Tropical rainforests generate all kinds of benefits: They store carbon, house a myriad of animals and plants, purify water supplies and provide food and fuel for local people. And scientists have shown that many of these forests can recover after they are destroyed or damaged. But so many tropical forests worldwide have been logged, burned or fragmented by roads that it’s hard to know where to start.

University of Connecticut ecologist Robin Chazdon co-led a four-year study that sought to pinpoint places where tropical forest restoration would generate the most bang for the buck, measured in ecological benefits, with minimal costs and disruption to local communities. The researchers identified more than 385,000 square miles of such “hotspots” – an area the size of Sweden and Spain combined – spread across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Also today: indigenous women wrestling in Bolivia, producing a cultured meat steak or cutlet and weighing Amazon’s hefty influence at 25 years.

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Forest restoration is underway in Biliran, Leyte, Philippines led by the local community with support from international researchers and government agencies. Robin Chazdon

High-value opportunities exist to restore tropical rainforests around the world – here’s how we mapped them

Robin Chazdon, University of Connecticut

Restoring tropical rainforests is good for the climate, wild species and humans. But where to start? A new study pinpoints locations that will maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts.

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