Carbon offsetting and REDD

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) has become the dominant international forest policy. Variations of REDD+ include Nature-Based Solutions and corporate pledges to achieve Zero Net Deforestation. In reality, though, deforestation continues, polluting companies use REDD+ offsets to avoid reducing their fossil fuel emissions, and zero-net deforestation pledges allow forests to be cleared in one area as long as an “equivalent” area is restored elsewhere.

Articles 19 March 2025

What do the struggles of women facing land grabbing in Mexico, Sierra Leone and Indonesia have in common?

In the framework of International Women's Day, WRM is relaunching the podcast “Women’s struggles for land”, with stories from women’s collectives from the coastal area of Chiapas in Mexico, the Malen Chiefdom in Sierra Leone and the Kapuas river area of Central Kalimantan in Indonesia. While their stories appear quite different from each other at first glance, we find many commonalities and a strong connection between them.

Bulletin articles 15 December 2024

How Jurisdictional REDD in Indonesia threatens forests and benefits NGOs: the case of East Kalimantan

In the province of East Kalimantan, the World Bank is supporting the Indonesian government’s first jurisdictional REDD programme. International conservationist NGOs, TNC and WWF, have been playing a key role in the preparation and execution of the programme. While they proclaim it to be a “success story” (1), this programme is full of contradictions. Available in Indonesian.

Bulletin articles 24 October 2024

PODCAST - Indonesia: Dayak Women Defend the Forest of Tambun Bungai

This article tells the story of a Podcast that is being jointly launched with Solidaritas Perumpuan, a feminist organisation from Indonesia. This espisode is the third in the series “Women’s struggles for land”, produced by WRM together with organisations from different countries. This one tells the story of women's resistance to oil palm plantations, REDD and a large-scale project for food production (Food Estate) in three villages in Central Kalimantan.

Bulletin articles 24 October 2024

Thailand’s offset-based ‘climate policy’: more climate chaos and injustice

With World Bank support, the Thai government is moving quickly to implement its ‘climate policy’ based on carbon offsetting through the use of so-called ‘green areas’. These areas are projected to cover no less than half of the country´s area. Yet hidden behind this ‘green’ discourse is an economic policy that is heavily reliant on the continued use of fossil fuels. (Available in Thai).

Bulletin articles 19 December 2023

The Industrial Park KIPI reveals the dirty and destructive face of Indonesia´s “green” transition

President Jokowi calls the Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI) “the largest green industrial area in the world”. But in reality, there is nothing green about the KIPI. It will lead to massive fossil fuel use, land and water grabbing, while threatening thousands of people in coastal communities with forced eviction. (Available in Indonesian).

Bulletin articles 30 March 2023

Thailand: Valuing Forests as Carbon Credits

Indigenous Peoples and communities in the forests of Thailand are threatened with policies that have added a new type of asset: carbon credits. The legislation passed in the name of conservation and climate mitigation is in fact designed to limit the use of forest communities of their land and forests while encroaching them into smaller areas.

Bulletin articles 16 June 2022

Expansion of Pulp and Paper Companies APP and APRIL in Indonesia: More Deforestation and Violence

More than 10 million hectares in Indonesia are controlled by the pulp and paper industry, mainly by two giant corporations: APP and APRIL. Despite the companies’ commitments to protect forests and peatland, both keep being associated with deforestation, forest fires and to a business model of violence, criminalization and dispossession of forest communities. (Available in Bahasa Indonesia)