Nearly 200 countries recently came together in Armenia for the 2026 United Nations Biodiversity Conference to review progress toward halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Many of these governments will soon convene again in Turkey to discuss efforts to tackle climate change at COP31. In 2022, parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework aimed at reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and put nature on a path to recovery by 2050. An early review of the first 36 national plans found that none had created a plan that fully met two targets: to restore 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems, and to conserve 30 per cent of lands and waters, by 2030. By the end of 2025, Canada had conserved only 14 per cent of its land and fresh water and 15 per cent of its oceans. As a party to the biodiversity convention, Canada has a responsibility to conserve its wilderness, irrecoverable carbon, intact forests and lakes.
Surfers are worried about an… application by the Pacheedaht Anderson Timber Holdings partnership for a Crown lease to build a breakwater and log-dumping area in a bay just east of the Jordan River campground. …The primary worry for surfers is how the breakwater could change the patterns of sedimentation that shape all of the surfable waves in the area. …Angus Hope, for Pacheedaht Andersen Holdings, said the proposal is in its very early stages. Any construction, pending approvals, could be “three to five years” away, he said in an interview. While the coastline near Jordan River is now dotted with oceanside cottages and provincial parks, it was once the heart of a booming logging industry that employed thousands. …Pacheedaht Andersen Timber Holdings — a 50-50 partnership between Pacheedaht First Nation and Andersen Timber — formed in 2010 when it purchased the Jordan River Timber Tree Farm Licence (TFL61) from Western Forest Products.
.png?t=1792087427010)
As Canada’s 2026 wildfire season closed having scorched roughly 4.5 million hectares and forced 33,750 people from their homes — making it the country’s fourth-worst fire season on record — researchers in Montréal and Ottawa announced an AI tool that compresses months of hazard computation into hours. On October 23, Mila — the Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute — and the forestry division of Natural Resources Canada jointly announced an AI emulator designed to slot into Canada’s existing wildfire hazard workflow as a radically faster alternative to BurnP3+, the country’s established physics-based simulator. Depending on the hardware it runs on, the model operates between 800 and 3,400 times faster than BurnP3+, according to 
MISSISSIPPI — In a study spanning 192 sites and four continents, researchers have discovered that conifers planted in the Southern Hemisphere grow up to four times faster and are more drought-resistant than those growing in their native ranges. This rapid growth and resilience could make conifers a strong candidate for carbon storage, but there may also be drawbacks to planting trees outside their home turf. University of Mississippi ecologist Stephen Brewer was among more than two dozen researchers across multiple continents who studied the growth rate of pines, spruces, firs, cedars and other conifers in their native and nonnative habitats. The group 
A new analysis reveals that nearly ten million acres of U.S. forest were permanently lost between 1990 and 2017. Scientists from Clark University found that Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee experienced the most significant losses. The primary drivers identified were development and cropland expansion. The report also introduces the U.S. Forest Monitor, a digital platform designed to track permanent forest conversion. Arbor Day Foundation CEO Dan Lambe stated that the research highlights the urgency of restoring lost forests and addressing pressures like land conversion. Additionally, Forest Stewardship Council U.S. President Sarah Billig noted that small landowners face difficult decisions due to a downturn in the paper industry and increased urban development pressure.
Weyerhaeuser reported third quarter net earnings of $61 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. …In October, Weyerhaeuser entered into an agreement to divest approximately 81,000 acres of non-core timberlands in Arkansas for $146 million. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. The company owns about 1.2 million acres in the state. It operates a plywood mill in Emerson and a pine tree nursery in the Calhoun community. …Devin W. Stockfish, CEO said, “In addition, we continued to enhance the value of our timberlands portfolio. Looking ahead, we remain confident in the longer-term demand fundamentals.” …In the West, fee harvest volumes and forestry and road costs were comparable to the second quarter. …In the South, fee harvest volumes were significantly higher than the second quarter due to more favorable weather conditions.
EUGENE, Oregon – President Trump is widely expected to soon open up some 44 million acres of the country’s last pristine national forests. …With the formal repeal of the Roadless Rule rule expected early next year, the picture on the ground in timber country looks messier. Those who make a living in the forests say the problems are much bigger than access to more trees. …Sean Smith, CEO of the family owned Starfire Lumber in Cottage Grove, Oregon says the industry has more pressing challenges now, starting with the record high price of diesel fuel. Economists largely blame that on Trump’s war with Iran. And then there’s inflation, which is driving up the costs of just about everything. …So repealing the Roadless Rule – which has largely banned new road building and logging projects on some 44 million acres of pristine national forests since 2001 – is lower on the priority list.
Mexico’s armed forces have dismantled more than 123 clandestine sawmills and detained 116 suspected illegal loggers over the government’s first two years, Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said on Tuesday, Mexican newspaper La Razón 
Environmental organization Greenpeace International has accused Ikea Group of wood sourcing practices that are destroying forests in Europe despite the furniture retailer’s reported commitment to sustainable wood sourcing standards, according to an Oct. 13 press release. 
Europe is emerging from one of its worst wildfire seasons on record. Deadly blazes this year ripped through countries including Spain, France and Greece, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and burning 699,000 hectares – four times the size of London. The disasters highlighted how climate change is fuelling hot and dry conditions that amplify wildfires. But another, often-overlooked factor played a pivotal role in some instances: How governments and private landowners are managing Europe’s emptying countryside. In the 195s, the countryside west of Madrid, Spain’s capital, was a mosaic of crop fields and pastures. If a fire ignited, the fragmented landscape would limit its spread. By 1975, the first signs of decline rural activity were visible in aerial photographs. …In the decades that followed, young forests took root. The woodland spread grew denser, joining together to form more continuous forest. Now, if a fire starts, the continuous vegetation provides fuel for the flames to spread.