Forest Trends

06/01/2026

For 20 years, we’ve been trying to shine light on how the voluntary carbon market has evolved, using transparency and analysis to help the market find its footing, navigate crises, and mature into a powerful tool for climate finance.

Decades of data tell us a lot about credibility, co-benefits, and the path ahead: Menu > Solutions that Stick > Looking Back: https://www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/

05/26/2026

Bridging ancestral knowledge and 21st-century government policy isn’t easy, but it’s where the real change begins if we’re going to start living within planetary boundaries.

See the full discussion in “The Roots of Leadership: A conversation between Beto Borges and Puyr Tembé.” Menu > Focus on People: https://www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/

05/21/2026

Check out these dishes from Brazil, Myanmar, Peru, and Vietnam! Each recipe is a small reminder that what nourishes us, personally and professionally, is often the same: connection, care, and the joy of sharing something meaningful.

Menu > Recipes: https://www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/

05/19/2026

Last week marked our first official communications workshop with the USDA Forest Service and partners.

The Protect What Matters workshop, developed by Forest Trends as part of our multi-year agreement with the Forest Service, is not traditional media training. It's professional skills development for anyone who communicates, formally or informally, about forest management and wildfire mitigation with external audiences. Our approach is meant to reduce reactive, conflict-driven engagement, strengthen public understanding, and elevate support for these essential forest management practices.

This first workshop was a success, with many talented practitioners from the Front Range in attendance. We're excited to continue sharing this resource in the coming months with additional partners.

If you have questions about upcoming workshops or want to learn more about the content, please reach out via the contact info on our workshop page: https://www.forest-trends.org/wildfire-resilience/?show=workshops

05/19/2026

NatureTech is changing what is possible, revolutionizing how we gather evidence, validate Indigenous stewardship, and strengthen accountability from the forest floor to global markets.

See our take on how a technological revolution is reshaping how the world measures, values, and protects nature: Menu > Data with a Purpose > NatureTech and the New Era of Conservation: https://www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/

05/15/2026

A few updates we've received this week reinforce why we are committed to providing timely data to decision makers. We worked hard to complete our recent report, How the EUDR Is Already Driving Forest Governance Reform, ahead of the European Commission's talks on EUDR implementation last month.

We have since learned that this report was one of the primary information sources cited in the Commission's recent justification for continued implementation of the EUDR: Report from the Commission to the Council and Parliament on the EUDR (pg 4).

How the EUDR Is Already Driving Forest Governance Reform here: https://lnkd.in/giEFsmRn

European Commission Report here: https://lnkd.in/dndKGJxq

05/14/2026

Congratulations to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environment & Natural Resources Division, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on the recent Lacey Act prosecution involving illegal Myanmar teak imports used in luxury yachts.

Under the plea agreement, the companies agreed to pay a fine of US$200,000 and implement a detailed compliance plan, among other penalties—a hit to reputation and disruptive to business. The case involved teak imported from Myanmar for use in luxury yachts manufactured by Sunseeker, the UK-based producer of high-end superyachts.

Notably, this same company had already been prosecuted in the UK under the UK Timber Regulation. While we may never know whether UK and US authorities directly coordinated on this matter, the case underscores the importance of governments learning from each other’s enforcement experience, compliance challenges, investigative approaches, and risk indicators.

This is precisely why initiatives like Forest Trends’ Timber Regulation Enforcement Exchange (TREE) remain so valuable: creating trusted spaces for government agencies from different jurisdictions to share lessons of experience on tackling environmental crime and related financial and trade crimes.

Illegal timber supply chains do not stop at borders — and increasingly, enforcement does not either.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/luxury-yacht-companies-plead-guilty-violating-lacey-act-using-illegally-obtained-burmes

Sunseeker International Limited and Sunseeker USA Sales Co. Inc. (Sunseeker) pleaded guilty this week to two violations of the Lacey Act for using illegally obtained Burmese Teak on yachts that it imported into the United States. Sunseeker agreed to pay a fine of $200,000, and to implement a complia...

05/13/2026

Together with our partners in Peru, we built not just technical and policy frameworks for the water sector, but the financing mechanisms, science and data, project pipelines, and trust that make systems change possible. We helped catalyze a coalition of government agencies, local communities, NGOs, private companies, and researchers, united by a shared vision to reimagine how Peru manages water.

For the full story, visit Stronger Together under Menu > Power in Partnership: https://www.forest-trends.org/publications/forest-trends-impact-report-2025/

04/30/2026

We are honored to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, supporting their leadership and ensuring their voices are heard, and their role in climate and conservation finance is recognized. Listen to Beto Borges, Director of our Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative, reflect on our work and ongoing commitment to this issue.

04/30/2026

Great to see leaders stepping up in support of active forest management and wildfire mitigation efforts. See below a strong perspective from former Colorado governors Bill Owens and Bill Ritter Jr, on the importance of preparing for when wildfire arrives in Colorado communities. Active management is critical to protecting what matters to Colorado residents, including homes and communities, access to trails and ski areas, clean air and water. All the things that make the Colorado lifestyle unique and special.

“We know wildfire cannot be eliminated. But we also know the severity of these disasters is not simply something we are powerless to address. There are practical, science-based steps we can take to reduce risk. The problem is that for too long, too many people have treated active forest management as too invasive rather than absolutely necessary. That needs to change”.

https://www.denverpost.com/2026/04/28/thinning-forests-wildfire-management-colorado/