It’s all too easy to rely solely on maps when seeking answers – and culprits – for the loss of old-growth tropical forests, CIFOR experts warn: Reality is a lot more complex than a sky-high view can show – and mapping needs to get smart.

• WATCHERS OF FORESTS: CIFOR’s Director General takes a close look at the newest data released by Global Forest Watch.

Stories from Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador tell how women in forest communities are making their voices heard. Yet the authors of a new study also found gaps in knowledge about gender roles and relations – and a need to listen more carefully.

• DINNER IN A TIN: As people move from Amazon forests to cities, they’re eating less wild meat and more industrial meat – and their diets are suffering for it, a new study has found.

When the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) meets in New York next month, the focus will be on the first F and much less on the second, argues CIFOR’s Director General Peter Holmgren.

• JOIN US AT THE UNFF: CIFOR, IUFRO and ICRAF are co-hosting a side event at the UNFF on 6 May to explore ways to strengthen interactions between science and policy. Learn more here.

Indonesia has a new tool to monitor emissions from land use: the Indonesian National Carbon Accounting System (INCAS), developed by the Indonesian government with support from CIFOR. The plan, says Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, is to have emission calculations “as soon as possible.”

• A LAB IN THE CONGO BASIN: Thanks to a new research facility in Cameroon, scientists in Central Africa are conducting ground-breaking research on greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

For many poor rural communities, feeling better off is more complex than just having more money, scientists from CIFOR’s Poverty and Environment Network (PEN) have discovered – which means policy must look beyond a narrow focus on boosting income.

It cannot be business as usual – that was one of the messages from this week’s Tropical Landscapes Summit in Jakarta, which brought together industry, government, research and civil society, to discuss financial partnerships for sustainable development. View our coverage here:

• VIDEO WRAP: Highlights from the Tropical Landscapes Summit 2015
• FINANCIERS WITH COMMITMENT NEEDED: “The private sector needs to pull its weight”, says one sustainability director.
• ENCOURAGING GREEN DOLLARS: Sustainability is an opportunity, not a risk, says Credit Suisse’s Mark Burrows.