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

Abstract

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