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The 2020 assessment of Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) finds that global progress in forest governance remains slow, with weak legal frameworks and limited enforcement continuing to drive deforestation. While some countries have implemented positive measures—such as Indonesia's permanent Forest and Peatland Moratorium and the regional Pacto de Leticia in the Amazon—these are offset by deregulation in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The report highlights a critical gap in land tenure, noting that only about half of the lands customarily held by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are legally recognized. Furthermore, violence against environmental defenders reached a record high in 2019, with 212 killings reported globally.

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 examines Indigenous community broadcasting in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, North America, Central America, South America, and Oceania. It finds that while community radio is generally recognized, specific legal status for Indigenous-led stations is rare, with only four of fifteen countries that recognize community radio also recognizing Indigenous community radio. The study identifies 609 Indigenous community radio stations globally, with Canada and Australia accounting for 42% of the total. Key findings highlight the role of these stations in language revitalization, land defense, and the transfer of traditional knowledge, while also noting significant threats including government repression, criminalization of unlicensed broadcasters, and financial instability.

The policy brief argues that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical link between ecosystem health and human health, asserting that ecological degradation and wildlife trade are root causes of zoonotic spillover. It proposes a five-part framework for policymakers: halting ecosystem loss, reforming livestock production, regulating commercial wildlife trade, safeguarding existing conservation investments, and implementing cross-cutting 'nature-positive' economic recovery strategies. The authors emphasize that protecting nature is a cost-effective tool for both public health and financial recovery, potentially creating millions of jobs by 2030.

The paper argues that while existing climate services primarily support short-term farming decisions, they must be expanded to include decadal and long-term projections to guide transformative adaptation—significant systemic changes to agricultural production. A review of 253 national documents found that only 2.7% describe transformative applications of CS. The authors recommend integrating long-term climate data with crop models and socioeconomic factors to identify viability thresholds and map adaptation pathways, while emphasizing the need to modernize National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) and ensure equitable access for marginalized farmers.

The African Environmental Defenders Fund, launched in December 2019 by Natural Justice and the International Land Coalition (ILC), provides emergency support to land and environmental defenders in Africa. Between March and 18 August 2020, the Fund received 15 applications, approving 10 and distributing just over USD 30,000. A significant portion of applications originated from Kenya, where communities such as the Sengwer and Ogiek have faced evictions from indigenous forests. The most frequent threats reported include arrests and arbitrary detention, with the highest demand for funding being for legal representation fees. Natural Justice intends to expand the initiative by securing more funding and developing support mechanisms such as legal empowerment and a network of African lawyers.

The report analyzes gender inequalities in Indonesia across education, health, politics, and labor, specifically examining how these dynamics affect forest management and REDD+ initiatives. It finds that while legal frameworks for gender equality exist, women remain underrepresented in forest-related decision-making and face barriers to land and financial resources. The document recommends implementing a Gender Action Plan, hiring gender consultants, and ensuring the collection of sex-disaggregated data to improve the inclusivity of REDD+ implementation.

The report assesses gender inequalities in Colombia, specifically within the Amazon biome, to inform a Gender Action Plan for a REDD+ project implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. It identifies significant gaps in land ownership, labor market participation, and decision-making power for rural and indigenous women. The document outlines a strategy to mainstream gender by promoting women's leadership in forest management, recognizing ancestral knowledge in food security and biodiversity, and implementing differential quotas for participation.

The paper examines the impact of environmental policies on ethnic minorities in the Dong Phuc commune of Vietnam, finding that tenure and environmental policies often reinforce pre-existing ethnic inequalities and use conservation discourses to justify the appropriation of natural resources.

A coalition of international and national organizations, led by Friends of the Earth International, denounces the kidnapping of four members of the Triunfo de la Cruz community and the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH) by armed men in police uniforms. The letter links these attacks to a broader pattern of systematic aggression against the Garífuna people by agribusiness, tourism, and real estate companies, specifically naming INDURA, MACERICA, and IDETRISA. It highlights the Honduran government's failure to comply with a 2015 Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling regarding land restitution for the Triunfo de la Cruz community.

Friends of the Earth International and a global coalition of organizations have issued a formal condemnation of the Honduran government following the kidnapping of four members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) from the Triunfo de la Cruz community. The document highlights a pattern of systematic aggression against the Garifuna people by banana companies, oil palm plantations, and real estate developers. It specifically calls for the immediate release of the kidnapped leaders and the execution of a 2015 Inter-American Court of Human Rights sentence requiring the state to restore 2,840 hectares of ancestral territory and specific parcels of land currently held by the Tela workers' union and companies Macerica and Idetrisa.

The report examines the potential of rubberwood sales to mitigate the financial burden on Indonesian rubber smallholders during the replanting of over-aged, low-yield trees. While selling rubberwood provides some initial capital, the study finds it is insufficient on its own to cover the significant cash shortfalls associated with the five-year immaturity period of new trees. The analysis concludes that a viable financing model must combine rubberwood sales with an agroforestry approach—using intercrops to generate income—and training in good agricultural practices (GAP) to ensure long-term profitability and repayment capacity for smallholders. The report also highlights systemic barriers to finance, including a lack of land titles for collateral and high operational costs for financial service providers (FSPs).

The Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) argues that South Africa's land reform programs have failed poor black women, leaving them marginalized and vulnerable. The letter highlights a stark gap between women's roles in the agricultural workforce and their actual land ownership, noting that this landlessness increases women's susceptibility to food insecurity and domestic violence, a situation worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the July 18 kidnapping of four leaders from the Triunfo de la Cruz community and OFRANEH in Honduras. The statement links this violence to a broader pattern of systematic aggression by banana and palm oil companies, as well as real estate and tourism developers such as INDURA, MACERICA, and IDETRISA. It highlights the Honduran state's failure to comply with a 2015 Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling regarding land restitution for the Triunfo de la Cruz community.

Friends of the Earth International expresses indignation over the July 18 kidnapping of four members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) from the Triunfo de la Cruz community. The statement links these disappearances to a broader pattern of systematic aggression against the Garifuna people by banana companies, oil palm plantations, and the real estate and tourism industries. It specifically highlights land usurpation by the Indura hotel complex, Punta Izopo national park, and the companies Macerica and Idetrisa. The document emphasizes that the Honduran state has failed to execute a 2015 Inter-American Court of Human Rights sentence requiring the restitution of 2,840 hectares of ancestral territory and other specific land parcels. The organization calls for the immediate return of the kidnapped individuals and an end to the neoliberal model of land privatization.

The document outlines a 24-month readiness project requesting USD 1,312,296 to support eight Central American countries in developing a regional GCF concept note. The initiative targets the protection of the 'Five Great Forests'—transboundary forest systems spanning from Mexico to Colombia—by addressing illegal cattle ranching, strengthening Indigenous land tenure, and aligning national climate strategies (NDCs). Key activities include stakeholder mapping, vulnerability assessments for Indigenous Peoples, the creation of a land tenure database, and the development of economic models for forest-based livelihoods.

The document examines the complex legal landscape of tree and forest ownership in Côte d'Ivoire, primarily focusing on the 2019 Forestry Code, the rural land law, and the Civil Code. It distinguishes between natural and planted vegetation and details how ownership is attributed to individuals, legal entities, and rural communities, while noting that ownership does not grant an automatic right to exploit timber without state authorization.

The report examines the intersection of biophysical climate changes and environmental policies in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam, finding that policy-driven resource demarcation and hydropower development often reinforce existing socio-economic inequalities among ethnic groups. While biophysical changes like prolonged hot seasons disproportionately affect the poorest households, the report highlights that women's empowerment through education and migration is shifting traditional patriarchal land-control structures.

Natural Justice submitted a series of recommendations to the Kenyan government regarding the Draft Forest Policy 2020. The organization argues that the draft unfairly portrays local communities as the primary drivers of forest degradation while ignoring the impact of multinational corporations and government infrastructure projects. They propose integrating a human-rights based approach, recognizing indigenous land tenure and traditional governance, and ensuring that conservation funding reaches the community level. Additionally, they call for greater transparency in the policy's formulation and the inclusion of independent monitoring to address conflicts of interest within the Kenya Forest Service.

The report argues that community forest management (MCB) cannot fully develop without the guarantee of specific internal and external rights. It identifies threats to these rights—such as the 'financiarización de la Naturaleza' and industrial extractivism—and details a framework of essential rights, including self-determination, collective land tenure, and the right to free, prior, and informed consent (CPLIP). The document emphasizes that these rights are intrinsic to the peoples and should be protected by states as a fiduciary duty, prioritizing collective rights over individual ones to ensure the survival of cultures and the health of ecosystems.