Representing whose access and allocation interests? Stakeholder perceptions and interests representation in climate governance

This chapter presents a synthesis of findings from quantitative and qualitative investigations of the perspectives of participants involved in international climate governance, conducted over the period 2010-2015. In this study, an established framework of principles, criteria and indicators (PC&I) for institutional governance was applied to two mechanisms under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): the initiative referred to as ‘Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest stocks in developing countries’ (REDD+); and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). Assessment focuses on the governance value of interest representation in terms of inclusiveness (access) and resources (allocation). It begins by outlining the historical context of UNFCCC, as well as CDM and REDD+, and continues with a delineation of the methods adopted, and results to reveal a relatively consistent set of results across the elements investigated, with inclusiveness receiving the highest score of all the governance indicators, and resources the lowest. The CDM was the weakest performer

Governance values in the climate change regime: stakeholder perceptions of REDD+ legitimacy at the national level

This paper presents the results of two national-level studies of REDD+ governance values in Nepal and Papua New Guinea (PNG), using a hierarchical framework of principles, criteria, and indicators (PC&I), with evaluation at the indicator level. The research was conducted by means of an online survey to determine general perspectives on the governance quality of REDD+, as well as stakeholder workshops, in which participants were asked to rank indicators on the basis of perceived national significance. In the online survey, respondents in both countries identified inclusiveness and resources as the highest and lowest scoring governance values, while inclusiveness, resources, accountability, and transparency, were given priority, although their relative importance differed between countries given national circumstances. The reasons for the commonalities and differences of perceptions between these countries are discussed. The findings suggest that while a generic set of governance values may be usefully applied for determining the institutional legitimacy of REDD+, their relative importance is different. This leads to the conclusion that it may not be appropriate to use a simplified approach to REDD+ governance, focusing for example on safeguards, given different national priorities and contexts

Substitution Possibility between Unpriced Pulp and Wastepaper in the U.S. Paper and Paperboard Industry

A greater use of recycled wastepaper would preserve virgin forests as well as reducing the amount of wastepaper going to landfills. These environmental goals depend critically on the elasticity of substitution between pulp and wastepaper in producing paper and paperboard. Since most of the pulp consumed by U.S. paper mills and paperboard mills is transferred internally from vertically integrated pulp mills, the price data on pulp is not available. This paper constructs an econometric model which enables us to estimate the substitution possibility between unpriced pulp and wastepaper in the U.S. paper and paperboard industry. Empirical results show that the elasticity of substitution between unpriced pulp and wastepaper is positive, but not statistically significant. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001elasticity of substitution, paper industry, unpriced pulp, wastepaper,

Governing the forests: an institutional analysis of REDD+ and community forest management in Asia

Global environmental policy-making involves many different interests, both governmental and non-governmental, as well as the business and science communities. It is necessary to ensure that there are strong links between these actors and the global, national and local policy-making levels in which they are involved. Governance has become the principal concept for understanding the mechanisms for steering or coordinating modern socio-political interactions around the environment, and its role is central to negotiating successful policies, programmes and related projects on the ground. Forests provide one of the best spaces available to study the emergence of new modes of governance that have arisen in response to globalization. This is because it is in the forest sector specifically that some of the most extensive and innovative experiments in 'new' governance – of which REDD+ is one of the most interesting – exist. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiation on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (now referred to as REDD+) is an interesting example of this type of 'multi-level' governance. REDD+ addresses the problem of climate change through a variety of institutional structures and processes aimed at encouraging the sustainable management of tropical forests, and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Forest users are provided with a financial incentive to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, and REDD+ can be interpreted as an example of payments for ecosystem services (PES). At the national level, countries have their own systems of forest governance, including community forest management (CFM). Forests are often jointly managed by multiple interests, and can be referred to as common-pool resources. Communities that rely on these forests also have a range of rights and benefit-sharing arrangements regarding these resources. Given this complexity of relationships, it is important to understand how the governance of REDD+ itself both impacts on, and is affected by, local circumstances. Concerns about governance have led to calls for REDD+ to be rendered more effective through improved design. Of particular concern is the need for effective monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). In the context of REDD+, MRV is normally seen as relating largely to carbon accounting and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; however, in the context of forest governance, it also concerns the participation of interested parties in decisions regarding the sharing of benefits arising from PES, and overall forest management. This policy report explores three examples of CFM in Asia, in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. Each has different systems of forest governance, with varying degrees of community management and success. Local systems will be a key to the successful outcome of any global efforts for carbon payment schemes in developing countries. The challenges confronting these case studies, and the implications for REDD+ governance, are discussed in the conclusion

Comparative evaluation of zero deforestation governance

This article assesses seven deforestation initiatives. The governance quality of a range of non-state zero deforestation initiatives, as assessed by stakeholder surveys, reveals a general level of satisfaction, but not overwhelming support. Respondents in developing countries felt that initiatives included their interests, but respondents in developed countries were less enthusiastic, and all respondents were concerned about the lack of resources provided for their participation. This assessment suggests that greater effort is required to build participatory capacity among under-resourced stakeholders, and to reach out to those with policy and community interests who feel excluded. Governance standards may also be required to demonstrate the legitimacy of these schemes

Five years of REDD+ governance: the use of market mechanisms as a response to anthropogenic climate change

Forest ecosystems worldwide are increasingly subjected to human intervention, leading commentators to argue that forests should be viewed as anthropogenic ecosystems. REDD+ is an emerging inter-governmental policy instrument aimed at both reducing deforestation and forest degradation and combatting climate change, whereby developed countries pay developing countries to reduce their forest-based emissions. The paper details a five-year research project to evaluate REDD+quality of governance and develop governance standards for the mechanism. Quality of governance was evaluated in five key international institutional elements: the REDD+related negotiations in the global climate talks; the support and funding agencies UN-REDD, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), Forest Investment Programme (FIP) and the REDD+ Partnership. This research was complemented by national level governance assessments and related standards setting initiatives in Nepal and Papua New Guinea. The researchers conclude that REDD+confronts a number of challenges, notably around resources for capacity building, and benefit sharing. In addition, the lack of provisions for changing behaviour and solving the problem of forest-based emissions in the current safeguards render them inadequate to the task of delivering quality of governance. In the absence of consistent governance standards, REDD+ will only partially be successful in combatting climate change in the Anthropocene

How Can Social Safeguards of REDD+ Function Effectively Conserve Forests and Improve Local Livelihoods? A Case from Meru Betiri National Park, East Java, Indonesia

The National REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation-Plus) Strategy in Indonesia highlights the importance of local participation and the reform of land tenure in the success of forest conservation. National parks are a main target area for REDD+. National parks in Indonesia have been suffering from forest destruction and conflicts between governments and local communities. This study investigated: (1) the historical process of developing the REDD+ project in collaboration with multiple stakeholders including government authorities, local NGOs, and local people; (2) the social and economic impacts of the REDD+ project on local people; and (3) the local awareness of and motivations to participate in the REDD+ project in Meru Betiri National Park in Indonesia. Interviews of stakeholders including village leaders, NGO staff, and park staff were conducted to obtain an overview of the REDD+ project in the national park. Interviews with a questionnaire were also conducted among randomly selected heads of households who participated or did not participate in the REDD+ project and lived adjacent to the national park. Our analysis revealed that participants in the project obtained the right to use illegally harvested bared lands for intercropping while planting trees to recover forest ecosystems inside the national park. This opportunity could have contributed to a drastic increase in income, particularly for economically disadvantaged people, and to the recovery of forest ecosystems. Although local people did not fully recognize the meaning of REDD+ or carbon credits, they were enthusiastic to join in managing and patrolling forests because of their satisfaction with the income generated by the national park. However, the challenge is how both the recovery of forests and income generation from the project can be maintained in a situation of insufficient funding from donors and unsettled arguments about the benefit of sharing carbon credits with local people