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The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires that commodities and products be produced in accordance with the local laws of the country of production. This briefing argues that the 'legality requirement' must be interpreted broadly, encompassing all laws—including customary and human rights laws—that affect the legal status of the area of production and its surrounding environment. It emphasizes that due diligence cannot rely solely on official government records, especially in jurisdictions with high corruption or weak law enforcement, and must instead incorporate verification from local experts and civil society stakeholders.

ClientEarth argues that EU State aid policy currently lacks environmental mainstreaming, allowing for the approval of aid that supports environmentally harmful activities, such as fossil fuels. The briefing asserts that there are no fundamental legal obstacles to integrating environmental requirements and proposes three main pillars: systemic verification of compliance with EU environmental law, horizontal application of the "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) principle, and the inclusion of environmental risks when assessing the negative effects of aid on competition and trade.

The document analyzes the EUDR's legality requirement, arguing that it encompasses all laws affecting the legal status of production areas, including human rights and customary laws. It highlights systemic risks such as land grabbing, corruption, and weak enforcement in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia, and recommends that EU companies move beyond official records to consult local experts and stakeholders to verify compliance.

The report explores how traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the iTaukei people in Fiji serves as a cost-effective tool for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. It details specific TEK applications, such as traditional building techniques, food preservation, and natural early warning systems based on animal and plant behavior. The document also discusses the importance of traditional governance and spirituality in resilience and outlines current government efforts to revitalize and preserve this knowledge.

The document examines the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics, focusing on the institutional, business, and technological environments of specific bioresources in Thailand, Kenya, and Colombia. It highlights a systemic gap where public policies prioritize economic growth and productivity over environmental and social sustainability, particularly for smallholder farmers. While Thailand leads in high-value bioproducts like bioplastics from cassava, it faces challenges with soil degradation and labor shortages. In contrast, Kenya and Colombia primarily use cassava for food security, with nascent industrial sectors. The paper also explores non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as croton in Kenya and açaí in Colombia, noting that while they offer high value and conservation potential, they are hindered by complex regulatory permits and a lack of scaled investment. The authors recommend shifting from monocultures to sustainable production systems, strengthening smallholder cooperatives, and streamlining biodiversity regulations to ensure an inclusive and ecologically sound bioeconomy.

The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) proposes a unified framework for a circular bioeconomy, arguing that bioeconomy and circular economy strategies are often treated separately in policy, such as by the European Commission. The vision emphasizes four key integration concepts: Cascading Use, Biobased Carbon, Industrial Ecology, and Responsible Biomass Sourcing. The document highlights the need for a universal framework of principles and indicators to overcome the complexity of varying national definitions. It warns against 'sustainability tunnel vision' and calls for a use hierarchy that prioritizes long-term material uses over energy recovery. Recommendations are provided for policymakers, businesses, NGOs, and financial institutions to align their efforts, with a specific goal of conserving 30% of lands, inland waters, and oceans worldwide and reducing primary biomass use for energy by 50% by 2030.

The Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group (CBSWCG) in Belize's Belize River Valley implements nature-based solutions to combat climate-driven threats such as drought, wildfires, and flooding. Supported by the Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative, the group focuses on reforestation, agroforestry, and riparian restoration to protect biodiversity and improve local livelihoods. Their efforts have contributed to a significant increase in the local howler monkey population and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices to replace traditional slash-and-burn farming.

The assessment finds that while Bhutan has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental protection, its mining legal framework is fragmented and outdated. Key strengths include the integration of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and strict forest conservation. However, significant gaps exist in community consultation, fiscal transparency, and the adequacy of mine restoration financial assurances. The report recommends updating the Mines and Minerals Management Act 1995, improving geological data generation, and streamlining the permitting process.

The report provides a comprehensive climate risk profile for Fiji, detailing observed and projected climatic changes, specific hazards such as tropical cyclones and sea-level rise, and their impacts on target communities and ecosystems. It emphasizes the disproportionate vulnerability of women and marginalized groups and recommends specific nature-based solutions (NbS) and gender-responsive measures to enhance climate resilience across six districts: Kubulau, Dawasamu, Nakorotubu, Namalata, Bua, and Bureta.

The document analyzes the scope of 'relevant legislation' under the EUDR, arguing for a broad, teleological interpretation that includes any law with a significant link to halting deforestation, regardless of whether it regulates formal land interests or is limited strictly to the production phase.

The document serves as a practical toolkit for Mozambican communities to safeguard traditional knowledge through legal mechanisms like Geographic Indicators (GIs) and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regulations. It details the process of forming producer associations for GI registration, negotiating Prior Informed Consent (PIC) for research, and developing Community Protocols to govern interactions with outsiders. The guide emphasizes the role of knowledge holders in maintaining secrecy and the importance of tiered cost-sharing models to make legal protections accessible to vulnerable community members.

The document highlights the critical role of Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia as environmental stewards, noting that their lands overlap with 40% of global protected areas and that deforestation rates on their lands in Southeast Asia are half those on other lands. It criticizes the ASEAN declaration on environmental rights for omitting Indigenous Peoples, arguing that this lack of recognition leads to 'development aggression,' criminalization of land defenders, and the erosion of traditional knowledge. The brief specifically notes the vulnerability of Indigenous women and the overlooked contributions of marine-based 'Sea Nomads.' It concludes by recommending that ASEAN and its Member States formally adopt the terminology and protections of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to improve biodiversity and climate outcomes.

The text emphasizes that because humans extract ecological goods and services without fully realizing their value, formal evaluation is essential for developing conservation policies. It notes that the value of these services is not reflected in market prices, making their estimation critical for assessing the relative vulnerability of various biomes, ecoregions, and ecosystems to current or potential land-use changes.

The research analyzes the conflict between groundwater extraction in the Río Cuchujaqui watershed and the conservation goals of the Sierra de Álamos protected area, concluding that institutional mandate conflicts have blocked the creation of a conservation-focused water management program.

The study identifies a nonlinear efficiency frontier in the Argentine Dry Chaco where transitioning from low- to intermediate-intensity land-use systems allows for significant production gains with minimal conservation losses. A 'land sharing with conservation' scenario (70% intermediate-intensity systems and 30% undisturbed forests) was found to optimize both avian habitat and agricultural productivity. The research categorizes landholders into preproductivist, multifunctional, and productivist groups, noting that while preproductivists may endogenously transition to multifunctional regimes to increase productivity by 35-65% without harming avian habitat, productivists require exogenous incentives to adopt similar regimes that could increase conservation outcomes by 30-50% without significant productivity loss.

The research modeled land surface temperature (LST) time series from July 2013 to July 2016 using Landsat-8 data and a radiative transfer equation algorithm. The study found that LST in the dry season was 1520 K higher than in the wet season, with early successional stages being significantly warmer than intermediate and late stages during the dry season. While leaf phenology and canopy architecture explain most variations, precipitation was identified as the ultimate determinant of LST variations through biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes.

The study analyzed 60 market-based economic instruments for nature conservation (MBEINC) in Latin America, finding that only 43% met environmental objectives and 17% were socially equitable. The research found no statistically significant relationship between environmental effectiveness and social equity, nor any correlation between project success and the surveyed economic, political, or institutional characteristics, suggesting there is insufficient evidence to support MBEINC as a consistently effective or equitable tool for biodiversity conservation in the region.

The study found that herbivorous insects in a Brazilian tropical dry forest exhibit higher diversity during the dry season, with evergreen trees supporting greater richness and abundance than deciduous trees. Additionally, insects showed increased nocturnal activity during the dry season to avoid harsh daytime conditions, suggesting that evergreen species are critical for insect conservation in these ecosystems.

Earthjustice welcomes the lack of bids for oil-and-gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, citing the area's ecological value and sacred status to the Gwich’in people, while pledging continued legal opposition to future leasing attempts.

The KaF-Adapt project, funded by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), aims to reduce community vulnerability to water scarcity and promote resilient livelihoods in the Kafue Flats of Zambia. Classified as a Category B (medium-risk) project, it implements a comprehensive safeguards framework to manage risks such as resource access restrictions, habitat degradation, and social exclusion. The framework mandates site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) and Livelihood Restoration Plans (LRPs) for high-risk activities, supported by a dedicated Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and a joint Project Management Unit (PMU) shared with the sister project, KaF-Wild.