New Study Suggests Global Pacts Like REDD Ignore Primary Causes of Destruction of Forests
IUFRO press release, 24 January 2011
NEW YORK, USA: Released by the Global Forest Expert Panel on the International Forest Regime, the report “Embracing Complexity: Meeting the Challenges of International Forest Governance” suggests that global initiatives too often ignore local needs and fail to address the fact that deforestation is usually caused by economic pressures outside the forest sector. The report, along with a policy brief, will be presented to the ninth session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF). held from 24 January to 4 February 2011, as part of the launch of the International Year of Forests. The Expert Panel was constituted under the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and is coordinated and led by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).
The report suggests the need for a dramatic shift away from “top-down” efforts to protect forests, and for placing a greater focus on supporting regional and national efforts to address the forces putting forests at risk. The authors also call for forest governance to move from a focus on forests towards the concept of “forests+”, which embraces inter-sectoral and inter-institutional complexity. Several sections address issues related to indigenous peoples and forest-related traditional knowledge, including Chapter 2 which maps the core actors and issues in international forest governance, Chapter 4 on discourses, actors and instruments, and Chapter 5 on forests and sustainability. The authors note that the potential effects of REDD funding on the economic and social pillars of sustainability are of particular concern. Noting cases of violations of the human rights of indigenous individuals who refuse to leave territories proposed as carbon sinks, the UNPFII has argued that proposed REDD mechanisms will lead to the further exclusion of indigenous people from their forests and to the criminalization of their traditional livelihoods. “Land grabs” for carbon are already occurring in many countries without consultation with local forest users. Read the press release … Download the report [pdf] … Download the policy brief [pdf] …
