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This article was downloaded by: [Library Network of the WBG/IMF], [Hari Bansha Dulal]On: 26 January 2012, At: 08:35Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: MortimerHouse, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Sustainable Development &World Ecology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsdw20 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forestdegradation (REDD) projects: lessons for futurepolicy design and implementation Hari Bansha Dulal a , Kalim U. Shah b & Chandan Sapkota ca The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20433, USA b Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, HNES 109, 4700 Keele Street,Toronto, ON, Canada c South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Baluwatar,Kathmandu, NepalAvailable online: 24 Jan 2012 To cite this article: Hari Bansha Dulal, Kalim U. Shah & Chandan Sapkota (2012): Reducing emissions from deforestationand forest degradation (REDD) projects: lessons for future policy design and implementation, International Journal ofSustainable Development & World Ecology, DOI:10.1080/13504509.2012.654410 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2012.654410 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLEFull terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionsThis article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form toanyone is expressly forbidden.The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contentswill be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug dosesshould be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions,claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology i First , 2012, 1–14 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) projects: lessonsfor future policy design and implementation Hari Bansha Dulal a *, Kalim U. Shah b and Chandan Sapkota c a The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; b Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, HNES 109, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, Canada; c South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal In response to the pressing global challenges of climate change, initiatives under the auspices of ‘reducing emissions fromdeforestation and forest degradation’ (REDD) have been implemented in over 30 developing and least-developed countriessince 2005. The initiatives cover nearly every significant and vulnerable forest ecosystem worldwide. In this study we reviewsix representative initiatives, two each from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Strength, weakness, opportunity and threatanalysis is done to evaluate each initiative’s policy framework, design, implementation and results thus far. The main policyand project implementation factors that appear to lead to effective and successful REDD project outcomes include havingclearly formulated project design; governance, land tenure rights and capacity; equity and transparency; indigenous peoples’rights and knowledge; local–international coordination; and enhancing local and institutional capacities. Based on thesefindings, we provide recommendations for future REDD policy action and project implementation to make it work for the poor and achieve its intended goals. Keywords: REDD; developing countries; carbon dioxide emissions; deforestation; poverty reduction; biodiversityconservation Introduction An estimated 24% of global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emis-sions can be attributed to land-use change and forestryactivities, with the bulk of these emissions coming fromthe conversion of forest to agricultural lands in devel-oping countries (Till and Francisco 2009). The changing pattern of land use from forests to agricultural acreageis emerging as a complex socio-environmental challenge.Poor forest management practices in production of forests,forest fires, overgrazing, overharvesting of forest products,illegal cutting of timber, forest pest outbreaks and for-est disease are taking an additional toll, increasing theurgency for action. In response to these pressing globalchallenges, since 2005 the ‘reducing emissions from defor-estation and forest degradation’ (REDD) initiatives wereimplemented in over 30 developing and least-developed countries, spanning nearly every significant and vulner-able forest ecosystem worldwide (Combes Motel et al.2009). REDD projects transacted 3.1 MtCO 2 or 24% of the total volume transacted in the voluntary over-the-counter market and generated US$41.6 million. Thesecredits came from just 11 projects, of which 5 were inLatin America and the rest in North America, Africa,Asia and Oceania (Australia). REDD credits have ranged from US$9.43 / tCO 2 to US$17 / tCO 2 . The weighted aver-age price in 2008 was US$11.43 / tCO 2 and in the first half of 2009 was US$9.43 / tCO 2 . From 2004 to mid-2009, theChicago Climate Exchange (CCX) alone registered a totalof 11.5 MtCO 2 of forest carbon offsets representing 14% *Corresponding author. Email:
[email protected];
[email protected] of all credits registered on the CCX. In 2008, the totalvalue of forest carbon credit sales was US$5.3 million. Bymid-2009, the value was halved (US$2.5 million) becauseof a reduction in price (Hamilton et al. 2010).Although the main objective of REDD initiatives is thereduction of CO 2 emissions, they can also be designed totake into account other goals, such as biodiversity pro-tection and sustainable livelihoods of rural communities.It can support livelihoods of local people through thediversification of agriculture, soil and water protection,direct employment and the use and sale of forest productsand ecotourism. Meanwhile, communities can also build their capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change.Well-designed projects contribute to biodiversity conser-vation by restoring and protecting ecosystem services,saving threatened biota from extinction and maintainingecological resilience and productivity (Stickler et al. 2009).The intention of policymakers in developing REDD projects as a market-based mechanism is to create finan-cial incentives to reduce forest-sourced greenhouse gases(GHGs). It could reduce the logging of forests and replacethe income lost in logging activity with that earned throughcarbon credits. The carbon credits are awarded for protect-ing the forests and as a result stopping the carbon emis-sions that are released from deforestation and degradation(Nature Editorial 2009).In this paper we undertake an analysis of the strengths,weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of sixREDD projects being implemented in three different conti- ISSN 1350-4509 print/ISSN 1745-2627 online© 2012 Taylor & Francishttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2012.654410http://www.tandfonline.com D o w n l o a d e d b y [ L i b r a r y N e t w o r k o f t h e W B G / I M F ] , [ H a r i B a n s h a D u l a l ] a t 0 8 : 3 5 2 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 2 H.B. Dulal et al. • Inclusiveness of consultation StrengthWeaknessOpportunityThreat • Local capacity available• Civil society and indigenous group involvement• Community participation• Devolution of power • Customary authority• Population pressure and migration• Lack of human capital• Lack of link between REDD initiatives and existing conservation approaches• Improvement in livelihoods• Poverty reduction/boost in income• Enhancement of natural capital and management• Preservation of cultural heritage• Political instability and corruption• Forced displacement and migration• Land tenure insecurity• Climate change and extreme climatic events• Lack of local institutions and infrastructures Figure 1. Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) in REDD projects. nents: Africa, Asia and Latin America. Representativenessof projects was taken into consideration while selectingthem for analysis. The idea behind selecting projects fromdifferent regions was to identify similarity and differ-ences in SWOT posed by REDD projects. The findingshave greater implications for countries within and out-side the regions in which projects are located, as they can be adapted to overcome weaknesses and minimize threatsto REDD projects elsewhere. Based on the findings, wemake policy and project implementation recommendationsthat can be considered in future modelling, conceptualiza-tion and implementation of REDD projects. By learningfrom past projects, the success and effectiveness of futuremodels can be enhanced. Analysis of REDD case studies Even though during the course of our research, 23 casestudies with documentation of the projects around theglobe were examined, only six cases, two each from Africa,Asia and Latin America, based on their representativeness,were selected for detailed analysis. The set of six projectsrepresent important points and findings that are generallyreflective of the majority of projects analysed and supportour recommendations at the end of this paper. A SWOT policy analysis, which has often been used in the field of business and has been extended to natural resourcemanagement (Minang et al. 2008; Nhantumbo and Izidine2009; Sarkar and Manoharan 2009; Hoare 2010) to assessa given decision, project or policy directive in a system-atic manner, is used to discern the SWOT within each casestudy. Figure 1 illustrates some of the criteria used for SWOT analysis. Selected REDD case studies African case study 1: Democratic Republicof Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the sec-ond largest tropical rain forest in the world. It covers134 million ha and is a source of food, medicine, energy,livelihoods and revenue for about 40 million people.Of this, there are 400,000–600,000 indigenous Pygmy peo- ple (UN-REDD 2009). Deforestation rates in the DRChave been, to date, relatively low (0.3% per year) and have mainly been driven by the expansion of subsistencefarming, which in turn results from the conversion of forests to shifting cultivation or small-scale permanentagriculture, and migration caused by the two wars thatoccurred between 1996 and 2003 and the resulting polit-ical instability. Illegal logging and establishment of palmoil plantations are also increasing deforestation. In theDRC, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) hasalso been working in collaboration with UN-REDD sinceJanuary 2009 by providing an initial grant for implemen-tation. In March 2011, DRC signed the REDD readiness preparation proposal (R-PP) and received an implemen-tation grant of US$3.4 million (NORDECO 2011). ThisREDD initiative not only promises benefits with respectto reduction of GHGs, but is also expected to aid povertyreduction. D o w n l o a d e d b y [ L i b r a r y N e t w o r k o f t h e W B G / I M F ] , [ H a r i B a n s h a D u l a l ] a t 0 8 : 3 5 2 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 3 Strengths In October 2009, a decree to support REDD was recog-nized and was followed by the formation of a NationalCoordination,aninter-ministerialcommitteeandanationalREDD committee (UN-REDD 2009). Civil society and indigenous people (IP) comprise one-third of the nationalREDD committee, which will enable them to make sound decisions and have an oversight role in the design, imple-mentation and monitoring of the REDD process. A task force, including two members from civil society, was alsoestablished to liaise directly with negotiators at the UNFramework Convention on Climate Change. The ongoing presence of civil society ensures that REDD mechanismsare equitable and favourable to local and forest-dependent populations. It will ensure that they will be informed and made a part of every motion that is passed and agreed.Reports and frequent consultations will continually be held with the IP to constantly engage them in action plans and to contend with their concerns. The outcome documentsmust also be disseminated and made publicly accessible toenable transparency and accountability to civil society. Weaknesses Two of the core objectives of the REDD strategy are (1) to prepare a readiness plan (R-Plan) through a participatoryand multi-stakeholder approach and (2) to inform and trainstakeholders so they can actively participate in the REDD process. These objectives face challenges such as accessto services and spread of divergent views and interests.As a result, the most important stakeholders, the imme-diate actors in the deforestation and forest degradation processes, will be the most difficult to reach and engage.These are chiefly several village communities and their customary authorities; the growing migrant populationsseeking refuge from the conflict zones; and all the actorsof the fuelwood / charcoal business involved in wood col-lection, charcoal burning and further transportation to and distribution in major urban centres. In addition, the DRCis a huge country in which communications are difficultand interactions involving civil society can at times occur over extended periods. Therefore, this should be taken intoaccount when considering planning exercises. Moreover,the national joint programme is written in English whilethe national language is French, implying that the proposalmay take longer to be read by some civil organizations.Furthermore, it also has to be translated for the IP.As UN-REDD is a collaborative effort, it will be chal-lenging to find a suitable balance between the internationaland national voices / actors. Due to the strong linkages between international and national NGOs in the coun-try, the influence of external agents on local civil societyorganizations is occasionally difficult to evaluate. Hence, balancing expectations and pragmatism has been at timesdelicate (UN-REDD 2009) as the REDD process is to be built progressively, and at times may fall short of civilsociety expectations.One of the major weaknesses is the state of imple-mentation of main instruments for land and forest man-agement in DRC. Some of these instruments, such as the1967 Bakajika Law, the 1973 Land Tenure Law and the2002 Forest Code, are unclear and often have significantinconsistencies. Several decrees needed to implement thereforms under the 2002 Forest Code and the 1973 Laware yet to be enacted (Hoare et al. 2008). Even thoughunder the 2006 constitution, principles on land tenure arestill to be determined under the law (article 123(3), the1967 Bakajika Law and the 1973 Land Law), the stateowns all land. Lack of passage of relevant decrees needed to implement the Land Law has created an ambiguouslegal situation. Moreover, a lack of secure tenure could have serious implications for containment of deforestationand degradation of forests and also for revenue distribu-tion. In addition, the forest and land management sectorslack trained manpower, and the application of REDD willintensify the skills gap as specialists and professionals will be recruited internationally to head the implementation of REDD in DRC. Opportunities Among other benefits, the improvement of rural liveli-hoods, forest conservation, reduction of extreme poverty,economic, environmental and social benefits could resultfrom REDD. The benefit-sharing mechanism does not haveto start from scratch; it could be built upon or modified tosuit the REDD context. Articles 88 and 89 of the ForestCode set up a system of ‘ cahiers des charges ’, which callsfor the formation of a direct contractual relationship withthe local community to improve socio-economic infras-tructure. Forty percent of the annual concession fee will betransferred to provinces and territories to be used for com-munity infrastructure under article 122 of the Forest Code(Counsell 2006).An entire component of the 2009–2010 REDD work plan is devoted to capacity building. Information, educa-tion and communication workshops throughout the coun-try are now underway as part of the UN-REDD DRC programme. These workshops would not only stimulatelinkages and coordination among various stakeholders, butalso enhance personal skills and knowledge of civil rep-resentatives. Even though stability may be a problem inDRC, REDD provides an opportunity to assist in stabiliza-tion through diversification of livelihoods and income, thussupporting the efforts of the strong UN presence. Threats About 10% of the area of DRC is considered too unsta- ble for the application of REDD projects. Even thoughthe DRC contains more forested areas than any other African state, the country, especially the eastern regionthat contains dense forests, suffers from constant conflicts.It should be realized that simply containing deforestation D o w n l o a d e d b y [ L i b r a r y N e t w o r k o f t h e W B G / I M F ] , [ H a r i B a n s h a D u l a l ] a t 0 8 : 3 5 2 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 4 H.B. Dulal et al.in remote areas plagued by violence by handing over authority to forest dwellers might not completely stop theongoing deforestation and degradation of forests. Thereare issues regarding poor governance, which is the great-est threat to the success of REDD projects. It is of crucialimportance that the design of the REDD strategy includecounter-corruption precautions to prevent designs thatcan be ambiguous and encourage illegitimate rent-seeking behaviour. In addition, even though the government isgradually being decentralized, accessing conflict-hit and remote areas is difficult due to a lack of infrastructure and the uneven terrain. Civil society identifies the governmentas being indulgent to logging activities, often conflictingwith human development objectives (UN-REDD 2009).In contrast, the government regards civil society as aneverlasting advocacy, with little concern for policymakingand addressing the economic and development challengesof the country. Additionally, the numerous stakeholdersdo not always work together and there is an element of mistrust. Lack of government capacity, accountability and effective judicial systems is a barrier towards implementa-tion of REDD, which aims to attract investors and channelthe flow of funds (Bond et al. 2009).In the DRC, logistics are difficult and expensive (espe-cially for field projects) due to the lack of infrastruc-ture. Hence, there is a requirement for logistical supportand capacity building at all levels and at all locations.Furthermore, land tenure and indigenous rights is a partic-ular challenge for the application of REDD. Disagreementsare common between the government and IP with respectto land ownership because technically land rights are based ontheconceptofnationalgovernmentownership(Table1). African case study 2: Tanzania Tanzania’s 38.8 million ha of forests represent 41% of the total land area. Its rate of deforestation is estimated Table 1. SWOT analysis of the DRC’s REDD programme. Strength Weakness • One-third of REDDcommittee is comprised of civil society and indigenous people (IP) • Difficult to reach out toall stakeholders due togeography and divergentinterests of differentgroups • Language and legalhurdles • Lack of qualified manpower Opportunity Threat • Improvement of rurallivelihoods, forestconservation, reductionof extreme poverty,economic, environmentaland social benefits • Conflict and poor governance • Distrust between civilsociety and government • Contribute to politicaland economic stability • Lack of infrastructureand disagreements over land tenure and indigenous rights to be about 91,000 ha per year. Forests are closely inter-linked with Tanzanians’ livelihoods and provide a sourceof energy to approximately 90% of Tanzania’s popula-tion. About 13 million ha of the forests have been gazetted as forest reserves, including 83,000 ha of industrial plan-tations and 1.6 million ha of strategic forests, such aswater catchments and mangroves owned and managed bythe central and local governments through the Forest and Beekeeping Division of the Ministry of Natural Resourcesand Tourism (United Republic of Tanzania 2009). Despitecontrol of forests by the government, there has been consis-tent deforestation and degradation. Against this backdrop,the government considers its REDD policy a viable optionthat can provide opportunities for the country to meetits obligations of managing forests and woodlands on asustainable basis and at the same time respond to povertyreduction initiatives. The preparation of the REDD R-PP,including pilot projects and a national preparation strategy,is facilitated by a grant from the Norwegian Government(NORDECO 2011).In total, nine pilot projects on the forest sector and itsresources are being conducted mainly by NGOs with theaim of providing relevant background information, partic-ularly on reference scenarios. One such project is admin-istered by the African Wildlife Foundation. Funded by the Norwegian Government, this 3-year project (2010–2012)aims at mitigating climate change by conserving Kolo Hillsforests as well as reducing poverty among target com-munities in the project area. In addition, it also prepareslocal stakeholders to enter carbon trading successfully.Another is Hifadhi ya Misitu ya Asili, which aims at promoting a pro-poor gender-equitable approach to com-munity forest management in 29 community forest sites in7 districts of Unguja (South Unguja, North B Unguja and Central Unguja districts) and Pemba (Wete, Micheweni,Chake Chake and Mkoani districts) Island in Zanzibar.By piloting carbon financing for REDD, this project pro-vides forest-dependent communities with secure propertyrights, equitable rewards for providing ecosystem servicesand other livelihood benefits and informs the priorities of Zanzibar in the national REDD strategy (United Republicof Tanzania 2009). Strengths The REDD project is aimed at poverty reduction, improv-ing livelihoods and ensuring ecosystem stability throughconservation of forest biodiversity, water catchments and soil fertility. From this project it is expected that therewill be improvement in the quality of life and social well- being of communities, sustainable use of forest productsand resources, improved good governance of the forestresource base, biodiversity conservation in hot spots and forest conservation leading to enhancement of water quan-tity and quality. The strength of this programme is its focuson partnerships with local communities (LC) to protect the biodiversity of Tanzania’s Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Morogoroand Tanga districts. Community participation informs allstakeholders of decisions made to protect biodiversity. D o w n l o a d e d b y [ L i b r a r y N e t w o r k o f t h e W B G / I M F ] , [ H a r i B a n s h a D u l a l ] a t 0 8 : 3 5 2 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2
