A new book released today calls for more emphasis to be placed on human rights when nature conservation policies are developed and implemented. Rights-based Approaches: Exploring issues and opportunities for conservation is a collection of case studies, policy reviews and issue papers. It was published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

JAKARTA (5 June 2009)—A new report published today provides compelling evidence that paying to conserve billions of tons of carbon stored in tropical forests could also protect orangutans, pygmy elephants, and other wildlife at risk of extinction. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Conservation Letters, is one of the first to offer quantitative evidence linking the drive to reduce carbon emissions from forests with the push to preserve threatened mammal biodiversity.

Frances Seymour, director general of the Center for International Forestry Research, will be in London on March 9 to address a parliamentary meeting on climate change organised by the Overseas Development Institute. This is an outstanding opportunity to interview a leading global authority on REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation), an issue at the cutting edge of the global warming debate.