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News and success stories

Stay in the loop with news of ongoing campaigns and successes in the fight against rainforest destruction.


Pristimantis frog

Ecuador: Constitutional Court calls for rights of nature

Dec 14, 2021 In a landmark ruling, Ecuador's highest court has upheld the rights of nature and banned planned copper mining in the Los Cedros protected forest

A statuette on a pedestal, the letter f arching over its back

Human rights award for Mother Nature Cambodia environmental group

Dec 10, 2021 On December 9th, our partner organization Mother Nature Cambodia was awarded the Front Line Defenders Award 2021 for its work to protect the environment and human rights.

Eco-Guards in the rainforest

Nigeria: loggers stand down in Ekuri Forest

Dec 6, 2021 The logging company Sibawood has stopped its operations in the forest of the indigenous Ekuri people. Whether this is a lasting success remains to be seen, however.

Three men and three women from Mother Nature Cambodia smiling after their release

Mother Nature Cambodia activists released on bail

Dec 1, 2021 In November, the six activists from Mother Nature Cambodia were released on bail, but the charges have not been dropped and they could face years in prison.

Protest march

European Parliament votes to curb abusive SLAPP lawsuits

Nov 12, 2021 In the EU Parliament, 444 MEPs voted in favor of Europe-wide regulations to curb abusive SLAPP lawsuits. It is now up to the European Commission to take action.

People impacted by the new route of the Tren Maya, on the existing tracks

Human rights violations and judicial stalling in the Mayan Train lawsuits

Oct 25, 2021 In a press conference, several Mexican NGOs spoke out against evident delays in the lawsuits filed against the Mayan Train.

Felled tree in British Columbia, Canada

More than a quarter million people call on British Columbia government to save old-growth forests

Oct 13, 2021 Our petition calling on the government of British Columbia to stop the felling of ancient giants and protect the province's old-growth forests was delivered today.

Arrested RIAO-RDC staff member

Palm oil industry: new violence against local communities in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Oct 8, 2021 The conflict between the communities of Bolanga and Yambienenne and the palm oil company PHC continues to escalate. Once again, several people were arbitrarily arrested.

Rainforest in the Congo

Climate and the rainforest: the position of Rainforest Rescue

Sep 23, 2021 Rainforests are vital to local and global climate systems and play a key role in the fight against catastrophic climate change. Please read our position paper.

a Komodo dragon looking upward

Indonesia: climate crisis threatens Komodo dragons

Sep 9, 2021 Komodo dragons have been reclassified from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Protest in Papua: Protect the forest – the forest protects us!

Thousands of hectares of rainforest in West Papua saved from the palm oil industry

Aug 27, 2021 West Papua is revoking the permits of palm oil companies to more than 300,000 hectares of rainforest – a huge win for the rainforest and indigenous forest rights.

Logjam blocking a river

Malaysia: logjam triggers environmental disaster

Aug 25, 2021 For days, a logjam has been clogging the Baleh River in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Loggers along the upper reaches of the river are responsible.

Hydropower dam

Hydropower: neither environmentally sound nor climate-neutral

Aug 18, 2021 A study commissioned by the Senckenberg–Leibniz Institution concludes that hydropower is renewable, but neither climate-neutral nor environmentally friendly.

Bonobo in the forest, DR Congo

DRC: Plans for oil drilling in Salonga dropped

Jul 27, 2021 The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has abandoned its plans to allow drilling for oil in Salonga National Park.

Aerial view: Clearing forest for Korindo oil palm plantations in Papua

Palm oil company Korindo stripped of FSC label

Jul 16, 2021 The Indonesian palm oil and timber company Korindo is losing its FSC seal after clearing forests for oil palm plantations.

Montage - slash and burn, Total logo

Palm oil: TotalEnergies washes itself so green

Jul 7, 2021 The French fossil fuel giant TotalEnergies wants to burnish its image and to do without palm oil as a raw material for the production of biofuels from 2023.

Indigenous Dayak Tomun in the Kinipan forest

Indonesia: Kinipan's rainforest defenders honored

Jun 30, 2021 The 2021 Akademi Jakarta award goes to the Laman Kinipan people for their perseverance in defending human rights, nature and culture.

Bonobo in the forest, DR Congo

UN experts: climate and biodiversity are interconnected issues

Jun 28, 2021 The climate crisis has finally been acknowledged by the mainstream, but the mass extinction of animal and plant species is often overlooked or considered less urgent.

Delivering the petition to the European Commission

The EU needs to protect forests – not burn them in power plants

Jun 18, 2021 Trees do not belong in power plants. We need to stop the earth’s forests and their biodiversity from being burned as bioenergy.

Mining company delivers medicine to New Hamdallaye eleven days after petition was delivered

Victims of bauxite mine in Guinea receive medical care

Jun 4, 2021 Eleven days after we delivered our petition, the mining company in Guinea promised medical care to the people of Hamdallaye. The German government must take action.

Nickel mining in Sulawesi

180+ organizations and academics reject extractive-heavy EU Green Deal

Jun 2, 2021 Plans to drastically increase mining in Europe and in the global South are bad news for the climate, ecosystems and human rights around the world.

European SLAPP Contest logo

Korindo scores big as “International Bully of the Year”

May 21, 2021 And the winner of this year’s European SLAPP Contest is... Korindo! The Indonesian conglomerate takes this year’s prize as “International Bully of the Year”.

Protest march

The 2021 European SLAPP Contest – vote for your “favorite” legal bully!

May 16, 2021 The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) is holding its first annual European SLAPP Contest – complete with a People’s Choice Award.

Loggerhead turtle in Malaysia

Malaysia: rescued sea turtle released in threatened biodiversity hotspot

May 6, 2021 A loggerhead turtle was rescued by local fishermen in the south of Penang island, West Malaysia, at a threatened stretch of coastline.

An indigenous man wearing feathers and a painted face standing in the forest with a blowpipe

UN report: indigenous people are the best forest guardians

Mar 31, 2021 A new United Nations report concludes that deforestation rates are significantly lower in areas where indigenous peoples live and bear responsibility for their forests.

Gold prospectors on a river in Côte d’Ivoire

Where are the chimpanzees of Djouroutou?

Mar 24, 2021 For years, a group of 25 to 30 chimpanzees had been habituated to the presence of visitors to Taї National Park, but in February the animals disappeared without a trace.

450 organisations say: STOP UE-MERCOSUR

450+ organizations join forces against EU-Mercosur agreement

Mar 15, 2021 The new Stop EU-Mercosur coalition is calling on political leaders to reject the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement and put people and the planet before profit.

A truck driving through an oil palm plantation in Liberia

Confirmed: palm oil company destroys rainforest in Liberia

Mar 8, 2021 Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) is clearing richly biodiverse rainforest – this is the conclusion of a report by High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), an industry organization.

Oil palm plantation on Papua

Study: Indonesia's “Food Estates” drive hunger and environmental destruction

Mar 5, 2021 The new “Food Estate” programs announced for Indonesia will result in more hunger and threaten local people, regional forests and the global climate.

Kalimantan oil palm plantation

Satellite images debunk "sustainable palm oil" pledges

Feb 25, 2021 Rainforest destruction for palm oil remains a reality, as the analysis of satellite image data from Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Fire in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest

Rainforest Rescue speaks out against the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement

Feb 24, 2021 Today Rainforest Rescue presents 380,000 signatures against a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur countries at the European Parliament's Petitions Committee.

A villager is assaulted by plantation workers

Brutality against Sarawak villagers – Covid lockdown hinders assistance

Feb 11, 2021 Indigenous people often suffer violence at the hands of thugs working for oil palm plantations: Our Malaysian partner Matek Geram sent us a frightening video.

JATAM solidarity banner

We will not be intimidated or silenced! – a declaration of solidarity

Jan 22, 2021 Rettet den Regenwald e.V. (Rainforest Rescue) is currently facing a lawsuit before the District Court of Hamburg, Germany.

Rainforest in Nigeria

Nigeria: “superhighway” project through the rainforest stopped!

Jan 5, 2021 One of the last rainforests in Nigeria will be spared a “superhighway”. Rainforest Rescue and local groups had campaigned against the project since 2016 – with success!

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