News

Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke is a Congolese environmental and human rights defender who has dedicated his life’s work to advocating for environmental rights, land rights and land justice, especially in and around Virunga National Park. Last week, Olivier was awarded the Front Line Defenders Award 2023.

Photo © Conor McCabe

The Save Palawan Movement and the Green Livelihoods Alliance strongly denounce the harassment inflicted by Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC)’s security forces last April 14, 2023 against local residents of the municipality of Brooke’s Point in Palawan island in the Philippines.

More than 30 participants (14 male and 18 female) from five different countries participated in interactive discussions and learning sessions during the Youth Engagement and Empowerment Hive in Asia (YEEHA) – 2^nd Regional Youth Camp held last 13-19 March, 2023, in the Lomunu Training Center of PACOS Trust in Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia.

Uganda’s Buvuma island, located in Lake Victoria, used to be heavily forested. Between 2000 and 2005, however, the island witnessed rapid land use changes, leaving less than 3% of the area forested.

During the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council, which took place in Geneva over the past few days, the results of the Universal Periodic Review relating to the Netherlands were determined. The results show that the Netherlands accepts almost all the recommendations requested by IUCN NL, Milieudefensie and Stand Up for Your Rights.

For generations, the Indigenous Dayak Simpakng of Mekar Raya village in West Kalimantan, have been managing trees and crops in a complex system known as Tembawang. They depend on Tembawang for their livelihoods. It is where they collect fruits, vegetables, and materials for weaving baskets. It is also where they get clean water from numerous springs. To them, the Tembawang area is sacred and needs to be protected as part of their life support system and culture.

Since the Netherlands is an actor with a strong history of gender advocacy in the EU and global policy arenas, WECF has conducted a feminist analysis of key forest and biodiversity policies, regulations, and strategies of the Dutch government. We found that most Dutch and EU policy documents are either entirely lacking a gender perspective or they are gender-sensitive, at most. 

The forests of Guarayos provide more than half of Bolivia’s wood supply. But this is threatened by overexploitation, while younger people have been leaving to find work elsewhere. This video shows how a programme supports indigenous youth to be more aware of the value of their forests, the economic opportunities available, and to build the needed skills to make the most of these. The result – more income for them and their communities, less migration, and improved sustainable governance of local forests.

The Green Livelihood Alliance will conduct a Midterm Review (MTR) of the FfJF for the period of 2021 – mid 2023. The alliance calls for an external consultant or consultancy firm to come up with a proposal for an appreciative user-centred MTR, that can help all organisations involved to reflect and adapt their strategies.