Abstract
Despite promising win-win outcomes of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, how and to what extent it can bring real opportunities to forest communities remains debatable. Focusing on inequality and land tenure insecurity in Bangladesh, this study aims to find out whether and to what extent REDD+ can ensure equitable benefits and opportunities for the forest communities in an ethnic conflict area. Based on qualitative case studies on two types of community forest management (CFM) experiences in Bangladesh, the study finds that the distribution of various costs, benefits, and access to forest participation remain highly unequal among different groups within the communities. The existing institutional settings were not able to bring adequate opportunities for the marginal forest people to face the dominant power relation and bring equitable share for them. This study argues that without ensuring the decision-making space for marginalized groups, and without substantial changes towards the tenure complexity, the emerging REDD+ initiatives in Bangladesh can strengthen the dominant power and subsequently intensify the vulnerability of the marginalized people. A careful analysis of how weak institutions are helping to perpetuate inequality can thus help us to understand future risks of CFM–REDD+ relations.
Highlights
In the recent global climate policy development, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) program has emerged as one of the key promising mechanisms to both address the problem of emissions reduction and support the process of adaptation to climate change
Based on qualitative case studies, this study aims to find out, first, how the existing community forest management (CFM) and other related institutional settings are shaping the distribution of forest access and benefits, and second, to what extent REDD+ can ensure the equitable benefits of the marginalized forest communities in Bangladesh
To understand the inequality aspects in depth, we focus on two different types of CFM regimes and forest community dynamics in Bangladesh
Summary
The empirical trends show a mixed result, and an increasing number of scholars are more critical about the possibility of the expected outcomes (Agrawal, Chhatre, & Hardin, 2008; Blom, Sunderland, & Murdiyarso, 2010a; Hall, Hirsch, & Li, 2011; Sikor et al, 2010). The debates on this issue have two directions. The debate focuses on various kinds of challenges and possibilities related to the tradeoff among the three jsd.ccsenet.org
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
