As the country puts a growing price on greenhouse emissions, investors are rushing to buy up pastures and plant carbon-sucking trees.
Tag Archives: Land Use Policies
New Laws in Sierra Leone Reshape Environmental Battleground
The West African nation will let communities veto mining, farming and industrial projects. Activists say the legislation is a progressive landmark. At least one investor calls it unworkable.
This Mining Law Is 150 Years Old. We Really Need to Modernize It.
Taxpayers and the environment have been the losers.
Congo to Auction Off Oil and Gas Blocks In a Step Back for Climate Change
Peatlands and rainforests in the Congo Basin protect the planet by storing carbon. Now, in a giant leap backward for the climate, they’re being auctioned off for drilling.
In Ivory Coast, This Rainforest Is Both Refuge and Junkyard
An endangered gem of lush greenery in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic hub, is at the center of government efforts to promote ecotourism. Those who live and work there worry about what it means for them.
Bhutan Will Triple Fees to Visit
As Venice and other European hot spots explore permit systems and daily fees to limit the number of tourists, the tiny Buddhist kingdom will require a $200 tax on international visitors when it reopens this fall.
How to Protect Bristol Bay’s Salmon for the Long Haul
E.P.A. action, legislation and land conservation together can permanently protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay, the salmon and a way of life.
Los Angeles County Votes to Return Beach Seized in 1924 From a Black Family
Ownership of the property, known as Bruce’s Beach, will be transferred to descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce, who bought the land in 1912 and built a resort.
In a First, Tribes Will Jointly Manage a National Monument
Five Native American tribes will work with the Bureau of Land Management to plan and conserve Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, officials said.
The Incredible Journey of Three African Wild Dogs
Three sisters braved lions, crocodiles, poachers, raging rivers and other dangers on a 1,300-mile transnational effort to forge a new dynasty.
Why Farmers Are Getting Priced Out of the Hudson Valley
Farmers are losing properties to wealthy buyers from the city, while leasing land from the new owners can feel like a ‘modern-day feudal system.’
A Proposed Road in Alaska Threatens Anilca Protections
The legal battle over the gravel route could gut an environmental law that the 39th president called one of his highest achievements.
Stopping Climate Change Is Doable, but Time Is Short, U.N. Panel Warns
A major new scientific report offers a road map for how countries can limit global warming, but warns that the margin for error is vanishingly small.
Build a New City or New Humans? A Utopia in India Fights Over Future.
Backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the new leadership of Auroville, an experimental commune, wants to create a model city. In the way stand trees, tree houses and a take-it-slow tradition.
As Violence Rises in the West Bank, Settler Attacks Raise Alarm
Attacks by settlers and Palestinians have both reached a five-year high. But unlike Palestinian suspects, violent settlers are rarely prosecuted.
England Urges Farmers to Make Peace With Hikers
In a country where public access to parts of the countryside is written into law, the government gave landowners some advice. But farmers say they are not the problem.
Ecuador Court Gives Indigenous Groups a Boost in Mining and Drilling Disputes
The ruling, which requires the government to seek consent for new projects, could put the brakes on the president’s plan to increase oil production.
Should a Person Go to Jail for Cutting Down a Tree?
Protecting them in public areas is a no-brainer. Protecting them on private land is a far greater challenge.
Donald H. Elliott, Innovative Urban Planner, Dies at 89
He preserved landmarks in New York through creative zoning, involved communities in decision-making and insisted on aesthetic standards for urban design.
In Afghanistan, ‘Who Has the Guns Gets the Land’
A decades-long fight over land has been reinvigorated as Taliban leaders look to reward their fighters with property, even if that means evicting others.
Hundreds of Companies Promised to Help Save Forests. Did They?
Cargill, Nestle, Carrefour and others pledged to reach net-zero deforestation in their supply chains by 2020.
The Build Back Better Plan and American Economic Policy
The root causes of rising costs for things like housing and health care are mostly regulatory. We need a strategy to address that.
How Leather Seats in Luxury SUVs Fuel Amazon Deforestation
An examination of Brazil’s immense tannery industry shows how hides from illegally deforested ranches can easily reach the global marketplace. In the United States, much of the demand for Brazilian leather comes from automakers.
Will Indonesia Edge Its Way into the Space Race?
An Indigenous clan fears it will lose its place in the world as the government pursues a quest to open a spaceport and lure the billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
In the Fight Against Climate Change, Young Voices Speak Out
Five participants in a Generation Climate program convened by The New York Times gave us their thoughts on the issues, why they became involved and what steps make a difference.
An Indigenous Canadian Director Channels Traumatic Memories Into Film
Tracey Deer based “Beans” on her experiences as a child during the 1990 Oka crisis, a confrontation between the Mohawk people and the government.
Palestinian Families Reject Deal in Area That Helped Set Off Gaza Conflict
The threatened evictions of Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem led to a war in Gaza last May.
The Glasgow Deforestation Pledge Isn’t Enough to Save Our Forests
World leaders have pledged again to end deforestation. This time, they need to actually do it.
How Misinformation Threatened a Montana National Heritage Area
Civic boosters in central Montana hoped for some federal money to promote tourism. A disinformation campaign got in the way.
Colombians Are Uniting Around Land Reform. Here’s Why.
Helping farmers is an idea that unites the country’s left and right.
The Role for State Governments in the Housing Crisis
How to solve the housing crisis (part 3).
Obama Breaks Ground on Presidential Center in Chicago After Lengthy Discord
The project has been bogged down by legal challenges and a federal review. Barack Obama’s presidential papers won’t actually be housed there — they’ll be digitized, another point of contention.
Five Years After Peace Deal, Colombia Is Running Out of Time, Experts Say
A treaty with rebels in 2016 called for the end of a decades-long war. But that is not the same as achieving peace, and the window for doing so may be closing.
‘Stairway to Heaven,’ or Dangerous Nuisance? A Hawaiian Landmark Is Set to Be Scrapped.
Honolulu officials said that maintaining the Haiku Stairs, an illegal hiking trail of 3,922 steps that crosses a mountain range, is too much of a liability.
Surfside Agonizes After Condo Collapse, With a Memorial Hanging in the Balance
What to do with the site? There is no easy way to both honor victims and compensate condo owners.
Defending Nature Is a Form of Justice
If citizens in construction-besotted Nashville can find the political will to preserve their trees, any city can.
Inwood Watches Closely as New Zoning Kicks In
Taller buildings are going up, but, so far, developers are making good on their promises to bring affordable housing to the neighborhood.
How to Make a Neighborhood Farm for an Entire Metropolis
A program being started in Atlanta helps midsize farmers buy their own land while providing much-needed fresh food to urban consumers.
It’s Some of America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without Water?
A California farmer decides it makes better business sense to sell his water than to grow rice. An almond farmer considers uprooting his trees to put up solar panels. Drought is transforming the state, with broad consequences for the food supply.
Fight Over a Gentle Stream Distills Israel’s Political Divide
Who gets to enjoy the Asi, an exquisite squiggle of water? The question has come to symbolize the identity politics that divide Israeli society.
The Quiet Strength of an Old-Growth Forest
When you have survived for hundreds or even thousands of years, there’s a strong chance you have seen it all before.
After Erdogan Angers a Loyal Province, His Opponents See an Opportunity
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey set off protests in his home province, the heart of his political base, with plans to build a quarry that would destroy a pristine woodland.
Wild Horses Adopted Under a Federal Program Are Going to Slaughter
Records show that some people who are paid $1,000 a head by the government to give legally protected mustangs “good homes” are sending the horses to auction once they get the money.
Israeli Court Delays Expulsion of Palestinian Families in East Jerusalem
The threat to evict six families from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah had become a rallying cry for Palestinians.
Why Biden Must Save Bears Ears National Monument
‘We are rooted to Mother Earth through her body like the plants are rooted to the soil.’
Affordable Housing Forever
Nonprofits that purchase land, build homes on it and sell them below market rate are giving low-income buyers a chance.
We Need an Infrastructure Package for Nature
The long-term needs of ecosystems should come before our knee-jerk demands to get back to life.
Taiwan Hunters Contend With Taboos, and Trials, to Uphold Tradition
The island’s Indigenous hunting cultures are circumscribed by ancient rituals and modern legal restrictions. We join a hunt as Taiwan’s constitutional court considers a case on Indigenous rights.
How Biden Can Free America From Its Zoning Straitjacket
If a state wants funds for infrastructure, it should meet strict conditions about housing construction.
Covid-19 Killed the Last Juma Elder in the Amazon
The coronavirus and Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, are jeopardizing the survival of Indigenous peoples and the future of the next human generation.