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Friends of the Earth US evaluates the Biden-Harris administration's 6-point framework to reduce US imports of deforestation-linked commodities. The analysis highlights the role of seven forest risk commodities—palm oil, beef, soy, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and corn—and argues that the US must adopt a holistic approach to combat illegal deforestation, which is often linked to human rights abuses and land grabbing. The organization recommends the creation of a public, transparent federal due diligence procedure independent of third-party certification, the use of Earth-observation data, and coordination with the European Union's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). It also advocates for the passage of the federal FOREST Act and contributions to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

The document examines how collusive corruption—agreements between public officials and private individuals to defraud resources—undermines community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Using a hypothetical scenario based on timber auction fraud in Nepal, it illustrates how contractors, sawmill owners, local politicians, and forest agents coordinate to bypass regulations. To counter this, the guide proposes behavioral science interventions: addressing 'present bias' by monetizing future losses, increasing the prominence of illegal logging's negative impacts, challenging the perception of informal payments as 'reciprocity', and rewarding integrity among youth and officials. It advocates for a holistic approach that combines individual and institutional prevention and persuasion strategies to foster collective ownership of sustainable forest practices.

The document examines how collusive corruption—where officials and private individuals collaborate to violate rules—undermines community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Using a hypothetical scenario based on timber auction rigging in Nepal, it illustrates how sawmill owners, contractors, local politicians, and forest officials form networks of mutual support and reciprocity to defraud communities. To counter this, the guide proposes behavioral science interventions: addressing 'present bias' by monetizing long-term losses, using 'salience bias' to make illegal logging impacts more emotionally resonant, and challenging the perception that informal payments are not corruption. It recommends cultivating 'champions' among youth and integrity-driven community members, providing incentives for honest law enforcement, and transitioning brokers into certified service providers. The guide concludes with a framework for prevention and persuasion at both individual and institutional levels.

The TNRC project provided a comprehensive framework for integrating anti-corruption measures into conservation, producing over 170 knowledge resources and training 1,200+ NGO staff. It emphasizes a three-step approach: learning basics, conducting corruption-aware situation analysis, and adapting programming through six thematic pillars. Key achievements include the creation of the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum and the institutionalization of anti-corruption strategies within WWF and TRAFFIC.

The Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project, implemented from 2018 to 2024 by WWF and a consortium of partners, focused on mitigating the impact of corruption on biodiversity, fisheries, and forests. With a $10 million knowledge project and $20 million in country-based investments, the initiative developed over 150 resources via a Knowledge Hub and trained more than 1,200 NGO staff. The project field-tested anti-corruption interventions in six countries and co-founded the Countering Environmental Practitioners Forum, which now includes over 600 global members.

A briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) arguing against lifting the CITES trade suspension for Pterocarpus erinaceus (rosewood) in West and Central Africa, citing ongoing illegal trafficking and the risk of setting a dangerous precedent through 'special authorizations' and inadequate Non-Detriment Findings.

The report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the status of Pterocarpus erinaceus (rosewood) trade in West Africa following a March 2022 CITES trade suspension. While international trafficking has slowed, the authors find that illegal logging persists in countries like Mali, Ghana, the Gambia, and Nigeria, often facilitated by corrupt officials. The report specifically criticizes Sierra Leone's request to export 160,000 cubic meters of stockpiled timber without a sustainable export quota and Mali's approved Non-Detriment Finding (NDF), which the authors claim is based on outdated or biased data and ignores critical environmental pressures. The document concludes that lifting the suspension for any country would undermine regional conservation efforts and risk a return to unsustainable 'boom and bust' logging cycles.

The report examines Australia's exposure to illegally harvested timber, focusing on high-risk supply chains from East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It highlights the role of China and Vietnam as processing hubs that obscure the origin of timber from high-risk regions like the Congo Basin. The authors argue that current enforcement of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act (ILPA) is limited and recommend increased transparency, scientific species testing, and a shift toward tracing timber back to the country of harvest rather than the country of export.

The document analyzes how corruption facilitates environmental damage by bypassing laws and influencing resource management. Through case studies in Madagascar, Peru, and Vietnam, it finds that anti-corruption efforts often fail when they are treated as secondary project goals, rely on purely technical solutions, or ignore the complex political dynamics and power imbalances inherent in resource governance. The report recommends strengthening risk analysis, improving donor coordination, supporting civil society and indigenous defenders, and enhancing transnational data availability to combat environmental corruption.

The document analyzes corruption in renewable resource management through case studies in Madagascar, Peru, and Vietnam, arguing that technical solutions often fail because they ignore the political ecology and power dynamics of resource control. It recommends strengthening risk analysis, improving donor coordination, supporting human rights defenders, and enhancing transnational law enforcement data.

The report analyzes the impact of corruption on renewable resource management through case studies in Madagascar, Peru, and Vietnam. It argues that anti-corruption efforts often fail because they are treated as secondary, technical goals rather than central political challenges. The document highlights how corruption facilitates environmental damage by bypassing laws and enabling illegal resource extraction. Key findings suggest that community-based management and technical solutions like e-payments are insufficient without addressing structural power dynamics, land insecurity, and the global nature of resource supply chains. The report concludes with five recommendations for conservation practitioners and donors, emphasizing risk management, donor coordination, support for civil society, protection of indigenous defenders, and the creation of global data systems for transnational law enforcement.

The document outlines the benefits, scoping, and implementation of corruption-oriented situation analyses within conservation projects. It emphasizes the importance of understanding local power dynamics, social norms, and legal vulnerabilities to design effective interventions. The guide provides a framework for stakeholder identification, data collection, and the formulation of recommendations, while highlighting critical considerations such as security, confidentiality, and gender perspectives. Three case studies from Latin America, Asia, and Europe illustrate the application of these analyses in fisheries, community forestry, and land-use planning, demonstrating how such studies can shift organizational mindsets toward a more systematic approach to anti-corruption work.

The document outlines a methodology for conservation practitioners to analyze how corruption impacts natural resource management. It details the benefits of such analyses—including improved understanding of power dynamics and local perceptions of corruption—and provides a step-by-step approach to defining scope, identifying stakeholders, and collecting sensitive data. The guide emphasizes a non-conflictual approach with governments and the importance of security and confidentiality. It includes three case studies: one in Latin America focusing on fishing permits, one in Asia on community forestry governance, and one in Europe on land-use planning, demonstrating how these analyses lead to systematic anti-corruption integration in conservation programming.

The document outlines a framework for conducting corruption-oriented situation analyses in conservation, emphasizing the benefits of understanding local power dynamics and perceptions of corruption. It provides guidance on defining scope, identifying stakeholders, and managing safety and confidentiality. Through three case studies in Latin America, Asia, and Europe, it demonstrates various methodologies—including vulnerability mapping, governance scoring, and legal framework analysis—to identify corruption risks in fisheries, community forestry, and spatial planning.

The 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that while global protected area coverage is increasing, significant gaps remain in the legal recognition of Indigenous and local community lands, with 1.375 billion hectares still unrecognized. The report highlights a sharp contrast in Brazil, where political leadership under President Lula da Silva led to a 42% drop in Amazon deforestation in early 2022, while other regions face high risks of illegal logging due to corruption. It notes the emergence of demand-side measures like the EU's Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) and a global rise in climate litigation to protect forests. However, environmental defenders remain the most targeted human rights defenders, with 194 killings recorded in 2022.

The 2023 Forest Pathways Report by WWF International highlights that the world is off track to meet 2030 goals to halt deforestation, with a 21% divergence from targets in 2022. It identifies a massive funding gap, where approximately US$2.2 billion in annual public forest-positive finance is dwarfed by up to US$1 trillion in environmentally harmful subsidies. The report emphasizes the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, noting that their territories often have lower deforestation rates. It advocates for a shift from single-value carbon offsets to a 'contributions approach' and the repurposing of agricultural subsidies. Case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, and Australia illustrate specific challenges and successful interventions in forest conservation and restoration.

ClientEarth recommends that the new EU Framework for Forest Monitoring and Strategic Plans explicitly guarantee Aarhus Convention rights, establish a common EU-wide remote sensing data platform, and align with the Nature Restoration Law and Deforestation Regulation to improve forest governance and enforcement.

The Amazon biome is facing a critical situation due to deforestation, degradation, and climate change, which threaten its role in global climate regulation and its immense biodiversity. Key drivers include cattle ranching, mechanized agriculture, illegal logging, and unsustainable infrastructure projects like dams. The report emphasizes the vital role of indigenous territories and protected areas in maintaining resilience and proposes an integrated landscape management approach, the protection of free-flowing rivers, and the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy to avoid an ecological tipping point.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that global forest governance is currently insufficient to meet 2030 targets. While some countries have successfully reduced deforestation through moratoria and strengthened enforcement, these gains are often fragile or being reversed by legislative rollbacks. The report highlights persistent tenure insecurity for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, widespread corruption in the timber trade, and significant gaps in the implementation of demand-side regulations in importing nations.

The document analyzes how climate change interacts with socio-political fragility in Papua New Guinea, highlighting risks such as food insecurity, illegal logging, and escalating tribal violence. It argues that these stressors, combined with geopolitical competition from China, threaten regional security. The author recommends that the U.S. provide technical assistance for renewable energy, establish a climate data platform, and support local NGOs and military disaster response capacity to mitigate these risks.