What is the future for Portugal’s cork forests?

Corks have been familiar in wine bottles for centuries. The forests that supply them are a rich ecosystem in their own right, but they are under threat as vintners move to using cheaper, more reliable plastic corks. The consequenses for the special ecosystems of the cork forests are serious:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7623912.stm

Will Lyme Bay’s fishing ban help protect it’s fragile environment?

Environmentalists are celebrating the protection of Lyme Bay in Dorset, where scallop dredging and bottom trawling will no longer be permitted. The move hopes to protect the fragile ecosystem there, but some fishermen fear that their livelihoods will disappear:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7463421.stm

Will Brazil’s Amazon fund help preserve the rainforest?

The Brazilian government has launched a fund, aiming to raise billions, to help safeguard the Amazon Rainforest. The aim is to preserve the rainforest by providing the people who live their with alternative ways of making a living, which do not involve widespread forest clearance:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7538480.stm
Norway has donated 1 Billion dollars:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7621179.stm

Oil in the rainforest; what happens when indigenous people fight back?

The Amazon rainforest is a relatively rich area for hydrocarbon (oil & gas) exploration. These activities are often not compatible with ongoing sustainable use of the forest. Usually the views and wishes of local people play second fiddle to the needs and wants of big business and governments, but in one part of the Peruvian Amazon, [...]

Can illegal logging in Southeast Asia be stopped?

Do you know where your garden furniture comes from? Perhaps you should be asking more questions about the source of your hardwood timber products before you buy them:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7302732.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6316419.stm

Why are rainforests important?

There is a huge amount of rainforest information on this website:
http://www.rainforestweb.org/

What is an ecosystem?

This page provides a useful overview of what ecosystems are and the processes which operate in them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem

Why does illegal logging means death for tribespeople in Ecuador?

In the battle for precious forest resources, sometimes illegal loggers will stop at nothing to carry on logging:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7245308.stm
Chico Mendez became famous for his efforts to protect the Amazon from logging. It cost him his life:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chico_Mendes

What is the Eden Project like?

Here are some websites about the Eden Project in Cornwall:
http://www.edenproject.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Project
Here’s how the opening of the Eden Project was reported in 2001:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1226610.stm

What is Braunton Burrows like?

These links take you to information about Braunton Burrows, a sand dune ecosystem (psammosere) in North Devon:
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/biospher_reserves/braunton.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunton_Burrows
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/sac.asp?EUCode=UK0012570
http://www.devon.gov.uk/geo-brb.pdf
Including a virtual transect across the dunes:
http://fieldtrip.britishecologicalsociety.org/sand%20dune%20tour/braunton_transect/braunton.html
Minutes from a meeting that show how people use Braunton Burrows:
http://www.ttef.org.uk/Braunton_Burrows_File/Open%20mtg%20feedback.pdf