Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
to.the.actions.of.poor.farmers.and.subsistence.gatherers.who.will.be.left.with.few.
other.options.if.these.resources.are.locked.up..Some.activist.groups.and.indigenous.
peoples'.organizations.have.already.stated.opposition.to.REDD.on.the.basis.that.it.
will. rely. on. sacriices. made. by. the. poorest. people. rather. than. cutting. energy. and.
fossil.fuel.consumption.by.the.world's.rich..These.challenges.mean.that.strong.social.
safeguards.will.be.required.(Smith.and.Scherr.2002;.Peskett.et.al..2006),.coupled.
with.a.strong.policy.framework;.indigenous.peoples'.organizations.and.communi-
ties.are.already.investigating.REDD.schemes.suggesting.that.many.do.not.see.these.
problems.as.intractable.
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eChanisms
The.most.serious.criticism.of.some.approaches.to.REDD.is.that.they.simply.reward.
(and.encourage).bad.management;.only.countries.or.areas.that.already.have.serious.
deforestation.or.threats.to.forests.get.money,.while.those.that.have.already.protected.
their.forests.or.invested.in.protected.areas.are.omitted.from.the.scheme..There.is.a.
built-in.“perverse.incentive”.for.governments.and.others.to.put.forests.under.pressure.
in.order.to.access.REDD.funds.(Woods.Hole.Research.Center.2009).
A.number.of.options.have.been.suggested.for.addressing.this.paradox..One.grow-
ing.in.popularity.is.the.stock-low.approach,. which.is.suitable.where.there.is.high.
forest.cover.and.low.deforestation.(Cattaneo.2008)..It.proposes.a.“payment.for.per-
formance”.regime.where.payments.are.linked.directly.to.reduction.in.deforestation.
or.maintenance.of.certain.levels.of.carbon.stocks..This.could.be.determined.through.
either.international.accord.or.some.kind.of.national.arrangement..The.approach.sep-
arates.incentives.for.lower.deforestation.from.maintenance.of.existing.carbon.stocks.
and. negotiates. a. common. price. to. be. paid. to. avoid. emissions. from. deforestation..
A.proportion.of.REDD.funds.would.be.distributed.as.a.dividend.per.ton.of.stand-
ing.forest.carbon.stock..The.system.is.not.perfect.and.new.iterations.are.still.being.
proposed.. Nonetheless,. it. remains. one. of. the. best. options. yet. proposed. to. reward.
countries.for.good.rather.than.bad.management..It.could.help.address,.for.example,.
options.for.REDD.in.a.country.like.the.Democratic.Republic.of.Congo,.where.pov-
erty. goes. hand. in. hand. with. high. levels. of. forest. cover. and. low. carbon. emissions.
(Laporte.et.al..2009).
a
ddiTionaliTy
There.may.also.be.a.speciic.REDD-related.question.regarding.additionality.in.pro-
tected. areas.. If. protected. areas.are. already. in. place,. there. may. be. little. additional.
beneit. in. putting. money. into. their. protection.. It. is. likely. that. REDD. funding. in.
protected. areas. will. be. limited. to. particular. conditions.. Perhaps. the. clearest. case.
would. be. where. the. protected. area. is. being. newly. created. in. areas. at. risk. of. for-
est.loss.and.degradation,.although.it.may.also.be.applicable.where.an.existing.pro-
tected. area. is. under-resourced. and. losing. forest. cover. or. quality.. Other. potential.
factors.favoring.REDD.would.be.where.there.are.no.alternative,.long-term.funding.
sources. and. without. REDD. funding. deforestation. is. likely. to. increase.. Also,. ana-
lysts.believe.situations.where.REDD.payments.can.be.used.to.support.development.
