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Deforestation and forest degradation are among the most important single sources of emissions
of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG), contributing about 17 per cent of total global
greenhouse gas emissions annually (IPCC, 2007). Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation – REDD+ – is a United Nations collaborative initiative that seeks to reduce
emissions from forest degradation in developing countries. REDD+ came into being as a
response to a UNFCCC decision on REDD+ at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 13 in Indonesia.
The REDD+ programme supports processes at the national level to implement REDD+ projects,
emphasising the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
The project Poverty and sustainable development impacts of REDD+ architecture: Options for
equity, growth and the environment (POVSUS-REDD+) was initiated in 2009, and aims to increase
the understanding of how institutions can be created to facilitate the implementation of REDD+
at international, national and local levels, and to what extent its implementation will bring about
reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, poverty reduction and sustainable development.
The POVSUS project is a collaborative effort led by the International Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED) and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), with the following
partners: Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (Brazil); Civic Response (Ghana); SNV (Viet Nam);
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation (Tanzania); and
Makerere University, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation (Uganda).
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The aim of the project is to generate knowledge on how REDD+ can be designed at international
and national levels in order to promote co-benefits, through assessing different options for the
distribution and allocation of REDD+ payments.
The project works with selected REDD+ pilot projects in each of the five countries to improve
understanding of the poverty impacts of REDD+ pilot activities, the relative merits of different
types of payment mechanisms and the associated transaction costs. As part of the research,
a baseline study was carried out in pilot sites in all five countries, to map out the existing
livelihood conditions, production constraints and resource use practices before the pilot projects
were introduced. While this was important so that the impacts of introducing REDD+ projects
could be measured later, the baseline study also undertook to identify potential challenges for
establishing and running REDD+ activities and to understand the expectations and demands
of households and communities. Each study included a survey, focus group discussion, and
interviews with local ‘resource persons’. This report synthesises the main findings from these
studies. For more detailed information, the reader is referred to the specific country reports.
This overarching report is structured as follows: section 2 describes the pilot areas studied,
section 3 gives an overview of household characteristics and livelihoods, section 4 discusses
tenure systems and forest management, section 5 looks at perceptions of climate change and
demands concerning REDD+, while the final section offers concluding remarks and reflections on
the implications for REDD+. Since this is a synthesis report, it only touches on the key features of
each country and pilot.
Given the geographical spread and the diversity of the five pilot areas, there was considerable
variation in the findings of the baseline studies. Below is a brief description of each pilot area. |
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