This project analysed how REDD-plus mechanisms may reduce carbon emissions and maintain or enhance existing stocks of carbon in vegetation and soil of various land cover types. It also examined the impact of REDD-plus on the livelihoods and welfare of local farming communities, its contribution to rural poverty alleviation and on biodiversity conservation in the region.
The project developed a realistic framework for monitoring, reporting and verification of the REDD-plus mechanism, including the importance of governance and accountability at multiple levels. Whereas other REDD-plus projects have a strong focus on the humid tropical lowlands, this project focussed on the upland forest-agriculture frontiers of Southeast Asia ranging from the humid forests of Kalimantan, Indonesia – including some peatland areas – to the sub-humid areas dominated by a monsoonal climate with distinct dry seasons of northern Laos, northern Vietnam and Yunnan in southwest China.
The research analysed existing payment mechanisms, developed options for potential REDD-plus mechanisms, and recommended concrete payments mechanisms for the disbursement of global REDD-plus finance from national to sub-national levels and from the sub-national level to local level of forest managers.
PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
– University of Copenhagen
– Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
– Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)
