1. United States
Researchers from the University of Maryland and Yale have made a breakthrough in the search for sustainable plastic alternatives, developing a wood-based bioplastic that disintegrates in a few months. For comparison, conventional plastic can take centuries to break down. The new bioplastic is created by using a biodegradable solvent to deconstruct wood powder found at lumber mills into a slurry, which can then be shaped into common plastic products, such as shopping bags and other packaging.
Why We Wrote This
Creativity to benefit the environment reigns in this week’s progress roundup. Scientists have made a promising new wood-based bioplastic, and in Uganda a small business is using banana plant stalks in handmade consumer products.
Peru To Establish 2.7 Million-Acre Rainforest Reserve For Indigenous Peoples
by : Saman Javed on : 17 Apr 2021 17:01
Institute of the Common Good/Peruvian Ministry of Culture
The Peruvian government is set to establish a reserve for indigenous people spanning 2.7 million acres in the Amazon Rainforest.
The reserve, dubbed Yavarí Tapiche Indigenous Reserve, is located in Peru’s Loreto region, which borders Brazil.
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As per
Mongabay News, the reserve will be given to indigenous tribes known as the ‘uncontacted peoples’, as they have had little to no contact with the outside world.
While Yavarí Tapiche has now been officially categorised as the first reserve established under Peru‘s Peoples in Isolation And Initial Contact (PIACI) law, a protection plan must now be approved by the country’s Ministry of Culture within 60 days.
Peru to establish rainforest reserve for isolated Indigenous peoples
After nearly twenty years of discussion, the Peruvian government has moved to establish a new Indigenous reserve for “uncontacted peoples” deep in the Amazon rainforest.
Yavarí Tapiche Indigenous Reserve, which covers 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres) in the department of Loreto on the Peru-Brazil border, is home to Matsés, Remo, and Marubo peoples, as well as other groups that have yet to be identified.
Yavarí Tapiche will be established under Peru’s law governing territories for peoples in isolation and initial contact (PIACI).
Yavarí Tapiche has been officially categorized as the first PIACI reserve in Loreto, but its protection plan still must be approved by the Ministry of Culture within 60 days.