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Experts warn against one-size-fits-all solution to deforestation
06/09/2010
Forestry experts are warning that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to curbing carbon emissions from the destruction of South and Latin America's tropical forests will not be as efficient as flexible, balanced solutions.
The warning comes following a gathering of leading experts from major timber producing nations in the latest of a series of country-led initiatives focusing on forest governance and decentralisation in support of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme.
The latest meeting was organised by Mexico's National Forestry Commission and the Swiss government, with scientific support from the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Among the experts' chief worries is that the wealthy and powerful could capture many of the benefits, largely at the expense of rural communities, including indigenous groups.
CIFOR researcher, Elena Petkova, said, "Good forest governance – involving transparent and inclusive relationships between governments, forests and the people who depend on them – is fundamental for ensuring that REDD+ helps forest-dependent communities move out of poverty, instead of fueling corruption and funding entrenched bureaucracies. REDD+ schemes could either flounder on governance failures or flourish under successful governance."
The conference will feed into a UNFF meeting to take place in early 2011, to mark the launch of the International Year of Forests. It brought together scientists, government representatives and non-government organizations, for discussions on governance, decentralization and REDD+ in Latin America.
The warning comes following a gathering of leading experts from major timber producing nations in the latest of a series of country-led initiatives focusing on forest governance and decentralisation in support of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme.
The latest meeting was organised by Mexico's National Forestry Commission and the Swiss government, with scientific support from the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Among the experts' chief worries is that the wealthy and powerful could capture many of the benefits, largely at the expense of rural communities, including indigenous groups.
CIFOR researcher, Elena Petkova, said, "Good forest governance – involving transparent and inclusive relationships between governments, forests and the people who depend on them – is fundamental for ensuring that REDD+ helps forest-dependent communities move out of poverty, instead of fueling corruption and funding entrenched bureaucracies. REDD+ schemes could either flounder on governance failures or flourish under successful governance."
The conference will feed into a UNFF meeting to take place in early 2011, to mark the launch of the International Year of Forests. It brought together scientists, government representatives and non-government organizations, for discussions on governance, decentralization and REDD+ in Latin America.
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