Reducing Emissions From Deforestation And Forest Degradation Policies Research Articles

Strengthening inter-disciplinary and inter-ideological collaboration on REDD: A cultural theory approach

Abstract The United Nations’ REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) mechanism has provoked sharply divergent assessments in the academic community. This paper employs Cultural Theory to investigate how a sample of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds and ideological stances evaluate REDD, and the extent to which these sampled scholars reach out to other disciplines and ideologies to formulate REDD policy solutions. A sample of academic assessments of REDD from three groups of disciplines (ecological/political economics, environmental sciences, and anthropology) was analysed in terms of the implied ideological stance of the author (‘hierarchist,’ ‘individualist,’ and ‘egalitarian’) and the extent to which the author’s policy prescriptions offered concessions to ideological stances other than the authors own. Sampled authors from ecological/political economics and environmental sciences shared a hierarchist orientation, and were willing to make concessions to individualists but not to egalitarians. Sampled authors from anthropology shared an egalitarian orientation, and were unwilling to make significant concessions to any other ideological style. Disagreements on the issues of hegemony and eco-colonialism impeded the theoretically possible collaboration between disciplines in formulating suitably “clumsy” REDD policies that satisfy multiple value systems. This paper shows how Cultural Theory could be used as an effective heuristic device in policy-making processes for identifying some of the ideological divergences which underlie disagreements on REDD, and finding spaces for concession and collaboration on this and other hotly contested areas of environmental policy.

Effect of disturbance on biomass, production and carbon dynamics in moist tropical forest of eastern Nepal

Forest biomass is helpful to assess its productivity and carbon (C) sequestration capacity. Several disturbance activities in tropical forests have reduced the biomass and net primary production (NPP) leading to climate change. Therefore, an accurate estimation of forest biomass and C cycling in context of disturbances is required for implementing REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) policy. Biomass and NPP of trees and shrubs were estimated by using allometric equations while herbaceous biomass was estimated by harvest method. Fine root biomass was determined from soil monolith. The C stock in vegetation was calculated by multiplying C concentration to dry weight. Total stand biomass (Mg∙ha–1) in undisturbed forest stand (US) was 960.4 while in disturbed forest stand (DS) it was 449.1. The biomass (Mg∙ha–1) of trees, shrubs and herbs in US was 948.0, 4.4 and 1.4, respectively, while in DS they were 438.4, 6.1 and 1.2, respectively. Total NPP (Mg∙ha–1∙yr–1) was 26.58 (equivalent to 12.26 Mg C∙ha–1∙yr–1) in US and 14.91 (6.88 Mg C∙ha–1∙yr–1) in DS. Total C input into soil through litter plus root turnover was 6.78 and 3.35 Mg∙ha–1∙yr–1 in US and DS, respectively. Several disturbance activities resulted in the significant loss in stand biomass (53 %), NPP (44 %), and C sequestration capacity of tropical forest in eastern Nepal. The net uptake of carbon by the vegetation is far greater than that returned to the soil by the turnover of fine root and litter. Therefore, both stands of present forest act as carbon accumulating systems. Moreover, disturbance reflects higher C emissions which can be reduced by better management.

REDD Policy in Indonesia Reality in Grey Area

<p>This note focuses on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), an international framework that aims to curb carbon emissions by reducing deforestation. Meanwhile international negotiators discuss the environmental benefits of REDD, which will likely be implemented in the Kyoto Protocol's post-2012 commitment period. Indonesia as one of countries with a high rate of deforestation and has large number of tropical forests of course become the main actor in REDD regime. Indonesia policy regarding REDD+ is the first come to response it in the regulation scope. Nowadays Indonesia has a lot of REDD+ project that based on voluntary approach and some of them are already finished. This condition makes the legitimacy of REDD+ regime in Indonesia to be questioned and seemed play in grey area because there is no legally binding formulation about REDD+ in international area but already exist in Ministry of Forestry level. This paper will emphasize some of the main issues related to REDD+ in international and Indonesia context. Firstly, the background on the adoption concept of REDD+ in international discourse and the debate from developed and developing countries perspective about it. Secondly, trace the basic legitimacy of REDD+ implementation in Indonesia based on regulations and stakeholder was involved in REDD+ project. Lastly, the response that should be done from the clearly position of REDD+ in Indonesia. This response was in order to encourage the legitimation of legal instrument and legal institution that can accommodate the implementation of REDD+ projects in Indonesia. This paper will also to conducting REDD+ national concept by doing the lessons learnt on other forest state national policy. The conclusion of this paper can provide a clear position on the implementation of REDD+ in Indonesia starting from the validity of the existing legal policies until give optional model for others countries.</p>

Estimating the opportunity costs of reducing carbon dioxide emissions via avoided deforestation, using integrated assessment modelling

Estimates show that, in recent years, deforestation and forest degradation accounted for about 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The implementation of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) is suggested to provide substantial emission reductions at low costs, although cost estimates show large uncertainty. Cost estimates can differ, as they depend on the approach chosen, for example: giving an economic stimulus to entire countries, taking landowners as actors in a REDD framework, or starting from protecting carbon-rich areas. This last approach was chosen for this analysis. Proper calculation of the economic cost requires an integrated modelling approach involving biophysical impact calculations and their associated economic effects. To date, only a few global modelling studies have applied such an approach. In modelling REDD measures, the actual implementation of REDD can take many forms, with implications for the results. This study assumes that non-Annex I countries will protect carbon-rich areas against deforestation, and therefore will refrain from using these areas as agricultural land. The opportunity costs of reducing deforestation within the framework of REDD were assessed using an integrated economic and land-use modelling approach comprising the global economic LEITAP model and the biophysical IMAGE model. One of the main methodological challenges is the representation of land use and the possibility to convert woodlands land into agricultural land. We endogenised the availability of agricultural land by introducing a flexible land supply curve, and represented the implementation of REDD policies as a reduction in the maximum amount of unmanaged land that potentially would be available for conversion to agriculture, in various regions in the world. In a series of model experiments, carbon-rich areas in non-Annex I countries were protected from deforestation. In each consecutive scenario the protected area was increased, starting off with the most carbon rich lands, worldwide systematically working down to areas with less carbon storage. The associated opportunity costs, expressed in terms of GDP reduction, were calculated with the economic LEITAP model. The resulting net reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from land-use change was calculated with the IMAGE model. From the sequence of experiments, marginal cost curves were constructed, relating carbon dioxide emission reductions to the opportunity costs. The results showed that globally a maximum of around 2.5Gt carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided, annually. However, regional differences in opportunity costs are large and were found to range from about 0 to 3.2 USD per tonne carbon dioxide in Africa, 2 to 9 USD in South America and Central America, and 20 to 60 USD in Southeast Asia. These results are comparable to other studies that have calculated these costs, in terms of both opportunity costs and the regional distribution of emissions reduction.

Are REDD projects pro-poor in their spatial targeting? Evidence from Kenya

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is globally supported as a cost effective programme that could achieve global mitigation and spur pro-poor socioeconomic development. Various actors are now actively lobbying and disbursing REDD demonstration funds on the premise of spurring pro-poor carbon investments in less developed areas that were otherwise excluded from the Clean Development Mechanism. In practice, little is known as to whether the REDD projects are actually pro-poor in their spatial targeting. This paper focuses on Kenya to analyse the distribution of REDD projects across quantified subnational vulnerability indices. A vulnerability index map for Kenya was first developed from long-term socioeconomic (crop yields, literacy rates and poverty rates) and climate (rainfall) data drawn from the 47 counties of Kenya. The number and types of REDD projects were located on the vulnerability map. Correlation tests were performed and experts consulted to clarify the socioeconomic features of vulnerability that significantly influence spatial choices for the projects. Results show that most projects are located in low-vulnerability counties and are mainly developed and managed by international private and consulting companies. Correlation tests revealed that the low-vulnerability counties, hosting more projects, are endowed with humid forest resources at .728; p < 0.01, land title deeds at .552; p < 0.01 and better access to water at .475; p < 0.01. Experts suggested that such conditions posit low transaction costs and higher carbon revenues for profit-seeking project developers that currently dominate the REDD demonstrations. Conversely, some project experiences indicate that medium to high-vulnerability areas e.g. dry-lands with mitigation potential, enable projects to have low opportunity costs and explicit livelihood impacts. By directing REDD funds to relatively vulnerable areas, projects and national REDD policies are likely to enhance synergies between mitigation and adaptation. More targeted field assessment of the interaction between projects and local socioeconomic conditions can be formulated from this study.

Agroforest’s growing role in reducing carbon losses from Jambi (Sumatra), Indonesia

This paper examines the size and intensity of changes among five land categories during the two time intervals in a region of Indonesia that is pioneering negotiations concerning reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Maps at 1973, 1993, and 2005 indicate that land-cover change is accelerating, while carbon loss is decelerating in Jambi Province, Sumatra. Land dynamics have shifted from Forest loss during 1973–1993 to Agroforest loss during 1993–2005. Forest losses account for most reductions in aboveground carbon during the both time intervals, but Agroforest plays an increasingly important role in carbon reductions during the more recent interval. These results provide motivation for future REDD policies to count carbon changes associated with all influential land categories, such as Agroforests.

Full polarimetric PALSAR-based land cover monitoring in Cambodia for implementation of REDD policies

Forest cover monitoring plays an important role in the implementation of climate change mitigation policies such as Kyoto protocol and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). In this study, we have monitored land cover using the PALSAR (Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) full polarimetric data based on incoherent target decomposition. Supervised classification technique has been applied on Cloude–Pottier decomposition, Freeman–Durden three component, and Yamaguchi four component decomposition for accurate mapping of different types of land cover classes. Based on confusion matrix derived from the predicted and defined pixels, the evergreen and sparsely deciduous forests have shown high producer's accuracy by Freeman–Durden three component and Yamaguchi four component classifications. The overall accuracy of Maximum Likelihood Classification by Yamaguchi four component is 94.1% with 0.93 kappa coefficient as compared to the 90.3% with 0.88 kappa coefficient by Freeman–Durden three component and 89.7% with 0.88 kappa coefficient by Cloude–Pottier decomposition. High accuracy of classification in a forested area using full polarimetric PALSAR data may have been because of high penetration of L-band SAR. The content of this study could be useful for the forest cover mapping during cloudy days needed for proper implementation of REDD policies in Cambodia.

Redd&amp;#43; Safeguards in Indonesia

Since REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) covers the core issues of Indonesian forestry, such as conservation, halting deforestation, and providing benefits for communities, the issue of safeguards has become central. With more than 40 REDD pilot projects and demonstration activities happening in Indonesia and the acceleration of setting up national REDD policies, safeguards cannot be ignored. They are a crucial instrument that can protect the rights and livelihoods of the communities and indigenous peoples in the forest areas and can ensure REDD schemes are useful and serve their main intended purposes. Safeguards are certainly not a panacea as forestry is not all about safeguards per se. However, they open discourse to promoting a rights-based approach in managing Indonesian forests and accelerating some programs related to halting deforestation that for years have failed to contribute significantly. Many communities that are facing REDD pilot projects are demanding respect for their rights and have an informal consensus that a rights-based approach should be the basis of REDD. REDD to some extent is bringing the international climate negotiations into the national context, especially after the Cancun Agreement clearly supported the language of safeguards for REDD. Although the term “safeguards” is unfamiliar to the Indonesian legal taxonomy, civil society sees laws, standards and practices to promote a national level of safeguards as essential to resolving forestry problems. With the involvement of civil society groups who have been pushing the Indonesian Government and donors for REDD. The country is now (during the writing of this paper) in the process of developing a REDD National Strategy. And safeguards are a part of it. But, again the question is whether the safeguards that are being developed as part of the National Strategy are sufficient and strong enough to protect the rights of the communities and the environment. How do safeguards relate to the result of international negotiations including Cancun Agreement and standards that are promoted by multilateral development banks? This paper addresses these questions by describing the current principles of safeguards promoted by Indonesian civil society organisations (CSOs) and how they influence the REDD strategy. Some safeguard principles in the draft national strategy have taken into account CSOs’ proposal on safeguards. The rights of forest peoples and protection over biodiversity are accommodated. CSOs advocated for these proposals before the Cancun Agreement was reached in 2010. However, these proposals are exactly in line with the language of Cancun. Both versions play an important role in integrating safeguards into the many levels of REDD decision making in Indonesia. At the same time, this paper also examines a link between of which safeguards have been promoted by other actors and their gaps compared with the CSOs’ proposal.

REDD and forest transition: Tunneling through the environmental Kuznets curve

International attention is focused on finding ways to reduce emissions from deforestation because of the emerging concerns over climate change. However the causes of deforestation are rooted in current economic and development paradigms. The causes of deforestation also vary across different geographical regions and have implications for the forest transition. Attempts to reach an international agreement on curbing deforestation have achieved little success despite over 30years of UN negotiations. New initiatives from REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) could provide financial incentives to curb deforestation. Hence, alternative development paths for forest cover changes and forest transition are analyzed for the REDD policy within the framework of an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for deforestation. The EKC models are estimated for geographical regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia. The results based on the panel data analysis of 43 countries, covering the period 1970–1994, provides evidence that an inverted U-shaped EKC fits for Latin America and Africa, while a U-shaped EKC applies to Asia. The results also indicate that strengthening agricultural and forestry sector policies are important for curbing deforestation. The EKC models' estimates could provide guidance for decisions on financing the REDD policy as specific to each region.

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.

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.

Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights and REDD: A Case Study

With the development of REDD (‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation’) policies, determining who can claim rights over the forest and who will receive the REDD benefits has many implications. While REDD has the potential to benefit them, indigenous peoples are concerned that REDD activities may fail to adequately respect their rights. Several international instruments recognize indigenous peoples' rights to land and their rights are also enforced by courts. However, there is often a gap between the protection granted by international law and how it is implemented in practice. REDD may increase this difference. The following analysis of Guyana's REDD plan illustrates the risks that indigenous peoples may incur.

Carbon, forests and the REDD paradox

AbstractThe institutional arrangements governing forests will be a critical factor in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) as part of the global effort to mitigate climate change. A growing body of empirical research demonstrates how local forest governance can be as, if not more, effective than centralized state-based regimes. Local forest governance can secure improvements in multiple forest outcomes such as biomass and carbon storage and livelihoods contributions for the poor, and it can do so at lower cost than is possible through centralized governance. Many national governments have implicitly recognized these findings in their pursuit of decentralized forest governance and in strengthening local rights and capacities to use and manage forests. However, such reforms are often politically resisted, particularly where the value of forest resources is high and central government bodies are able to capture the majority of benefits. Ongoing negotiations related to the design and delivery of REDD policy and practice must take into account both the importance of local forest governance arrangements and the political–economic barriers to devolving secure rights over forests to local communities. These political dimensions of forest tenure and policy create a paradox for REDD: increasing the value of forest resources through global carbon markets without attending to local governance and rights will create political incentives towards centralized governance, which could lead to greater forest loss and lower forest-related benefits for the poor.

REDD payments as incentive for reducing forest loss

AbstractStrategies for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) could become an important part of a new agreement for climate change mitigation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We constructed a system dynamics model for a cocoa agroforest landscape in southwestern Ghana to explore whether REDD payments are likely to promote forest conservation and what socio‐economic implications would be. Scenarios were constructed for business as usual (cocoa production at the expense of forest), for payments for avoided deforestation of old‐growth forest only and for payments for avoided deforestation of all forests, including degraded forest. The results indicate that in the short term, REDD is likely to be preferred by farmers when the policy focuses on payments that halt the destruction of old‐growth forests only. However, there is the risk that REDD contracts may be abandoned in the short term. The likeliness of farmers to opt for REDD is much lower when also avoiding deforestation of degraded forest since this land is needed for the expansion of cocoa production. Given that it is mainly the wealthier households that control the remaining forest outside the reserves, REDD payments may increase community differentiation, with negative consequences for REDD policies.

A little REDD model to quickly compare possible baseline and policy scenarios for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

A simple model allows rapid comparison of typical baseline and policy scenarios which might be considered under international programs to avoid CO2 emissions caused by forest clearing, such as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). These tests of REDD policy scenarios can also include CO2 stored in forest products. The value of avoided emissions can also be determined if expected carbon prices, constant or varying, are included. The paper discusses simple illustrative example comparisons as well as possible feedback effects within larger scale setting of CO2 offset availability, CO2 price and emissions reductions.

Principles of justice in proposals and policy approaches to avoided deforestation: Towards a post-Kyoto climate agreement

This paper offers a normative analysis of the current negotiations on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Drawing on existing theories of distributive justice, we seek to determine which interpretations of equity are embodied in the key proposals and policy approaches to REDD in the run up to a post-Kyoto climate agreement. Our analysis indicates that whilst the various proposals are characterised by different and sometimes contradictory notions of equity, it is the ideas that are more consistent with neoliberal concepts of justice that tend to prevail. The result is that despite abiding contestations and controversies, emerging REDD policy solutions for the post-2012 climate regime looks very likely to reflect a commitment to market-based approaches to forest governance. However, whilst such market-based approaches might serve the preferences of powerful players, their effectiveness in terms of forest preservation, the protection of indigenous peoples and sustainable community development remains extremely dubious. On a broader note, our analysis reinforces the growing realization that the international arena is not beyond the pale of moral arguments but rather that the governance of global environmental change implicates elemental ethical questions regarding which ways of life human beings ought to pursue.

REDDy or not? The Effects on Indigenous Peoples in Brazil of a Global Mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation

Deforestation in the tropics accounts for one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, the preservation of remaining tropical forests is an integral component of any international climate change mitigation policy. Indigenous peoples are crucial actors for the success of such a policy given the large amount of forestland in indigenous hands, their historical and cultural role in the management of forests, and their relative success at sustainable forest stewardship.The aim of this research is to contribute to the academic literature and to the ongoing international debate over a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), scheduled to culminate in December 2009 at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. This article aims to answer the question: What will be the effects on indigenous peoples in Brazil of an international policy mechanism for REDD? It draws upon research conducted using a qualitative prospective policy evaluation method to describe the possible risks and opportunities to indigenous peoples and to make recommendations for improving REDD on the variables of scope, financing, and the process of negotiation and governance.Although the article concentrates on the effects of a REDD policy on indigenous peoples in Brazil given its status as a leading-edge case on this issue, it aspires to offer lessons for the other countries of the Amazon basin.