Campaigns and activities

Campaigns
The main purpose of the Global Forest Coalition is to support and coordinate joint NGO/IPO campaigns that focus on:

• raising awareness of the need for socially just and effective forest policy
• challenging the underlying causes of forest loss
• the rights of Indigenous and other forest peoples.

In 2007 we are also focusing on raising awareness of the social impacts of market-based conservation mechanisms including carbon trading, gene trading and the sale of environmental services in general. We are particularly concerned about the impacts these schemes are likely to have on women, Indigenous Peoples and the rural poor.

We are also highlighting the impacts that the expansion of large-scale monocultures of crops such as soy, oil palm and eucalypt has on forests and Indigenous Peoples. In particular, we are concerned about agro-fuels (also known as ’biofuels’): the rapid expansion of the agro-fuel business is becoming a major cause of deforestation, depopulation and human rights abuses worldwide.

We also support the worldwide campaign to ban genetically modified trees, which form a major threat to forest biodiversity and forest peoples.

GFC supports campaigns to defend Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including those of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, the International Indigenous Forum on Climate Change and the International Indigenous Women's Network.

Independent monitoring
We monitor the implementation of key international forest-related agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change. Read more>>

Forest Cover
We inform local organizations about international forest policy through the publication of the quarterly bulletin 'Forest Cover' .

Events
We organize side events during international forest-related meetings, on key issues of interest to forests and forest peoples; and we facilitate the participation of NGOs and IPOs in these events.

Capacity building
We provide support to national NGOs and IPOs to enable them to build the capacity of local communities and social movements to analyze and address the impacts of market-based conservation schemes on women, Indigenous Peoples and the poor. Read more>>

Workshops
We provide micro-grants to NGOs, IPOs and other groups and institutions to enable them to organize national or regional workshops on the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation. Read more>>

Alliance Building
We help to strengthen regional cooperation amongst Indigenous Peoples and between NGOs and Indigenous Peoples. Facilitating such collaboration at the global level is one of the most important objectives of the GFC. We also believe in the autonomy of regional and indigenous networks.
Key networks that helped to found the GFC include the World Rainforest Movement, the International Alliance of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples of the Tropical Forests and Friends of the Earth International. Important strategic alliances include the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, the International Indigenous Forum on Climate Change, the Pacific Indigenous Peoples Environment Coalition, the Institute of Cultural Affairs-International, the Latin American Network against Monoculture Tree Plantations, the Global Caucus on Community-based Forest Management, the Indigenous Women´s Biodiversity Network, Oilwatch, Our World is Not for Sale and Via Campesina. Read more>>