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Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+): game changer or just another quick fix?
1Terrestrial Ecology and Sustainability Science and the School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia. oscar.venter1@jcu.edu.au
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|December 16, 2011
Summary
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) offers financial incentives for forest conservation. While promising for tropical forest protection, REDD+ needs to access carbon markets and provide non-monetary incentives to be a true climate change solution.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Forestry Management
Background:
- Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) incentivizes landowners to preserve forests.
- REDD+ aims to deliver environmental and societal co-benefits alongside emissions reductions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review opportunities and challenges in REDD+ implementation.
- To analyze the Norway-Indonesia REDD+ agreement as a potential model.
- To critically assess REDD+'s effectiveness in mitigating climate change and deforestation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of REDD+ mechanisms, opportunities, and challenges.
- Case study analysis of the Norway-Indonesia REDD+ agreement.
- Critical examination of REDD+'s underlying assumptions and future potential.
Main Results:
- REDD+ is a promising mechanism for tropical forest conservation.
- The Norway-Indonesia agreement may offer insights for other forest-rich nations.
- REDD+ faces challenges in accessing carbon markets and integrating non-monetary incentives.
Conclusions:
- REDD+ is currently the most viable strategy for tropical forest conservation.
- For greater impact, REDD+ requires access to robust carbon markets and complementary incentives.
- REDD+ must align with global climate change mitigation efforts to be a game-changer.
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