REDD faces challenges but can succeed, says report
mongabay.com
December 5, 2008
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), a forest policy think tank, today released its assessment on the proposed REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) mechanism for slowing climate change.
The report, titled “Moving ahead with REDD: Issues, options and implications”, reviews the challenges facing REDD and makes policy recommendations to make the mechanism more agreeable to climate negotiators.
Among these include involving local people as beneficiaries of REDD projects; taking a ‘nested approach’ rather than a national approach to REDD implementation; incorporating degradation into REDD in order to include countries where deforestation may be low but degradation high; developing a protocol for ensuring that reductions in emissions are permanent; and establishing a strong and independent verification system to ensure that emission reductions are real.
“REDD… has the potential to achieve significant co-benefits, over and above reducing carbon emissions,” said Frances Seymour, CIFOR’s Director General. “These include alleviating poverty, improving governance, and protecting biodiversity and other environmental services. But a careful balance is needed: On the one hand, REDD should be designed to capture these co-benefits, and must include safeguards to ensure that it does no harm. On the other hand, if REDD is overloaded with technical requirements and legitimate non-climate considerations, the transaction costs of participation could be too high.”
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