Britain has 2,000 ancient yew trees yet there are only about 100 left in mainland Europe. England is home to more than 100 great oaks - trees aged over 800 years - more than the entire region from Calais to Cadiz. Author PETER FIENNES reflects on why so many old British trees have been saved from the axe
A new report from Global Witness places India fourth in the league table of killings of environmental activists. As part of our collaboration with CLIMATE TRACKER, environmental law researcher MRINALINI SHINDE looks at the human trauma behind the statistics - and calls on India's urban elite to act.
Award winning documentary maker Bruce Parry has raised the money to direct his first independent film. He wants to tell the story of the Penan indigenous tribe - so we can learn the secret of interconnected living. But should we believe him, asks BRENDAN MONTAGUE in Part II of this exclusive interview.
Marine turned TV sensation Bruce Parry has lived with indigenous tribes people in Africa, South America and South East Asia for his award winning BBC programmes. His latest venture is an independent film, TAWAI - A voice from the forest. He tells BRENDAN MONTAGUE why its message is almost too astonishing to believe.
Białowieża Forest is the best preserved forest ecosystem and the best preserved old-growth lowland forest in Europe. But it is under threat, reports BRENDAN MONTAGUE
Though the Earth loses forests at an alarming rate, the EU has yet to take decisive action against the most severe causes of deforestation. The EU must now act swiftly to ensure its consumption no longer drives forest destruction, writes SÉBASTIEN RISSO
Polish activists have this week chained themselves up to machines used to cut a 9000-year-old forest in a bid to stop the destruction of trees for what is clearly commercial gain. NICK MEYNEN reports
Brazil's extreme right wing government is preparing to open up the rainforest territories of dozens of uncontacted indigenous tribes to 'free for all' development by defunding the protection they currently receive, according to information received by Survival International, which warns: 'The reality is these cuts could sanction genocide.'
The Indigenous Peoples of Standing Rock are by no means alone in their struggle for the recognition and preservation of their native lands: a very similar story of resistance against oil extraction is taking place further south, and has been going on for almost half a century, namely the fight of the Indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon against oil pollution and oppression, writes biologist ARTHUR WYNS
Venezuela is set to hand over 12% of the nation's territory in the upper reaches of the Amazon rainforest to mining corporations, writes Lucio Marcello, with 150 companies from 35 countries poised to devastate the army-controlled 'special economic zone'. But resistance is growing, and a counter-proposal aims to protect the area's precious biodiversity, indigenous cultures and water resources in a new South Orinoco Mega Reserve.
Communities across Papua New Guinea oppose the theft of their land for logging and palm oil operations made possible by the corrupt practices of local officials and foreign companies.
FRÉDÉRIC MOUSSEAU reports
A unique and pristine coral reef in the mouth of the Amazon is threatened by oil drilling planned by oil giants Total and BP, say the scientists who recently explored it. But the oil companies are determined to press ahead despite the risks, writes Lawrence Carter, and Brazil's environment ministry is set to give its approval.
Discussions around the effects of climate change tend to focus on the planet's polar extremes, expanding deserts or low-lying areas. La Gomera - a subtropical forest perched more than a thousand metres above the ocean - is also at risk. JAMES MCENANEY reports
