Forest Trends in the News

An area twice the size of California has been clear cut or degraded in the Amazon forest, and restoring even a portion of this would represent one of the most ambitious ecological restoration projects in history. Forest Trends’ Founding President and CEO, Michael Jenkins, discusses how indigenous communities are central to this restoration effort.

Vietnam’s wood industry is trying to ‘green’ the supply chain and map out a path of transforming production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to catch up with the trend of the times. FPTF Managing Director, Phuc Xuan To, discusses how enterprises can benefit from carbon credits.

Industrial manufacturers and Vietnamese analysts have reacted to upcoming EU rules on greenhouse gas emissions reporting with both support and concern. FPTF Managing Director Phuc Xuan To emphasizes how important it is for Vietnam to strike a balance between economic development and emissions.

Stringent requirements for a clean energy transition, sustainable materials, and low-carbon and eco-friendly production present new challenges to Vietnamese manufacturers. Phuc Xuan To, Managing Director of our Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative, offers his insight.

Developers of nature-based carbon projects in North America are still searching for ways in which voluntary carbon markets can value the co-benefits of projects, like improved biodiversity and economic development, that are supplemental to their climate benefits. Conversations from Ecosystem Marketplace’s recent Insights Briefing offer opportunities and challenges on how to quantify these co-benefits.

Currently, the Vietnamese timber sector has seen a sharp fall in orders, and even when there are orders, most of them are small ones. FPTF Managing Director Phuc Xuan To says timber exports will continue to face a market slump.

Many wood artisans are in need of support so that their works can get recognition in the global supply chain. Dr. Phuc Xuan To, Managing Director of Forest Trends’ Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative, warned that the use of illicit wood for exports will deprive Vietnam of opportunities in broadening the market.

The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest and its biggest carbon sink. Yet more than a quarter of its forests could vanish by 2050 if deforestation, caused mostly by illegal logging, continues unchecked. FT provides data.

After the February 2021 military coup, both the EU and the US imposed sanctions on all timber trade with Myanmar and categorized Myanma Timber Enterprises as a banned entity. Despite this, the flow of teak originating from Myanmar continues. FT analysis included.

By developing and operating the domestic carbon market, Vietnam will effectively reduce carbon emissions. Phuc Xuan To of Forest Trends gives his insight on net-zero commitments and what they mean for Vietnamese businesses.