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The document argues that corruption in the forest sector leads to significant environmental degradation and financial loss, costing governments approximately US$29 billion annually. It recommends that companies implement robust anti-corruption compliance programs and engage in collective action initiatives to mitigate these risks. The brief highlights the role of international laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act in incentivizing corporate integrity, while noting that transparency alone is insufficient without strong monitoring and civil society oversight.

Colombia has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 51% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. While the government has developed a robust legal framework for climate mitigation and adaptation, the report finds a critical gap in Just Transition planning. Massive layoffs are already occurring in the thermal coal sector due to falling international prices and the shift toward renewables, yet the government has not implemented specific policy responses to support affected workers. Similarly, conservation efforts in the AFOLU sector, particularly the expansion of protected areas and páramo ecosystems, threaten the livelihoods of informal rural workers and ethnic communities. The report concludes that Colombia's Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system lacks the capacity to track social welfare and employment impacts, and recommends urgent, regionally differentiated strategies for economic diversification and worker retraining.

The report identifies 24 deforestation fronts across Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, where over 43 million hectares of forest were lost between 2004 and 2017. It argues that while commercial agriculture remains the dominant direct driver, indirect pressures such as population growth, dietary shifts toward meat, and weak governance amplify forest loss. The analysis evaluates a range of responses, from area-based protections and indigenous land rights to commodity-specific certifications and REDD+ frameworks, concluding that no single approach is sufficient and that integrated, context-specific solutions are required to halt deforestation.

The proposed programme aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31.6 million tCO2eq and increase the resilience of 3.8 million people in the Amazon basin. It focuses on four components: strengthening monitoring and early warning systems, expanding sustainable land use and finance, empowering indigenous peoples and local communities for climate adaptation, and fostering regional cooperation among the five participating countries. The programme seeks USD 100 million in GCF grants to scale up successful national strategies and mobilize private sector investment through mechanisms like the Green Business Facility.

The document argues that Japan's large-scale biomass power generation, supported by the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, is not carbon neutral and causes deforestation and biodiversity loss in exporting regions like North America. It calls for a shift toward small-scale, local biomass systems and the exclusion of projects causing forest degradation from the FIT program.

ClientEarth argues that while the EUTR and FLEGT Regulation have improved transparency in timber supply chains, significant gaps in enforcement, funding, and scope persist. The organization highlights a critical lack of staff and financial resources in EU Member States, uneven implementation that disrupts the market, and a low volume of compliance checks relative to the number of operators. It recommends expanding the EUTR's product scope, introducing stricter responsibilities for traders, and harmonizing penalties to ensure they are 'effective, proportionate and dissuasive'. Regarding FLEGT, ClientEarth notes its success in driving systemic law reform and civil society participation in producer countries but warns that the EU's reduced market weight and the technical complexity of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) may hinder progress. Finally, it calls for new mandatory due diligence legislation to address forest conversion driven by commodities like soy, cocoa, palm oil, and beef.

The report evaluates the operationalization of REDD+ and the inclusion of forest-related mitigation targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. While the overarching goal of including forests in a global climate agreement is considered met, the report identifies significant barriers to REDD+ implementation, including insufficient finance and a lack of quantifiable targets in many NDCs. Recent updates to NDCs show some improvement in the quality and scale of forest targets in specific countries.

The report finds that progress toward reducing deforestation from infrastructure, extractive industries, and basic-needs activities is slow. While some governments and companies have adopted policies and commitments, implementation is often weak, transparency is limited, and large-scale development projects continue to threaten intact forests. The report emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift toward alternative development pathways and the empowerment of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

The report assesses gender inequalities in Georgia, specifically within the forestry and energy sectors, to inform a Green Climate Fund project. It identifies significant disparities in decision-making, asset ownership, and labor, noting that while men dominate forest management and commercial wood extraction, women are the primary managers of household fuel consumption and are more vulnerable to poverty and time poverty. The document proposes targeted interventions, including strengthening gender competencies in partner institutions, ensuring women's participation in sustainable forest management plans, and improving access to financing for energy-efficient stoves for women-led households.

The High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) has clarified its methodology for the cocoa industry to help Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) signatories implement 'no deforestation' commitments. The HCSA distinguishes tropical forests for conservation from degraded lands, explicitly stating that expanding cocoa plantations or agroforestry into identified HCS forests constitutes deforestation or degradation and is prohibited. To catalyze adoption, HCSA assessments are being trialed in Ghana and Peru, with goals to scale up indicative HCS-HCV mapping and adapt simplified toolkits for smallholder farmers.

The proposal seeks USD 800,000 over 24 months to enable Panama to access GCF climate finance for the forestry sector. It focuses on completing the four pillars of the Warsaw Framework for REDD+, updating Forest Reference Emission Levels (FREL), and finalizing the National REDD+ Strategy. Key activities include establishing a coordination mechanism for Measuring, Reporting, and Verifying (MRV) systems, developing a summary of safeguards, and creating two project concept notes for GCF funding. The project will be implemented by the FAO under the leadership of Panama's Ministry of Environment.

The strategy provides a roadmap for the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone to bridge information gaps regarding climate change vulnerability. It identifies primary audiences such as political leadership and ministries, and secondary audiences including media and CSOs. The plan emphasizes a narrative of collective action and urgency, utilizing radio, mobile phones, and social media to disseminate sector-specific messages across agriculture, fisheries, health, and energy.

The document is a formal report detailing the environmental and social safeguards for a forest sector reform project in Georgia. It confirms the project's classification as Category B and lists the disclosure dates and locations for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Gender Assessment (GA), and Gender Action Plan (GAP).

The interim evaluation of the PROAmazonía project in Ecuador shows a mixed progress record as of December 2019. While the project is highly aligned with national policies and has made significant strides in land-use planning (Component 1) and REDD+ operational instruments (Component 4), it has struggled with the implementation of financial incentives and sustainable production transitions (Component 2). Budget execution stands at 31% (US$ 12,939,253 of US$ 41,172,739), hampered by high staff turnover and bureaucratic delays in ministerial approvals. Sustainability is rated as moderately likely, threatened by Ecuador's fiscal adjustment plan and political instability, though the project has successfully integrated gender strategies and established critical territorial coordination platforms.

The report identifies 24 'deforestation fronts' across Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania where over 43 million hectares of forest were lost between 2004 and 2017. It argues that while commercial agriculture, tree plantations, and extractive activities are primary drivers, responses must be tailored to local contexts and integrated across area-based and sector-specific approaches to be effective.

The document introduces a review of REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation), noting that over 50 countries have initiated strategies, subnational governments have tested jurisdictional programs, and more than 350 projects have been implemented globally to provide results-based incentives for reducing tropical deforestation.

The document argues that forest sector solutions—including conservation, restoration, and improved management—are cost-effective tools for large-scale GHG emission reductions and carbon removal. It identifies a significant gap in current NDCs, where forest-specific quantitative targets are rare and carbon-rich ecosystems like mangroves and peatlands are underrepresented. The authors propose a six-step process for NDC enhancement: establishing institutional arrangements, taking stock of progress, reviewing long-term benchmarks, identifying policy measures, assessing costs and benefits, and determining specific NDC reflections. Key recommendations include aligning financial flows away from deforestation drivers, implementing REDD+, and leveraging satellite monitoring technologies.

The document assesses the integration of the UNFCCC's Cancun safeguards into the national legal frameworks of Ghana, Liberia, and the Republic of Congo. It finds that while broad principles of participation and transparency exist in constitutions and forestry laws, they often lack practical procedural detail or consistent implementation. The briefing highlights a gap between high-level policy goals and the legal reality for local communities and indigenous peoples (LCIPs), particularly regarding land tenure and equitable benefit sharing. It suggests that REDD+ can act as a catalyst for legal reform, leveraging existing mechanisms like Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and the EU's FLEGT-VPA initiative to strengthen forest governance.

The report finds that the world is not on track to meet the Goal 1 target of halving natural forest loss by 2020. Between 2014 and 2018, average annual global gross tree cover loss increased by 43 percent compared to a 2001-13 baseline. Carbon emissions from tropical tree cover loss also rose, averaging 57 percent higher than before the declaration. While Indonesia saw a significant decline in primary forest loss in 2018, tropical Africa experienced the highest percent increase in loss. The report highlights that primary forests are particularly critical due to their carbon storage and the fact that they cannot be restored within the NYDF timeframe.

The report examines the drivers of basic-needs deforestation, such as subsistence farming and woodfuel collection, and evaluates interventions like formalization, clean cooking technology, and REDD+ funding. It highlights the difficulty of measuring progress due to data gaps and emphasizes that successful interventions require social safeguards and good governance to protect livelihoods while reducing forest loss.