Impacts of REDD-plus in Southeast Asia

This project will analyse how REDD-plus mechanisms may reduce carbon emissions and maintain or enhance existing stocks of carbon in vegetation and soil of various land cover types. It will also examine the impact of REDD-plus on the livelihoods and welfare of local farming communities, its contribution to rural poverty alleviation and on biodiversity conservation in the region.

The project aims to develop a realistic framework for monitoring, reporting and verification of the REDD-plus mechanism, including the importance of governance and accountability at multiple levels. Whereas other REDD-plus projects have a strong focus on the humid tropical lowlands, this project will focus on the upland forest-agriculture frontiers of Southeast Asia ranging from the humid forests of Kalimantan, Indonesia – including some peatland areas – to the sub-humid areas dominated by a monsoonal climate with distinct dry seasons of northern Laos, northern Vietnam and Yunnan in southwest China. 

This EUFP7-funded project is being led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, in partnership with the School of International Development (UEA) and 12 other national and international institutions including the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Thomas Sikor (DEV) will lead research on REDD-plus governance arrangements, working closely with Southeast Asian partners, the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and CIFOR. The research will analyse existing payment mechanisms, develop options for potential REDD-plus mechanisms, and recommend concrete payments mechanisms for the disbursement of global REDD-plus finance from national to sub-national levels and from the sub-national level to local level of forest managers.