On 1 February 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s forests were dealt a double blow. First, DRC’s Minister of Environment, Amy Ambatobe, reinstated three illegal logging concessions covering an area of 6,500 square kilometres. Second, DRC’s president, Joseph Kabila, signed off on three oil exploration concessions covering a huge area of Mai Ndombe province, including…
Author: Chris Lang
Threats of eviction against indigenous Sengwer people continue in Kenya
The Sengwer indigenous people who live in the Embobut forest in the western highlands of Kenya continue to face threats of violence and evictions. The latest round of violent evictions started at the end of December 2017. The evictions, carried out by the Kenya Forest Service, are supposedly in the name of “conservation”.
The Kariba REDD project in Zimbabwe: From carbon credits to EARTH tokens
The extraordinary story of the Kariba REDD project in Zimbabwe. Featuring cryptocurrencies, Earth Tokens, carbon credits, and tax havens.
Interview with Kate Heller, VCS Communications Manager, about April Salumei: “We cannot speak for the other ‘credits’ issued by the project”
In 2011, a Swiss company called World Markets AG bought five million “carbon benefit units”. They came from the April Salumei REDD project in Papua New Guinea. World Markets sold the “carbon benefit units” at a profit of over US$5 million.
Norwegian funded study exposes the myth of sustainable forest management
By Chris Lang In 2007, sustainable forest management was written into the definition of REDD in the Bali Action Plan. Ten years later, the main funder of REDD, the Norwegian government, has commissioned a review of sustainable forest management.