Constitui����o da baseline para projectos de carbono no Parque Natural da Cufada no ��mbito do mecanismo REDD+

Disserta����o para obten����o do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil de Gest��o e Sistemas Ambientais

Opportunit��s du REDD+ pour l'am��nagement durable des for��ts tropicales et obstacles �� son implantation en R��publique d��mocratique du Congo : perspective juridique

La situation de la for��t tropicale dans les pays en d��veloppement en g��n��ral, et en R��publique D��mocratique du Congo (RDC) en particulier, est inqui��tante. Les ��missions de dioxyde de carbone dues au d��boisement sont de l���ordre de 1,6 GtCO2e/an, soit 17% des ��missions mondiales de �� gaz �� effet de serre ��. Sous l�����gide de la Convention-cadre des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques, le REDD+ a ��t�� institu�� pour lutter contre cette d��forestation et la d��gradation des for��ts. Cette ��tude examine les diff��rentes opportunit��s qu���offre ce programme pour l���am��nagement ��cosyst��mique du couvert forestier de la RDC et les obstacles contextuels �� sa mise en oeuvre. Pour la RDC, le REDD+ pr��sente un certain nombre d���opportunit��s : r��duction des ��missions li��es au d��boisement et �� la d��gradation des for��ts; amorce des travaux d���afforestation et de reforestation par une gestion durable des ressources conduisant �� la cr��ation des emplois et favorisant la croissance des PIB et des exports; accroissement du rendement et maintien d���une plus grande couverture des besoins alimentaires. Le REDD+ peut favoriser la croissance du Produit int��rieur brut agricole. Il peut contribuer �� l�����lectrification des m��nages et r��duire de moiti�� les d��penses des m��nages d��pendant de l���exploitation mini��re et des hydrocarbures et, ainsi, g��n��rer des milliers d���emplois en infrastructures. Pour les populations locales et autochtones, il peut contribuer aussi �� prot��ger et �� valoriser les cultures li��es �� la for��t. Mais, face aux pesanteurs d���ordre juridique, politique, social, ��conomique, technologique et culturel caract��ristiques de ce pays, ces opportunit��s risquent d�����tre amenuis��es, sinon annihil��es. ��tant donn�� que l���essentiel du d��ploiement du dispositif du REDD+ se r��alisera dans les zones rurales congolaises, l���obstacle majeur reste le droit coutumier. La solution serait d���harmoniser les exigences et finalit��s du REDD+ non seulement avec le Code forestier de 2002 et ses mesures d���ex��cution mais aussi avec le droit coutumier auquel les communaut��s locales et autochtones s���identifient.

An��lisis de la posiciones del Ecuador en relaci��n a la iniciativa REDD (Reducci��n de Emisiones por Deforestaci��n y Degradaci��n) despu��s de Copenhague

Esta investigaci��n analiza las posiciones y propuestas pol��ticas en torno a la estrategia REDD (Reducci��n de Emisiones por Deforestaci��n y Degradaci��n) en Ecuador, a partir de la XV Conferencia sobre Cambio Clim��tico que se desarroll�� en Copenhague en 2009, donde el pa��s llev��, entre otras, la propuesta de formar parte de la estrategia REDD. El recorrido por los tres cap��tulos muestra conceptualizaciones sobre el tema ambiental, legal y financiero sobre los bosques, el Buen Vivir y la historia de la estrategia REDD, as�� como su implementaci��n y las caracter��sticas que se est��n planteando para el caso del Ecuador. Adem��s, en el documento se analiza al programa Socio Bosque como iniciativa de conservaci��n voluntaria de las florestas en base a una compensaci��n a las poblaciones locales. Cualquier mecanismo de compensaci��n como REDD+ u otro debe ser desarrollado en base a acuerdos de ���ganar ��� ganar��� entre los pa��ses ���desarrollados��� industrializados y los pa��ses que poseen a��n bosques nativos. Estos acuerdos, adem��s de ser vinculantes y ofrecer salvaguardas para proteger a las comunidades y la biodiversidad que viven y dependen de estos recursos naturales, deben asegurar una mejor gesti��n ambiental a nivel global.

La implementaci��n de REDD+ en el Ecuador: an��lisis de la estructura de gobernanza y mecanismos de financiamiento

Sobre la base de la problem��tica del fen��meno de cambio clim��tico y potencial de los bosques para contribuir a la mitigaci��n del mismo, el objetivo de este estudio es analizar si el mecanismo REDD+, puede constituir una alternativa viable en el Ecuador para la reducci��n de la tasa de deforestaci��n, la mitigaci��n del cambio clim��tico y el desarrollo local. Para el efecto, se analizar�� el contexto internacional del mecanismo REDD+ y el proceso que Ecuador lleva adelante para implementar dicho mecanismo. Particularmente, se profundiza en los aspectos de gobernanza y financiamiento para la implementaci��n de REDD+. Sobre la base del caso ecuatoriano se pueden derivar lecciones interesantes para la implementaci��n de REDD+ en otros pa��ses que enfrentan contextos similares, en t��rminos de la estructura de gobernanza y mecanismos de financiamiento. Adem��s, Ecuador es un ejemplo interesante sobre un enfoque de gobernanza hibrido con m��ltiples niveles de implementaci��n pero a la vez el rol prominente del gobierno en cuanto a los mecanismos financieros y mecanismo de distribuci��n de beneficios. Los resultados de la investigaci��n muestran que la implementaci��n del mecanismo REDD+ a m��ltiples niveles es fundamental y necesaria para el ��xito de la pol��tica en los pa��ses. El liderazgo del gobierno en la fase de dise��o es clave para asegurar una escala de implementaci��n a nivel nacional, de manera que se contribuya a metas m��s amplias, tanto ambientales como de desarrollo. Sin embargo, un proceso inclusivo donde los actores no gubernamentales formen parte de los procesos y la fase de implementaci��n es fundamental para garantizar la sostenibilidad de REDD+.

Protecting degraded rainforests: enhancement of forest carbon stocks under REDD+

The likely Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism includes strategies for the enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Recent concerns have been expressed that such enhancement, or restoration, of forest carbon could be counterproductive to biodiversity conservation, because forests are managed as ���carbon farms��� with the application of intensive silvicultural management that could homogenize diverse degraded rainforests. Restoration increases regeneration rates in degraded forest compared to naturally regenerating forest, and thus could yield significant financial returns for carbon sequestered. Here, we argue that such forest restoration projects are, in fact, likely to provide a number of benefits to biodiversity conservation including the retention of biodiversity, the prevention of forest conversion to agriculture, and employment opportunities for poor local communities. As with other forms of forest-based carbon offsets, there are possible moral hazard and leakage problems with restoration. However, due to the multiple benefits, we urge that enhancement of forest carbon stocks be detailed as a major component in the future negotiations of REDD+.

Can REDD+ reconcile local priorities and needs with global mitigation benefits? lessons from Angai Forest, Tanzania

The scope of the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) mechanism has broadened REDD+ to accommodate different country interests such as natural forests, protected areas, as well as forests under community-based management. In Tanzania the REDD+ mechanism is still under development and pilot projects are at an early stage. In this paper, we seek to understand how local priorities and needs could be met in REDD+ implementation and how these expectations match with global mitigation benefits. We examine the local priorities and needs in the use of land and forest resources in the Angai Villages Land Forest Reserve (AVLFR) in the Liwale District of Lindi Region in Tanzania. Primary data was collected in two villages, Mihumo and Lilombe, using semistructured key informant interviews and participatory rural appraisal methods. In addition, the key informant interviews were conducted with other village, district, and national level actors, as well as international donors. Findings show that in the two communities REDD+ is seen as something new and is generating new expectations among communities. However, the Angai villagers highlight three key priorities that have yet to be integrated into the design of REDD+: water scarcity, rural development, and food security. At the local level improved forest governance and sustainable management of forest resources have been identified as one way to achieve livelihood diversification. Although the national goals of REDD+ include poverty reduction, these goals are not necessarily conducive to the goals of these communities. There exist both structural and cultural limits to the ability of the Angai villages to implement these goals and to improve forestry governance. Given the vulnerability to current and future climate variability and change it will be important to consider how the AVLFR will be managed and for whose benefit?

REDD+ and community-controlled forests in low-income countries: any hope for a linkage?

Deforestation and forest degradation are estimated to account for between 12% and 20% of annual greenhouse gas emissions and in the 1990s (largely in the developing world) released about 5.8 Gt per year, which was bigger than all forms of transport combined. The idea behind REDD + is that payments for sequestering carbon can tip the economic balance away from loss of forests and in the process yield climate benefits. Recent analysis has suggested that developing country carbon sequestration can effectively compete with other climate investments as part of a cost effective climate policy. This paper focuses on opportunities and complications associated with bringing community-controlled forests into REDD +. About 25% of developing country forests are community controlled and therefore it is difficult to envision a successful REDD + without coming to terms with community controlled forests. It is widely agreed that REDD + offers opportunities to bring value to developing country forests, but there are also concerns driven by worries related to insecure and poorly defined community forest tenure, informed by often long histories of government unwillingness to meaningfully devolve to communities. Further, communities are complicated systems and it is therefore also of concern that REDD + could destabilize existing well-functioning community forestry systems.

Implementing REDD through community-based forest management: lessons from Tanzania

REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation) aims to slow carbon releases caused by forest disturbance by making payments conditional on forest quality over time. Like earlier policies to slow deforestation, REDD must change the behaviour of forest degrading actors. Broadly, it can be implemented with payments to forest users in exchange for improved forest management, thus creating incentives; through payments for enforcement, thus creating disincentives; or through addressing external drivers such as urban charcoal demand. In Tanzania, community-based forest management (CBFM), a form of participatory forest management, was chosen by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, a local NGO, as a model for implementing REDD pilot programmes. Payments are made to villages that have the rights to forest carbon. In exchange, the villages must demonstrably reduce deforestation at the village level. In this paper, using this pilot programme as a case study, combined with a review of the literature, we provide insights for REDD implementation in sub-Saharan Africa. We pay particular attention to leakage, monitoring and enforcement. We suggest that implementing REDD through CBFM-type structures can create appropriate incentives and behaviour change when the recipients of the REDD funds are also the key drivers of forest change. When external forces drive forest change, however, REDD through CBFM-type structures becomes an enforcement programme with local communities rather than government agencies being responsible for the enforcement. That structure imposes costs on local communities, whose local authority limits the ability to address leakage outside the particular REDD village.

Locking-in carbon, locking-out livelihoods? ASM and REDD in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the potential mutual conflict between interventions aimed at formalising artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) on the one hand, and policies implemented in response to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) initiative on the other. Deforestation caused by ASM undermines sound forest management, and potentially threatens the implementation of REDD. Conversely, the adoption of REDD could further marginalise and criminalise the ASM sector, reducing its contribution to poverty alleviation. Reviewing a series of commonalities between ASM and forest management highlights many difficulties facing policy-makers. Potentially, contradictory outcomes of evolving governance arrangements means novel cross-sectoral institutions will be required in order to realise the full potential of REDD and ASM to address poverty reduction in a complementary fashion. The analysis reiterates the centrality of livelihoods to REDD and the need for policies to take into account local contexts.

Mining in Ghana���s forests: cross-sectoral linkages and the prospects for REDD

Strategies to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) are being pursued in numerous developing countries. Proponents contest that REDD mechanisms could deliver sustainable development by contributing to both environmental protection and economic development, particularly in poor forest communities. However, among the challenges to REDD, and natural resource management more generally, is the need to develop a comprehensive understanding of cross-sectoral linkages and addressing how they impact the pursuit of sustainable development. Drawing on an exploratory case-study of Ghana, this paper aims to outline the linkages between the forestry and minerals sectors. It is argued that contemporary debates give incommensurate attention to the reclamation of large-scale mine sites located in forest reserves, and neglect to consider more nuanced links which characterise the forestry-mining nexus in Ghana. A review of key stakeholders further elucidates the complex networks which characterise these linkages and highlights the important role of traditional authorities in governing across sectors. If the multiple roles of local resource users and traditional authorities continue to be neglected in policy mechanisms, schemes such as REDD will continue to fall short of achieving sustainable development.

Allocating community-level payments for ecosystem services initial experiences from a REDD pilot in Tanzania

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) typically reward landowners for managing their land to provide ecosystem services that would not otherwise be provided. REDD���Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation���is a form of PES aimed at decreasing carbon emissions from forest conversion and extraction in lower-income countries. A key challenge for REDD occurs when it is implemented at the community rather than the individual landowner level. Whilst achieving this community-level reduction relies on individuals changing their interaction with the forest, incentives are not aligned explicitly at the individual level. Rather, payments are made to the community as a single entity in exchange for verified reduced forest loss, as per a PES scheme. In this paper, we explore how community level REDD has been implemented in one multiple-village pilot in Tanzania. Our findings suggest that considerable attention has been paid to monitoring, reporting, verification, and equity. Though no explicit mechanism ensures individual compliance with the group PES, the development of village level institutions, ���social fencing,��� and a shared future through equal REDD payments factor into community decisions that influence the level of community compliance that the program will eventually achieve. However, few villages allocate funds for explicit enforcement efforts to protect the forest from illegal activities undertaken by outsiders.

Reducci��n de emisiones por deforestaci��n y degradaci��n de bosques (REDD+) en los pa��ses de Am��rica Latina: requirimientos institucionales y jur��dicos para su implementaci��n

Incluye Bibliograf��a

REDD+ en Am��rica Latina. Estado actual de las estrategias de reducci��n de emisiones por deforestaci��n y degradaci��n forestal

Incluye bibliograf��a.