Forest fires have been an ongoing problem in Indonesia. The country and its neighbours not only have to deal with the natural dry-season blazes, but also intentional burning started by palm oil companies and plantations. The government is urged to enforce stricter laws for these violators.

The World Bank is planning a US$250 million fund to aid developing countries to stop deforestation in return for carbon credits. The plan has attracted international support and the World Bank will chose five countries to launch the pilot stage of the project to.

“Brazil’s government rejected accusations on Tuesday that its settlement of poor peasants in the Amazon was fueling the destruction of the world’s largest rain forest but promised an investigation.”

UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Antarctic and the Amazon Rainforest next week “so that he can see first-hand the effects of climate change and deforestation on the environment.”

The world’s forests are shrinking at an “alarming” rate, which calls for concern. The U.N. estimates a loss of 60 acres a minute of tropical forests worldwide.

To achieve the “goal of no net deforestation by 2015,” British Columbia will need to plant more trees, especially in urban areas.

The conversion of Sumatra’s natural forests into pulpwood and palm oil plantations will accelerate greenhouse gas emissions and push endangered species closer to extinction, reports the WWF.

One of the priorities for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is to encourage forest conservation initiatives by including deforestation projects into the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism and emission trading schemes.

Article discusses investment bank giant Merill Lynch’s decision to adopt avoided deforestation as a means of offsetting carbon usage. This is a big step, as many view avoided deforestation as a controversial practice, but many reputable organizations – including Zerofootprint – believe it is an important practice, integral to reducing global levels of atmospheric CO2.