Latin America and the Caribbean

Written by: Peter Yeung In the tropical forest surrounding Alter do Chão, a Brazilian town located on a languid stretch of the Amazon River and home to what is considered one of the most beautiful freshwater beaches in the world, monkeys, macaws, agoutis and armadillos...

Written by: Karla Mendes Brazilian authorities announced the seizure of almost 29 tons of shark fins in June, exposing the extent of what they described as illegal fishing in the country. It was apparently the world’s largest confiscation in history: The largest previous seizure reportedly...

Written by: Kimberly White Indigenous groups in Brazil are calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate President Jair Bolsonaro for genocide and ecocide.  The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples from Brazil (APIB) filed a statement with the ICC accusing the Bolsonaro administration of genocide and...

Courtesy of Forests News Written by: Gloria Pallares Guyana, meaning “land of water,” is one of the smallest, most densely forested countries in South America. It is also an important part of the Amazon biome. In 2009, the country made a landmark pact with Norway to maintain...

Written by: Johan Oldekop, Bowy den Braber, and Marina Schmoeller Although deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon have halved, it is still losing more than 5,000km² every year. That’s an area three times larger than Greater London. By combining satellite imagery for the entire Amazon region with...

Courtesy of Landscape News Written by: Augusta Dwyer A new study published in Nature Communications has quantified for the first time exactly how much deforestation decreases rainfall in the Amazon rainforest – and has put a price on it.  According to the analysis carried out by scientists at the Centre...

Written by Kimberly White  The future of one of the world’s most biodiverse countries may become a little greener following a surprising electoral victory. Gustavo Petro and his running mate, Goldman Environmental Prize-winning environmental activist Francia Márquez, won Colombia’s 2022 presidential election, marking a significant...

Written by: Elizabeth Alberts Belize, a tiny Central American nation nestled beside the Caribbean Sea, is making giant strides in its ocean conservation efforts. In the short space of a month, the government made two big decisions to help protect its oceans: it expanded an...

Written by: Kimberly White  Colombia has joined the call for a global phase-out of fossil fuels.  During climate negotiations in Dubai, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that the oil-dependent nation had joined an alliance of nations advocating for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to avoid the...

Written by: Alex Kirby If the climate crisis keeps you awake at night, the impact of what we casually throw away is sure to have you worried: it makes global heating a lot worse. But Chile’s waste bus is managing to change behaviour in a...