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The document describes Arctic wetlands as critical ecosystems that store vast amounts of carbon and support biodiversity and Indigenous livelihoods. It warns that climate-driven permafrost degradation and human activities like drainage turn these areas into a 'time bomb' by releasing greenhouse gases and toxic mercury. Conversely, it argues that restoration and conservation can serve as a 'saving grace' for climate mitigation and adaptation. The briefing highlights the need for better wetland inventories and comparative analysis of management strategies to improve governance across Arctic states.

The global palm oil market is dominated by Indonesia and Malaysia, with demand driven by the food, personal care, and biofuel industries. While voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) like RSPO have seen significant growth, the sector continues to face critical challenges including deforestation, biodiversity loss, and human rights abuses. The report highlights the potential for expanding VSS-compliant production in Low Human Development Countries (LHDCs) such as Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria to improve livelihoods and mitigate environmental damage.

The report establishes a framework for certifying forestry-related bonds, focusing on ensuring that funded projects contribute to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. It defines eligible assets—including plantation forestry, sustainable forest management, and conservation/restoration projects—and sets specific requirements for mitigation and adaptation. Key measures include a prohibition on natural landscape conversion since 2010 and the use of a resilience checklist. The framework leverages existing industry standards, specifically FSC and PEFC, as proxies for many management requirements while adding specific climate-risk assessments.

The Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Financing for Alpacas Herders and Vicuña (AbE-FAV) project aims to address the vulnerability of Andean herders to climate-induced water scarcity. The project proposes a combination of ecosystem restoration, technological innovations in irrigation and fodder, and a sustainable microcredit mechanism to intensify alpaca production and conserve wild vicuña habitats. With a total indicative cost of USD 13,499,092, the project seeks to benefit 10,500 households and protect significant areas of peatlands and grasslands to avoid soil organic carbon emissions.

The report evaluates two alternative income streams for oil palm smallholders in Central Kalimantan to mitigate risks from climate change and market volatility. Beef cattle farming, utilizing oil palm leaf waste for feed, is found to be highly profitable with a potential net profit of IDR 2 million per month, though it requires significant upfront capital. Fish cultivation, specifically tilapia and silver catfish, offers a lower-investment alternative, with tilapia providing a potential annual net profit of IDR 7.4 million. Both options are deemed feasible and scalable to help diversify rural incomes and support a green growth strategy in the region.

The study compares TA-based reconstructions of water-table depth (WTD) against instrumentally monitored data and MILLENNIA model predictions. While monitored and modelled WTD showed strong agreement, TA reconstructions were consistently deeper. The research suggests that discrepancies between TA predictions and model outputs, particularly between 1830 and 1930, may be explained by grouse moor management and drainage, which lead to predicted carbon losses and reduced methane emissions.

In Riau, Indonesia, women from villages such as Sungai Berbari and Pungkat are utilizing the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform and training from the Women Research Institute to combat the negative impacts of large-scale agricultural operations. These operations have caused water pollution, respiratory diseases due to dust and peatland burning, and limited access to healthcare. By overlaying village maps with GFW datasets on tree cover loss and fire alerts, women have gained the evidence needed to link company activities to local environmental issues. This data-driven approach, combined with public speaking and policy training, has enabled them to pressure the government for haze emergency supplies and convince companies to fund reproductive healthcare. Future initiatives include developing a community-based early warning system for forest fires using GFW Fires to improve response times and corporate accountability.

A coalition of environmental organizations calls on Finland to advocate for stricter EU climate targets, specifically requesting a 95% emission reduction by 2050 and a 47% reduction in the effort-sharing sector by 2030. The letter argues against 'loopholes' in forestry and emissions trading and demands a LULUCF regulation that uses historical baselines for forest carbon accounting and includes mandatory wetland protections.

The Climate, Land, Ambition and Rights Alliance (CLARA) provides recommendations for land-use policies within the UNFCCC framework. The briefing emphasizes the need for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples, the protection of collective land rights, and the adoption of agroecological practices. It strongly opposes the use of terrestrial carbon sinks to offset industrial emissions, citing the non-permanence of such sinks and the unreliability of soil carbon accounting. Additionally, it warns against large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and 'Climate Smart Agriculture' due to risks of land grabs and corporate green-washing.

The paper introduces the Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (JRA), a tool developed by WWF-US and Global Forest Watch to quantify deforestation risks in Indonesia. By analyzing four 'Key Forest Areas'—Primary Forests, Protected Areas, Peatland, and Forest Estate—the JRA uses indicators such as forest loss percentages, fire density, and overlap with government palm oil concessions to score district-level risk. Findings indicate that while most districts lost up to 10% of primary forest between 2009 and 2012, a small number experienced losses up to 50%. The authors caution that the JRA is a partial assessment based on remote sensing and should complement, not replace, field validation and social data.

The report argues that Olam, a Singapore-based agribusiness, operates a 'black box' in its palm oil supply chain by concealing the identity of its suppliers, which allows the company to source oil from producers engaged in deforestation. In Gabon, the report alleges that Olam has cleared approximately 20,000 hectares of forest since 2012, violating FSC standards. In Southeast Asia, Olam's lack of transparency is linked to the 'haze' crisis caused by peatland and forest fires. The document calls for Olam to adopt a 'zero deforestation' policy, publish its supplier list, and restore destroyed habitats.

The assessment finds that over half of Central Kalimantan consists of high conservation value (HCV) areas, with nearly two-thirds of these areas threatened by planned development. The report details the distribution of biodiversity-critical areas, large natural landscapes, ecosystem transition zones, and rare or endangered ecosystems across various districts to support their integration into regional policy and business licensing.

A coalition of 29 European organizations calls for more ambitious EU climate regulations, specifically targeting the 2030 Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) and the LULUCF regulation. The group advocates for a trajectory toward 95% emission cuts by 2050, the rejection of forestry offsets that undermine other sectors, and the mandatory accounting of wetlands to ensure the EU meets its Paris Agreement commitments to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The study identifies that over half of Central Kalimantan's land area consists of High Conservation Value (HCV) zones, with approximately 61.6% of these areas currently threatened by planned development. The analysis focuses on five specific HCV categories—protected areas, large natural landscapes, transition ecosystems, rare/endangered ecosystems, and specific environmental services—to provide a scientific basis for the province's spatial planning and sustainable development goals.

The document challenges the assumption that bioenergy is carbon-neutral, noting that LULUCF accounting cannot independently guarantee emission savings. It recommends an EU-wide cap on bioenergy, the exclusion of high-risk biomass sources, and a 'net-net' accounting approach for forest management emissions to ensure real climate benefits.

The report by Eyes on the Forest (EoF) reveals systemic illegality in the Indonesian palm oil sector, specifically in Riau and Sumatra. Through chain-of-custody tracking, EoF demonstrated that FFB illegally grown in Tesso Nilo National Park and the ex Dalek area reached CPO mills and refineries operated by global giants including Wilmar, RGE (Asian Agri and Apical), Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), and Musim Mas. The findings suggest that current traceability efforts focusing on the mill level are insufficient to prevent the seepage of illegal products, as illegal FFB can travel up to 128 km to reach mills. The report argues that the high prevalence of illegal plantations—estimated by the Indonesian government at 50% in Riau—makes almost all CPO mills in the region high-risk, necessitating a shift toward full traceability to the plantation level.

This research paper evaluates the role and effectiveness of international development partners in financing climate mitigation and adaptation within Indonesia's land use sectors. It analyzes finance flows from 2011, identifying a heavy reliance on grants and a focus on capacity building, while noting that international contributions are significantly smaller than domestic funding.

The document details how palm oil production, primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, drives deforestation and releases significant carbon and methane emissions, particularly through the draining and burning of peatlands. It notes that while Indonesia and Malaysia have implemented some protections and the RSPO seeks to improve sustainability, RSPO standards remain insufficient. The text highlights a shift in the supply chain, with over 60 percent of globally traded palm oil covered by deforestation-free commitments as of 2016, while warning that future expansion in countries like Brazil and Colombia must be managed to protect forests.

The document outlines Indonesia's climate ambitions, including a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 26%–41% by 2020 and a moratorium on logging in primary forests and peatlands. It highlights the role of the Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund as a mechanism for overseas climate finance and describes CDKN's efforts to support climate-compatible development in the energy sector and forest conservation research.

The paper argues that while supply chain traceability is a necessary first step, it is insufficient for achieving large-scale sustainability. Instead, it advocates for a 'landscape management approach'—managing agricultural production and ecosystem protection across connected areas of land rather than on a plantation-by-plantation basis. This strategy involves five key steps: defining landscape boundaries, partnering with government and business, allocating land to its highest value use, increasing productivity, and monitoring results. The document highlights a pilot project in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra, and identifies significant opportunities to utilize degraded lands in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan to reduce deforestation pressure.