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Friends of the Earth International condemns the intimidation of environmental leaders in the Magdalena Medio region of Santander, Colombia, who are protesting an open-pit coal mine operated by the French company Colcco S.A. The organization demands the Colombian government ensure the safety of defenders and follow through on the Ministry of Environment's January 25, 2023, announcement to begin revoking the 30-year mining permit.

Friends of the Earth International is calling on the Colombian government to protect environmental defenders in the Magdalena Medio region of Santander who are facing threats and intimidation from groups like the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) while protesting an open-cast coal mine operated by the French company Colcco S.A.

The document argues that energy transitions in Latin America are often reductionist, focusing on decarbonization while continuing to support fossil fuels as economic drivers or transition catalysts. Through case studies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, it highlights a disconnect between international climate commitments and public investment, warning that the current approach risks creating carbon 'lock-in' and prolonging extractivism.

The document reviews the 2022 activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), focusing on its Concluding Observations for the United States, France, and Cameroon. It highlights the Committee's concerns over the disproportionate impacts of climate change and extractive industries on racial and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. Additionally, it discusses the development of General Recommendation No. 37 on the right to health, noting civil society efforts to ensure the climate crisis and environmental racism are integrated into this framework, supported by findings from the IPCC and WHO.

The document highlights the critical but often invisible role of women in the traditional use and defense of forests and biodiversity. It argues that community forest management (CFM) must incorporate gender justice to dismantle patriarchal structures and ensure women's rights to land ownership, decision-making, and the protection of their traditional knowledge. The text asserts that the current development system, characterized by capitalism and patriarchy, exacerbates violence and marginalization for women, particularly through extractive projects like mining and monocultures, which displace them from their territories and erode cultural identity.

The document finds that the world is off track to meet 2030 forest goals and 2025 private sector deforestation targets, driven by global demand for commodities. It highlights a lack of government priority and insufficient REDD+ incentives, limited impact from a small group of leading companies, and a gap between the recognized importance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and the actual funding and legal protections they receive.

The document outlines a transfer pricing framework specifically for the mining sector to prevent base erosion and profit shifting in developing countries. It details the mining value chain, identifies transfer pricing risks at each stage, and advocates for the Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method as the most reliable way to value mineral sales. The guide provides a detailed analysis of economic factors affecting mineral prices—such as physical characteristics, supply-demand dynamics, and contractual terms—and suggests administrative simplifications like taxpayer guidance, safe harbour regimes, and Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) to reduce the burden on resource-constrained tax authorities.

The document addresses the risk of tax revenue loss in the mining sector due to transfer pricing manipulation by multinational enterprises (MNEs). It advocates for the use of the Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method, which compares controlled transactions to market prices (quoted prices). The framework identifies key economic factors influencing mineral prices—including physical characteristics, market dynamics, and contractual terms—and suggests administrative simplifications such as safe harbors, Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs), and taxpayer guidance to reduce the administrative burden on developing nations.

This guide establishes a methodology for valuing bauxite in transactions between related parties, focusing on the 'arm's length principle'. It identifies key economic drivers of bauxite pricing—such as available alumina content and reactive silica impurities—and explains how to use market price indices from agencies like CBIX, Fastmarkets, and CRU to establish fair market values. The document also details necessary comparability adjustments for product quality, transport costs (Incoterms), and economic circumstances to prevent tax revenue loss in developing nations.

The document applies the Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method to bauxite, detailing how physical characteristics, economic circumstances, and contractual terms influence pricing. It identifies key price drivers—specifically available alumina and reactive silica—and provides a methodology for using market indices from agencies like CBIX, Fastmarkets, and CRU to establish arm's length prices, including a practical calculation example for exports from Guinea to China.

The document analyzes the gap between the formal legal recognition of climate justice and its practical application in Africa's mining and petroleum sectors. It highlights systemic failures in enforcement, the limitations of current judicial and administrative sanctions, and the marginalization of local communities. The report advocates for a shift toward 'active' judiciaries, the adoption of specific climate laws, and the strengthening of corporate due diligence to protect vulnerable populations from the environmental and social impacts of extractive activities.

The Forest Declaration Assessment provides a structured monitoring tool for the Congo Basin, utilizing 50 indicators across four themes: forest goals, sustainable production and development, forest finance, and forest governance. The framework evaluates the quality and implementation of policies adopted by public and private stakeholders. Additionally, the document provides a detailed comparative annex of the existing forest laws, coordinating entities, and strategic policies in Cameroon, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo.

The document examines how bilateral tax conventions can lead to significant revenue losses for resource-rich developing countries in the mining sector. It analyzes common pitfalls—such as the use of 'treaty shopping' and narrow definitions of immovable property—and provides specific drafting recommendations. Key strategies include adopting the UN Model over the OECD Model, implementing broader definitions of 'immovable property' in domestic law, and creating specific articles for extractive industries to ensure the right to tax indirect transfers and subcontractors.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of landscape. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to halt deforestation, global rates declined only modestly by 6.3% in 2021 compared to the 2018-20 baseline. The report highlights a critical funding gap, noting that annual mitigation finance for forests is less than 1% of the estimated USD 460 billion needed. It further identifies failures in the private sector to eliminate deforestation from agricultural supply chains by 2025 and notes that 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities remain legally unrecognized.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 targets for stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of ecosystems. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation by 2030, global forest loss still exceeds gains, resulting in a net loss of 100 million hectares. The report highlights critical gaps in sustainable production, where commodity-driven tree cover loss decreased by only 6% in 2021, and in finance, where current annual funding of $2.3 billion is less than 1% of the estimated $460 billion needed. Governance remains a significant hurdle, with at least 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) lacking legal recognition. The document calls for a shift from voluntary corporate actions to mandatory regulations, a 200-fold increase in forest funding, and the strengthening of land tenure rights for IPLCs.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While some regional progress exists, global deforestation rates decreased only modestly in 2021, and financial investments for forest protection remain less than 1% of the required annual amount. The report highlights a critical gap between ambitious government pledges and actual policy implementation, noting that voluntary corporate commitments have failed to significantly alter the trajectory of forest loss. It emphasizes the vital but underfunded role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in forest stewardship and calls for a radical transformation in economic flows, governance, and legal mandates to avoid catastrophic climate and biodiversity loss.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment concludes that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While Tropical Asia is the only region currently on track to halt deforestation, global rates of forest loss and degradation remain too high, and financial investments are less than 1% of the required amount. The report highlights a gap between ambitious national goals and actual implementation, noting that voluntary corporate actions have been insufficient and that indigenous peoples and local communities remain severely underfunded despite their effectiveness as forest guardians.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of halting forest loss and degradation or restoring 350 million hectares of landscape. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation, global primary forest loss decreased by only 3.1% in humid tropics. Financial investment for forests is critically insufficient, with current mitigation funding at US$ 2.3 billion per year—less than 1% of the estimated US$ 460 billion needed annually. Corporate action to eliminate deforestation from agricultural supply chains by 2025 is lagging, and governance remains weak, with at least 50% of lands occupied by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPCs and LCs) lacking legal recognition.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 goals of halting forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of landscape. While Tropical Asia is on track to halt deforestation, other regions like Tropical Latin America and Africa are not. The report highlights a massive funding gap, with current mitigation finance at less than 1% of the estimated USD 460 billion annual need. It also notes that commodity-driven deforestation declined by 6% in 2021 but remains far from the trajectory needed for the 2025 private sector target. Governance remains a critical weakness, with persistent tenure insecurity for Indigenous Peoples and local communities and widespread corruption in the timber trade.

The 2022 Theme 2 Assessment of the Forest Declaration finds that the world is not on track to meet 2030 forest goals or 2025 zero-deforestation targets for agricultural supply chains. While commodity-driven tree cover loss declined by 6% in 2021 compared to 2018-20, rates remain higher than in any year before 2016. The report highlights a significant gap between government 'green growth' agendas and actual investment, noting that trillions of dollars are mobilized for infrastructure like the Belt and Road Initiative while global public investments in forest goals are only USD 2.3 billion per year. In the private sector, only a quarter of major agricultural companies have ambitious policies to eliminate deforestation, and less than 20% of companies disclosing to CDP report near full compliance. The extractives sector shows even lower transparency and a lack of explicit forest-focused policies. Grassroots resistance, led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, has achieved some successes, such as a temporary moratorium on new concessions in Ecuador, but defenders face high rates of violence, with over 200 killed in 2021.