In December 2007, the Parties to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol agreed on the importance of reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and the potential of REDD being a component in a post-2012 climate protection regime is being currently explored. The Forest Conservation Programme supports the concept of REDD, since this can help to reduce global carbon emissions within the near future while the transition to low carbon economies is likely to take several decades. However, the Forest Conservation Programme also stresses that any REDD actions have to be based on good forest governance, sustainable forest management and need to be integrated into a broader post-2012 climate policy regime that secures deeper reductions of carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels.
Therefore, the Forest Conservation Programme concentrates it’s REDD efforts on:
- Exploring possibilities for integrating REDD strategies into ongoing efforts for improving forest governance and expanding sustainable forest management. (To go to the FLEG section, click here.) This includes the restoration of degraded forest landscapes in order to increase productivity of already degraded land which helps to release the land-use pressure on forest ecosystems. (To go to the FLR section, click here.)
- Working on identifying pro-poor financing mechanisms that can deliver possible benefits from REDD to the local forest dependent communities. (To go to IUCN Economics, click here.)
- Securing the rights and land tenure of forest dependent communities and indigenous peoples which is crucial if sustainable forest management is going to work at the local level and if the benefits for REDD are going to reach local forest stakeholders. (To go to the Securing Rights to Forest Resources section , click here.)
- Actively engaging in developing guidelines that secure the production of, and meeting the needs of, bioenergy while at the same time meeting the criteria for sustainable forest management. (To go to IUCN Energy Initiative, click here.)
