Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo basin

This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (+US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the regionREDD+ voluntary database, the UN-REDD Programme and the Congo Basin Forest Fund.http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.orghb201

Report Card grades on the physical activity of children and youth comparing 30 very high Human Development Index countries

Background: To better understand the childhood physical inactivity crisis, Report Cards on physical activity of children and youth were prepared concurrently in 30 very high Human Development Index countries. The aim of this article was to present, describe, and compare the findings from these Report Cards. Methods: The Report Cards were developed using a harmonized process for data gathering, assessing, and assigning grades to 10 common physical activity indicators. Descriptive statistics were calculated after converting letter grades to interval variables, and correlational analyses between the 10 common indicators were performed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Results: A matrix of 300 grades was obtained with substantial variations within and between countries. Low grades were observed for behavioral indicators, and higher grades were observed for sources of influence indicators, indicating a disconnect between supports and desired behaviors. Conclusion: This analysis summarizes the level and context of the physical activity of children and youth among very high Human Development Index countries, and provides additional evidence that the situation regarding physical activity in children and youth is very concerning. Unless a major shift to a more active lifestyle happens soon, a high rate of noncommunicable diseases can be anticipated when this generation of children reaches adulthood.</p

Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries

Background: Accumulating sufficient moderate to vigorous physical activity is recognized as a key determinant of physical, physiological, developmental, mental, cognitive, and social health among children and youth (aged 5–17 y). The Global Matrix 3.0 of Report Card grades on physical activity was developed to achieve a better understanding of the global variation in child and youth physical activity and associated supports. Methods: Work groups from 49 countries followed harmonized procedures to develop their Report Cards by grading 10 common indicators using the best available data. The participating countries were divided into 3 categories using the United Nations’ human development index (HDI) classification (low or medium, high, and very high HDI). Results: A total of 490 grades, including 369 letter grades and 121 incomplete grades, were assigned by the 49 work groups. Overall, an average grade of “C-,” “D+,” and “C-” was obtained for the low and medium HDI countries, high HDI countries, and very high HDI countries, respectively. Conclusions: The present study provides rich new evidence showing that the situation regarding the physical activity of children and youth is a concern worldwide. Strategic public investments to implement effective interventions to increase physical activity opportunities are needed

Markets and payments for ecosystem services: engaging REDD+ on Peru's Amazonian frontier

The impacts of tropical deforestation and forest degradation are felt at multiple levels, bringing about local ecosystem degradation, regional biome fragmentation and global contributions of 12-15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this, markets and payments for ecosystem services have emerged to financially value the services forests provide, most notably in the form of mechanisms to reduce deforestation and enhance forest conservation (REDD+). REDD+ has received much attention at the international level, but the pressing contemporary challenge is its engagement at the local scale. This thesis examines the potential local-level engagement of REDD+ on the Amazon frontier as an approach to altering patterns of anthropogenic encroachment on the world's greatest expanse of tropical forest. Case studies are taken from the buffer zones of protected areas along Peru's Amazonian frontier, Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park (YChNP) in central Peru and Manu National Park (MNP) in the SE of the country. A political ecology approach is taken to examine the influences and implications of existing land use governance structures, local livelihoods and preferences, and smallholder production and land economy, in the context of REDD+. Adopting mixed methods comprising semi-structured interviewing and land user surveys, data were collected between July 2008 and September 2009. I show that the two sites' histories and geographies have shaped distinct challenges for REDD+. The proximity of YChNP to Lima has fuelled agricultural expansion and higher land use incomes, yet institutions – particularly those belonging to the state – are exceedingly weak. The pace of land use change here obliges certain urgency for REDD+ interventions to provide livelihood alternatives, divert the current development path and restore the landscape. MNP’s rurality has protected it to date from expansive deforestation, yet weak institutions, poverty and increasing threats from national development processes highlight the importance of REDD+ interventions. In an analysis of land economy, an innovative conceptual framework is presented, the '3Rs' (rewarding, regulating and reshaping) to tackle local heterogeneity in REDD+ engagement. This thesis contributes knowledge to the practical and theoretical advancement of REDD+, and proposes the mechanism as an important new arena for academic investigation.</p

Regime-building for REDD+: Evidence from a cluster of local initiatives in south-eastern Peru

Experience with forest management interventions has shown that the design, strategic context and implementation of projects at the local level are key determinants of intervention success. Gaining a strategic understanding of local REDD+ initiatives is therefore important for the further development and governance of the international REDD+ regime. This article reports on an exploratory comparative analysis of 12 REDD+ projects in the Madre de Dios watershed of south eastern Peru. Using a framework drawn from innovation strategy, we focus on the founding and organizational strategies of the different initiatives, thus allowing us to compare across the 12 cases and to explore how these local initiatives link with the emerging national REDD+ architecture in Peru. Our results point to the importance of hybrid institutional logics, the key role played by highly networked individuals in pushing project-level REDD+ forward, and of understanding the construction of the REDD+ credit value chain as the fundamental innovation taking place; the development of standards, technologies and other norms are complementary to the basic task of defining and reconfiguring roles on this chain. We suggest that decision makers should continue to encourage the ‘bottom-up’ construction of REDD+ as a strategy to encourage innovation and flexibility, and facilitate research into the governance and transnational systemic nature of the emerging value chain

Markets and payments for ecosystem services : engaging REDD+ on Peru's Amazonian frontier

The impacts of tropical deforestation and forest degradation are felt at multiple levels, bringing about local ecosystem degradation, regional biome fragmentation and global contributions of 12-15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this, markets and payments for ecosystem services have emerged to financially value the services forests provide, most notably in the form of mechanisms to reduce deforestation and enhance forest conservation (REDD+). REDD+ has received much attention at the international level, but the pressing contemporary challenge is its engagement at the local scale. This thesis examines the potential local-level engagement of REDD+ on the Amazon frontier as an approach to altering patterns of anthropogenic encroachment on the world's greatest expanse of tropical forest. Case studies are taken from the buffer zones of protected areas along Peru's Amazonian frontier, Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park (YChNP) in central Peru and Manu National Park (MNP) in the SE of the country. A political ecology approach is taken to examine the influences and implications of existing land use governance structures, local livelihoods and preferences, and smallholder production and land economy, in the context of REDD+. Adopting mixed methods comprising semi-structured interviewing and land user surveys, data were collected between July 2008 and September 2009. I show that the two sites' histories and geographies have shaped distinct challenges for REDD+. The proximity of YChNP to Lima has fuelled agricultural expansion and higher land use incomes, yet institutions – particularly those belonging to the state – are exceedingly weak. The pace of land use change here obliges certain urgency for REDD+ interventions to provide livelihood alternatives, divert the current development path and restore the landscape. MNP’s rurality has protected it to date from expansive deforestation, yet weak institutions, poverty and increasing threats from national development processes highlight the importance of REDD+ interventions. In an analysis of land economy, an innovative conceptual framework is presented, the '3Rs' (rewarding, regulating and reshaping) to tackle local heterogeneity in REDD+ engagement. This thesis contributes knowledge to the practical and theoretical advancement of REDD+, and proposes the mechanism as an important new arena for academic investigation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo