Publications

Broken Promises: How World Bank Group policies fail to protect forests and forest peoples’ rights

01 January 2005

This is a collaborative report published with RFUK and seven other organisations. As the articles in this special issue show, the World Bank has broken several key promises and, sadly, the concerns the authors had about the World Bank’s new Forests Policy turn out to have been all too well founded.

RFUK Annual Report 2003

31 December 2003

This summary of our projects and campaigns in 2003 offers a highlight of the Rainforest Foundation UK's work with indigenous and forest communities around the world.

Forest management transparency, governance and the law: Case studies from the Congo Basin

01 October 2003

This study is aimed at presenting some of the concerns of representatives of the civil society of Central Africa about the forestry law and its implementation in the region. It contains various topics ranging from land laws to governance through the production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), violent conflicts and deforestation, with examples drawn from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon.

Trading in Credibility

01 November 2002

The Forest Stewardship Council has come to be seen as one of the most important initiatives to promote the conservation and better management of the world’s forests. It aims to do this by setting standards for the independent auditing of forestry operations and companies, and allowing its logo to be used as a ‘seal of approval’ on wood and paper products that come from certified forests. The public is led to believe that products labelled with the FSC logo are from “environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable” sources.

However, this report documents serious flaws in certifications being carried out in FSC’s name, to the extent that the public cannot be assured that a wood or paper product carrying FSC’s logo actually comes from a well-managed forest. Such flaws are found to be linked to certain structural weaknesses in the FSC system, to specific political decisions within the organization and to a lack of effective control mechanisms. The report presents a compelling case that urgent and fundamental reform is essential if FSC is to survive as a credible mechanism for the certification of forestry operations.

RFUK Annual Report 2001

31 December 2001

This summary of our projects and campaigns in 2001 offers a highlight of the Rainforest Foundation UK's work with indigenous and forest communities around the world.