The team released an update on how the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has responded to the recommendations in a 2024 briefing submitted by EIA and Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) to Tokyo’s Governor Yuriko Koike on subsidies being provided to ivory industry stakeholders. Subsidies provided by TMG were funding efforts to increase demand for elephant ivory and work towards opening international trade in ivory, directly contradicting efforts to reform Tokyo’s domestic elephant ivory trade.

While most of the world has moved to close domestic ivory markets, Japan is one of the last major holdouts. The Wildlife team published a blog that explains how Japan, with its conservation law under review, has a real chance to finally end its ivory trade by 2027. Pressure is mounting from Japanese youth, civil society, international organizations, and even U.S. lawmakers who are urging Japan to act. 

EIA’s US and UK Wildlife teams released A Pivotal Player- Vietnam's ongoing fight against the illegal wildlife trade, an analysis on how international organized crime networks exploit Vietnam to smuggle elephant ivory, pangolin scales, and rhino horn between Africa and Asia. The report highlights trafficking routes, payment methods, and concealment techniques, and emphasizes that ending Vietnam’s role as a major wildlife trafficking hub will require systemic reforms and stronger anti-corruption measures both within the country and internationally.

EIA participated in an NGO coalition fly-in in September to raise awareness among members of Congress about the dangers of the draft MMPA reauthorization bill. The coalition met with over forty offices and helped organize a briefing, featuring marine mammal experts and stakeholders. The briefing focuses on the importance of marine mammals for ecosystem health, protecting biodiversity, boosting coastal economies, as well as how the MMPA is essential for maintaining healthy marine mammal populations throughout the U.S.

In September, the Ocean team traveled to Anchorage, Alaska, to attend their annual meetings with local partners and discuss new strategies for advancing Cook Inlet beluga population recovery. While in Anchorage, they analyzed upcoming opportunities to continue their work on prey availability and water quality in Cook Inlet, in addition to identifying new threats and research gaps stemming from cuts to critical federal funding. 

EIA will attend two important International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings this fall to advance their work on underwater noise reduction. The first is a technical workshop on the overlaps between energy efficiency and underwater radiated noise. They will also arrange a meeting with the current members of the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean to discuss plans for the Coalition moving forward. The team will attend the IMO Assembly meeting, where they will organize an event for ministers and other high-level officials of governments interested in joining the Coalition.

EIA and 11 other U.S. civil society groups urged the European Commission to resist U.S. pressure to delay or weaken the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a groundbreaking law prohibiting commodities such as beef, soy, and palm oil produced through deforestation from being placed on the EU market. Brussels-based Euractiv reported. In a letter to the editor published by the Financial Times, EIA’s Rick Jacobsen warned: “Rather than appeasing an administration determined to dismantle environmental protections, it is more important than ever for the EU to maintain its global leadership and vision."

In Colombia, EIA won a landmark case against two timber exporters, ruling that private companies must disclose environmental information of public interest. The rulings grounded in a 2024 Constitutional Court decision advanced by EIA’s partner Dejusticia on deforestation from cattle ranching, recognized EIA as a journalistic entity with special constitutional protections and set an important precedent for transparency in environmental matters. The information obtained will support Colombian law enforcement’s investigations into illegal logging, building on findings from EIA’s 2025 report Decking the Forest.

EIA developed machine learning models to identify common fraud techniques that undermine Romania’s forest protection. Romania’s national timber traceability system is regarded as one of the strongest globally, offering advanced digital traceability and public transparency. However, it faces significant challenges from fraud and noncompliance. Our blog explains how these models work and how machine learning can help detect noncompliant submissions and combat common fraud techniques in Romania’s timber system.