climate change mitigation Archives - Page 184 of 474

Strengthening the role of local people in REDD+ in a post-FCPF world: The story of Indonesia and East Kalimantan

Key messages

The level of knowledge on climate change and carbon trade is highly uneven with greater understanding among provincial government officials directly involved in the FCPF program and lowest among village community members who face the highest risk.
The East Kalimantan JREDD+ was the first of its kind in Indonesia, but complicated procedures and additional conditions imposed during implementation, coupled with demands from the private sector for a share in the carbon trade, are driving a turn to nested projects.
JREDD+ that focuses on nesting through accounting loses the purported advantages of jurisdictional approaches and puts substantial project risk back on communities.

Strengthening dialogue on climate mitigation: Creative methods for engaging Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs) in REDD+ [Toolbox]

This publication examines how Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) programmes can create meaningful opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs) while minimizing risks to their rights, territories, and livelihoods. As JREDD+ gains prominence as a mechanism for scaling climate action and aligning subnational initiatives with national emission reduction goals, its implementation increasingly depends on the effective participation of local stakeholders. However, many of the concepts underpinning climate mitigation initiatives, including carbon cycles, carbon markets, emissions reductions, and REDD+, remain highly technical and difficult for communities to fully understand.

Advancing sustainable forest governance in Indonesia through global partnerships

Key messages

Indonesia has made notable progress in reducing deforestation and improving forest governance, but areas for advancement remain. These areas include addressing overlapping regulations, uneven compliance with emerging international sustainability requirements, and limited inclusion of local communities and smallholders in sustainable land management.
Emerging issues such as the deforestation-free market requirements and food security concerns, as well as political and administrative changes, present significant challenges to forest governance. They can create competing demands on land use, intensify pressure on forest resources, and necessitate more integrated, multi sectoral policy responses to balance environmental sustainability with economic and social priorities.
International cooperation can play a role in advancing forest governance in Indonesia by contributing to the priority areas that need further enhancement and bridging national priorities with evolving global precedence, such as climate change mitigation and deforestation-free supply chains.
This study suggests five core areas for advancement of sustainable forest governance: harmonizing policy and governance reforms, enhancing certification systems and strengthening traceability, advancing climate finance and market mechanisms, empowering community-based forest management through inclusive social forestry, and advancing technology transfer and capacity development of stakeholders.

Field and laboratory manual for unsupported 210Pb analyses

This manual provides a general conceptual framework for collecting and analyzing radionuclides related to the ²¹⁰Pb dating method in mangrove ecosystems. The ²¹⁰Pb radionuclide dating method applies alpha and/or gamma spectrometry. This guide outlines procedures for field sample collection, laboratory analyses and data analyses relating to these approaches.

Field and laboratory manual for unsupported 210Pb analyses

Drivers of tree species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in smallholder agroforestry systems in Laikipia East, Central Kenya

Agroforestry is highly valued for its role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement, yet empirical knowledge on how tree diversity and carbon stocks relate to environmental, farm-level, and household factors remain limited. This study combined whole-farm tree inventories and household surveys across 55 farms in Laikipia East Sub-County to assess patterns and drivers of woody species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks. A total of 108 woody species (6,756 individuals) across 38 families were recorded. Native species accounted for 56% of all species but only 40% of individuals, indicating dominance by a few exotic species. Species richness was highest in croplands (70 species) and boundary areas (59 species), which together accounted for 65% of all recorded trees. Young trees dominated the farms (>50%), mature trees made up about one-third, while large trees (<10%) were mostly confined to boundaries and croplands. Aboveground carbon stocks varied widely (mean: 16.5±7.1 t C/ha), with highest densities in woodlots (40.0±12.7 t C/ha) and homegardens (20.0±9.5 t C/ha). Multivariate analyses showed that plant density and average tree size were the strongest predictors of aboveground carbon (p< 0.01), while species richness was influenced primarily by the diversity of agroforestry practices and selected household characteristics, including respondent’s gender and household size (p < 0.05). Species diversity showed a weak relationship with aboveground carbon stocks (r < 0.20). These findings highlight both the ecological value and structural limitations of smallholder agroforestry. We recommend promoting tree conservation, native regeneration, and diversified agroforestry practices as strategies to enhance carbon storage and biodiversity outcomes in the region.

Global literature review and survey of implementation constraints on natural climate solutions

Natural Climate Solutions – protection, restoration, and improved management of lands and waters that reduce greenhouse gasses – have large climate change mitigation potential. However, lack of comprehensive information on implementation challenges hinders the adoption of Natural Climate Solutions and the delivery of near-term mitigation. Using a global survey of Natural Climate Solutions projects and a systematic review of recent studies, we map 46 constraints in eight categories, yielding 15,572 geo-referenced pathway-constraint observations from 501 studies and projects in 137 countries covering 20 of 22 United Nations subregions. Social-behavioral, Knowledge, and Government-Organizational are the most-reported constraint categories, and lack of policy coordination or implementation capacity the most-observed constraint and most frequently top-ranking constraint for pathways and subregions. Despite broad congruence, top constraint and category rankings vary among subregions and pathways, respectively. We find that projects generally encounter diverse sets of challenges. Without enabling efforts, near-term mitigation from Natural Climate Solutions may remain well below its biophysical potential.

Species-specific allometric models for estimating aboveground biomass and carbon stocks of plantation forests in northcentral Ethiopia

Plantation forests are crucial for landscape rehabilitation and carbon sequestration. However, the efficacy of these plantations in carbon sequestration in Ethiopia remains uncertain due to a lack of robust, species- and site-specific biomass estimation models. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating allometric models for estimating aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon (C) stocks of plantation forests. Allometric models were developed using data from 69 harvested trees of three species: Eucalyptus globulus, Cupressus lusitanica, and Pinus patula. AGB was regressed against diameter at breast height (DBH) as the sole predictor, with stepwise inclusion of height (H), crown area and wood density. Model performance was evaluated using fit statistics, including Pseudo-R2 and mean prediction error (MPE). The model that incorporated both DBH and H as predictors provided the best fit (Pseudo-R2 > 0.90, p < 0.001) and achieved the lowest MPE (1.47–5.67%) across all species. The findings indicated a mean C stock of 121.6 Mg C ha−1 in the plantations studied. Our models provide valuable insights for forest management and improve the accuracy of AGB and C stock estimations in the study area and similar ecosystems. The estimated C stocks can serve as a benchmark for assessing future C dynamics.

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