Publications & Insight

News

Congo Basin meeting in Brussels: time for stronger action

A more ambitious plan is needed to protect forests and meet people’s aspirations in the second-largest rainforest in the world. Governments, civil society and the private sector convened in Brussels, 27 - 28 November 2018, for the...

18/12/2018

Briefing Notes

EU consumption of rubber and deforestation

Natural rubber plantations emerged as a significant source of deforestation, land grabs and human rights abuses in the first decade of the 21st century.

Three quarters of the world’s natural rubber production goes to...

25/10/2018

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

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

Reports

CoNGOs project : Discussion of a new paradigm for community forestry

The CoNGOs project partners discuss a new paradigm for community forestry at the meeting of the CBFP parties in Douala.

At the 17th annual Meeting of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) in Douala, Cameroon, Fern...

15/12/2017

Blogs

The fate of the Congo Basin forests must lie with its people

A light breeze of democratisation is blowing through the Congo Basin – and it is being driven by civil society.In the Central African Republic (CAR), civil society is playing a key role in rebuilding a nation torn apart by civil...

11/09/2017

Briefing Notes

Making Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) work for forests, people and the climate: Civil society recommendations on the future of VPAs

As decision makers in the European Union (EU) and timber producing countries consider the future of the FLEGT Action Plan, and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA), civil society organisations and platforms from Cameroon,...

16/03/2017

DRC receives millions for forests despite governance concerns

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) have signed a letter of intent (LOI) awarding DRC US$200 million to preserve its forests and promote sustainable development.DRC is the first...

10/06/2016

NGO Statements

Is DRC planning to lift moratorium and open world’s second largest rainforest to industrial logging?

A group of national and international NGOs, including Fern, have issued a statementwarning that plans by the Democratic Republic of Congo to lift a moratorium on new logging concessions threatens to cause environmental...

02/03/2016

New DRC Ministerial Order puts people and forests at risk

A new Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ministerial Order threatens to have a detrimental effect on local communities.

The order, Arrêté No. 050 of 25 September 2015, creates a new category of ‘artisanal’ logging concessions,...

15/10/2015