Forests
Worldwide, deforestation and conversion of land accounts for nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.The destruction and degradation of tropical rainforests driven by industrial agriculture is linked to human rights abuses, displacement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and destruction of critical species habitat. Intact forests are foundational to the cultures, livelihoods and spiritual well-being of hundreds of millions of people; they regulate the climate locally and globally; and they are the planet’s immune system, as rich biodiversity and dynamic, living ecosystems guard against the release of pandemic diseases.
Consequently, deforestation is at the center of some of the planet’s most urgent, overlapping crises: Increasingly intense natural disasters, unprecedented species loss, and an epidemic of violence against land and environmental defenders. There is no way to address the climate crisis without protecting the world’s last standing forests. Friends of the Earth’s International Forests program works to address the root causes of forest destruction and the marginalization of forest-dwelling communities. Our campaign on land grabs, forests & finance pressures the world’s largest financial institutions to “defund deforestation;” advances legislative and regulatory solutions; and seeks to amplify the voices and struggles of frontline environmental human rights defenders.
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Forests Fight deforestationTAKE ACTION
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Climate & Energy Justice Save our public lands from oil and gas drilling!TAKE ACTION
After years of pressure from environmental activists, Proctor & Gamble shareholders took a vital step towards protecting our forests.
Friends of the Earth and our allies have pushed businesses and corporations to cut ties with abusive and destructive palm oil companies.
More than 40,000 Friends of the Earth members signed our petition urging Nestlé to cut ties with REPSA. And Nestlé responded.
Friends of the Earth U.S., The Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil show that Bunge continues to drive deforestation.
Indonesia’s second largest palm oil company, Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), is responsible for longstanding land rights abuses and environmental destruction in operations undertaken without proper legal permits.
Lawmakers renew the push for a bill that will ensure New York state government practices don't drive deforestation or forest degradation.
The agribusiness giant Bunge is engaging in an egregious corporate climate con – and shareholders should take note.
A report released by Friends of the Earth US and WALHI finds that Astro Agro Lestari are caught up in land conflicts with local communities, and are responsible for environmental and human rights abuses.
As industrial agribusiness razes the world’s last standing forests and accelerate the climate crisis, land defenders are fighting back.
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Caught Red-Handed: Bunge and the Directors of Deforestation
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Meet the Financiers and Corporate Backers of Astra Agro Lestari’s Land Grab in Sulawesi, Indonesia
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Cashing in on Crisis: How the World’s Largest Investors Fuel and Profit from Climate Change and Border Militarization