Gansu province in the north of China was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road – but life here is not silky smooth. The climate is harsh, and the desert encroaches on agricultural land at an increasing rate every year. WWF’s New Generation Plantations (NGP) platform has organized a study tour in Gansu during May 8-12 together with the China Green Carbon Foundation, Suzano and WWF-China. The NGP study tour aims to support these organizations in finding the tree species which both grow best in desert conditions and enable farmers to sustain their livelihoods. Watch the video of the study tour.

In preparation of the FLEGT-VPA negotiations with the E.U, WWF-Laos has been working with Lao PDR Government counterparts at central and provincial level to support wood processing stakeholders to develop quality control systems to meet the demand and requirements of EU customers to be able to compete with other timber producing countries outside the EU. Among others capacity building activities, WWF Laos has been supporting SMEs to develop Chain of Custody (CoC) systems.

Music by Ross Bugden

The majority of rural communities in Laos rely on the forest, especially non-timber products, for their daily livelihood. But when the forest is attacked, the livelihoods of these people are jeopardized. WWF Laos's FLEGT project (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) has been supporting the Department of Forest Inspection (DoFI) and local Government partners in two target provinces, Khammouan and Attapeu to build the capacity of local agencies and increase the awareness of all stakeholders with regards to forest protection and sustainable use of forest and non timber products in villages' forest.

In Laos, WWF has been supporting the Department of Forest Inspection (DoFI) and local Government partners in two target provinces, Khammouan and Attapeu, in preparing FLEGT-VPA (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement) negotiations with the E.U. This short VDO of WWF-Laos' FLEGT project aims to present an overview of the project.

Gansu province is one of the regions set to benefit from the One Belt One Road initiative – a multi-trillion dollar development strategy proposed by the Chinese government, which aims to link Central Asia with the Middle East, Europe and beyond. This video is about how NGP can help enhance the sustainability and resilience of this project.

Rural Thai school helps UN to localize SDGs in underprivileged communities UN Country Team (UNCT) Thailand celebrated a partnership with a rural school in the northeastern province of Buriram for the localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with grassroots communities in Thailand, ahead of UN Day which is 24th October of every year. Founded by prominent Thai activist Mechai Viravaidya, Mechai Pattana School has innovative learning methods with a focus on sustainability and environmental conservation since it was founded in 2008. To enroll in this school, parents and students do not have to pay school fee but plant 800 trees in total and participate in community service for 800 hours per year. On occasion, students of Mechai Pattana School, along with students from 18 schools across the North East Region of Thailand came together and pledged to be a champion in localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their communities. Apart from showing various SDGs-related projects to the UNCT representatives, the students had a chance to exchange views with the RC and UNCT representatives regarding SDGs localization in Thailand during the “SDGs Exchange Classroom”. The UNCT team also visited the first SDGs Village in Buriram -- Ban Kwang Ngoi Pattana Village, in Kok Klang sub-district. The village has been set as a model for 16 other communities surrounding the school in SDGs localization. Ban Kwang Ngoi Pattana is one of the most underprivileged Thai communities, of which villagers has an average annual income of about 1,100 USD. Mechai Pattana School, which has the vision to become a hub for social and economic advancement for villagers, has had projects in line with SDGs with surrounding villages for several years. Examples of projects include waste management, water management, environmental conservation and clean energy. With only ten years to go before the 2030 deadline, the school has decided to take a bold step in implementing SDGs more thoroughly. The school has had a workshop with villagers where villagers were educated about SDGs, reflected on which goals are the most urgent and relevant to them, then brainstormed for the aspiration for the village. They will soon meet again to set their targets and indicators, with the global framework of SDGs, in mind.