Promising change, delivering continuity: REDD+ as conservation fad

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program, or REDD+, has been the international community's first real attempt to create a global forest governance system which would impact countries on national, regional and even local scales. This paper provides an in-depth analysis on the impact of REDD+ on forest-dependent communities. The dimensions which are included in this review are institutions and governance, livelihoods, socio-cultural aspects, and the environment. Many studies confirm that forest-dependent communities are not sufficiently involved in current REDD+ projects. Furthermore, current and potential impacts of REDD+ on communities often disrupt local peoples' livelihoods and strategies, institutions and socio-cultural systems in various ways, such as unequal benefit sharing, food insecurity, introduction of new powerful stakeholders, illegal land acquisition, unfair free prior and informed consent, and the introduction of monoculture plantations. REDD+ is also perceived as a neoliberal mechanism which renegotiates peoples' relationship with the natural environment by monetizing nature. The paper concludes with a framework which addresses the potential drivers and threats of REDD+ concerning forest-dependent communities based on the literature review. This framework suggests a holistic approach to REDD+ implementation, which incorporates forest-dependent communities' often complex relationship with the natural environment, such as incorporation of traditional forest management systems and provision of viable alternatives to loss of agricultural land.

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Ten years of REDD+: A critical review of the impact of REDD+ on forest-dependent communities

Contiene: 1. Introduction -- 2. Global REDD+ finance -- 3. REDD+ donors -- 4. Recipients of REDD+ finance -- 5. Paying for performance: reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation -- 6. Private sector -- 7. Conclusion

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The state of REDD+ finance

Community forest management (CFM) is identified by many actors as a core strategy for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+). Others however see REDD+ as a danger to CFM. In response to these contrasting views, we carried out a systematic review of CFM case studies to look at CFM’s potential role in achieving forest carbon benefits and social co-benefits for forest communities. We evaluated the potential impacts of REDD+ on CFM. Our review showed that there is strong evidence of CFM’s role in reducing degradation and stabilizing forested landscapes; however, the review also showed less evidence about the role of CFM in reducing deforestation. For social benefits, we found that CFM contributes to livelihoods, but its effect on poverty reduction may be limited. Also, CFM may not deal adequately with the distribution of benefits within communities or user groups. These insights are important for CFM-based REDD+ intervention; measures should be adopted to overcome these gaps. Innovative incentive structures to existing CFM are discussed. The recognition of rights for forest communities is one first step identified in promoting CFM. We call for sound empirical impact evaluations that analyze CFM and CFM-based REDD+ interventions by looking at both biophysical and social outcomes.

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The Place of Community Forest Management in the REDD+ Landscape

Community Forest Management (CFM) devolves forest management to local communities to achieve conservation and human well-being goals. Yet, the evidence for CFM's impacts is mixed and difficult to interpret because of inadequate attention to rival explanations for the observed empirical patterns. In a national-scale analysis in Madagascar that carefully considers these rival explanations, we estimate CFM impacts on household living standards, as measured by per capita consumption expenditures. The estimated impact is positive, but small and not statistically different from zero. However, we can statistically reject substantial negative impacts (which others have suggested may exist). The estimated impacts vary conditional on household education and proximity to forests: they are more positive and statistically significant for households closer to forest and with more education. To help improve CFM design, scholars and practitioners should anticipate heterogeneity in CFM impacts and work to better characterize them, theoretically and empirically.

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Impacts of Community Forest Management on Human Economic Well-Being across Madagascar

Community forest management and REDD

Tracking REDD+ finance: 2009-2012 - Finance flows in seven REDD+ countries

Forest loss and land use changes associated with agricultural expansion, urban development and bioenergy production are key concerns for many governments and forest-dependent communities around the world. Several strategies exist to address forest loss, including market-based mechanisms that promote good forest governance such as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation program that includes enhancements in biodiversity and livelihoods (REDD+) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Many positive outcomes result from forest governance programs like REDD+ and FSC, including payments, increased stakeholder participation, and dissemination of knowledge among forest dependent communities. However, the distribution of and satisfaction with these outcomes is highly contextualized and variable at the community level. The objective of this paper is to analyze and understand the ways in which REDD+ and FSC program design and implementation impact the distribution of, and satisfaction with, program benefits at the community level. Specifically, this paper analyzes three study sites in Southeastern Tanzania implementing these programs. Our study finds that forest conservation programs have the opportunity to either exacerbate or ameliorate underlying disparity caused by spatial asymmetry in rural communities in Southeastern Tanzania. Different benefit-sharing and implementation mechanisms are shown to exhibit varying levels of success in overcoming baseline inequalities, and appear to be more important in determining community level benefits, participation, and knowledge sharing than inherent programmatic differences between REDD+ and FSC.

Brian Schaap

Papers

Community forest management and REDD

Tracking REDD+ finance: 2009-2012 - Finance flows in seven REDD+ countries

The Spatial Distribution of Benefits Resulting from REDD+ and FSC Implementation in Southeastern Tanzania