Abstract
A methodological characteristic of the REDD+ scheme is that it attempts to reduce deforestation by rewarding communities that change problematic land use practices. This has led to discussions on benefit sharing. This article focuses on incentives for alternative land use practices among village members living in frontier areas, especially in relation to support for sustainable land use and people’s livelihoods, and clarifies the issues that REDD+ projects are likely to face in this context. Although some documents regarding REDD+ projects have mentioned support to encourage such incentives, insufficient consideration has been given to the realities of the changes in frontier communities. REDD+ projects are unlikely to motivate members to embrace alternative land use practices if support or benefit sharing does not match members’ expectations. Here, we examine the changes in household (HH) income and structure, as well as in livelihood activities, experienced by Cambodian frontier villagers living at the site of a planned REDD+ project. During the nine years compared in this study, the frontier villages experienced broad and imbalanced changes in HH income owing to the rapid expansion of the cultivation of cash crops. Our results indicate that benefit sharing or support inevitably becomes more difficult and challenging in frontier areas than in areas where subsistence production systems still predominate, although such frontiers could, in theory, yield maximum returns with regard to forest carbon balance if the REDD+ projects addressed benefit sharing and support and came to fruition.
Highlights
The “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries” (REDD+) mechanism attempts to reduce deforestation by compensating or rewarding governments, individual agents and communities that change influential policies and land use practices along with implementing some other core measures
Benefit sharing, this article focuses on incentives for alternative land use practices among community members, especially those who earn their livelihoods in frontier areas, and discusses the issues that
Chomitz et al [12] organized forests over the world in terms of spatial typology, instead of considering transitional changes, defined “frontier areas” as “frontier and disputed areas” and characterized them as areas where the pressures for deforestation and degradation are increasing and agricultural land is expanding. These frontier areas are worthy of examination by a REDD+ project, because they can, in theory, yield significant returns with regard to the forest carbon balance if the project addresses benefit sharing and comes to fruition
Summary
The “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries” (REDD+) mechanism attempts to reduce deforestation by compensating or rewarding governments, individual agents and communities that change influential policies and land use practices along with implementing some other core measures. Chomitz et al [12] organized forests (land) over the world in terms of spatial typology, instead of considering transitional changes, defined “frontier areas” as “frontier and disputed areas” and characterized them as areas where the pressures for deforestation and degradation are increasing and agricultural land is expanding. These frontier areas are worthy of examination by a REDD+ project, because they can, in theory, yield significant returns with regard to the forest carbon balance if the project addresses benefit sharing and comes to fruition
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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.
