Forest Governance and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)

Briefing Paper
Jade Saunders and Ruth Nussbaum, December 2007

To date, reduced emissions from avoided deforestation and degradation (REDD) have been left out of the Kyoto mechanisms. Now they are back on the agenda at the 13th Conference of the Parties in Bali in December 2007.
Proponents of REDD see it as a low-cost option for reducing global emissions which could also alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity. The principle is that, by putting a value on the carbon in standing trees (or rather the rate at which it is emitted as a result of their destruction), the current economic incentives for deforestation could be reversed.
However, economic incentives are only part of the picture when it comes to deforestation: it cannot be assumed that simply addressing these will change behaviour in the forest. The capacity and will to effectively govern the resource and capture potential revenues for national and local benefit represent a serious challenge to achieving any REDD objectives.
This paper sets out a number of lessons from ongoing efforts to improve forest governance, which should be considered at both the design and implementation stage, and suggests that those countries that improve their forest governance, clarify tenurial arrangements and address illegality are more likely to achieve reduced deforestation and benefit from potential REDD investment than those that do not.