Microsatellite loci that were previously developed in the tropical tree Tabebuia aurea were used for the genetic analysis of Tabebuia roseo-alba populations. Nine of 10 simple sequence repeat markers were amplified, and the polymorphism was assessed in 58 individuals sampled from two stands in southeastern Brazil. All loci were polymorphic with Mendelian inheritance. The allele numbers were high, ranging from 5 to 13 in population I and 3 to 7 in population II, with means of 8.9 and 5.5, respectively.

Global efforts to reduce deforestation rely heavily on protected areas and land use restrictions. The effect of these restrictions on local communities is currently the subject of heated debate among conservation and development experts. Measuring the social impacts of protected areas is difficult because the effects cannot be isolated from other factors, given the nonrandom placement of protection.

Over the last decade, hundreds of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes have been initiated around the world, but evidence of their environmental benefits remains limited. In this study, two PES programmes operating in the municipality of Coatepec (Mexico) were evaluated to assess their effectiveness in protecting the region's endangered upland forests. Landsat satellite data were analysed to assess changes in forest cover before and after programme implementation using a difference-in-differences estimator.

Who owns the world’s forests, and who decides on their governance? The answers to these questions are still deeply contested. To many Indigenous Peoples and local communities who have lived in and around forests for generations, the forests belong to them, under locally defined systems of customary tenure. In most countries, however, governments have claimed ownership of much of the forest estate through historical processes of expropriation, and those claims have been formalized in statutory laws.