FORESTS' RECOVERY NO MATCH FOR BURNING, FELLING

Forests the size of France have regrown naturally around the world since 2000, a study has found. Almost 60 million hectares have regenerated over the past two decades, researchers with the Trillion Trees Campaign found, showing the capacity of forests to repair themselves under the right conditions. In many cases, the forests returned with little or no intervention. The regrown areas, which are found in countries ranging from Brazil to Mongolia, could store the equivalent of 5.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide, more than the annual emissions of the United States, researchers said. But conservationists also warned that “vastly” more hectares of trees were being burnt and cut down each year, and called for support for forest regeneration to tackle climate change.