Each of the sustainable leather bags comes with it’s own Passport, detailing the products sustainable credentials and traceability.

For decades, fashion designers have looked to wildlife and the natural world for inspiration. Today, however, they’re taking it one step further at Paris Fashion Week. Gucci, the renowned Italian fashion house, is launching the world’s first line of designer handbags made with leather from Rainforest Alliance Certified ranches. These ranches have committed to protect their forests, so purchasing these bags is actually helping to conserve Amazon forest and the wildlife it contains.

National Wildlife Federation has been supporting solutions to deforestation driven by cattle ranching in Brazil for many years. We ran a program of workshops for ranchers in the Amazon, encouraging better environmental practices with Imaflora, Rainforest Alliance’s Brazilian partner. We learned that there was a ranching group, Fazendas São Marcelo Ltda, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, aiming to be the first in the world to become certified by the Rainforest Alliance, which sets standards for ecosystem conservation as well as animal welfare, water quality and pasture management. The ranch became the first in the world to achieve this certification. However, there was not yet a buyer for the leather.

When we explained the significance of Rainforest Alliance certification to the founders of the Green Carpet Challenge, Lucy Siegle and Livia Firth, they recognized the opportunity and found a willing brand in fashion house Gucci. Once the ranches obtained certification, Gucci set to work producing a line of bags made only with leather traceable back to the certified ranches. The special line of purses announced in Paris includes Gucci’s iconic Jackie bag. They come with a “passport” explaining the journey of the leather and are going on sale in Gucci’s flagship stores around the world.

Stopping Deforestation

Cattle ranchers from the Sao Marcelo Ranch in Brazil. Photo credit: Pisco del Gaiso

Whether you realize it or not, many of the shoes, belts and bags of well-known brands today are made from leather that originates in Brazil and is exported to Italy and China for processing. Many consumers do not understand the link between wildlife, deforestation and the products they see at the store.

You may not be able to afford to buy this new Gucci bag, but you can still support the effort by letting your favorite brands know that you want products free from deforestation and asking where their leather comes from.

While Gucci is first (and only) designer selling products made from Rainforest Alliance-certified  leather, National Wildlife Federation believes this is just the beginning of an exciting new trend.

Major Milestone for Sustainable Biofuels

February 10 – The NCS International announced on Thursday that it has certified the world’s first biofuels operation to achieve certification against the Principles and Criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB).

The RSB has developed a third-party certification system for biofuels sustainability standards, encompassing environmental, social and economic principles and criteria through an open, transparent, and multi-stakeholder process. National Wildlife Federation played a key role in establishing this global standard for the voluntary certification of biofuels and hopes the new system will promote good practices on the ground, and eventually help end biofuels production practices that are harmful to the climate and environment.

Coalition to Next President: Commit to Action on Great Lakes, Asian Carp

February 7 – In a pledge sent to election committees of former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Rick Santorum and President Barack Obama, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is calling on White House aspirants to commit to supporting Great Lakes restoration and action on Asian carp.

“Millions of people are counting on the next president of the United States to stand up for the Great Lakes,” said Jeff Skelding, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

BP Profits Highlight Need for Congress to Pass RESTORE Act

February 7 – Reports today indicate that BP made a major profit for 2011. BP announced that it made a profit of $25.7 billion during the 2011 calendar year. BP’s fourth-quarter profits alone reached $7.69 billion, up 38 percent from 2010. The company made $3 million every hour during 2011.

“BP made nearly $26 billion and the Gulf still waits to be restored,” said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of conservation and education with National Wildlife Federation.

As Consumer Demand for Sustainable Products Increases, More U.S. Companies Open Their Supply Chains for Review

February 7 – Today the Forest Footprint Disclosure project and the National Wildlife Federation announced the results of the 2011 disclosure survey which asks companies whether they use products linked to deforestation, and what they are doing about it. The number of U.S. companies volunteering to disclose their impacts on forests almost doubled in 2011, with The Walt Disney Company and Johnson & Johnson topping the list of notable additions this year.

“More and more, consumers want to know that the products they buy at the store are not doing harm to the planet,” said Barbara Bramble, NWF international policy advisor.

Tar Sands Development to Lead to Poisoning of Wolves

February 6 – As the Obama administration decides whether to give the go-ahead to the 1,700-mile Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas, wildlife biologists have sounded a new alarm: expanding oil and gas production is contributing to the decline of caribou herds in Alberta.

Incredibly, Canada’s proposed solution to habitat destruction from tar sands development is to destroy the wolves that prey on caribou, instead of protecting their habitat. Two particularly repugnant methods of destroying wolves – shooting wolves from helicopters and poisoning wolves with baits laced with strychnine – would be carried out in response to the caribou declines.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Associated Press: Group asks candidates to support Asian carp fight
• Los Angeles Times: Canada responds to caribou decline with plan to kill wolves
• The Portland Press Herald: Conservation advocates voice fears about oil pipeline

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

After 150 Years, Tribes to Welcome Home Wild Bison

December 9 – Nearly 70 Yellowstone bison, part of North America’s last free-ranging wild herd, are headed to their ancestral home on the Great Plains after Montana state officials’ approval Friday of relocating the animals to the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap Reservations.

After a century and a half, genetically pure, wild bison once again will roam Indian lands in Montana. The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission voted to transfer 68 bison that have been quarantined and found free of brucellosis, a disease that ranchers fear can be spread to domestic livestock.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for the return of the bison,” said Mike Fox, a Fort Belknap tribal council member.

New Hampshire Audubon Announces Partnership with National Wildlife Federation

December 8 – New Hampshire Audubon announced today it was honored to be chosen as the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. These two organizations will be independent collaborators on conservation, education, and policy concerns that will strengthen New Hampshire’s unique natural resources.

“As a lifelong resident, fisherman and career U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public servant, I know that Granite State residents and our native wildlife will be the biggest winners in our affiliation with the National Wildlife Federation,” said Michael J. Bartlett, New Hampshire Audubon President. “Our organizations will share expertise and resources to ensure that New Hampshire’s wildlife and open spaces can be enjoyed for generations to come.”

President Obama Issues Veto Threat on Tar Sands Riders

Credit: Sarah Chieffo

Larry Schweiger, NWF President and CEO said:

“President Obama’s veto threat sends a clear message to oil companies to stop messing with priority legislation for their own profit. The Keystone XL pipeline is Big Oil’s dangerous plan to lock America into a long-lasting addiction to Canadian tar sands oil, the dirtiest source of oil on the planet. We applaud President Obama for promising to veto bills that are hijacked by Big Oil and other special interests.”

House Committee Praised for Holding Hearing on Gulf Restoration

December 7 – Groups supporting restoration of the Gulf Coast today thanked House leaders on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for drawing attention to the benefits of the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 by holding a committee hearing on the bill today at 10am. The RESTORE Act would ensure that fines paid by BP and the other parties responsible for last year’s Gulf oil spill are used to support both environmental and economic restoration in the region, instead of going to unrelated federal spending.

Debating Deforestation at Durban: Can We Feed the World’s Growing Population, Address Climate Change and Stop Deforestation?

December 5 – Reducing deforestation, addressing climate change and feeding the world’s growing population are three of the biggest challenges facing the planet. Addressing these problems equally, without sacrificing one for the other, is perhaps the greatest challenge facing negotiators this week at the United Nations international climate change summit in Durban.

To help answer the question of how to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 without destroying the planet, National Wildlife Federation has released a new report titled The Food, Forest and Carbon Challenge.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Stop the Carp
• ClimateWire: Diplomats ponder four options as Durban talks move into final two days
• Mongobay.com: Feeding the world’s population and saving forests aren’t mutually exclusive

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

Why the face?

The ‘face’ that you can see carved into the tree is from a logging technique called springboards. When loggers needed to get above brush or other barriers when cutting down trees they would put notches into the tree into which they would insert their springboard. This gave them a platform to stand on from which they could operate their saws. A Haunting Reminder Logging has been an important cultural and economic aspect in the Pacific Northwest for over 100 years. The ancient forests provide many communities with a source of income from the timber. These forests do not exist solely for our economic benefit. They provide habitat for wildlife such as birds and mammals. They also provide critical ecosystem services such as preventing soil erosion by holding the soil in place so that the rain does not sweep it away.

Habitat loss from endeavors such as logging is the leading threat to wildlife. There are many reasons for this. The first is the removal of critical habitat through cutting down trees. The effects of clear cutting are evident while driving down many of the highways or back roads throughout Washington and Oregon. Large areas that were once full of ancient trees are now gone, leaving a slow healing scar on our hillsides. A second threat is from fragmentation. When trees are cut or roads put in for logging the habitat is cut into pieces. A road might not seem like a large area to cross for humans but they can present significant barriers to wildlife that run the risk of being hit while crossing the road. Many insects also find difficulty crossing what to them are giant expanses of unknown and dangerous terrain.

The National Wildlife Federation Connection

The National Wildlife Federation is dedicated to protecting wildlife and their habitat. Find out more about our work and about the threats from Habitat Loss! You can also discover ways that you can Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat^® for wildlife in your own back yard!

Rachel Kramer is a former program assistant for the National Wildlife Federation’s Climate Change, Deforestation & Agriculture Project. She recently returned from 10 weeks of research in rural Madagascar and is now a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow at Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Here’s Rachel’s take on the situation:

As strange as it seems, there’s a connection between guitars, lemurs … and poverty.

Insufficient global traceability for wood products masks the origins of precious hardwoods like rosewood and ebony that continue to be illegally cut in Madagascar’s Parks & Protected Areas, as well as other high-biodiversity rainforests across the globe. These enter murky supply chains and lead to furniture stores in China and big-brand instrument manufacturers in the United States.

The tragedy of illegal logging in Madagascar extends beyond conservation concerns. In this trafficking, a few corrupt individuals, companies and officials receive enormous financial spoils, while local communities which depend on the environmental services forests provide suffer acute consequences. And consumers in the United States and elsewhere have become unknowing accomplices.

But illegal logging isn’t the only driver of forest loss in Madagascar. Political instability continues to perpetuate poverty and economic insecurity on this diverse island, hurting local livelihoods, and driving accelerated forest loss for low-yield agriculture in the absence of alternatives.

I spent the past two months living in forest-bordering communities in northeastern Madagascar, leading socio-economic research on the origins of habitat disturbance for a species of critically endangered lemur, the silky sifaka. Whistle-blowers have managed to curb illegal logging in Marojejy National Park, where the highest populations of ‘silkies’ currently remain, but forests continue to be cleared for low-yielding staple and cash crops. Insufficient access to education, healthcare, and basic infrastructure perpetuates food insecurity and keeps new generations from pursuing a better future.

The 2008 amendment to the U.S. Lacey Act now provides legal capacity to address the problem of illegal woods entering the United States, but the same protections don’t exist in other countries, especially China. A better international tracking and certification system is urgently needed to ensure that ‘bad’ wood isn’t making it into consumer products at the expense of communities and critically endangered wildlife. But creative options for integrated conservation and development that empowers local communities to maintain forest resources is also essential. And for this, we need to strengthen civil society within Madagascar and support international conservation organizations working to make a difference in the field.

Watch the full documentary:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Learn how NWF is working to protect the world’s forests, then take action.

Agriculture for things like cattle ranching and increasingly palm oil production have been the drivers for this calamity, and people like NWF’s Barbara Bramble are working to ensure an international climate treaty reduces deforestation.

Brazilian cattle ranching is incredibly carbon intensive, with a steak from a Brazil having a far higher carbon impact in contrast to a steak produced in the U.S. The same concept applies to leather. Meanwhile, demand for oils is increasing, as is the pressure to ramp up production in Brazil. 

Barbara works to get more sustainable production, and she and her colleagues have made great progress over the years. Deforestation is on a downward trajectory, and with progress at Cancun expected this week, more headway will be made to monitor forests and slaughterhouses, and ensure enforcement. 

Barbara took a few moments to talk about progress and concerns on these issues just before her ‘side event’ with scientists at the Cancun talks.  Video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

NWF's Eric Palola

As we’ve discussed in previous posts, expectations are pretty modest for climate progress at the international talks here in Cancun.

There are some places where we can and must act, and reduced emissions from deforestation (REDD) is one such building block that can help set up an eventual broad and binding agreement.

Eric Palola is hard at work on that front for National Wildlife Federation. He’s our senior director for forests and wildlife and here’s his take on the REDD talks so far:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Eric on Deforestation and Cancun:

Es Momento de Actuar – it is time to act.

The refrain rumbling in the meeting halls of Cancun this week at COP16 is we must act.

Given the much ballyhooed Copenhagen conference last year which ended in recriminations and a voluntary “Accord”, the expectations for a binding agreement have been intentionally downplayed in the latest round of talks in Cancun, Mexico.  Indeed the fate of the entire UNFCCC Conference of the Parties or the COP process hangs in the balance if no concrete progress can be shown here.

However, one agreement that appears within reach is a deal on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

Although several other big issues in play such as binding emissions targets and rules on monitoring and verification, a REDD deal would be very good news.  This is because it is generally recognized that land based carbon emissions, from forest and peatlands conversion and agricultural activities, contribute between one-fifth to one-quarter of global greenhouse gases, some 8-10 gigatons per year.  S

Slowing and stopping deforestation and further degradation will require $20-30 billion annually, a challenging level for multilateral public investment given the difficulty of G7 nations to live up to their modest commitments under the Copenhagen Accord– but a very achievable goal with the creation of market driven incentives. Not surprisingly one of the current major sticking points in the REDD text is the source of Finance.

Three options are in play:  market, no market, or a hybrid public-private mechanism that will likely depend on the interests of the host country.  What is acceptable to Bolivia may be quite different than what is acceptable in Brazil due to levels of institutional support, land tenure patterns, deforestation rates, and the need for social and environmental safeguards at the local level.

The other sticking point is whether a REDD deal can go forward as a fast-start agreement independent from the broader negotiating text that won’t likely be completed, if at all, until COP17 late next year. Given the loss of some 10 million hectares (about 25 million acres) per year over the last decade and the need to bend an emissions curve headed towards the danger zone of over 2 degrees Centigrade change (based on weak Copenhagen pledges to date), many delegates and NGOs are anxious to get going.

There are some negotiators who believe that nothing can be agreed to until everything is agreed to.  But that has been a recipe for failure thus far.  Maybe it is time to act on the pieces we can agree on and start conserving forests for climate and wildlife by getting a REDD deal this week, now.

Check out our holiday deals that help support the National Wildlife Federation’s work to protect wildlife >>

courtesy of: http:www.cc2010.mx/en/

Last year in Copenhagen, Denmark, the prospects of a new climate treaty were dealt a significant blow when countries failed to meet the world’s expectations and completion of a final climate treaty never materialized.  In place of a treaty, the countries completed a political agreement called the Copenhagen Accord. While the Accord managed to put global warming pollution reduction pledges from both developed and developing countries on the table, the agreement was simply taken note of by the UNFCCC as a voluntary agreement and lacks the legal standing of a binding and enforceable treaty.  As result, there is need for the Cancun meeting to build back confidence that all nations are working in the negotiations toward achieving a global climate deal in 2011.

From the National Wildlife Federation’s perspective, there are three critical things that must happen to consider Cancun a success:

1. The U.S and China Must Stop Their Public Shouting Match Over Climate

Together, the G2 account for around 50% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Simply put, there is no solution to the climate crisis unless both the U.S. and China agree to reduce their global warming pollution. Under the Copenhagen Accord both countries made pledges to reduce their emissions. The U.S. pledged to reduce its emissions 17% from 2005 by 2020 and China pledged to lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels. While these Accord pledges are inadequate to keep global warming below the critical 2 degrees Celsius, they did represent some progress.

Since making those pledges, however, the U.S. and China have engaged in a downward spiral of verbal accusations on a number of issues ranging from currency valuation to the legality of renewable energy subsidies to how the world handles North Korea. The increasingly hot rhetoric has bled over into the climate negotiations with loud public squabbles over the meaning of the emission reduction promises and other pledges made as part of the Copenhagen Accord.

For Cancun to succeed, both countries need to take their disagreements out of the headlines and focus their energy at the negotiating table to figure out how both countries can move together to solve the climate crisis. If Cancun remains nothing more than a forum for a U.S. – China spat, the treaty negotiations may be derailed for good. The countries have already laid the groundwork for cooperation through a series of memoranda on energy and climate and both sides would be wise to remember it.

2. The U.S. Needs to Come Clean About Its Ability to Meet  its 17% Emissions Reduction Target

Unfortunately, the U.S. Congress’ failure to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation has created uncertainty throughout the world as to whether the U.S. will be able to meet its Copenhagen pledge. It has also raised doubts as to the ability of the U.S. to formalize those pledged reductions into final decisions in Cancun.  This “trust gap” hangs over the treaty negotiations and threatens any progress.

The U.S. needs to confront this dynamic. It should tell the world about some of the significant steps it has taken to reduce its greenhouse gas emission despite the failure to pass comprehensive legislation. Using authority already provided from Congress, as confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. has taken concrete efforts under the Clean Air Act to start tackling its global warming pollution.  The most prominent step is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) use of the law to reduce emissions from the U.S. automobiles and trucks sector.

Trumpeting this progress, however, is not enough to bridge the “trust gap.”  Many in Congress are threatening to remove EPA’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and this is making further progress harder. The U.S. has to tell the global community that the current domestic political situation makes it difficult for the country to clearly articulate how it will get to 17% by 2020.  This tact might not win a lot of new friends, but it would help build trust by showing the U.S. is being open and transparent in its negotiating.

3. Complete the Deal on Several Key Aspects of a Treaty

While the Copenhagen meeting did not yield a final climate treaty, the negotiations did make significant progress in a number of key areas on how a treaty would work. In Cancun, countries should complete these aspects of the deal.  Agreements are within reach on how countries can reduce the 15% of global emissions from deforestation (an issue known as REDD+), how financial resources can be provided to make developing countries more resilient in the face of the most serious impacts of climate change, and how all countries can benefit from, and have access to, clean energy technologies. The U.S. should not stand in the way of wrapping up of these agreements with final decisions in Cancun.

Completing these building blocks would provide the energy boost needed to move the negotiations forward to South Africa in 2011.

NWF global warming policy director Joe Mendelson recently talked about the challenges and what the U.S. can do to play a positive role, He also calls on NWF supporters to take action.  Watch his video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Specifically, deforestation (or clear cutting forests) is one of the largest contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.

The U.S. can step up now to lessen emissions and guard rainforests from further damage.

Communities in countries around the world know that clearing forests has negative effects, yet without financial help many communities can’t break away from the pressure to sell timber or cut down the trees to make way for agriculture.

During last year’s global climate summit, President Obama agreed to commit funds to help reverse deforestation in developing countries and to help them adapt to climate change, but the Obama administration needs support from Congress in order to work together with other dedicated countries to combat deforestation.

Congress needs to support this pledge and develop a strategy to protect forests.

With help from our lawmakers, we can guard and restore rainforests with their thriving wildlife populations while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Please tell Congress to dedicate funds to stop the destruction of tropical forests.

- By Kolleen Kawa, National Wildlife Federation