In 1995, corrupt officials secretly awarded all of Cambodia’s unallocated forest, 35 per cent of the country’s total land area, as concessions to logging companies. How have these rogue loggers exploited political instability and weak government institutions to plunder Cambodia’s timber? Can anything be done to check the depredations of the ‘untouchables’ before Cambodia is logged out?

This paper summarises a study undertaken by the Indonesian Forest Climate Alliance (IFCA) to support Indonesian stakeholders to participate in global negotiations. The authors note that the objective of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) payment distribution mechanisms is to support policies and measures that reduce deforestation and degradation through transfer of revenues from international REDD funds or carbon markets to national levels.

This article discusses the extent to which the location of roads s and protected areas affects deforestation in North Thailand. The article stresses that establishing protected areas (national parks together with wildlife sanctuaries) in North Thailand did not reduce the likelihood of forest clearing, but wildlife sanctuaries may have reduced the probability of deforestation.

This report summarises two separate Friends of the Earth reports on, respectively, the increasing demand for palm oil in developed countries, and the social and environmental impacts of palm oil cultivation in Southeast Asia - focussing particularly on Indonesia.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, enacted fifty years ago, allows autonomy to tribal communities in administrative, legislative and financial matters and was supposed to protect them from domination and exploitation by external forces. This paper examines the extent to which self-governance by tribal groups facilitated sustainability of common resources, especially forests, in the hill regions of North East India.

This extensive FAO assessment of global forest resources, describes the extent, uses and value of forest resources covering 229 countries and territories between 1990 and 2005.

This reference list has been collated – as part of a HelpDesk enquiry that was undertaken by the Evidence on Demand team – to peer-review social and gender issues in a business case, relating to forests and climate change. Whilst not exhaustive, this list may act as a useful resource in the development of future business cases. References are divided into two main categories: 1.Gender issues and forestry Gender participation, empowerment and forests  Gender research and sustainable forestry  Gender mainstreaming  Gender and agriculture  Gender, climate change and forests

The Forests and Climate Change Programme (FORCLIME) is a collaborative project implemented by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry sector and improve the livelihoods of Indonesia’s poor rural communities. This policy brief discusses the manner in which the FORCLIME initiative is contributing to the development of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in Indonesia.

This document presents a proposed methodology, and step-by-step guidance, for Participatory Subnational Planning (PSP), tailored to operationalise subnational REDD+ programmes. PSP is a participatory planning method presented as a comprehensive, yet cost-effective approach to identifying: drivers of deforestation and forest degradation; interventions to address these drivers; environmental and social benefits/risks of these interventions; and indicators and monitoring plans.

Road network expansion is strongly associated with increased deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Pfaff analyzes the determinants of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Using a model of optimal land use, he derives and estimates an equation for deforestation using (1) country level data for 197888 and (2) measures of deforestation from satellite images.The evidence suggests that: Increased road density in a county leads to more deforestation there and in neighboring counties. Development projects were associated with deforestation in the 1970s but not in the 1980s.

Presents some preliminary results on the impact of the economic crisis on farmers’ livelihood and forest use, based on fieldwork in four provinces in Indonesia (Riau, West and East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi). Stresses the great variation throughout the country, and the volatility of the situation. Price data reveal that some groups of export crops-oriented farmers enjoyed a short-term gain during the first 2-3 quarters of 1998. Soaring food prices and a stronger rupiah since October 1998 have, however, gradually made real prices move towards their pre-crisis levels.

The report documents on illegal logging and illegal export of timber to China in Kachin State in Burma, which is on the border of China and where deforestation is at its worst. It also documents the response of the relevant authorities in both Burma and China to ‘A Choice for China’, a Global Witnessexposure of the massive illegal timber trade between Burma and China in 2005 which resulted in a ban on logging and timber transportation in Kachin State in Burma and a Chinese ban on the importation of Burmese timber followed by Interim Measures to control the trade.Key findings are: