Contents

I. In THE PRESS

15 July 2010

Illegal logging of tropical rainforests down by up to 75%

The Chatham House study, released today, says that illegal logging has dropped by between 50 and 75% across Cameroon, Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon over the last decade; globally it has dropped by one-fifth since 2002.

15 July 2010

US climate bill: Now for Plan D

Efforts to pass a climate bill in the US Congress have moved to Plan D this month, as pro-climate lawmakers face a fast-closing window of opportunity for pushing through carbon emissions capping legislation in 2010.

15 July 2010

New U.N. body to put value on planet

The world relies on a range of services nature provides - water filtration by forests, pollination by bees and a supply of wild plant genes for new food crops or medicines.

14 July 2010

New rules may cloud the outlook for biomass

An energy technology that has long been viewed as a clean and climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuels is facing tough new regulatory hurdles that could ultimately hamper its ability to compete with renewable power sources like wind and solar.

14 July 2010

Google climate map offers a glimpse of a 4C world

Think it's hot this summer? Wait until you see Google's simulation of a world with an average global temperature rise of 4C. Using a map that was first launched by the former Labour administration in October 2009, the coalition government has taken temperature data from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other climate research centres and imposed it on to a Google Earth layer.

13 July 2010

Amazon storm killed half a billion trees - study

A powerful storm destroyed about half a billion trees in the Amazon in 2005, according to a study on Tuesday that shows how the world's forests may be vulnerable to more violent weather caused by climate change.

13 July 2010

Large-scale forest destruction in Sumatra undermines Indonesia's deal with Norway

While the Indonesian government basks in a recent agreement with Norway to slow deforestation to the tune of a billion US dollars, a new report by Eyes on the Forest shows photographic evidence of largely government sanctioned deforestation that flouts several Indonesia laws.

11 July 2010

Rich countries accused of carbon ‘cheating’

Some Annex I countries are seeking new rules under the UN climate convention that would allow them to account for 5% of their annual emissions through forest carbon credits. This 5% is roughly equal to the emissions reduction that developed countries pledged to make under the Kyoto Protocol. Opponents argue that these new rules would allow countries to circumvent their obligations. However, developed countries are not the only ones being accused of 'carbon cheating'

9 July 2010

Indonesia issues draft rules on forest clearing

Indonesia has drafted rules for a two-year ban on permits for forest clearing, after signing a $1 billion climate aid deal with Norway aimed at avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.

2 July 2010

UN-REDD Approves US$8.7 Million for REDD+ Readiness

The UN-REDD Programme's Policy Board approved an additional US$8.7 million to fund global activities aimed at supporting national REDD+ readiness.

2 July 2010

The IPCC messed up over 'Amazongate' – the threat to the Amazon is far worse

Well this becomes more entertaining by the moment. Those who staked so much on the "Amazongate" story, only to see it turn round and bite them, are now digging a hole so deep that they will soon be able to witness a possible climate change scenario at first hand, as they emerge, shovels in hand, in the middle of the Great Victoria Desert.

II. UNFCCC negotiations and related discussions

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

No negotiations have taken place since the June newsletter. In the August issue we will be back with a report on the Bonn Climate Talks, 2 - 6 August.

The remaining UNFCCC negotiations in the lead up to COP 16 (Cancun, 29 November to 10 December) are: 

• Bonn, 2-6 August
• AWG-KP 14 & AWG-LCA 12, venue and time to be announced

III. Events & meetings

UNFCCC subsidiary bodies

2 -  6 August 2010. Bonn, Germany.

Bonn Climate Change Talks – August 2010 includes meetings of the thirteen session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP 13) and the eleventh sessions of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA 11). More information on the UNFCCC website.

XXIII 2010 IUFRO World Congress

23-28 August, 2010. Seoul, Korea

International Union of forest Research Organizations IUFRO congress with the theme of “Forests for the Future: Sustaining Society and the Environment”. More.

Workshop on Forest Governance, Decentralization and REDD+ in Latin America

30 August to 3 September 2010, Oaxaca, Mexico 

A country-led CIFOR  initiative in support of the UN Forum on Forests by the Governments of Mexico and Switzerland which will contribute both to COP 16 and the ninth session of the UN Forum on Forests.  More.

UNFF ad hoc expert group on forest financing

13 September 2010 - 17 September 2010. Nairobi, Kenya.

A part of the UN Forum on Forest’s strategic plan on forest financing an open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc expert group on financing for sustainable forest management will meet. More information on UNFF website.

INTERREG IVB conference on "European Forestry - Fit for Climate Change?"

21-22 September 2010. Nancy, France

The European ForeStClim project (2008-2012) which develops transnationally harmonised forestry management strategies for Northwest Europe, invites to its mid-term conference.  More.

Twentieth session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO)

4-8 October 2010, Rome, Italy

The biennial sessions of COFO bring together heads of forest services and other senior government officials to identify emerging policy and technical issues, to seek solutions and to advise FAO and others on appropriate action. Other international organizations and, increasingly, non-governmental groups participate in COFO.  Participation in COFO is open to all FAO member countries. More.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 10

18-29 October 2010, Nagoya, Japan

The tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to, inter alia, assess the achievement of the 2010 target to reduce significantly the rate of biodiversity loss. It will be preceded by the fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.  More.

Pilot International Conference on Global Sustainable Development

19-21 November 2010, Kampala Uganda

The conference will bring together leading experts from a wide range of disciplines to discuss the impact realities of climate change and sustainable development. Climate Change, A Challenge to Businesses in the 21st Century. More.

COP 16 of the UNFCCC

29 November to 10 December 2010, Cancún, Mexico

The 33rd meetings of the SBI and SBSTA will also take place as well as AWG-LCA 13 and AWG-KP. More.  

Forest Day 4

5 December 2010, Cancun (Quintana Roo), Mexico  

This event will be held alongside the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and will be hosted by CPF and organized by a CIFOR and CPF members. More.

IV. Research Articles

Global outlook for wood and forests with the bioenergy demand implied by scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Ronald Raunikar, Joseph Buongiorno, James A. Turner, Shushuai Zhu

Forest Policy and Economics, Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 48-56
The Global Forest Products Model (GFPM) was modified to link the forest sector to two scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and to represent the utilization of fuelwood and industrial roundwood to produce biofuels. The scenarios examined were a subset of the “story lines” prepared by the IPCC. Each scenario has projections of population and gross domestic product. These projections were used as input in the GFPM simulations. The IPCC also makes projections of forest area, which were integrated in the timber supply sub-model of the GFPM. The IPCC scenarios also predict bioenergy production. These projections were used in the GFPM to determine forest area, forest stock, and the demand, supply, prices, and trade of forest products up to 2060. The main finding concerns the important impact of the high demand for biofuels implied in some of the IPCC scenarios. In particular, scenario A1B would induce a nearly 6-fold increase in the world demand for fuelwood by 2060. As a result, the real price of fuelwood would rise and converge towards the price of industrial roundwood by about 2025. At that point, industrial roundwood, which was used in the past to manufacture sawnwood, panels, and pulp, would begin to be used for energy production. The price of all wood would then continue to rise steadily up to 2060, and the price of manufactured product would increase in concert. The high fuelwood harvest would imply ecologically stressed forests in several countries, even under scenario A2 with a nearly 3-fold increase in fuelwood production by 2060.

Analyzing the efficacy of subtropical urban forests in offsetting carbon emissions from cities
Francisco Escobedo, Sebastian Varela, Min Zhao, John E. Wagner, Wayne Zipperer

Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 13, Issue 5, August 2010, Pages 362-372

Urban forest management and policies have been promoted as a tool to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This study used existing CO2 reduction measures from subtropical Miami-Dade and Gainesville, USA and modeled carbon storage and sequestration by trees to analyze policies that use urban forests to offset carbon emissions. Field data were analyzed, modeled, and spatially analyzed to compare CO2 sequestered by managing urban forests to equivalent amounts of CO2 emitted in both urban areas. Urban forests in Gainesville have greater tree density, store more carbon and present lower per-tree sequestration rates than Miami-Dade as a result of environmental conditions and urbanization patterns. Areas characterized by natural pine-oak forests, mangroves, and stands of highly invasive trees were most apt at sequestering CO2. Results indicate that urban tree sequestration offsets CO2 emissions and, relative to total city-wide emissions, is moderately effective at 3.4 percent and 1.8 percent in Gainesville and Miami-Dade, respectively. Moreover, converting available non-treed areas into urban forests would not increase overall CO2 emission reductions substantially. Current CO2 sequestration by trees was comparable to implemented CO2 reduction policies. However, long-term objectives, multiple ecosystem services, costs, community needs, and preservation of existing forests should be considered when managing trees for climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services.

Response and potential of agroforestry crops under global change

Environmental Pollution, Volume 158, Issue 4, April 2010, Pages 1095-1104
C. Calfapietra, B. Gielen, D. Karnosky, R. Ceulemans, G. Scarascia Mugnozza

The use of agroforestry crops is a promising tool for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration through fossil fuel substitution. In particular, plantations characterised by high yields such as short rotation forestry (SRF) are becoming popular worldwide for biomass production and their role acknowledged in the Kyoto Protocol. While their contribution to climate change mitigation is being investigated, the impact of climate change itself on growth and productivity of these plantations needs particular attention, since their management might need to be modified accordingly. Besides the benefits deriving from the establishment of millions of hectares of these plantations, there is a risk of increased release into the atmosphere of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted in large amounts by most of the species commonly used. These hydrocarbons are known to play a crucial role in tropospheric ozone formation. This might represent a negative feedback, especially in regions already characterized by elevated ozone level.

Climate change impacts, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability of European forest ecosystems
Marcus Lindner, Michael Maroschek, Sigrid Netherer, Antoine Kremer, Anna Barbati, Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo, Rupert Seidl, Sylvain Delzon, Piermaria Corona, Marja Kolström, Manfred J. Lexer, Marco Marchetti

Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 259, Issue 4, Pages 698-709

This study compiles and summarizes the existing knowledge about observed and projected impacts of climate change on forests in Europe. Forests will have to adapt not only to changes in mean climate variables but also to increased variability with greater risk of extreme weather events, such as prolonged drought, storms and floods. Sensitivity, potential impacts, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability to climate change are reviewed for European forests. The most important potential impacts of climate change on forest goods and services are summarized for the Boreal, Temperate Oceanic, Temperate Continental, Mediterranean, and mountainous regions. Especially in northern and western Europe the increasing atmospheric CO2 content and warmer temperatures are expected to result in positive effects on forest growth and wood production, at least in the short–medium term. On the other hand, increasing drought and disturbance risks will cause adverse effects. These negative impacts are very likely to outweigh positive trends in southern and eastern Europe. From west to east, the drought risk increases. In the Mediterranean regions productivity is expected to decline due to strongly increased droughts and fire risks. Adaptive capacity consists of the inherent adaptive capacity of trees and forest ecosystems and of socio-economic factors determining the capability to implement planned adaptation. The adaptive capacity in the forest sector is relatively large in the Boreal and the Temperate Oceanic regions, more constrained by socio-economic factors in the Temperate Continental, and most limited in the Mediterranean region where large forest areas are only extensively managed or unmanaged. Potential impacts and risks are best studied and understood with respect to wood production. It is clear that all other goods and services provided by European forests will also be impacted by climate change, but much less knowledge is available to quantify these impacts. Understanding of adaptive capacity and regional vulnerability to climate change in European forests is not well developed and requires more focussed research efforts. An interdisciplinary research agenda integrated with monitoring networks and projection models is needed to provide information at all levels of decision making, from policy development to the management unit.

Getting REDD to work locally: lessons learned from integrated conservation and development projects
 Benjamin Blom, Terry Sunderland, Daniel Murdiyarso

Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2010, Pages 164-172
Integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) have been a pervasive, although widely criticized, approach to tropical conservation for more than 20 years. More recently, international conservation discourse has shifted away from project-based approaches and towards reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). While REDD is based upon experience with payment for environmental services (PES) initiatives and forest-related discussions in the United Nations (UN), REDD implementation will still require sub-national projects. Issues of equity will likely pit these sub-national projects against some of the same challenges that have dogged ICDPs. This suggests that REDD project developers stand to learn a great deal from the lessons generated by experience with ICDPs. This paper provides a list of best practices for ICDPs and applies their lessons as principles to guide the development and implementation of sub-national REDD projects. The intent of this approach is to encourage the design and implementation of sub-national REDD projects in a way that avoids the past pitfalls and mistakes, while building upon some successes, of the ICDP conservation approach. By doing so, REDD will be more likely to be implemented in a way that is effective, efficient and equitable.

Principles of justice in proposals and policy approaches to avoided deforestation: Towards a post-Kyoto climate agreement
Chukwumerije Okereke, Kate Dooley

Global Environmental Change, Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 82-95

This paper offers a normative analysis of the current negotiations on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Drawing on existing theories of distributive justice, we seek to determine which interpretations of equity are embodied in the key proposals and policy approaches to REDD in the run up to a post-Kyoto climate agreement. Our analysis indicates that whilst the various proposals are characterised by different and sometimes contradictory notions of equity, it is the ideas that are more consistent with neoliberal concepts of justice that tend to prevail. The result is that despite abiding contestations and controversies, emerging REDD policy solutions for the post-2012 climate regime looks very likely to reflect a commitment to market-based approaches to forest governance. However, whilst such market-based approaches might serve the preferences of powerful players, their effectiveness in terms of forest preservation, the protection of indigenous peoples and sustainable community development remains extremely dubious. On a broader note, our analysis reinforces the growing realization that the international arena is not beyond the pale of moral arguments but rather that the governance of global environmental change implicates elemental ethical questions regarding which ways of life human beings ought to pursue.

REDD-plus, forest people's rights and nested climate governance

Thomas Sikor, Johannes Stahl, Thomas Enters, Jesse C. Ribot, Neera Singh, William D. Sunderlin, Lini Wollenberg

Global Environmental Change, Volume 20, Issue 3, August 2010, Pages 423-425

At Copenhagen, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) was ready to endorse REDD-plus and to make explicit reference to the ‘‘rights of indigenous peoples and members of local communities’’ (UNFCCC, 2009). The reference is important because it acknowledges the historical background from which REDD-plus is developing: the historical dispossession, political exclusion and cultural marginalization of indigenous peoples and members of local communities (hereafter referred to as ‘‘forest people’’). Recent experience with the recognition of forest people’s rights suggests three broad principles for operationalizing rights under REDD-plus: participation in political decision-making, equitable distribution of forest benefits, and recognition of forest people’s particular identities. In addition, the emphasis on rights requires the development of decisionmaking processes at multiple scales and related across scales. Global-scale institutions will be important but not sufficient in themselves. Effective and equitable REDD-plus requires nested forest and climate governance.

What makes a ‘REDD’ country?
 J. Phelps, M.C. Guerrero, D.A. Dalabajan, B. Young, E.L. Webb

Global Environmental Change, Volume 20, Issue 2, May 2010, Pages 322-332
Despite remaining uncertainties, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) projects are being planned and implemented across the tropics, primarily targeting countries with high forest cover and high deforestation rates. However, there is growing recognition that REDD planning requires a broadened approach; a future REDD mechanism should incentivise emissions reduction in all developing forested countries, and should address critical non-carbon dimensions of REDD implementation—quality of forest governance, conservation priorities, local rights and tenure frameworks, and sub-national project potential. When considering this broader suite of factors, different REDD priorities can emerge, including in countries with low forest cover that would be overlooked by conventional site selection criteria. Using the Philippines as a case study, the paper highlights the importance of an enabling environment to REDD implementation, and presents a more comprehensive and inclusive approach for thinking about what comprises a “REDD country.

V. Publications, Reports and other media

Degraded forests: what is it, how much is there and can carbon retention policies help restore them?

CIFOR/FAO

This side event on forest degradation was held at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change talks in Bonn. CIFOR scientist Markku Kanninen chaired the discussion which brought together three speakers with different perspectives on the issue. Summary of the Event.

The REDD Opportunities Scoping Exercise

Forest Trends

This publication provides a tool for classifying and prioritizing potential REDD+ sub-national activities and for assessing critical constraints to project development, especially those associated with the legal, political, and institutional framework for carbon finance.  The ROSE tool was developed and refined during 2009 in the course of conducting case studies in Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana. The Tool.

A Nested Approach to REDD+

The Nature Conservancy

This report from recommends the nested approach as a way to structure effective and transparent incentive mechanisms for REDD+ implementation. The report highlights ways to structure a nested approach to REDD+ and recommends options for including this approach in an international agreement. More.

Our Land, Our Future - Promoting Indigenous Participation and Rights in Mining, Climate Change and other Natural Resources Decision-making in Guyana

Forest Peoples Programme

Final report of the Amerindian Peoples Association/Forest Peoples Programme/North-South Institute project on 'Indigenous perspectives on consultation and decision-making about mining and other natural resources: toward community strengthening, dialogue and policy change'. The Report.

Does the Opportunity Cost Approach Indicate the Real Cost of REDD+ ? : Rights and Realities of Paying for REDD+

Rights and Resources Initiative

The focus of this paper is that the contextual issues influencing the adequacy and appropriateness of opportunity cost as a proxy for payments required to obtain successful REDD+ can be major ones in most tropical developing countries; and resolving them can be expensive and time consuming. The Report.

Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Livelihoods in Guyana: an overview of experiences and potential opportunities

Forest Peoples Programme

A summary report of research carried out by the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) and the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), in collaboration with the North-South Institute (NSI. The Report

Investing in REDD-plus?

The Forests Dialogue

This Review presents the synthesis of discussions and recommendations from TFD's three multi-stakeholder dialogues and one workshop on the topic.  The Initiative engaged more than 100 leaders from a wide spectrum of forest stakeholders between April and September 2009. The Review.

REDD+ in dryland forests: Issues and prospects for pro-poor REDD in the miombo woodlands of southern Africa

The International Institute for Environment and Development

The lessons from Community-based natural resources management in the miombo ecoregion provide a basis on which REDD+ in dry-land forests can build. Three country case studies covering Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia were used to draw lessons from Community-based natural resources management that could inform pro-poor REDD as well as providing the likely opportunity costs of REDD+. The Report.

VI. Jobs

Programme Coordinator: Civil Society Capacity Building for Preventive Anti-Corruption measures in REDD (PAC REDD)

Transparency International, Berlin, Germany

The project is a component of TI’s five year Forest Governance Integrity (FGI) Programme. The coordinator must facilitate the smooth day-to-day operation of the project, Ensure all project deliverables are completed and coordinate with partners. More.

Post Doctoral Fellow with the Global Comparative Study on REDD

CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

The Post Doctoral Fellow will be responsible for measuring the effectiveness of REDD project sites in reducing carbon emissions.  The work will contribute deliverables for components 2 and 3, therefore the Fellow will report to the leaders of both components. The work will be largely based on field measurements at 20–30 REDD project sites in Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Tanzania, Indonesia and Vietnam. More.

Scientist, REDD-Carbon Monitoring

CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

The Scientist will undertake a comparative research project on carbon monitoring in countries participating in REDD. More.

VII. Announcements

FAO opens up database to help fight world hunger

FAO