REDD Research Articles

Understanding the relationship between aboveground biomass and ALOS PALSAR data in the forests of Guinea-Bissau (West Africa)

Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world with a large proportion of its population living in rural areas. While industry is limited, over 70% of the territory is covered by forests, which can potentially be used to attract investment through forest-based projects that promote reductions in carbon emissions and sustainable management. These can be leveraged by producing accurate maps of forest aboveground biomass (AGB) at national level and by developing cost-effective mapping methods that allow reliable future updating for management and engagement in international mechanisms such as the United Nations (UN) Collaborative Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.Using data from Japan's Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR), this study compared a semi-empirical and machine learning algorithm, with the latter based on bagging stochastic gradient boosting (BagSGB), for retrieving the AGB of woody vegetation thereby supporting estimation of national carbon stocks. AGB was estimated by using measurements of tree size collected from112 forest plots during two field campaigns (2007 and 2008) as input to published allometric equations.The BagSGB outperformed the semi-empirical algorithm, resulting in a coefficient of correlation (R) between observed and cross-validation predicted forest AGB values of 0.95 and in a root mean square error (RMSE) of 26.62Mgha−1. Furthermore, the BagSGB model produced also a measure of forest AGB prediction variability (coefficient of variation) on a pixel-by-pixel basis, with values ranging from 7 to 250% (mean=42%). An estimate of total forest AGB carbon stock of 96.93Mt C was obtained in this study for Guinea-Bissau, with a mean forest AGB value of 65.17Mgha−1. Although the mean error associated with this forest AGB map is still undesirably high, several issues were addressed. The heterogeneity of forest structural types, presence of palm trees, and dimension and type of field plots were identified as potential source of uncertainty that must be tackled in future studies. This study represents a step forward regarding the information currently available for Guinea-Bissau.

Analysis of three crucial elements of REDD+ in participatory forest management

It is claimed that reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) could contribute to sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks as well as having the potential to deliver significant social and environmental co-benefits (+). From the perspectives of local factors and broader governance issues related to REDD+, this study aims to explore findings related to three crucial elements, commitment, transparency and continuity, implemented jointly with participatory forest management in Tanzania in the case of the REDD+ mechanism. This paper argues that commitment and transparent systems are needed at village level, as well as at the various levels of forest governance and among the donors, in order for REDD+ benefits to be shared equitably at the REDD+ project level. Any REDD+ project should include safeguards that recognise and protect the continuity of multipurpose functions of the forest to local people and avoid dependence on external payments.

Impacts of incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation on global species extinctions

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) has been widely discussed as a way of mitigating climate change while concurrently benefitting biodiversity. This study combines a global land-use model and spatial data on species distributions to quantify the potential impacts of REDD in avoiding global species extinctions.

Land cover change in the Bolivian Amazon and its implications for REDD+ and endemic biodiversity

Tropical deforestation is a major contributor to green house gas emissions in developing countries. Incentive mechanisms, such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), are currently being considered as a possible emissions reduction and offset solution. Although REDD has expanded its scope to include co-benefits such as sustainable management of forests and biodiversity conservation (known as REDD+), current carbon-base methodologies do not specifically target projects for the parallel protection of these co-benefits. This study demonstrates the incorporation of both carbon and biodiversity benefits within REDD+ in the Bolivian Amazon, through the analysis of land cover change and future change scenario modeling to the year 2050. Current protected areas within the Bolivian Amazon were evaluated for REDD+ project potential by identifying concordant patterns of carbon content, species biodiversity and deforestation vulnerability. Biodiversity-based versus carbon-based protection schemes were evaluated and protected areas were prioritized using irreplaceability-vulnerability plots. Deforestation projection scenarios to the year 2050 varied depending on the historical period analyzed, producing low, intermediate and high deforestation scenarios. All scenarios showed increasing deforestation pressure in the northern region of Bolivia along with high levels of biodiversity loss. Expected reductions in the carbon pool ranged from 8 to 48%, for the low and high demand scenarios respectively. Some protected areas presented large numbers of endemic species, high concentrations of carbon and high deforestation vulnerability, demonstrating the potential for win–win REDD+ projects in Bolivia.

Relative radiometric correction of multi-temporal ALOS AVNIR-2 data for the estimation of forest attributes

Relative radiometric correction methods have been widely used to correct ground illumination difference in multi-temporal satellite data. ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) data starts to play an important role in forest and carbon assessment, such as the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) program. The objective of the study was to compare three relative radiometric correction methods for five multi-temporal ALOS AVNIR-2 (Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer) images, and to examine the influence of each correction method on the estimation accuracy of forest attributes with auxiliary field inventory plot data. Both spectral features and textural features were extracted before and after radiometric correction and used in estimation procedure. All the radiometric correction methods used improved the estimation accuracy of forest stem volume at plot level, and they were MAD (multivariate alteration detection) transformation-based normalization, PCA (principle component analysis)-based correction and local radiometric correction, among which MAD transformation-based normalization exceeded others by reducing the relative RMSE by 5.75% with the ordinary least square fitting and 6.8% with the K-MSN (K-Most Similar Neighbour) method both after leave-one-out cross-validation. RMSE for only the corrected area is also calculated, in view of the small proportion of plots in that area. The result can be used to improve the visual effect of mosaics of multi-temporal ALOS scenes, and to retrieve more accurate forest estimates for national forest resources and biomass mapping.

Correction: Refreshing REDD

Correction: Refreshing REDD

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) projects: lessons for future policy design and implementation

In response to the pressing global challenges of climate change, initiatives under the auspices of ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation’ (REDD) have been implemented in over 30 developing and least-developed countries since 2005. The initiatives cover nearly every significant and vulnerable forest ecosystem worldwide. In this study we review six representative initiatives, two each from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis is done to evaluate each initiative's policy framework, design, implementation and results thus far. The main policy and project implementation factors that appear to lead to effective and successful REDD project outcomes include having clearly formulated project design; governance, land tenure rights and capacity; equity and transparency; indigenous peoples' rights and knowledge; local–international coordination; and enhancing local and institutional capacities. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for future REDD policy action and project implementation to make it work for the poor and achieve its intended goals.

Forest Carbon Leakage Quantification Methods and Their Suitability for Assessing Leakage in REDD

This paper assesses quantification methods for carbon leakage from forestry activities for their suitability in leakage accounting in a future Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism. To that end, we first conducted a literature review to identify specific pre-requisites for leakage assessment in REDD. We then analyzed a total of 34 quantification methods for leakage emissions from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), the CarbonFix Standard (CFS), and from scientific literature sources. We screened these methods for the leakage aspects they address in terms of leakage type, tools used for quantification and the geographical scale covered. Results show that leakage methods can be grouped into nine main methodological approaches, six of which could fulfill the recommended REDD leakage requirements if approaches for primary and secondary leakage are combined. The majority of methods assessed, address either primary or secondary leakage; the former mostly on a local or regional and the latter on national scale. The VCS is found to be the only carbon accounting standard at present to fulfill all leakage quantification requisites in REDD. However, a lack of accounting methods was identified for international leakage, which was addressed by only two methods, both from scientific literature.

Can REDD+ Reconcile Local Priorities and Needs with Global Mitigation Benefits? Lessons from Angai Forest, Tanzania

Mustalahti, I., A. Bolin, E. Boyd, and J. Paavola. 2012. Can REDD+ reconcile local priorities and needs with global mitigation benefits? Lessons from Angai Forest, Tanzania. Ecology and Society 17(1): 16. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04498-170116

REDD reckoning: a review of research on a rapidly moving target.

Abstract This review characterizes the major themes of articles on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) published between January 2007 and December 2010 in various peer-reviewed journals, as well as selected reports in the 'grey literature'. The main themes of the articles and reports are analysed in relation to four topics: the global architecture of REDD; measurement and monitoring; national and subnational policies, institutions and governance; and the relationship of REDD to other objectives such as biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction and rights protection. The review identifies a number of topics for further research, including empirical validation of the predicted benefits and risks of implementing REDD policies and projects, and analysis of the degree to which REDD is shaping, or being shaped by, the political economy of forest governance at national and global levels.

Designing REDD Schemes to Address Permanence Concerns: Empirical Evidence from Kenya

This study contributes to the debate on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD ) and the relationship between land tenure and forest conservation. We investigate policies that create alternative livelihood options for people around REDD forests who are forest users but not forest landowners by implementing a survey-based experiment in Kenya. We compare the effectiveness of different REDD payment schemes given rising opportunity costs of forest use. This study shows that policies that target the local drivers of deforestation, are conditional on environmental outcomes, and account for changing opportunity costs can significantly improve environmental outcomes compared to conventional policies.

Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)

(2012). Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) NACLA Report on the Americas: Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 67-67.

Valuation of ecosystem services for assessment of cost of deforestation, and analysis of its drivers with implications for sustainable forest management in Ghana

The aim of this thesis was to estimate the cost of deforestation and to identify its drivers in the high forest zone of Ghana. The purpose was also to raise awareness about the severity of deforestation and to offer suggestions for its control with a view to contributing to climate change mitigation. To compute the cost of deforestation, the values of four ecosystems’ services were estimated, employing opportunity and replacement cost techniques. The costs of wildfires resulting from loss of food and tree crops of communities were also estimated and deforestation-related behavior modeled using questionnaire surveys. Total Economic Values Framework, von Thunen and Chayanov models formed the theoretical basis of this work. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multinomial and ordinal logistic regression techniques. The results show that US$133,650,000 of gross revenue from the four ecosystems’ services is lost annually due to deforestation (Article I). In the study area, the annual loss in food and tree crops per farmer due to wildfires was US$232 (Article II). Furthermore, farmers who acquired land on either lease holding or sharecropping basis were more likely to engage in short-rotation farming system, which leads to deforestation, compared to those who acquired land as gift or inheritance or on customary basis (Article III). In the studied protected area (Article IV), subsistence agriculture and large in-migration of people were the most important driving forces behind deforestation. It can be concluded that better employing the indigenous knowledge of how to mitigate and adapt to wildfires would provide a sound basis for an improved wildfire management strategy. To obtain a more equitable distribution of forest benefits, the local policies need to be reformed with particular attention to the sharecrop and leasehold farmland holding systems. Forest revenue sharing systems, including potential payments from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), must include farmland holders under these holding systems. To enhance Ankasa Conservation Area’s contribution to climate change mitigation, priority must be given to livelihood improvement and ecosystem services provision in its management.

Market Masquerades: Uncovering the Politics of Community‐level Payments for Environmental Services in Cambodia

ABSTRACT A growing number of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes are being implemented at the community level in developing countries, especially in the context of climate change mitigation efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). In parallel, there is vigorous commentary about the implications of market‐based or neoliberal conservation strategies, and their potential effects on communities that depend on natural resources. This article explores the political dimensions of community‐level PES in Cambodia, where contracts for ‘avoided deforestation’ and ‘biodiversity conservation’ were implemented in five communities. The research examines three aspects of the community‐level PES model that are inherently political: the engagement of communities as single homogeneous entities, capable of entering PES contracts; the simplification of land‐use practices and resource rights; and the assumption that contracts are voluntary or reflect ‘community choice’. These elements of PES work both discursively and practically to silence certain voices and claims, while privileging others. Therefore, the problematic nature of community‐level PES is not that it is a market per se, but that it is a powerful intervention masquerading as a market. This process of ‘market masquerades’ emerges as a key element in the politics of neoliberal conservation in practice.

6. Nordic Countries

Norway did not ratify or accede to any multilateral environmental treaties of interest during 2012. Norway is actively promoting bilateral co-operation. It has recently supported the establishment of a Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law in Chennai, India, which will focus on ten selected policy areas, including genetic resources, alien species, the establishment of a nature index, and ecosystem services. Norway also continues its strong support of the UN program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). It paid significant REDD+ contributions to Guyana and Brazil in 2012 and entered into a new agreement with Vietnam. As has been mentioned in previous reports, Norway continues to implement measures to reduce the damage inflicted by the Chernobyl disaster. Based on the experiences gained, Norway and Ukraine have signed an agreement on co-operation in nuclear and radiation safety, aimed at decommissioning the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and transforming the 'shelter object' into an ecologically safe system.

A very real and practical contribution? Lessons from the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership

On 9 September 2007, Australian government ministers and the Indonesian president announced a A$100 million Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership (KFCP). This would involve protecting 70,000 hectares of peat forests, reflooding 200,000 hectares of dried peatland, and planting 100 million trees in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Since then, the ambitions of the KFCP have been quietly but drastically scaled back. The area expected to be reflooded by the project is now just over 10 per cent of the original target. And little progress has been made on the ground. Four years on, blocking of the large canals required for reflooding has yet to commence, and only 50,000 trees have been planted. What has happened to what was labelled at its launch as “a very real and very practical contribution”, one that would yield “immediate and tangible results”? We analyse the KFCP both as an aid “announceable” and as a REDD project, and reach two main conclusions. First, the KFCP illustrates the damage that an emphasis on “announcing” new projects, and a lack of attention to reporting on project progress, can cause to aid. Not enough has been done to publicly reposition the KFCP as a much smaller, demonstration project.

A review of protocols used for assessment of carbon stock in forested landscapes

Abstract The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice of the UNFCCC is focused on methodological issues that include reference levels of CO2 emissions from deforestations and forest degradations under Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Quantification of forest carbon stock is a challenging task involving high degrees of uncertainty and discrepancies because of methods used. It is important that the REDD stakeholders be able to compare the REDD designs options, using standardized data. In this paper, we provide a review of the various methods used for estimation of above and below-ground biomass for carbon stock and soil organic carbon to help decide what would best suit different landscapes and regions so as to set standardized reference levels. Our review suggests that the ‘forest yield method’, ‘biomass expansion factor’ and ‘Walkley–Black’ methods are simple, time and cost effective and yield accurate results as the ‘forest yield method’ covers all strata of forest vegetation, ‘biomass expansion factor’ method can be directly applied to volume data and the ‘Walkley–Black’ method is rapid and requires minimal equipment. However, the effectiveness and feasibility of different methods may vary depending upon landscape and forest types.

Tracking the Fault Lines of Pro‐Poor Carbon Forestry

AbstractReducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) has been given a principal role in post‐Kyoto, climate change agreements. Resulting markets and mechanisms for carbon forestry offsets could generate considerable global revenues for both forest conservation and sustainable rural development; or they may impose political and economic pressures on forest governance that threaten indigenous and rural peoples’ rights. Some inherent challenges to developing carbon forestry projects that support rural peoples’ welfare are reviewed. The experience of Scolel Te’, a carbon forestry project for Mexican indigenous farmers, suggests how projects can be adapted for smallholder provision of carbon services on benign terms and still meet the demands of carbon markets. However, carbon sales alone have not supported investments in knowledge development, institutional learning, and strategic farmer participation needed for significant political or economic change. This supports critiques that policies based on economic valuations of environmental services are unlikely to support social and equity objectives.

Refreshing REDD

Refreshing REDD

Attitudes of local communities towards conservation of mangrove forests: A case study from the east coast of India

The ecological and economic importance of mangrove ecosystems is well established and highlighted by studies establishing a correlation between the protective function of mangroves and the loss of lives and property caused by coastal hazards. Nevertheless, degradation of this ecosystem remains a matter of concern, emphasizing the fact that effective conservation of natural resources is possible only with an understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of local communities. In the present study, we examined the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards mangrove forests through questionnaire surveys in 36 villages in the Bhitarkanika Conservation Area, India. The sample villages were selected from 336 villages using hierarchical cluster analysis. The study revealed that local communities in the area had positive attitudes towards conservation and that their demographic and socio-economic conditions influenced people’s attitudes. Local communities valued those functions of mangrove forests that were directly linked to their wellbeing. Despite human-wildlife conflict, the attitudes of the local communities were not altogether negative, and they were willing to participate in mangrove restoration. People agreed to adopt alternative resources if access to forest resources were curtailed. Respondents living near the forests, who could not afford alternatives, admitted that they would resort to pilfering. Hence, increasing their livelihood options may reduce the pressure on mangrove forests. In contrast with other ecosystems, the linkages of mangrove ecosystem services with local livelihoods and security are direct and tangible. It is therefore possible to develop strong local support for sustainable management of mangrove forests in areas where a positive attitude towards mangrove conservation prevails. The current debates on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and payment for ecosystem services provide ample scope for development of sustainable livelihood options for local communities from the conservation of critical ecosystems such as mangroves.