Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) has emerged as a promising climate change mitigation mechanism in developing countries. This article examines the national political context in 13 REDD+ countries in order to identify the enabling conditions for achieving progress with the implementation of countries’ REDD+ policies and measures. The analysis builds on a qualitative comparative analysis of various countries’ progress with REDD+ conducted in 12 REDD+ countries in 2012, which highlighted the importance of factors such as already initiated policy change, and the presence of coalitions calling for broader policy change. A follow-up survey in 2014 was considered timely because the REDD+ policy arena, at the international and country levels, is highly dynamic and undergoes constant evolution, which affects progress with REDD+ policy-making and implementation. Furthermore, we will now examine whether the ‘promise’ of performance-based funds has played a role in enabling the establishment of REDD+. The results show a set of enabling conditions and characteristics of the policy process under which REDD+ policies can be established. The study finds that the existence of broader policy change, and availability of performance-based funding in combination with strong national ownership of the REDD+ policy process, may help guide other countries seeking to formulate REDD+ policies that are likely to deliver efficient, effective and equitable outcomes.
Tag: environmental degradation
Involvement of Women in Farm Decision-making and Adaptive Capacity to Extreme Events of Farming Households in Ligao City, Albay, Philippines
Community based tree improvement enhance productivity of farm trees and provision of better quality tree seed
Back to the mountains: Mountain futures take shape in Yunnan
Agroforestry in the Mt. Elgon sub-region: Scaling up farm practices for food security in Eastern Uganda
Agroecological and other innovative approaches for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition: a report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition.
Payment for environmental services: interactions with property rights and collective action
Global climate change and environmental degradation highlight the need for institutions of sustainability. In particular, there is increased interest in the potential of payments for environmental services (PES) to improve incentives for sustainable land management. Although smallholder land users can be efficient producers of environmental services of value to larger communities and societies, experience shows that the international and national institutions that govern PES are often designed in ways that entail transaction costs that cannot be feasibly met by individual smallholders. This chapter presents a conceptual framework to examine the inter-linkages between property rights, collective action, payment for environmental services, and the welfare of smallholder land users, examining how these play out in the contexts of carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and watershed functions. Greater consideration of the linkages between PES and other rural institutions can lead to more equitable outcomes, particularly by (1) suggesting how collective action can be used to overcome transaction costs and barriers to participation by smallholders and (2) identifying mechanisms through which managers of small private parcels or areas of common property can be rewarded for environmental stewardship through PES.
Abatement costs of emissions from forest degradation: 8 propositions
Community forest management is a proven and cost-effective instrument to reduce emissions from degradation, particularly in typical dry forest areas. z Carbon crediting tied to CFM could bring sustainable alternative livelihoods to poor, marginalised communities z This may require different methodologies and accounting systems from those applicable to deforestation.
Lessons from the Machakos district of Kenya: a story of environmental recovery
Multi-species and multifunctional smallholder tree farming systems in Southeast Asia: timber, NTFPs, plus environmental benefits
The rapid increase in human population, and the corresponding worldwide enhancement of social and economical conditions, are exerting a considerable pressure to convert forests to other uses. Moreover, these phenomena raise the demand for food, fuel, wood fibers and other non-wood products, contributing to a further boost of the production pressure in the surviving forests. Simultaneously, these forests are expected to provide a diverse array of environmental services.Furthermore, smallholder forestry systems are prominent components of ‘trees outside the forest’ in Southeast Asia and they are primarily ‘planted’ systems that rehabilitate or reforest marginal lands, in order to produce tree products and services. As they traditionally are a means of producing goods for home consumption, they have become significant suppliers of products for local, national and international markets.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that smallholder forestry systems are a viable management system which is significantly contributing to global environmental goals and local economic objectives. This paper reviews global and Asian trends of human population growth, deforestation, and demand for forest and tree products.The origin, the diversity, the adaptable management and the importance of smallholder tree-based systems are here discussed and significant details are provided on the role of smallholder tree-based systems in the mitigation of deforestation, which could be obtained by expanding regional forest resources; in supplying alternative sources of forest products and environmental benefits; and in making significant contributions to local livelihoods for rural communities.