Tropical deforestation, seasonal drought and decline of chemical weathering during the Permian–Triassic transition in southwestern China

• Accounting framework of WESs in tropical rainforest national parks is established. • WESs simulation model of WESs under human-nature coupling system is constructed. • TWESs in HTRNP declined 22.24% from 2000 to 2023. • The TWESs are expected the largest increase (2.56%) during 2023–2060 under SSP126. Tropical rainforests provide abundant water-related ecosystem services (WESs). However, under the integrated pressures of climate change and human activities, global tropical rainforests face severe deforestation and degradation, posing significant threats to the WESs. Accurate accounting of WESs in tropical rainforests is critical for their conservation and management. Existing accounting methods for WESs in tropical rainforests face challenges, such as subjectivity due to human preferences and the fact that the calculated monetary value does not equal market value or transaction value. Therefore, this study developed an emergy-based accounting framework for WESs in tropical rainforest national parks and established a simulation model for WESs under a coupled human-natural system. Taking Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park (HTRNP) as a case study, this study counted and simulated the WESs for the periods 2000–2023 and 2025–2060, respectively. The results suggest that: (1) the total WESs of the HTRNP exhibited an overall declining trend from 2000 to 2023, decreasing from 3.51E + 20 sej/yr to 2.73E + 20 sej/yr representing a 22.24% reduction. Spatially, the distribution displayed a distinct “east-high-west-low” pattern; (2) the average proportions of sub-categories of total WESs during 2000–2023 were microclimate regulation service (52.29%), hydrological regulation service (46.25%), water resources supply service (38.86%), and water purification service (0.09%); (3) the total WESs are projected to increase under the sustainability and high-emission scenarios (SSP126 and SSP585, increasing by 2.56% and 1.47% by 2060, respectively), while declining under others, most severely under SSP370 (−14.29%). Furthermore, SSP126 supports over 26.79%, 12.11%, and 4.98% of water resource supply, hydrological regulation, and water purification services than other high-emission scenarios by 2060. These results quantify the tangible benefits of sustainable pathways for securing water-related benefits from the national park. This study provides a scientific foundation for the conservation and management of WESs in the HTRNP.

Illegal logging is a serious environmental problem in Indonesia due to its direct impact on forest destruction, biodiversity loss, and increased carbon emissions. The Indonesian government has established various public policies and legal instruments to address illegal logging practices, such as the Forestry Law, the licensing system, and strengthening law enforcement agencies. However, the effectiveness of these policies remains a concern, given that illegal logging cases continue to occur in various regions. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of public policies in enforcing environmental law, focusing on illegal logging cases in Indonesia. The method used in this study is a normative juridical approach by examining regulations, government policies, and secondary data from reports from relevant institutions and previous research results. Analysis shows that despite comprehensive public policy design, its implementation still faces various obstacles, such as weak oversight, poor coordination between institutions, limited human resources, and corrupt practices. Furthermore, social and economic factors in communities surrounding forests also influence the success of environmental law enforcement. Therefore, strengthening law enforcement agencies, transparency and accountability, and active community involvement in forest management are essential. With these improvements, public policy is expected to be more effective in preventing and combating illegal logging for the sake of environmental sustainability in Indonesia.

Denial and Misconceptions about Tropical Deforestation.

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the anti-partisan war waged by the rebel forces during the Spanish Civil War and later by Franco’s dictatorship between 1936 and 1952. It argues that Spain constituted the earliest and longest-lasting case of anti-fascist armed resistance in twentieth-century Europe and, correspondingly, one of the first sites of modern counterinsurgency conducted by a fascist regime. Drawing on military orders, judicial records and internal security documentation, the article examines the main pillars of Francoist counterinsurgency, including the refusal to take prisoners, indiscriminate reprisals against civilian populations, hostage-taking, forced evacuations, deportation to concentration camps and the deliberate destruction of forests. By comparing the Spanish case with the anti-partisan wars waged by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and other Axis or collaborationist regimes during the Second World War, the article challenges interpretations of Spanish exceptionalism and instead places the Francoist experience within a shared European repertoire of counterinsurgency.

Abstract Soybean farming—providing protein-rich feed for farm animals worldwide—is the third largest driver of tropical deforestation and expanding. Importing economies are considering regulating the trade of soybeans and other deforestation-driving commodities, and trading companies will be required to conduct due diligence to ensure compliance. However, complex supply chains obscure provenance, and origin declarations may be falsified. Here, leveraging Gaussian Process modelling and a georeferenced dataset of isotopic and elemental composition of soybeans from across the main soy growing areas of South America, we identify soybean origin to within 192.52 ( ± 23.51) kilometres from the true harvest location. The average 95% Credible Regions reduces prediction uncertainty to within 3.8% of the area considered for prediction. Our spatially explicit model is a leap forward in commodity traceability, enabling both origin determination and verification of origin claims in true geographical space. Applicable to many commodities, this framework provides transparency regardless of supply-chain complexity, and facilitates effective regulation of commodity supply chains to tackle illegal deforestation.

This article examines the stages of the development of forestry in Russia during the early years of Soviet rule, the fi rst legislative acts regulating the country's forestry system, and the transformation of the forestry system under the country's new political system. It shows that with the establishment of Soviet power in 1917 and the abolition of private land ownership, forests were declared state property. This served as the socioeconomic basis for the expanded restoration of forest resources. During the years of Soviet power, the country's forestry industry turned into a developed sector. The imperialist war, followed by the civil war, inflicted heavy damage on Russia's forestry sector. The Soviet regime did not immediately establish state order in the forests. During the initial organizational period, unauthorized logging increased significantly. Forestry authorities were faced with new tasks: establishing a forest management apparatus, implementing forest nationalization, and stopping the destruction of forests through unauthorized logging. The author reveals the history of the development of forestry in the early years of Soviet power.

Abstract. Massiri SD, Golar, Muis H, Naharuddin, Malik A, Pribadi H, Hamzari, Misrah. 2026. Assessing collaborative governance and socio-economic outcomes of Forest Program III in Lore Lindu Landscape, Indonesia. Asian J For 10 (1): r100107. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjfor/r100107. Addressing tropical deforestation in high biodiversity regions such as Indonesia requires governance approaches that balance conservation goals with livelihood needs. This study examines the outcomes of the Forest Program III (FP III), a German-Indonesian initiative (2017-2024), in implementing collaborative forest governance in the Lore Lindu landscape of Central Sulawesi. The research aimed to assess governance effectiveness, socio-economic impacts, and institutional dynamics under the FP III. A mixed-methods research design was applied, combining structured surveys with 940 respondents from 48 villages, in-depth stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions. The results indicate that the FP III improved multi-stakeholder participation, promoted sustainable land-use practices, and strengthened conservation outcomes. However, the contribution of forest-based activities to household income averaged only 28.23%, demonstrating that ecological gains were not matched by significant livelihood benefits. Elite capture further constrained equitable participation, while central agencies retained dominant facilitation roles that limited the capacity of local Forest Management Units (FMUs) to act as bridging institutions. The findings suggest that collaborative governance can deliver ecological benefits, but integrated livelihood interventions and stronger polycentric governance are essential to sustain outcomes. Clearer institutional arrangements between central and regional agencies, empowerment of FMUs, and market facilitation for community enterprises are critical to scaling collaborative forest governance in Indonesia’s biodiverse landscapes.

Introduction/Objective Agricultural workers in Malaysia are consistently exposed to biological hazards originating from soil, water sources, livestock, and vector populations. Environmental conditions, such as tropical climate, monsoon-related flooding, and deforestation, further exacerbate the risk of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Despite these risks, biological hazards remain less extensively studied compared to physical and chemical exposures. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the current evidence on biological hazards affecting Malaysian agricultural workers, with an emphasis on occupational and environmental determinants, surveillance gaps, and preventive challenges. Methods A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2016 and September 2025 were retrieved from major databases. The eligible studies included biological hazards associated with paddy farming, plantation work, livestock production, and aquaculture. Data were charted according to hazard type, agricultural setting, study methodology, and the identified determinants. Results A total of 47 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings identified a diverse range of pathogens linked to occupational exposure, with Leptospira spp. being the most frequently reported, followed by Plasmodium knowlesi , Burkholderia pseudomallei , and various tick-borne agents. Environmental determinants, including contaminated soil and water, inadequate sanitation, climate variability, and high vector density, were consistently associated with increased disease occurrence. However, surveillance systems remain fragmented, with limited longitudinal monitoring and inconsistent reporting of biological hazards. Discussion This review highlights substantial knowledge gaps in understanding emerging biological hazards, climate–disease interactions, and the effectiveness of existing preventive strategies. Weak integration of occupational health, environmental monitoring, and vector surveillance limits timely detection and response. These gaps reduce the accuracy of disease burden estimates and hinder the development of targeted risk-reduction measures. Conclusion Biological hazards in Malaysian agriculture constitute a critical yet under-monitored occupational health threat, influenced by environmental and climatic dynamics. Strengthening One Health-based surveillance systems, updating national policies, and integrating environmental microbiology into occupational health programs are essential to address these gaps. Enhanced monitoring, adaptive prevention strategies, and cross-sector collaboration are necessary to safeguard worker safety and ecosystem health in changing climates.

Abstract Although agricultural expansion is one of the main causes of tropical deforestation, some agroecosystems, such as shaded cocoa agroforests, can minimize the effects of habitat loss and contribute to biodiversity conservation. Nonetheless, the effects of habitat modification at the regional and landscape scales on insect diversity inhabiting agricultural landscapes are still poorly understood, especially for Ichneumonidae wasps. Here, we investigated how the diversity of Ichneumonidae subfamilies varies between agricultural and native environments (i.e., cocoa agroforestry and Atlantic Forest remnants), and evaluated the effect of land cover context (highly forested, moderately forested, and severely deforested regions) and landscape forest cover on wasp diversity. For this, we deployed three Malaise traps for three consecutive days to collect wasps within 30 pairwise cocoa-forest sites distributed in three regions of southern Bahia, Brazil. We then separated and identified only Ichneumonidae wasps, therefore obtaining the number of subfamilies (subfamily richness) and the number of individuals (abundance) per site. We constructed Generalized Linear Mixed Models, using “landscape” as a random factor, to investigate how different environments (agroforestry or forest), regional context, and landscape forest cover affect the abundance and subfamily richness of Ichneumonidae, employing a parsimonious model selection approach. In total, we collected 421 individuals from 19 subfamilies. All predictors were included in the best models explaining patterns of both abundance and richness, with region appearing as the most important predictor in both cases, followed by forest cover. Implications for insect conservation Our results highlight the potential of shaded cocoa agroforest for maintaining high diversity of Ichneumonidae subfamilies, especially in those located in moderately and highly forested regions and surrounded by great amount of forest cover. Thus, we emphasize the importance of ensuring high amount of native areas in agricultural landscapes, especially through forest restoration strategies.

A review of spatial models of forest regeneration to guide forest restoration in Latin America.

In India, common property resources, especially forests and grazing areas, have been historically essential to rural livelihood. These resources contribute to the overall ecological balance in addition to supporting cattle and crops. However, over the years, there have been significant fluctuations in the availability of common forest and land resources in India due to growing population pressures, destruction of forests, land use changes, and industrial expansion. This study presents a comprehensive regional classification of common forest and land resources in India, and analyses their availability and changing patterns over the time period. Data from the India State of Forest Reports (ISFR) and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics are analysed to understand the variations and their changing patterns of forest cover, and in different land uses. To differentiate all the states and union territories of India, a regional approach is adopted with special consideration. To quantitatively assess interactions among different land use categories, Pearson’s Correlation Matrix is applied. Further, the study provides insights into how these changes influence resource management strategies and policy-making.

Forests are the lungs of the world, benefiting both the environment and the communities surrounding them. Forest destruction, including through deforestation, will have detrimental impacts on society. Some of the detrimental impacts that can occur with deforestation are: landslides and floods have damaged both medicinal and community-owned crops. This means local communities cannot utilize the forest. The problem that will be discussed in this article is how to regulate forest protection, and if deforestation occurs, can the community receive compensation? The method used in this research is normative juridical, which studies more about the existing regulations in Indonesia regarding environmental protection, especially forests. From the research results it can be seen that the existing regulations are sufficient to protect forests, however, compensation for the community has not yet been regulated. Things that can be done regarding the losses experienced by communities due to deforestation include restoring the environment and helping communities to meet their needs. Environmental restoration and assistance to the community can be carried out by companies that manage forests, or the government, especially if the forest is a customary forest or state forest.

Tropical forests enhance regional rainfall but a robust analysis of this benefit is lacking. Consequently, the rainfall generating services of tropical forests are rarely accounted for in policymaking. We synthesised observational and model-based values of the reduction in rainfall due to tropical deforestation to quantify rainfall generation. Across these studies, we estimate that each meter squared of forest contributes 240 ± 60 L each year to regional rainfall. The Amazon forest has an even stronger rainfall benefit, with each meter squared of forest contributing 300 ± 110 L each year. Using a simple approach that assumes a constant water unit price, we estimate that Amazon forest rainfall generation is worth US$59.40 per hectare annually and the Brazilian Legal Amazon delivers rainfall generation worth US$20 ± 7 billion annually. Recognizing the economic value of tropical forests’ rainfall provision will unlock crucial investment and transform policy discussions on payments for forest protection. The Brazilian Legal Amazon region delivers rainfall generation worth US$20 ± 7 billion annually, with each meter squared of forest contributing 300 L of water per year, according to analyses of observational and model-based data.

The rates of tropical deforestation remain alarmingly high. To enable effective, targeted policy responses, detailed data on its driving forces is needed-each deforestation event needs to be attributed to an agricultural commodity or another land use. Remote sensing allows us to monitor land use conversion following deforestation, providing a proxy of drivers. However, recognizing individual commodities is challenging due to spectral similarities, the limited spatial resolution of free satellite imagery, and limited labeled data. To tackle these challenges, we propose a deep learning, multi-modal approach for the recognition of post-deforestation land uses from a time series of Sentinel-2 images, geographic coordinates, and country-level statistics of deforestation drivers. To integrate the modalities, we design a Transformer-based model with modality-specific encoders. The approach reaches 87% accuracy, an improvement of 10% over the image-only baseline, with little increase in data volume, computations, and model size. It works well in low-data regimes, and can be easily extended to include other modalities. Overall, this work contributes towards detailed, repeatable, and scalable mapping of deforestation landscapes, providing necessary data for the design and implementation of targeted interventions to protect tropical forests.

Abstract Tropical deforestation causes substantial changes to local climate including strong local warming. Deforestation is driven by a wide a range of factors including commodity production, shifting agriculture and forestry. However, it is unknown whether the local climate impacts of forest loss vary across these drivers of the deforestation. We used remotely sensed atmospheric and land-surface datasets to explore whether the local warming due to tropical forest loss from 2001 to 2019 varied with the driver of deforestation. In the Amazon, forest loss caused by commodity-driven deforestation caused 0.66 °C of warming, more than double the warming from shifting agriculture (0.31 °C). Across the tropics, forest loss due to commodity-driven deforestation caused a warming of 0.02 °C per percentage point of forest loss, double the warming due to shifting agriculture (0.01 °C per percentage point of forest loss). Compared to commodity-driven deforestation, shifting agriculture leads to smaller reductions in leaf area index and smaller increases in surface albedo likely due to the subsequent land abandonment and regrowth of vegetation that is associated with this driver. Our results suggest that a projected transition from shifting agriculture to commodity-driven deforestation will increase the local climate warming from tropical forest loss with negative impacts for communities living in tropical forest regions.

Palm oil production started in the early twentieth century and expanded tremendously from the 1970s, with the area of palm oil plantations in Malaysia alone increasing by a factor of 74 between 1975 and 2010, causing significant tropical deforestation, carbon emissions and loss of biodiversity. This article examines meanings of sustainability in the history of palm oil production and in the recent efforts of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Based on sustainability and postcolonial scholarship, and drawing on the examples of the Danish plantation company United Plantations in Malaysia and the Danish Swedish palm oil processing company AAK, the article shows that RSPO efforts improved palm oil production standards. At the same time, it reveals co-lonial roots and legacies in palm oil sustainability thinking and practice. This article was published open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

The hydrometeorological disaster in Aceh caused floods and landslides, causing numerous casualties and significant economic losses. The hydrometeorological disaster was exacerbated by the deterioration of forests in the highlands. Forest destruction is caused by many factors, one of which is the decline of local wisdom values related to forest exploitation.The norms and values of the Gayo highland community are closely linked to the interaction between nature and humans. Communities living alongside forests or in highland areas are the primary bulwark in maintaining forest sustainability. The community's role in forest preservation is to convey values or ideas that live within the community, referred to as local wisdom. This study focuses on the local wisdom of " rintis " (the "root") within the Gayo ethnic group. This research will construct the values contained in the pioneering norms as ideas or concepts in the interaction between humans and nature.The methodology used in this research is a qualitative approach with a micro-ethnography approach, reconstructing the implementation of nature/forest conservation values within the local wisdom or customary system of the Gayo community through the pioneer norms. Starting from describing norms to actualizing norms in life so that they have benefits for environmental sustainability.This research concludes that the values of the rintis norm have been forgotten in Gayo life due to the need to fulfill economic needs, resulting in areas prohibited by custom being converted into agricultural and plantation land. Therefore, the initial norm as local wisdom remains limited to imagination and is not applied in the interaction between humans and nature.

Snow avalanches, landslides, and debris flows are the primary mechanisms delivering wood to streams in steep, forested headwater catchments. Tree mortality and bank erosion, in contrast, play a relatively major role in recruiting large wood (LW) in larger watersheds. The 2008-2009 explosive eruption of the Chaitén volcano in southern Chile caused widespread forest destruction, depositing several meters of volcanic sediments and dead wood in the Blanco River valley. Tephra fall, pyroclastic density currents, and dome collapses filled the valley, creating thick deposits of lithic-rich gravelly sand and buried wood. Post-eruption fluvial processes and channel adjustments have since eroded these deposits, mobilizing buried dead wood into the channel and creating an additional, previously understudied LW recruitment process. The exhumation of buried wood pieces could increase downstream risks during floods, emphasizing the importance of understanding this process. Given that buried wood cannot be visually identified, the prospecting noninvasive geophysics technique based on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was used in this study to perform continuous scanning of the lithic-rich volcanic deposits along the Blanco River. Three key research questions were addressed: 1) Can the internal morphology and structure of volcanic deposits be described using GPR?; 2) Can GPR detect the signature of buried wood within these deposits?; and 3) Is it possible to determine the spatial distribution of buried LW using high-resolution 3D subsurface mapping of GPR reflections? Following initial calibration, GPR scanning produced radargram profiles that were post-processed into 2D and 3D representations of the deposits, successfully identifying buried LW, whose spatial distribution was subsequently mapped using 3D GPR analysis. This study demonstrates that GPR is a rapid, non-invasive, and precise tool for characterizing the morphology and internal structure of river sediments affected by volcanic activity, facilitating the identification of buried LW.

This study aims to examine in depth the law enforcement efforts carried out by the Forest Police in the Tellu Limpoe Resort, Cenrana Forest Management Unit, Bone Regency, and to analyze the factors that influence the effectiveness of these efforts. The research method used was an empirical approach by examining the reality in the field through interviews, observations, and official data studies. The research location was chosen because of the high rate of forest destruction, which indicates the urgency of strengthening forestry law enforcement. The results of the study show that the Forest Police carry out a number of important efforts, including patrolling forest areas, checking documents related to the distribution of forest products, receiving reports of violations, collecting information and evidence, and making temporary arrests in cases of caught in the act. These efforts contribute significantly to preventing and combating forestry crimes. To overcome the various obstacles that exist, it is necessary to increase human resource capacity, provide adequate facilities and infrastructure, and procure special Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) in the forestry sector to strengthen the investigation process of forestry crimes, especially illegal logging, so that forest protection can be carried out optimally and sustainably.