Where do forests fit into the climate and development agendas? How—and when—will the promise of REDD+ be fulfilled? What is the value of zero-deforestation pledges? For International Day of Forests on 21 March, three CIFOR experts discussed how forest policy could shape humanity’s future.

• ’IT’S A FOREST, NOT A MUSEUM’: Forests are not just ‘nice to have’ but an integral part of what sustainable development means in the tropics. A CIFOR expert explains.
• LESSONS FROM PERU: How a group of local communities banded together to defend Amazonian forests from overexploitation—and how this relates to the Sustainable Development Goals.

A patch of Indonesian forest known as the Leuser Ecosystem is the last place on Earth where nearly every iconic animal from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” still co-exists. But a plan to extend a highway could spell doom for biodiversity there, a new study reports.

From rhino horn to tiger penis to turtle jelly: Growing demand for wild meat and traditional medicine among Asia’s growing middle class represents a grave threat to forest-based wildlife in the region and beyond, according to a new scientific review.

• FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A new study links availability of wild meat and human malnutrition in Africa—and calls for a better balance between conservation and development objectives in the management of bushmeat.
• THE BOOK ON BUSHMEAT: How does bushmeat relate to health? Livelihoods? Climate change? A new e-book produced by FAO with support from CIFOR is a handy guide for journalists and policymakers.

The New York Declaration on Forests has ambitious goals: halve deforestation by 2020 and eliminate it altogether by 2030. But how feasible is it? Two CIFOR experts assess who could make it work—and who could suffer if it doesn’t.

• WATCH THE CONVERSATION: On oil palm, deforestation and a success story from Brazil.

The Mazingira Center in Nairobi, the first of its kind in Africa, is expected to generate more cost-effective and precise greenhouse gas emissions measurements for Kenya. Even better: It could lay the groundwork for similar efforts across the continent. Read more here.