Yaoundé Conference Garners International Press Coverage
Yaoundé Conference Garners International Press Coverage

The Yaoundé conference on forest tenure” governance and enterprise has enjoyed considerable attention from many international media outlets. Statistics from the central document released for…

Reflecting on Conservation's past
Reflecting on Conservation's past

Peter Kareiva” chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy” admits to “conservation heresy” in his blog post from 19 May” Should Protected Areas Be Reexamined?  In…

Malaysian court upholds Native Customary Rights
Malaysian court upholds Native Customary Rights

The federal court of Malaysia upheld the concept of native customary rights (NCR) in a case initiated by a local resident Madehi Salleh” reported the…

An Expert Group on Indigenous Peoples in the UNFCCC?
An Expert Group on Indigenous Peoples in the UNFCCC?

As reported from Poznan” Poland” in REDD-Monitor and by the International Indigenous Poeples Forum on Climate Change: After years of lobbying” there is the chance…

Cambodia advances community-managed forestry
Cambodia advances community-managed forestry

RECOFTC (an RRI Partner) reports that the Cambodian Ministry for Agriculture” Forests and Fisheries (MAFF) recently designated 127″000 ha of forests for community management.  The prakas”…

Who profits from current global land grab?
Who profits from current global land grab?

In what’s being increasingly referred to as the next global land grab” industrialized nations are scrambling to acquire arable lands in many of the world’s…

Friends of the Earth report links REDD and rights
Friends of the Earth report links REDD and rights

The Guardian” FoE climate and energy coordinator Joseph Zacune said the report” “re-focuses us on the question” who do forests belong to? In the absence…

Land  encroachment threatens Nepalese forest communities
Land encroachment threatens Nepalese forest communities

The forests of Nepal are under threat.  Due to illegal encroachment and timber extraction” the livelihoods of community forest users are being challenged.  In a…

PNG Supreme Court rules Rimbunan Hijau concessions illegal
PNG Supreme Court rules Rimbunan Hijau concessions illegal

The Papua New Guinea Eco-Forestry Forum reported today that the PNG Supreme Court has overturned the Malaysian conglomerate Rimbunana Hijau’s rights to log in the vast Kamula…

Ecuador passes new Constitution acknowledging indigenous rights

On September 28, 2008, the people of the Republic of Ecuador passed a new Constitution, seen as a historic document which recognizes both indigenous peoples’ land rights and livelihoods and the rights of nature. 

Indigenous groups wary of post-Kyoto agreement
Indigenous groups wary of post-Kyoto agreement

An article by Ben Block of WorldWatch discusses how indigenous peoples and traditional groups are expressing concern over further disempowerment that may result from the…