To the agro-food industry, it’s a miracle plant. To NGOs and indigenous groups, it’s a threat to the environment. How can a single plant — the oil palm — cause such controversy? Alain Rival and CIFOR’s Patrice Levang tackle these questions in their book “Palms of controversies: Oil palm and development challenges,” newly translated into English and Spanish. The problem, they write, is not the plant but how it is grown.

• BLOG: Book illustrates just what a remarkable plant oil palm is.
• VIDEO: Palm oil boycotts “a bad solution”: Interview with author Patrice Levang.
• A VISUAL STORY: A road to ruin, or path to salvation? A balanced view.
• DOWNLOAD THE BOOK: Read the book now by clicking here (in Spanish here).

More than 60 leading forestry, agriculture and development organizations will be part of the 2014 Global Landscapes Forum—and so can you. Newly confirmed speakers include leaders from across the globe: Paraguay Environment Minister Cristina Morales, Norway’s Climate and Forests Initiative head Per Pharo and the OECD’s lead on climate change, Simon Buckle, will explore opportunities for a new climate deal. Beyond the two-day event itself, the Forum offers numerous opportunities to get engaged:

• PICTURE THAT: Voting has begun in our online landscapes photo competition. The 24 top photos will be displayed in Lima’s Kennedy Park during COP20. Vote for your favorite now.
• ATENCIÓN: Spanish speakers, apply now for the social media training to learn from experts on medios sociales.
• NEW VOICES: The Forum will start with 12 impressive young entrepreneurs sharing their ideas for sustainable land use. The future of the planet is in their hands—follow their stories here.

Recent op-eds in reputable publications suggest that Ebola outbreaks could be avoided if people stopped eating wild meat. This argument is unsound, experts Robert Nasi and John E. Fa write, and owes to a misunderstanding of human diseases—and a troubling double standard when it comes to afflictions in Africa.

• SPECIAL REPORT: Ebola and bushmeat: Making sense of a crisis
• VIDEO: CIFOR’s Miguel Pinedo-Vasquez discusses knowledge gaps in bushmeat research.
• READ THE RESEARCH: All the latest research from CIFOR on bushmeat around the world.

CIFOR’s research on gender and forests was a hot topic at the IUFRO World Congress in Salt Lake City in October. In a keynote speech, CIFOR’s Carol Colfer decried the lack of social science training among forestry institutions, urging a stronger focus on gender relations. Meanwhile, CIFOR launched a new guidebook on integrating gender into Adaptive Collaborative Management methods.

• SEE PRESENTATIONS: A selection of CIFOR PowerPoint presentations from the IUFRO World Congress
• DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE: Field guide to Adaptive Collaborative Management and improving women’s participation

Policymakers working on forests and climate change in Central Africa often lack knowledge of fundamental concepts of those issues, according to a sobering new study. The research points to a greater need for capacity-building in the countries that are home to the world’s second-largest area of tropical forest.