Posts by Correspondent

Deforestation across the world is slowing, marking a hopeful shift in global forest conservation. According to FAO’s 2025 Global Forest Resources Assessment, the planet’s forests now cover 4.14 billion hectares, with more than half under long-term management plans. Yet challenges remain, as millions of hectares continue to vanish each year under the strain of climate change and human activity.

In Samburu, Kenya, elephants once faced devastating drought and conflict, but local communities and conservationists are working to restore their ancient migration routes. Through efforts led by Save the Elephants and local hero Benjamin Loloju, new corridors are being mapped to keep elephants and people moving safely together across a rapidly changing landscape.

In Kenya’s dry and rugged Baringo County, women are turning barren land into thriving farms. Through organic farming and indigenous knowledge, they’re proving that resilience—and food security—can grow even in the toughest climates.

In Burkina Faso’s Cassou commune, women farmers are reviving their land with fertilizer trees — an ancestral practice restored by APAF. By planting nitrogen-fixing species like acacia alongside millet and cowpeas, they are restoring degraded soils, boosting harvests, and attracting back bees and birds.

For over 15 years, PELIS has been hailed as a clever way to expand tree cover, boost local incomes, and foster community stewardship of forests. But it has also been criticized for fueling corruption, enabling farmland encroachment, and sacrificing biodiversity in the name of expanding tree cover.

The new rules, found in what’s known as the EU Deforestation Regulation, are part of a wider effort to ensure European consumption doesn’t drive global deforestation.