Beatrix Richards's latest posts

We’re really excited about a landmark piece of environmental law taking effect this Sunday. For the first time ever there will be a law across all 27 EU member countries banning the import, sale or commercial use of illegally sourced timber and wood products. It’s great news, having spent years campaigning and lobbying for this, [...]

Over the last 20 years oil palm has emerged as a wonder crop – providing copious quantities of palm oil as an ingredient in everything from soap to biscuits. But at what cost to the environment? I’ve come to Gabon, in western Central Africa, to see what’s happening here. Palm oil production has already cleared [...]

The air is acrid and the flames are scorching the grass around this huge bonfire. I am in Gabon, central Africa, watching tonnes of elephant ivory go up in smoke. There are 1,293 elephant tusks and a huge amount of confiscated ivory carved into a myriad of products fuelling this fire. Everything has been independently [...]