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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/transparency/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>News on Transparency</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/transparency/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>For Honduran coffee growers, EUDR compliance means changing old habits</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/for-honduran-coffee-growers-eudr-compliance-means-changing-old-habits/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/for-honduran-coffee-growers-eudr-compliance-means-changing-old-habits/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 12:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sandra Weiss]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[agroecology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/29120927/9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320278</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, European Union, Honduras, and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Avoided Deforestation, Coffee, Commodity agriculture, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, EUDR, Farming, Forest Destruction, International Trade, Monitoring, Politics, Supply Chain, Technology, Transparency, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[CONCEPCIÓN DE SOLUTECA, Honduras — In the 1970s, the Honduran government granted a piece of land in the mountains of Concepción de Soluteca to Roberto González’s parents. They duly grabbed a chainsaw and a machete to clear the forest. On the 12 hectares (30 acres) they received as part of a land reform, they planted [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[CONCEPCIÓN DE SOLUTECA, Honduras — In the 1970s, the Honduran government granted a piece of land in the mountains of Concepción de Soluteca to Roberto González’s parents. They duly grabbed a chainsaw and a machete to clear the forest. On the 12 hectares (30 acres) they received as part of a land reform, they planted corn, beans and bananas, the basic staple foods. It was a hard life up in the mountains, allowing the farmers and their families to just survive. There wasn’t much public infrastructure, and most children had to help with farmwork early on. This included González, who only attended elementary school for three years. When González inherited the land 20 years later, coffee cultivation was just taking off. Middlemen promised the farmers good money for the export crop, and the banks provided loans for cultivation. At first, this worked well, González, now 39, remembers. Coffee helped the farmers to generate income and improve living conditions. But it didn’t last long. They grew coffee much the same way they did other crops, without adequate soil or shade management. When harvests dwindled, they expanded their area, cutting the last standing forests and damaging water sources. Around 2012, they faced an outbreak of coffee rust, a fungal disease. It was a complete disaster: many farmers were thrown into poverty and forced to migrate. “We destroyed the foundations of our livelihoods, but it was out of ignorance; we just didn&#8217;t know better,” González tells Mongabay. Under the EUDR, coffee farmers step&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/for-honduran-coffee-growers-eudr-compliance-means-changing-old-habits/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/for-honduran-coffee-growers-eudr-compliance-means-changing-old-habits/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320278</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World Bank watchdog looks into Nepal cable car project amid Indigenous outcry</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/world-bank-watchdog-looks-into-nepal-cable-car-project-amid-indigenous-outcry/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/world-bank-watchdog-looks-into-nepal-cable-car-project-amid-indigenous-outcry/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jan 2026 05:35:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sonam Lama Hyolmo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/31141245/Plantation_PotoBy_Prabin-Seling-Sendow-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313239</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Community Forests, Conservation, Culture, Deforestation, Development, Environment, FPIC, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A cable car line is being built to serve the mountaintop temple of Pathibhara Devi, a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindus in eastern Nepal. But the area is also revered by the region’s Indigenous Yakthung (or Limbu) people, many of whom have objected to the clearing of trees that they say will weaken [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — A cable car line is being built to serve the mountaintop temple of Pathibhara Devi, a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindus in eastern Nepal. But the area is also revered by the region’s Indigenous Yakthung (or Limbu) people, many of whom have objected to the clearing of trees that they say will weaken the spiritual power that the site holds according to their beliefs. The World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) says it is looking into a complaint filed by the Yakthung people against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group — for providing advisory support to a controversial cable car project in their ancestral land. The CAO recently confirmed to Mongabay that it had received the complaint filed in August 2025 and it meets the ombudsman’s criteria for formal registration. “As the Nepal cable car complaint met these criteria, it is now in the assessment phase of the CAO process,” Emily Horgan, communications and outreach lead at CAO, told Mongabay via email referring to the ombudsman’s policy of accepting a complaint if it concerns an IFC or MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) project. Horgan said that the Pathibhara issue also falls within the CAO’s mandate to address potential environmental and social impacts of projects. The CAO’s registry states that the complaint was accepted for review on Dec. 12, 2025. Project developer Pathibhara Devi Darshan Cable Car Pvt. Ltd., part of the IME Group led by prominent Nepali tycoon&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/world-bank-watchdog-looks-into-nepal-cable-car-project-amid-indigenous-outcry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/world-bank-watchdog-looks-into-nepal-cable-car-project-amid-indigenous-outcry/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313239</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Soy giants quietly prepare for EU deforestation law; impacts still uncertain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/soy-giants-quietly-prepare-for-eu-deforestation-law-impacts-still-uncertain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/soy-giants-quietly-prepare-for-eu-deforestation-law-impacts-still-uncertain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Nov 2025 13:19:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Marina Martinez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/12130428/5-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309383</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Cerrado, European Union, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Commodity agriculture, data, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Industrial Agriculture, Law Enforcement, Rainforests, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery, Soy, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Transparency, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) approaches its implementation, companies involved in supply chains for soy and other commodities reaching the EU market will soon have to prove that their products do not come from areas deforested after 2020 and that their operations comply with local environmental and human rights laws. This will be [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) approaches its implementation, companies involved in supply chains for soy and other commodities reaching the EU market will soon have to prove that their products do not come from areas deforested after 2020 and that their operations comply with local environmental and human rights laws. This will be particularly challenging for the soy sector, as soybean production has long been a major driver of deforestation, especially in South America. Initially scheduled to take effect in December 2024, the EUDR was postponed for a year, with the European Commission recently proposing an additional grace period to give companies more time to prepare. To find out how ready the soy sector is, Mongabay reached out to five of the world’s largest traders: ADM, AMAGGI, Bunge, Cargill and COFCO International. Responses ranged from “no comment” to no reply. Despite the silence, experts from trade associations and NGOs say big soy traders are already operationally prepared to meet EUDR requirements. “The information we have, which they [traders and soy sector associations] usually share with us, is that they are 100% prepared,” Tiago Reis, conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil, told Mongabay in a voice message. “Some even questioned the proposal to extend the [EUDR] deadline, because they had already invested … so they would be ready to comply.” Patchwork of legal forest reserves, pasture and soy farms in the Brazilian Amazon. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Data from Global Canopy’s Forest 500 report show that in 2024, nearly half&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/soy-giants-quietly-prepare-for-eu-deforestation-law-impacts-still-uncertain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/soy-giants-quietly-prepare-for-eu-deforestation-law-impacts-still-uncertain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309383</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deforestation for soy continues in Brazilian Cerrado despite EUDR looming</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-for-soy-continues-in-brazilian-cerrado-despite-eudr-looming/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-for-soy-continues-in-brazilian-cerrado-despite-eudr-looming/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Oct 2025 09:41:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Constance Malleret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/04155433/Soy_production_Cerrado-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307887</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Cerrado, European Union, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environmental Law, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Industrial Agriculture, International Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Plantations, Savannas, Soy, Supply Chain, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Agricultural producers in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna continue to clear land for soy, which puts them in breach of the European Union’s upcoming antideforestation law, or EUDR, a new investigation shows. In September 2024, investigative nonprofit Earthsight published its “Secret Ingredient” report, which established links between chicken sold by McDonald’s and at supermarkets in Europe, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Agricultural producers in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna continue to clear land for soy, which puts them in breach of the European Union’s upcoming antideforestation law, or EUDR, a new investigation shows. In September 2024, investigative nonprofit Earthsight published its “Secret Ingredient” report, which established links between chicken sold by McDonald’s and at supermarkets in Europe, and soy produced on deforested land in the Cerrado. In a recent update to the report, Earthsight found that two of the three producers identified in “Secret Ingredient” continued to clear land for soy in the year since. This makes their product noncompliant with the EUDR, which, at the time of Earthsight’s research, was due to come into force on Dec. 30 this year. The European Commission has since proposed delaying the application of the law for another year. “The threat that soy production and agricultural expansion pose to the Cerrado … is still ongoing,” said Lara Shirra White, Latin America researcher at Earthsight and lead author of “Secret Ingredient: A year of inaction,” the update to the 2024 investigation. “And so the chance of soy and other commodities that are linked to the conversion and deforestation of the Cerrado entering international supply chains … is still a very real threat,” she told Mongabay. Spanning about 200 million hectares (500 million acres) across central Brazil, or more than double the size of California, the Cerrado is the world’s most biodiverse tropical savanna. It’s a vital carbon sink and a home to traditional Indigenous and Afro-descendent quilombola&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-for-soy-continues-in-brazilian-cerrado-despite-eudr-looming/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/deforestation-for-soy-continues-in-brazilian-cerrado-despite-eudr-looming/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307887</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World’s top timber companies are dropping the ball on ESG reporting: Analysis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/worlds-top-timber-companies-are-dropping-the-ball-on-esg-reporting-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/worlds-top-timber-companies-are-dropping-the-ball-on-esg-reporting-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Aug 2024 02:45:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/10/09023816/RESIZED-Preah-Roka_Mongabay_Andy-Ball-19-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286738</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, FPIC, International Trade, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Threats To Rainforests, timber trade, Trade, Transparency, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An analysis of eight years’ worth of data by the international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) reveals a troubling decline in transparency and the environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting of the world’s 100 leading tropical timber and pulp companies. Since 2014, ZSL has been assessing ESG policies of these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An analysis of eight years’ worth of data by the international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) reveals a troubling decline in transparency and the environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting of the world’s 100 leading tropical timber and pulp companies. Since 2014, ZSL has been assessing ESG policies of these 100 most-significant timber and pulp companies through its corporate transparency initiative called the Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT). “Together, these top 100 companies manage forests almost the size of France — so their actions impact a significant area of the world’s forests,” said Sam Ross, ZSL’s sustainable business project analyst, who led the assessment. In 2024, the average score for these companies dropped from 37.1% in 2017 to 24.1%, indicating a significant lack of transparency and accountability in their ESG practices. This is despite most of the assessed companies having committed to responsible and sustainable production on the back of growing pressure to halt deforestation worldwide by 2030. Halting deforestation is a key element of combating climate change as cutting down trees, particularly those in tropical forests, release vast amounts of the warming gas CO2. “We have seen small signs of progress, but the overwhelming story has been one of inertia,” Ross said. “Despite years of pressure and attempted engagement, our data shows many tropical forestry companies continue to fail in reporting even basic ESG data.” This decline in average score indicates systemic issues in the industry, which could undermine efforts to achieve sustainable forestry and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/worlds-top-timber-companies-are-dropping-the-ball-on-esg-reporting-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286738</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Madagascar takes key step toward improving transparency of its fisheries</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/madagascar-takes-key-step-toward-improving-transparency-of-its-fisheries/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/madagascar-takes-key-step-toward-improving-transparency-of-its-fisheries/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2024 18:49:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rivonala Razafison]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/07172454/madagascar-fishing-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279650</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community Development, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food Industry, Governance, Human Rights, Illegal Fishing, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Overfishing, Politics, Resource Conflict, Saltwater Fish, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — Madagascar recently released its first fisheries transparency report, part of an effort to open up, democratize, and improve the sustainability of its fisheries sector. The report is a key step in a process defined by the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), a Seychelles-based nonprofit. FiTI announced on Jan. 26 that Madagascar had published the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — Madagascar recently released its first fisheries transparency report, part of an effort to open up, democratize, and improve the sustainability of its fisheries sector. The report is a key step in a process defined by the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), a Seychelles-based nonprofit. FiTI announced on Jan. 26 that Madagascar had published the report, covering the 2022 fiscal year and containing previously undisclosed information, in December. Madagascar is one of just a handful of countries to have achieved this step in the FiTI process, Cabo Verde having published its first report around the same time. The same day, the U.S. pledged support to help Madagascar fight illegal fishing. “The launch of the FiTI report is a first step towards better transparency of the fisheries sector in Madagascar,” Ketakandriana Rafitoson, executive director of Transparency International–Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG) and an author of the report as well as a current FiTI board member, told Mongabay. “However, a lot of efforts still have to be undertaken to fully comply with the FiTI’s 12 transparency requirements.” The fisheries industry is one of the most vital and lucrative in Madagascar, an island nation with more than 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) of coastline and around 1.2 million square kilometers (463,300 square miles) of economic exclusive zone. The sector has an annual production capacity of $750 million, which is 5-7% of the national GDP, according to the fisheries ministry citing World Bank data. More than 500,000 fishers living along the island’s coastline rely on marine resources&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/madagascar-takes-key-step-toward-improving-transparency-of-its-fisheries/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279650</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New dams in Cambodia pit ‘green’ hydropower against REDD+ project</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/new-dams-in-cambodia-pit-green-hydropower-against-redd-project/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/new-dams-in-cambodia-pit-green-hydropower-against-redd-project/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Dec 2023 08:02:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/11074340/Garment-Deforestation_Mongabay_Andy-Ball_Story-2_4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276868</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Cardamom Mountains, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Offsets, Clean Energy, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forest Destruction, Forest Fragmentation, Forest Loss, Forests, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Human Rights, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Infrastructure, Logging, Mongabay Data Studio, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Redd, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development, Threats To Rainforests, Transparency, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — Two new hydropower dams approved by Cambodian authorities on Nov. 21 look set to bring further fragmentation to the dense rainforests of the Cardamom Mountains. If built as planned along the Kong Hen and the Russei Chrum rivers in southern Cambodia, both dams will be constructed inside Cardamom National Park, and are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[PHNOM PENH — Two new hydropower dams approved by Cambodian authorities on Nov. 21 look set to bring further fragmentation to the dense rainforests of the Cardamom Mountains. If built as planned along the Kong Hen and the Russei Chrum rivers in southern Cambodia, both dams will be constructed inside Cardamom National Park, and are likely to have an impact on the Cardamoms REDD+ project, arguably Cambodia’s most prominent foray into the carbon market. The anticipated location for the 100-megawatt Veal Thmor Kambot hydropower dam sits some 15 kilometers (9 miles) inside the borders of the REDD+ project, while the 70 MW Russei Chrum Kandal dam looks set to be built less than 2 km, or about a mile, outside the boundaries of the REDD+ project The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project initially saw primary forest loss drop significantly since it was established in 2016. The project is managed jointly by the Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Alliance, a U.S.-registered nonprofit operating almost exclusively in the Cardamoms. However, the project has recently run afoul of controversies amid allegations that the rights of Indigenous communities have been abused by Wildlife Alliance and their partners. An unpublished investigation by Human Rights Watch, coupled with numerous media reports, led to Verra, the project’s carbon credit certifier, opening an investigation into the alleged abuses on June 19 and suspending the issuance of credits from the project. Wildlife Alliance has consistently denied any wrongdoing, instead launching a charm offensive of sponsored content in government-aligned media and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/new-dams-in-cambodia-pit-green-hydropower-against-redd-project/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276868</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can blockchain clean up the gold industry in Brazil and across the globe?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2023 17:03:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles LyonsCharlie Espinosa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/05/11221731/Deforestation-from-mining-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275333</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Gold Mining, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Mining, Rainforests, Technology, Threats To Rainforests, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Gold, whose value has spiked by more than 55% since the 2008 financial crisis, is notoriously difficult to trace. Once mined, it can follow a maze-like path to market, passing through intermediaries that mix and melt it with other sources, often erasing signatures of its origin in the process. The result? Illicit gold routinely slips [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Gold, whose value has spiked by more than 55% since the 2008 financial crisis, is notoriously difficult to trace. Once mined, it can follow a maze-like path to market, passing through intermediaries that mix and melt it with other sources, often erasing signatures of its origin in the process. The result? Illicit gold routinely slips into products, from jewelry to smartphones and electric cars. To stem the flow of illicit minerals, the gold industry is turning to an unlikely source: blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrency. Proponents say blockchain can bring transparency and rigor to a risky industry with consumers increasingly eager to know where their gold comes from. By recording transactions in “blocks” that can be viewed but not altered, blockchain-backed ledgers make it easier for buyers to track gold and assure its provenance, and harder for ill-intentioned actors to fake receipts. “This will help consumers, investors, and market participants to trust that their gold is genuine and has been responsibly and sustainably sourced,” reads a joint 2022 release from the World Gold Council and the London Bullion Market Association. One of Fênix&#8217;s mines near Cuiaba, Brazil. The company, one of Brazil&#8217;s biggest gold distributors, announced in March that it delivered its first fully traceable gold bar using a blockchain-backed ledger. And, as of July, Fênix said 100% of its gold was blockchain-traceable. Image by Charles Lyons. The two industry associations, which include many of the world’s largest mines, traders and refiners, say they are developing an “international system” that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-blockchain-clean-up-the-gold-industry-in-brazil-and-across-the-globe/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275333</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia permit payoff raises alarm about palm oil industry corruption</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesia-permit-payoff-raises-alarm-about-palm-oil-industry-corruption/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesia-permit-payoff-raises-alarm-about-palm-oil-industry-corruption/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2023 04:08:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/10142952/20221130_122241-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272453</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Maluku, North Maluku, Riau, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Corruption, Environment, Environmental Law, Law, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Plantations, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A million-dollar bribery case in Indonesia’s Riau province, the country’s palm oil heartland, has prompted calls for a wider investigation into corruption between business players and the local officials tasked with policing their operations. Prosecutors at a court in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, are seeking an 11.5-year sentence for Muhammad Syahrir, the former [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A million-dollar bribery case in Indonesia’s Riau province, the country’s palm oil heartland, has prompted calls for a wider investigation into corruption between business players and the local officials tasked with policing their operations. Prosecutors at a court in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, are seeking an 11.5-year sentence for Muhammad Syahrir, the former head of the Riau land agency, for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for renewing oil palm plantation permits. In the case at the center of the trial, they allege Syahrir solicited the equivalent of $228,000 in payments from PT Adimulia Agrolestari ahead of the company’s right-to-cultivate permit, known as an HGU, expiring in 2024. In all, Syahrir is alleged to have taken bribes, solicited and unsolicited, amounting to 20.9 billion rupiah ($1.36 million) from several palm oil companies during his tenures in Riau and before that at the North Maluku provincial land office. The case is almost certainly not an isolated incident, with bribery widely perceived as part of the cost of doing business in Indonesia, said Raynaldo Sembiring, executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL). “The corrupt practice [of bribes for permits] is only just starting to be revealed in Syahrir’s case,” he said. “This case involves [the land agencies in] Riau and North Maluku. And there’s a likelihood that it’s also happening in other regions.” He added, “So this is only the tip of the iceberg.” Hariadi Kartodihardjo, a lecturer in forestry policy at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB),&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/indonesia-permit-payoff-raises-alarm-about-palm-oil-industry-corruption/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-272453</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forests in the furnace: Can fashion brands tackle illegal logging in their Cambodian supply chains?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-can-fashion-brands-tackle-illegal-logging-in-their-cambodian-supply-chains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-can-fashion-brands-tackle-illegal-logging-in-their-cambodian-supply-chains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jul 2023 02:05:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Gerryflynn]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/11070912/Header_Garment-Deforestation_Mongabay_Andy-Ball_Story-2_1-scaled-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270770</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Chasing Deforestation and Forest Trackers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia, Cardamom Mountains, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioenergy, Biofuels, Clean Energy, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Fashion industry, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Fuelwood, Globalization, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Trade, International Trade, Logging, Mongabay investigation, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Timber, Timber Laws, timber trade, Transparency, Transportation, Tropical Deforestation, and Zero Deforestation Commitments]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story is the second article of a three-part Mongabay mini-series exploring the link between Cambodia&#8217;s garment factories and illegal logging. Read Part One and Part Three. KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia — “Going into the forest is dangerous, some people die when trees fall on them, but they are desperate,” said Saroeun*, a logger who makes [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story is the second article of a three-part Mongabay mini-series exploring the link between Cambodia&#8217;s garment factories and illegal logging. Read Part One and Part Three. KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia — “Going into the forest is dangerous, some people die when trees fall on them, but they are desperate,” said Saroeun*, a logger who makes multiple trips each day into Central Cardamoms National Park in southwest Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province. “They don’t know what else to do: if we don’t go to cut trees, we don’t have money,” he added. “I go every day and risk my life. I struggle and have to persist with my life in the forest.” The timber that Saroeun illegally cuts and transports from the forest to his village of Kteh will change hands many times, being bought and sold until it comes to rest in a garment factory, possibly in Kampong Speu province, neighboring Kandal province or further afield in Phnom Penh. Whichever factory buys the wood, it will be incinerated to generate thermal energy used for steaming, washing, dyeing or ironing fabrics — likely as part of an international fashion brand’s supply chain. But Saroeun has no way of knowing this from his wooden stilted house on the outskirts of the forest, largely because he’s insulated — and isolated — by the seemingly deliberate opacity of garment factories’ supply chain. He risks life, limb and liberty each day to scrape by on the few dollars’ profit he can eke out of forest crimes.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-can-fashion-brands-tackle-illegal-logging-in-their-cambodian-supply-chains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-can-fashion-brands-tackle-illegal-logging-in-their-cambodian-supply-chains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270770</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Forests in the furnace: Cambodia’s garment sector is fueled by illegal logging</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-cambodias-garment-sector-is-fueled-by-illegal-logging/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-cambodias-garment-sector-is-fueled-by-illegal-logging/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2023 04:06:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Andy BallGerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Gerryflynn]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/30123047/Header_Garment-Deforestation_Mongabay_Andy-Ball_Story-1_1-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270560</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Forest Trackers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Cambodia, Cardamom Mountains, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Bioenergy, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Economics, Ecotourism, Energy, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forests, Governance, Illegal Logging, Illegal Trade, Industrial Agriculture, International Trade, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Logging, Mongabay investigation, Poverty, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Threats To Rainforests, timber trade, Transparency, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This story is the first article of a three-part Mongabay mini-series exploring the link between Cambodia&#8217;s garment factories and illegal logging. Read Part Two and Part Three. KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia — The roar of the engine cut through the 5 a.m. gloom one morning in December 2022 as Saroeun* and his cousin Sovann* pulled away [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This story is the first article of a three-part Mongabay mini-series exploring the link between Cambodia&#8217;s garment factories and illegal logging. Read Part Two and Part Three. KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia — The roar of the engine cut through the 5 a.m. gloom one morning in December 2022 as Saroeun* and his cousin Sovann* pulled away from their wooden stilted house in the village of Kteh, which sits inside Aural Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Speu province. But the rumble of Saroeun’s koy-yun, a purpose-built logging tractor, soon blended into the noise as other villagers rose with the sun to head into the forest, searching for saleable timber. Home to Phnom Aural, Cambodia’s tallest mountain, Aural Wildlife Sanctuary has been decimated by loggers over the past two decades, which has since pushed Saroeun and other loggers to head further west, traveling across the sanctuary’s borders into Central Cardamoms National Park. Saroeun* and his cousin Sovann* ride out on their koy-yun towards the Central Cardamoms National Park where they log timber that is supplied to garment factories across the country. Image by Andy Ball for Mongabay. This 402,352-hectare (994,233-acre) protected forest boasts vast mountains that sprawl across Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Pursat provinces, is home to a wealth of biodiversity, and is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved rainforests in Cambodia — although recent infrastructure developments have seen the forest’s natural defenses peeled back by loggers taking advantage of a new hydropower dam. The forest made for a brutal journey as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/forests-in-the-furnace-cambodias-garment-sector-is-fueled-by-illegal-logging/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270560</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>EU deforestation tracking regulation sparks division among groups, producers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 May 2023 15:40:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/29021516/oil-palm-worker-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268419</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, International Trade, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Sustainable Forest Management, Threats To Rainforests, Trade, Transparency, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the European Union is set to adopt a landmark regulation that prohibits companies from trading commodities from deforested areas and illegal sources, the proposed law continues to be divisive. On one hand, governments of palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have rejected the law, saying its requirements are too strict [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the European Union is set to adopt a landmark regulation that prohibits companies from trading commodities from deforested areas and illegal sources, the proposed law continues to be divisive. On one hand, governments of palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have rejected the law, saying its requirements are too strict for producers to follow. On the other hand, civil society groups say the EU deforestation regulation is not strong enough to achieve its end goal, which is to combat global deforestation. Agriculture is one of the largest drivers of deforestation globally. And deforestation is responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. The landmark law aims to tackle the EU&#8217;s contribution to this by eliminating deforestation from the supply chains of a range of everyday items sold in Europe. The EU is responsible for 16% of tropical deforestation associated with international trade, second only to China. The law, officially called the European Deforestation Regulation, targets cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood as well as commodities that have been fed by or made using those products, such as leather, chocolate, printed paper and furniture. The EU is expected to adopt the law in the first half of 2023 as the European Parliament has recently passed the law. Now the law only needs formal approval from EU countries, which are represented by the European Council, for it to come into force. The council’s approval is expected in the next couple of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/eu-deforestation-tracking-regulation-sparks-division-among-groups-producers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-268419</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Conservationists decry palm oil giants’ exit from HCSA forest protection group</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/conservationists-decry-palm-oil-giants-exit-from-hcsa-forest-protection-group/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/conservationists-decry-palm-oil-giants-exit-from-hcsa-forest-protection-group/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2023 15:27:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/09234259/jambi_220676-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266210</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forest Destruction, Forests, FPIC, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Threats To Rainforests, Trade, Transparency, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Two major palm oil companies recently exited a committee that helps identify forest areas for protection, bringing the total number of firms quitting the framework since 2000 to four. The committee, called the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), is a widely supported mechanism to distinguish forest areas that should be protected from degraded [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Two major palm oil companies recently exited a committee that helps identify forest areas for protection, bringing the total number of firms quitting the framework since 2000 to four. The committee, called the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), is a widely supported mechanism to distinguish forest areas that should be protected from degraded areas that can be developed. This, environmentalists say, points to a startling industry trend in which industry giants are shirking responsibility for their harmful business practices. The two companies that recently withdrew from HCSA are Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), the main palm oil arm of the vast Sinar Mas conglomerate, which is owned by the billionaire Widjaja family; and IOI Corporation Berhad (IOI), one of Malaysia’s biggest conglomerates. GAR played a major role in developing the HCSA No Deforestation methodology and was a founding HSCA member. GAR chief sustainability and communications officer Anita Neville said that being a member of the HCSA is no longer necessary for the company. This is because the HCSA toolkit has been embedded into industry standards including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification, which is the world’s largest association for ethical palm oil production, she said. The HCSA toolkit is a guidebook that provides standardized, scientifically robust and cost-effective methods for distinguishing and protecting viable forest areas. “The decision not to renew our membership was not taken lightly,” Neville told Mongabay. “However, as the HCSA evolved beyond creation and rollout of its toolkit, we saw increasing overlap with other industry bodies including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/conservationists-decry-palm-oil-giants-exit-from-hcsa-forest-protection-group/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266210</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>FOIA lawsuit suggests Indonesian nickel miners lack environmental licenses</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-nickel-mining-batteries-ev-environmental-license-foia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-nickel-mining-batteries-ev-environmental-license-foia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2023 12:10:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eko Rusdianto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/24092202/pertambangan-clm-luwu-timur-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264898</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sulawesi, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Batteries, Development, Ecosystems, Electric Cars, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Freedom of Information, Governance, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Industry, Infrastructure, Land Conflict, Marine, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Transparency, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[EAST LUWU, Indonesia — Environmental journalists investigating the impact of nickel mining on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have won a freedom-of-information ruling against local authorities, whose inability to release licensing information may point to an absence of licenses. The case centers on two nickel miners, PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM) and PT Panca Digital [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[EAST LUWU, Indonesia — Environmental journalists investigating the impact of nickel mining on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have won a freedom-of-information ruling against local authorities, whose inability to release licensing information may point to an absence of licenses. The case centers on two nickel miners, PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM) and PT Panca Digital Solution (PDS), operating in the vicinity of the Larona Malili River in East Luwu district, in the province of South Sulawesi. In December last year, the provincial information commission ordered the East Luwu environmental agency to publish the licensing documents of the two companies, which are accused of polluting the river with sediment. In a response, filed Jan. 10, the environmental agency said it was unable to comply because some of the licenses were still being processed at the environment ministry in Jakarta, while others would have to be requested directly from the ministry instead of the agency. The fact that the district environmental agency doesn’t have these papers — namely an environmental impact analysis, a waste dumping license, and a so-called borrow-to-use forest permit (IPPKH) — suggests the companies are operating without them, said Ady Anugerah Pratama, one of the lawyers who filed the freedom-of-information request. “Based on the environmental agency’s response, we can be sure to say that the companies don’t actually have the licenses, such as for hazardous and toxic waste management,” Ady said, noting that these papers are required under Indonesian law. The mining site of nickel company PT Citra Lampia&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-nickel-mining-batteries-ev-environmental-license-foia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indonesia-nickel-mining-batteries-ev-environmental-license-foia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264898</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A new tool to peer into fishing networks: Q&#038;A with Austin Brush of C4ADS</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/a-new-tool-to-peer-into-fishing-networks-qa-with-austin-brush-of-c4ads/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/a-new-tool-to-peer-into-fishing-networks-qa-with-austin-brush-of-c4ads/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2022 03:19:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Melati Kaye]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20140157/galapagos_170074-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262787</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Global, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Anonymous Companies, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Crime, data, Environment, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Oceans, Technology, Transparency, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One in five fish sold globally is caught illegally, according to C4ADS, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that tracks illicit trade networks. That’s between 11 million and 26 million metric tons of fish annually. C4ADS plans to launch Triton, a web-based analysis tool to examine ownership within the global fishing fleet, by the end of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One in five fish sold globally is caught illegally, according to C4ADS, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that tracks illicit trade networks. That’s between 11 million and 26 million metric tons of fish annually. C4ADS plans to launch Triton, a web-based analysis tool to examine ownership within the global fishing fleet, by the end of 2022. The plan is for the tool to enable government monitors, fishery certification bodies, journalists and researchers to better track fishing fleets and seafood source companies to understand who profits from sales of fish, and who is responsible for labor and environmental practices aboard fishing vessels. With this increased transparency and oversight, the aim is ultimately to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, known by the acronym IUU. Mongabay interviewed Austin Brush, the IUU portfolio manager at C4ADS, about Triton. Mongabay: First off, how would you describe Triton? Austin Brush: Triton is a transparency portal that we are developing at C4ADS. It consists of two primary components: the vessel and company database, which has ownership information, key identifying information for vessels and companies, and then there are the analytical products, which includes risk alerts and dossiers on fishing vessels in general. The vessel and company database we are developing is for industrial fishing vessels. Currently it is focused on longline and reefer vessels. Triton users will be able to explore those relationships graphically, see the different kinds of networks between company and vessel, track that relationship through officers, directors, shareholders. For each entity, there will&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/a-new-tool-to-peer-into-fishing-networks-qa-with-austin-brush-of-c4ads/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/a-new-tool-to-peer-into-fishing-networks-qa-with-austin-brush-of-c4ads/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262787</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Clothes sourced from plants could expand deforestation – or abate it</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/clothes-sourced-from-plants-could-expand-deforestation-or-abate-it/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/clothes-sourced-from-plants-could-expand-deforestation-or-abate-it/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Oct 2022 09:04:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Morse]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/10/12073814/abaca-fiber-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261307</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Product Lifecycles]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Europe, Indonesia, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Carbon Emissions, Chemicals, Climate, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Finance, Forest Products, Forests, Human Rights, Industry, Natural Resources, Peatlands, Plantations, Sustainability, Transparency, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists and companies are looking to a small section of the textile market to address the clothing industry’s threats to climate and ecosystems. Cellulose fabrics are fibers extracted from plants, spun into threads, and shaped into clothing. Fuelled in a large part by promises of higher environmental integrity, cellulose fibers are the fastest growing feedstock [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists and companies are looking to a small section of the textile market to address the clothing industry’s threats to climate and ecosystems. Cellulose fabrics are fibers extracted from plants, spun into threads, and shaped into clothing. Fuelled in a large part by promises of higher environmental integrity, cellulose fibers are the fastest growing feedstock of the textile market. So far, however, companies dominating the market have brought with them systemic problems that have seen primary forests felled, peatlands drained and waste management poorly managed. The future of the market is promising, experts say, as new innovations and companies have a fighting chance to bring new materials and manufacturing processes to market. “The bare minimum is we got to get off ancient and endangered forests [for textiles]. There’s absolutely no reason the product requires it.” says Peter Wood, senior forest campaigner with Canopy Planet. The advocacy group estimates 200 million trees are cut every year for clothing made from cellulose fibers, a small but growing driver of agribusiness. A suite of start-ups and established firms are leading a new wave of research and development, experimenting with new ways of creating clothing fibers using everything from alternative trees to fermented waste to recycled cotton. New manufacturing techniques could dramatically reduce textile emissions, which are estimated to equal emissions from the UK, France and Germany. But they face steep hurdles in financing, as large corporations dominate the sector, relying on inefficient materials and manufacturing. “Now the situation has changed, because the clothing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/clothes-sourced-from-plants-could-expand-deforestation-or-abate-it/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/clothes-sourced-from-plants-could-expand-deforestation-or-abate-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-261307</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Disclose the deal,&#8217; East Africa pipeline opponents say (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/disclose-the-deal-east-africa-pipeline-opponents-say-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/disclose-the-deal-east-africa-pipeline-opponents-say-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Oct 2022 13:39:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Tumwesigye Baganda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/14100914/ProtestingFossilFuels_Kenya_350.org-CROP2-768x498.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=261124</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Commentary, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Fossil Fuels, Infrastructure, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will have vast consequences for Uganda’s people and biodiversity – as well as the planet. But ordinary citizens are being kept in the dark about the oil deal which will shape their futures, writes Robert Tumwesigye Baganda. Its supporters claim that the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will have vast consequences for Uganda’s people and biodiversity – as well as the planet. But ordinary citizens are being kept in the dark about the oil deal which will shape their futures, writes Robert Tumwesigye Baganda. Its supporters claim that the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will bring Uganda huge benefits. The champions of the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline – which will run for 1,443 kilometers from oil fields near Lake Albert in Uganda to Tanga Port in Tanzania and is expected to be completed in 2025 – say it will transform East Africa’s energy landscape: propelling Uganda into middle-income status, turning the country into an energy producer for the first time, boosting government revenues by up to $1.2 billion, increasing foreign direct investment by 60% during its construction, and providing jobs to an economy still suffering from the pandemic. EACOP’s route stretches 1,445 kilometers from Hoima to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. Image by Sputink via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). But to its critics, EACOP is a colossal error. In a world where the impacts of the climate crisis are being increasingly felt, stopping  EACOP has become a rallying cause for campaigners around the world. More than one million people signed a petition for the project to be axed. They say that such a large-scale oil development – between French oil company TotalEnergies, the Chinese state oil developer CNOOC, the Uganda National Oil Company and the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/disclose-the-deal-east-africa-pipeline-opponents-say-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/disclose-the-deal-east-africa-pipeline-opponents-say-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-261124</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ecuador promises more openness of fisheries information under new initiative</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/ecuador-promises-more-openness-of-fisheries-information-under-new-initiative/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/ecuador-promises-more-openness-of-fisheries-information-under-new-initiative/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 May 2022 10:40:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Yalilé Loaiza]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/05/05103449/IMGL9341-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=255501</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador has become the first Latin American country to join a growing international effort aimed at bringing greater transparency to the fishing industry and making it more sustainable. In a March 11 announcement, the Ecuadoran government committed to implementing the standards of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI). The announcement was made in the coastal town [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador has become the first Latin American country to join a growing international effort aimed at bringing greater transparency to the fishing industry and making it more sustainable. In a March 11 announcement, the Ecuadoran government committed to implementing the standards of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI). The announcement was made in the coastal town of Manta, an important fishing port that’s home to part of Ecuador’s tuna fleet, and where fishers also land protected species such as hammerhead sharks. Nicolás Rovegno, regional coordinator of FiTI for Latin America, said the importance of this commitment lies in the need to make information about fisheries transparent to tackle overfishing, illegal fishing and opacity in the industry. The decision has been widely welcomed, with journalists, civil society organizations, institutions and even governmental authorities saying they have long seen their requests for fisheries information go answered. This difficulty accessing official data extends to information about the harvesting of threatened species, which is needed to identify population declines. With this commitment, the Ecuadoran government will have to publish and give access to all the information that the FiTI standard defines as necessary, including fishing licenses, vessel records, catch data, subsidies, and final beneficiaries. The benefits of transparency for fisheries WWF reported in 2020 that 94% of fish populations in Ecuador are either fully exploited or overfished. Improving the situation and guaranteeing the sustainable management of marine fisheries is necessary to satisfy the economic and nutritional needs of millions of people in the world. In&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/ecuador-promises-more-openness-of-fisheries-information-under-new-initiative/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-255501</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rangers in DRC gorilla park abused Indigenous villagers, report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/rangers-in-drc-gorilla-park-abused-indigenous-villagers-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/rangers-in-drc-gorilla-park-abused-indigenous-villagers-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Apr 2022 19:06:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Sutherland]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/07164901/4C3A0054-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254619</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, National Parks, Parks, Transparency, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new investigative report details human rights abuses committed against Indigenous Batwa people between 2019 and 2021 in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBPN) located in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report, published by the NGO Minority Rights Group on Wednesday, says 20 Batwa were killed, 15 Batwa women were raped, and 2 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new investigative report details human rights abuses committed against Indigenous Batwa people between 2019 and 2021 in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBPN) located in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report, published by the NGO Minority Rights Group on Wednesday, says 20 Batwa were killed, 15 Batwa women were raped, and 2 children were burnt alive by the park’s guards. MRG’s investigators, led by journalist Robert Flummerfelt, spent nine months between October 2020 and December 2021 interviewing eyewitnesses to violence, family members of those reported killed, and Batwa people detained in South Kivu province. They also spoke with soldiers and park guards who described participating in large-scale acts of violence. MRG finds that the violence was carried out to expel the Batwa population from their ancestral lands inside the protected area. Shell casings reported to be used from the rifles used by park guards and soldiers in a village that was destroyed in the July 2021 attacks, according the the MRG report. Image courtesy of Minority Rights Group. According to the investigation, international donors to KBNP, such U.S. and German government agencies, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), were notified of violent escalations and continued to provide paramilitary training and equipment to the specific unit of guards responsible for abuses, in violation of the UN Security Council’s arms embargo to the DRC. The WCS has denied allegations brought against the organization. The KBNP bulletin denied similar allegations of violence brought against the park’s guards in December. KBNP&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/rangers-in-drc-gorilla-park-abused-indigenous-villagers-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254619</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Palm oil firm hit by mass permit revocation still clearing forest in Indonesia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Feb 2022 09:35:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Asrida ElisabethPhilip Jacobson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/02/22020952/7640091254_27f51a6b02_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252912</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Jokowi Commitments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Anonymous Companies, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, Land Conflict, Law, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Plantations, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Transparency, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAYAPURA, Indonesia, and NEW YORK — A palm oil firm that was among more than 100 companies targeted in a mass cancellation of permits for plantations by Indonesia’s environment ministry on Jan. 6 has bulldozed more than 50 hectares (125 acres) of rainforest since that date. The finding underscores the limits of the policy and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAYAPURA, Indonesia, and NEW YORK — A palm oil firm that was among more than 100 companies targeted in a mass cancellation of permits for plantations by Indonesia’s environment ministry on Jan. 6 has bulldozed more than 50 hectares (125 acres) of rainforest since that date. The finding underscores the limits of the policy and raises questions about how far President Joko Widodo’s administration is willing to go to rein in the nation’s chaotic land-use practices. After lying moribund for more than two years, the company, PT Permata Nusa Mandiri (PNM), sprang into action in the weeks after the revocations were announced, carving a road and several plantation blocks out of its land concession in Jayapura, a district in Papua province. During a visit to the site in January, Mongabay observed cars, heavy equipment and workers pacing around the newly created road. The company camp, abandoned for the past two years, looked lively again. A truck loaded with drums apparently filled with fuel was parked on site. The clearance remains ongoing, satellite imagery shows, according to Albert ten Kate, a researcher at Amsterdam-based sustainability consultancy Aidenvironment. “It is not just a road anymore,” ten Kate wrote in an email. “A lot of plantation blocks are carved out, over an area of a few hundred hectares and there also has been some clear-cutting.” A road made by a palm oil company by clearing the forest in Jayapura Regency, Papua. Image by Asrida Elisabeth/ Mongabay Indonesia. A satellite image of the clearing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/palm-oil-firm-hit-by-mass-permit-revocation-still-clearing-forest-in-indonesia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-252912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>When Indonesia retook land from developers, it gave them a solid case to sue</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/when-indonesia-retook-land-from-developers-it-gave-them-a-solid-case-to-sue/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/when-indonesia-retook-land-from-developers-it-gave-them-a-solid-case-to-sue/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Feb 2022 14:34:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/08/19040154/indonesia_20150570-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=252833</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Environment, Forests, Law, Law Enforcement, Palm Oil, Plantations, Politics, Rainforests, Transparency, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has opened itself up to litigation by unilaterally revoking hundreds of permits for logging concessions, plantations and mines, according to environmental law experts. The revocations were ordered in early January by President Joko Widodo, and include permits issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for 192 logging, plantation, mining and ecotourism [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has opened itself up to litigation by unilaterally revoking hundreds of permits for logging concessions, plantations and mines, according to environmental law experts. The revocations were ordered in early January by President Joko Widodo, and include permits issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for 192 logging, plantation, mining and ecotourism operations, totaling 3.13 million hectares (7.73 million acres). The government didn’t cite any environmental justification for the revocations; instead, it accused the concession holders of not moving quickly enough to exploit the resources granted to them. Regardless of the justification, the government’s one-sided move gives the companies a solid legal standing to sue to get the permits back, said Grita Anindarini, a program director at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL). “That’s what likely to happen: [the environment ministry] being sued at the state administrative court,” she told Mongabay. Syahrul Fitra, a forest campaigner at Greenpeace Indonesia, echoed Grita’s view. “I’m not sure that the companies will just accept [the revocation] just like that,” he told Mongabay. Grita and Syahrul said the legal challenges to come might be similar to those brought against local governments in Indonesia’s West Papua province. There, two district heads have been sued by palm oil companies for revoking their permits. A crucial difference between those cases and the presidentially ordered revocation, however, is that the West Papua permits were scrapped on the basis of an audit that found myriad violations committed by the concession holders. That has strengthened the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/when-indonesia-retook-land-from-developers-it-gave-them-a-solid-case-to-sue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/when-indonesia-retook-land-from-developers-it-gave-them-a-solid-case-to-sue/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-252833</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Land mafia’ makes its mark in a Sumatran village’s fight against oil palm firm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/land-mafia-makes-its-mark-in-a-sumatran-villages-fight-against-oil-palm-firm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/land-mafia-makes-its-mark-in-a-sumatran-villages-fight-against-oil-palm-firm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Dec 2021 15:36:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/11025210/aceh_1143-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251215</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, South Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Environment, Human Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Palm Oil, Plantations, Social Conflict, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In 2020, residents of Suka Mukti village in southern Sumatra paid 10 million rupiah each, about $700, to a government agency to obtain titles to their land — a process that is officially supposed to be free. This year, the same agency declared the certificates illegal because, it says, the land falls inside [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — In 2020, residents of Suka Mukti village in southern Sumatra paid 10 million rupiah each, about $700, to a government agency to obtain titles to their land — a process that is officially supposed to be free. This year, the same agency declared the certificates illegal because, it says, the land falls inside a concession held by a palm oil company. The fiasco has shone a light on the corruption and opacity that cloud the land-titling process in Indonesia, and the role of a “land mafia” in keeping it that way to serve the interests of big businesses. “According to the regulations, land certificates are free,” says Roni Septian, head of advocacy at the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA), an NGO. “From that alone, we can see how corrupt the practices of the land agency are. That’s concrete evidence of how sophisticated the land mafia is.” He adds the Suka Mukti case is just the tip of the iceberg, with the land mafia operating throughout Indonesia. “Millions of farmers have had their lands robbed from them because the government manipulated data,” he says. Interior of an oil palm plantation in Indonesia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Land titles taken away — twice The village of Suka Mukti, in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) district, South Sumatra province, was established by settlers from Java in 1981. They were part of the national government’s “transmigration” program, which aimed to entice people away from densely populated Java by offering them land in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/land-mafia-makes-its-mark-in-a-sumatran-villages-fight-against-oil-palm-firm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/land-mafia-makes-its-mark-in-a-sumatran-villages-fight-against-oil-palm-firm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-251215</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>2021’s top ocean news stories (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/2021s-top-ocean-news-stories-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/2021s-top-ocean-news-stories-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Dec 2021 15:18:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Callie SteffenDouglas McCauleyEmma CritchleyMolly Morse]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/27050449/8.-Algal_bloom-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251144</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Commentary, Conservation, COVID-19, Critically Endangered Species, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Economics, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fishing, Governance, Illegal Fishing, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Marine Protected Areas, New Discovery, Oceans, Overfishing, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Protected Areas, Science, Shipping, Social Justice, Species Discovery, Transparency, Water Pollution, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[1. The ocean-climate nexus The presence of the ocean was felt more strongly than ever at this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP 26), held Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. In fact, the COP designated an entire day as “ocean day.” Importantly, the negotiating language explicitly mentioned the ocean for the first [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[1. The ocean-climate nexus The presence of the ocean was felt more strongly than ever at this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP 26), held Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. In fact, the COP designated an entire day as “ocean day.” Importantly, the negotiating language explicitly mentioned the ocean for the first time. Many countries included commitments to conserve, restore and sustainably manage coastal marine ecosystems that store “blue carbon,” such as mangrove habitats, seagrass meadows and coral reefs, as part of their nationally determined contributions. Simon Kofe, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, illustrated just how critical the link between climate and ocean is by delivering his speech knee-deep in rising seawater surrounding the Pacific island. A coalition of ocean advocates and heads of state, the Blue Leaders, also called for immediate action to address the impacts of climate change on the ocean. With 2021 marking the start of the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science, the increased focus on the ocean at COP26 was timely. Tuvalu’s foreign minister, Simon Kofe, addresses COP 26. Image courtesy of Ministry of Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs, Tuvalu Government. 2. Big investments for conservation This was a year that big donors stepped up big for oceans and the planet. Jeff Bezos pledged to donate $1 billion to ocean and land conservation over the next decade as part of the Bezos Earth Fund. Some of the programs in the fund include ocean carbon sequestration projects, such as mangrove restoration and seaweed farming.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/2021s-top-ocean-news-stories-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/2021s-top-ocean-news-stories-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-251144</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Secrecy shrouds new gold mining deal in Guyana’s Marudi mountains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/secrecy-shrouds-new-gold-mining-deal-in-guyanas-marudi-mountains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/secrecy-shrouds-new-gold-mining-deal-in-guyanas-marudi-mountains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Dec 2021 16:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Sutherland]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/21164958/DSC_0296-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250974</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Guyana and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Gold Mining, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Mercury, Mining, Mountains, Politics, Social Conflict, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[SOUTH RUPUNUNI, Guyana — In a Facebook post this past November, Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources announced that it had issued a special mining permit to a group of small-scale miners, the Rupununi Mining Association, for 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of land in a mountain range in the country’s southwest. The approval came despite opposition [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[SOUTH RUPUNUNI, Guyana — In a Facebook post this past November, Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources announced that it had issued a special mining permit to a group of small-scale miners, the Rupununi Mining Association, for 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of land in a mountain range in the country’s southwest. The approval came despite opposition by local Indigenous leaders and activists who say they haven’t been consulted and fear further environmental damages from gold mining. The Marudi mountains have been occupied by Indigenous Wapichan nations for centuries. The headwaters of several rivers and creeks that Indigenous communities depend on are located in the region, and the area counts a vibrant ecosystem of 174 known bird species and 14 species of fish during the wet season. Communities currently have two applications for a land title extension into the Marudi mountains, one of them dating back 45 years. “Mazoa and the surrounding mountains are sacred to the Wapichan people,” said Immaculata Casemiro, co-founder of the Wapichan Women’s Movement. “That’s where our key headwaters and ecosystems are located.” Marudi mountains, Guyana. Image courtesy of David Papannah. When gold was discovered here in the 1930s, artisanal miners from neighboring Wapichan communities flocked to the mountain range. However, as word circulated about the potential bonanza, small and medium-scale miners from across Guyana and neighboring Brazil rushed to the area in the hopes of striking it rich. Large-scale mining companies later followed, and in the 1940s were able to secure a prospecting license that covers approximately&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/secrecy-shrouds-new-gold-mining-deal-in-guyanas-marudi-mountains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/secrecy-shrouds-new-gold-mining-deal-in-guyanas-marudi-mountains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-250974</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Deadly raids are latest case of abuse against Indigenous Batwa in DRC park, groups say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/deadly-raids-are-latest-case-of-abuse-against-indigenous-batwa-in-drc-park-groups-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/deadly-raids-are-latest-case-of-abuse-against-indigenous-batwa-in-drc-park-groups-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2021 15:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laurel Sutherland]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/11/18081746/2016-09-29-nicolon-18_edited-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250899</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Culture, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Gorillas, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Politics, Protected Areas, Social Conflict, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A series of raids by soldiers and rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park have left one Indigenous man dead and a pregnant woman missing, feared burned alive in her home, activists have reported. Two other women were also reportedly injured in the joint operation between Nov. 12 and 14 on two [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A series of raids by soldiers and rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park have left one Indigenous man dead and a pregnant woman missing, feared burned alive in her home, activists have reported. Two other women were also reportedly injured in the joint operation between Nov. 12 and 14 on two Indigenous Batwa villages in the park. Several Batwa people were reportedly arrested, but the reason for the raids is still unknown. In response to the reports, park director De-Dieu Bya’Ombe Balongelwa said the raids were aimed at capturing armed men who had carried out an attack in the city of Bukavu, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the park, which left six attackers, two policemen and a solider dead. Balongelwa denied that there are any Batwa communities living inside Kahuzi-Biega, and said all operations in the park are related to security. However, the raids reportedly continued until mid-December, during which several other villages inside the park were burned to the ground. Citing eyewitness testimony, Catherine Long, the DRC country lead for the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), told Mongabay that between Dec. 4 and 5, authorities raided the Batwa village of Katasomwa. Following this, they burned down the communities of Lumba, Kakerekenje and Kayeye. This has forced community members go into hiding for fear of further attacks. Vague details of the raids were made known to the FPP after the Batwa people reached out to the organization hoping to have their voices heard. Landscape of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/deadly-raids-are-latest-case-of-abuse-against-indigenous-batwa-in-drc-park-groups-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/deadly-raids-are-latest-case-of-abuse-against-indigenous-batwa-in-drc-park-groups-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-250899</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Questions over who gets the billions pledged to Indigenous causes at COP26</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/questions-over-who-gets-the-billions-pledged-to-indigenous-causes-at-cop26/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/questions-over-who-gets-the-billions-pledged-to-indigenous-causes-at-cop26/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Nov 2021 18:31:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/23160904/Julian-Moura-Busquets-Peoples-Planet-Project20-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=249797</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Indigenous-led conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, climate finance, Climate Justice, Community Forests, Conflict, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Finance, Forests, Funding, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Saving Rainforests, Social Justice, Solutions, Traditional People, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[State, private and philanthropic organizations pledged billions of dollars for Indigenous land tenure and forest management during the COP26 climate summit earlier this month. And while the commitments have been largely welcomed, observers say little of this money is actually destined for organizations and entities led by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The figures [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[State, private and philanthropic organizations pledged billions of dollars for Indigenous land tenure and forest management during the COP26 climate summit earlier this month. And while the commitments have been largely welcomed, observers say little of this money is actually destined for organizations and entities led by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The figures have run from a historic $1.7 billion pledge to support Indigenous contributions to the Glasgow Declaration, to a funding project aimed at mobilizing $20 billion per year until 2030 for 250,000 IPLC forest communities worldwide. The climate summit also saw $12 billion pledged by industrialized nations to less-industrialized forest nations and projects that clarify Indigenous land tenure, and $5 billion of private funding, from groups such as the Bezos Earth Fund, to protect 30% of the planet while enhancing Indigenous guardianship of their territories. Drone aerial image captured by Indigenous community in the Xingu basin of the Amazon showing accelerating deforestation. These images could serve as evidence in court cases to prove the infringement of Indigenous rights and environmental law. Image courtesy of Julian Moura-Busquets / People&#8217;s Planet Project. These funds were announced during the two-week climate summit announced within a context that is increasingly recognizing the role of IPLCs in protecting forests and meeting climate goals, while realizing affiliated organizations and communities received less than the equivalent 1% of official development climate funds. Forests are thought to absorb one-third of global CO2 emissions per year. In the Brazilian Amazon, research has shown that Indigenous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/questions-over-who-gets-the-billions-pledged-to-indigenous-causes-at-cop26/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/questions-over-who-gets-the-billions-pledged-to-indigenous-causes-at-cop26/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-249797</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>It&#8217;s time for Brazil to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/its-time-for-brazil-to-join-the-extractive-industries-transparency-initiative-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/its-time-for-brazil-to-join-the-extractive-industries-transparency-initiative-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Oct 2021 00:06:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Athayde MottaMiles Litvinoff]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/10/28223334/Minas-Rio-mine-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=248733</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Commentary, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights, Mining, Pollution, Transparency, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ana and her family live one kilometer from the tailings dam that carries toxic waste away from the world’s ninth largest iron ore mine, Minas-Rio, situated in Brazil’s mining heartland state of Minas Gerais. Thoughts of the dam rupturing never leave her. “We live here between the hope of being able to leave and the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ana and her family live one kilometer from the tailings dam that carries toxic waste away from the world’s ninth largest iron ore mine, Minas-Rio, situated in Brazil’s mining heartland state of Minas Gerais. Thoughts of the dam rupturing never leave her. “We live here between the hope of being able to leave and the constant fear of something bad happening. We sleep in fear, we wake up in fear. It’s an endless fear,” says the 21-year-old student, who doesn’t want to use her real name for security reasons. On 5 November 2015, a tailings dam collapsed at the Samarco Mariana mining complex in Minas Gerais, releasing 11.7 million cubic meters of liquid waste. It killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, and pollutants flowed 600 kilometers down the Rio Doce to the Atlantic Ocean. A warning against unauthorized entry at Anglo American’s Minas-Rio project in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Image courtesy of Alexandre Guzanshe/IBASE. Just over three years later, another environmental catastrophe hit Minas Gerais, when the tailings dam at Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in Brumadinho gave way on January 25, 2019. A torrent of mud and mining waste killed 270 people and caused untold environmental damage. For Ana and others in her close-knit community, disaster anxiety is compounded by the impact the mine already has on their lives. “We live with noise pollution 24 hours a day. There is also the stench of the dam which is very strong… Before the mine there was a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/its-time-for-brazil-to-join-the-extractive-industries-transparency-initiative-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/its-time-for-brazil-to-join-the-extractive-industries-transparency-initiative-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-248733</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Everything is traceable – unless you don’t want it to be (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/everything-is-traceable-unless-you-dont-want-it-to-be-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/everything-is-traceable-unless-you-dont-want-it-to-be-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2021 21:19:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aida Greenbury]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/18203932/ca_tuolumne_21227_16x9-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=246088</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Certification, Commentary, Commodity Roundtables, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Green, Supply Chain, Sustainability, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a book published in 2016, Henrik Ringsberg of Chalmers University of Technology, wrote that &#8220;Product traceability to ensure quality, safety, and sustainability of goods has become a worldwide societal concern.&#8221; This statement encapsulated a widespread sentiment of the time. Yet five years on, I can’t believe we are still having arguments about product traceability. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a book published in 2016, Henrik Ringsberg of Chalmers University of Technology, wrote that &#8220;Product traceability to ensure quality, safety, and sustainability of goods has become a worldwide societal concern.&#8221; This statement encapsulated a widespread sentiment of the time. Yet five years on, I can’t believe we are still having arguments about product traceability. Traceability is a simple matter really. Consumers have the right to know where the products they buy come from, and to trace them back to the source of the raw materials to ensure that they are not linked to anything dodgy, such as deforestation and human rights violations. Consequently, brands, retailers, and manufacturers have the responsibility to provide this traceability information to consumers. I remember sitting in a meeting room in central London eight years ago. The chief of sustainability of a major consumer goods company sat in front of me. She inhaled deeply before starting a ten-minute lecture about how difficult it was to trace the commodities she was dealing with back to their sources. &#8220;It’s impossible,&#8221; she said with an exasperated expression on her face. That was eight years ago. Today, her organization still claims that they are not able to be fully traceable and transparent with their products. Aida Greenbury I studied wood technology back in university, where I spent months staring at tiny wooden cells with their wild and wonderful shapes under the microscope in laboratories. What’s fascinating about the wood cells is that every wood, or plant, has a different&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/everything-is-traceable-unless-you-dont-want-it-to-be-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-246088</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Final court ruling orders Indonesian government to publish plantation data</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/final-court-ruling-orders-indonesian-government-to-publish-hgu-palm-oil-plantation-data/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/final-court-ruling-orders-indonesian-government-to-publish-hgu-palm-oil-plantation-data/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jun 2021 16:50:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/06/10164258/indonesia_20150501-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243540</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Indonesia, Papua, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, data, Environment, Forests, Industry, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Mapping, Palm Oil, Plantations, Threats To Rainforests, and Transparency]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has upheld a landmark 2017 ruling that all plantation data and maps in the country must be made publicly available — a ruling that the government continues to defy. The decision, which rejects the government’s appeal against the earlier verdict, marks the latest development in a long-running fight by civil [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has upheld a landmark 2017 ruling that all plantation data and maps in the country must be made publicly available — a ruling that the government continues to defy. The decision, which rejects the government’s appeal against the earlier verdict, marks the latest development in a long-running fight by civil society groups trying to bring greater transparency to the country’s palm oil industry, which has been plagued with irregularities and land conflicts due to lack of transparency. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, but the industry has long been plagued by environmental violations and land conflicts, in part due to the opacity under which it operates. The government has repeatedly refused to make public plantation data and maps, known as HGUs, citing various reasons, from intellectual property rights to national security. This has cast doubt on its commitment to improving the sustainability and transparency of the palm oil industry. The latest verdict, from the State Administrative Court, means the government has exhausted all its avenues of appeal in this legal saga that began in 2015. Essentially, there’s no more reason for the government, in this case the land ministry, to continue withholding the HGU documents, says Agung Ady Setyawan, a campaigner with Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), the NGO that first took the case to court six years ago. “The HGU documents should have been made publicly available by now because from the early legal process, all the way to the final appeal,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/final-court-ruling-orders-indonesian-government-to-publish-hgu-palm-oil-plantation-data/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243540</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oil palm growers’ misdeeds allow an opportunity to save West Papua’s forests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/palm-oil-west-papua-license-audit-kpk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/palm-oil-west-papua-license-audit-kpk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Mar 2021 14:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/05180926/west-papua_5095-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240875</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and West Papua]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mapping, Palm Oil, Plantations, Rainforests, Transparency, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A government review has identified a massive area of forest in Indonesia’s West Papua province that has been earmarked for oil palm plantations but that can still be saved. Keeping this forested area standing could potentially prevent the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to two-fifths of Indonesia’s total annual emissions, experts say — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — A government review has identified a massive area of forest in Indonesia’s West Papua province that has been earmarked for oil palm plantations but that can still be saved. Keeping this forested area standing could potentially prevent the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to two-fifths of Indonesia’s total annual emissions, experts say — if the concession holders can be made to relinquish their hold over the land. Twenty-four palm oil companies control a combined 576,090 hectares (1.42 million acres) of land in West Papua, of which 383,431 hectares (947,479 acres) — an area two and a half times the size of London — is intact forest. A recently concluded government review of oil palm license holders has determined that this area remains untouched because of a litany of administrative and legal violations by the companies that prevents them from clearing the forest and starting to cultivate oil palms. This forested area holds an estimated 185.5 million tons of above-ground carbon dioxide, according to Arief Wijaya, the climate and forests senior manager of the think tank World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia. That’s equivalent to nearly 40% of Indonesia’s total emissions in a year. “Saving these 383,000 hectares of intact forests in Papua is significant in reducing emissions,” Arief told Mongabay. “If it can be done, then it could strengthen the achievement of reducing deforestation, our climate target, as well as supporting the commitment of the government of West Papua in conserving 70% of its area.” West Papua Governor Dominggus&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/palm-oil-west-papua-license-audit-kpk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240875</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Secretive group found to have cleared orangutan habitat in Indonesia: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/nusantara-fiber-royal-golden-eagle-deforestation-kalimantan-borneo/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/nusantara-fiber-royal-golden-eagle-deforestation-kalimantan-borneo/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Mar 2021 16:19:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/03/22160805/riau_5357-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=240802</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Southeast Asia, and West Kalimantan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Conservation, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Mammals, Orangutans, Palm Oil, Plantations, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Transparency, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indonesian forestry company with possible links to pulpwood and palm oil powerhouse Royal Golden Eagle has cleared forests the size of 500,000 basketball courts since 2016, some of them home to critically endangered orangutans, according to a new report. Nusantara Fiber controls 242,000 hectares (598,000 acres) of industrial tree plantations via six [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — An Indonesian forestry company with possible links to pulpwood and palm oil powerhouse Royal Golden Eagle has cleared forests the size of 500,000 basketball courts since 2016, some of them home to critically endangered orangutans, according to a new report. Nusantara Fiber controls 242,000 hectares (598,000 acres) of industrial tree plantations via six subsidiary companies in the Bornean provinces of West, Central and East Kalimantan. Industrial trees include acacia and eucalyptus, which are used in the production of paper and textile fibers; timber trees; and trees grown for biomass energy generation. The Nusantara Fiber group obtained most of its permits from 2009-2011 and started clearing forest areas to develop its plantations in 2016, according to a spatial analysis by the research consultancy Aidenvironment. The analysis used satellite imagery, forest cover maps from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and Global Forest Watch maps of tree cover loss. The analysis shows that from 2016 to 2020, the group cleared 26,000 hectares (64,200 acres) of forests, making it the top deforester among all company groups with industrial tree concessions in Indonesia during this period. Most recently, the group cleared 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of forests in 2020. It contends these areas were designated as degraded land, and that its clearing activity was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which Aidenvironment acknowledged in its report. “Indeed, the Indonesian government has not banned all forest-clearing,” it said. But the forests that were lost were still valuable, according to the NGO.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/nusantara-fiber-royal-golden-eagle-deforestation-kalimantan-borneo/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-240802</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Papua tribe moves to block clearing of its ancestral forest for palm oil</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/papua-tribe-moves-to-block-clearing-of-its-ancestral-forest-for-palm-oil/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/papua-tribe-moves-to-block-clearing-of-its-ancestral-forest-for-palm-oil/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jan 2021 16:25:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/01/21143855/IMG-20210113-WA0009-e1611246259103-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=238838</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Land rights and extractives]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Papua, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Anonymous Companies, Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corruption, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forest Loss, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Logging, Palm Oil, Plantations, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Transparency, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This article was co-produced with The Gecko Project. JAKARTA — Indigenous people in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province are protesting against a company that’s preparing to raze their ancestral forest for a plantation megaproject plagued by allegations of irregularities and wrongdoing. Members of the Auyu tribe are demanding the government freeze the operations of PT Indo [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This article was co-produced with The Gecko Project. JAKARTA — Indigenous people in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province are protesting against a company that’s preparing to raze their ancestral forest for a plantation megaproject plagued by allegations of irregularities and wrongdoing. Members of the Auyu tribe are demanding the government freeze the operations of PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL), whose 39,190-hectare (96,840-acre) concession forms one chunk of the larger Tanah Merah project that has been fought over by competing groups of investors over the past decade. If developed in full, the Tanah Merah project would result in the clearance of 280,000 hectares (692,000 acres) of the third-largest stretch of rainforest on the planet, to be replaced with several contiguous oil palm estates run by various companies — some of which are owned by unknown investors hiding behind anonymously held firms in the Middle East. Palm oil, used in everything from snack foods and cosmetics to biofuels, is one of Indonesia’s leading export commodities. But its production is associated with a range of problems, from climate change and wildfires to labor rights abuses and land grabbing. A map of the island of New Guinea, which is split between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and the location of Boven Digoel in it. Besides problems with corporate secrecy, the Tanah Merah project has also highlighted the often chaotic licensing processes underpinning the industry. Some of the permits for the project were signed by a politician who was serving out a prison sentence for corruption.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/papua-tribe-moves-to-block-clearing-of-its-ancestral-forest-for-palm-oil/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-238838</doi>				</item>
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