What will it take to protect the world's vanishing forests?

Despite decades of pledges to save them, tropical rainforests are still rapidly disappearing as farms, ranches, mines and logging expand to meet rising global demand for products.

Forest losses threaten not just the plants, animals and people who live in them but many of the things we all depend on: reliable food supplies, regular rainfall - even the basic stability of the planet's climate.

So what needs to change to genuinely halt deforestation? Our reporters headed into the forest to look at a couple of really innovative ideas.

In the pristine Amazon rainforest of southeast Colombia, remote indigenous communities can see threats from mining, ranching and logging approaching - and they are making a rare and proactive bid for power to stop them.

With help from organisations and governments desperate to find ways to stem surging Amazon losses, they aim to incorporate as state-recognised local governments, giving them stepped-up control over their land and state funds.

"It would mean power with autonomy," said Alfredo Yacuna, who heads the Indigenous Council of the Miriti-Parana Amazonas Territory.

"By coming together in a collective entity, we're stronger. We can put up more of a fight against those who want to exploit our territory, and have a unified voice to resist," he told our reporter Anastasia Moloney, who visited communities along the muddy reaches of the Miriti-Parana River.

In Malaysia, meanwhile, the state of Sabah is taking a new approach to certifying sustainable palm oil. Our correspondent Michael Taylor headed to Borneo island to take a look.

Working with small-scale growers who produce about 20-30% of the state's output to improve their practices, officials are trying to ensure all palm oil from Sabah is sustainable by 2025.

That would simplify sourcing for green-minded buyers and could give Sabah an edge with them - while improving incomes for small producers and protecting the 65% of the state covered by lush forest that's home to orangutans, proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants.

Here's more on how the pioneering "jurisdictional" approach to palm oil certification works - and why it matters for Malaysia, the world's second biggest producer, as well as for the rest of us.

See you next week!

Laurie

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