Life on Land

Forest scene with frogs, birds, palms, leopards, and an elephant.

Life on Land

An Unreasonable series investigating the impacts of deforestation and land degradation on wildlife, indigenous cultures, and global communities.

Illustration by Carla Lucena

The Last Stand

In Defense of Leuser: A Trek to Document the Unknown

Follow this writer's megatransect across the last place in the world where the critically endangered Sumatran tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, and orangutan can be found together.

On the Wild Side

Colombia’s Forests Left Vulnerable in the Wake of Civil War

The race is on to assess and conserve massive tracts of forest relinquished by guerrilla forces. Unfortunately, so is the race to extract them. This woman rode her motorcycle across Colombia to document the people working to protect these ecosystems before they are lost.

Generations in the Nation

Increasing Desertification Threatens Traditions for Navajo Women

A family of sheep farmers on the Navajo Nation, where the amount of surface water flowing in streams has declined by 98 percent, worries that their traditions will soon be lost entirely.

What's Yours Is Mine

Blood, Land, and Soy: Behind the Amazonian Battle for Indigenous Rights

In Mato Grosso, Brazil, Amazonian tribes are fighting for their land — and their lives — against big agribusiness and soy corporates.

Ghana Beyond Aid

Ghanaians Resist $10 Billion Deal to Mine Bauxite in a Protected Forest

Ghana stands to gain billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects in exchange for bauxite mined from its biologically rich Atewa Forest. The cost? The loss of critical ecosystems and the contamination of water sources millions of Ghanaians depend on.

Food for Thought

Palm Oil Industry Threatens the Future of Borneo’s Wildlife

The island’s rapid deterioration from fragmentation and intentional forest fires could have long-lasting and irrevocable impacts on the entire region’s climate, not to mention its population of critically endangered species.

Solution Spotlight

Removing Child Labor, Deforestation, and Poverty from the Cost of Chocolate

The CEO of Uncommon Cacao weighs in on the necessity of radically transparent trade within the cacao industry in order to alleviate farmer poverty and reduce environmental exploitation.

Keepers of the Eastern Door

Pipeline Expansion Proposal Divides Akwesasne Mohawk Nation

Mohawk communities continually face a cyclical conflict when it comes to decisions based on their energy needs and the contradictory effects these decisions have on the environment.

A Cry for Koalas

What Happens When a Protected Species Lives on Unprotected Land?

An Australian icon is in trouble as developers exploit loopholes in current legislation and eradicate critical koala habitat.