The Know Daily - Thursday 4 April 2024

_{Read in 5m 36s ∙ Listening to Billie Holiday ∙}

The “untold stories” of roller skating in Birmingham and pigeon racing in North Yorkshire are among the projects chosen for funding by Historic England, as it looks to celebrate working class histories. Over the next two years, 56 community-led projects will benefit from the Everyday Heritage Grant programme.

🪵 Forest figures

New analysis has revealed “dramatic” falls in the number of trees lost in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon, but the global picture is decidedly mixed.

What’s behind the drop in Brazil and Colombia?
“Political action,” according to the BBC. In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to power last year pledging to end deforestation by 2030. As a result, primary forest losses fell by 36% in 2023, compared to the year before. Colombia saw a huge 49% reduction in forest losses, under the leadership of President Gustavo Petro Urrego.

What’s the picture like elsewhere?
Not great, according to the data from the University of Maryland's GLAD lab and the World Resources Institute (WRI). An area nearly the size of Switzerland was cleared from previously undisturbed rainforests last year, with notable upticks in felling in Laos and Nicaragua.

“The world took two steps forward, two steps back when it comes to this past year’s forest loss,” summarised the WRI’s Mikaela Weisse.

What’s the takeaway?
At the COP28 climate summit last November, governments agreed on the need to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030 - but these new figures show the world is a “long way” from meeting that target, said The Guardian. 

Falls in Brazil and Colombia show that “progress is possible”, argued Weisse, adding: “we must learn from the countries that are successfully slowing deforestation”.