Publications & Insight

News

A critical threat

In Finnish Lapland, an ecosystem that’s evolved over thousands of years is threatened with destruction for the short-term needs of the car, defence and AI industries. Now the Sakatti mine has moved a step closer to opening, and environmental defenders in Finland are mobilising, writes Perrine Fournier.

03/06/2026

News, Forest Watch

The Commission’s ‘deep clean’ looks dangerously like greenwashing

The European Commission has announced it will look into merging the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation [LULUCF] and the Effort Sharing Regulation [ESR] into a single instrument on national climate targets.

13/05/2026

News, Forest Watch

Indonesia takes a turn for the worse – but will the EU go along with it?

In today’s Indonesia, civic space is restricted, and violence against environmental and human rights defenders is soaring. And so is deforestation, surging 66% in 2025 compared to the previous year. But the EU could use the...

13/05/2026

News, Forest Watch

The world is off course to save forests and reach global climate targets, but positive policies are helping

Figures showing the latest trends in global forest loss are out: the World Research Institute’s Global Forest Watch (GFW) has just published Forest Pulse. Compiled from recent data and analysis, it reveals the dominant drivers of primary forest loss, region by region.

13/05/2026

News, Forest Watch, Partner Voices

A Lose-Lose Deal for Liberian Communities

The Liberian Government is aiming to conclude a forest-related Carbon Policy which is being supported by the African Development Bank but is likely to only offer communities partial benefits.

13/05/2026

Forest Watch

Forest Watch 315 - May 2026

Deforestation is surging – land, trade and carbon policies must defend our forests

13/05/2026

News, Press Releases

Commission rules out re-opening EUDR but drops leather from goods covered by it

Brussels, May 5, 2026 – The European Commission has resisted industry and political pressure and opted not to reopen the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

On May 4, 2026, the Commission published its report on options to...

05/05/2026

News, Briefing Notes, NGO Statements

Civil society policy recommendations on illicit gold

Amid a wave of geopolitical instability and surging demand, gold is increasingly attractive as a strategic financial vehicle for organised crime, sanctions evasion, corruption and political control.

The implications for the...

28/04/2026

Events

The EU-Indonesia trade and investments deals: Risks and opportunities for forests and peoples

On 23 April, Fern hosted a webinar analysing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) between the EU and Indonesia, signed in September 2025 after nine years of...

23/04/2026

Reports

Pulping unfair incentives: Separating EU policies from paper industry interests

This briefing documents the subsidies flowing to the pulp and paper sector, outlines their social and ecological impacts in Finland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and offers a credible alternative vision for where that funding...

20/04/2026