REDD, as a quick reminder, stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, a proposed framework providing financial incentives (and potentially carbon credits) for the preservation of forests. Having been officially proposed at COP11, it is now being considered and tinkered with at COP15 and will probably be included in a post-2012 agreement if one is reached.
According to the first speaker, Mariano Cenamo, the Executive Director of the Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas, there are four basic principles of REDD:
1. Recognition of the fact that tropical deforestation is a major source of GHG emissions (approximately 20-25% worldwide).
2. Past development has not been sustainable, instead resulting in increased deforestation in many areas.
3. In order to reduce deforestation, a significant amount of money as well as new models for forest use are needed.
4. The ideals of REDD rest on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
When considering and evaluating REDD projects, a few key elements need to discussed. First, there is the question of the funding source: public or private? Or will the money come from carbon markets?
What about the scale: should the projects be run at the national or sub-national level? Projects at the national level solve the problem of leakage (i.e. deforestation simply moving to an area not covered by REDD or otherwise protected) within the country, but they are often slowed by bureaucracy or corruption. Projects at the regional level are often favored by the private sector, but leakage, this time between countries, can be a significant problem.
Mr. Cenamo said that there are currently 17 REDD projects in Latin America covering a total area of over 15 million hectares. Many of these projects are still in their initial phases, but the projects for which there is already reliable data have sequestered millions of tons of C02. However, several challenges still confront the REDD framework, such as the problem of accounting, establishing baselines, and deciding on a timeline.
Outside of these technical policy issues, Mr. Cenamo reminded the panel that deforestation is fundamentally spurred by economic drivers. In the Amazon, the primary drivers include cattle-raising (Mr. Cenamo noted that the burgeoning global middle class is fueling an increased demand for meat) and soy production. Also, Mr. Cenamo argued that the lack of public concern of climate change amounts to a huge barrier for establishing the political will for national or regional action. He cited polling done by the firm Latin Barometer, which found that respondents mentioned the economy and national security as their main concerns, with climate change not being mentioned. One connection that Mr. Cenamo did not explicitly make, however, is that climate change is a huge economic and national security issue, and that if the general public in Latin America begins to to see it in those terms, then substantial progress could be made on issues of deforestation.
After this initial presentation focused on REDD, the subject shifted to more general information about climate change in Latin America. The speakers, representatives of a coalition of environmental NGOs in Latin America, reiterated that the biggest challenge that this region faces is education. Right now, climate change is simply not an important issue for the general public. Many people are not aware of the urgency of the problem, and there does not seem to be a good system to distribute information. Because of this, politicians are, for the most part, uninterested.
However, there does seem to be hope. Their coalition has begun to organize national workshops on climate change in various countries, with the hopes of educating and uniting the people in order to stimulate interest and motivation for solving these problems.
After attending this side event, it will definitely be easier to understand future discussions and events relating to REDD, which is one of the many contentious topics being dealt with this week.
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