Last year the world lost some 119,000 square kilometers (45,946 square miles) of tree cover – an area the size of Nicaragua – according to satellite data collated by the University of Maryland (UMD) released today by World Resources Institute (WRI). Almost a third of that loss – or an area the size of Switzerland – came from primary humid tropical forests, which house most of the planet’s plant and animal species and play an important role in climate regulation.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) will develop 20,000 hectares of land in Mindanao owned by indigenous peoples (IP) into corn farms for the commercialization of ANI’s rice-corn blend project.

In a recent news briefing, the DA said it will undertake the development of IP lands in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for ANI’s bigas-mais (rice-corn), or BigMa project.

The DA added that it will also shoulder the initial corn seed requirements to cover the target area.

A Twenty-hectare plot of land in Erap has been allocated by the Division of Agriculture and Livestock to address Covid-19 food security through partnerships with other stakeholders.

The project is in response to a call by the provincial emergency centre supported by the Australian High Commission Consulate, Lae Chamber of Commerce and Lae City Authority to provide planting materials to farmers in the province. 

Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong-06 May 2020: China's new policy granting greater autonomy to provincial-level governments over land conversions and farmland acquisitions will assist fiscal and economic performance in the medium to long term, via increased governance efficiency of land management on the local level, Fitch Ratings says. Still, Fitch believes the reforms maintain the protection of farmland as a top priority, thus an aggressive conversion plan at the national level appears unlikely for environmental and agricultural reasons.

The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has said in Abuja that it has observed recurrent cases of land disputes arising from the lack of proper demarcation by the department of development control of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

The country head of the IHRC in Nigeria, Ambassador Friday Sani at a press conference on Friday expressed concern that the body has also observed alleged violation of human rights by field officials of the department of development control of the FCTA.

Minister of Environment Say Sam Al has urged relevant stakeholders to take part in protecting and conserving natural resources in wildlife sanctuaries. This, he said, will facilitate carbon credit sales to raise money to support local communities.

Sam Al made his suggestion when he led experts and relevant local authorities on a visit to Mondulkiri province to examine the protection and conservation of the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Opposition Senator Francis N. Pangilinan today suggested that the government fast-track the release of financial aid to quarantine-affected farmers by decentralizing disbursement from Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

The fifth report of Malacanang to Congress submitted last April 27 showed that the financial subsidy to rice farmers (FSRF) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) reached only 53,881 (or 9.11 percent) out of 591,246 targeted farmers, and P645 million of FSRF’s P3 billion has been utilized.

In January this year, the managing director of Papua New Guinea’s Mineral Resources Authority declared that the proposal to develop what had once been touted as the world’s first deep-sea mine would ‘not get off the ground’.

Cambodia will soon start cultivating sisal, an agave plant native to southern Mexico which produces a strong fibre, after China Great Cause (Cambodia) Investment Co Ltd received an economic land concession in Preah Vihear province to build a processing plant.

The company imported the sisal – also known by the botanical name Agave sisalana – and will start growing it on 180ha of its 1,200ha plantation in the province’s Rovieng district.

The Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, located in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, is one of the world’s largest areas of reforested mangroves.

BY MICHAEL TATARSKI ON 21 APRIL 2020

Mongabay Series: Global Forests

New report alleges mine caused environmental devastation and ongoing health problems for communities

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is accused of being responsible for “multiple human rights violations” after its Panguna mine on the island of Bougainville left people with a dangerous legacy of poisoned water, polluted fields and a ruined river valley, according to a damning report from the Human Rights Law Centre.

The preservation of indigenous peoples’ territories in Paraguay has a vital role in maintaining spiritual, cultural, and communal well­being. Despite this important reality, many indigenous communities’ bonds with their land have been shattered.