Kevin Conrad was born in the USA. His parents were missionaries living in Papua New Guinea. Conrad grew up in Wewak in East Sepik province on the north coast of the country. “I grew up deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea”, he says. “I didn’t consistently wear shoes until I was 16. Forests…
Category: Panama

Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein arrested for defamation in Panama. A backstory featuring Silva Tree, Sustainable Capital Group, Citadel/Highpoint Trustees, and Emerald Knight
On 15 November 2016, Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein was arrested when he arrived at Tocumen International Airport in Panama. Monte Friesner, a Canadian who lives in Panama, filed a complaint about what Ornstein had written on his website about Friesner’s business practices. In Panama, defamation is a criminal offence.

REDD in Central America: It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission
This month’s World Rainforest Movement Bulletin includes an article about REDD in Central America, written by Henry Picado (Red de Coordinación en Biodiversidad), Zuiri Méndez (Kioscos Ambientales), and Mariana Porras (Coecoceiba Amigos de La Tierra).
A recipe for burning the planet. Cooked up by Kevin Conrad and the aviation industry, with a little help from the UN
For the past 10 years, Kevin Conrad has been working to push a carbon trading mechanism called REDD through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Last year, he turned his attention to the massively polluting aviation sector as a source of finance for REDD.
COP21 Paris snapshot #1: REDD
Last night at 21:00 a new version of the Draft Paris Outcome was released at COP21 in Paris. It’s down to 27 pages and has only 50 pairs of square brackets. That’s the good news. The rest is practically all bad news.