Lastly, we would like to draw your attention to a public side event that Forest Trends will host on Thursday 

Forest Trends is pleased to invite you to a side event at WRI’s Forest Legality Week on Thursday October 25th from 1-3pm. Art Blundell of Forest Trends will be discussing the role of natural resources in conflict and peace agreements, and how Myanmar’s forest sector can boost – or undermine – economic growth during the country’s transition from military rule to more democratic governance. 

Forest Trends has recently expanded their work in Myanmar to promote equitable and accountable management of natural resources for peacebuilding, with particular focus on Myanmar’s forest-rich ethnic territories. This work aims to enable a nationally-owned, inclusive peace process through greater understanding of international best practice and dialogue for the management, use, and sharing of resource revenues under a Federal political system. Art will also present new research on the first-ever Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (MEITI) forestry report and its implications for supply- and demand-side efforts to improve the legality of Myanmar’s timber exports.

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