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Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation through Alternative Land-uses in Rainforests of the Tropics Florence Bernard 1 , Robin Mathews 2 , Peter Minang 1 1 ASB Partnership, Nairobi, Kenya; [email protected] 2 Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, United Kingdom; [email protected] Overall goal of the project To provide a unique link between international policy-makers and stakeholders on the ground who need to be encouraged to slow deforestation rates in tropical landscapes and, hence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To do so, REDD-ALERT is generating data in four countries (Indonesia, Peru, Vietnam, Cameroon ) regarding the drivers of land use change, carbon stocks and changes, policy options, and local stakeholder perspectives and preferences. The REDD-ALERT project is an FP7 EU project led by the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen and involves 12 partner institutions from EU and tropical countries, within the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins. The project runs from 2010 to 2012. Objectives of the REDD-ALERT project • Understanding the drivers of deforestation and degradation and the set of conditions that reverse deforestation trends and enhance carbon stocking; • Quantifying rates of forest conversion and change in carbon stocks across forest-agriculture conversions; • Improving accounting methods of GHG emissions from land use change in land uses at tropical forest margins; • Identifying and assessing viable policy options addressing the drivers of deforestation • Analysing local impacts of potential international climate change policies on GHG emissions, land use and livelihoods, • Using negotiation support tools with stakeholders to explore options for post-2012 climate agreements; Funded under EU Framework 7 For more information www.redd-alert.eu/ Partners • Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, United Kingdom • Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands • Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany • World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya • Centre for International Forestry Research, Indonesia • International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria • Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Columbia • Indonesian Soils Research Institute, Indonesia • Research Centre for Forest Ecology and Environment, Vietnam • Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement, Cameroon • Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Extension Agraria, Peru Linking global policy with local incentives for reducing GhG from deforestation Forest transition in our 4 benchmark sites Forest cover (%) time Undisturbed forests Forest frontiers Forest, agricultural mosaics Forest, agricultural mosaics, plantations Cameroon Benchmark sites Vietnam Indonesia, Peru ? ? ? Deforestation is not a homogenous process throughout the tropics. Understanding ‘pathways of land change’ – particular chains of events and sequences of causes and effects leading to specific land- cover changes – is crucial for designing appropriate policy interventions. (adapted from Angelsen, 2007) Dotted arrows with question-marks indicate possible deviations from this trend
