RAN and Allies Call on APP to Respect Human Rights

While Asia Pulp and Paper’s (APP) questionable financial dealings and destructive impact on rainforests and the climate have been widely reported, the human rights violations and social conflict associated with the company’s expropriation of community lands are less well known. Last week, RAN proudly joined with several Indonesian and international human rights and environmental organizations [...]

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The Last Message Becky Wrote To You

For the last two weeks, we’ve been grieving the loss of RAN’s beloved executive director, Rebecca Tarbotton, who died tragically on December 26. In late December, Becky was working on a letter to you that she planned to send in the New Year. We’ve decided to share the full letter below. We will warn you [...]

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APP: The Most Destructive Company in the World?

The UK Guardian once referred to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as “one of the most destructive companies on the planet.” The following is a brief synopsis of why that description fits. A History of Bad Practices and Broken Promises Over 2 million hectares of rainforest have already been destroyed in Indonesia to feed the [...]

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Grassy Narrows Celebrates 10 Years of Historic Blockade

On December 2, 2002 the Indigenous youth of the Grassy Narrows First Nation lay down in the path of industrial logging machines—blocking access to their tribal homeland in Northern Ontario, Canada. The action, led by women and youth, sparked the longest standing Indigenous logging blockade in North America. Since 2004, RAN has worked closely with [...]

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Victory for Forests: Disney Changes Sourcing On All Its Paper Products, Takes a Stand for Endangered Forests and Animals

Today, Disney adds its significant voice to the growing chorus of companies demonstrating that there’s no need to sacrifice endangered forests in Indonesia or elsewhere for the paper we use every day. This entertainment giant, which is the world’s biggest publisher of children’s books and magazines, has adopted what may be one of the most [...]

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How Cargill is Saving Humanity… and the World

If you made $5 billion clearing a community’s forest and community food garden, polluted and drained their rivers, but gave them a tree and a bucket of clean water in return, would you feel justified saying you’re building healthy communities, preserving rivers and reducing deforestation? Would you pat yourself on the back? Maybe not, but [...]

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KI Nation Paddles 300 km to Protect their Wild Watershed

Canada’s Boreal forest is part of the world’s largest land-based carbon storehouse. It is also the world’s greatest reservoir of fresh water, and is among the largest unlogged forests left on the planet. But the Boreal has been under threat for years, and, as is often the case, local Indigenous peoples who live in and [...]

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Deep in the Amazon, A Story is Waiting to be Told

Media technologies and professional skills are valuable tools that enable Indigenous communities living in rainforests around the world to communicate about the crisis of deforestation through sharing their stories, language, and art. Amazon Voice, a great new NGO that is working directly with the local Amazon communities based on a foundation of reciprocity and mutual [...]

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Bringing a Competitive Spirit to Rainforest Protection

Through our Protect-an-Acre program, RAN recently provided a small grant to Caura Futures. This lean, innovative organization supports the conservation of the 45,300 km² Caura River Basin in Venezuela, one of the few pristine tropical watersheds on Earth, by working with local Indigenous communities and providing training and tools to improve human health and promote [...]

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If Corporations Are “People,” The Supreme Court Should At Least Hold Them Accountable For Crimes They Commit

Any time I discuss corporate “personhood” in this post, please assume there are quotes around personhood. The idea is patently absurd, and any time I seem to tacitly accept the idea it’s only for argument’s sake. Let’s say a corporation was convicted of a crime: Would it have to serve jail time? The notion that [...]

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