REDD+ readiness implications for Sri Lanka in terms of reducing
deforestation Any system to compensate countries for reduced
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)
requires a historical reference level against which future
performance can be measured. Here we examine the possibilities
Sri Lanka, a small forest country with limited data on forest
carbon stocks, has to get ready for REDD+. We construct a
historical reference level using available forest inventory data
combined with updated 2008 and 2009 in situ carbon density data
for Sri Lankan forests. Furthermore, we use a combination of
qualitative and quantitative data to attribute the clearing of
Sri Lankan forests in the latest years for which national forest
inventory data are available, 1992–1996, to various proximate
drivers and to estimate the opportunity cost of forest
conservation. We estimate that baseline deforestation emissions
in Sri Lanka amounted to 17 MtCO2 yr−1 in the 1992–1996 period,
but conclude that it is challengin