Report On TFFF Exposes Flaws, Urges Real Forest Protection
A new report from the Global Forest Coalition (GFC) and Fundación Solón explains what is known so far about the TFFF and highlights many questions that are cause for alarm. These include whether allocating just $4 per hectare of jungle could solve the "market failure" that TFFF proponents claim is behind deforestation, and why the future of tropical forests should have to rely on private investment while public funding increasingly goes to high-emission sectors such as the military.
'Forests are not commodities to be traded on financial markets,' said Mary Louise Malig, GFC policy director and co-author of the report. 'They are complex living ecosystems with intrinsic value, essential to the livelihoods of countless communities and the health of our planet. The TFFF reduces their worth to a mere dollar-per-hectare figure, which is not only wholly inadequate but fundamentally misguided.'
'The climate emergency is not a market failure but a failure of governance and responsibility. We need to confront the structural drivers of deforestation and invest in real solutions that empower local communities,' added Pablo Solón, director of Fundación Solón and co-author of the report. 'Climate finance has long-since been co-opted by corporate interests, and the TFFF is no different — the alarm bells should be ringing for us all. The TFFF is a shiny new tool for greenwashing, designed to attract investment rather than tackle the systemic drivers of deforestation.'
Market mechanisms like carbon trading and offsets have proven to be a flawed way of helping frontline communities and instead allow polluters to continue business as usual. This is why they are known among civil society as false solutions; they ignore the root causes of the climate and biodiversity crisis.
'By sidelining Indigenous voices and decision-making power, particularly women, the TFFF perpetuates the same systems of governance that have historically oppressed these communities,' explained Kwami Kpondzo, a campaign coordinator at GFC. 'Forest conservation mechanisms must take into consideration Indigenous traditional knowledge and prioritise the rights and needs of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, Afro-descendant peoples, women, and youth who manage over half of the world's remaining intact forests.'
The new report on the TFFF also champions the establishment of an alternative non-market finance mechanism that provides sustainable funding levels directly to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. 'The climate crisis cannot be solved by mechanisms that perpetuate inequality,' said Satrio Manggala of GFC member organisation WALHI Indonesia. 'We need solutions that give direct power to Indigenous Peoples and women, who are the true stewards of our forests, rather than sidelining them in favour of market-driven approaches.'
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Newsroom
2 days ago
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Disregard for indigenous rights comes straight from the top
Opinion: Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he 'fully agrees' with a letter the Minister of Regulation David Seymour wrote to Dr Albert K Barume, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Barume recently criticised New Zealand for breaching international human rights standards relating to Indigenous peoples. Among other things, Seymour's letter to Barume called these criticisms 'an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty'. This is significant, but the timeline of how we got here is a bit complex, so here's some background. A special rapporteur is a person, appointed by the UN, who has expertise in a particular area of human rights and has a responsibility to investigate, advocate for, and encourage countries to uphold those rights. First, what is a special rapporteur and how does this role relate to NZ? One high-profile special rapporteur you may have recently heard of is Francesca Albanese, who has a specific mandate relating to human rights in Palestine. Barume holds an equivalent position relating to the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world, including Māori. Barume's criticisms, contained in a letter to the New Zealand Government, reportedly addressed a range of things, all broadly related to the Government's failure to uphold both te Tiriti o Waitangi and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). We don't know all the details of the letter but the part that seems to have annoyed Seymour relates to the Regulatory Standards Bill. Alongside his comment about New Zealand's sovereignty, Seymour called the letter 'presumptive, condescending, and wholly misplaced'. Remember, there has been virtually unanimous condemnation of the Regulatory Standards Bill by te Tiriti experts, as well as by the Waitangi Tribunal. 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The only difference is that this time it has happened on a global stage.
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2 days ago
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Sir John Key urges 100-basis-point interest rate cut to boost NZ economy
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Is the former PM passing on his thoughts to his successor? 'I'm pretty close to Chris, and I talk to him quite a lot. But I don't try to be his father. I don't try to tell him what to do,' Key said. Although he had concerns about the current state of the economy, he saw Christopher Luxon's Government ultimately prevailing as things picked up. Key related that he said to Luxon: 'You bet your house against my house: is the economy going to be stronger or weaker by the time of the election in 2026? We couldn't bet because we both thought stronger.' Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald's business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
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Government Attacks Māori Rights On World Stage
Te Pāti Māori condemns the Government's escalating assault on tangata whenua, following the letter sent by Regulations Minister David Seymour to the United Nations and Prime Minister Luxon's weak attempt to distance himself while still endorsing its dangerous intent. 'This Government is setting fire to Māori rights through regressive, colonial legislation. Seymour's letter is not a rogue move, it's a warning shot, signalling this Government's intent to dismantle Indigenous rights' said Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. 'The real threat isn't his tantrum, it's the policy machine behind it, backed by every party in this coalition.' The Prime Minister has now said publicly that 'we've all read the letter, and we all think it's a waste of time' effectively agreeing with Seymour's withdrawn rant. That statement has already been reported back to the United Nations as the formal position of the New Zealand Prime Minister. 'It's a complete diplomatic failure' said Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Rawiri Waititi. 'Winston Peters is trying to reassure international partners, but he's being publicly undermined by his own Prime Minister. If all Ministers think the UN's concerns are 'bunkum', then Peters' response is meaningless and Aotearoa's credibility on the world stage is in tatters.' Earlier this year, Māori rights violations were raised during the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. The Government's actions are not just bad policy they are breaches of international human rights standards. 'In 2010, it was a National Government that endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). That wasn't a diplomatic accident it was a formal recognition of our rights as tangata whenua' said Waititi. 'Now, this coalition is dismantling that legacy while the world watches. This is global embarrassment for the government stating the United Nations is a waste of time.' 'As Māori rights come under attack at home, we need the protections promised in UNDRIP more than ever' concluded Ngarewa-Packer.
