This note provides country of origin information (COI) and policy guidance to Home Office decision makers on handling particular types of protection and human rights claims. This includes whether claims are likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave and whether – in the event of a claim being refused – it is likely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under s94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Violent conflict affects three quarters of Asia’s forests and tens of millions of people. In Cambodia, for example, nearly half of the 236 land conflicts recorded in 2009 escalated to violence. Because forest conflict is such a major issue in the region, we need a better understanding of the underlying causes, impacts, and management solutions. This issues paper sheds light on these topics, drawing lessons from eight new case studies.

The European Union funded Voices for Mekong Forests (V4MF) project conducted a set of forest governance and capacity needs assessments in late 2017 and early 2018 to assess the state of forest governance in five GMS countries: Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.

The management of Asia’s forests affects diverse stakeholders and interests, inevitably resulting in conflict. This study focuses on conflicts between local communities and outsiders: the underlying causes, conflict management approaches, and eventual outcomes. Field data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions in seven community-outsider conflict cases across five countries.

While many direct conflict triggers were observed, at least three underlying and interrelated factors enabled conflict:

Since 2009, the Government of Switzerland and RECOFTC have partnered with ASEAN through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)’s support to the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) and the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC). This is a brochure describing the RECOFTC activities under the ASFCC Phase II (2014-2016).

Building on a very successful previous strategic phase, the new RECOFTC Strategic Plan (2013-2018) has an increased focus on clearer strategic outcomes in RECOFTC’s four thematic areas: Securing Community Forestry; Enhancing Livelihoods and Markets; People, Forests and Climate Change; and Transforming Forest Conflicts. Within these thematic areas, we explore emerging issues, including landscape approaches, food security, water security, and biomass energy security.

As negotiations on the shape of REDD+ continue at national and global levels, REDD-Net’s network of civil society organizations has identified the issue of trust as a high priority for further examination. In this issue RECOFTC explores the importance of trust in REDD+, why the success of REDD+ depends on trust, and how trust may need to come with its own set of warnings.

The stories in this report illustrate the invaluable contributions being made by community members, pioneering government personnel and others who are actively participating in forest management – leading to improved livelihoods, and more equity and a fairer share of benefits. The stories highlight the challenges faced and opportunities created by people in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam who are promoting community forestry.

A lack of respect for the role of local people in land use planning and local farming traditions have led to the encroachment of forest land in many areas in Viet Nam, hindering the sustainable management of forest resources. Based on a review and assessment of overlapping forest land boundaries, and taking into account local customs, this brief offers a solution to this challenge. For any solution to work, it is important to ensure the active participation of local people in implementing land use planning and land allocation.

Illegal logging and its associated trade remains a serious threat to forests and people in Southeast Asia. However, despite having caught the attention of the international community more than a decade ago, the illegal timber trade still accounts for a significant portion of wood and wood products from this region.

Dự án này do Hội đồng Nghiên cứu Kinh tế và Xã Hội Vương quốc Anh, có sự tham gia của các nhà hoạch định chính sách, các chuyên gia lâm nghiệp và người dân liên quan đến lâm nghiệp cộng đồng tại Việt Nam. Dự án này nhấn mạnh những vấn đề chính về quản lý rừng và vận động thay đổi chính sách ở cấp quốc gia về quyền hưởng dụng rừng cà quản lý rừng cộng đồng.