The EU has opened the door to regulating supply chains to minimise the risk of deforestation associated with commodity imports to the EU. Fern welcomes this long-awaited move with cautious optimism and looks forward to working...
23/07/2019
Vietnam’s Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU) is designed to end the illegal timber trade by tackling its root causes. At its heart is a commitment to adopt a robust timber legality assurance system,...
11/07/2019
Mercosur trade deal heightens risks to forests and human rights - and the EU fails to respond to climate emergency at the last European Council
10/07/2019
VPA update, June 2019
One of the unique features of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) – which form a key part of the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan – is that they allow a variety of actors (government, private sector, civil society and forest communities) to discuss how forests should be managed.
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The Republic of Congo, in Central Africa, is home to part of the world's second largest rainforest. The country is often considered a ‘laboratory’ because of the number of initiatives it implements to sustainably manage its...
The Finnish Presidency of the European Council could be a chance to clean up EU supply chains.
09/07/2019
The Commission has prioritised trade and profit; it is now up to the European and national parliaments to set a more positive course for human rights and forests.
As European temperatures soared, the European Council and Member States avoided concrete action on the climate emergency. We demand better.
The next EU presidency wants to drive the climate agenda, but its forestry industry is bad for carbon emissions, biodiversity and its indigenous Sámi people
The reality of climate breakdown dawned for many in 2018. The Northern Hemisphere baked. The polar caps melted. Forest fires raged. In the midst of those events, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that we have just 12 years left to avert disaster. This same report highlighted that unless we harness forests’ awesome natural power, runaway climate change is inevitable.
Throughout 2018, Fern presented a positive vision for how to do so.
08/07/2019