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Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program

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Thursday, October 31, 2024

In the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, the Costa Rican delegation organized a side event to announce a new biodiversity-focused Payment for Environmental Services program called “PES Biodiversity Plus.” Costa Rica also reaffirmed its commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, often described as the “Paris Agreement for Nature.” After years of PES, Costa Rica expanded the program this week to prioritize biodiversity conservation through a competitive financial mechanism that supports private forest landowners and enhances biodiversity protection across the nation. This approach, called PSA-Biodiversity Plus, is managed by agencies within Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), including the Commission for Biodiversity Management, the National Forest Finance Fund (Fonafifo), and the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac). “This mechanism not only prevents biodiversity loss but also supports equitable benefit-sharing from genetic resources. Including genetic resources as a variable for prioritization supports private owners and strengthens biodiversity,” explained Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy. During the meeting, Costa Rica’s efforts to achieve Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Framework were highlighted, aiming for at least 30% conservation of terrestrial, inland water, marine, and coastal areas. “We acknowledge the global environmental crisis—biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. Costa Rica’s commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Framework focuses on advancing its mission and targets. During the implementation phase, actions addressing each of these crises will be clear,” stated Eugenia Arguedas, Focal Point of COP16. Costa Rica showcased efforts to combat deforestation, increase forest cover, and balance productive developmentwith greenhouse gas emission reduction through efficient, profitable, and low-emission agricultural practices. The Costa Rican team discussed how deforestation, marine and landscape governance, and conservation are interconnected and crucial to sustainable development. Costa Rica has successfully decoupled agricultural production from deforestation through three impactful initiatives: significant investment in REDD+ financial mechanisms to prioritize forest use over marginal agricultural practices, expanded Payment for Environmental Services (PES) investments, and the inclusion of privately owned forest reserves. These actions have led to a 38% increase in sustainably managed forest cover. Additionally, Costa Rica reports a positive balance between mature forest loss and forest regeneration, showcasing the country’s commitment to sustainable land management. The post Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

After years of PES, Costa Rica expanded the program this week to prioritize biodiversity conservation through a competitive financial mechanism that supports private forest landowners and enhances biodiversity protection across the nation.

This approach, called PSA-Biodiversity Plus, is managed by agencies within Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), including the Commission for Biodiversity Management, the National Forest Finance Fund (Fonafifo), and the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac).

“This mechanism not only prevents biodiversity loss but also supports equitable benefit-sharing from genetic resources. Including genetic resources as a variable for prioritization supports private owners and strengthens biodiversity,” explained Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy.

During the meeting, Costa Rica’s efforts to achieve Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Framework were highlighted, aiming for at least 30% conservation of terrestrial, inland water, marine, and coastal areas.

“We acknowledge the global environmental crisis—biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. Costa Rica’s commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Framework focuses on advancing its mission and targets. During the implementation phase, actions addressing each of these crises will be clear,” stated Eugenia Arguedas, Focal Point of COP16.

Costa Rica showcased efforts to combat deforestation, increase forest cover, and balance productive developmentwith greenhouse gas emission reduction through efficient, profitable, and low-emission agricultural practices. The Costa Rican team discussed how deforestation, marine and landscape governance, and conservation are interconnected and crucial to sustainable development.

Costa Rica has successfully decoupled agricultural production from deforestation through three impactful initiatives: significant investment in REDD+ financial mechanisms to prioritize forest use over marginal agricultural practices, expanded Payment for Environmental Services (PES) investments, and the inclusion of privately owned forest reserves. These actions have led to a 38% increase in sustainably managed forest cover. Additionally, Costa Rica reports a positive balance between mature forest loss and forest regeneration, showcasing the country’s commitment to sustainable land management.

The post Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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Partners pitch 'exclusive' access to Mt. Waterman ski resort. The Forest Service has concerns

Partners seeking to buy the ski resort raised alarm bells among Forest Service officials when they announced plans for a club with special access to the slopes.

Prospective new owners intend to revitalize the vintage Mt. Waterman ski resort in the Angeles National Forest — in part by selling exclusive access to coveted powder days to well-heeled customers and ferrying them to the mountains in chartered helicopters.But there’s a snag: The federal agency that has the final say on what can be done at the homey 390-acre resort hasn’t approved such a plan and said it would be hesitant to sanction anything that smacked of exclusivity.“I’m pretty confident we would not allow … any kind of exclusive use,” said the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand, who oversees the public services staff area of the Angeles National Forest.That could throw a wrench into the business plan of the prospective owners, known as Angeles Mountain Partners LLC. They say the proceeds from what they call the Waterman100 club — a nod to the number of members — could bankroll improvements that would benefit all visitors. The words “exclusive,” “exclusively” and “exclusivity” appear at least 20 times in a presentation aimed at potential members.Beyond the “country club-style” membership, Angeles Mountain Partners co-founders Joshua Shelton and Scott Towsley envision transforming the no-frills, more than 80-year-old resort into a contemporary outdoors playground replete with glamping, mountain coaster, tubing hill, high-end dining and snowmaking capabilities.Club members would get to claim the mountain for themselves on “powder days,” or blue bird days immediately following a storm when conditions are peak, Shelton said. He acknowledged, however, that the owners can’t guarantee snow.“The risk they’re willing to take will help us underwrite our entire winter season and the resort as a whole,” Shelton, an attorney, said of prospective members. His partner Towsley is a winter resort industry veteran who operates alpine coaster parks in Big Bear and Arizona.How to get around the fact that heavy snowfall often closes the serpentine stretch of Highway 2 leading up to the resort? “The solution is a helicopter,” the presentation says, pointing to an on-site helipad where chartered flights could quickly ferry snow seekers up to the mountain. Shelton describes a plan to enlarge the helipad at the resort and transform it into a scenic point for visitors. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) A business plan provided to The Times pegged the price for the first 25 members at $100,000. The cost rises by $50,000 for each additional 25 members, so that members 76 to 100 pay $250,000, according to the plan. That adds up to $17.5 million in revenue — in addition to annual membership dues of $5,000 per member, per the plan. Shelton said the membership costs are not finalized, and that these figures were used for modeling. He also believes Forest Service officials misunderstood his plans for the club, saying they thought the intent was to sell the land to those people and totally shut out the public. “That’s the furthest from what we’re hoping to do here,” he said. Shelton’s team has since pulled down a description of Waterman100 from a web page for the club, citing an “overflow of submissions” and a plan “to make small language edits.” A grand plan — but not guaranteedWhat’s billed as the closest resort skiing to millions of residents in the L.A. Basin began with a modest rope tow in 1939, according to the resort website. That same year, Highway 2, also known as Angeles Crest Highway, breached the San Gabriel Mountains, paving the way for crowds. The resort located right off the highway expanded over time, opening its first chairlift in 1941 and then two more over 40 years. But the digs remain rustic and bare-bones. Shelton stands with Bodhi, his Bernese Mountain Dog, near the base of the resort right off Angeles Crest Highway. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The resort — including three chair lifts, ticket booth, warming hut with a full kitchen and a handful of snowcats and snowmobiles — was listed earlier this year for $2.3 million. Shelton said Angeles Mountain Partners has entered into a purchase agreement with the owners, a group of friends led by Rick Metcalf, who grew up in the foothills neighborhood of La Cañada-Flintridge and learned to ski at the resort as youngsters. A press release put out by Angeles Mountain Partners in October said the group had acquired the resort. Shelton said in an interview that the sale hasn’t yet closed. The resort, topping out at more than 8,000 feet of elevation, is located on federally owned national forest land, and anyone who hopes to operate a business on it needs a special-use permit from the Forest Service. As of last week, Seastrand said the agency hadn’t received an application for a permit, though the prospective buyers had begun discussions with the agency and started handing over documents and other information. Marc Ramirez, listing agent and longtime resort employee, said he’s excited by the prospect of a reinvigorated business under the prospective owners. “You go down in L.A. and 10 out of 100 people only know of Mt. Waterman,” he said. “What the heck is that?” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Providing a place for people to hit the slopes is a “good use” of the land, Seastrand said, though the benefit of gliding down powder needs to be balanced with visitor safety, as well as protecting plants and wild animals.Shelton stressed that his group is committed to working closely with the federal land manager and moving through all the required steps. Pointing to his legal background, he called regulations “a guide to how to do things the right way for us.”Seastrand said the agency looks forward to working with the prospective owners. Messages may have gotten crossed, and “that’s OK,” he said. “We want what’s best for the public that can come and use the land, and we want what’s best for our business partners, too.”Hope for a hidden gem fallen into disuse Newcomb’s Ranch, a former restaurant located down the road from the ski resort, is closed, but some say it could reopen under new ownership. “In theory,” an activated resort “would help them,” the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand said. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Shelton, a lifelong snowboarder, grew up in the L.A. area but never ventured into the majestic mountains dotted with fragrant pines to the north, let alone cruised down the slopes of Mt. Waterman. When he saw the resort come up for sale, it instantly piqued his interest.“I felt like this weird vibration that I’d somehow be involved,” Shelton said. Towsley is a neighbor of his in a Mojave Desert community, and when they encountered one another they both brought up the listing, he recalled. Shelton, now a resident of Seal Beach in Orange County, said he has experience working out deals in a variety of industries. And Towsley, a skier, boasted resort operation credentials. While Angeles Mountain Partners’ plans raised eyebrows — an SF Gate headline said the historic ski area was poised to “become a haven for the rich” — many have pointed out that it hasn’t exactly been a paradigm of public access under previous owners.When Metcalf and company scooped up the resort in 2006, it hadn’t operated for several years and was on the verge of losing its Forest Service permit altogether, according to the resort website.“Our goal was to save the place,” said Craig Stewart, 62, one of the current owners. “We all learned to ski here. This is our backyard.” But it never became a reliable haven for ski-minded Angelenos, only opening occasionally to the public over the years, said Marc Ramirez, the listing agent for the property. Ramirez, a longtime resort employee, said he’s “excited to see it come back to what it can be.”Not all local skiers are jazzed about the plans for the resort. “It’s been the butt of jokes in every group ski chat I’ve participated in,” Highland Park resident Ethan Ayer said of the idea for heli-skiing, the term for plopping skiers on mountaintops via helicopter. Helicopter rides aren’t cheap, and those who heli-ski are often whisked to harrowing peaks in Alaska or British Columbia. “If you’re going to invest that much money, you would likely be a passionate skier, and the terrain at Waterman isn’t for passionate skiing,” Ayer, 46, said. Craig Stewart, a co-owner of the ski resort, called the mountain where he learned to ski “our backyard.” The goal of purchasing the property many years ago was to save it from shuttering for good. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Making up for Mother NaturePerhaps the biggest possible impediment to the team’s success is the region’s frequent lack of snow — and a current lack of snowmaking capabilities to make up for what Mother Nature doesn’t provide. Two other resorts in the San Gabriels — Mountain High and Mt. Baldy — can manufacture powder.Waterman’s prospective owners say they intend to bring in snowmaking, which could expand a season from a couple of weeks to almost half a year. However, it is another aspect of the vision that isn’t assured. Seastrand, a supervisory natural resource specialist for the Forest Service, said there was reason to be optimistic it could pan out but it would hinge on finding a water source.“It’s a relatively dry part of the forest,” he said. “There’s not a giant river anywhere around there.” Typically, a well would be the answer, but “you’re not guaranteed to just go drill a well and tap sufficient water.”Shelton said his team feels “very comfortable with the available water supply on the mountain.” Ramirez said there are three wells on the property, as well as a 4-million-gallon reservoir. Towsley has expertise in the matter, having designed and installed snowmaking systems for ski resorts across the U.S., according to company documents. It wouldn’t happen overnight, though. The first step would be securing conceptual acceptance from forest officials as part of a long-term planning document. Before installing lines and developing a water source, they’d need to go through environmental and other review, officials said.Shelton estimates it would take at least three years from their launch date. Until then, he expects to open for about 18 to 20 days for general public use. Dreaming of a shiny new futureOn a recent visit, Shelton walked the humble grounds and began painting a picture of what could be, with his 154-pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Bodhi, ambling amiably by his side. He gestured toward a patch of land off a path covered in pine needles and construction vehicles. That’s where he says 20 yurt-style tents will go. At the edge of a precipice, a flat surface formed a small helipad. Their intention is to expand it so it will double as an overlook offering sweeping views of the mountains that seem to repeat endlessly until they fade into the crisp blue November sky. That would make it more worthwhile for folks who take the lift up, he reasoned. “This I think could kind of tie that together with, like, let’s go up there, have a glass of wine and sit on the edge of the scenic point,” he said. Shelton stands with his dog, Bodhi, inside the no-frills warming hut. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Forests

Water

Business

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

U.S. officials are proposing increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest under changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades

U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades.The U.S. Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 38,000 square miles (99,000 square kilometers) in Oregon, Washington and California.The plan was adopted in 1994 under President Bill Clinton amid pressure to curb destructive logging practices that resulted in widespread clearcuts and destroyed habitat used by spotted owls. Timber harvests dropped dramatically in subsequent years, spurring political backlash.But federal officials now say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency. Increased logging also would provide a more predictable supply of trees for timber companies, officials said, helping rural economies that have suffered after lumber mills shut down and forestry jobs disappeared.The proposal could increase annual timber harvests by at least 33% and potentially more than 200%, according to a draft environmental study. The number of timber-related jobs would increase accordingly.Harvest volumes from the 17 national forests covered by the Northwest Forest Plan averaged about 445 million board feet annually over the past decade, according to government figures. Cutting more trees would help reduce wildfire risk and make communities safer, the study concluded. That would be accomplished in part by allowing cuts in some areas with stands of trees up to 120 years old — up from the current age threshold of 80 years.The change could help foster conditions conducive to growing larger, old growth trees that are more resistant to fire, by removing younger trees, officials said.A separate pending proposal from President Joe Biden's administration aims to increase protections nationwide for old growth trees, which play a significant role in storing climate change-inducing carbon dioxide.“Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created,” Jacque Buchanan, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region, said in a statement. He said the proposal would help the agency adapt to shifting conditions, as global warming increases the frequency of droughts and other extreme weather events.The proposed plan also calls for closer cooperation between the Forest Service and Native American tribes to tap into tribal knowledge about forest management. Tribes were excluded when the 1994 plan was crafted.Environmentalists greeted the proposal with skepticism. The group Oregon Wild said it was “deeply troubling” that the Forest Service would release the proposal just ahead of a change in presidential administrations.“It appears that the Forest Service wants to abandon the fundamental purpose of the Northwest Forest Plan–protecting fish and wildlife and the mature and old-growth forests they need to survive,” John Persell, an attorney for the group, said in a statement.A draft environmental study examined several potential alternatives, including leaving the existing plan’s components in place or changing them to either reduce or increase logging. A timber industry representative who co-chaired an advisory committee on the Northwest Forest Plan said the proposed plan resulted from discussions involving committee members, the Forest Service and others.“We want to see a modern approach to federal forest stewardship that protects us from catastrophic wildfires, reduces toxic smoke, meaningfully engages tribes, and delivers for our rural communities and workers,” said Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council.The publishing of the proposal begins a 120-day public comment period. The Forest Service's environmental review is expected to be completed by next fall and a final decision is due in early 2026.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Forests

Climate

Government

How do you save a rainforest? Leave it alone

Research shows that, instead of replanting rainforests, allowing them to bounce back naturally would work best

Johnny Appleseed’s heart was in the right place when he walked all over the early United States planting fruit trees. Ecologically, though, he had room for improvement: To create truly dynamic ecosystems that host a lot of biodiversity, benefit local people, and produce lots of different foods, a forest needs a wide variety of species. Left on their own, some deforested areas can rebound surprisingly fast with minimal help from humans, sequestering loads of atmospheric carbon as they grow. New research from an international team of scientists, recently published in the journal Nature, finds that 830,000 square miles of deforested land in humid tropical regions — an area larger than Mexico — could regrow naturally if left on its own. Five countries — Brazil, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Colombia — account for 52 percent of the estimated potential regrowth. According to the researchers, that would boost biodiversity, improve water quality and availability, and suck up 23.4 gigatons of carbon over the next three decades. “A rainforest can spring up in one to three years — it can be brushy and hard to walk through,” said Matthew Fagan, a conservation scientist and geographer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a coauthor of the paper. “In five years, you can have a completely closed canopy that’s 20 feet high. I have walked in rainforests 80 feet high that are 10 to 15 years old. It just blows your mind.” That sort of regrowth isn’t a given, though. First of all, humans would have to stop using the land for intensive agriculture — think big yields thanks to fertilizers and other chemicals — or raising hoards of cattle, the sheer weight of which compacts the soil and makes it hard for new plants to take root. Cows, of course, also tend to nosh on young plants. Planting a bunch of the same species of tree — à la Johnny Appleseed — pales in comparison to a diverse rainforest that comes back naturally. Secondly, it helps for tropical soil to have a high carbon content to nourish plants. “Organic carbon, as any person who loves composting knows, really helps the soil to be nutritious and bulk itself up in terms of its ability to hold water,” Fagan said. “We found that places with soils like that are much more likely to have forests pop up.” And it’s also beneficial for a degraded area to be near a standing tropical forest. That way, birds can fly across the area, pooping out seeds they have eaten in the forest. And once those plants get established, other tree-dwelling animal species like monkeys can feast on their fruits and spread seeds, too. This initiates a self-reinforcing cycle of biodiversity, resulting in one of those 80-foot-tall forests that’s only a decade old. The more biodiversity, the more a forest can withstand shocks. If one species disappears because of disease, for instance, another similar one might fill the void. That’s why planting a bunch of the same species of tree — à la Johnny Appleseed — pales in comparison to a diverse rainforest that comes back naturally. “When you have that biodiversity in the system, it tends to be more functional in an ecological sense, and it tends to be more robust,” said Peter Roopnarine, a paleoecologist at the California Academy of Sciences, who studies the impact of the climate on ecosystems but wasn’t involved in the new paper. “Unless or until we can match that natural complexity, we’re always going to be a step behind what nature is doing.” Governments and nonprofits can now use the data gathered from this research to identify places to prioritize for cost-effective restoration, according to Brooke Williams, a research fellow at the University of Queensland and the paper’s lead author. “Importantly, our dataset doesn’t inform on where should and should not be restored,” she said, because that’s a question best left to local governments. One community, for instance, might rely on a crop that requires open spaces to grow. But if the locals can thrive with a regrown tropical forest — by, say, earning money from tourism and growing crops like coffee and cocoa within the canopy, a practice known as agroforestry — their government might pay them to leave the area alone. Susan Cook-Patton, senior forest restoration scientist at the Nature Conservancy, said that more than 1,500 species have been used in agroforestry worldwide. “There’s a lot of fruit trees, for example, that people use, and trees that provide medicinal services,” Cook-Patton said. “Are there ways that we can help shift the agricultural production towards more trees and boost the carbon value, the biodiversity value, and livelihoods of the people living there?” The tricky bit here is that the world is warming and droughts are worsening, so a naturally regrowing forest may soon find itself in different circumstances. “We know the climate conditions are going to change, but there’s still uncertainty with some of that change, uncertainty in our climate projection models,” Roopnarine said. So while a forest is very much stationary, reforestation is, in a sense, a moving target for environmental groups and governments. A global goal known as the Bonn Challenge aims to restore 1.3 million square miles of degraded and deforested land by 2030. So far, more than 70 governments and organizations from 60 countries, including the United States, have signed on to contribute 810,000 square miles toward that target. Sequestering 23.4 gigatons of carbon over three decades may not sound like much in the context of humanity’s 37 gigatons of emissions every year. But these are just the forests in tropical regions. Protecting temperate forests and sea grasses would capture still more carbon, in addition to newfangled techniques like growing cyanobacteria. “This is one tool in a toolbox — it is not a silver bullet,” Fagan said. “It’s one of 40 bullets needed to fight climate change. But we need to use all available options.” This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/climate/save-rainforest-carbon-science-biodiversity/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org Read more about carbon capture and trees

Forests

Agriculture

Chemicals

Whistleblower Sounds Alarm About Destruction of Tribal Sites in North Carolina

A career archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service says managers have been engaging in irresponsible and illegal behavior that has resulted in damage to Native American sites across the forested slopes of North Carolina

Spear points, hammer stones and picks lost to history under layers of leaves, roots and rocks — it was the evidence Scott Ashcraft was looking for. The ancient tools were inadvertently unearthed in 2021 by a bulldozer fighting a wildfire along a steep slope in western North Carolina. Ashcraft, a career U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, knew these wooded mountainsides held more clues to early human history in the Appalachian Mountains than anyone had imagined.He tried for years to raise the alarm to forest managers, saying outdated modeling that ignored the artifacts sometimes hidden on steep terrain — especially sites significant to Native American tribes — needed to be reconsidered when planning for prescribed fires, logging projects, new recreational trails and other work on national forest lands. Instead, Ashcraft says managers retaliated against him and pushed ahead with their plans, often violating historic preservation and environmental protection laws by side stepping consultations with tribes, limiting input from state archaeologists and systematically suppressing scientific data.In a letter shared with The Associated Press, Ashcraft sent his concerns Thursday to top officials in the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Interior Department, White House Council on Native American Affairs and National Congress of American Indians. He described an escalating pattern of illegal, unethical and irresponsible behavior by forest managers in North Carolina that stands in sharp contrast to the historic strides the Biden administration has made nationally to include Indigenous expertise when making decisions about public land management.Although the case focuses on a single state, Ashcraft said it highlights a bigger problem — that there are no guardrails to keep the Forest Service from using outdated modeling and skirting requirements to consult with tribes before moving ahead with projects.“It’s seems that project completion, feathers in caps and good performance evaluations have outweighed the protection of cultural resources,” Ashcraft told the AP in an interview.The letter is the latest salvo in a federal whistleblower case that began when Ashcraft filed a lengthy disclosure with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general in 2023. That office turned the case back to the Forest Service, where regional officials declared that legal requirements had been met.The whistleblower disclosure gained the attention of preservation experts and other researchers as hostility by forest managers mounted against Ashcraft, the heritage resources program manager for the Pisgah National Forest.Emails and other documents reviewed by the AP show many of Ashcraft's duties were reassigned to other employees and he was prohibited from communicating with tribes.Regional forest officials have not directly addressed allegations of retaliation against Ashcraft, but they have doubled down on promises to work with the dozen tribes that have ancestral connections to the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests.Nationally, the Biden administration has moved toward recognizing the connection Native Americans have to their homelands through the publication of action plans and guidance for dealing with sacred sites. In 2022, President Joe Biden issued a memo aimed at setting minimum standards for how agencies should carry out consultations with tribes.It appears that system broke down in North Carolina, said Valerie Grussing, the executive director of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. The group has been in discussions with tribes and top forest officials about violations there.“What’s happened at the forest unit and the regional level is egregious. It’s unconscionable,” she said. “It’s not just a breaking of the federal trust responsibility, but of established relationships.”James Melonas, supervisor of the four forests in North Carolina, said in a statement that an independent group of experts was tapped last year to review several projects to ensure compliance with federal laws and tribal consultation obligations after “an internal concern” was raised.The experts recommended more training for employees on the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act and a full review of the forest heritage program. Regional forest officials said that internal review was done in May, confirming that obligations were met.“Honoring this rich tribal heritage along with co-stewardship of these lands with tribal nations is a top priority for the Forest Service," Melonas said.Some tribal officials say the Forest Service did not reach out to them when conducting the reviews.Ashcraft’s attorneys have partnered with the legal nonprofit Whistleblower Aid. They contend that Ashcraft has put his career on the line to bring attention to what they described as the “willful destruction of Native American heritage sites.”Andrew Bakaj, chief legal counsel for Whistleblower Aid, said virtually none of the key stakeholders with knowledge of the violations were interviewed as part of the agency's review and the report has been kept out of the public eye.The concerns raised by the whistleblower are not the first time the Forest Service has been accused of not following procedures. Documents obtained by the AP in 2016 revealed that portions of the Trail of Tears were ripped up in eastern Tennessee when an employee approved the construction of berms and trenches without authorization. The Forest Service later apologized to the Cherokee Nation and other tribes.Ashcraft has surveyed vast tracts of forest over his 31-year career. Without further investigation of steep slopes, he said the extent of the damage done in western North Carolina as a result of managers relying on outdated modeling can't be fully known.The whistleblower disclosure provides examples in which forest managers have allegedly tried to obstruct further archaeological investigations on steep slopes. It states that recreational trail projects – including a multimillion-dollar effort to expand hiking and biking networks east of Asheville -- have already been built over some areas and that prescribed burns have been implemented despite the need for more assessments and tribal consultation.“These actions are irreparably damaging or destroying an untold sum of Native American cultural and archeological sites including some of great significance. This conduct continues to this day,” Ashcraft warned in his letter.The intent isn't to stop work on forest lands, Ashcraft said, but rather to document sites before they're altered or reroute work in cases where areas are more sensitive and need protection.The Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries has worked with Ashcraft and other scientists to uncover dozens of sites — many of which have a “surprising density” of Native American cultural materials and evidence of land use dating back thousands of years.Within the scar of the Seniard Creek Fire south of Asheville, they turned up stone axes and other tools used for digging at quartz and soapstone quarries — all examples of what researchers described as engineering feats by sophisticated societies that called this region home about 6,000 years ago."Here we are at higher elevations and steeper slopes with an absolutely magnificent resource eroding downslope,” said Philip LaPorta, executive director of the center and adjunct senior research scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.LaPorta said discoveries like the one near Asheville should make people think differently about how Indigenous people used steep landscapes.The whistleblower disclosure was shared with the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba Indian Nation, the Muscogee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band.The Eastern Band of Cherokee were hopeful about having more meaningful and frequent consultations with forest managers after the agency adopted a revised plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in 2023. However, a specialist with the tribe said not much has changed. In his letter, Ashcraft wrote that the identification and preservation of Native American heritage sites goes beyond a single agency, tribe or whistleblower. "It concerns all of us,” he wrote. “Protection of these resources is a duty shared by actors across state and federal government, sovereign tribes as well as civil society. When one fails — spectacularly and in bad faith — it is up to the rest to step in.”For Native Americans, Grussing said it goes beyond the artifacts found in a particular spot. It's an intangible energy that comes from being connected to a place.“That's what is at stake," she said. "These are irreplaceable cultural resources and places. They’re nonrenewable.”Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Forests

Agriculture

Government

Global carbon emissions inch upwards in 2024 despite progress on EVs, renewables and deforestation

As world leaders gather at COP29 to consider reducing emissions, the latest global carbon budget shows CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels are still going up, not down, despite some promising signs.

Susan Santa Maria, ShutterstockCarbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels continue to increase, year on year. This sobering reality will be presented to world leaders today at the international climate conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Our latest annual stocktake shows the world is on track to reach a new record: 37.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ emitted from fossil fuels in 2024. This is an increase of 0.8% from the previous year. Adopting renewable energy and electric vehicles is helping reduce emissions in 22 countries. But it’s not enough to compensate for ongoing global growth in fossil fuels. There were also signs in 2023 suggesting natural systems may struggle to capture and store as much CO₂ in the future as they have in the past. While humanity is tackling deforestation and the growth in fossil CO₂ emissions is slowing, the need to reach an immediate peak and decline in global emissions has never been so acute. The Global Carbon Project The Global Carbon Budget is an annual planetary account of carbon sources and sinks, which soak up carbon dioxide and remove it from the atmosphere. We include anthropogenic sources from human activities such as burning fossil fuels or making cement as well as natural sources such as bushfires. When it comes to CO₂ sinks, we consider all the ways carbon may be taken out of the atmosphere. This includes plants using CO₂ to grow and CO₂ being absorbed by the ocean. Some of this happens naturally and some is being actively encouraged by human activity. Putting all the available data on sources and sinks together each year is a huge international effort involving 86 research organisations, including Australia’s CSIRO. We also use computer models and statistical approaches to fill out the remaining months to the end of the year. Fossil fuel emissions up This year’s growth in carbon emissions from fossil fuels is mainly from fossil gas and oil, rather than coal. Fossil gas carbon emissions grew by 2.4%, signalling a return to the strong long-term growth rates observed before the COVID pandemic. Gas emissions grew in most large countries, but declined across the European Union. Oil carbon emissions grew by 0.9% overall, pushed up by a rise in emissions from international aviation and from India. The rebound in international air travel pushed aviation carbon emissions up 13.5% in 2024, although it’s still 3.5% below the pre-COVID 2019 level. Meanwhile, oil emissions from the United States and China are declining. It’s possible oil emissions have peaked in China, driven by growth in electric vehicles. Coal carbon emissions went up by 0.2%, with strong growth in India, small growth in China, a moderate decline in the US, and a large decline in the European Union. Coal use in the US is now at its lowest level in 120 years. The United Kingdom closed its last coal power plant in 2024, 142 years after the first one was opened. With strong growth in wind energy replacing coal, the UK CO₂ emissions have almost been cut in half since 1990. Changing land use Carbon emissions also come from land clearing and degradation. But some of that CO₂ can be taken up again by planting trees. So we need to examine both sources and sinks on land. Global net CO₂ emissions from land use change averaged 4.1 billion tonnes a year over the past decade (2014–23). This year is likely to be slightly higher than average with 4.2 billion tonnes, due to drought and fires in the Amazon. That amount represents about 10% of all emissions from human activities, the rest owing to fossil fuels. Importantly, total carbon emissions – the sum of fossil fuel emissions and land-use change emissions – have largely plateaued over the past decade, but are still projected to reach a record of just over 41 billion tonnes in 2024. The plateau in 2014–23 follows a decade of significant growth in total emissions of 2% per year on average between 2004 and 2013. This shows humanity is tackling deforestation and the growth of fossil CO₂ emissions is slowing. However, this is not enough to put global emissions on a downward trajectory. Annual CO₂ emissions continue to increase, reaching a record high in 2024. The shaded area around each line shows the uncertainty in the estimates. Global Carbon Project, CC BY More countries are cutting emissions – but many more to go Fossil CO₂ emissions decreased in 22 countries as their economies grew. These countries are mainly from the European Union, along with the United States. Together they represent 23% of global fossil CO₂ emissions over the past decade (2014–23). This number is up from 18 countries during the previous decade (2004–13). New countries in this list include Norway, New Zealand and South Korea. In Norway, emissions from road transport declined as the share of electric vehicles in the passenger car fleet grew – the highest in the world at over 25% – and biofuels replaced fossil petrol and diesel. Even greater reductions in emissions have come from Norway’s oil and gas sector, where gas turbines on offshore platforms are being upgraded to electric. In New Zealand, emissions from the power sector are declining. Traditionally the country has had a high share of hydropower, supplemented with coal and natural gas. But now wind and particularly geothermal energy is driving fossil generation down. We are projecting further emissions growth of 0.2% in China, albeit small and with some uncertainty (including the possibility of no growth or even slight decline). China added more solar panels in 2023 than the US did in its entire history. Individual country emissions vary widely, but there are some signs of progress towards decarbonisation. Global Carbon Budget 2024/Global Carbon Project, CC BY-ND Nature shows troubling signs In the 1960s, our activities emitted an average of 16 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year globally. About half of these emissions (8 billion tonnes) were naturally removed from the atmosphere by forests and oceans. Over the past decade, emissions from human activities reached about 40 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year. Again, about half of these emissions (20 billion tonnes) were removed. In the absence of these natural sinks, current warming would already be well above 2°C. But there’s a limit to how much nature can help. In 2023, the carbon uptake on land dropped 28% from the decadal average. Global record temperatures, drought in the Amazon and unprecedented wildfires in the forests of Canada were to blame, along with an El Niño event. As climate change continues, with rising ocean temperatures and more climate extremes on land, we expect the CO₂ sinks to become less efficient. But for now, we expect last year’s land sink decline will recover to a large degree as the El Niño event has subsided. About half of the CO₂ emissions were removed from the atmosphere by forests and oceans. When we tally up all of the sources compared to the sinks, the budget should balance. We find a slight imbalance of 1.6Gt/year due to limitations of the data. Global Carbon Budget 2024/Global Carbon Project, CC BY Looking ahead Our latest carbon budget shows global fossil fuel emissions continue to increase, further delaying the peak in emissions. Global CO₂ emissions continue to track in the middle of the range of scenarios developed by the Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We have yet to bend the emissions curve into the 1.5–2°C warming territory of the Paris Agreement. This comes at a time when it’s clear we need to be reducing emissions, to avoid worsening climate change. We also identified some positive signs, such as the rapid adoption of renewable energy and electric cars as they become cheaper and more accessible, supporting the march toward a net-zero emissions pathway. But turning these trends into global decarbonisation requires a far greater level of ambition and action. Pep Canadell receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program - Climate Systems Hub. Corinne Le Quéré receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Royal Society. She was granted a research donation by Schmidt Futures (project CALIPSO – Carbon Loss In Plants, Soils and Oceans). Corinne Le Quéré is a member of the UK Climate Change Committee. Her position here is her own and does not necessarily reflect that of the Committee. Glen Peters receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.Judith Hauck receives funding from the European Research Council (OceanPeak) and the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program (OceanICU – Improving Carbon Understanding). The work reflects only the authors' view; the European Commission and their executive agency are not responsible for any use that may be made.Julia Pongratz receives funding from German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.Pierre Friedlingstein receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Robbie Andrew receives funding from the Norwegian Environment Agency and the European Union's Horizon Europe.

Forests

Climate

Education

Suggested Viewing

The Story of a Forest

In 2004, a generation of activists arose in South Florida, carrying the passion of direct action groups like Earth First. and the deep analysis of the global justice movement that had swept the country in the preceding years. These activists sought local issues that exemplified the threats of corporate globalization. They stumbled upon a plan from biotech industry giants acting in collusion with the administration of then-Governor Jeb Bush to clear a vast swath of land in the Northeast Everglades of Florida to accommodate The Scripps Biotech Research Institute - And it was on. Over the next ten years, endless county zoning meetings were counter-balanced by dozens of civil disobedience arrests and a near-constant flow of news headlines about the battle: lawsuits, scandal, corruption, tree sits, endangered species, pranks, blockades, and a roller coaster of incremental victories followed by devastating losses for years on end. THE STORY OF A FOREST captures it all in a 1/2 hour documentary about the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) and Everglades Earth First!'s (EEF!) ten-plus year campaign to stop the Scripps Biotech development, with a focus on protecting biodiversity in the Briger forest and the Florida wetlands.

Activism

Forests

Business

The Windshield Effect

As a child, Julian and his mother, Sylvie, could spend hours out in nature admiring the soundtrack of the plentiful insects. One day, a grown Julian is out on a run in those same woods and when he takes off his ear buds, realizes he cannot hear anything at all. A trip to the audiologist assures him there is nothing wrong with his ears, but he is still left shaken. Back in the forest, he comes to the realization that the insects themselves have gone silent in a mass die off. Also known as the "Windshield Phenomenon" that documents how bugs no longer splatter on windshields as we drive as insect populations are down more than 45% over the last 4 decades.

Forests

Extinction

Nature

Dipsas Speaks

Dipsas Speaks is a poetic reflection on the human-wildlife conflict in the Andean Amazon cloud forest of Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Dipsas klebbai, a snake, observes changes in her world. 100% wildlife cast.

Forests

Conservation

Animals

The Big Green

Jeanne's last cutting tree site has been destroyed by environmental activists. While she tries to save some equipment, she ends up stuck on the first branch of a 30 meters high, centuries-old tree. Her only hope: to climb higher to find some network and call for help.‍

Forests

Technology

Fiction

LEAVES

An academic woman in Texas becomes concerned when a massive red oak in her backyard seems to be ailing, though she isn’t sure why it bothers her so much. At the same time, in her small cottage, her attention to her work is distracted by news reports she sees and hears. They tell in graphic terms of the out-of-control forest fires up and down the West Coast. Her attention is further pulled in the direction of other stories about the worsening conditions of the world’s rainforests which she discovers are disappearing at the astounding rate of 200,000 acres a day. Suddenly such stories are all she seems to hear and see on the radio or television or on her computer. But when she hears/sees a science report about how trees actually communicate with each other, she begins to realize there may be a connection between her tree and what she is learning from the news. She begins to recall a strong connection she herself has with that tree and allows that connection to regrow…..

Pollution

Forests

Inspirational

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Costa Rica Expands Forest Protection with New Biodiversity Program

Related News

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Suggested Viewing

The Story of a Forest

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sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

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