Guide to reducing emissions through forest conservation released
mongabay.com
November 26, 2008
Ahead of next week’s climate meeting in Poznań, Poland, the Global Canopy Programme — an alliance of 37 scientific institutions in 19 countries — has launched a layman’s guide to a proposed mechanism for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing deforestation. Deforestation and land use change accounts for roughly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — a larger share than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes combined.
The guide, titled The Little REDD book, provides an overview of the various proposals for involving forest conservation in emissions reduction, including REDD (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation”).
“Discussion often focuses on the differences between REDD proposals, but in reality there has been a steady progression in the thinking,” said Anna Creed who led the study at The Prince’s Rainforests Project. “Our analysis demonstrates areas of similarity and divergence among the proposals, which we hope will aid clarity and understanding in this area and ultimately help stakeholders to move forward towards consensus.”
Interest in “avoided deforestation” has rapidly grown since the concept was introduced by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2005. The future of the mechanism will be determined at next year’s UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen where the post-2012 framework on climate will be defined.
Supporters of REDD say the mechanism will protect forests while simultaneously improving rural livelihoods and helping mitigate climate change.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Mongabay provided materials to support the Little REDD Book
