Senior European lawmakers have been urged to ensure human rights and deforestation issues are kept at the heart of a new forest products risk-ranking system for countries. The proposed country risk benchmarking system will operate under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which seeks to prohibit trade in timber, beef, leather, chocolate, soy, palm oil and […]
This year is a big one for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), with the 78th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC78) kicking off in Geneva, Switzerland from 3-8 February. This will be followed by the much larger 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan later in the year. EIA […]
What was expected to be the fifth and final session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee met in South Korea last month, but ultimately it failed to agree a Global Plastics Treaty. Instead of cause for celebration, our campaigners came away from the talks concerned that the process had been hijacked by vested financial interests. […]
Thailand’s newly announced ban on plastic waste imports is a monumental victory for the health of the country’s people and environment. The South-East Asian country is one of several in the region to accept and process plastic waste from other nations. However, history has shown that such bans, while necessary, often displace the problem rather […]
In another major win for Myanmar’s forests, a penalty order of €150,000 has been issued against a Dutch firm for using illicit Myanmar teak on Jeff Bezos’ superyacht Koru. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie OM) has confirmed it reached a settlement agreement with a “Dutch yacht builder” — named as Oceanco by Dutch newspaper […]
In a landmark case in the UK courts, a luxury yacht firm has been handed stiff penalties for using ‘blood’ teak imported from Myanmar on some of the vessels it builds. Sunseeker International Ltd – self-styled as “the world’s leading brand for luxury motor yachts” – is based in Poole, Dorset. Sitting at Bournemouth Crown […]