"On the banks of the Komi Memem River, the activity never ceases: women go down the embankment from Laje Velho village carrying basins to wash clothing, while men embark in small canoes on hunting and fishing expeditions. At day’s end, it’s the children’s turn to dive into its tea-colored waters."

"The eight countries that share the Amazon basin have fallen short of an agreed goal to end deforestation. ... A joint declaration on Tuesday created an alliance to combat deforestation, but left each country to pursue its own conservation goals."

"The Amazon rainforest is a massive area, twice the size of India and sprawling across eight countries and one territory. It’s a crucial carbon sink for the climate, has about 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves and boasts astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species."

"A light rain fell on the Mojave National Preserve, where firefighters continued their nearly weeklong battle Wednesday against an unusual desert wildfire that has incinerated countless Joshua trees and threatens to forever alter California’s high desert landscape."

"When the presidents of Amazon nations including Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet at a regional summit next week, they will train their sights on a new breed of criminal just as comfortable chopping down the rainforest as shipping drugs overseas."

"A timber sale looms over hiking trails, a nearby city’s water supply, and already-vulnerable salmon and orca populations."

"California’s biggest wildfire of the year — burning through delicate Joshua Tree forests along the California-Nevada border — is an unusual desert blaze being fueled in part by the rapid growth of underbrush from this winter’s record rains."

"As America has transformed, so too has its celebrated footpath. Less than half the A.T. remains where it was originally laid."

"An evacuation order for the Canadian town of Osoyoos and its surrounding district in the province of British Columbia had been issued late Saturday night due to an out-of-control wildfire that has crossed the border from the U.S. state of Washington."

"Southeast Asian nations are gearing up to tackle the threat of a tougher-than-usual "haze" season together, as the El Nino climate phenomenon raises the risk of soaring temperatures."