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Thompson Reuters Foundation: Chinese logging takes heavy toll on farmers in Guinea-Bissau
GAMAMADU, Guinea-Bissau, May 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Before the ban, Chinese loggers drove straight through Gamamadu village to harvest its most important resource: the rosewood forest. “So many Chinese came here. We were praying for a means to stop it,” said Braima Djassi, a small, white-haired farmer in the village in central Guinea-Bissau, a tiny […]
Khmer Times: Rise in Timber Exports to Vietnam
The value of logs and sawn wood exported from Cambodia to Vietnam last year increased by about $31.5 million compared to 2016, customs data has shown. The Vietnamese data, obtained by Khmer Times yesterday, said about 163,071 cubic metres of Cambodian logs were imported to the country last year, worth about $39.5 million.
The Wall Street Journal: The Nemesis of the Rainforests: Peace
When Colombia’s government signed a peace deal with leftist guerrillas in 2016, it ended one of the world’s longest-running conflicts and inspired hope for the country’s future. It also had an unexpected downside. The return of normalcy led to a spike in rainforest-clearing, as landowners mowed down former guerrilla hide-outs to establish cattle ranches and […]
Bloomberg BNA: Deal Between Vietnam, EU Would Target Illegal Logging
The European Union wants to ensure its Ikea cabinets and Conforama desks are made from legal timber, and it’s turning to the source, or at least one of them: Vietnam. A pending deal with the EU requires Vietnam to tighten laws and enforcement against illegal logging, mostly from over the border with Cambodia but previously […]
Innovation Forum: Why climate resilient crops must be the future
There is huge potential value in transforming agriculture production, but more companies need to start developing climate-resilience now.
New York Times: Bolsonaro Wants to Plunder the Amazon. Don’t Let Him.
The Brazilian president’s pro-business agenda will be a test of American companies’ commitment to the environment.
Sixth Tone: How Illegally Harvested Timber Is ‘Greenwashed’ in China
Even when Europeans buy certified sustainable wood, the environment pays the price.
Mongabay: Vietnam-EU legal timber agreement signed, but much work remains
The European Union has signed an agreement to support Vietnam’s forest governance improvement goals, aimed at ensuring that the timber it imports from the Southeast Asian country is legally sourced. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) was signed Oct. 19 in Brussels by Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for […]
Global Witness: Clamping Down on Vietnam’s Illegal Timber Trade: EU Trade Agreements Should Signal a New Era
Vietnam is a major wood processor – hoovering up timber from rainforest-rich countries in Africa and beyond. Its trade with the EU now stands to see an major boost, following the recently concluded Free Trade Agreement and so-called Voluntary Partnership Agreement. This lift to international trade demands action from Vietnam, to prevent it from becoming […]
Mongabay: The Ongoing Trade in Conflict Timber (Commentary)
Last year, the 28 Member States of the European Union imported €260 million-worth (about $296 million-worth) of timber from countries that the World Bank considers to be fragile and conflict-affected, according to those countries’ own statistics. That’s an increase of almost 20 percent in reported trade since 2014. While there is no doubt that countries […]
