
FORESTS NEWS
Aerial views of paddy field and oil palm plantations in Kutai Kertanegara district, East Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo. Balancing development and conservation is a key concern for sustainable oil palm landscapes. CIFOR Photo/Nanang Sujana
In 2018, Forests News covered some of the year’s most controversial environmental issues, with science at the heart of our reporting. The year began with an EU rethink on bioenergy, proceeded with a deep dig on oil palm plantations, catapulted to a clarion call on climate change (yes, that IPCC report), and ended on the world stage at COP 24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland.
As 2018 draws to a close, here’s your top six stories of 2018:
Should we burn trees for energy?
In January, more than 650 scientists signed a letter demanding an amendment to a European Union directive’s definition of forest biomass. Robert Nasi, Director General of CIFOR, agreed in principle with the letter, but said the reality of forest biomass supply chains and carbon dynamics is even more complex than the letter’s argument makes out.