Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+): game changer or just another quick fix?.
Venter, Oscar 1; Koh, Lian Pin 2,3
[Article] Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1249(1):137-150, February 2012.

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: Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD ) provides financial compensation to land owners who avoid converting standing forests to other land uses. In this paper, we review the main opportunities and challenges for REDD implementation, including expectations for REDD to deliver on multiple environmental and societal cobenefits. We also highlight a recent case study, the Norway-Indonesia REDD agreement and discuss how it might be a harbinger of outcomes in other forest-rich nations seeking REDD funds. Looking forward, we critically examine the fundamental assumptions of REDD as a solution for the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gas emissions and tropical deforestation. We conclude that REDD is currently the most promising mechanism driving the conservation of tropical forests. Yet, to emerge as a true game changer, REDD must still demonstrate that it can access low transaction cost and high-volume carbon markets or funds, while also providing or complimenting a suite of nonmonetary incentives to encourage a developing nation's transition from forest losing to forest gaining, and align with, not undermine, a globally cohesive attempt to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

Copyright 2012 by the New York Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.