Deforestation, a major contributor to climate change, is still rampant globally and European Union countries are guilty of compounding the problem of illegal logging according to a WWF report released in July 2008. The report shows almost one-fifth of the wood imported into the European Union in 2006 came from illegal or suspected illegal sources. The study highlights the ineffectiveness of the existing EU licensing scheme, Forest and Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). Even if all agreements currently being negotiated by the EU with partner countries under FLEGT were concluded about 90 per cent of the illegal wood would still enter the EU markets. WWF urges the introduction of EU legislation to guarantee that only legal wood is traded on the European market. The report is available here

In a recent study, Oxfam analyzed the multiple social and environmental effects of current biofuel policies. The results show that the use of biofuel in wealthy countries is neither a solution to the climate crisis nor the oil crisis, and instead is contributing to a third: the food crisis. Even though in poor countries biofuels may offer some genuine development opportunities, the potential economic, social and environmental costs are severe - decision makers should thus proceed with caution. The full report can be downloaded here

The German Federal Government's Action Plan on "Civilian Crisis Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Peace-Building" was adopted in May 2004. On July 16 the Federal Government published its second review report on the implementation of the plan. The action plan defines crisis prevention as a cross sectoral challenge, promotes cooperation between public and private actors and sets out a strategy for institutional adaptation. The recommendations ought to be implemented within the next 5 to 10 years. The review report (in German) is available here

"Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World" was the title of this year's World Water Week, which took place in Stockholm between August 17 and 23. With a special focus on sanitation, the conference's numerous seminars, discussions and other events brought together experts and decision makers for capacity-building, partnership-building and follow-up on the implementation of international processes and programmes in water and development. More information about the World Water Week is available at http://www.worldwaterweek.org/