Social Responsibilty - Environmental Paper Network

The Hidden Human Rights Costs of Large-Scale Biomass Energy

As the world looks for alternatives to fossil fuels, large-scale biomass energy – burning wood for power and heat – has emerged as a popular solution. But behind its “green” reputation, the rapid expansion of the biomass industry is causing a host of serious human rights concerns that are often overlooked. The supply chain for […]

We Had Everything: How the Forest Was Taken in the Land of Drums and Resistance

This is Part 2 of a story documenting EPN International Program Coordinator, Sergio Baffoni, during his month-long journey across Brazil, where he met with communities defending their customary rights and seeking support to make their struggles visible. The road stretches on for miles, hemmed in by two dense walls of sickly-looking trees. Endlessly. These are […]

From Dust to Green: Voices of Hope Between the Eucalyptus Rows

This is Part 1 of a story documenting EPN International Program Coordinator, Sergio Baffoni, during his month-long journey across Brazil, where he met with communities defending their customary rights and seeking support to make their struggles visible. The road is dusty. Deep ruts run in both directions, worn by trucks that thunder past all day […]

Continued abuses and deforestation in Indonesia by PT Mayawana Persada

On Tuesday, December 9, the West Kalimantan police tried to forcibly arrest Mr. Tarsisius Fendy Sesupi, the Traditional Head of Lelayang Hamlet, Kualan Hilir Village, Simpang Hulu District, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. For years, the community has resisted the encroachment on its customary land and the deforestation—largely illegal—carried out by the logging company PT […]

Old Habits Die Hard – Asia Pulp & Paper violations exposed

September 10, 2025 – Environmental Paper Network (EPN) International and Jikalahari, an Indonesian network of NGOs, released a paper highlighting the failure of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) to implement their green policies. The paper is being released as APP, one of the world’s largest companies, unveils a new sustainability policy in Jakarta — essentially […]

Land, Water, and Blood: The Atlas of Rural Conflict in Brazil

Behind Brazil’s global image as a land of natural abundance—and the host of this year’s international climate summit—lies a stark reality: centuries of violence, dispossession, and resistance in the countryside. The Atlas of Conflicts in the Brazilian Countryside, published by the Pastoral Land Commission (a Catholic Church-affiliated organization), documents more than 50,000 land and water […]

Pulp profits, broken lives: Suzano’s war on Brazilian families

Suzano, the world’s largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, has requested the eviction of 600 families in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The eviction, previously blocked by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court, has now been authorized and is scheduled for June 30. Suzano is a major landholder, controlling 2.7 million hectares across seven Brazilian states and […]

Brazil rises against eucalyptus plantations: ‘These are not forests!’

Around 1000 women from Sem Terra ocupam protest in Aracruz (Espirito Santo, Brazil). Foto: © MST On March 13th, in the city of Aracruz (Espírito Santo, Brazil), 1,000 women from the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) occupied land owned by Suzano Papel e Celulose, the world’s largest pulp producer, to protest the environmental impact of […]

Expanding poverty, not prosperity: the impacts of the World Bank’s industrial tree plantations in Paraguay

A new briefing from the Environmental Paper Network, Bank Information Center (BIC), AXIAL Naturaleza y Cultura, Instituto Maira, and Heñoi highlights the impacts of a proposed project by the World Bank aimed at expanding industrial tree plantations in Paraguay. The project is being put forward by the World Bank’s development arm, IBRD (International Bank for […]