Understanding forest-dependency for REDD+ A new briefing paper
illustrates how participatory assessment tools can inform REDD+
decision-making about important links between forests and
livelihoods. REDD+ is a mechanism under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aimed at
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
The Forests‐Poverty Toolkit is a rural assessment tool that uses
locally identified poverty indicators and participatory
exercises to collect data which differentiate forest dependence
among men and women, richer and poorer people and among people
living closer or further away from markets. The toolkit also
sheds new light on non-monetary aspects of forest dependency.
Finally it collects data on villagers’ assessments of the
drivers of deforestation through time, and of the key current
forest problems in their area and their potential solutions.
Information on the links between forests and livelihoods is
important for developing countries with forests t