Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
and.livelihoods.in.surrounding.communities,.in.a.way.that.will.encourage.long-term.
forest.conservation,.might.also.have.potential..If.proposals.for.REDD+.schemes.as.
described.previously.come.to.fruition,.the.conditions.may.be.less.stringent..There.is.
still.considerable.confusion.about.how.these.issues.will.be.addressed.in.large-scale.
REDD.implementation.
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nsuring
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oCial
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quiTy
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e
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uCCess
There.are.clearly.some.potential.beneits.for.protected.areas.from.a.REDD.mecha-
nism,.both.for.biodiversity.conservation.and.for.people.living.in.natural.forests,.but.
only.if.there.are.suficient.social.and.environmental.safeguards.in.place.to.ensure.
that.REDD.delivers.real.beneits.within.a.framework.that.maximizes.social.beneits.
to.those.most.in.need.
There. have. been. several. attempts. to. address. social. issues. through. codes. of.
practice.. Proper. application. will. likely. be. a. prerequisite. of. success. and. for. pub-
lic. acceptance. of. REDD. offset. schemes. (Oestreicher. et. al.. 2009).. The. Climate,.
Community,. and. Biodiversity. Alliance. has. developed. and. tested. detailed. guide-
lines. for. such. projects. (CCBA. 2008).. WWF. has. identiied. critical. steps. needed.
to. ensure. that. potential. REDD. projects. are. effective. and. socially. equitable.
(Rietbergen-McCracken. 2008).. These. steps. can. be. considered. in. a. framework.
based.on.broad.issues.(Table 11.2).
Making.protected.areas.eligible.for.REDD.funding.would.also.help.to.increase.
synergy. between. Rio. conventions. and. other. international. instruments. (Kapos.
et. al.. 2007),. by. forming. a. direct. link. with. existing. conventions. (e.g.,. the. CBD.
Program of Work on Protected Areas
).. This. will. help. nations. faced. with. chal-
lenges.of.meeting.multiple.commitments.regarding.environmental.protection.and.
climate.change.
SOME EXAMPLES OF UTILIZING CARBON
STORAGE WITHIN PROTECTED AREAS
Potential.gains.in.terms.of.climate.change.will.vary.depending.on.the.type.of.for-
est,.its.age,.and.associated.soils.and.vegetation..Forests.that.would.be.particularly.
valuable. include. those. with. the. highest. levels. of. biomass,. such. as. the. peat. forests.
of.Southeast.Asia.where.carbon.in.living.trees.is.dwarfed.by.carbon.stored.below.
ground.(Swallow.et.al..2007).and.other.forests.of.the.tropics..Work.commissioned.
by.the.government.of.Tanzania.with.funding.from.the.United.Nations.Development.
Program.Global.Environment.Facility.(UNDP-GEF).has.shown.that.the.Eastern.Arc.
mountains. constitute. an. important. carbon. reservoir.. The. study. (Burgess,. personal.
communication,.2009).calculated.that.149.3.million.t.C.is.stored.in.the.mountains;.
60%.of.this.carbon.is.in.existing.forest.reserves.. Deforestation. has.resulted.in.the.
loss.of.around.33.5.million.t.C.in.the.past.20.years—primarily.in.unprotected.forests.
and.woodlands..The.study.further.calculated.that.disturbed.forest.stores.around.84.t.
C.per.hectare.(ha),.whereas.undisturbed.forest.stores.between.100.and.400.t.per.ha.
(mean.306.t.per.ha)..Similarly,.around.6.million.hectares.of.new.protected.areas.are.
