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The report argues that community forest management (CFM) and agroecology are complementary systems based on shared principles of territorial control, traditional knowledge, and gender autonomy. It contends that these community-led approaches are more effective at preserving biodiversity and ensuring food security than top-down 'green economy' solutions, such as REDD+ or industrial monoculture plantations. The document specifically critiques the FAO's definition of forests for excluding social and cultural dimensions, which it argues facilitates deforestation and the displacement of local populations. It advocates for the recognition of collective land rights and the promotion of local markets to support sustainable, non-anthropocentric relationships with nature.

The document argues for a UN binding treaty that removes the legal immunity of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and establishes criminal and civil liability for transnational corporations (TNCs). It highlights environmental disasters in the Philippines and Indonesia, such as the Marcopper mining spill and large-scale peatland fires, to illustrate the failure of current voluntary safeguards. The report specifically calls for the protection of environmental and human rights defenders, noting the gender-specific violence faced by women defenders.

The report advocates for a binding UN treaty to hold transnational corporations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) accountable for human rights and environmental abuses. It highlights the problematic immunity of IFIs, the environmental destruction caused by palm oil and paper plantations in Indonesia, and the systemic violence faced by environmental defenders, particularly women. The authors argue that current voluntary guidelines are insufficient and that legal liability must extend across entire supply chains.

The report details various cases in Latin America where transnational corporations in mining, energy, agribusiness, and tobacco have violated human rights and caused environmental destruction. It highlights the 'architecture of impunity' created by bilateral investment treaties and the ICSID arbitration system, which allow companies to sue states over public interest policies. The document advocates for a binding international treaty and an independent international tribunal to ensure corporate accountability and the supremacy of human rights over commercial interests.

The report details cases of corporate abuse in Latin America, including mining disasters in Brazil, the assassination of environmental defenders in Mexico and Honduras, and legal battles over public health and water in Uruguay and Argentina. It argues that current international investment frameworks, such as the ICSID, protect corporate profits over human rights and national sovereignty. The authors call for a binding UN treaty to end corporate impunity and the establishment of an international tribunal to hold transnational companies accountable for environmental and social crimes.

The report finds that total 'green finance' for forest emissions reduction (roughly USD 20 billion since 2010) is insufficient and vastly outweighed by 'grey finance'—investments and subsidies that potentially drive deforestation—which totals USD 777 billion. While there is growth in impact investment and results-based REDD+ payments, the report argues that a dramatic shift away from traditional investments in deforestation drivers is required to achieve zero deforestation.

The report details a conflict analysis conducted in the Maiko-Tayna-Kahuzi-Biega (MTKB) landscape of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It identifies specific conflicts in Maiko National Park, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, and the Itombwe Nature Reserve, analyzing their root causes and effects to propose targeted interventions. The document emphasizes the use of conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) tools—such as conflict trees and stakeholder mapping—to balance biodiversity protection with the needs of local populations and the realities of regional instability.

The briefing by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and NAPC/PUC-Rio challenges an Imaflora study's estimate that the new Forest Code 'amnesticized' 41 million hectares of Legal Reserve and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP). CPI argues that because certain provisions in Articles 13 and 15 of the new code repeated rules from the previous 1965 Forest Code, the actual amnesty is likely no more than 29 million hectares, with small producers (properties under 4 fiscal modules) being the primary beneficiaries via Article 67.

In Riau, Indonesia, women from villages such as Sungai Berbari and Pungkat are utilizing the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform and training from the Women Research Institute to combat the negative impacts of large-scale agricultural operations. These operations have caused water pollution, respiratory diseases due to dust and peatland burning, and limited access to healthcare. By overlaying village maps with GFW datasets on tree cover loss and fire alerts, women have gained the evidence needed to link company activities to local environmental issues. This data-driven approach, combined with public speaking and policy training, has enabled them to pressure the government for haze emergency supplies and convince companies to fund reproductive healthcare. Future initiatives include developing a community-based early warning system for forest fires using GFW Fires to improve response times and corporate accountability.

The document identifies five key risks in Ghana's forest conversion laws, including legal uncertainty regarding mining in reserves, the criminalization of smallholders due to complex licensing, and a lack of coordinated land-use planning. It argues that these gaps facilitate illegal deforestation and community rights violations. To address this, ClientEarth recommends clarifying the legal status of forest reserves, implementing the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016, simplifying smallholder registration, and increasing the resources and transparency of enforcement agencies like the Forestry Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Climate Smart Cattle Ranching (CSCR) initiative proposes a 'New Company' to address barriers to sustainable beef production in Brazil, specifically targeting mid-sized ranchers in the Amazon who lack formal land titles. The model uses a blended finance approach—initially through a Participations Investment Fund (FIP) involving grants, concessional debt, and impact equity—to co-invest in pasture restoration and the adoption of Embrapa’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). By providing long-term capital (up to 10 years) and continuous technical assistance, the instrument aims to increase productivity from 0.5-0.7 to up to 4 Animal Units per hectare, potentially reducing emissions intensity by 90-95% per kg of beef. The strategy includes a phase-out of concessional capital in favor of commercial investment via a Credits’ Rights Investment Fund (FIDC) once a track record of receivables from deforestation-free beef off-take agreements is established.

The document examines 'jurisdictional approaches' to deforestation, which align governments, businesses, and NGOs around shared conservation and sustainable development goals. Based on a workshop of practitioners from five initiatives, it identifies key success factors including political leadership, participatory design, and sustainable financing. It highlights the challenge of aligning short-term corporate and government expectations with the long-term systemic change required for landscape-scale forest loss reduction.

The report examines jurisdictional approaches to deforestation, emphasizing the necessity of political leadership, participatory design, and diverse financing. Through case studies in Brazil, Liberia, Ghana, and Colombia, it argues that while these models are nascent and complex, they offer a systemic way to align market forces and government policy to achieve landscape-scale conservation.

Mighty Earth's investigation in Côte d’Ivoire reveals that cocoa production is the primary driver of illegal deforestation in protected areas, such as Scio, Goin Debe, and Mount Peko National Park. The report describes a system where farmers encroach on parks, kill ancient trees to open the canopy, and collaborate with predatory loggers to harvest remaining hardwoods. This process has led to the loss of over 80% of the country's forests between 1960 and 2010 and the eradication of primate populations in 13 of 23 surveyed protected areas. Despite commitments from 34 major chocolate companies and the Ivorian government to end deforestation, the report finds that illegal cultivation continues in broad daylight, supported by an 'open secret' of government inaction and the presence of illegal settlements numbering around 30,000 people in parks like Marahoué and Mont Péko.

Mighty Earth and Olam International conducted a series of meetings and site visits in Gabon to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of large-scale plantation agriculture. While acknowledging Olam's job creation and conservation efforts, the visit highlighted ongoing tensions regarding biodiversity, climate impacts, and local community access to essential services and water.

EcoPost, founded by Lorna Rutto in 2009, converts discarded plastic from Nairobi's streets into durable building materials, reducing the demand for timber and mitigating deforestation. The company employs approximately 250 plant workers and 2,000 casual collectors, providing health benefits and salaries above the national average.

The report by Cerulogy critiques an ICF International assessment that claimed corn ethanol's GHG intensity in 2014 was 30% lower than the U.S. EPA's 2022 projections. Cerulogy identifies systemic errors, including the use of preliminary rather than final EPA data, the double-counting of co-product credits, and an over-reliance on a single non-peer-reviewed study (Babcock and Iqbal, 2014) to justify lower international land use change emissions. The review concludes that the ICF report's results are 'meaningless' or 'inaccurate' in several key areas, including rice methane and nitrogen emissions, and recommends that the ICF's revised lifecycle intensity be disregarded.

The document reflects on seven years of CDKN's work to integrate climate action with poverty reduction, highlighting its influence on policies in 33 countries and its support for the Paris Agreement. It identifies critical gaps in current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the need for diversified climate finance beyond the Green Climate Fund, and the slow pace of sustainable transport and smart city adoption in developing nations compared to the rapid energy transition to renewables.

A group of environmental scientists warns that proposed EU forest accounting rules, which would allow policy-driven increases in harvesting to be included in the baseline, could hide up to 400 MtCO2/yr of emissions. They argue that any reduction in the forest sink is effectively a net increase in emissions and that failing to account for this would undermine the credibility of EU bioenergy accounting, contradict the Paris Agreement, and compromise the EU's alignment with IPCC 2°C trajectories.

A group of environmental scientists warns that proposed EU forest accounting rules, which would allow increased harvesting to be included in the baseline, could hide up to 400 MtCO2/yr of emissions. They argue this approach undermines the credibility of bioenergy accounting, contradicts the Paris Agreement, and risks failure to meet the IPCC 2°C trajectory. The authors advocate for a robust baseline based on historical data and forest dynamics to ensure transparency and climate credibility.