Integrating REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) with Participatory Forest Management (PFM) is understood to be key to ensuring benefits from REDD reach forest-adjacent communities, and that local incentives are aligned with national and global interests in conserving forests to reduce carbon emissions.
This project aimed to develop improved methods of measuring carbon stored in miombo woodlands (including assessing soil carbon), and from this develop efficient participatory assessment and monitoring procedures and protocols for monitoring and verification through remote sensing. Another major component was the development of best practice for delivering and monitoring benefits to communities. Carbon leakage should be mitigated through highly targeted efforts to tackle identified local drivers of deforestation. Financial flows from timber are expected to exceed those available from carbon markets over the long term, so this project proposed to leverage REDD as a catalyst to expand PFM+FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) over a wider area, bringing substantial benefits to poor and natural resource-dependent rural communities and conserving greatly increased areas of forest.
PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
– Mapingo Conservation and Development Initiative
– Edinburgh University
– Flora and Fauna International
