Forging a Path for Roundtables in REDD+

Transcription

1 Forging a Path for Roundtables in REDD+ Holly K. Gibbs Assistant Professor Department of Geography Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison The Role of Commodity Roundtables & Avoided Forest Conversion in REDD+1 September 8, 2011 Photo by Rhett Butler

2 Outline Reminder of why agriculture is important for deforesta7on & REDD Synergies between Roundtables & REDD+ Approaches to align Roundtables with REDD+

3 Tropical forests store Gt Carbon Deforesta7on = 12% of global emissions Gibbs et al. (2007), Gibbs and Brown (2007), Ruesch and Gibbs (2008, 2010)

4 Fate of cleared forest varies across tropics

5 Used FAO Landsat database to track forest Detailed satellite data with 30m by 30m spatial resolution Land Cover Types Closed Forest Open Forest Fragmented Forest Shrubland Long Fallow Systems Smallholder Agriculture Permanent Agriculture FRA 1990, 2000 / Gibbs et al 2010, PNAS

6 Large-scale agriculture replaced 50% of cleared forest clearing in 1990s Gibbs et al.,

7 Large-scale agriculture replaced ~50% of cleared forest clearing in 1990s Gibbs et al., 10% more forest converted to large-scale croplands & pastures in the 1990s than in the 1980s (p=0.002)

8 Consensus that commodity agriculture is major driver of deforestation Shift from state-initiated to enterprise-driven deforestation (Rudel 2005, 2007) Agricultural trade and urban markets drivers of deforestation (DeFries et al. 2010) ~80% of new agland came from clearing forest in the 1980s and 90s (Gibbs et al 2010) Potential of REDD is diminished because it is not addressing this principal driver of deforestation

9 Come together around REDD+? GTPS

10 What does REDD+ bring to the table? Potential $$ for certification process Bring in more smallholders Financing to address using degraded land Increase industry involvement through access to commodity & forest C markets Get larger share of global production Methods for estimating emissions from avoided conversion

11 What do Roundtables bring to the table? ACTION Moving toward REDD readiness Address principal driver of deforestation Reduce transaction costs for REDD+ Provide a node for payments & producer education Field-tested criteria, reporting and verification Entire value chain and civil society at the table

12 REDD-Ready Roundtables? REDD credits must be real, demonstrable and permanent reductions in carbon emissions from deforestation, degradation and enhancement of carbon stocks

13 #1 Forest Definitions What forest is excluded by Standards? REDD+ focused on carbon emissions % Canopy cover Carbon contents High Conservation Value Primary forest Avoided degradation also critical

14 #2 Leakage Leakage refers to risk that emissions reductions in one location might be shifted to another location through higher deforestation there How to manage non-certified production? Displacement into non-forested lands Caution with degraded lands

15 Realities of the Global Land Reserve? Account for land ownership & current use Transportation and infrastructure Actual suitability 1000 Cultural roadblocks 800 Economic cost of using land Mha of degraded land Huge uncertainty SOUTH AMERICA 0 GLASOD FAO TerraSTAT Dregne and Chou GLADA Campbell et al. Gibbs 2009

16 #3 Additionality Additionality refers to the risk that payments could be provided for emissions reductions that would have occurred even without payments What would happen to Roundtable efforts to avoid conversion without REDD? Demonstrate that increased certification needs REDD funds to happen, and is not de facto?

17 #4 Permanence Permanence refers to risk that emissions reductions today could be offset by greater deforestation in the future Longer-term commitment to avoided conversion needed for REDD credits Rules against carbon stock losses (e.g., degradation) and reversals

18 #5 Alignment & Standardization? Align Roundtable and REDD verification processes? Standardize Roundtable definitions for avoided land conversion?

19 A seat at the Roundtables for REDD+? Momentous opportunity to protect food resources, reduce emissions and conserve forests Shore up standards to ensure full forest protection Spread the word - REDD+ community is not fully aware of roundtables