Forestry

Putting the pieces together for good governance of REDD+: an analysis of 32 REDD+ country readiness proposals

L. Goers Williams — 19 Apr 2013 09:02:20 GMT

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Readiness Fund and the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) are supporting capacity building efforts in preparation from REDD+ implementation. This study reviews proposals submitted to these groups to date, totalling 32 countries from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The paper begins by highlighting the importance of good governance for REDD+ and outlining the methodology involved in the study. The authors identified eight core readiness needs prior to analysis: full stakeholder participation and consultation; clear tenure rights; equitable REDD+ benefit distribution and conflict resolution mechanisms; transparent systems for revenue management and non-carbon monitoring; and cross-sector and governmental institutional coordination.

Findings are broken-down according to the framework criteria, with percentage scores across all countries, providing a broad but empirical view of the proposals collective strengths and weaknesses, as well as evident trends. Key findings include the following.

Stakeholder participation, non-carbon monitoring and cross-sectoral coordination appear strongest in terms of the number of proposals considering them as relevant to REDD+.
Few countries consider specific design options or challenges related to REDD+ benefit sharing, revenue management or conflict resolution (though many indicate plans to address them in the future).
Few proposals identify next-steps to address land tenure challenges or establish coordination mechanisms for local government and REDD+ planning.
Cross-cutting issues, e.g. vertical coordination of REDD+ programmes, have not been explicitly considered by most proposals.

With the aim of helping countries make short-term progress on REDD+ objectives, the paper highlights the following three recommendations.

This analysis should be used by all REDD+ stakeholders to consider gaps and ensure that readiness activities promote a comprehensive and integrated approach.
REDD+ countries should further prioritise and sequence readiness activities to enhance transparency in the allocation of readiness finance.
Transparent and accountable domestic systems for tracking readiness progress should be developed by REDD+ countries.

Carbon stocks of tropical coastal wetlands within the karstic landscape of the Mexican Caribbean

M. F. Adame — 07 Mar 2013 09:00:19 GMT

As one of the most carbon (C) rich ecosystems in the world, the conservation and restoration of tropical wetlands represent a priority for climate change mitigation. Deforestation, agri/aqua culture conversion, pollution and coastal development have all contributed to the loss of over one-third of mangroves in the last fifty years; a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. This is the context laid out in this study, which seeks to quantify the ecosystem carbon stocks of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (SKBR) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Such quantification is important in order to establish a baseline that can then be monitored over time and it is a necessary prerequisite for mitigation strategies such as REDD+.

The methodology of the study is explained in detail, including a description of the geography, flora and climate of the study site. In total, nine different coastal wetland sites were sampled, representing four kinds of vegetation: tall mangroves (2 sites); medium mangroves (2 sites); dwarf mangroves (3 sites); and marsh (2 sites). Using methodologies outlined by Kauffman and Donato (2012), the authors collected data necessary to calculate the total C stocks from standing tree biomass, downed wood and soil (which was also sampled for Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) concentration and interstitial salinity). Scaling up the calculations and the statistical analysis used are then discussed. The results showed that tall mangroves had the highest C stocks, followed by the medium and the dwarf mangroves. At all of the sites, soil C comprised the vast majority of the C stocks (between 78-99 per cent), with correlations suggesting that P limits C sequestration and accumulation potential. In total, the coastal wetlands of Sian Ka’an may store 43.2 to 58.0 million Mg of C.

Governing the forests: an institutional analysis of REDD+ and community forest management in Asia

J. Puppim de Oliveira — 18 Feb 2013 10:35:43 GMT

This report examines the history, structure and monitoring mechanisms of REDD+ to better understand how it impacts upon, and interacts with, Community Forest Management (CFM). It presents case studies of CFM and REDD+ governance from Bangladesh, Indonesia and India, and concludes with some lessons learned.

REDD+ is an example of multilevel governance that uses a variety of institutional structures and processes aimed at promoting sustainable management of forests, including financial incentives to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. At the national level, countries have their own systems of governance, often jointly managed by multiple interests, including CFM. Having given an overview of REDD+ itself, the paper explores how REDD+ influences and reacts to local circumstances.

The case studies feature different aspects of CFM and REDD+ governance. The paper highlights the emerging role of CFM in reducing carbon emissions in Bangladesh, presents lessons from the implementation of a public/private partnership in Indonesia and explores indigenous carbon management practices in India.

Conclusions drawn from the case studies on challenges and implications for REDD+ governance include the following.

The role of forest stocks in international regimes requires clarification; forest stocks must be managed in ways that incentivise communities and governments to avoid deforestation and degradation, whilst remaining sensitive to the needs of forest-dependent communities.
Local government capacity must be sufficiently strengthened so as to provide support in connecting local and global governance.
There is a need to link carbon management with local practices and economic activities; community forums should be established to allow all stakeholders to collaborate and explore strategies that harness local opportunities for income diversification.
Issues of land tenure and carbon rights must be clarified and strengthened to provide lasting security to forest-dependent communities.
Monitoring, reporting and verifying the participation of all stakeholders requires greater effort and resources.
Protocols are required for resolving ecological problems and dispute settlements; interaction should be more informal and decisions made by consensus rather than majority rule.

Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Checklist for Climate Change Mitigation / REDD+ program

K. Giri (ed) — 04 Feb 2013 18:36:11 GMT

Women and men, owning to their gendered responsibilities, possess unique knowledge sets about forest resources. This knowledge can be applied to achieving successful sustainable forest management. Accrediting this unique knowledge provides both legitimate recognition of their engagement in decision-making processes and equitable share of benefits. This holds enormous significance in climate change mitigation programs (such as REDD+- Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) since these programs provides benefits to stakeholders based on their recognition of regulated performance to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions Yet, the paucity of relevant tools that facilitate translating gender principles into climate change mitigation projects/REDD+ practice is evident. Development practitioners implementing those projects require better understanding about the tools that facilitate achieving development benefits to both women and men, while also reducing emissions. This document primarily serves as a practical implementation tool to mainstream gender mainstreaming into climate change mitigation/REDD+ programs. This strategy and checklist developed in the document come from the direct and practical experience of gender mainstreaming into USAID/ASIA's supported climate change mitigation project, named "Lowering Emissions in Asia Forests" that runs in 6 countries (Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea) of Asia-Pacific. However, this document can be useful to implement and monitor gender issues in climate change mitigation project in other regions as well.

Safeguarding forests and people: a framework for designing a national system to implement REDD+ safeguards

F. Daviet — 23 Jan 2013 14:43:43 GMT

This report provides a framework for the national implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) safeguards. These safeguards are needed to ensure effective implementation of REDD+ so that it does not inadvertently harm communities and ecosystems. The framework provides a roadmap for navigating some of the choices that will arise in REDD+ design and implementation.

After providing context and definitions, the report explains the unique nature of the UNFCCC REDD+ safeguards. Consisting of only broad substantive and procedural goals, they remain flexible in terms of methodology and minimum requirements. This allows countries to take new, culturally-sensitive approaches with their own national safeguard systems. The remainder of the report is then split into three sections relating to the creation of a national system: goals, functions, and rules and institutions.

The report defines national REDD+ goals, with one suggestion being safeguards to provide a floor, below which protection for people and the environment cannot fall. The functions of the REDD+ safeguards regard the processes by which goals are achieved. Functions of a national system should cover anticipating risks, planning to avoid or mitigate risks and maximise opportunities, managing implementation, monitoring, and responding to positive and negative outcomes. The process of assessing, improving and creating rules and institutions is discussed. The report offers advice on the types of rules available and notes the need for all institutions involved to be transparent, participatory and accountable.

Throughout the report, examples are highlighted from efforts to create and implement national REDD+ safeguard systems in Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico. Examples of civil society groups and communities participating in the formulation and implementation of safeguard principles are presented, as well as the various legislation efforts. The process for achieving representative institutions in these countries is complicated and has seen mixed results. The lesson from this is the need to systematically ensure full representation of the most vulnerable voices.

Understanding relationships between biodiversity, carbon, forests and people: the key to achieving REDD+ objectives. A global assessment report

J. A. Parrotta (ed) — 21 Jan 2013 16:14:01 GMT

This report seeks to better understand the relationships between biodiversity, carbon, forests and people, so as to support the achievement of REDD+ objectives. It summarises the latest scientific literature to make sense of the complex web of relationships, how they may be affected by the implementation of REDD+ management activities, and the potential trade-offs and synergies between and among environmental and socioeconomic objectives.

The introduction provides a summary of the issue, presenting contextual data to illustrate the importance of, and challenges faced by, forest ecosystems. It also discusses REDD+ and its aims of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as conserving, managing and increasing forests as carbon stocks.

The report is split into four chapters. The first chapter explores the relationships and impacts of deforestation and forest degradation on biodiversity, carbon and other ecosystem services. Covering a range of forest types, it gives a broad overview of biodiversity and carbon relationships in potential REDD+ programme regions.

Impacts of forest and land management on biodiversity and carbon are the focus of the second chapter, which explores management and action approaches, identifying areas for improving agricultural practice, measures to reduce the impact of various extractive industries, and indicators for the effective monitoring of carbon and biodiversity.

Social and economic considerations relevant to REDD+ are covered by the third chapter, including the social and economic context of governance and its consequences. This chapter concludes that REDD+ activities can greatly benefit poor people (particularly through participatory practices) and generate significant financial flows.

The fourth chapter examines existing and future options for governance of REDD+, forest management and biodiversity. It explores options to synergise climate, forest management and biodiversity at both the national and international scale, including information on data collection, planning, policies and finance. The report concludes that governance is likely to remain pluralistic; rather than impose a singular solution, this complexity should be embraced.

People’s attitude towards social forestry: A case study in Rajshahi

M Alam — 31 Oct 2012 09:01:03 GMT

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the attitude of the peoples towards social forestry and to explore the relationship between the selected characteristics of the respondents and their attitude towards social forestry. Attempt was also made to find out the rank order of attitudinal statements. Local community, local leader and social forestry beneficiaries of Puthia and Charghat Upzila of Rajshahi district constituted the population of the study. A total of 182 respondents were selected as sample. Interview schedule was used for collecting data from the sampled respondents during September, 2011 to December, 2011. The four selected characteristics of the respondents were considered as the independent variables. A 5-point rating scale was used to measure the dependent variable “attitude towards social forestry”.

Prospects and Constraints of Madhupur National Park Management

M Mia — 31 Oct 2012 09:01:00 GMT

The study was conducted in Madhupur National Park (MNP), which is very well known for its characteristics as deciduous forest. This study examined the constraints of park management, causes of deforestation and prospects of Madhupur Sal forests of Bangladesh. Data were collected from the Madhupur National Park authority and a study was done to have clear scenario of the park management and status of forest over time. It is evident from the study that due to various factors like anthropogenic disturbances, political abusement, absence of proper rules and regulations, willingless of the authority, encroachment of forest by locals/local leaders, illegal cutting of Sal trees, agro-forestry, and lack of adequate budget are main constraints for managing MNP. The study also revealed that about 1-3% of the forest is depleted each year, and about 50-80 years later, the forest will be completely vanished or scattered in somewhere.

Unlocking forest bonds: a high-level workshop on innovative finance for tropical forests

M. Cranford — 17 Jun 2012 22:17:18 GMT

This document is an outcome of a high-level workshop on innovative finance for tropical forests, specifically focusing on the development and introduction of forest bonds. Hosted by the WWF Forest & Climate Initiative, Global Canopy Programme (GCP) and Climate Bonds Initiative, the workshop aimed at identifying issues, obstacles and critical steps to making forest bonds work for all stakeholders, as well as discussing other ways of leveraging private sector investment in forest preservation.

The document begins by demanding for a scaling-up of forest finance in the face of continuing deforestation and outlines the various elements that must be in place for the realisation of adequate and equitable access to funds. Recommendations for stakeholders are broken down under the following headings.

Buy-side perspective: access to deep pools of capital requires simple, transparent, comparable and liquid forest bonds, with initial bonds targeting investors with a socially responsible mandate.
Sell-side perspective: policymakers and financiers should look beyond carbon market revenues to a broader range of cash flows to back forest bonds. Public policy can stimulate early investment, though incentives should be phased out as forest preservation becomes more familiar to investors.
Risk mitigation: political risk is the primary concern for investors and forest bonds will require some degree of political risk insurance. Equally important to the success of forest bonds is the existence of external enabling conditions and a strong underlying bond structure.
Forest country perspective: effort to leverage private sector finance can be deemed legitimate only through the equitable distribution of the burdens and benefits of forest preservation. This balance is best achieved at the sub-national scale; with appropriate technical support sub-national governments could be an early issuer of forest bonds.
Donor country perspective: bilateral arrangements to use development aid as catalytic finance, leveraging private sector investment, can be achieved through either supply- or demand-side mechanisms or by providing direct risk mitigation.

Synthesis report: REDD+ financing and activities survey

14 Jun 2012 12:32:24 GMT

This paper presents a synthesis of results from a survey on countries and international bodies on their current REDD+ financing and implementing arrangements. It reports that REDD+ activities which have received financing support include: planning and consultation; capacity building; implementation of REDD+ activities and strategies; and result-based payments for emissions reduction. The paper provides developing countries’ estimated financial needs to build their capacity for REDD+ and commence early implementation of REDD+ activities, with interim financial contributions and commitments from developed countries and financial flows from multilateral initiatives.

The paper presents comments from countries and organisations on positive aspects of their national or organisational approach to REDD+, options for improving coordination and implementing arrangements for REDD+ at the national, bilateral and multilateral level, and suggestions for improving information exchange and sharing of experiences in REDD+ planning, design and implementation.

The paper makes the following recommendations:

utilise multiple channels to share information and experiences
organise regional workshops to provide opportunities for sharing experiences on a systematic basis
provide opportunities for feedback, greater transparency and access to information
ensure that sufficient resources are available to enable countries to share experiences and support cooperation between developing countries.

Respecting rights, delivering development: forest tenure reform since Rio 1992

14 Jun 2012 12:10:24 GMT

This report evaluates the progress achieved in forest management by indigenous people and local communities, which was set as a key objective at the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It presents new findings and identifies what needs to done to protect global forest areas and ensure their contributions to social, environmental and economic development.

The paper argues that the amount of forests recognised as owned or controlled by indigenous peoples and local communities has increased globally from 10 per cent in 2002 to 15 per cent in 2012; in developing countries the increase has been from 21 to 31 per cent. It observes that the majority of governments continue to resist large-scale recognition of community land rights and many deny that indigenous peoples have any claim to their customary lands. Citing examples from Africa and Asia, the paper shows that no new areas of community rights have been recognised in the last several years.

In the past, governments have sought to keep forest lands in state hands, but there is a growing push to sell or lease state lands in the interest of rapid economic development. As the world’s demand for timber, metals, meat, grains, oils and biofuels has soared, the pressure to sell has extended to many commonly owned resources, including pastures, wetlands and forests. Large-scale land acquisitions have escalated and common lands are most highly prised by national and international investors. The report emphasises that without reversing this increasing demand, there is a substantial risk that civil conflicts will grow, resources will be squandered, forests will be lost or degraded, and indigenous peoples and other local communities will continue to suffer in poverty.

The report's recommendations for global leaders include:

place tenure rights at the centre of the Rio+20 conference and other global development agendas
include the issues of secure tenure and rights as an underlying conditions for green growth
implement a new model of rights-based and community-led conservation
provide support for African countries to advance the recognition of community tenure rights
build innovative private-public partnerships to finance forest tenure reform.

Safeguarding REDD+ finance: ensuring transparent and accountable international financial flows

13 Jun 2012 15:52:18 GMT

Funding forest protection in developing countries poses numerous financial risks, from inefficient allocation through to mismanagement of funds, misappropriation and corruption; detailed measures will be needed to ensure effective, transparent and accountable financial flows if greenhouse gas emissions from forest loss are to be reduced. This report by Global Witness sets out to review existing REDD+ and non-REDD+ funds (including the Congo Basin Forest Fund, Amazon Fund and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) and identify best practice lessons for future REDD+ finance. These include the following.

A clear set of minimum fiduciary standards, such as those promoted by the GEF, are applied across all implementing agencies involved in REDD+ financial flows.
Financial accounts, donor contributions and expenditures are publicly available and up-to-date.
Meetings to govern REDD+ funds are open to observers and the general public, key documents are made available beforehand and the fund should also hold regular sessions with civil society organisations, including representatives of forest communities, to maintain an open and continuous dialogue.
There is a balance of power between donor and recipient countries in the decision-making process to disburse funds, with representation from civil society organisations, indigenous peoples and local communities.
Allowing sub-national and local entities direct access to funds (bypassing national governments), when used appropriately and with stringent financial safeguards, is an effective way for REDD+ financial flows to reach project-level activities and reduce risks of misallocation at national level.
Keeping the number of intermediaries between the source of money and its expenditure to a minimum avoids unnecessary transaction costs.
Payment in tranches dependent on performance ensures greater effectiveness of disbursed funding.
The presence of an official independent investigative body, such as the Office of the Inspector General that oversees the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, provides clear oversight over financial management and deals with allegations of corrupt practices.
Predictable funding arrangements over specified timeframes will allow REDD+ recipient countries to prepare their activities with greater certainty and purpose.

Based on these lessons learned, the report provides a number of detailed recommendations to improve transparency on commitments, disbursements and decision-making, as well as improving accountability and efficiency in general. These include the following.

Developing a standardised mandatory reporting template for REDD+ donor countries for amounts pledged, programmed and disbursed.
Key documents should be made available online before meetings and reasons for decisions taken should be published within specified time-frames.
To avoid conflicts of interest, private sector contributors to REDD+ funds should not be involved in the disbursement decision-making process; local and indigenous people should be included in both the decision-making and implentation process; and overall responsibility for decision-making and financial control should rest with a single board or committee.
Regularly review performance across comparable funds to identify best practice in organisational structure, processes and safeguards.

REDD+ finance delivery: lessons from early experience

A. Creed (ed) — 13 Jun 2012 06:22:56 GMT

This paper summarises the current status of international public financial support and the progress made in the development of multilateral and bilateral delivery mechanisms for REDD+. The paper states that though it is difficult to evaluate the outcomes of specific financial support, the following lessons can be identified from early experience.

Improvements to reporting standards are required to facilitate transparency and accountability.
Clarity is needed on Annex II country (group of developed countries with an obligation to provide financial resources to developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) objectives and the appropriateness of the use of Overseas Delivery Assistance (ODA) budgets.
Improved coordination and harmonisation across funding mechanisms is necessary to limiting costs and maximising the achievement of synergies.
Further consideration is required regarding the rules and procedures appropriate to the environmental and social safeguards.
In terms of managing and administering Annex II country support, focus should be on the level of expertise and capacity required.
A greater degree of technical oversight assistance is needed from contributing governments without interfering with the recipient’s national sovereignty.
Better coordination within recipient countries is essential to maximise synergies and scale impact.
Credible signals regarding significant ongoing financial support are needed to ensure that lessons are learned and early efforts sustained.
More work is needed to ensure that the financial resources are deployed in a coherent manner to deliver impact.

Recommendations include the following.

Adopt consistent and mandatory reporting standards, definitions and requirements to be adhered to by all participants as part of harmonising them across funds for inclusiveness and transparency.
A deeper debate is required across multilateral and national trust funds regarding the disbursal rules and procedures appropriate to the variety of circumstances.
Utilising the early experience of the Amazon Fund and established institutions promotes cross-institution training and learning.
Recipient countries should establish a clear mandate and focal point to develop and manage a coordinated cross-ministerial strategy and implementation programme.
Annex II countries should allocate their outstanding pledged finance, committing significant financial support for faster moving forest countries.
The terms of existing funds should be reviewed to encourage and support activities which address the drivers of deforestation at scale and leverage private finance.

Do trees grow on money? The implications of deforestation research for policies to promote REDD

M. Kanninen — 08 Jun 2012 08:18:13 GMT

This paper provides a brief overview of the current knowledge and data on deforestation rates, research on the causes of deforestation and forest degradation and relevant policy options. It highlights issues of particular relevance to new discussions on reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries at different stages of forest transition. The paper suggests that the design and implementation of REDD policies will be neither simple nor straightforward, given the complexity of the social, economic, environmental and political dimensions of deforestation.

The paper states that the causes of deforestation and degradation can be separated into direct and underlying causes. The direct causes include agricultural expansion, wood extraction and infrastructure extension. Many of the underlying causes are generated outside the forestry sector, these include demographic and macroeconomic factors, and technological, policy and cultural variables. The authors argue that the multi-dimensional factors that cause deforestation can differ significantly across countries and over time. Therefore, REDD policies need to deal with the fact that the institutions responsible for aligning the behaviour of individual economic actors are generally weak and interests of different stakeholders differ within and between countries.

The paper gives the following recommendations.

There is a need to eliminate subsidies that drive deforestation and degradation, such as subsidies for agricultural expansion.
New incentives for forest protection must be created, including forest friendly subsidies, certification schemes and transfer payment schemes.
Governance mechanisms need to be strengthened, such as tenure and property rights and inclusive participation in decision-making.
Strengthening institutional capacity at national, regional and local levels is necessary to ensure that each is allocated appropriate responsibilities and resources.

Carbon scam: Noel Kempff climate action project and the push for sub-national forest offsets

A. Densham — 08 Jun 2012 08:04:34 GMT

This paper examines the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project (NKCAP) as a prototype for future sub-national projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD). It evaluates the ability of the project to deliver on claims to quantify and reduce carbon emissions and bring sustainable benefits to local communities. It notes that over the last decade of the project (1997-2009), the estimated emission reductions of NKCAP have plummeted by nearly 90 per cent, from about 55 million to about 5.8 million metric tonnes of CO2.

The paper argues that, although NKCAP has been hailed as a successful model for sub-national offset projects, a careful analysis of the documentation relating to the project, combined with on-site interviews and research, indicates that the project has failed to meet its own claims to properly monitor and account for leakage (drivers of deforestation moving to another area), ensure additionality (proving that a specific forest area would not have remained standing without offset compensation), guarantee its permanence for the foreseeable future and provide adequate sustainable development opportunities for local communities. Despite over 10 million US dollars in financing and 12 years of operation, the model for sub-national REDD offsets has yet to produce real, measurable, reportable and verifiable emission reductions.

The paper makes the following recommendations.

In order to ensure that global temperature rise does not exceed two degrees Celsius, world leaders must agree to create a new global fund for forests at the Copenhagen climate change conference in December 2009.
All countries should participate in combating climate change by reducing transaction costs, ensuring the integrity of baselines and preventing leakage, non-additionality and impermanence.
A REDD mechanism should ensure that benefits are equitably shared both among and within countries and reach those whose livelihoods depend on forests.

Climate change and African forest and wildlife resources

E. Chidumayo (ed) — 24 May 2012 09:06:30 GMT

Forests and woodlands cover approximately 23 per cent of Africa and they are an important foundation of many livelihoods and economies. It is estimated that around 70 per cent of Africa’s population depend on forest resources for their survival. Despite this, forestry planning on a national level is often given low priority, which poses a significant danger as the risks of climate change become evident. The aim of this book is to systematically highlight climate change issues and opportunities to encourage greater stakeholder engagement in finding new solutions.

The book is divided into four sections and a review of key observations. It opens by presenting the global and African contexts of climate change: its processes and impacts, forest-based adaptation and mitigation, and the African perspective of international climate change arrangements. Section two concerns the impacts of climate change on African moist forests and woodlands, as well as on the woodlands of the West African Sahel, a region which has a more naturally variable climate than any other place in the world. Section three discusses the impacts of climate change on wildlife in west and central Africa, and east and southern Africa that is already under great pressure from human influences (with an estimated 65 per cent of original wildlife habitats already lost). The final part of this section covers the monitoring, reporting and institutional arrangements necessary when responding to climate change in the wildlife sector. Socio-economic and policy considerations are the topic of the fourth section, beginning with a typology of information and institutional requirements for promoting adaptation technologies. Gender dimensions of climate change, African forests and the global carbon market, and the broader policy context of climate change in African forestry complete the book.

Local perspectives on REDD

03 May 2012 12:36:17 GMT

This paper presents the perspectives of stakeholders on REDD+ through several scientific publications and policy briefs citing case studies from Indonesia. It notes that local perspectives on REDD+ tend to differ from those at the international negotiation tables. To stakeholders living in tropical forest margins, the REDD+ debate is an additional complication in an already complex relationship with central governments and forest authorities. The report argues that the expectation of financial incentives for emission reduction has led to a debate on carbon rights which comes as an addition to the already complex layers of unresolved property rights.

Using case studies the paper shows a success story where stewardship agreements have led to conflict resolution over who controls the forests and forest margins. It also highlights the historical baggage of perceived injustice between state and local communities and the contest between national and provincial government authorities that complicates the debate on current efforts to mitigate climate change by emission reduction. It further presents a case that demonstrates a feasible way of containing and reducing transaction costs for the initial and subsequent phases of the processes of the REDD mechanisms. In another case study on social norms and their role on REDD+, the report indicates that villagers have a strong conservation belief system which operates by social norms. It concludes that setting up a market-based scheme such as Payment for Environmental Services (PES) should be done carefully by understanding the local dynamics and conditions for free and prior informed consent. The report makes the following recommendations.

Rules on agreements on stewardship in the forest margins need to be simplified for wider application.
There is need to synergise REDD+ initiative with the needs of national and local development, making low carbon development a local initiative to meet local needs.
Transaction costs need to be reduced to provide greater benefits for the real carbon players.
To reduce complexity there is need to create a ‘superbody’ for REDD+, which will manage the REDD+ mechanism to overcome the vulnerability of REDD+ policy in which actors have various levels of leadership and power.
To strengthen REDD+ policy support there is need to disseminate REDD+ knowledge to leaders to enable easy implementation.

Free, prior and informed consent in REDD+: principles and approaches for policy and project development

P. Anderson — 12 Apr 2012 17:01:10 GMT

The right for indigenous people to give or withhold their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) has recently been strengthened through the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These guidelines are an attempt to support such growing willingness to respect FPIC, particularly for those working on REDD+ policy and/or projects in Southeast Asia.

Drawing from examples around the world and the contribution of numerous organisations, this publication aims to serve as a basis for developing country-specific guidelines for incorporating FPIC into REDD+. The publication begins by discussing the importance of FPIC in REDD+. FPIC has until recently been largely neglected with pragmatic approaches favoured due to potential complexities, lack of communication and a lack of knowledge of obligations and rights. The abstract nature of carbon credits, confusion (and potential conflict) over land tenure and the actions of governments with an eye on resources together make FPIC a complicated issue in REDD+ projects. Without it, however, indigenous peoples risk marginalisation and exploitation despite being crucial to determining the success of these projects.

The majority of the report is split between a reference guide and the guidelines on procedures for respecting the right to FPIC. The reference guide covers questions regarding the context, technicalities and practicalities of FPIC, including when and how REDD+ projects must incorporate FPIC, the legal obligations they face and the potential risks involved, including the risk of refusal of consent. The guidelines themselves comprise of 12 elements, covering the preparation, implementation and monitoring stages of a project. Preparation tasks range from the need to identify legitimate decision-making and rights advocacy institutions to work with to developing processes for seeking consent and facilitating communication. Highlighted with respect to implementing projects is the importance of ensuring access to alternative information and independent advice. Finally, monitoring of initial agreements, the development of a grievance process and the verification of consent complete the guidelines.

Forest management and climate change: a literature review

08 Apr 2012 21:13:30 GMT

This literature review assesses current and potential future changes occurring within the forestry sector. It identifies challenges posed to forests and analyses the relationship between forests and climate change. While it is relatively safe to assume that temperature increase is a threat to the survival of many ecosystems other challenges, such as extreme weather and precipitation levels, are harder to predict. Other challenges identified include the management of climate change related human migration and maintaining an equitable balance between adapting to new market conditions and retaining ecological integrity. The review explores forest management options for mitigation and adaptation strategies with an emphasis on monitoring, capacity building, market influences and risk reduction. The review also identifies gaps in enabling conditions that require further research and action, including knowledge of potential climate change impacts, the capacity of forest managers to adapt, technology and the institutional environment.

Mitigation strategies highlighted in the review include:

clearer definitions of land, forest and carbon rights
raising awareness of climate change amongst forest managers
documentation and sharing of best practice and lessons learned
establishment of stakeholder platforms to ensure transparency and equity.

The document includes the following suggestions for strengthening adaptation measures.

More research is required in monitoring systems, the adaptability and flexibility of different species to climate change, optimum management cycles, impact modelling and incentive mechanisms.
Training in sustainable forest management should be improved.
Improvements are needed in the institutional framework to clarify rights, ensure greater equity, provide a multi-sectoral approach, improve local governance and provide financial and technical assistance (particularly for carbon markets).

FAO, working with countries to tackle climate change through sustainable forest management: managing forests for climate change

17 Mar 2012 22:19:00 GMT

FAO works in supporting countries to strengthen the management of forests in a changing climate. This publication describes the many ways in which FAO works to promote good management practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The paper demonstrates the following findings about how FAO works:

FAO emphasises the importance of innovative approaches, best practices and international partnerships, but also building on existing knowledge and experience in forest management
FAO supports field projects in a number of countries that serve as role models for the use of forests and trees in mitigating and adapting to climate change
FAO cooperates for the rehabilitation of degraded lands and for the conservation and sustainable management of arid-zone forests within the climatic change framework
FAO provides technical assistance to improve the management of agroforestry systems, tree systems and urban and periurban forests

Accordingly, the following conclusions are drawn:

management practices need to be actively planned, tailored to each specific ecosystem and evolving situations, so as to avoid over-exploitation and forest degradation
as poverty is one of the drivers of deforestation, adaptation for and mitigation of climate change must be addressed in unison with actions towards sustainable development
the need for funding for adaptation measures is growing; incentives for land-based forest mitigation measures (REDD+) can reward some aspects of forest management interventions
sustainable mountain development and collaborative and integrated approaches to watershed management are vital for climate change mitigation and adaptation
coastal forests’ protection and restoration are important to mitigate the impact of climate change, while adaptive management will need to be adopted to secure their existence
fire management practices will need to be intensified and adapted as the context evolves with climate change, and managers need to plan to build resilience of dryland forest ecosystems

Assessing the impacts of climate change on community-based sustainable use of forest resources in the Caribbean

08 Mar 2012 09:02:36 GMT

The study identifies forest-based livelihood activities in communities, actual and projected climate change impacts on these activities, and possible interventions to increase the communities’ resilience to climate change. Among the issues it explores are the impacts that threats such as increasing severe storms, warming oceans and the rise in agro-forestry diseases due to warmer temperatures.

Rise and spread of national and sub-national forest carbon schemes

U. Chokkalingam (ed) — 26 Feb 2012 13:09:21 GMT

In December 2011 at the international climate change negotiations at COP17 in Durban, there were further developments on the proposed REDD+ mechanism to reduce forest-based emissions and enhance forest carbon sinks. Various countries have initiated forest-related emission reduction and offsetting schemes within the last year. This policy brief provides an update on national and international REDD+ and other forest carbon policies from April 2011 to January 2012.

The brief presents the following updates on international schemes and proposals on REDD+ within the stated time frame:

the Kyoto Protocol set emissions reduction targets for about 30 developed countries and all countries at the Durban summit agreed to reduce their emissions by 2015
the final decision regarding safeguards stipulated that countries with forests should report on how safeguards are being addressed
meetings were held to discuss finance, MRV, safeguards and the work programme.

On Asia-relevant national schemes, the briefing presents the following updates:

China launched a pilot forest carbon trading programme
South Korea announced voluntary emissions cut
Japan tested the feasibility of a Bilateral Carbon Offset Mechanism
in India, Maharashtra State created a tree credits scheme
the Governors’ Climate and Forests task force carried on with the sub-national REDD+ framework, financing, knowledge database, and communications, outreach and stakeholder involvement
California formally adopted the greenhouse cap and-trade programme.

On national and subnational schemes outside Asia, the brief shows the following developments:

the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme increased levels of tree planting and enabled the forest sector to engage in national and international carbon markets
Quebec in Canada will adopt a cap and trade system for reducing emissions
the Australian government approved the Carbon Farming Initiative
some U.S. states and Canadian provinces formed the North America 2050 Initiative
UK launched the Woodland Carbon Code
Brazil changed the forestry code
Ecuador launched the Yasuni initiative
the Norwegian government financed forest carbon payments into the Guyana REDD Investment Fund
Mexico signed a MoU with Indonesia on sustainable forest management and enforcing REDD+ policy as well as several other forestry issues.

The brief ends by reporting that over the last year, the global voluntary market standards saw a growth in approved methodologies, project types covered, registered projects and issuance of verified credits.

Charcoal the Reality: A study of charcoal consumption, trade and production in Malawi

P. Kambewa — 15 Feb 2012 08:11:07 GMT

Charcoal industry is one of the largest in Malawi. Among its four largest urban areas, the volume of charcoal consumed represents one-third of the annual deforestation in Malawi.

Natural resource management experts, governments and its development partners have debated the charcoal trade for some time, but until now, there has been little solid evidence on the scale and scope of the subject. Lacking information on the true value of the charcoal industry, policy makers have developed policies mostly based on impressions rather than facts. Since charcoal has a very high potential to be a renewal resource, this study intends to stimulate and encourage an informed charcoal debate, based on results from household consumption surveys, detailed descriptions on the charcoal value chain, as well as on its current locations, species, methods, and volumes of production.

The following paper aims to:

determine the scale and economic value of the charcoal industry in Malawi
identify the driving causes behind charcoal production, understand the key players and the value chain, and find out where and how charcoal is produced, marketed and consumed
provide a sound basis for policy development that reduces the negative impacts of the industry while encouraging the positive attributes.

The paper concludes by attributing the ‘problem’ of charcoal not to its existence but to its manner of production and the inability of past and present policies to reduce it.

Has forest co-management in Malawi benefited the poor?

C. Jumbe — 22 Dec 2011 10:37:07 GMT

This study uses household-level data from the Chimaliro and Liwonde forest reserves under the pilot forest co-management programme in Malawi to address the following questions:

Do the poor benefit from participating in the forest co-management programme as intended?
Are there any biases in the distribution of forest income among different participants and, if so, what are the sources of inequality?

The paper applies the propensity score matching and decomposition techniques to measure how participation in the co-management programme affects the forest earnings of vulnerable households, especially female-headed and low-income households. Matching techniques are commonly applied in evaluating social and training programmes. The authors argue that this is the first study to combine these econometric techniques to assess the impact of participation in the forest co-management programme using household survey data from a developing African country.

In conclusion, the paper states that:

evidence from this analysis helps to assess the effectiveness of forest comanagement programmes as a pro-poor strategy for enhancing the contribution of forests to rural livelihood
with the high priority given to poverty reduction by the government, it is vital to assess whether the poorest and most vulnerable households actually benefit from participating in the programme
the paper helps to identify which people are negatively impacted by the programme in order to design suitable policy prescriptions or compensatory mechanisms to mitigate the negative effects from the programme
results from this study yield important insights and lessons necessary for designing better interventions in the future.

Mitigation analysis for the forestry and land use sector

P. Nkwanda — 29 Nov 2011 08:01:42 GMT

Forests in Malawi play an important role in both social and economic development of the country. Among the environmental services provided by forests is carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the uptake and storage of carbon on land which reduces atmospheric accumulation and thus delays its impact on the global climate. The destruction of forests through burning and decaying of woody biomass results directly in significant contribution of carbon to the atmosphere. However, the expansions of forests and maintenance of existing stands can capture carbon from the atmosphere and maintain it on land over decades. Thus, it is important for Malawi to identify mitigation options in the forest and land use sector that would reduce the atmospheric accumulation of carbon.

The major objective of this assessment is to identify carbon mitigation options and analyse their costs, benefits and impact in the forest and land use sector in Malawi. In particular the study intends to identify a mix of options that is likely to provide the desired forestry products and services at the least cost and minimum negative environmental and social impacts.

In conclusion the paper argues that forest mitigation options include maintaining existing stands of the trees through reduced deforestation, or forest protection; expanding the stand of trees and the pool of carbon in wood products through reforestation programmes; and providing wood fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels. The study’s results show that forest protection can reduce carbon emissions in Malawi at lower cost per tonne (or cost per hectare) than reforestation under the Tree Planting for Carbon Sequestration and other Ecosystem Services programme.

Beyond carbon: rights-based safeguard principles in law

B. Steni — 24 Nov 2011 16:56:13 GMT

The aim of climate change mitigation and adaptation programs are to protect all the Earth’s inhabitants from the serious threats posed by climate change. Safeguards ensure both mitigation and adaptation activities truly address these purposes.

The rights-based safeguards described in this report are social safeguards designed by the Civil Society Network for Climate Justice to become a framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation in general, and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in particular. They take the form of considerations for accepting, operationalising,and monitoring and evaluating REDD. These safeguards are designed notonly as tools for inclusion in on-going REDD programs, but also asprinciples to be used from the outset, when REDD is still underconsideration.

The safeguards consists of:

the basic right to information
the procedural right to participate
benefit sharing
the right to forest resources
rights over values and customs relating to the forest
rights to compensation and environmental restoration
rhe right to determine/decline free prior and informed consent (FPIC)
rhe right not to be terrorised, and to protection under the law
rhe right to a healthy environment

The report also goes on to describe mechanisms for raising objections, arguing that as there is always potential for irregularities in monitoring, reporting and verification processes, safeguard violations, and mistakes due to errors and data collection, etc. Therefore, The opportunity to raise objections over decisions can help bring about a transparent and process.

A study on livelihoods, governance and illegality: law enforcement, illegality and the forest dependent poor in Malawi

B. Sibale — 05 Aug 2011 07:51:33 GMT

Forests play a vital role in supporting economic and agricultural growth in Malawi. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of current legislation and illegality in the forest sector and suggest practical ways by which the formulation, implementation and enforcement of new legislation might better serve the forest-dependent poor in Malawi.

The scope of the study involved undertaking new policy research on the impact on the forest-dependent poor by examining current forest governance structures and mechanisms and current legislation. The study also examined attempts, mechanisms and barriers to enforce legislation by all stakeholders.

In order to strengthen law enforcement and improve forest governance to ensure that the forestry sector contributes to poverty reduction, the paper recommends that:

public awareness programmes be implemented as a priority to support understanding of forestry policy
the Forestry Act be amended in accordance with the Supplement to the Forestry Policy so as to clarify that charcoal remains the most important illegal activity that generates income for the rural poor living along forest reserves
the government should pilot a charcoal licensing system that ensures that benefits from charcoal sales are equitably shared between the community, the vendors, the forest reserve and the government
clear benefits for individuals participating in forestry management should be spelt out in policy and legislation - this could be done through national guidelines on benefit sharing for communities participating in forest management
the Department of Forestry compile desegregated data of forest dependent communities to enable them respond to each group accordingly - this process can also support the recommendation to pilot charcoal licensing as indicated above.

Multistakeholder forestry program: milestones and challenges in 2010: external evaluators’ review

A.G. Royo — 21 Jun 2011 21:51:22 GMT

The partnership for governance reform in Indonesia (Kemitraan) continues to run the only forest governance programme (namely FGP) that bridges civil society with government partners in sustainable forest management efforts. The FGP, funded by Norway, aims to improve forest governance for increased benefits to primary stakeholders in sustainable forest management, and hopes to contribute to Indonesia’s effort to reduce carbon emissions.

Summary of findings:

there is evidence of good governance of organisations around forest management and climate, but tenure remain insecure
gender mainstreaming has been set up, but needs a stronger push in programming and implementation
there is a lack of communication and information systems for knowledge and learning, as well as lack of clear sustainability measures.

The authors relate the following recommendations for the partnership:

the range of policy and best practice ‘intervention’ will need to focus on livelihoods and markets
conducting a strategic planning scheme that includes key multi-institutional leader-participants to determine the extent of reversal of deforestation trends and reduction of poverty levels is suggested
it is advised to build gender programming around the needs of the women farm/agro-forestry partners
Kemitraan must maintain its portfolio of good partnerships, correct impression of being ‘donor’, and build joint ownership of goals and core strategies
Kemitraan should set itself up to manage strong formal institutional partnerships with regional delivery mechanisms which are key to local community work and trust-building
it should also do the same regarding multi-stakeholder policy groups, and multi-layer governmental engagements.

Tackling corruption for governing REDD in the Philippines

G. Mayo-Anda — 06 Jun 2011 19:05:23 GMT

National efforts to reverse forest degradation in the Philippines have taken on a new dimension in the context of recent international focus on mitigating the effects of climate change. This paper underlines the interest in participating in schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in the Philippines, providing policy considerations for the implementation of REDD. It focuses particularly on issues of rent-seeking and corruption in the forestry sector.

The author highlights the move away from a state property regime in forest management towards decentralised tenure arrangements and community-based approaches. In this context, two basic community tenure instruments for forests have been put in place: CBFMA and CSCs, which can be granted to 'People’s Organisations' (POs) and 'Individuals and Families', respectively. Both systems have been allowing for bribery in many of their features. Activities related to the harvesting, transportation, and sale of forest products have also been the subjects of corruption.

The document finds that:

current institutional and legal mechanisms are likely to provide only a weak accountability check on REDD schemes
the main government agency with responsibility for natural resource management and the environment is the target of persistent allegations of corruption
corruption in the forestry sector can involve a complex network of individual participants, and follow unwritten rules of secrecy and misconduct.

Policy considerations include:

encouraging transformative forest governance to develop effective safeguards
a locally-organised multi-stakeholder REDD council could actively be involved in identifying, monitoring and evaluating REDD projects
sustaining momentum in the national REDD and strategy process (e.g. strengthening the Climate Change Commission)
broadening participation in and knowledge of REDD
establishing access to information and transparency standards
insulating REDD monitoring from corruption through strategies which ensure that measurement, reporting, and verification activities will be protected from manipulation.

Plantation forests and livelihood opportunities for peripheral communities: a case study from Zomba

J. Lowore — 25 May 2011 07:16:12 GMT

The Malawi forestry sector is in the midst of a process which aims to increase private sector participation in plantation forestry. The rationale for this is that plantation forestry is essentially a business and therefore if not executed efficiently and effectively asset degradation and falling production occurs, as is currently the case in Malawi. Governments typically are not good at doing business. The private sector puts profit as the most important objective and a plantation can only be profitable if it is well run and productive, hence the logic that privatisation will lead to well-managed and productive plantation estate.

In order to facilitate Malawi's forest privatization process the Forest Planation Initiative Malawi (FPIM) project has examining the possible consequences of increasing private sector forest management on the welfare of local people. Lack of employment and the failure of agriculture to meet the basic needs of large sectors of Malawi's population means that poor people are forced to adopt multi-strategy livelihood support systems. Those communities who live near Malawi's plantations, particularly those in the central and southern regions, are heavily reliant on the plantations as a source of work and wood with which to generate income and meet domestic needs.

This study was commissioned with an aim of gathering information on the socio-economic importance of the Zomba plantation. Zomba was selected because the level of use by local people is particularly high in this site.

The papers findings and concluding remarks include:

the contribution of Zomba plantation to the livelihoods of the local people living at its periphery is immense
most of these job or income opportunities do not offer the security of a permanent job, many are part-time or seasonal and few offer a pathway out of poverty
some of the opportunities are more lucrative and business owners can invest and expand
in addition to income many households, approximately 9000, use products directly at home for their daily life - the most important "home use" product is firewood followed by off cuts, poles, bamboo, fruits, herbal medicines, mushrooms and grass
the income generating activity which supports the greatest number of people is firewood vending.
the firewood survey estimates a harvest of about 10,500 m3 per year - considering that some areas were not sampled and some collectors were not enumerated the real figure is probably closer to 12,000m3.

Real-time evaluation of Norway’s international climate and forest initiative: Guyana

P. Hardcastle — 14 May 2011 14:34:29 GMT

As a high forest cover/low deforestation rate country, Guyana has been keen to engage in a pilot of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) to utilise payments for the environmental services. This paper aims to determine the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of Norway’s support to Guyana in terms of REDD aspects, and draw preliminary lessons and recommendations.

Guyana has huge interest in capturing REDD payments as a means of protecting its forest resources, as well as using generated funds to support a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The memorandum signed in 2009 between Guyana and Norway arranged for financial mechanisms and secured the important safeguards required for REDD purposes. Particularly, the agreement covered the issues of reducing deforestation against an agreed baseline rate, as well as the fulfillment of a set of 'enabling activities'.

Norwegian support to Guyana is judged moderately or highly relevant and effective, but of rather limited efficiency. Nevertheless, it has huge potential to assist wider development within the bounds of appropriate, mutually agreeable safeguards. The most notable changes that can be linked to the support relate to much tighter control at field level of both forestry and mining, the two major drivers of forest loss and degradation.

Recommendations for the partners include:

identifying activities proposed in the LCDS where there could be potential conflicts with agreed safeguard requirements, and agree on this with the government
prioritising efforts to build capacity and leave local communities in charge of their own affairs
discussing the situation of the urban poor and give more consideration to the lack of direct benefits from REDD to forest users
considering permanent representation by Norway in Guyana
discussing revalidating the National Forestry Standard with a view to securing verified certification for production forests.

Participatory forestry under decentralization policies: the case of Lilongwe Forestry Project, Malawi

M. M. Sikwese — 11 May 2011 16:19:54 GMT

Malawi joined the advocates of community forestry in the late 1970s. The Government of Malawi, through the Forestry Department (FD) mounted a number of efforts to address the problem of deforestation. In addition to the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector also assisted in the efforts. The Lilongwe Forestry Project (LFP) is located in Lilongwe District in central Malawi. Lilongwe District is the capital city of Malawi and has an area of 6,159 km2. According to the 1998 census, the district has a population of 1,346,360 people (of whom 905,889 are in rural areas) and a growth rate of 2.9 per cent. For administrative purposes, the district is subdivided into four Area Control Units (ACUs): ACU 1 (Lilongwe East); ACU 2 (Lilongwe South and West); ACU 3 (Lilongwe North); and ACU 4 (Lilongwe City). The project covers three ACUs: 1, 2, and 3.

The vegetation of the district comprises mainly miombo woodlands of Brachystegia, Julbernadia and Isoberlinia tree species, within the legume family Cesalpiniaceae. Approximately 80 per cent of the forest cover in the district is located within the Dzalanyama and Thuma forest reserves (which are gazetted and which cover 989.34 km2 and 163.95 km2, respectively). Located within Dzalanyama Forest Reserve are a timber plantation (2,303 ha) and a fuelwood plantation (3,119 ha).

The most common tree species in the plantation include Pinus patula and Eucalyptus spp. Apart from these forest reserves, there are also some trees on customary land that are classified in the following categories of forest areas: the graveyard woodlands; the village forest areas (VFAs); and scattered relic woodlands on customary lands. In the early 1990s, the rate of land transformation to agriculture was estimated to be 3.5 per cent per year. The rate should now be decreasing, as there are no more forests into which to expand

The study recommends that while people’s participation in forestry activities is for their own good, there are some impediments to their efforts to participate. If the implementers of the project concentrate on the
quantitative aspects normally sought in project reports (e.g. number of villages involved, number of seeds
distributed, number of seedlings raised, number of trees planted), the aim of participatory forest projects –
which is to ensure that the livelihoods of local communities are improved through access to forest
resources – may well be missed.

Forest governance in Congo: corruption rules?

T. Trefon — 26 Jan 2011 14:49:47 GMT

Innovative management of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) forests is an international priority. This paper argues, however, that recent forestry codes and initiatives have not achieved expected results, and that corruption and mismanagement are a main reason for this.

The author points out that the post-conflict DRC is struggling to overcome the challenges of poverty, regional insecurity, colonial legacy and the illegal exploitation of its natural wealth. Therefore, it is important to promote socio-economic wellbeing and biodiversity conservation there.

The main conclusions from the paper are as follows:

environmental governance is not primarily a technical issue in DRC – it is a political and social challenge that has to be considered in a holistic way
development practitioners struggling to conceptualise new environmental services will have to embed their strategies in the political landscape of DRC
to improve forest governance, the current gaps that separate public and private international partners, national authorities and local populations have to be narrowed
a dynamic involvement from the current inadequate civil society will also be required.

The paper recommends the following:

environmental education and awareness campaigns about rights and responsibilities to help local populations bargain into forest governance strategies
the creation of enabling conditions to attract responsible private sector partners to help put Congo’s forest economy on track
greater integration of respect for local logics and belief systems
strategies must take into account a host of cleavages, tensions, problems of distrust, as well as gender and generation gaps that characterise forest communities
increased and more systematic capacity-building and training for all stakeholders involved in forest governance.

A study of forest based alternative livelihoods for local communities around Malosa Forest Reserve

L.K. Eneya — 06 Sep 2010 15:34:46 GMT

This study was conducted to identify and promote forest-based alternative livelihoods for local communities around Malosa Forest Reserve. The objectives are to determine the extent of access by local communities to forestry resources in the reserve, to identify and promote sustainable exploitation of non-wood products from the reserve, and finally, to determine alternative livelihoods for the local communities in the absence of woody resources. A questionnaire was administered to seven villages around the reserve at an average of 2 people per village.

Results indicate that the communities have access to the forestry resources in the Malosa Forestry Reserve. However, there is a difference in the type of forestry resources accessed. For wood products, 9.6% indicated that they depend on the forest for firewood for both cooking and sale. About 10% indicated that they depend on the forest for poles and charcoal. On non-wood products, about 51.4% indicated that they collect fruits, 53.7% mushrooms, while about 5% indicated other non-wood products such as cane and bush meat. The only significant forest based sources of livelihood identified were fruits (mainly Uapaca Kirkiana) and mushroom. Asked to rank the most important non-wood product they get from the forest, respondents indicated water (source of rivers) as the number one product. The study did not identify significant access to bush meat and cane as expected. Respondents indicated that these are no longer accessible due to deforestation and overexploitation. Therefore the livelihood strategies recommended include fruit processing, irrigation agriculture, woodlots, bee keeping and small-scale businesses.

Response of selected tree species to experimental bark harvesting

G. Meke — 06 Sep 2010 15:02:22 GMT

In Malawi over 90 percent of the population use only traditional medicine or use it in combination with western medicine for the treatment of various ailments. Over 60 percent of traditional medicines are comprised of plant materials.

Recent high rates of deforestation and unsustainable harvesting methods employed by traditional healers have resulted in the disappearance of most of the traditional medicine plant species. In light of this, a series of bark harvesting experiments were conducted of montane and seven miombo woodland tree species. This paper presents the results of these experiments. The response to bark wounding will form the basis for development of harvesting plans for species whose bark is used in traditional medicine.
For trees that have good recovery, rotational bark harvesting would be recommended. However, where the woods affect other tree products like timber quality, alternative parts of the plants should be considered for use as traditional medicine.

The experiment shows that:

all the species used in the experiment do recover from bark wounding, however the rate at which the wound closes vary among species
pnly P. africana and P. angolensis recover fast enough to be considered for rotational bark harvesting
for the rest of the species, the best bark harvesting option would be to cut the selected tree and harvest all the bark or harvest other parts that would heal easily or drastically affect the health of the trees
for large scale harvesting of species like P. africana, there is a need to do enrichment planting or to establish herbal orchards as current populations are too low.

The links between poverty and the environment in Malawi

B. Mkwara — 26 Jul 2010 15:56:16 GMT

Deforestation arising from conversion of forest areas into agriculture is a serious problem in Malawi. This paper discusses competition for agricultural land and investigates why the poor are closely associated with forests. Furthermore, the paper examines the effects of changes in crop land use on changes in forest cover.

The author notes that the government of Malawi, like many others in sub-Saharan Africa, is currently faced with the problem of poverty. Moreover, being agricultural based most poverty reduction policies are streamlined along the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, some agricultural policies that have been designed to reduce income poverty have on the other hand harmed the environment through deforestation. Thus, an understating of how much cultivation of each crop contributes to how much deforestation is crucial in helping policy makers to come up with policies that can strike a balance between the two.

Concerning findings, the document shows that:

cultivation of different crops has varying effects on deforestation
the need to grow cash crops has a negative effect on deforestation
particularly, cultivation of maize, primarily by the poor, appears to be the principal cause of deforestation while tobacco and pulses stand at second and third positions, respectively
there is a need to consider adoption of modern farming techniques and technology to ensure that maize farmers are able to produce more output from less land areas
in addition, there is a need to ensure that property rights and secure ownership are promoted, especially amongst the poor
this can help local smallholders to consider the issue of reforestation more seriously than is the case today.

Real-time evaluation of Norway’s international climate and forest initiative: contributions to a Global REDD+ Regime 2007-2010

30 Mar 2010 11:30:42 GMT

The Norwegian Government launched its International Climate and Forest Initiative in December 2007, aiming at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD). In order to assess the results of the Initiative with regard to its objectives, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) organised a real-time evaluation starting in early 2010. This fact sheet demonstrates the objectives, scope, process and principles of that evaluation.

The first objective of the evaluation aimed at improving the prospects of the inclusion of an REDD mechanism in a post-2012 climate regime. The evaluation also focused on the work of the major recipients of funding, covering management and administration in Norway as well as multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental agencies funded by the Initiative. The evaluation also deals with national REDD processes, plans and actions, seeking the conservation of natural forests to maintain their carbon storage capacity.

The main recommendations of the evaluation mission include:

REDD Readiness should be focused more prominently on measuring 1) progress in the forest reform agenda, and 2) progress on improving forest governance. It is here that DRC’s progress towards REDD readiness might best be seen
at the moment REDD in DRC is generally considered as a forest sector issue. This does not enhance broad national multi-sector ownership of the REDD agenda and it may lead to tunnel vision. A number of institutional developments are proposed
the REDD Readiness process should give higher priority to investing in supporting land-use planning processes with a high level of local participation at provincial level
once DRC’s reference scenario is formulated, providing a clear vision on REDD in the context of DRC’s future development, a priority will be to mobilise support for the setting-up of a national early investment fund for REDD. This may require a closer bilateral relationship between Norway and DRC
there is an urgent need to develop a reference scenario that fits the reality of DRC and that provides for a broader development vision than just reduced deforestation. More should be done to promote a true reflection of DRC’s development path
a higher priority should be given to developing Congolese capacity for REDD and this could start by ensuring that as many young university graduates as possible are directly employed in relevant REDD studies and inventories and that higher education courses include REDD in the curriculum

Realising REDD+ national strategy and policy options

A. Angelsen (ed) — 26 Jan 2010 14:33:44 GMT

More than 40 countries are developing national REDD+ strategies and policies, and hundreds of REDD+ projects have been initiated across the tropics. This book wants to inform these national and local processes, by asking some basic questions:

How are participating countries going to reduce emissions and increase carbon stocks that they hope to be paid for through global mechanisms?
What new institutions, processes, policies, and projects are needed?
What are the options in these areas, and how do they compare?

This book seeks to answer these questions by examining what REDD+ at the national level might look like in four areas: institutions and processes to build the REDD+ framework, broad policy reforms to enable REDD+ implementation, sectoral policies to change incentives, and demonstration activities to test and learn from different approaches.

The book underscores that there are a number of promising approaches for achieving REDD+ objectives. Consequently, policy makers in each country will need to put together a mix of policies and approaches that tackle the drivers of deforestation and degradation in their particular national circumstances.

The main findings of the book are that:

forests managed by communities may store more carbon, and Community Forest Management can be a cost effective way to manage forests
control of wildfires, incentives for restoring degraded land, and taxes and market instruments to improve forest management could reduce forest emissions
the combination of performance-based payments and significant anticipated funding could change positively and substantially the political economy of deforestation
large REDD+ revenues will create new opportunities for rent-seeking behaviour; policies to ensure transparency, accountability and efficient spending of REDD+ revenues should be put in place
new ways of collaborating across sectors, stakeholder groups and levels of government will be needed to design programmes and projects and to make sure policies are coherent
national REDD+ institutions must make upward and downward linkages: transferring funds from the national to the local leveland channelling information from the local to the national and international levels
the experiences of pilot projects can provide lessons for national policies by pointing to the most critical reforms that will be needed to implement REDD+ at the local level
it will be important to document and disseminate the early results from the first generation of REDD+ projects so that midcourse corrections can be made as quickly as possible.

The REDD direction: the potential for reduced forest carbon emissions, biodiversity protection and enhanced development: a desk study with special focus on Tanzania and Uganda

A. Vatn — 18 Jan 2010 11:41:53 GMT

This paper examines whether reduced emissions from forests – from deforestation and forest degradation (the REDD project) - should be included in a post-Kyoto agreement . It focuses on how REDD could be instituted at the national level, and sheds light on specific challenges for two African countries – Tanzania and Uganda.

The paper demonstrates that REDD would require an international agreement concerning its role and format and an international governance structure to distribute the resources involved. It would also need national governance structures in countries where REDD activities are supposed to take place to secure that measures are instituted on the ground.

The paper concludes that:

REDD may offer a lot of opportunities and be an important part of a successful climate regime
the fundamental challenge is that it is a northern initiative to be implemented in the South
a fund based system with a programme orientation is preferable
it is necessary to include a series of instruments other than market trades.

Furthermore, the paper identifies a range of recommendations for Uganda and Tanzania in implementing a national REDD strategy to mitigate climate change:

the government should lead the way in forest protection
REDD funding should focus on more socially legitimate strategies to reduce deforestation in the permanent forest estate
investment is needed in collaborative mechanisms under which local communities might access resources
REDD could employ payment mechanisms to facilitate degraded forest restoration in the permanent forest estate
addressing local community rights to the lands placed under plantations is of immense importance
both fuel wood extraction and agriculture expansions with multiple measures should be addressed
there should be enhanced focus on the livestock sector
facilitating on-farm afforestation is advised.

Empowered women and the men behind them: a study of change within the Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project in Nepal

Jeannette D. Gurung — 25 Nov 2009 15:06:14 GMT

This study analyses the gender impact of the Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project (HLFFDP) Nepal. The project was situated within a society where gender ideologies that privilege men are dominant and where relationships between community members and government workers are often steeply hierarchical. These conditions present serious obstacles to the encouragement of men professionals within men-dominated organizations to carry out plans to achieve the participation, much less the empowerment, of uneducated rural women. Through the initiatives of a few this change did occur, at least at some level, within the DoF and other line agencies associated with the HLFFDP in Nepal. How this occurred and the obstacles that remain in the path of the institutionalization of this innovative approach are the topics of this study.

The empirical data for this study were collected in Kathmandu and in Hetauda, Makawanpur district, over a period of two weeks, from 14 to 28 April 2002, by two women members of a team of IFAD consultants.

Based on the experiences described in this case study and the context in which they are situated, this report recommends that, in order to prevent the ‘black hole’ from engulfing this exemplary project, there is a need for gender structures to be built into the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation and the DOF. Such an initiative should build on the good will and enthusiasm that still exist among senior DOF officials, district-level staff and the group promoters.

Within this cell, there must be an organizational space for advocacy by the group promoters, perhaps through a formal linkage to their formally registered NGO. It is through this group that the cell should build linkages and accountability to its constituents: the rural women and men leasehold members of the HLFFDP. Given the cultural constraints to gender equity posed by the local context and the gendered environment of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation and the DOF, project planners and all who wish to realize the goal of gender mainstreaming within the Ministry and the DOF need to build strong support mechanisms to backstop the staff and activities of this gender cell.

Included in this may be a role for a donor agency, whether IFAD, or another. Ways must be found for such agencies to develop a sense of ownership over such initiatives, possibly through projects that demonstrate positive impacts through women’s empowerment, as the HLFFDP does.

Incentives for sustainable hunting of bushmeat in Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea

Noelle Francesca Kumpel — 16 Nov 2009 17:44:46 GMT

Bushmeat hunting is thought to be becoming increasingly unsustainable in west and central Africa, but true assessment of sustainability and consequently appropriate management, is constrained by poor understanding of cause and effect. This thesis considers the complex and dynamic interactions between market, hunter and prey along an entire bushmeat chain in continental Equatorial Guinea, thus enabling evaluation of the sustainability of the system under different policy scenarios.

Key observations made:

evaluations of urban bushmeat consumption in Bata, the regional capital, shows that people prefer fresh meat and fish, including bushmeat, but tend to consume cheaper frozen foods more often. So, bushmeat consumption increases with income
men hunt for income because there are no other livelihood options. Trapping is currently preferred to gun-hunting due to lower costs and relatively high returns. However, as the availability and affordability of guns and cartridges increases, and trapping success decreases, hunters are switching to shooting arboreal prey
the oil boom in Equatorial Guinea is increasing urban wealth and subsesquent demand for bushmeat
there is currently no active enforcement of protected areas in Equatorial Guinea, or control of the trade in illegal species of bushmeat
in the absence of alternative foods and rural livelihoods, and proper enforcement of protected areas, people will continue to hunt for the commercial bushmeat trade until many vulnerable species become at least locally extinct.

Policy recommendations:

reducing demand for bushmeat through marketing of frozen and non-animal protein bushmeat substitutes, production of fresh fish and fresh domestic meat as bushmeat substitutes.
reducing and controlling the supply of bushmeat through the following methods: Regulation of trade; short-term enforcement of protected areas; long-term management of protected areas; short-term and long-term community management of hunting zone; promotion of alternative livelihoods.

Thus, successful policy must address both demand and supply in order to change the incentives of both consumers and hunters.

Commercialization of non-timber forest products: factors influencing success

E. Marshall (ed) — 16 Nov 2009 12:29:27 GMT

Commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development in tropical forest areas. However, donor investments in the development of NTFP resources have often failed to deliver the expected benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and improved conservation of natural resources. It is important to understand the conditions under which NTFP commercialization can make a positive contribution to the livelihoods of the poor. This publication presents the findings of the CEPFOR project, a multidisciplinary research initiative involving partners from the UK, Mexico and Bolivia.
The research team, through socioeconomic and market research, examine the impact of different NTFP commercialization networks (value chains) on poverty reduction, women’s livelihoods, natural resources and rights and access of the poor, in eight communities in Bolivia and ten in Mexico. The structure and function of 16 NTFP value chains are analysed, enabling identification of the attributes that make a chain successful.

Key findings of the CEPFOR project are:

Successful commercialization means different things to different people
NTFP activities provide an important opportunity for poverty reduction
NTFP activities often involve poor people but may also involve the less poor
NTFP activities can provide women with a greater sense of self-confidence and improved status within the household and the community
In the majority of cases, increased commercialization initially leads to overexploitation of the resource
There is little policy or legislation specific to NTFPs in either Mexico or Bolivia
NTFP value chains are highly dynamic
Lack of market information is a key barrier into NTFP trade

Recommended interventions at government-level:

Rural livelihood support policies that support NTFP activities as part of a diversified livelihood strategy.
A clear statement of which laws apply to NTFPs, under which circumstances and who is responsible for implementing them.
Encouraging lending institutions to recognize the commercial potential of NTFP enterprises.
Policy interventions that improve access to education and information, thereby increasing entrepreneurship.
General improvements to transport and communications infrastructure that will facilitate market access.

Recommended interventions at community-level:

Enhancing community organization to increase the market power of NTFP producers and processors
Provision of opportunities for greater involvement of women in NTFP activities
Building the business capacity of potential entrepreneurs.
Provision of technical know-how and organizational skills to ensure sustainable resource management and harvesting, domestication and product processing.

Prunus africana: money growing on trees? a plant that can boost rural economies in the Cameroon highlands

A. T. Nsawir — 12 Nov 2009 19:23:05 GMT

Cameroon supports some of the largest populations of the Afromontane hardwood pygeum (Prunus africana), a tree used traditionally for timber, fuel-wood and medicine. It is one of the major income sources for forest based communities in the highlands areas of Cameroon. This paper looks at methods and activities for the sustainable management of Pygeum and draws lessons for creating win-win situations for sustainable exploitation of this non-timber forest product. Despite the quota based regulatory framework in place and over two decades of research, developing sustainable harvesting techniques and regeneration planting, the species faces major problems of over-exploitation, illegal harvesting and degradation of its forest habitats.

Key constraints to developing the sector:

Complete lack of knowledge of the state and total amount of the resource of Prunus available in the wild and domesticated, in any given year and its location.
Lack of market information and its dissemination
Expensive and time-consuming administrative and bureaucratic requirements and corruption involved in obtaining licenses and export permits.
Limited processes to increase value-added
Difficulties associated with accessing capital for transformation/processing
Lack of quality control
Poor governance and transparency.

Based on the above constraints, the following recommendations are proposed:

Sustainable management of wild, forest based pygeum
Meeting CITES requirements so that exports do not collapse in the short-term
Promotion of domestication and individual planting of pygeum to counter depletion in wild stocks
Revision of the regulatory system for Prunus
Enhancing the market chain
Increasing institutionaland organisational networks between regulatory bodies, producers, exporters and international manufacturers and buyers
Increasing knowledge of the resource and optimising exploitation

Balancing development and conservation? an assessment of livelihood and environmental outcomes of non-timber forest product trade in Asia, Africa and Latin America

K. Kusters — 12 Nov 2009 15:55:02 GMT

This article evaluates the extent to which Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) trade leads to both livelihood improvement and forest conservation. The analysis is based on a standardised expert-judgment assessment of the livelihood and environmental outcomes of 55 cases of NTFP trade from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The authors suggest that higher livelihood outcomes are associated with lower environmental outcomes and conclude that NTFP trade is not likely to reconcile development and conservation of natural forest. This is an important lesson for both governments and development and conservation organisations in order to formulate realistic objectives and consider the potentially negative effects of their interventions.

Key findings include:

Looking at livelihood outcomes, the authors observe that NTFP trade benefits several components of peoples' livelihoods, but may increase inequality between households. Only some households gain from trade, while others may even lose access to the resources. Involvement of women in the production-to-consumption system (PCS) tends to have a positive impact on intra-household equity.
Environmental outcomes show that over 40% of the cases experienced resource depletion from NTFP trade. In most cases, the NTFP ecosystem is considered to perform environmental functions better than the most likely alternative land use, usually intensive agriculture, but worse than a hypothetical natural forest alternative.
As a general trend, the development scores are high when households specialise, whereas conservation scores are high when the product is collected from the wild.
In 80% of the cases, the commercial production of NTFPs does not enable people to make financial investments to increase quality and quantity of production, limiting the potential for development.
Commercial extraction from the wild, without further management, tends to lead to resource depletion. NTFP production systems are generally considered to have lower environmental values than natural forest, but do contribute positively to the environmental values in the landscape.
Cases that are characterised by key variables such as secure tenure and market access are associated with high livelihood outcomes. Those that are less developed, probably because they lack the necessary conditions to facilitate development, have higher environmental outcomes because of decreased human intervention.

Evaluating dependence on wildlife products in rural Equatorial Guinea

S. Allebone-Webb — 12 Nov 2009 14:21:46 GMT

This thesis shows that two rural villages in continental Equatorial Guinea consume, produce and earn significant amounts from wildlife resources, particularly bushmeat. The author notes that through an investigation of the variation in use of forest resources among different wealth and demographic groups, and between different communities, it is possible to further assess factors affecting dependence on wildlife. In addition, this helps to ascertain which people should be targeted by management strategies or will be affected by wildlife population decreases. The author concludes that poorer families in the more remote village are indeed dependent on a range of wildlife resources, both for income and consumption. This must be taken into account in any policy responses to unsustainable harvests.

Key observations made:

The consumption of wild foods, particularly plants, increases during the lean season, implying that wild plants reduce vulnerability to food shortages in times of stress, and are therefore important for food security.
Production and income from wildlife is highest for poorer, food insecure households, and this represents a significantly higher proportion of their income than for the rest of the population, suggesting that these vulnerable households with few livelihood options rely on wildlife for regular income.
The less accessible village is more food insecure and has fewer income sources, and is also more reliant on forest resources, particularly bushmeat for income.
The author provides evidence to demonstrate that monitoring sales of wildlife products in urban markets is a useful way to assess changes in offtakes. However, these markets may represent only a small fraction of the total harvest, and may under represent vulnerable taxa such as primates that have a relatively low price for their size.
The data provided suggests that bushmeat harvest in continental Equatorial Guinea is likely to be unsustainable.

NTFPs and poverty alleviation in Kyrgyzstan: potential and critical issues

J. Pfund (ed) — 11 Nov 2009 11:33:19 GMT

NTFPs from walnut-fruit forests in rural Kyrgyzstan have the potential to contribute to poverty alleviation in the region. This can only occur through the reform of institutional arrangements regarding access to these products. The author uses the three dimensions of the World Bank’s definition of poverty to raise some important issues about this matter:

Opportunity

NTFPs from walnut-fruit forests offer income opportunities and there is also potential to add value by processing them in local communities

Security

Households should also have access to other sources of incomes because of yield fluctuations from NTFPs

Commercialisation increases risks of the poor losing rights

Empowerment

User rights to NTFPs have often favoured richer households, so a deliberate effort to focus on the poor should be made

High-level policy has ignored the issues of empowerment because of limited understandings of ‘sustainable forest management'

Poverty and forestry: A case study of Kyrgyzstan with reference to other countries in West and Central Asia

R.J Fisher — 10 Nov 2009 14:34:29 GMT

Though forests occupy a relatively small proportion of West and Central Asia, they have historically been important to the people living in and around them.This paper examines the potential of forestry in Kyrgyzstan for poverty reduction, with a further discussion about these issues more generally in the region.

Key points made:

the high degree of state control of forests is oneof the key constraints to promoting participatory approaches to forest management in West and Central Asia
forestry is often seen as a technical and sectoral concern rather than as a means to empower the rural poor
a change in laws and regulation regarding equal access to forest resources is essential for poverty reduction
there is a need for institutional changes within forest departments and ministries if they are to promote truly participatory forest management
civil society institutions also play a vital role in empowering people in forest management and access issues
a national level analysis of forest policy should be carried out to understand the possible implications on poverty reduction, and experiences shared across the region

A disharmonious trade: China and the continued destruction of Burma’s northern frontier forests

03 Nov 2009 05:23:56 GMT

The report documents on illegal logging and illegal export of timber to China in Kachin State in Burma, which is on the border of China and where deforestation is at its worst. It also documents the response of the relevant authorities in both Burma and China to ‘A Choice for China’, a Global Witnessexposure of the massive illegal timber trade between Burma and China in 2005 which resulted in a ban on logging and timber transportation in Kachin State in Burma and a Chinese ban on the importation of Burmese timber followed by Interim Measures to control the trade.

Key findings are:

there is a decline in the Illegal timber trade on the Burma-China border
international trade in timber illegally logged in Kachin Stateis ongoing
there is a decline in illegal logging in Kachin State since the launch of Global Witness’ report ‘A Choice for China’ in October 2005
half of China’s timber imports from all countries are probably illegal.

The paper gives three key recommendations broken down and targeting the different parties involved.

The recommendations given are:

end illegal logging in Kachin state and associated Burma- China timber trade
combat illegal logging and associated trade in Asia and beyond
disassociate from human rights abuses in Burma

To the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC):

make all relevant authorities and businesses in China aware of the 11 May 2006 ‘Interim Measures to Manage Timber and Mineral Cooperation between Myanmar and Yunnan Province’
establish permanent measures to manage the Burma- China cross-border timber trade
monitor the environmental and social impacts of Chinese logging companies and Chinese companies clearing forested land for the production of cash crops operating in Burma
ensure that Chinese companies in Burma are made familiar with, and operate in accordance with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and State Forest Administration guidelines for Chinese enterprises engaged in ‘sustainable forest cultivation’ overseas
ensure that the draft guidelines for Chinese enterprises engaged in logging overseas are finalized and issued, following the stakeholder consultations that took place in 2008
encourage “ASEAN Plus Three” to include environmental crimes, in particular the trade in illicit timber, as a priority area for discussion/cooperation
To the State Peace and Development Council
continue efforts to stop illegal and unsustainable logging in Kachin State and end the illegal crossborder timber trade with China
ensure that foreigners and foreign companies are not involved in timber harvesting in Kachin State
ensure that natural resources in Kachin State, including forests, are managed in an equitable, participatory, sustainable, and transparent manner
prepare and implement a national strategy to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD)
contribute fully to Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) in ASEAN and encourage the participation of the Myanmar Ministry of Forestry, relevant officials within the armed ethnic opposition groups’ administrations, and civil society in FLEG.

To the armed ethnic opposition groups in Kachin State:

notify the relevant authorities in both Burma and China of all illegal timber transportation when it passes through areas under their control and prior to its export to China
suspend logging activities, development projects and commercial operations that are unsustainable or are of questionable economic and social value.

To the International Community:

establish a working group with representatives from the SPDC, armed ethnic opposition groups, civil society, United Nations agencies and the Chinese authorities to facilitate measures to combat continued illegal and unsustainable logging in northern Burma and support initiatives to promote sustainable development in Kachin State
implement a timber procurement policy, which requires central and regional government authorities to purchase only timber and wood-derived products originating from legal and sustainable sources.

Incentives to sustain forest ecosystem services. A review and lessons for REDD

I. Bond — 19 Oct 2009 17:20:40 GMT

Tropical deforestation and forest degradation contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is an important component of a viable global climate policy framework. This report focuses on national and sub-national aspects of REDD activities and the role of performance-based payments for avoided deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. The study reviews lessons for REDD from experiences gained with payment for ecosystem services (PES) in developing countries. It is based on available literature and 13 case studies including two wildlife-based programmes and a forestry-based programme.

The following are the report's conclusions and recommendations:

this analysis finds that payments for ecosystem services do have a role to play, with regional differences, in the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation

Recommendation: PES is an important element of REDD mechanisms and it calls for development of an operational framework of minimum conditions to determine the effectiveness of payments and the likely required investments.

there is no evidence of adverse effects on livelihoods and equity of poor people. In making REDD payments where governance is weak, facilitators have to guard against elite capture and efforts should be made to strengthen the land tenure of local communities

Recommendation: the direct and indirect socio-economic impacts on poor households of REDD activities should be monitored and REDD strategies should be tailored to country-specific conditions and needs.

paying landholders to conserve forests is likely to be a cost-effective greenhouse gas mitigation option

Recommendation: more cost-effective PES-type REDD schemes should be designed after surveying the transaction costs and options to keep costs down.

effective and equitable governance frameworks pertaining to land rights and quid pro quo payments should be in place. However, in many areas where deforestation and degradation are at their highest, governance is weak and is an underlying cause of deforestation and forest degradation

Recommendation: a comprehensive framework for assessing the minimum governance standards of forests in relation to REDD should be put in place.

cost-effective, acceptable and appropriate tools and methodologies to measure carbon stocks are essential in establishing permanent and additional reductions in deforestation and forest degradation

Recommendation: Regional partnerships should be developed for sharing, acquiring and developing appropriate methods and experiences for monitoring, verifying and reporting changes in forest carbon stocks, supervised by an unbiased international forest carbon monitoring institution.

Wireless technology for social change: trends in NGO mobile use

Sheila K — 09 Sep 2009 17:00:14 GMT

This report, published by the UN Foundation, examines real life examples of and trends in wireless technology solutions being used to drive change in the areas of health, humanitarian assistance, and environmental conservation. Largely using case studies, the authors find that NGOs’ use of mobile technology is very widespread and indispensable.

While voice and text messaging are still the most common applications of mobile technology among NGO workers, the authors find widespread use of wireless technology in a number of other ways, including photo and video, data collection or transfer, and multi-media messaging, as well as for more sophisticated purposes such as data analysis, inventory management, and mapping. The authors find that key benefits of mobile technology for all NGOs include time savings; the ability to quickly mobilise or organise individuals; reaching audiences that were previously difficult or impossible to reach; the ability to transmit data more quickly and accurately; and the ability to gather data more quickly and accurately.

The authors conclude that mobile technology is currently widespread and is poised to remain so for the foreseeable future, as evidenced by 76 percent of NGO users who say they would likely increase their use of mobile technology in the future since it would be difficult to do their jobs without it. Also, the compelling stories portrayed in this report demonstrate that telecommunications can be a powerful tool for positive change.