CLEVER researcher Andrea Pacheco shares insights from the IPBES Nexus Assessment How can we design policies that support biodiversity while also addressing climate change, food…
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Insights from CLEVER Researcher Rafaella F. Ziegert on the EUDR, land-use and policy interaction in Brazil
What happens when global trade regulations meet local realities? In this video interview, Rafaella Ferraz Ziegert, a researcher with the CLEVER project and PhD candidate at the University of Freiburg, shares her perspective on the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) — the first transnational policy designed to reduce the EU’s contribution to deforestation and land degradation abroad. While the EUDR aims to protect forests, it may also lead to unintended consequences in producer countries like Brazil, especially when it overlaps or conflicts with existing national policies.
Rafaella draws on her experience conducting environmental impact assessments across Brazil— a vast country with abundant land, yet one that faces intense pressure to meet multiple demands: food production, climate regulation, carbon storage, and mineral extraction. The central challenge? How to manage land use in a way that supports both people and the planet.
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This interview is part of the ‘Forest Governance Unpacked’ series with key experts in forest governance. It was developed in the context of the NewGo! project which aims to provide scientific knowledge on lessons learned from initiatives related to zero deforestation, forest restoration, and sustainable forest finance. The project sets the ground for the EFI Governance Programme.
Tell us a bit about who you are.
I am the Co-Founder and Designer of the Rural Futures innovation at the Balipara Foundation. Rural Futures integrates ecological gains with upward socio-economic mobility of forest-fringe communities across the Eastern Himalayan region. Through Rural Futures, we mobilise forest-fringe communities (esp. youth) to engage in the complete value-chain of ecosystem restoration. The natural capital that is sustainably derived from restored habitats is utilised by communities to deliver universal basic assets – locally and autonomously. I am an Acumen Fellow of the 2021 cohort.
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This interview is part of the ‘Forest Governance Unpacked’ series with key experts in forest governance. It was developed in the context of the NewGo! project which aims to provide scientific knowledge on lessons learned from initiatives related to zero deforestation, forest restoration, and sustainable forest finance. The project sets the ground for the EFI Governance Programme.
Tell us a bit about who you are.
I am an economist with a diversified background in governance, from corporate and market governance to public matters, working exclusively on forest matters for the last 16 years. I built a great part of my experience in Brazil, where I had the privilege to work with federal, provincial and municipal governments, and the private sector to set up institutional arrangements in response to the 1988 Constitution mandate for decentralization, participation and accountability. I engaged with the climate change agenda early on, and have worked on increasing participation of native and planted forests in climate change mitigation since 1996. When REDD+ was formally accepted as a potential mitigation measure by the UNFCCC in the 2000s, I redirected my career towards forest development in the context of climate change. Since then, I worked both nationally and internationally, mostly with developing countries on governance, climate, and finance issues. This experience has been valuable to my current work at FAO, where I focus on governance to halt deforestation and forest degradation, as well as forests in the sustainable bioeconomy. As part of this work, we give special attention to building capacities for evidence-based policy-making and improved cross-sectoral coordination to respond to environmental and socioeconomic issues.
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Waldbrandmanagement ist eine integrale Aufgabe. Das heißt, Akteure aus ganz verschiedenen Bereichen arbeiten gemeinsam an einem ganzheitlichen Waldbrandmanagement. Dazu gehört neben dem eigentlichen Feuerlöschen auch die präventive Arbeit, um die Resilienz der Wälder zu erhöhen und damit die negativen Effekte von Bränden zu minimieren. Waldbrandmanagement setzt die Beteiligung von unterschiedlichen Sektoren und Waldbesitzarten voraus, die in der nun gestarteten Interviewreihe des Projekts “Waldbrand-Klima-Resilienz” (WKR) dargestellt werden. Das Interview ist ursprünglich auf der WKR-Projektseite erschienen.
Detlef Maushake geht durchs Feuer, um andere besser darauf vorbereiten zu können. Er ist Gründer und 1. Vorsitzender des Waldbrandteam e.V , ein wichtiger Projektpartner von WKR. Das Waldbrandteam ist ein Zusammenschluss von Feuerwehrleuten, spezialisiert auf Vegetations- und Flächenbrände und daher im akuten Brandfall oft als Experten vor Ort vertreten. Darüber hinaus bietet das Team um Detlef Maushake regelmäßig Fort- und Ausbildungen an, unter anderem zum “kontrollierten Brennen als Präventivmaßnahme im Waldbrandmanagement” und zur “Flächenpflege im Naturschutz”. Im Rahmen des WKR-Projekts konnte bereits ein gemeinsames Ausbildungsseminar in Munster (“Leben in der Lage”) veranstaltet werden.
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This interview is part of the ‘Forest Governance Unpacked’ series with key experts in forest governance. It was developed in the context of the NewGo!…
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How does the Danish Nature Agency address the trend of rewilding? What are the plans to transition managed forests into forest biodiversity reserves in Denmark – and what are the expected benefits and challenges? We discussed these and other questions with Mogens Krog, Deputy forest officer at the Danish Nature Agency.
Mogens, rewilding is a trend in Denmark now – who are the ones who argue for large connected wild nature areas and no further management? And what is the approach of the Danish Nature Agency?
In Denmark there is a growing interest among nature conservationists and nature conservation NGO’s for large connected wild nature with large herbivores (plant eater). A large area in a Danish context is considered to be 500 ha. Some argue for re-introduction of species which have been part of nature in Denmark in pre-historic time, e.g. wild horses, European bison, moose, and even elephants. Others find domestic animals such as cattle and horses, sufficient to create natural disturbances in nature areas for the benefit of biodiversity.
Denmark is a much regulated landscape with agriculture covering more than 60 % of the land area. Therefore, it may be relative expensive to include private land in rewilding projects Also, in order to avoid major conflicts with agricultural interests, rewilding is likely to be limited to large fences. State owned land is the focus of rewilding interests. In Denmark, state owned land is primarily managed by the Danish Nature Agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Food and covers app. 5% of the total land area in Denmark (210.000 ha).