A new evaluation of CIFOR research on Brazil nut production documents the research team’s experience in using scientific research to influence the development of forest policy in Peru. The country’s guidelines for managing Brazil nut concessions highlight study results that indicate how much timber can be cut without affecting nut yields, making it easier for communities to conserve local forests – and their livelihoods.

Restoring forest landscapes can help mitigate climate change, support sustainable livelihoods and maintain biodiversity. But to meet their targets, countries need answers to problems around finance, implementation and conflict resolution.

Nearly one third of tropical timber on the global market comes from trees sourced illegally, which causes deforestation. Yet illegal logging, deforestation and the informal value chains and economies that often contribute to them are complex phenomena, with varying causes, dynamics, impacts and trade-offs. Legal instruments and public policies are one approach to solving the issue; another is through private sector commitments to protect forests.

In all of Africa, the most mammals, primates, birds, amphibians, fish and butterflies are found in the Congo Basin. In northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, which once housed the world’s largest tropical agriculture institute, has lost much of its major fauna but is still home to endangered tree species such as Afrormosia (Pericopsis elata). But years of conflict in parts of the country and ongoing mining, logging and wildlife trafficking are threatening the country’s dense forests and the millions of people who depend on them.