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11 December 2020 DR Congo
For forest dependent communities, securing rights to forests and lands that they hold by tradition and customs is a prerequisite for local development. Introduced by the Congolese forest code for natural resources management, this ensures protection against expropriation with land titles issued by the provincial governor.
11 December 2020 Colombia
Corpoamazonia, the environmental authority in the Colombian Amazon, reports that 75,000 hectares of forest was lost in the first trimester of 2020, the same as in the whole of 2019. Participative productive restoration of forest landscapes aims to restore deforested land and improve livelihoods of those living in these areas. But most involved institutions approach this process from a very technical perspective, promoting the planting of trees species not always aligned with local conditions, and rely on ‘standard’ species, nurseries, cultivation patterns, management procedures and follow-up. But local communities have the capacity to build their own reforestation programmes based on traditional forest management, leading to truly participative productive restoration.
11 December 2020 Indonesia
Villages in Indonesia that have obtained a social forestry permit are allowed to develop enterprises, called social forestry business units (KUPS), so they can benefit from the forest while also protecting it. For further development after being established, with the village government’s decision letter the KUPS can access Bangpesona grants from the Directorate General of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
11 December 2020 Suriname
Taking part in the storytelling training in June 2020 run by RNTC Media Training Centre as part of the GLA programme, inspired us to share research-based information from Tropenbos Suriname projects. This enables us to connect with our audience on a more personal level. We decided on sharing the story of agricultural development in Pikin Slee village, in the Upper Suriname River area, to demonstrate the benefits of agriculture to other villages in the region and promote the involvement of youth. This story also motivates the other villages of the potential benefits for their communities if they adapt new farming techniques.
30 June 2020 the Netherlands
In 2019, a broad coalition of European NGOs campaigned for legally binding measures by the EU to curb deforestation linked to the production, consumption and import of agro-commodities (so-called “imported deforestation”). As a result, in January 2020 the European Parliament adopted a motion calling for robust regulatory measures.
30 June 2020 General
Together with partner organizations, TBI achieved a number of successes in the cocoa sector last year. In Ghana, civil society organizations have been taking part in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI). Major chocolate companies called on the EU to regulate the European market for cocoa and cocoa products. And TBI participated in talks about deforestation as a result of cocoa production, as part of the Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa.