Global Witness - Breaking the links between natural resources, conflict and corruption
This page is also available in Spanish
~report on Honduras: “Illegal logging in the Rio Plátano Biosphere. A farce in three acts"
IFM in Honduras
Following various visits to the country, Global Witness and the Honduran National Commission for Human Rights (Comisionado Nacional de Derechos Humanos - CONADEH) signed an agreement to pilot Independent Forest Monitoring in May 2005.
The main objectives of the project were:
- To generate reliable information about illegal logging and its associated trade in Olancho Department, which contains one of the largest areas of conifer forests in the country and is being subjected to intensive logging;
- To ensure the objectivity and transparency of monitoring operations undertaken by the Forest Authority (Administración Forestal del Estado - Corporación Hondureña de Desarrollo Forestal, AFE-COHDEFOR);
- To strengthen the operational capacity of the Forest Authority through undertaking joint field missions and sharing experience and skills.
Between May 2005 and April 2006, Global Witness and CONADEH produced 14 field mission reports, a first summary report of activities and a second summary report. The project has been warmly welcomed by AFE-COHDEFOR, civil society and some elements in the industry, all of which have voiced a need to implement long-term IFM in Honduras.
Joint work between Global Witness and CONADEH also provided the opportunity to build the latter's capacity in monitoring techniques and gradually hand them over the leadership of the project.
In April 2006, CONADEH and AFE-COHDEFOR signed an agreement for a further year of IFM work in the country, which included a substantial increase in human resources and area covered by the project. Mission reports continue to be produced regularly and are publicly available on CONADEH's website.
Both CONADEH and AFE-COHDEFOR have expressed a strong interest to continue to have Global Witness' support in the implementation of the project.
Latest Publications
March 2010
Environmental groups call on French shipping company Delmas to cancel shipment of precious wood from Madagascar
Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today called on French shipping company Delmas to cancel a shipment to China of hundreds of tons of rosewood from the port of Vohémar, in northeastern Madagascar. The campaign groups accuse the company of facilitating the destruction of Madagascar’s last remaining forests caused by vast illegal logging of rosewood.
Open letter to Delmas shipping company raises concerns over rosewood shipments from Madagascar
An open letter from Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to Delmas shipping company expressing grave concerns at its involvement in the transport of timber from Madagascar which has been declared illicit by the Malagasy authorities. The groups accuse Delmas of facilitaitng the destruction Madagascar's remaining rosewood forests through illegal logging.
Link between Angolan president's son-in-law and state oil company raises questions about transparency
The son-in-law of the Angolan president has been nominated to the board of a holding company that owns a third of the Portuguese oil firm Galp Energia, which has investments in Angola. The nomination was made by the State oil company, Sonangol, which is responsible for managing Angola's oil on behalf of its citizens. This arrangement raises concerns about conflicts of interest to which Sonangol has not responded.
DR Congo: ex-rebels take over mineral trade extortion racket
Former rebels from the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) have established mafia-style extortion rackets covering some of the most lucrative tin and tantalum mining areas in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Global Witness reported today following four weeks of research in the region.
Global Witness concerned at choice of new Ukraine energy minister
Global Witness is concerned that Yuri Boyko, a controversial figure from the murky past of Ukraine’s gas industry, has been put back in effective charge of a key gas supply route from Russia to the European Union.
Landmark oil and mining transparency initiative faces credibility test as key deadline passes
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a pioneering initiative to bring more openness to the world's oil and mining industries, faces a major credibility test after 20 out of 22 countries failed to meet a key deadline today.
Global Witness urges Cambodia’s donors to condemn sponsorship of military units by private businesses
Aid donors to Cambodia, including the US, EU, Japan, China and the World Bank, should send a strong message to the government that they will not countenance the bankrolling of Cambodia’s military by private businesses. This call follows the announcement last week by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen of the formation of 42 official partnerships between private businesses and Cambodian military units.
February 2010
A near miss? Lessons learnt from the allocation of mining licences in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone
Between 2005 and 2007, two mining licences were issued in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone, even though the area was a proposed national park. This new report identifies weaknesses in Sierra Leone's natural resource governance and attempts to draw lessons for the future.
Parliamentary committee report on libel, privacy and press freedom not strong enough to defend public interest reporting
A report on press standards, privacy and libel makes broadly sensible recommendations but does not go far enough to allay fears that England's laws are a barrier to public-interest campaigning.
Campaigners criticise proposals to define palm oil plantations as forests
The Ecosystems Climate Alliance today criticised the EU and Indonesia for attempting to reclassify palm oil plantations as forests, saying this would be a step backwards in efforts to halt climate change though preventing deforestation.
28 countries accused of facilitating money laundering … but key offenders missing
An international financial crime watchdog has named and shamed countries that are failing to stop dirty money entering the financial system, a move welcomed by Global Witness. However, conspicuously absent are major financial centres and secrecy jurisdictions, many of which also have serious weaknesses in their anti-money laundering regulations.
