Blog

The recently published Amazon Vision 2021 Report provides insight into USAID's work to conserve biodiversity and reduce the loss of carbon from the Amazon region. It unifies the Agency’s goals of combating deforestation, conserving biodiversity, creating environmentally friendly economic opportunities, improving the management of important landscapes, and supporting Indigenous rights in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname.

• 11/22/2022
• Lindsey Larsen

Increasing global demand for timber has led to a surge of illegal exploitation and deforestation which is accelerating climate change. To address this challenge, researchers in the USAID-supported Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) in Peru, Madagascar, and Indonesia are partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to develop tools to assist private and public organizations with wood species identification and help curb illegal logging.

• 11/02/2022
• Melissa Trimble

Since 2018, USAID and the U.S. Forest Service have helped Peru’s forest authorities and universities develop a training program for foresters to become certified as regents. Ana María, in her role as college professor, was part of the inter-institutional committee that made this happen. 

• 01/06/2022
• USAID

The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Cambodia, is the first sustainably financed protected area in Cambodia. This blog explains the market dynamics and project features that make this site an attractive proposition for voluntary carbon markets. 

• 06/16/2021
• Colin Moore

Monitoring forest loss remotely is needed for formulating policies and strategies to address deforestation.

• 04/29/2021
• Ankit Joshi

The USAID Mission in Cambodia (USAID/Cambodia) plays a major role in addressing environmental problems, such as climate change, through its financial support to local and international non-governmental organizations.

• 04/21/2021
• Sothira Seng , Dan Whyner , Sreyleak Leng

Many countries have committed to establishing national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, but lack the technical capacity to achieve their goals. As the science of forest monitoring and MRV advances, these countries face challenges identifying and implementing cost-effective tools and methods that suit their long-term needs.

• 07/30/2019
• Moses Jackson

Integrating biodiversity and sustainable landscapes objectives in development programming can increase the sustainability of interventions, amplify results and reduce costs. ‘Integrating Biodiversity and Sustainable Landscapes in USAID Programming’ highlights these and other key considerations for USAID staff and development practitioners interested in connections between biodiversity and sustainable landscapes priorities.

• 04/23/2019
• Catherine Wahlen, Jennifer Kane

A new land cover tool originally developed for southeast Asia is now being expanded globally. “Land cover mapping in the Lower Mekong has been challenging in the past, based primarily on outdated maps using different criteria,” said Dr. David Saah, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Managing Principal of the Spatial Informatics Group (SIG).

• 04/10/2019
• Devrin Weiss, Leah Kucera