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An open letter from Friends of the Earth member Janet Thew to Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) CEO David Booth, detailing her decision to divest $100,000 from the firm due to its investments in companies linked to deforestation and human rights abuses.

This policy brief describes a social marketing 'Pride' campaign implemented by Pronatura Veracruz and Rare in the Actopan municipality of Veracruz, Mexico. The initiative aimed to increase landowner participation in Mexico's national Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program to protect tropical deciduous forests used as stopover habitats for migratory raptors, such as the peregrine falcon, against threats from urban development, cattle ranching, and sugar cane production.

This policy brief examines the relationship between global food demand, meat production, and the opportunity costs associated with deforestation, specifically questioning whether REDD+ can compete with the profitability of land use for livestock and grain.

The Priority Municipalities (MPs) policy in Brazil significantly reduced deforestation in the Amazon between 2008 and 2011, avoiding the clearing of 11,359 km2 of forest. The reduction was primarily driven by increased monitoring and law enforcement, such as fines, rather than economic measures. The study found that this environmental protection did not negatively impact agricultural GDP or production, suggesting that economic growth and preservation can coexist in the region.

This research paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Brazilian government's 'Priority Municipalities' (MPs) policy, implemented in 2008 to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon. The authors find that blacklisting municipalities significantly reduced deforestation, primarily through intensified monitoring and law enforcement rather than economic sanctions. Crucially, the study concludes that this reduction in deforestation did not negatively impact agricultural production or credit concessions in the affected areas.

This guide, published by Friends of the Earth International in July 2014, warns forest communities against signing contracts related to REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and other forest conservation or environmental compensation projects. It argues that these market-based mechanisms often lead to the loss of land sovereignty, cultural erosion, and the displacement of indigenous peoples by imposing restrictive conditions and long-term legal obligations.

This research paper details a large-scale field study on the impact of selective logging and forest fires on carbon stocks in the Amazon, concluding that forest degradation can result in carbon losses equivalent to 40% of those caused by deforestation.

This technical brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the critical role of firewood as a primary energy source in Kenya, highlighting the challenges of supply-demand imbalances, gender inequality, and knowledge gaps. It advocates for a multi-sectoral integrated approach to ensure sustainable firewood access and utilization.

An open letter from a coalition of social movements, NGOs, and activists to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, urging a revision of the official definition of 'forests' to better reflect the biological diversity and the needs of forest-dependent communities.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) expresses its formal opposition to the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) system, arguing that it commodifies forests, violates the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, and allows industrialized nations to avoid reducing fossil fuel emissions through flawed carbon offsetting mechanisms.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) declares a 'NO REDD' position, opposing all forms of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) schemes, whether market-based or publicly funded. The organization argues that REDD commodifies forests, undermines the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and fails to address the structural causes of climate change by allowing industrialized nations to avoid direct emissions reductions through the use of carbon offsets.

This discussion brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the complexities of governing sustainability in tropical agricultural-forest frontiers, using the Brazilian Amazon as a primary case study. It argues that the high diversity of actors—ranging from subsistence smallholders to large-scale commercial farms—requires tailored, actor-specific policy approaches rather than 'one-size-fits-all' models to effectively reduce deforestation and alleviate poverty.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes the effectiveness of deforestation policies in the Brazilian Amazon between 2004 and 2011. It argues that while command-and-control measures successfully reduced deforestation among large landowners, they are less effective for smallholders and in remote areas, necessitating a shift toward incentive-based and tailored strategies.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates the effectiveness of deforestation policies in the Brazilian Amazon, noting a significant reduction in deforestation from 2004 to 2012 followed by stagnation and a rise in 2013. The authors argue that while command-and-control measures successfully targeted large landowners, new incentive-based strategies are required to address deforestation by smallholders and in remote areas.

This executive summary from the Climate Policy Initiative outlines a 'Production and Protection' (P&P) strategy for Brazil to integrate economic growth in the agricultural sector with the preservation of natural resources. It identifies key barriers to productivity—such as deficient infrastructure, limited credit access for family farmers, and underdeveloped land leasing markets—while emphasizing the need to combat deforestation in private lands and non-Amazonian biomes like the Cerrado.

This 2013 report by the Climate Policy Initiative proposes a 'Production and Protection' (P&P) strategy for Brazil to simultaneously grow its rural economy and protect natural resources. The analysis finds that agricultural productivity can be increased without further deforestation by addressing non-geographical barriers such as poor infrastructure, limited access to credit for small farmers, and underdeveloped land rental markets. While Brazil has succeeded in reducing large-scale Amazon deforestation, the report highlights new challenges, including small-scale forest clearing and the need for better protection of the Cerrado biome through incentive-based policies.

This executive summary outlines a 'Production and Protection' (P&P) framework for Brazil, aiming to balance economic growth in agriculture with the conservation of natural resources. The document identifies opportunities to increase agricultural productivity through improvements in finance, technology, land rental markets, cooperatives, and infrastructure, while simultaneously strengthening environmental protections through better monitoring and market-based incentives.

This research paper describes the activities and lessons learned by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN) in supporting negotiators from developing countries during international climate change negotiations, specifically focusing on the implementation of REDD+.

This research paper examines the tension between the 'green growth' agenda promoted by Mexico and the 'sustainable development' concept advocated by Brazil during the 2012 G-20 summit. It analyzes how Brazil's domestic industrial and energy policies often conflict with green economy goals due to a preference for autonomous industrialization and short-term economic growth, while also assessing Brazil's diplomatic coordination with other BRICS nations on climate issues.

This report by Friends of the Earth International provides a critical analysis of forestry governance in Malaysia and the timber procurement policies of Japan, South Korea, and Australia. It argues that existing 'sustainable' and 'legal' timber frameworks are often rudimentary technical responses that fail to address systemic issues such as corruption, lack of transparency, and the violation of indigenous customary land rights in producer countries. The document highlights a significant gap between official policy and the reality on the ground, noting that importer countries often rely on the 'faith' of producer-country governance rather than independent verification.