Pulp giant APP set to assault Sumatra orangutan sanctuary

A massive logging operation planned by Asian Pulp and Paper and the Sinar Mas Group (APP/SMG) and associated companies is to include large portions of the only areas that Sumatran orangutans have ever successfully been re-introduced into the wild, conservation groups active in Jambi province have learned.

Sierra Leone & Liberia create major trans-boundary park

The Presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberia met in the Gola Forest, Sierra Leone, to announce the establishment of a new Trans-boundary Peace Park, to protect one of the largest remaining blocks of intact forest in the Upper Guinea Area of West Africa.

Environmental Edge for Concrete Rail Ties Over Wooden Ones

Observant commuters may notice that in some rail systems, traditional wooden ties are being replaced with those made from reinforced concrete.

United Kingdom: Economy and the environment: growing pains

The next few days will bring yet more grim economic news. Figures are likely to show that Japan is in even deeper recession; that the UK’s public finances continue to deteriorate; more companies will go bust and more workers will lose their jobs. Against that backdrop, the question that follows may seem so obtuse and ill-timed that to raise it at all may appear bone-headed. Still, here goes: should we – governments, economists, businesses and voters – stop worrying so much about economic growth?

Kremlin sees energy as new security battleground

The growing struggle for the world’s energy reserves could spill over into military clashes, according to a new Kremlin security strategy published today. The paper also identified US missile defence programmes as one of the main challenges facing the country, and named the Arctic as a new area for potential conflict, together with the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.

United States: Drought is the cause of economic suffering

Central Valley farmworkers – a large share of whom are Latino – have worked with farmers and business people for decades to make California the world’s major producer of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other commodities. The agriculture industry is a major producer of California jobs as well as food.

History and firsthand experience tell us that when there is water there also are

Pay farmers to halt irrigation to ease water crisis, China told

China should pay farmers to halt irrigation in the environmentally degraded far west despite long-standing concerns about food security, a senior government adviser has told the Guardian.

Gardeners pedal to keep water flowing at Chelsea

An experimental garden that uses exercise bikes to water plants is about to make the gentle art of gardening much sweatier, its designers said on Monday.

Two groups oppose increasing U.S. ethanol blend rate

Blending more than 10 percent ethanol into U.S. gasoline will result in more air pollution and more damage to engines, said an environmental group and a boating industry trade group on Monday.

Floods, fires seen testing EU climate response

Flash floods, wildfires and heatwaves brought on by climate change could test Europe’s ability to insure against and respond to natural disasters, a new report warns.

Islands should be top of protection priority

Rare and unique ecological communities will be lost if oceanic islands aren’t adequately considered in a global conservation plan, a new study has found. Although islands tend to hold fewer species than continental lands of similar size, plants and animals found on islands are often endemic, making protection of their isolated habitats our sole chance to preserve them.

Gabon identified as world's largest leatherback nesting zone

An international team of scientists has identified a nesting population of leatherback sea turtles in Gabon as the world’s largest. The research, published in Biological Conservation, involved country-wide land and aerial surveys that estimated a population of between 15,730 and 41,373 female turtles using the nesting beaches. The study highlights the importance of conservation work to manage key sites and protected areas in Gabon.