Deforestation

Importers of coffee to the European Union are starting to scale back purchases from small farmers in Africa and beyond as they prepare for a landmark EU law that will ban the sale of goods linked to the destruction of forests, a cause of climate change.

New forests will be established in all 81 provinces in the country as part of a nationwide large-scale afforestation effort on the occasion of the National Afforestation Day on Nov. 11, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced.

The opposition's attempt to address the contentious issue of deforestation of woodlands in western Türkiye, driven by mining interests, suffered a blow during an extraordinary parliamentary session on Aug. 8.

More than a year after countries pledged to end deforestation by 2030, the world is continuing to lose its tropical forests at a fast pace, according to a report issued Tuesday.

The sharp rise in gold prices has driven a surge of illegal mining in Brazil, much of it in the Amazon rainforest, according to a study published on Sept. 6.    

Gold output in Brazil, the world's 14th-biggest producer last year, has soared since the coronavirus pandemic pushed international prices to record highs.    

An illegal dirt road ripping through protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon is now just a few miles shy of connecting two of the worst areas of deforestation in the region, according to satellite images and accounts from people familiar with the area.

The rehabilitation works of some 90 percent of the 139,500 hectares of land damaged in forest fires last year have been completed, the head of the General Directorate of Forestry has said.

Noting that the rehabilitation works will be completed by the end of the year, Bekir Karacabey said, "The methods to rehabilitate these lands were determined under the guidance of technical teams."

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) recommends that Bulgaria reimburse more than 30 million euros under European programs in its annual report.

More than 23 million euros of the amount are for the construction of 377 guest houses, which instead of being rented out to tourists, are used for personal needs, BNT reported.

Huge swathes of tropical rainforest were burned or hacked down for cattle and crops last year, led by destruction in Brazil, researchers said Thursday, warning that climate change itself is making it harder to reverse the losses.

More than 100 countries pledged on Nov. 2 to end deforestation in the coming decade, a promise that experts say would be critical to limiting climate change but one that has been made and broken before.