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This research paper examines the rapid growth of the plantation industry in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, driven by overseas investment, and analyzes the role of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in managing the environmental and social impacts of this sector.

The Manila Declaration is a statement issued during the International Conference on Extractive Industries and Indigenous Peoples in March 2009. It outlines the systemic impacts of extractive industries on Indigenous territories and calls for a moratorium on new projects until human rights protections are guaranteed.

This report by Friends of the Earth International and the World Rainforest Movement examines how European Union trade policies and corporate consumption drive the establishment of monoculture tree plantations in the Global South, specifically disempowering women. Through case studies in Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil, the document details the loss of land, livelihoods, and cultural identity, while highlighting the gender-specific impacts of these industrial models.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the legal history and environmental impact of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, focusing on the unprecedented authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive all legal requirements to expedite construction.

This report presents a pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of hydropower development in Viet Nam, conducted by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) for the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). The study evaluates the hydropower plans within the context of Power Development Plan (PDP) VI, comparing the base scenario against alternatives where hydropower is replaced by thermal power. The SEA concludes that while hydropower is the least-cost option for meeting energy demands, current mitigation measures for social and environmental impacts are inadequate. It proposes a comprehensive mitigation framework based on international best practices, including the Impoverishment, Risk and Reconstruction (IRR) model for displaced people and community forestry for the zones of influence. The report recommends the full institutionalization of SEA into the PDP VII process to internalize external costs and ensure sustainable development.

This 2009 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) provides a Rapid Trade and Environment Assessment (RTEA) for Ecuador. It analyzes the intersection of international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and environmental sustainability, focusing on five key sectors: flowers, shrimp, timber, tourism, and mining. The document highlights a systemic tension where economic growth driven by raw material exports often occurs at the expense of critical ecosystems, such as mangroves and native forests, and notes a lack of coordinated state policy to integrate environmental costs into productive models.

This report documents a validation workshop held on October 21, 2008, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, regarding the status of environmental crime in the country. The workshop was part of the Environmental Crime Project (ECP), implemented by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in partnership with the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO). The document outlines the current environmental legal framework, identifies critical gaps in existing research, details specific types of environmental crimes affecting Tanzania, and provides recommendations for improving enforcement and inter-agency coordination.

This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented agrofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social and environmental inequities, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, rather than serving as a viable climate solution.

A speech delivered by Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Internal Affairs, at the launch of the EAPCCO-ISS Environmental Crime Project in Entebbe on July 30-31, 2008. The address outlines the scale of environmental crime in East Africa and the objectives of a new regional partnership to strengthen law enforcement capacity.

This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented biofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social inequality, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, while failing to alleviate rural poverty.

This 2008 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes global forest product commodity chains with China as the central manufacturing hub. It examines how China imports primary raw materials from developing nations—specifically focusing on case studies in Mozambique and Russia—and exports finished wood products to developed Western markets. The report identifies a systemic failure in sustainability where capital from timber sales often fails to return to forest regeneration, leading to asset-stripping and illegal logging, exacerbated by poor governance in supplier countries and irresponsible corporate behavior. It provides a series of policy recommendations for the Chinese government to transition toward sustainable procurement, capacity-building in supplier nations, and international leadership in carbon accounting and legality verification.

Friends of the Earth International issued a statement rejecting the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), arguing that its certification process provides a "façade of sustainability" for agribusinesses and energy companies while failing to address the systemic social and environmental damage caused by industrial-scale soy monocultures.

The International Federation of Friends of the Earth rejects the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), arguing that its certification process provides a 'greenwash' for multinational corporations and agribusinesses while ignoring the systemic social and environmental damage caused by industrial soy monocultures.

Losing Ground is a 2008 report by Friends of the Earth, LifeMosaic, and Sawit Watch detailing the human rights violations associated with the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. The report argues that the industry's growth, driven in part by European biofuel targets, leads to widespread land dispossession, environmental degradation, and the erosion of indigenous cultures.

This report examines the environmental impacts of trade liberalization in the wood and wood products sector of Lao PDR, highlighting the tension between high regional demand and the challenges of low-value exports, illegal logging, and inefficient processing infrastructure.

This report analyzes the global forest product commodity chain with China as the central processing hub, importing raw materials from developing nations and exporting finished goods to Western consumers. It identifies systemic sustainability challenges, including illegal logging and poor forest governance in supplier countries like Mozambique and Russia, and suggests policy reforms for the Chinese government to ensure long-term timber security and improve its global reputation.

This document consists of a series of annexes supporting a request for urgent precautionary measures to suspend hydrocarbon exploration in the territories of the Cacataibo indigenous people. It provides extensive ethnographic evidence, including over 100 testimonies from 2002 to 2006, to prove the existence of Cacataibo groups living in voluntary isolation. The report details the physical characteristics, diet, and housing of these isolated groups, their historical conflicts with other ethnic groups and rubber tappers, and the environmental and health risks posed by seismic exploration in 'Lote 107'. It also outlines the legal status of Cacataibo communal lands and the chronological process of requesting territorial reserves for the isolated populations.

This document is a request for urgent precautionary measures submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and other organizations. It seeks the immediate suspension of hydrocarbon exploration activities in the traditional territories of the isolated Cacataibo indigenous people in Peru, arguing that seismic exploration poses an imminent threat of forced contact, disease, and death.

This research paper, published in December 2007 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), provides a Rapid Technology Environmental Assessment (RTEA) of biodiesel in Laos. It examines the technical potential of various feedstocks, the environmental impacts of biodiesel production, and the existing legal and policy framework governing renewable energy in the country.

This research paper examines the environmental impacts of trade liberalization on the wood and wood products sector in the Lao PDR. It analyzes how regional demand, particularly from China, and integration into trade agreements like ASEAN and AFTA influence forest decline, biodiversity loss, and the transition from low-value raw log exports to high-value processed wood products.