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The statement by Friends of the Earth International warns that treating nature and forests as financial assets leads to environmental destruction and social injustice. It specifically critiques the promotion of industrial tree plantations as carbon sinks, arguing that they lack the biodiversity of native forests and cause community displacement and human rights violations.

A coalition of environmental and human rights organizations requests that the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment examine the Barro Blanco dam project in Panama. The authors argue that the project, registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), has proceeded without adequate consultation with the indigenous Ngäbe people, leading to threats to their land, culture, and physical security, including state-sponsored violence against environmental defenders.

A coalition of NGOs requests that UN Special Rapporteur James Anaya intervene in the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project in Panama to protect the Ngäbe people from imminent threats to their territories and physical security. The document argues that the project, expected to be completed by May 2014, will flood indigenous lands and cultural sites, and was approved despite failures in environmental impact assessments and stakeholder consultation. It further highlights reports of police violence against protestors and the Panamanian government's failure to fulfill a March 2012 agreement regarding an expert assessment of the project's controversies.

A group of international and local NGOs is urging the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to intervene in the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project in Panama. They claim the project threatens the Ngäbe people's territories, culture, and physical security, citing failures in environmental impact assessments and a lack of free, prior and informed consent. The coalition highlights state-sponsored violence against protestors and the Panamanian government's failure to implement a promised expert assessment of the project's impacts.

The Living Convention is a compendium of internationally recognised rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities. It uses an 'integrated rights approach' to bundle disparate legal provisions from human rights, environmental, and cultural law into a single, accessible resource. The document categorises these into substantive rights (such as land tenure and cultural integrity) and procedural rights (such as free, prior and informed consent), aiming to democratise international law for the stewards of biocultural diversity.

The document serves as a tool to democratize international law by grouping fragmented legal provisions into an integrated framework of 'Traditional Resource Rights'. It categorizes rights into substantive (e.g., land tenure, cultural integrity, and food sovereignty) and procedural (e.g., free, prior and informed consent and impact assessments), while analyzing the legal weight of binding 'hard law' versus non-binding 'soft law'.

The Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC) has filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, arguing that Canada's inadequate regulation of black carbon emissions is causing rapid Arctic warming and melting. This environmental degradation is alleged to violate the human rights of Arctic Athabaskan peoples in Canada and the United States, specifically their rights to culture, property, health, and means of subsistence. The document details the potent warming effect of black carbon, the fragmented nature of Canadian air quality regulations, and the specific ecological and social impacts on Athabaskan communities, including the decline of caribou populations and the loss of traditional knowledge. The petitioners request that the Commission investigate these harms and recommend that Canada implement mandatory measures to limit black carbon emissions.

The Mining Zone Peoples’ Solidarity Group has petitioned the Indian government to stop iron ore mining in the Khandadhar mountain range in Odisha. The group argues that mining by companies such as POSCO and Kalinga Commercial Corporation Limited (KCCL) is causing severe environmental damage, including the pollution of the Khandadhara waterfall and the destruction of vital elephant corridors. The petition highlights the threat to the Pauri Bhuiyan, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, asserting that mining activities and forced displacement constitute 'ethnocide' and violate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The author contends that hydropower projects in Sikkim, such as Teesta III and Teesta VI, are not 'additional' because hydropower is common practice in India's North East, meaning they do not actually reduce emissions. The text alleges that developers misled the UNFCCC and bypassed mandatory stakeholder consultations regarding CDM credits. Furthermore, it highlights the failure to recognize Lepcha peoples' land rights and the absence of holistic impact assessments in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), leading to landslides and house destruction. The document concludes that the CDM's verification process is weak and calls for the immediate revocation of all big hydro CDM registrations in the region.

The report details a land grabbing crisis in Cambodia and Laos driven by Vietnamese companies Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG). These companies are accused of bypassing legal land limits through shell companies, clearing intact forests, and displacing indigenous communities without adequate compensation. The document highlights the role of international financiers, specifically Deutsche Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in bankrolling these operations despite their public commitments to sustainability. It concludes that the lack of binding international frameworks allows such companies to operate with impunity, facilitated by corrupt political elites in the host countries.

The Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) and the Mexican Environmental Law Center (CEMDA) report that at least 14 wind projects in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, have generated social and environmental costs that outweigh their benefits. The authors highlight the failure of the Mexican government to ensure free, prior, and informed consent for indigenous communities, the use of unreasonable land lease terms, and the occurrence of threats and violence against local opposition. Environmental damages cited include mangrove deforestation and the destruction of migratory bird habitats. The document calls for a human rights-based development protocol and a process to measure project externalities to ensure sustainability and community benefit.

A joint statement by multiple organizations calling for the Guatemalan government to operationalize and strengthen the mechanism for analyzing attacks against human rights defenders, citing a pattern of violence and criminalization linked to extractive and hydroelectric projects.

Friends of the Earth International issued a statement condemning a massacre on October 4, 2012, in Totonicapán, Guatemala, where government forces killed eight indigenous people during a peaceful protest by the 48 Cantones de Totonicapán. The organization links this violence to President Otto Pérez Molina's security policies, which include the militarization of indigenous lands and the granting of land concessions to companies for megaprojects without local consent. The statement also references prior repression in Santa Cruz Barillas and calls for international solidarity and the protection of human rights for Maya communities.

The report analyzes the transition of natural resource management in Senegal from state-led repression to participatory governance. It highlights the emergence of Communal Natural Reserves (RNCs) and the persistence of sacred sites as effective conservation tools, while noting significant gaps in formal legal recognition and threats from globalization and state interference.

The report finds that Suriname lacks legal recognition for indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities, leaving their traditional land and resource rights unprotected. This legal vacuum allows the state to issue extractive concessions and establish protected areas without the free, prior, and informed consent of local communities, often criminalizing traditional subsistence activities. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued landmark rulings, such as the Saramaka case, requiring the recognition of collective titles and juridical personality, the report concludes that the Surinamese government has failed to implement these mandates, maintaining a discriminatory legal environment that undermines both human rights and biodiversity conservation.

The report examines the tension between the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 and other national laws, such as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and the NIPAS Act, which often undermine indigenous land tenure and governance. It highlights that while the Philippines has progressive laws on paper, implementation is hindered by the 'Regalian Doctrine' and institutional conflicts between agencies like the NCIP and DENR. The document details the role of ICCAs in biodiversity conservation and provides case studies of indigenous communities, such as the Tagbanwa and Talaandig, struggling to maintain control over their ancestral domains against state-led protected area systems and extractive industries.

The document argues that the Peruvian state violated international human rights law by granting mining concessions in the Tiquillaca district without prior consultation with the Arboleda and other indigenous peoples. It asserts that under the American Convention on Human Rights and ILO Convention 169, such consultations must occur during the earliest planning stages and, for large-scale projects, require free, prior, and informed consent. The authors contend that the failure to consult renders the concessions null and void, requiring the judiciary to review them to ensure the survival and territorial rights of the affected communities.

The report examines the development of safeguard information systems (SIS) for REDD+, focusing on how to leverage existing systems to meet UNFCCC Durban guidance. It analyzes eight existing frameworks—including UN-REDD SEPC, FCPF SESA, and the Convention on Biological Diversity—and provides case studies from Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Vietnam. The findings emphasize the need for harmonized reporting, multistakeholder participation, and country-driven processes to ensure transparency and avoid duplicative burdens on national focal points.

The document examines eight existing reporting processes and early actions in five countries to identify how they can support REDD+ safeguard reporting. It argues for a harmonized, country-driven approach that leverages existing data from biodiversity and forest governance systems to reduce burdens on developing nations.

Viet Nam is leveraging its history of decentralised forest management to create a benefit distribution system compliant with the UNFCCC's REDD+ programme. While the process incorporates free, prior and informed consent to address human and indigenous rights, challenges persist regarding carbon, land, and forest tenure. Key lessons from the Vietnamese experience include the importance of flexible funding, adapting systems via pilot programmes, and ensuring local communities have the legal status necessary to participate in carbon markets. The document argues that REDD+ funds should remain separate from general government revenues and that payments should be linked to performance based on carbon stock assessments and social-environmental objectives.