Policy Briefs

2012-12-02

REDD+, Biodiversity and People: Opportunities and Risks


This policy brief summarizes the key messages of the GFEP report "Understanding Relationships between Biodiversity, Carbon, Forests and People: The Key to Achieving REDD+ Objectives" and reaches out to international as well as national policymakers and other stakeholders.

Following key messages are highlighted:

  • Biodiversity is a key determinant of forests' ability to effectively provide ecosystem services, notably carbon sequestration, and to remain resilient in the face of disturbances such as climate change.
  • The most immediate and greatest benefits for both carbon and biodiversity are likely to come from actions that reduce deforestation and degradation.
  • REDD+ actions can have highly variable impacts on carbon and biodiversity, at different spatial and temporal scales.
  • Pursuing social objectives alongside REDD+ will also increase the likelihood of achieving carbon and biodiversity goals.
  • For REDD+ implementation to be effective, tenure and property rights, including rights of access, use and ownership, need to be clear.
  • An integrated landscape management approach provides a useful tool to reconcile environmental, social and economic considerations relevant to REDD+.
  • There is a tension between national REDD+ efforts aimed at international standardisation, the strengthening of national sovereignty, and efforts to empower local communities as key actors in REDD+.
  • Understanding the relationship between biodiversity, carbon forests and people is the key to achieving REDD+ objectives.


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