Forest Trends in the News

Environmental claims by corporations doing business in the EU may be subject to lawsuits about misstatements regarding the origin and voluntary claims of the sources of raw materials used by corporations. With 277 palm oil commitments globally by a wide range of corporations, portfolio managers and analysts may want to be aware of these new […]

A Nebraska-sized chunk of the world’s forests was decimated in 2015 because of wildfire, logging and expanding palm oil plantations, according to a new study. The loss is part of a continuing trend of deforestation that could have devastating implications for the climate.

After tumbling in April, Cambodia’s timber exports to Vietnam leveled off in May, according to the latest Vietnamese customs data obtained by the U.S. NGO Forest Trends.

The ostensibly-outlawed export of logs to Vietnam increased in May, while the trade in sawn timber, also supposedly banned, remained substantial, new Vietnamese customs data shows.

EU timber imports from conflict countries, which are at high risk of being illegal, have increased 14 percent, despite the European Union’s Timber Regulation (EUTR) legislation’s requirement that companies ensure that only legal timber enters the EU market, according to a new Forest Trends report.

Humans have always had an intimate, complicated relationship with forests. We clear away trees to make room for development and agriculture, harvest them for paper, pulp, and palm oil and seek refuge in their remaining intact solitude. Human wellbeing depends on trees.

Humans have always had an intimate, complicated relationship with forests. We clear away trees to make room for development and agriculture, harvest them for paper, pulp, and palm oil and seek refuge in their remaining intact solitude. Human wellbeing depends on trees.

New Vietnamese customs data for April shows timber continued to flow across Cambodia’s border to Vietnam despite Cambodian authorities announcing a ban on lumber exports to the country’s eastern neighbour more than a year ago.

Disarmed FARC fighters, now in demobilised zones, have been recruited to protect rainforests from farmers seeking grazing land and criminal gangs cutting down trees for illegal gold mining, writes Anastasia Moloney in Caqueta, Colombia.

More than a month after confirming its investigation into new reports of rampant timber trafficking between Cambodia and Vietnam, the Environment Ministry remains tight-lipped about what—if any—progress it is making, but says the U.K. NGO that exposed the scale of the problem is itself being scrutinized.