Issue 4 of the NEPCon Sourcing Hub Update

This month, we have a bumper, double issue of the NEPCon Sourcing Hub Update for you!

Correction: 23 November 2018

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that “Seven executives from Palm oil giant Golden Agri-Resources subsidiaries arrested for corruption - The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission, known as KPK, has arrested seven people from Sinar Mas Agro and Binasawit (subsidiaries of Golden Agri Resources), in connection with a bribery case.” Three executives from Golden Agri Resources subsidiaries have been arrested in relation to alleged bribery. The KPK has named seven individuals, including these three, as suspects in alleged bribery.

As I mentioned in the previous edition, on 1 October 2018 RA-Cert, the certification arm of Rainforest Alliance, formally became part of NEPCon. NEPCon is now a truly global organisation with 216 staff in 34 countries - this makes us now the largest mission driven certification body in the world!

New NEPCon

As you can imagine, this means that September and October were very busy months for us in NEPCon. Not only that, we also held out Biennial NEPCon Development Week - a five day, face to face meeting of our whole organisation - this time, in Jurmala, Latvia.

NEPCon participated in the Forest Legality Week in Washington DC on 23-25 October 2018 and followed with interest the discussion on illegal logging in Romania and Ukraine. You can read our experts views in the top news stories below.

Also in the top news stories, we examine the fascinating developments in Indonesia with the arrest of three people from Sinar Mas Agro and Binasawit (subsidiaries of Golden Agri Resources) by the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission. These arrests relate to alleged bribery of parliamentarians to avoid an investigation into plantation permits and palm processing waste.

You may have heard that Brazil has a new President, and that many environmental groups and scientists are concerned about what this could mean for the Amazon, we take a look at this story and others relating to responsible sourcing of agro-commodities.

We compare the recent announcement by the President that Gabon will pull forestry permits from firms that have not embraced an international standard on responsible logging by 2022 with similar commitments made by the then Chief Minister of Sarawak in 2015.

Our last top story looks at the FLEGT Developments in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

I hope you find this newsletter useful, and as always, please let us know if there is something missing. Please also share it with your networks and anyone you think may find it interesting.

Cheers,
Alexandra Banks

Alexandra Banks
Sourcing Hub Programme Manager

Sourcing Hub Updates

New NEPCon ResponsibleSource Programme

Responsible Sourcing NEPCon is happy to inform our stakeholders that we have recently initiated work on the development of a new programme called ResponsibleSource. The programme will support companies throughout supply chains with responsible production and sourcing. Find out more here.

NEPCon article: Timber Legality Risk Assessments - exploring the results and lessons

Timber Legality This article highlights some of the key findings identified in the 60+ legality risk assessments published on the NEPCon Sourcing Hub. In this article, you can read about the most common risks and potential mitigation measures.

Timber Legality Workshop in Beijing in December

Timber Do you need to come to grips with the regulations such as the EUTR, Lacey Act and Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act? Or to step up your efforts to source legal timber? This one day seminar is for you! Contact Xinxin Zhang, Regional Manager, East Asia for more information.

Stakeholder consultation on Solomon Islands
The consultation draft of the Timber Legality Risk Assessment for the Solomon Islands is still available on the Sourcing Hub. We welcome and encourage stakeholders to review and provide us with feedback. Find out more on the Stakeholder Consultation page on the NEPCon Sourcing Hub.

FSC Risk Assessments Approved
FSC FSC risk assessments have been approved for Portugal and Spain, and are now available on the FSC document centre. Risk assessment conducted according to the FSC-STD-40-005 that have been approved by FSC may be used by FSC certified companies in risk assessments as part of the Controlled Wood programme.

News from September and October 2018

Timber

Australia

Australian Government releases Illegal Logging Laws e-update #26: The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is pleased to bring you the latest news on Australia's illegal logging laws. The update includes:
The Guardian reports: Australia's east coast named as 'deforestation front' in WWF Living Planet report. Assessment underscores threat to koalas and other native species. Australia’s east coast has been compared to the Amazon as a “deforestation front” in a new global report by the World Wide Fund for Nature that underscores the threat to populations of koalas and other native species.
The Newcastle Herald reports: Maitland and Cessnock councils urged to catch and prosecute illegal loggers. Episodes of more illegal logging have come to light prompting calls for Maitland and Cessnock councils to carry out surveillance in hot spots, nab the offenders and prosecute them.
The Australian reports: Billion-tree plan to combat climate change. A billion tree pledge was a key plank of a “Growing a better Australia” road map released by the federal government last week.
ABC News reports: Liberals 'cave in' and reject calls for new Great Forest National Park. A new national park in Victoria's central highlands — home of the state's animal emblem, the leadbeater's possum — will not be created if the Coalition win government.

Brazil

Mongabay reports: Deforestation continues upward trend in the Brazilian Amazon. Deforestation is rising in the Brazilian Amazon, which contains the majority of forest in the world’s largest tropical rainforest. The trend is evident in data released by both Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, and the Brazilian government.
Folha reports: Environmental Agency Instituto Chico Mendes Suffers Attacks In Rondônia. For government employees, Bolsonaro's criticisms of the agency are feeding hostilities. Brazil's Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (known as ICMBio) has suffered two attacks in Guajará-Mirim, Rondônia, 205 miles from capital Porto Velho. The attacks, thought to be ordered by wood loggers, partially damaged a car and stole a motorcycle away.
7 News reports: Brazil's Amazon at risk if Bolsonaro wins presidency: ecologists. Promises by Brazil's far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro and his entourage bode badly for the future of the Amazon -- called the "lungs of the planet" -- if he wins, environmentalists warn. New Security Beat reports:
New Security Beat reports: Warning: The Amazon May Soon Reach the Point of No Return on Forest Loss. What we do during this decade can be critical for the future of Amazonia,” said São Paulo Research Foundation member, Paulo Artaxo, at a recent Wilson Center event on efforts to support sustainability and development in the Amazon region. The recently accelerating environmental change in the Amazon region warrants greater collaboration between the civil and scientific communities on community and international scales, according to a panel of experts.
Mongabay reports: Landless movement leader assassinated in Brazilian Amazon. Landless movement leader Aluisio Sampaio, known as Alenquer, was murdered last Thursday in his home in Castelo de Sonhos in Pará state – an area that has become increasingly violent as land grabbers take over, clear forest, and sell the land for high profits to cattle ranchers.
Pulitzer Centre reports: For Illegal Loggers in the Brazilian Amazon, 'There Is No Fear of Being Punished'. Last October, a mob of angry miners paraded through the streets of Humaitá, in Brazil’s northwestern Amazonas state. They were headed for the local office of Brazil’s environmental agency, called IBAMA, which polices deforestation in the Amazon. Agents there had recently shut down an illegal mining operation in a nearby forest reserve. This was payback.
Mongabay reports: Scientists urge greater protection of Brazil’s secondary forests. New research indicates that even after 40 years of recovery, fast-growing tropical forests in Brazil house far fewer species and sequester less carbon than their primary counterparts.
Mongabay reports: Purus-Madeira: journey to the Amazon’s newest deforestation frontier. Mongabay begins a new series in which our contributors drive the BR-319 highway into one of the Amazon’s most remote wild areas – a region facing rapid deforestation.
DW reports: Illegal logging, mining threaten an Amazon river community. In Brazil, indigenous and traditional communities are fighting for their land in the face of threats from big businesses, mining and environmental destruction. In some cases, the peoples' very survival is at stake.
Chain Reaction Research reports: Cerrado Deforestation Disrupts Water Systems, Poses Business Risks for Soy Producers. The Cerrado biome, covering over 20 percent of Brazil’s terrain, is a savannah region with high biodiversity and an important function for the water systems in Brazil.
Daily Mail reports: The world's 'most endangered tribe': Armadillo-eating Amazonians live on the run from illegal loggers destroying their forest home. The Awá are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the eastern Amazon on the border with Peru. There are around 600 Awá members, 100 of which still have no contact with the outside world.
Latino USA reports: Journalistic Investigation Reveals How Illegal Timber Ransacks Amazon Forest. An international team of journalists has shed light on the mechanisms that traffickers use to ship illegal timber out of the Amazon jungle—where more than 17 percent of tree cover has been lost to deforestation.
Mongabay reports: Ahead of election, deforestation continues to climb in the Brazilian Amazon. Newly released analysis of satellite data by Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, shows that deforestation in the Amazon is continuing to climb.
PBS reports: Amazon forest guardians fight to prevent catastrophic tipping point. In Brazil's Maranhao State, indigenous groups are battling a powerful logging mafia to protect the region's remaining and fragile Amazon rainforest. After years of decline, deforestation is again on the rise, threatening a terrifying climate change tipping point. Brazil today is the deadliest country in the world for land defenders, a trend that's rising in recent years,with more than 140 killings since 2015, according to Global Witness.
EU releases new 'country overviews': Brazil. The European Union released several 'country overview' reports. These reports are designed to help European importers comply with the European Union Timber Regulation's (EUTR's) due diligence requirements by providing information about key timber supply countries. The reports include information on: key timber species; forestry laws and legislation; supporting documentation; trade flow data; certification systems; CITES listed species; local corruption levels; and key illegality risks.
PBS reports: Amazon forest guardians fight to prevent catastrophic tipping point. In Brazil's Maranhao State, indigenous groups are battling a powerful logging mafia to protect the region's remaining and fragile Amazon rainforest. After years of decline, deforestation is again on the rise, threatening a terrifying climate change tipping point. Brazil today is the deadliest country in the world for land defenders, a trend that's rising in recent years,with more than 140 killings since 2015, according to Global Witness.

China

The Edge Markets reports: Timber product exporters wary of potential Chinese dumping. The far-reaching consequences of the escalating trade tensions between the US and China are also a concern for the timber product export industry, according to new Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) chairman Datuk Low Kian Chuan.
EU releases new 'country overviews': China. The European Union released several 'country overview' reports. These reports are designed to help European importers comply with the European Union Timber Regulation's (EUTR's) due diligence requirements by providing information about key timber supply countries. The reports include information on: key timber species; forestry laws and legislation; supporting documentation; trade flow data; certification systems; CITES listed species; local corruption levels; and key illegality risks.
OCCRP reports: Hong Kong Woman Sentenced in Rosewood Trafficking Case. A court in Hong Kong doled out a three-month sentence on Monday to a woman for importing a 29-ton shipment of endangered Honduran rosewood. The shipment of rosewood from Guatemala was intercepted by Hong Kong customs officials on Jan. 16. Cai was listed as the contact person for the shipment and had allegedly received money in exchange for acting as a middleman.

Colombia

Latino USA reports: Journalistic Investigation Reveals How Illegal Timber Ransacks Amazon Forest. An international team of journalists has shed light on the mechanisms that traffickers use to ship illegal timber out of the Amazon jungle—where more than 17 percent of tree cover has been lost to deforestation.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mongabay reports: In a first, DRC communities gain legal rights to forests. Provincial authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have approved forest concessions for five communities. Following the implementation of a new community forest strategy in June, this is the first time the government has given communities control of forests. Sustainable use of the forest is seen by conservation and development organizations as a way to both combat rural poverty and fight deforestation.
Mongabay reports: Deforestation surges in Virunga National Park in the wake of violence. In the DRC’s Virunga National Park, rangers and wildlife are caught in the crosshairs of a brutal civil conflict. Forest monitoring platform Global Forest Watch detected more than 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres) of tree cover loss from May to September.

Ecuador

Latino USA reports: Journalistic Investigation Reveals How Illegal Timber Ransacks Amazon Forest. An international team of journalists has shed light on the mechanisms that traffickers use to ship illegal timber out of the Amazon jungle—where more than 17 percent of tree cover has been lost to deforestation.

Gabon

Mongabay reports: The legal institutionalization of FSC certification in Gabon (commentary). Gabon’s President Ali Bongo announced on September 26, during a visit to a Rougier wood processing plant, that all forest concessions in Gabon will have to be certified with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard by 2022.
Borneo Bulletin reports: Saving the precious wood of Gabon's forests from illegal logging. In Gabon the majestic kevazingo tree, its tropical hardwood highly valued in Asia for upmarket furniture, is also held to be sacred by generations of forest dwellers in equatorial Africa.
The Koz Post reports: In Gabon, The Sale Of Precious Wood Illegally Cut Worries. In march of last year, Gabon has forbidden the cutting of the kevazingo, a precious wood, very appreciated in Asia. But the authorisation of resale and processing of logs seized concern of the NGOS, which fear that it could encourage illegal logging. “We are told that the kevazingo is no longer cut off, but we see trucks loaded with kevazingo leave the forest to go to the capital Libreville”, said Martial, 54 years of age, a resident of Oyem is the capital of the region of the Woleu-Ntem (north).
Terra Daily reports: Gabon pressures forestry firms on best practice. Gabon will pull forestry permits from firms that have not embraced an international standard on responsible logging by 2022, President Ali Bongo Ondimba said. Ondimba made the statement in support of a certification process run by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international NGO devoted to better forestry management.

Ghana

FLEGT.org reports: Global Timber Forum analyses gender in the wood processing sector of Ghana. A study commissioned by the Global Timber Forum reveals that women workers in Ghana’s wood processing sector are much less visible than their male counterparts yet are involved in multiple areas of the value chain. This involvement ranges from the administration, labour and through to acting as financiers of business.
Ghana News Agency reports: Tropenbos-Ghana advocates gender-responsive FLEGT/VPA implementation. A day’s stakeholders validation workshop to identify ways of strengthening women’s role for development in the nation’s timber value chain, has been held at Fumesua in the Ejisu Municipality of Ashanti Region. It sought to discuss guidelines and measures of coming up with social safeguards to protect women along the value chain likely to be impacted negatively by the implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan.

India

The Economic Times reports: Woodcraft Exporters to face EU traceability norms. Indian exporters of wooden handicrafts and other wood goods face strict traceability norms in the European Union beginning next year, which could dent their trade. The norms require disclosure of the source of timber to discourage illegal logging globally. Over the past two months, at least 80% of buyers in the EU, Australia and the US have asked for certificates declaring the source of the wood used in handicrafts and if any species was endangered while procuring it, exporters said.

Indonesia

Mongabay reports: Real-time plantation map aims to throttle deforestation in Papua. "The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) plans to roll out an interactive map showing the spread of plantations and roads in Indonesia’s Papua region. The region is home to some of the last expanses of pristine tropical forest left in the world, but now faces an influx of plantation companies that have already deforested much of Sumatra and Borneo. "
Jakarta Post reports: The last bastion of Sumatran tigers. This year alone, dozens of hot spots, most of them triggered by illegal practices, have emerged in Riau. These practices recently resulted in the death of a pregnant tiger with her unborn cubs after she was caught in a trap at Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary.
Web Wire reports: Palm oil giant’s new action plan won’t fix deforestation. The new action plan released today by Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader, is not fit for purpose and will not keep forest destroyers out of its supply chain, according to Greenpeace International.
CIFOR reports: New Papua Atlas tracks impact of plantations, roads on forests. Interactive map provides tools for corporate accountability and local land-use planning
Mongabay reports: To conserve West Papua, start with land rights (commentary). West Papua Province in Indonesia retains over 90 per cent of its forest cover, as well as some of the world’s most biologically diverse marine areas. The drive to become a conservation province, however, runs the risk of repeating past mistakes that have disadvantaged indigenous communities and left their customary land rights unrecognized.
FLEGT reports: Indonesia improving FLEGT licensing procedures. Indonesia has taken several measures in recent months to improve procedures relating to FLEGT licences. Some issues have related to mismatches between ‘HS codes’ — which indicate product type — on FLEGT licences and other shipping documents.
Radio NZ reports: Decision on Papua deforestation case delayed. The FSC has delayed a decision on whether to cut ties with a company involved in large-scale deforestation in West Papua. Korindo, a South Korean-Indonesian joint venture, is accused of destroying vast areas of precious rainforests. Last year Korindo announced a moratorium on forest clearing in its oil palm concessions in Indonesia's Papua province.

Liberia

Daily Observer reports: British Royal Marines to Train Liberia’s Forest Rangers. From all indications, Liberia’s forest rangers under the banner of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) may sooner see the fruits of the long awaited dream and all other related aid, as the British Royal Marine is to shortly train the rangers to better prepare them to provide maximum security protection for the country’s forest, an FDA release has said.
Daily Observer reports: Abuse of Our Forest, Abuse On Human Civilization, Threat to Environment. Atty. Sam Kofi Woods described forests as of vital importance for the livelihood of millions of West Africans and that they provide key ecosystem services of local and global importance.
Front Page Africa reports: NGO Coalition of Liberia Launches Strategy Advocacy Plan Aimed at Strengthening Forest Governance. Atty. Kofi Woods, ex-minister of Public Works says ownership of logging companies by government officials, the Carbon Credit complication and other forms of criminal quest in the country is a curse of resource development and advancement in Liberia.
Front Page Africa reports: Watchdog Urges Diligence amid Oil Palm Giant Bribery Scandal. The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) has called on the government of Liberia to use a bribery scandal in Indonesia of a global oil palm giant linked to Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) as a wakeup call to enforce the country’s investment laws.
Front Page Africa reports: Watchdog to Empower Forest Communities. Eight forest communities in five counties are poised to benefit from a program to better negotiate logging contracts, exercise their rights and secure their benefits from their forest resources. It is in support of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between Liberia and EU whose objective is to curb illegal logging by legal and regulatory frameworks, good governance and conservation.

Malaysia - Peninsular

The Malaysia Insight reports: Save Ulu Muda from logging, urges Penang water chief. More than four million consumers in three states will suffer the consequences of logging in Ulu Muda’s rainforests, said Penang Water Supply Corporation.

Malaysia - Sabah

Daily Express reports: Illegal to include plantation timber in log export ban: Firm. A plantation firm has appealed to the State Government to exclude logs derived from plantations in its recent export ban. Benn Osman, the Director of Boonrich Sdn Bhd, said to do so may even be illegal under the law and policies of the Government.

Malaysia - Sarawak

National Observer reports: Ottawa real estate firm takes Malaysian rainforest campaigners to court. An Ottawa-based real estate firm has asked a Swiss court to shut down a campaign that has sought to link it to alleged corruption in Malaysia. The injunction requested by Sakto Corporation on Aug. 20 in civil court in Basel, Switzerland is of sweeping proportions, demanding that the Basel-based non-government organization Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) remove more than 250 publications and 1,100 “infringing statements” from the public domain.
The Edge Markets reports: Federal govt keen to cooperate with Sarawak govt on reforestation programme. The federal government will discuss with the Sarawak state government on the implementation of the reforestation programme in the state as part of efforts to further improve sustainable forest management in the country.
The Borneo Post reports: Joint operation on illegal logging yields major seizures. A joint operation by Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), Sibu Regional Office with the State Security and Enforcement Unit of the Chief Minister’s Office and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) to curb illegal logging activities in Song and Kapit area in Sibu resulted in major seizures and the culprits apprehended. Six raids were conducted at hot spots near Sungai Sebunus, Kapit in which seven heavy machinery, one chainsaw and 533 pieces of illegal logs of various species and sizes were detained.
The Borneo Post reports: ‘Obtain sustainability certification to reach global market’. Sarawak is finally acknowledging the requirements of certification for its timber concession. This will make Sarawak timber more marketable and able to penetrate the greater international market, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The Borneo Post reports: Plantation firm claims land in Igan being encroached on. An area set aside for conservation purpose by a plantation company that operates on a piece of land near Sungai Matahari Besar in Igan has been encroached on by locals with illegal logging activities and farming. The company is now seeking the relevant authorities’ intervention to stop the illegal activities committed by locals on the land.

Mexico

Associated Press reports: Indigenous rights leader reported slain in northern Mexico. An indigenous rights activist has been slain in the Sierra Madre mountains of northern Mexico just weeks after community members complained about a mining concession granted to outside parties on their ancestral lands.

Myanmar

EU releases new 'country overviews': Myanmar. The European Union released several 'country overview' reports. These reports are designed to help European importers comply with the European Union Timber Regulation's (EUTR's) due diligence requirements by providing information about key timber supply countries. The reports include information on: key timber species; forestry laws and legislation; supporting documentation; trade flow data; certification systems; CITES listed species; local corruption levels; and key illegality risks.
Myanmar Times reports: Government enacts tougher forest law. The Myanmar parliament has enacted a tougher forest law that threatens violators with up to 15 years in prison in a bid to conserve the country’s fast-dwindling forests. Under the new law, which was enacted on September 20, forest staff can also be punished for accepting bribes or for being involved in the extraction, transfer or possession of illegally cut logs and forest products.
Myanmar Times reports: Kayah’s timber deal undermines govt’s forestry reform: EIA.A timber trade deal in Kayah State represents “a significant step backwards” for the government’s commitment to forestry reform and urged the authorities to revoke the agreement. Local media in Kayah State recently reported on an unclear agreement to allow the trade of 5,000 tons of valuable hardwoods, including 3,000 tons of teak, from logging operations in the conflict-torn state.
PEFC reports: Myanmar lays the foundations for sustainable forest management. The launch of Myanmar’s third party timber certification system by the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC) marks phase one of the Myanmar Timber Legality Assurance System (MTLAS), and forms part of a 3-year project by MFCC and PEFC to support the country as it transitions to the sustainable management of its forests.
Eleven reports: Myanmar to resume timber extraction. Myanmar will produce 15,000 tons of teak in the timber extraction season this year, said Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, Deputy Director-General of Forest Department at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. Since coming to power, the incumbent government has suspended timber extraction in order to control the excessive timber extraction in Bago Yoma mountain ranges.
IHB reports: UK suspends support for VPA with Myanmar. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has signalled its intention to suspend support for activities related to preparations for the VPA with the EU. DFID has said it intends to reshape its programme in Myanmar to focus on inclusion, social cohesion and equality.

Papua New Guinea

Oakland Institute releases a report: The Great Timber Heist - Continued: Tax Evasion and Illegal Logging in Papua New Guinea. The Oakland Institute makes public new evidence of financial misreporting and tax evasion in the logging industry in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
MalaysiaKini reports: Company owned by Malaysians clearing PNG forests. A palm oil company owned by a prominent Malaysian family, Bewani Oil Palm Plantations Limited (BOPPL) headquartered in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has cleared an estimated 25,000 hectares of forests including an estimated 12,000 ha in the last four years since obtaining a Special Agricultural Business Lease (SABL) for 140,000 ha of pristine forest for a palm oil development project in 2010.

Peru

IOP Science reports: Deforestation risks posed by oil palm expansion in the Peruvian Amazon. Further expansion of agriculture in the tropics is likely to accelerate the loss of biodiversity. One crop of concern to conservation is African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). We examined recent deforestation associated with oil palm in the Peruvian Amazon within the context of the region's other crops. We found more area under oil palm cultivation (845 km2) than did previous studies.
Mongabay reports: In the Peruvian Amazon, the prized shihuahuaco tree faces a grim future. The exploitation and destruction of the imposing shihuahuaco tree in the Peruvian Amazon continues amid failed attempts by conservation scientists to obtain protected status for the species.
Latino USA reports: Journalistic Investigation Reveals How Illegal Timber Ransacks Amazon Forest. An international team of journalists has shed light on the mechanisms that traffickers use to ship illegal timber out of the Amazon jungle—where more than 17 percent of tree cover has been lost to deforestation.
International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development reports: US, Peru Assess Efforts to Tackle Illegal Logging Under Trade Accord. In late September, an interagency US committee issued a report via the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that deemed that while Peru has made valuable headway in its forest management efforts, more work remains in ensuring the legality of its timber supply chain can be properly ensured and verified.
U.S. Timber Committee Responds to Peru's Timber Verification. United States Timber Committee today issued a report reviewing the overall findings of the Government of Peru’s verification report regarding three timber shipments from Peru to the United States, and reiterating areas for additional work by Peru.
EIA reports: Peruvian Government Threatening the Independence of Osinfor. The institution in charge of supervising the legality of Peruvian timber is at risk. The latest attempt to weaken OSINFOR comes in the form of a draft legislative decree that has been discussed in recent weeks within the delegation of legislative powers to the Executive Branch, under the framework of Law 30823.

Romania

Business Review reports: Romanian government to allow 53-hectare deforestation for Canadian company’s gold mining operations. The Romanian government is preparing to approve the permanent removal of over 56 hectares of forest from the national forestry fund in the area of Simeria, Hunedoara county, of which more than 53 ha will be deforested in order to allow Deva Gold, 80 percent owned by Canadians at Eldorado Gold, to carry out its gold mining operations, according to profit.ro.
New information platform for Romanian timber industry. This information platform is addressed primarily to “operators” (where wood is placed on the market from Romania) seeking proper implementation of a “Due Diligence System” (DDS), following the demand of FSC® Controlled Wood Standard.
Business Review reports: Illegal logging up by 32 percent in Romania in 2017. In 2017, Romanian authorities have identified a total of 12,487 cases of illegal logging, up by 32 percent year-on-year, a report published by Greenpeace says. According to the Report of Illegal Logging in Romanian Forests in 2017, most cases were identified, as in 2016, in Mures County – 1,511 cases (12 percent), Brasov – 762 cases (6 percent) and Olt – 730 cases (6 percent).

Russia

EU releases new 'country overviews': Russia. The European Union released several 'country overview' reports. These reports are designed to help European importers comply with the European Union Timber Regulation's (EUTR's) due diligence requirements by providing information about key timber supply countries. The reports include information on: key timber species; forestry laws and legislation; supporting documentation; trade flow data; certification systems; CITES listed species; local corruption levels; and key illegality risks.
Wood Floor Business reports: Russia Bans U.S. Anti-Illegal Logging Group From Operating in Country. Russia has barred a U.S. environmental group from operating in the country, labeling the group, which lobbies against illegal logging, as an “undesirable organization” and a threat to state security, according to a report by Reuters. Pacific Environment, which is based in San Francisco, campaigns to protect the environment in Siberia and Russia’s far east region from illegal logging, as well as mining and fossil fuel extraction.

Thailand

The Nation reports: RFD fires Kamphaeng Phet forest patrol officer after teak log falls from his pickup during chase. The Royal Forestry Department (RFD) has sacked another forest patrol officer, this time in Kamphaeng Phet province, after a teak log was found to have fallen from a pickup truck allegedly driven by him during a chase.
The Nation reports: Four arrested for cutting down protected tree. Four suspects were arrested for cutting down a Siamese rosewood tree of a school in Kalasin province while they were transporting the logs for processing in the Ban Dung district of Udon Thani province on Friday night.
The Nation reports: Thailand’s green cover in slow decline as 40% goal remains out of reach. Thailand has been ambitiously aiming to have 40 per cent of its land turned into lush green forests, but this goal set in 1975 has yet to be accomplished.

Viet Nam

Vietnam Plus reports: FLEGT-VPA to fuel Vietnam’s wood export to global markets. Vietnam’s signing of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) with the European Union (EU) will help the country boost wood product exports to not only the EU but also many other markets, according to an official.
Vietnam News reports: Agreement opens EU to VN timber. The signing of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) between Việt Nam and the European Union is expected to have a positive impact on the country’s economy and environment.
Vietnam News reports: Việt Nam, Cambodia hold dialogue on timber trade. Vietnamese and Cambodian officials, business executives and experts discussed measures to enhance co-operation in the trade and management of timber and timber products at conference in HCM City yesterday.
Vietnam Plus reports: Dak Lak’s forest coverage decreases. Forest coverage in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has shrunk to 505,076ha – down 10,533ha – according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
European Council reports: "EU and Vietnam sign an agreement for better enforcement of forest law, governance and trade. On 19 October 2018, a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) was signed in Brussels in the margins of the EU-ASEM summit.
Vietnam Net reports: Ha Giang’s ancient trees damaged by unlawful deforestation. Valuable ancient trees in northern mountainous Ha Giang Province, some of which are hundreds of years old, are at risk of disappearing because of continued illegal logging that responsible agencies have been unable to curb.
Khmer Times reports: Activist asks UN to review EU-Vietnam timber deal. A prominent environmental activist has reached out to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment in a bid to have him oppose a timber trade deal set to be inked between the European Union and Vietnam.
OCCRP reports: NGOs Call for Halt to EU-Vietnam Timber Agreement. A group of Cambodian civil society organizations has petitioned the European Union to reconsider signing an agreement on timber trade with Vietnam, saying that the country has not done enough to stop the flow of illegally-cut Cambodian wood across its borders
Mongabay reports: Cambodia accuses Vietnam of complicity in illegal cross-border logging. Cambodia has accused neighboring Vietnam of systemically accepting fraudulent permits for rare, illegally trafficked rosewood timber. Siamese rosewood (Dalbergia Conchinchinensis) is one of the most valuable species of tree in the world and has been destructively logged in Cambodia. Items made from rosewood have been known to sell for millions of dollars in markets like China.
Khmer Times reports: EU reassures NGOs over timber trade with Vietnam. The European Union has quashed concerns of several Cambodia environmental NGOs over a trade deal on tropical timber with Vietnam, saying that the scheme is to promote legally harvested timber, EU Ambassador to Cambodia George Edgar said.
Khmer Times reports: Halt Vietnam timber deal: NGOs. A group of environmental NGOs has called on the European Union to postpone signing a trade deal on tropical timber with Vietnam until Vietnam declares a moratorium on illegal timber imports from Cambodia’s forests.
VOA News reports: Cambodia Accused Vietnam of Systematic Logging Fraud. Cambodia has asked INTERPOL to investigate its allegations that Vietnam has repeatedly and knowingly accepted fraudulent permits for endangered luxury timber that is illegally logged across the border."
Vietnam Net reports: Illegal deforestation and encroachment still rampant in Dak Lak. Nearly 10,500 hectares of natural forest in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dak Lak have been illegally destroyed since 2015, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Khmer Times reports: Timber trade sanctions sought. The UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency on Wednesday called for a rosewood trade suspension against Vietnam, accusing it of accepting fake Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species permits from Cambodia. The EIA issued a statement saying that documents submitted by Cambodia to the CITES secretariat constitute evidence that Vietnam accepted fake permits for Siamese rosewood, which faces extinction in Cambodia.

Palm Oil

Ghana

Africa Global Funds reports: Moringa makes first investment in Ghana. Moringa, an impact investment fund specialized in agroforestry companies with strong environmental and social impact, has announced that it will invest $5m in B-BOVID, a Ghanaian agribusiness company.
Daily Guide reports: Wilmar Africa Expands Oil Palm Plantations. Kwame Wiafe, General Manager of Wilmar Africa Limited, producers of Frytol vegetable cooking oil, says the company is encouraging more farmers to go into the cultivation of oil palm in order to meet the company’s production requirements.
Ghana Business News reports: Labourer jailed for stealing palm fruits. A farm labourer, Mahama Zackaria, who stole 72 bunches of palm fruits, has been sentenced to a fine of GH¢960.00 by a Kade District Court. In default, Zacharia, who pleaded not guilty, will serve eight months in prison in hard labour.
Mongabay reports: Plantations can produce more palm oil if they keep riverbanks forested. A recently published study released in the journal Earth’s Future finds there are not only environmental, but also economic benefits to keeping riverbanks forested with riparian forests for palm oil producers. It finds oil palm plantations that maintain buffers of forest along rivers can improve their yields because these buffers reduce erosion.

Indonesia

Free Malaysia Today reports: Indonesia arrests executives of palm oil firms in bribery probe. Indonesia’s anti-graft agency has arrested seven people, including a senior executive of palm firm Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology, in connection with a bribery case, an official at the agency said on Sunday.
Jakarta Post reports: Farmers dispute palm oil prosperity claims. Farmers have challenged claims that the palm oil industry has brought prosperity to smallholders and reduced poverty, as millions still struggle to get land ownership documents and earn enough money to meet their basic needs.
Straits Times reports: Indonesia arrests executives of Golden Agri units in bribery probe. Indonesia's anti-graft agency has arrested seven people, including a senior executive of palm oil firm Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology, in connection with a bribery case, an official at the agency said on Sunday (Oct 28).
Eco Business reports: Wilmar aims for deforestation-free supply chain by 2020 after protests. The world’s largest palm oil company has unveiled a plan to cut deforestation and labour abuses out of its supply chain within two years—but activists say the plan will fail to ensure suppliers are compliant.
Swiss Info reports: Nestlé ready to share evidence of deforestation in palm oil supply chain. Under pressure to prove its standards are more rigorous than the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Nestlé is gambling on transparency to convince sceptics. It plans to make information obtained from a satellite monitoring service, including evidence of deforestation, available on the company’s website next year.
New Daily reports: Why junk food giants are cutting ties with palm oil producers. Nestlé and other confectionary giants are distancing themselves from the $65 billion palm oil industry after decades of rampant worker underpayment and rainforest destruction threatening the survival of orangutan populations. Nestlé on Wednesday cut ties with one of the largest palm oil companies in Indonesia – Indofood – ending a 13-year joint venture.
Bangkok Post reports: Effectiveness of Indonesian palm oil moratorium disputed. The Indonesian government has placed a temporary ban on the development of its lucrative palm oil industry as it seeks to review existing concessions and sort out land ownership problems.
Jakarta Post reports: Indonesia tackles clean-up in palm oil head on. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently took his strongest action yet to tackle one of the biggest problems that has been plaguing the country: unsustainable palm oil.
Food Dive reports: PepsiCo drops palm oil supplier known for human rights abuses. PepsiCo announced it will stop sourcing palm oil directly — or indirectly from suppliers — from Indofood, one of Indonesia's largest palm oil companies. The beverage and snack company's action follows similar announcements from Cargill; palm oil traders Bunge Loders Croklaan, Wilmar and Golden Agri Resources; and Musim Mas, a major Indonesian palm oil processor.
Eco-Business reports: Activists scale Wilmar refineries to protest deforestation in Indonesia. Environmental group Greenpeace has staged a protest against Wilmar International in Indonesia over the Singapore-listed palm oil giant’s links to deforestation. Thirty Greenpeace activists scaled a Wilmar refinery and oil transport vessels in Sulawesi, hanging banners and painting messages claiming that the world’s largest palm oil trader is sourcing “dirty palm oil” from suppliers linked to rainforest destruction in Kalimantan and Papua.
The Jakarta Post reports: Jokowi imposes moratorium on palm oil plantations. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed ministers and regional administrations to halt the issuance of new permits for palm oil plantations. The President also ordered a review of the existing permits amid deforestation concerns, said Prabianto Mukti Wibowo, an official from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.
The Borneo Post reports: New Indonesian rules to have minimal impact. Indonesia’s move to stop issuing planting permits for three years is not expected to impact Malaysian-listed planters with operations in Indonesia as most of these companies have already cut down on new plantings of palm oil in compliance with terms under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The Star reports: Late planters to be negatively impacted by Indonesian moratorium. The implementation of the three-year moratorium on new palm oil plantation development and a review of existing plantation permits in Indonesia would be a big blow for late entrants to the industry.
CNBC reports: Greenpeace links forest destruction for palm oil to brands. Greenpeace says global consumer brands continue to buy palm oil from companies that are cutting down Indonesia's rainforests despite repeated pledges to clean up their supply chains. The environmental group said in a report that 25 palm oil producing groups it has investigated destroyed more than 130,000 hectares of natural forest in Indonesia since 2015. The Straits Times reports: S'pore-based palm oil trader, NGO face off. The world's largest palm oil trading company, Singapore-based Wilmar International, has defended its environmental record against accusations by activist group Greenpeace that its five-year-old pledge to end deforestation across its supplier network has been a "total failure".
Mongabay reports: Study games out oil palm development scenarios in Borneo. Although expansion of oil palm plantations appears to be inevitable, regulators have options when deciding what land may be converted into the world’s most widely planted vegetable oil crop. A report by the Center for International Forestry Research finds that current practices not only threaten forests and reduce ecosystem services, but future development will actually decrease the total economic value of two Indonesian provinces on the island of Borneo.
Mongabay reports: Palm oil giant’s claim it can’t control Liberian subsidiary a ‘red herring,’ NGO says. The Forest Peoples Programme, an NGO, recently filed five new complaints against Indonesian palm oil giant Golden Agri-Resources. The complaints were filed in the RSPO, of which the company is a member.
Mongabay reports: Plantations can produce more palm oil if they keep riverbanks forested. A recently published study released in the journal Earth’s Future finds there are not only environmental, but also economic benefits to keeping riverbanks forested with riparian forests for palm oil producers.

Malaysia

Daily Express reports: RM10.3m Unilever support for Sabah. Unilever, the world's largest consumer goods company, is committing US$2.5 million (RM10.3 million) to support Sabah over the next five years in certifying palm oil from this Malaysian part of north Borneo to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards. 7
Free Malaysia Today reports: Sabah agrees to stop oil palm plantations in forest reserves. Sabah has backed the federal government’s stance on not allowing any more expansion of oil palm plantations into permanent forest reserves. Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said the state government had, in fact, shifted its focus to rubber, fruits, timber plantation and cocoa, among others.
Food Navigator reports: World first: Nestle leads food companies in using satellite service to monitor palm oil supply. Nestle has become the first food company worldwide to execute the use of the satellite-based Starling service to monitor all of its palm oil supply chains globally.
Mongabay reports: Plantations can produce more palm oil if they keep riverbanks forested. A recently published study released in the journal Earth’s Future finds there are not only environmental, but also economic benefits to keeping riverbanks forested with riparian forests for palm oil producers. It finds oil palm plantations that maintain buffers of forest along rivers can improve their yields because these buffers reduce erosion.
Edge Markets reports: Malaysia palm oil industry can be 100% MSPO compliant by end-2019, says Theresa Kok. Ministry of Primary Industries is optimistic that the Malaysian palm oil industry will achieve 100% Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, as targeted, by end-2019 with the assistance of big companies and NGOs, Minister Teresa Kok Suh Sim said. The Pakatan Harapan government has to speed up its work, as at the moment, only 20% of the palm oil growers in the country were MSPO-certified.
Malay Mail reports: Teresa Kok: Govt to stop oil palm expansion, maintain forest cover. The government will not allow any more expansion of oil palm plantations in the country, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said today. She said Malaysia's forest cover was over 50 per cent and the government was committed to maintaining it. Asked the impact of the government decision on its long-term revenue, Kok said the decision will be up to palm oil producing companies. She noted the glut in palm oil supply worldwide due to overproduction by Malaysia and Indonesia.
Food Navigator - Asia reports: Belt and Road' revival in Malaysia: Sime Darby and COFCO ink agreement over palm oil. Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) and China’s COFCO Group Co. Ltd. (COFCO) are joining forces to collaborate over palm oil related ventures and boost trade between the two nations. The newly-signed MOU includes a joint research project on the health benefits of palm oil products such as palm tocotrienol, red palm olein, and palm kernel oil. It also focuses on marketing of high-value differentiated palm oil products in China.

Soy

Argentina

The Guardian reports: Soy destruction in Argentina leads straight to our dinner plates. Argentina’s Gran Chaco forest is being razed for soya, ending up in Europe as animal feed, and on our plates. It’s the backbone of Argentina’s fragile economy, but has come at a price for the indigenous people who live there.
Pacific Standard reports: South American Jaguars Are Losing Critical Habitat Due To Agricultural Deforestation. This has led to over-hunting and persecution by cattle ranchers becoming even bigger threats to the survival of the big cat

Brazil

Seafood Source reports: Potentially illegal activities in Brazil soy production raise concern in aquaculture sector. A report from the Rainforest Foundation and the non-governmental organization Future in our Hands accuses three soy producers in Brazil of illegal deforestation, violently and illegally seizing land, using illegal pesticides, and using slave labor.
Under Current News reports: Key Norway aquafeed soy suppliers accused in report scandal. Three Brazilian soy companies that ultimately act as suppliers to some of Norway’s largest fish-farming companies are alleged to have an association with violence, deforestation and slave-like employment, Dagbladet reports.
IntraFish reports: Cargill threatens 'swift action' against rogue feed suppliers. Company said it will move quickly against firms violating its supplier code through slave labor, illegal, deforestation and other unethical practices.
IntraFish reports: BioMar CEO on bombshell Brazil soy report: 'If the claims prove true we will act on it'. The company runs thorough audits with all suppliers and has never found any signs that could lead to these allegations.
Financial Times reports: Brazil’s soya farms an environmental flashpoint. International attention has turned to deforestation in the country’s rich savannah. Five years ago, farmer Ademir Rossato arrived in the new, sweltering promised land for soya production: the heart of the north-central Tocantins state on the vast Brazilian cerrado, or savannah.
Chain Reaction Research reports: Cerrado Deforestation Disrupts Water Systems, Poses Business Risks for Soy Producers. The Cerrado biome, covering over 20 percent of Brazil’s terrain, is a savannah region with high biodiversity and an important function for the water systems in Brazil. The region has experienced significant soy expansion during the last two decades.
Mongabay reports: Ahead of election, deforestation continues to climb in the Brazilian Amazon. Newly released analysis of satellite data by Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, shows that deforestation in the Amazon is continuing to climb. Imazon’s deforestation alert system detected 545 square kilometers of forest clearing in August, a tripling of the area deforested the same month a year ago.
Pacific Standard reports: South American Jaguars Are Losing Critical Habitat Due To Agricultural Deforestation. This has led to over-hunting and persecution by cattle ranchers becoming even bigger threats to the survival of the big cat.
Mongabay reports: Brazilian legislators break law, attack Amazon, trade freely with world: report. A report, published this week by Amazon Watch, reveals that six prominent Brazilian politicians — members of the bancada ruralista agribusiness lobby and all but one up for election in October — have been found guilty of serious environmental, economic and social crimes and offenses.

China

Reuters reports: Chinese traders play down impact of new animal feed guidelines on soy demand. Oilseed traders in China on Monday played down the potential impact on soy consumption of new government guidelines to lower the protein content of animal feed, saying that rising soymeal and soybean prices would be a far bigger curb on appetite.

Paraguay

New York Magazine reports: An Advanced Digital Map Is Being Used to Save Forests and Indigenous Land in Paraguay. Paraguay is home to vast swathes of wild land — forests, savannas, mountains — but over the past 20 years, it’s lost huge amounts of that. Agriculture and development have deforested 9 million acres (roughly the size of the Netherlands) in Paraguay since 2001, the majority of it to enterprises like soy and cattle.

Beef

Argentina

Pacific Standard reports: South American Jaguars Are Losing Critical Habitat Due To Agricultural Deforestation. This has led to over-hunting and persecution by cattle ranchers becoming even bigger threats to the survival of the big cat.
CSR Wire reports: Leading Global Investors Managing $6.4 Trillion Call on Companies to Eliminate Deforestation in South American Cattle Production. The investors issued a formal statement at PRI in Person in San Francisco aimed at the cattle sector and its associated supply chains. Beef production is the world’s leading driver of tropical deforestation, responsible for 65% of gross deforestation from 2001-2009.

Brazil

Mongabay reports: Landless movement leader assassinated in Brazilian. Amazon Landless movement leader Aluisio Sampaio, known as Alenquer, was murdered last Thursday in his home in Castelo de Sonhos in Pará state – an area that has become increasingly violent as land grabbers take over, clear forest, and sell the land for high profits to cattle ranchers.
Pacific Standard reports: South American Jaguars Are Losing Critical Habitat Due To Agricultural Deforestation. This has led to over-hunting and persecution by cattle ranchers becoming even bigger threats to the survival of the big cat.
Mongabay reports: Pasture expansion driving deforestation in Brazilian protected area.Climate scientists were wary when the Brazilian government announced in August that its 2020 goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions had already been met. Lending credence to those concerns, it appears even protected areas in the country aren’t currently safe from forest destruction.
Mongabay reports: Ahead of election, deforestation continues to climb in the Brazilian Amazon. Newly released analysis of satellite data by Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, shows that deforestation in the Amazon is continuing to climb.
CSR Wire reports: Leading Global Investors Managing $6.4 Trillion Call on Companies to Eliminate Deforestation in South American Cattle Production. The investors issued a formal statement at PRI in Person in San Francisco aimed at the cattle sector and its associated supply chains. Beef production is the world’s leading driver of tropical deforestation, responsible for 65% of gross deforestation from 2001-2009.