Forest governance and climate policies Fred Stolle of the World
Resources Institute looks at the need for REDD to address forest
governance issues as well as creating market incentives. Policy-
makers are recognizing the essential role that the world’s
remaining forests play in maintaining the global climate system.
The political momentum generated by the Bali Action Plan under
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will
create a unique opportunity to put in place a framework of
incentives that could curb deforestation, slow forest
degradation, and improve the way forests are managed. To
succeed, these incentives must strike at the main drivers of
rampant deforestation and must also recognize the dependency of
local communities on forest ecosystems for their livelihoods. In
the coming months, climate change negotiators have agreed to
explore a mechanism for providing compensation for “Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in
Developing Countries” (REDD). Under most REDD p