FT in the News Archives - Forest Trends

AllAfrica: Unmasking Waste and Abuse of Forest Resources in Liberia

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 15:23:54 +0000

Forest issues trackers like Forest Trends and the media estimate that more than 17,000 logs have been abandoned nationwide since 2019, representing a potential market value of over US$20 million. Of this, they say communities were due hundreds of thousands of dollars in land rental and social development fees, while the government itself lost millions in taxes, stumpage fees, and export duties–funds that could have strengthened education, health, and rural infrastructure.

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Ground Truth: Ecosia’s Call, Kenya’s Bet and the Fight for Forest Funds

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:25:07 +0000

Despite being hailed as irreplaceable stewards of nature, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are still being left out of the climate finance equation. A new analysis by Forest Trends and Rainforest Foundation Norway shows that of the $2.7 billion pledged to IPLCs between 2011 and 2020, only 17% reached IPLC-led organizations — and a mere 2.9% landed in their hands directly.

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Foreign Policy: China’s Appetite for Rosewood Is Causing Chaos in Africa

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 16:36:19 +0000

Instead, China has voluntary guidelines for tracing timber, which, according to a study conducted by Forest Trends, have been developed as a “stepwise approach towards eventual mandatory legislation.”

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The Business Times: Slowly Reviving Carbon Markets, Singapore Commissions Nuclear Study

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:32:54 +0000

The tepid trading reflects widespread loss of confidence about the quality of carbon credits after several high-profile analyses that found a number of major projects were not removing or reducing carbon as much as claimed. But Ecosystem Marketplace, a carbon markets information platform run by the conservation finance organisation Forest Trends, sees reasons for “moderate optimism”.

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Wood Central: New EUDR Rules Slash Compliance Checks for Low-Risk Timber

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 16:30:35 +0000

Critics argue that timber harvested in high-risk regions could be processed in low-risk hubs such as China, Singapore, or India, and then re-exported to Europe under misleading classifications. “Presumably, declarations would still need to indicate the original country of harvest,” said Kerstin Canby of Forest Trends, who spoke to Wood Central in June. “But if the country of harvest is categorised as standard risk and the re-exporting country is listed as low risk, how would that be treated? We already know from years of experience that much of the labelling and origin information tends to disappear during processing and re-export, which raises significant concerns.”

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VegOut: How a Malaysian Dictator Created the Blueprint for Ecological Genocide

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:28:21 +0000

Cambodia has lost forest at one of the world’s fastest rates. According to Forest Trends, “95 percent of the timber harvested between 1997 and 1998 was illegally felled.” The country that was once 73% forested now struggles to protect its remaining fragments.

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Renewable Matter: Doubling Down on Nature

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:29:13 +0000

Forest Trends, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, recently released a new report on the state of investment in nature-based solutions for water security. Gena Gammie, Director of Forest Trends’ Global Water Initiative and co-author of the report, joins in conversation about the report’s findings and their implications.

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Wood Central: Flawed EUDR Ratings Prioritize Politics Over Deforestation Risks

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 20:03:57 +0000

The EUDR’s new country classification lisk, which rates countries based on their risk of deforestation, fails to acknowledge many key countries as ‘high-risk’ and does not factor in timber laundered through global shipping hubs. Highlighting insights from Marigold Watkins, Senior Advisor at Forest Trends, and Kerstin Canby, Senior Director of our Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative.

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Wood Central: EUDR Won’t Stop Illegal Timber Arriving via Singapore & Hong Kong

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:57:44 +0000

The EUDR—and its new country classification list—will do little to curb the constant flow of deforested and illegal timber arriving in European ports via Singapore, India, and China. That is according to Marigold Walkins and Kerstin Canby, from Forest Trends, who spoke to Wood Central about the fundamentally flawed way policymakers have classified 194 countries as high, medium, and low risk.

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Carbon Credits: VCM Makeover in 2024

Fri, 30 May 2025 16:41:34 +0000

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is a crucial tool in the global fight against climate change. It allows companies, governments, and individuals to purchase carbon credits that represent a reduction or removal of greenhouse gases, offsetting their own emissions. Over the past decade, the VCM has grown rapidly, but it is now entering a new, more complex phase.

Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace State of the Voluntary Carbon Market (SOVCM) 2025 report shows that the market is shifting. It’s moving from cheap credits and volume to higher standards of environmental integrity.

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