[2 articles] Brazil lawsuits allege direct relationship between meatpackers, deforesters on protected land – Cocoa grown illegally in a Nigerian rainforest heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers

Brazil lawsuits allege direct relationship between meatpackers, deforesters on protected land

Cattle walk along an illegally deforested area in an extractive reserve near Jaci-Parana, Rondonia state, Brazil, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Meat processing giant JBS SA and three other slaughterhouses are facing lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in environmental damages for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in the area. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Cattle walk along an illegally deforested area in an extractive reserve near Jaci-Parana, Rondonia state, Brazil, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

BY FABIANO MAISONNAVE, ASSOCIATED PRESS AND RUBENS VALENTE, AGENCIA PUBLICAU pdated 6:42 AM GMT+7, December 20, 2023 AP

JACI-PARANA, Brazil (AP) — Meat processing giant JBS SA and three other slaughterhouses are facing lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in environmental damages for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon.

The lawsuits, filed December 5 to 12 by the western Brazilian state of Rondonia, target the exploitation of a protected area known as Jaci-Parana, once rainforest but now mostly transformed into grassland by decades of misuse by land-grabbers, loggers and cattle ranchers. Despite a law forbidding commercial cattle in the reserve, some 216,000 head now graze on pasture there, according to the state animal division.

Tiếp tục đọc “[2 articles] Brazil lawsuits allege direct relationship between meatpackers, deforesters on protected land – Cocoa grown illegally in a Nigerian rainforest heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers”

Chuyển đổi đất rừng làm dự án: Đối diện thực tế mất rừng

nguoidothi.net.vn  Thứ tư, 02/08/2023 0

Mặc dù đã có nhiều chấn chỉnh từ chỉ đạo cho đến việc sửa đổi quy định liên quan nhưng sau 5 năm, nguy cơ mất rừng bởi các dự án phát triển kinh tế vẫn chưa có dấu hiệu hạ nhiệt.

Hiện nay, cả nước đang rà soát và điều chỉnh lại quy hoạch 3 loại rừng, gồm rừng đặc dụng, rừng phòng hộ, rừng sản xuất. Một nhà khoa học ngành lâm nghiệp đang tham gia quá trình này ở nhiều tỉnh thành đã thốt lên: “Chúng ta cần nhìn thẳng và chấp nhận sự thật là diện tích rừng hiện không còn bao nhiêu!”. 

Ông cho biết thực tế có những tỉnh sau khi rà soát, diện tích rừng được gọi đúng khái niệm rừng(*) chỉ còn khoảng 1/3 diện tích so với con số báo cáo. Nhiều diện tích đất rừng từ lâu người dân đã làm rẫy, xâm canh, trồng hoa màu, cây công nghiệp… Thậm chí, có tỉnh để đạt được mục tiêu độ che phủ rừng đề ra của địa phương mà lấy cả diện tích rừng ngoài quy hoạch, tức đất nông nghiệp đang trồng các loại cây công nghiệp lâu năm như keo lá tràm của người dân đưa vào quy hoạch 3 loại rừng. 

Tiếp tục đọc “Chuyển đổi đất rừng làm dự án: Đối diện thực tế mất rừng”

The EU just passed a historic anti-deforestation law. Now it needs to go after the banks

globalwitness.org

Governments from across the European Union today adopted a historic new law which will ensure that a raft of commodities linked to deforestation and forest degradation won’t be able to enter the EU market unless proven to be sustainably sourced. 

The green light from EU national governments means that by end of next year, imports of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber will have to comply with strict traceability obligations and evidence must show that they have not been grown on deforested or degraded land.

It’s the first law of its kind in the world, and a historic blueprint for the approaches that other markets should look at to help preserve the world’s forests – which are essential in the fight against climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.

Now the first milestone towards deforestation-free supply chains has been achieved, it’s time to ensure that the European Union can fully end its role in forest destruction – which means cutting the money pipeline to deforesting businesses.  This is the final piece of the puzzle.

Tiếp tục đọc “The EU just passed a historic anti-deforestation law. Now it needs to go after the banks”

Why ‘natural disaster’ is a misnomer

Update: November, 06/2017 – 09:00

Illegally felled logs that floated in floodwaters gathered in a village in Yên Bái Province. Massive, unchecked deforestation has compounded the impact of natural disasters in the northern province . — Photo laodong.vn
Viet Nam News YÊN BÁI — In recent years, the mountainous province of Yên Bái in the north has consistently been among the hardest hit by natural disasters.

However, it is patently obvious that human activities have exacerbated the devastation caused.

Many serious cases of deforestation have been uncovered in the province, but nothing much comes out of it. There is some public outrage, followed by “disciplinary actions” and “warnings” being doled out against some “bad seeds” officials. Tiếp tục đọc “Why ‘natural disaster’ is a misnomer”

Deforestation ongoing in Bình Đình: Report

vietnamnews

Update: November, 01/2017 – 15:30

Nearly 16ha of natural forest have been lost. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kha
BÌNH ĐỊNH — Nearly 16ha of natural forests in Canh Thuận Commune, Vân Canh District, Bình Định Province, were recently chopped down, according to a report of the provincial forest protection branch.

Accordingly, as many as 15.754ha of production forests in zone 367 were destroyed in August this year.

Tiếp tục đọc “Deforestation ongoing in Bình Đình: Report”

Man responsible for deforestation arrested

vietnamnews

Update: October, 10/2017 – 15:00

As many as 61ha of natural forest in An Lão District was totally destroyed. — Photo vietnamplus.vn
Viet Nam News BÌNH ĐỊNH — The general director of Thương Thảo Joint Stock Company, Lê Văn Thiệt, was placed under temporary detention for investigation into deforestation activities, the police of central Bình Định Province said.

Thiệt will remain in custody for four months. Tiếp tục đọc “Man responsible for deforestation arrested”

Companies’ ‘zero deforestation’ pledges: everything you need to know

Corporations globally have made hundreds of commitments on deforestation. But what do these pledges really mean and why do scandals keep happening?

Dead trees stand in a recently deforested section of the Amazon rainforest
Dead trees stand in a recently deforested section of the Amazon rainforest in Rondonia state, Brazil. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Whether it’s the destruction of rainforest shared by elephants and orangutans in Sumatra to produce palm oil; reports linking fast food giants to the burning of tropical forests in Brazil and Bolivia; or the hundreds of thousands of hectares of tree cover loss per year in West Africa – the world’s forests are being razed to sate global demand for produce such as palm oil, beef and cocoa. Tiếp tục đọc “Companies’ ‘zero deforestation’ pledges: everything you need to know”

Deforestation haunts Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Tuoi Tre News

Updated : 06/23/2017 18:00 GMT + 7

Severe deforestation in Quang Son Commune, Dak G’Long District, located in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong

 

Countless hectares of forest in Vietnam’s Central Highlands are being destroyed as the result of industrial and agricultural activities conducted by local businesses and residents at such a rate that authorities are unable to prevent the situation.

Businesses, residents, and even immigrants in the Central Highlands region are exploiting the local forests for its natural resources.

Meanwhile competent authorities have been unable to manage the excessive exploitation, with some even caught abetting the harmful activities. Tiếp tục đọc “Deforestation haunts Vietnam’s Central Highlands”

Protective forests are being slowly destroyed

Last update 08:10 | 08/03/2017
VietNamNet Bridge – Protective forests are being cut down at a high rate, despite laws that oversee such violations. 

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Many trees in the natural forests of the mountainous district of Da Krong in Quang Tri province have been chopped down. When reporters visited the site in late February, they could see felled trunks in disorder on the ground with sap still dripping.

Three forest rangers, present at the civil guard post, when asked why the forest was ruined, said they tried to persuade people to stop felling trees and reported the deforestation to relevant agencies, but the forest was still ravaged. Tiếp tục đọc “Protective forests are being slowly destroyed”

Ministry to inspect deforestation in Phu Yen

Last update 16:14 | 05/04/2017

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided to establish a team to inspect the use of forest land for other purposes in Phu Yen Province.

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Trees are chopped down to pave the way for a cow raising project. – Photo dantri.com.vn

The team with six members, led by Doan Hai Nam, deputy head of the Forest Protection Department under the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry, will work in 30 days.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, project owners and related units will be scrutinised. Tiếp tục đọc “Ministry to inspect deforestation in Phu Yen”

New Platform Reveals How Much Carbon Is Locked in Tropical Forests – and How Much Was Lost

WRI – Between 2001 and 2013, greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation across the world’s tropical forests were, on average, larger than Russia’s economy-wide emissions in 2012. That’s 2,270 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide every year.

Emissions from tropical deforestation have significant implications for implementation of the new national climate plans (INDCs), as well as international initiatives like the New York Declaration on Forests, whose signatories aim to cut global deforestation in half by 2020. Tiếp tục đọc “New Platform Reveals How Much Carbon Is Locked in Tropical Forests – and How Much Was Lost”

Why is it so incredibly hard to stop deforestation?

Who really holds power over land use decisions? Why are efforts to keep forests standing, such as REDD+ and other initiatives, still so far from altering development trajectories? CIFOR researchers Anne Larson and Ashwin Ravikumar explore.

Eco-business: Who really holds power over land use decisions? Why are efforts to keep forests standing, such as REDD+ and other initiatives, still so far from altering development trajectories?At the recent biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), held in Edmonton, Canada, we presented preliminary findings of research on the politics of multilevel governance in land use change and climate policy. Tiếp tục đọc “Why is it so incredibly hard to stop deforestation?”