Publications & Insight

Briefing Notes

Speaking truth to power: The village women taking on the palm oil giant

The Société Financière des Caoutchouc (Socfin) group is among the world’s biggest independent plantation owners, managing 187,000 hectares of mostly oil palm and rubber plantations in Asia and Africa, where it has been operating...

20/09/2018

Forest governance, Films

From the forests to the EU

Civil society explains how the EU can help protect forests and forest people rights

Around the world, about 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their survival. And yet, in 2017 alone, global tropical forests lost 15.8...

25/07/2018

Forest governance

Rooting for change - VPA Update, June 2018

One year ago, forests and their crucial ecological and economic role were again at the forefront of the EU’s policy agenda. In June 2017, at the EU conference on illegal logging and deforestation, EU Commissioner for International...

10/06/2018

Films

Community forests in Cameroon: what have we learnt so far?

Cameroon was the first country in Central Africa to trial community forestry. There have been challenges, but this film explains how to overcome those barriers. With thanks to Centre for the Environment and Development (CED)...

19/04/2018

Films

Community forests in the Congo Basin: What is the EUs role?

When done right, community forestry can help communities and global climate and Sustainable Development Goals objectives. This film explains the role the EU should play.

04/04/2018

Voices from the forest

At a time when the space for civil society is shrinking, the need for people to be able to influence the powers that control their lives, and have the freedom to work together to tackle the challenges they face, is more critical...

28/03/2018

Blogs

Cameroonian women are the first victims of palm oil plantations

“The Time is now: rural and urban activists transforming women's lives.”

This is not the title of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) campaign, but the theme of this year’s United Nations International Women’s Day, which...

16/03/2018

Forest governance

VPAs and NDCs: Sharing the Toolbox? – How lessons learned from EU FLEGT can be put to work for the Paris Agreement

As the Paris Agreement is ratified by each of its signatory states, they commit to put into action their specific national plans to combat climate change. These plans are called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Fern...

14/03/2018

What role do forests and governance play in countries’ nationally determined contributions to the Paris Climate Agreement?

This study analyses the correlation between forest governance and deforestation, and aims to improve national understanding of the challenges involved in land-use governance. The multistakeholder Voluntary Partnership Agreement...

14/03/2018

Will France deliver on CAFI?

All eyes are on France as it takes over the presidency of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). Launched three years ago to protect the Congo Basin forests and support stronger governance of its ecosystems, CAFI is facing...

01/03/2018