have been insufficient and that indigenous peoples and local communities remain severely underfunded despite their effectiveness as forest guardians.

The report argues that community lands, managed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), are critical for climate mitigation due to their ability to sequester carbon and maintain biodiversity. Despite managing approximately half of the world's land, only 10% is legally recognized. The document provides evidence that secure land tenure leads to lower deforestation rates compared to state-managed lands and is a cost-effective mitigation strategy. However, these lands face increasing threats from illegal mining, drug trafficking, and land grabbing, while land defenders face rising violence. The report concludes that international climate finance significantly underserves IPLCs and calls for governments to prioritize legal land titling and the protection of environmental defenders.

The report examines the systemic biases, colonial legacies, and representational risks associated with depicting Indigenous peoples and forests in the context of climate change. It proposes a shift toward 'Indigenous Media Presence,' characterised by self-presentation, 'deep ethics' rooted in territory, and the recognition of Indigenous science and spirituality. The document highlights the risks of 'scenification,' 'audio-visual extractivism,' and the invisibility of Afro-descendant forest communities, while showcasing the work of Indigenous photographers and independent media as tools for resistance and planetary healing.

The document examines the marginalization of traditional knowledge and the Kwéyòl language in Saint Lucia's public policy, often driven by a bias toward modernization and Eurocentric development models. It highlights the role of the Folk Research Centre (FRC) in documenting and promoting these cultural assets through initiatives like Jounen Kwéyòl and the development of Creole orthography. The author contends that while some progress has been made, such as the use of Kwéyòl in parliament, the language is still excluded from formal education and business. The paper concludes by advocating for the official recognition of Kwéyòl and the mainstreaming of cultural analysis in policy, similar to gender and climate change, to achieve more sustainable lifestyles.

The report finds that fisheries enforcement in France is characterized by declining inspection rates, low levels of sanctions that lack deterrent effect, and a failure to implement the EU penalty point system. It highlights a legal contradiction where imprisonment is prohibited for infringements committed beyond the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, and notes significant inconsistencies in official data reporting across different government agencies.

The assessment finds that while Suriname's Constitution and Mining Decree provide a general basis for mining governance, the legal framework is outdated, lacking a national environmental authority and specific legislation on indigenous rights and mercury use. Key strengths include the use of comprehensive environmental assessment guidelines by NIMOS and the role of the OGS in managing the small-scale gold sector. However, significant gaps exist in financial benefit optimization, socioeconomic planning, and post-mining transition, particularly regarding financial assurances for mine closure. The report recommends updating the Mining Decree, establishing an environmental ministry, and further formalizing the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector.

The Living Amazon Report 2016 provides a comprehensive overview of the Amazon biome, highlighting its immense biodiversity and critical role in global climate and hydrological regulation. It identifies primary threats including large-scale agriculture, cattle ranching, hydropower dams, and extractive industries, while advocating for a coordinated, biome-wide conservation approach. The report emphasizes the importance of protected areas and indigenous territories, which currently cover over 50% of the biome, and recommends strategies for enhancing climate resilience and securing water connectivity.

The Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program is a multi-country initiative involving Brazil, Colombia, and Peru to combat deforestation and biodiversity loss. With a total program cost of $796,664,455 (including $113,684,455 from the GEF Trust Fund and $682,980,000 in co-financing), the program focuses on four components: expanding and managing protected areas, implementing integrated landscape management, aligning sectoral policies to reduce deforestation, and fostering regional cooperation. The program targets the mitigation of 300 million metric tons of CO2e and the improved management of 73,117,000 hectares of landscapes.

The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and river system, containing one in 10 known species on Earth and storing between 90 billion and 140 billion metric tons of carbon. It is currently threatened by deforestation driven by cattle ranching, soy farming, and infrastructure, as well as climate change, which has caused rainfall to decline across 69% of the forest since 2000. WWF is implementing conservation strategies such as the Amazon Region Protected Areas program in Brazil to maintain a network of 120 protected areas.

The 'Food is Local' fellowship by WWF International provides funding for master's and PhD students from 32 eligible countries to conduct interdisciplinary research on transforming food systems to be more sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient. Eligible applicants must be citizens of the listed countries, have two years of conservation experience, and plan to start their studies by January 2024. Research proposals are encouraged to cover themes such as agroecological practices, gender equity, and the role of food systems in achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).