Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

REDD ( Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, dt about " reducing emissions from deforestation and destructive forest use ") is a 2007 at the UN Climate Change Conference introduced to Bali climate instrument to make the preservation of large-scale forests financially attractive as a carbon sink. The international community expects that about a fifth of global carbon emissions is due to the destruction of forests. Of particular importance for climate protection are the tropical rain forests and wetlands, the carbon balance ensures a very high storage. Because of their enormous size, however, REDD should also be related to the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere.

The basic idea of REDD are performance-based compensation payments for measurable and verifiable reductions in CO emissions through forest protection measures to be carried out by national states or local organizations.

The revision of the REDD model, referred to as " REDD ", also applies in addition to the protection of forests as carbon storage on sustainable forest management practices and the improvement of the economic situation of the people in the affected areas with a. In addition, especially not yet protected forest areas should be included in the monitoring, which could be affected in the near future exploitation.

The international community evaluated REDD as the most promising way to an efficient forest protection and thus as an important tool to combat climate change, protection of biodiversity and sustainable development.

The data stored in the forests carbon is given a monetary value in the REDD model. This should get greater financial weight forests in economic decision-making. The REDD process proposed to measure emissions from deforestation and to calculate and then evaluate. Proponents of REDD process hoping thereby create incentives for a stop further destruction.

Currently REDD is, however, still a collective term a number of different ideas, but they are not bound to any particular mechanism, and in their detailed structure are quite different.

Structure of the REDD model

The application of the REDD process is quite complex, as the world's partners from developing countries and industrialized nations of the structures, have some technical and methodological implementation. Currently there are a wide variety of ideas for the implementation of REDD. Some players call for a mandatory emissions trading, other voluntary funding. At issue is whether the mechanisms to be applied at the international, national or local level, whether financial incentives for " forest guards " or penalties " forest destroyer" is intended to give. It is not clear whether REDD should be implemented within or outside of a post -Kyoto agreement.

Definition of forest

At issue is the question of how a "forest" is defined. According to the definition of the Framework Convention on Climate 2001 is a forest, at least 0.5 to 1 acre area that is covered 10-30 % of plants that are grown at least 2-5 meters high. This definition, however, does not distinguish between natural forests, commercial forests and plantations. This means even the conversion into a pulp or palm oil plantation would according to this rule is neither a degradation of natural forests by wood- commercial use, considered as forest loss.

The scientific advisory body to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD ) called in May 2010, members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF ) - including FAO and UNFCCC - to, to agree on a common forest definition that distinguishes between forests and plantations. Also supported by REDD sustainable forest management (Sustainable Management of Forests ) will be defined jointly in this way according to the will of the Advisory Board.

Comparison values

Agreement among the actors that is an important measure to determine comparative values ​​, for example, the average rate of deforestation in the 1980s or 1990s. In addition, monitoring systems are needed in countries with a large proportion of forest to oversee the destruction and degradation of forests. At the same time (eg floor mounted) is through reforestation and other forest use practices of forest are recovered.

Political implementation

The REDD model plays in the negotiations under the UN Framework Convention of the United Nations ( successor to the Kyoto Protocol ) plays a role as a possible way to reduce greenhouse gases and the use of forests as carbon sinks (hence here called REDD ). However, REDD is for organizations committed to climate protection, controversial. Some NGOs such as WWF and Greenpeace advocate REDD as an essential tool to assess the impact of land use changes - to dampen - mainly deforestation of primary forests. They demand to implement REDD as an important component of climate change in the Kyoto Protocol. BirdLife International calls to invest a total 35 billion U.S. dollars for the implementation of REDD in 2020.

In contrast, for example, criticized the BUND that REDD slow global deforestation at most, will not stop. " The inclusion of REDD measures in the emissions trading would flood the market in emission rights and further weaken the Instrument", and is therefore in the global emissions trading unacceptable, writes the BUND in its opinion on world climate conference in Poznan in 2008. Too, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN ), the representation of more than 100 indigenous peoples, refuses REDD. Developing countries that applied the REDD mechanisms that restricted the rights and the close natural bond of the original population of the woods.