Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)

Forests are a natural store for CO₂. When a tree is cleared, greenhouse gas emissions are released into the atmosphere. Currently 13 million hectares of forests are cleared every year and emissions from deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction account for approximately 20 per cent of total human-caused emissions. Thus, substantially reducing deforestation is a critical part of avoiding dangerous climate change.

Following the somewhat unsatisfactory outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, there is still a strong international recognition of the need to utilise measures to reduce deforestation in tropical countries, often termed Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

Efforts to tackle climate change are thus becoming increasingly linked with efforts to conserve forests.

For over three years FFI has been developing conservation projects which aim specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and habitat degradation.

We are currently exploring means by which we can secure sustainable finance from the carbon markets to do this. We have:

• Worked closely with the Government of Aceh in Indonesia to develop the first REDD project ever to meet the rigorous requirements of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards

• Formed a groundbreaking partnership with Australian bank, Macquarie Group, to develop at least six REDD projects worldwide with the intention of securing significant ongoing finance for conservation of forests through sale of carbon credits

• Worked closely with the Liberian government to enable them to design and implement a country-level REDD strategy

• Developed a community approach to REDD in West Kalimantan helping indigenous people come together to manage their forests as a ‘joint carbon pool’

FFI’s lessons from the field: making REDD work on the ground (PDF)

Josh Kempinski is an international REDD+ advisor at FFI. In this video he discusses FFI’s experience and expanding portfolio of REDD+ projects around the world, and explains how REDD+ combines new mechanisms with existing, core FFI approaches, to produce an exciting new paradigm for conservation.

REDD is still an emerging approach within global climate change policy and there is still much to learn about how it can be applied in practice. The Aceh project outlined above is perhaps the most advanced of all the demonstration projects. We recognise a number of risks and issues as well as opportunities that need to be carefully addressed in designing these projects. These include:

• Ensuring that the benefits of the carbon finance flow to local communities and owners of the forests or habitats

• Ensuring that all key stakeholders support and are engaged in the design and implementation of the project

• Calculating a baseline of the quantity of carbon stored within the area under review and ensuring that threat to forest destruction can be clearly demonstrated

• Demonstrating that the carbon finance will result in emissions reductions that would not otherwise have occurred

These issues are clearly challenging but urgent action is needed if we are to prevent rapid and disastrous forest destruction – with consequences for carbon release, biodiversity loss and the sustainability of forest-based livelihoods.