As we approach the Year of the Rat and begin a new 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, three profound challenges face the world: how to build a more stable and efficient trading system, tackle climate change and protect biodiversity. China has a pivotal role to play in all three.
During the 2010s governments and companies set unprecedented commitments to curb deforestation, but have fallen short. As the 2020s begin, here's what has changed for forests and what to look for in an uncertain new era.
This paper discusses the methodology used to produce the Places to Watch Palm and Soy layers on the Global Forest Watch platform.
Research shows that ambition to tackle big sustainability problems can emerge when the private and public sector recognize and reciprocate one another's efforts. Right now, one such "ambition loop," which aims to reduce deforestation related to your chocolate bars, is in danger of stalling out.
Commodities like palm oil, cocoa, beef and soy may change hands dozens of times from the moment they are harvested until they end up in candy bars, toothpaste or baby formula, making deforestation tracking a very complex puzzle. Today, it is finally possible for a company or bank of any size to analyze and manage deforestation risk using GFW Pro.
More than 360 companies committed to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains by 2020. Most are not on track to meet this target, but Global Forest Watch Pro can help.
Global Forest Watch has always been able to tell you where tree cover loss has occurred. Now, in a huge leap, it can tell you why.
Most of the tree cover loss in our sample concession occurred in areas where, using clues from the ground, we can conclude it wasn't illegal deforestation. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Un nuevo informe del World Resources Institute (WRI) muestra que en muchos países, el proceso para formalizar los derechos de la tierra es extremadamente complejo, costoso y lento, y tarda hasta 30 años o más, pero las compañías normalmente pueden asegurarse derechos a largo plazo sobre la tierra desde un plazo de tan solo 30 días a cinco años.
Hundreds of companies with exposure to deforestation driven by palm oil, beef, soy, or wood production have committed to eliminating deforestation from their supply chains by 2020. This paper reviews the coverage of those commitments, the dearth of information regarding their impact on deforestation to date, and the barriers and systemic challenges to effective implementation.
Throughout the tropics, a growing number of states, provinces, and districts have embraced a jurisdictional approach to forest and land-use governance across a defined territory as a strategy to protect forests and reduce land-use emissions at scale. This paper discusses the opportunities provided by the jurisdictional approach, such as partnerships with supply chain actors and indigenous communities, as well as the challenges such as political turnover and limited public-sector capacity.
There is a wealth of financial data and corporate governance information available that can be used to hold companies accountable to zero deforestation commitments and for activities linked to legal and illegal deforestation. This paper shows how radical transparency techniques have the potential to hold companies accountable for illegal or unethical activities and argues that the full potential of transparency solutions has yet to be unleased.
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the world’s secret weapon to preserve forests and mitigate climate change, and LandMark — the first global platform to provide maps of collectively held indigenous and community lands — helps measure their impact.
The PALM Risk Tool (Prioritizing Areas, Landscapes and Mills) is a simple to use and automated way to assess the risk of deforestation associated with a palm oil mill and its supply base. This global tool prioritizes mills within a company’s supply chain to guide improvements toward zero-deforestation commitments.
Tree plantations continue to expand worldwide to meet demand for timber, wood fiber, fruits, and vegetable oils such as palm oil. Many countries report national statistics on the area of land in plantations, but the extent and locations of these plantations are often not documented.
A recent government audit found evidence of timber laundering, where exporters make illegally logged wood appear to be legitimately harvested by concocting “ghost trees” – trees that never existed, except on paper.
A wood buyer from Washington State and his lumber mill, J&L Tonewoods, were indicted last week on charges of purchasing illegally harvested big leaf maples from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in violation of the Lacey Act. The act bans illegal wildlife trafficking, and the seven counts of the indictment are the first alleging violations within the United States.
The death of Zimbabwe's iconic Cecil the lion has sparked widespread calls for punishment for the animal's killers. The U.S. Lacey Act, which aims to protect wildlife around the world, may apply.
More than one-quarter of world's agriculture grows in water-stressed areas. This chart shows the percentage of major commodity crops grown in areas facing high or extremely high water stress.