Yesterday, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled that indigenous peoples’ customary forests should not be classed as “State Forest Areas”. This is a landmark ruling and an important step for the recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in Indonesia.
Unanswered questions about Bai Shan Lin’s big plans for Guyana
Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese logging company, has big plans for Guyana: forest concessions covering 960,000 hectares; a 20-kilometre river gold mining concession; a 500-hectare Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Cooperation Park and a 160-hectare real estate development.
MH Carbon in liquidation: What to do if you bought carbon credits from MH Carbon
MH Carbon was established in September 2010 and went into voluntary liquidation in May 2013. During this period, the company sold carbon credits to more than 500 people, at a total cost of £18.7 million.
Indonesia’s President extends forest moratorium for two more years
Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has extended the moratorium on new forest concessions for a further two years. Despite the flaws in the moratorium an extension is better than a return to business as usual. But the President has missed out on a chance to strengthen the moratorium.
Can REDD stop the land grabbing crisis in Laos and Cambodia?
This week, Global Witness released a new report investigating a land grabbing crisis in Laos and Cambodia. The report looks at two Vietnamese “rubber baron” companies, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG). Global Witness found that these companies “have leased vast tracts of land for plantations in Laos and Cambodia,…