In March 2014, I wrote an opinion piece for the magazine Development Today. I asked whether Norway’s REDD deals are reducing deforestation. The article has triggered a small discussion.
Demand for luxury furniture in China pushes Siamese rosewood to the brink of extinction
“Hongmu” is a style of intricately carved Chinese wooden furniture and artworks. It’s found on sale in glitzy shopping malls across mainland China. But behind the timber used to create this art form is a violent crime wave.
Equatorial Palm Oil’s landgrab in Liberia
A British company, Equatorial Palm Oil plc, plans to expand its oil palm plantations on community land in Liberia. The Jogbahn Clan is fighting to keep the company off its land – covering an area of 20,000 hectares.
Implement in haste, repent at leisure: Critical new report on the World Bank’s Carbon Fund by FERN and Forest Peoples Programme
“Unless major changes are made in FCPF planning, design and validation of emissions reduction programmes to ensure alignment with the FCPF Charter and international human rights standards, the FCPF Carbon Fund risks enabling seriously flawed REDD pilots that could generate negative impacts on indigenous peoples and local communities as the FCPF moves towards implementation of…
Guest Post: Metamorphosis of destructive logging companies
Several multinational pulp and paper and palm oil companies have recently declared “zero deforestation policies”. In this guest post, Peter Gerhardt asks the question, “What is a no-deforestation promise really worth?”