Commentary of Agus Purnomo, special assistant to the president of Indonesia and head of the secretariat of the National Council on Climate Change.

Activists have launched an urgent appeal calling upon outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to step up protection of the only ecosystem that houses Sumatran orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers.

After 12 years, Indonesia’s legislature has finally voted to ratify the ASEAN treaty on cross-border haze as fires ripped through forests in the western side of the country, choking neighboring Singapore with hazardous smog.

On August 14, the Bolivian Vice President, Alvaro Garcia Linera, made the announcement that by 2025 Bolivia was going to make two striking developments: first, it would expand all cultivated land to 2.5 times its present area, and second, it would triple food production from 15 to 45 million tons.

Should governments spend more money on combating global warming by slowing the clearing of forests in countries like Indonesia? Definitely yes, and for more reasons than you think, argue Frances Seymour and Jonah Busch from the Center for Global Development.

Many communities in Cameroon have mechanized the processing of oil palm fruits by using artisanal mills powered by car or motorbike engines. These mills are so profitable, the Cameroonian government is considering banning them. This story of paradoxes is explored in a new paper by Raymond Nkongho and other scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).