Since 1948 the UN's Food and Agriculture has been clinging to an outmoded definition of 'forests' that includes industrial wood plantations, writes WRM in this Open Letter for delivery to the FAO today, International Forests Day. This mis-definition seriously harms real forests and forest peoples as it justifies the clearance of real forests and their replacement with cash crops of trees.
… FAO: Plantations are not forests! World Rainforest Movement | 21st March 2017 Comment Forests Un Campaigning Indigenous Peoples … been clinging to an outmoded definition of 'forests' that includes industrial wood …
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's definition of 'forest' includes commercial plantations of fast growing trees - often replacing biodiverse native forests relied on by local communities. FAO must stop using this mis-definition to claim that forests are expanding, when the reverse is the case.
… many more | 26th December 2014 Comment Forests Indigenous Peoples Farming Land Grabs … trees - often replacing biodiverse native forests relied on by local communities. FAO … stop using this mis-definition to claim that forests are expanding, when the reverse is the …
How pre-industrial societies and cultures mesh together with their host environments.
… survival of the forest, and the survival of forests is the survival of the planet. "We’re … the rivers are drying up, and this has harmed forests, too. The cycle of rainfall is not the … tell us that they cannot survive without the forests, which provide them with everything …
A new 'carbon grab' is under way as governments and corporations seize valuable rights to the carbon stored in standing forests, with UN and World Bank support. But there's no benefit for forest communities - who even risk expulsion to make way for 'carbon plantations',
… grab' Oliver Tickell | 20th March 2014 News Forests Indigenous Peoples Climate Change … rights to the carbon stored in standing forests, with UN and World Bank support. But … actually force their explusion, as natural forests are turned into intensively managed …
Based on current performance tropical forests, the world's most biodiverse ecosystems, are set to be reduced to species-impoverished fragments by the end of the century, writes Simon Lewis. But it's not inevitable. Decisive action by the world's governments in Paris in December could secure desperately needed change.
… Act now, or tropical forests will be a sorry sight in 2100 Simon Lewis | 24th August 2015 Comment Forests Economics COP21 Unfccc Biodiversity … Based on current performance tropical forests, the world's most biodiverse …
Coffee may be grown all around the tropics, writes Fiona Hesselden, but it originates in just one place: the 'coffee rainforests' of the Ethiopian highlands. We depend on the wild plants for new genes and varieties, yet the forests are falling fast to the advance of farmers. To preserve the forests and all their biodiversity, the original people of the forest must receive their just rewards.
… Ethiopia's vulnerable tropical forests are key to securing the future of … of Huddersfield | 24th March 2016 Comment Forests Drink Ethiopia Indigenous Peoples … originates in just one place: the 'coffee rainforests' of the Ethiopian highlands. We depend …
A new paradigm of forest conservation is gaining ground, writes Isaac Rojas: 'financialising' them and the climate and ecological services they provide to global investors. But this is a false solution - and one that excludes the local and indigenous forest communities who can truly be relied upon to sustain their sylvan heritage.
… International | 2nd November 2015 Comment Forests Commons Finance Indigenous Peoples … financialisation of nature . In the case of forests, this means turning them into … that there is no evidence that finacialising forests is a remotely effective strategy for …
The Kenyan government has sent troops to the Embobut forest to forcefully - and illegally - evict thousands of its indigenous inhabitants, to make way for a World Bank-financed 'Natural Resource Management Project'.
… Oliver Tickell | 9th January 2014 News Forests World Bank Indigenous Peoples … safeguard policies on Indigenous Peoples, Forests and Involuntary Resettlement. "This … which have sustained their ancestral forests for centuries. "It is outrageous that …
India's neoliberal government is attempting the mass seizure of indigenous lands, commons and forests in order to hand them over for corporate exploitation with mines, dams and plantations, writes Pushpa Achanta. But tribal communities are rising up to resist the takeover, which is not only morally reprehensible but violates India's own laws and international human rights obligations.
… India's Indigenous Peoples organise to protect forests, waters and commons Pushpa Achanta … November 2015 News India Indigenous Peoples Forests Water Energy Law Human Rights Mining … mass seizure of indigenous lands, commons and forests in order to hand them over for …
Financed by the World Bank, the Kenya Forest Service has intensified its illegal campaign of evictions, arson, beatings and arrests of the Sengwer forest people of the Embobut forest, Dean Puckett reports from the Cherangani Hills. And behind the violence lies the lure of hard cash - from the prospect of selling the forest's carbon to international financiers.
… Puckett REDD Monitor | 7th December 2014 News Forests Indigenous Peoples Law Climate Change … a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing …
Peru's government is actively undermining indigenous peoples' efforts to protect their forests - by refusing to title 20 million hectares of their lands and turning a blind eye to illegal logging. At the same time it's handing out vast concessions for oil, gas, mining and timber exploitation, expanding palm oil production and planning 50 major forest-flooding dams.
… Programme | 8th December 2014 Activism Forests Indigenous Peoples Oil Gas Fossil … indigenous peoples' efforts to protect their forests - by refusing to title 20 million … despite public commitments to protect Peru's forests, the first Amazonian host of the UN …
The plight of Kenya's Sengwer people shows that carbon offsets generated by 'sustainable' forest management are empowering a corporate recolonisation of the South backed by the World Bank against its own guidelines, writes Nafeez Ahmed. Indigenous forest peoples are at risk of genocide while corporations let rip.
… | 20th August 2014 News Indigenous Peoples Forests Climate Change Carbon Finance … addition to the indigenous communities, the forests are also inhabited by many thousands … conservation programme, "the forests of Mt Elgon are not being sustainably …
The World Bank's 'Tropical Forest Action Plan' was an abject failure, writes Chris Lang. Now the same mistakes are being repeated under a new acronym. TFAP is out, REDD is in - but it's still all about corporate control of forests, and blaming deforestation on its victims.
… REDD - destroy the forests, seize the profits, blame the victims Chris Lang | 7th August 2014 Comment Forests Development Finance Corporations … but it's still all about corporate control of forests, and blaming deforestation on its …
Cambodia's rainforests are facing destruction from clearance for plantations, and an illegal trade in precious timber, reports Fran Lambrick. Local people who depend on the forest have proved to be its most effective guardians - but they need external support.
Who are the best guardians of forests and other wild places? Governments? Conservation NGOs? Corporations? No, writes Prakash Kashwan, it's the indigenous peoples who have lived in harmony with their environment for millennia. But to be able do so, they must first be accorded rights to their historic lands and resources, both in law and in practice. Among the countries leading the way, Mexico. Among the laggards, Kenya and India.
… To conserve tropical forests and wildlife, protect the rights of … 2017 Comment Indigenous Peoples Conservation Forests Mexico Kenya India Books … Who are the best guardians of forests and other wild places? Governments? …
As land rights of indigenous peoples are increasingly being violated, writes Tim Radford, new research shows that the planned destruction of the Amazon rainforest is a major threat not only to cultural identity but also to the global climate.
… Amazon tribes' forests are a vital carbon sink Tim Radford | 5th December 2014 News Forests Climate Change Indigenous Peoples … protected natural areas. The forests are critical to the stability of the …
Peru is in hot competition with Brazil to be the main focus of Amazonian deforestation, writes Clément Doleac. A neoliberal government desperate to hand over the country's forests, oil, gas, minerals and indigenous lands for corporate exploitation is unafraid to break national laws, turn a blind eye to air and water pollution, and respond to any challenges with overwhelming violence.
… Clément Doleac | 5th October 2015 News Peru Forests Land Grabs Indigenous Peoples … desperate to hand over the country's forests, oil, gas, minerals and indigenous … research on the use and management of forests in less-developed countries, "much of …
The palm oil industry's repeated failure to keep its promises illustrates why global initiatives to achieve 'sustainable palm oil' must place communities centre-stage, writes FPP. Standard-setters like the RSPO must demand action, enforcement and accountability - not just lofty commitments that inspire hope, but rarely deliver.
… Peoples Programme | 14th May 2015 Activism Forests Commons Farming Corporations … local communities from their lands, farms and forests are rife. Rampant forest loss , peat … to palm oil companies, and the loss of their forests to 'no-go' conservation areas. With …
Global outcry as India’s Supreme Court threatens to evict over a million vulnerable people from forest under the guise of protecting wildlife.
… but also hurt the global struggle to save forests and mitigate climate change. These … is helping neither tigers nor India’s forests. Forest guardians The Nature … sustainable stewardship that India still has forests worth conserving. "To truly protect …
COP22 has revealed signs of real momentum toward an effective role for tropical forests in achieving a low carbon future, writes Tony Juniper. Now for the hard bit - connecting with realities on the ground to make it happen. This will mean working with indigenous and other forest communities to support and reward their conservation efforts, while harnessing large-scale international carbon finance.
… Hope for forests at COP22 Tony Juniper | 15th November 2016 Comment Climate Change Forests Conservation COP22 Indigenous Peoples … toward an effective role for tropical forests in achieving a low carbon future, …
A palm oil company's 'forest conservation' programme in Indonesia has ended up being a second land grab, writes Marcus Colchester - seizing resources from local communities' control.
… for their damaging clearance, of both forests and peatlands, which contributes … lands. The company has also stopped clearing forests and peatlands and HCV areas. This is …
It should be good news, but it's not. Israel's largest man-made forest is set for enlargement, but at the expense of a village where a Bedouin community has lived since they were resettled there in 1956. Its sister village is to be demolished so a new Jewish town can be built on its ruins.
Israel's Forest of Yatir to expand over Bedouin village Amjad Iraqi 972 Mag The Ecologist | 23rd June 2014 News Forest Indigenous Peoples Middle East Cities Human Rights Land Grabs …
A new Ecologist-produced film, to be screened at the forthcoming Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Japan, highlights how the rights of indigenous peoples and their sustainable use of natural resources are being ignored by the Bangladesh Government
… in current economic model The steady loss of forests, soils, wetlands, fisheries, species … says three-year study NEWS Vital mangrove forests hit by coastal developments Increasing …
The eviction of Kenya's Sengwer forest people in a World Bank financed project was a failure of the Bank's duty to protect indigenous people, according to an internal report. The Bank's directors are to decide on how to respond today - but if they follow their own management's advice, the evictions will continue.
… News Kenya Finance Indigenous Peoples Africa Forests sengwer-fires-cut.jpg The eviction of … ancestral communities leaves the indigenous forests open to exploitation and destruction; … conservation practices, protects their forests" , said the Forest Peoples Programme. …