Forests for Climate
Keeping forests standing is one of the most cost-effective ways to tackle climate change particularly those in tropical forest countries.
What is Jurisdictional REDD+ and how can it help reduce deforestation ?
REDD+ is defined as “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks”. REDD+ aims to value the carbon stored in forests by creating incentives for developing countries to protect their environment. Put simply, forests today are economically worth more cut down and cleared, the best way to stop deforestation is to make forests more valuable standing than cleared.
Building on decades of REDD+, attention is now turning from project-level to jurisdiction-wide programmes – JREDD+ – as they offer the opportunity to scale-up forest protection to cover an entire country, state or region, and to maximize both carbon sequestration alongside benefits for livelihoods and the entire forest ecosystem.
Why do we need to large scale forest protection programme ?
Scaling-up forest protection programmes to a jurisdictional level has numerous advantages in comparison to smaller-scale forest projects.
Governments have the authority to decide and enforce the law for land use changes in its jurisdiction. By providing a financial incentive (among other benefits) for protecting forests, JREDD+ programmes encourage governments to take action and to support forest protection and restoration as well as sustainable land use practices.
A jurisdictional approach can achieve greater cost-effective emissions reductions and potentially removals. Many risks are reduced with large-scale programmes, such as leakage if the entire jurisdiction is covered. It is unlikely for a jurisdiction to be entirely damaged unexpectedly so reversals are also less likely. Plus, indigenous rights can be advanced at a jurisdictional level and protected by safeguards.
Large-scale forest protection programmes offer the opportunity for companies to encourage change in an entire jurisdiction, ensuring long-term impact. By signaling a demand from corporates towards jurisdictional credits, companies are playing an important role in unlocking the potential of JREDD+ and accelerating its development.