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II. UNFCCC negotiations and related discussions

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

No negotiations have taken place since the December 2010 newsletter. In June issue we will be back with a report on the Bonn Climate Talks leading up to COP 17.

The next scheduled UNFCCC negotiations in the lead up to COP 17 will take place from 6 - 17 June 2011 in Bonn, Germany

III. Events & meetings

International Year of Forests, 2011

1 January-31 December 2011  

UN General Assembly has designated 2011 as International Year of Forests. The secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests will serve as the focal point for the implementation of the International Year of Forests, in collaboration with governments, the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and international, regional and subregional organizations and processes as well as relevant major groups. More.

Ninth Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF 9)

24 January - 4 February 2011  

UNFF 9 will focus on forests for people, livelihoods and poverty eradication. The means of implementation for sustainable forest management will also be discussed. More.

9th RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance & Climate Change

8 February 2011

The Rights and Resources Initiative announced that the 9th global Dialogue in this series will continue to bring together decision makers and civil society organizations on critical issues of the role of forests in the climate change agenda. Sessions will focus on taking stock of new developments on rights and REDD+ in Cancun, the crucial role of forest restoration and reforestation for both climate mitigation and adaptation, and formulating more coherent safeguards and recourse mechanisms for REDD+ programs. More.

The II Mediterranean Forest Week

5-8th April 2011 - Avignon, France

The Mediterranean Forests Week will bring together the forest research community and relevant stakeholders (policy-makers, managers, forest owners’ representatives, NGO’s, etc) to improve the science-policy dialogue. More.

UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies

6-17 June 2011 Bonn, Germany

Sessions of SBSTA, SBI and the AWG-KP and AWG-LCA. More. 

IV. Research Articles

Combating the effects of climatic change on forests by mitigation strategies

Michael Köhl, Rüdiger Hildebrandt, Konstantin Olschofksy, Raul Köhler, Thomas Rötzer, Tobias Mette, Hans Pretzsch, Margret Köthke, Matthias Dieter, Mengistu Abiy, Franz Makeschin and Bernhard Kenter

Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:8

Forests occur across diverse biomes, each of which shows a specific composition of plant communities associated with the particular climate regimes. Predicted future climate change will have impacts on the vulnerability and productivity of forests; in some regions higher temperatures will extend the growing season and thus improve forest productivity, while changed annual precipitation patterns may show disadvantageous effects in areas, where water availability is restricted. While adaptation of forests to predicted future climate scenarios has been intensively studied, less attention was paid to mitigation strategies such as the introduction of tree species well adapted to changing environmental conditions. We simulated the development of managed forest ecosystems in Germany for the time period between 2000 and 2100 under different forest management regimes and climate change scenarios. The management regimes reflect different rotation periods, harvesting intensities and species selection for reforestations. The climate change scenarios were taken from the IPCC's Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES). We used the scenarios A1B (rapid and successful economic development) and B1 (high level of environmental and social consciousness combined with a globally coherent approach to a more sustainable development). Our results indicate that the effects of different climate change scenarios on the future productivity and species composition of German forests are minor compared to the effects of forest management. The inherent natural adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to changing environmental conditions is limited by the long life time of trees. Planting of adapted species and forest management will reduce the impact of predicted future climate change on forests.

The governance of climate change: evaluating the governance quality and legitimacy of the United Nations' REDD-plus programme

Cadman, T. Maraseni, T.

International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses. 2010. 2: 3, 103-124.

This paper outlines the evolution of the concept of global environmental governance, and its expression within climate-change related problem-solving institutions. A number of institutions address climate change on a global level, with a variety of institutional structures and processes. This leads to difficulties for comparative analysis, particularly when it comes to assessing quality of governance. Governance performance is important, since it helps stakeholders determine whether a given institution is sufficiently legitimate to merit participation, or whether their efforts are better served in other forums. Using a set of principles, criteria and indicators of governance quality, the paper provides an analysis of the 'REDD-plus' process (United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). It highlights REDD-plus' strengths and weaknesses and provides a rating of institutional legitimacy. It concludes with some observations on the challenges facing REDD-plus, and calls for the development of standards to ensure institutional quality-of-governance.

Biodiversity Conservation in the REDD

Gary D Paoli, Philip L Wells, Erik Meijaard, Matthew J Struebig, Andrew J Marshall, Krystof Obidzinski, Aseng Tan, Andjar Rafiastanto, Betsy Yaap, JW Ferry Slik, Alexandra Morel, Balu Perumal, Niels Wielaard, Simon Husson and Laura D'Arcy

Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:7 

Deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics is a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The tropics also harbour more than half the world's threatened species, raising the possibility that reducing GHG emissions by curtailing tropical deforestation could provide substantial co-benefits for biodiversity conservation. Here we explore the potential for such co-benefits in Indonesia, a leading source of GHG emissions from land cover and land use change, and among the most species-rich countries in the world. We show that focal ecosystems for interventions to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Indonesia do not coincide with areas supporting the most species-rich communities or highest concentration of threatened species. We argue that inherent trade-offs among ecosystems in emission reduction potential, opportunity cost of foregone development and biodiversity values will require a regulatory framework to balance emission reduction interventions with biodiversity co-benefit targets. We discuss how such a regulatory framework might function, and caution that pursuing emission reduction strategies without such a framework may undermine, not enhance, long-term prospects for biodiversity conservation in the tropics.

Forest bioenergy or forest carbon? Assessing trade-offs in greenhouse gas mitigation with wood-based fuels.

McKechnie, J. Colombo, S. Chen JiaXin Mabee, W. MacLean, H. L.

Environmental Science & Technology. 2011. 45: 2, 789-795.

The potential of forest-based bioenergy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when displacing fossil-based energy must be balanced with forest carbon implications related to biomass harvest. We integrate life cycle assessment (LCA) and forest carbon analysis to assess total GHG emissions of forest bioenergy over time. Application of the method to case studies of wood pellet and ethanol production from forest biomass reveals a substantial reduction in forest carbon due to bioenergy production. For all cases, harvest-related forest carbon reductions and associated GHG emissions initially exceed avoided fossil fuel-related emissions, temporarily increasing overall emissions. In the long term, electricity generation from pellets reduces overall emissions relative to coal, although forest carbon losses delay net GHG mitigation by 16-38 years, depending on biomass source (harvest residues/standing trees). Ethanol produced from standing trees increases overall emissions throughout 100 years of continuous production: ethanol from residues achieves reductions after a 74 year delay. Forest carbon more significantly affects bioenergy emissions when biomass is sourced from standing trees compared to residues and when less GHG-intensive fuels are displaced. In all cases, forest carbon dynamics are significant. Although study results are not generalizable to all forests, we suggest the integrated LCA/forest carbon approach be undertaken for bioenergy studies.

Global and regional importance of the tropical peatland carbon pool.

Page, S. E. Rieley, J. O. Banks, C. J.

Global Change Biology. 2011. 17: 2, 798-818. 106 ref.

Accurate inventory of tropical peatland is important in order to (a) determine the magnitude of the carbon pool; (b) estimate the scale of transfers of peat-derived greenhouse gases to the atmosphere resulting from land use change; and (c) support carbon emissions reduction policies. We review available information on tropical peatland area and thickness and calculate peat volume and carbon content in order to determine their best estimates and ranges of variation. Our best estimate of tropical peatland area is 441 025 km2 (~11% of global peatland area) of which 247 778 km2 (56%) is in Southeast Asia. We estimate the volume of tropical peat to be 1758 Gm3 (~18-25% of global peat volume) with 1359 Gm3 in Southeast Asia (77% of all tropical peat). This new assessment reveals a larger tropical peatland carbon pool than previous estimates, with a best estimate of 88.6 Gt (range 81.7-91.9 Gt) equal to 15-19% of the global peat carbon pool. Of this, 68.5 Gt (77%) is in Southeast Asia, equal to 11-14% of global peat carbon. A single country, Indonesia, has the largest share of tropical peat carbon (57.4 Gt, 65%), followed by Malaysia (9.1 Gt, 10%). These data are used to provide revised estimates for Indonesian and Malaysian forest soil carbon pools of 77 and 15 Gt, respectively, and total forest carbon pools (biomass plus soil) of 97 and 19 Gt. Peat carbon contributes 60% to the total forest soil carbon pool in Malaysia and 74% in Indonesia. These results emphasize the prominent global and regional roles played by the tropical peat carbon pool and the importance of including this pool in national and regional assessments of terrestrial carbon stocks and the prediction of peat-derived greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate is a stronger driver of tree and forest growth rates than soil and disturbance

Toledo, M. Poorter, L. Pena-Claros, M. Alarcon, A. Balcazar, J. Leano, C. Licona, J. C. Llanque, O. Vroomans, V. Zuidema, P. Bongers, F.

Journal of Ecology (Oxford). 2011. 99: 1, 254-264

Essential resources such as water, nutrients and light vary over space and time and plant growth rates are expected to vary accordingly. We examined the effects of climate, soil and logging disturbances on diameter growth rates at the tree and stand level, using 165 1-ha permanent sample plots distributed across Bolivian tropical lowland forests. We predicted that growth rates would be higher in humid than in dry forests, higher in nutrient-rich than nutrient-poor forests and higher in logged than non-logged forests. Across the 165 plots we found positive basal area increases at the stand level, which agree with the generally reported biomass increases in tropical forests. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that climate variables, in particular water availability, were the strongest drivers of tree growth. More rainfall, a shorter and less intense dry period and higher temperatures led to higher tree growth rates. Tree growth increased modestly with soil fertility and basal area growth was greatest at intermediate soil fertility. Surprisingly, tree growth showed little or no relationship with total soil nitrogen or plant available soil phosphorus. Growth rates increased in logged plots just after logging, but this effect disappeared after 6 years. Synthesis. Climate is the strongest driver of spatial variation in tree growth, and climate change may therefore have large consequences for forest productivity and carbon sequestration. The negative impact of decreased rainfall and increased rainfall seasonality on tree growth might be partly offset by the positive impact of increased temperature in these forests.

REDDy or not? The effects on indigenous peoples in Brazil of a global mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation.

Anderson, N.

Journal of Sustainable Development. 2009. 2: 3, 18-28.

Deforestation in the tropics accounts for one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, the preservation of remaining tropical forests is an integral component of any international climate change mitigation policy. Indigenous peoples are crucial actors for the success of such a policy given the large amount of forestland in indigenous hands, their historical and cultural role in the management of forests, and their relative success at sustainable forest stewardship. The aim of this research is to contribute to the academic literature and to the ongoing international debate over a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), scheduled to culminate in December 2009 at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. This article aims to answer the question: What will be the effects on indigenous peoples in Brazil of an international policy mechanism for REDD? It draws upon research conducted using a qualitative prospective policy evaluation method to describe the possible risks and opportunities to indigenous peoples and to make recommendations for improving REDD on the variables of scope, financing, and the process of negotiation and governance. Although the article concentrates on the effects of a REDD policy on indigenous peoples in Brazil given its status as a leading-edge case on this issue, it aspires to offer lessons for the other countries of the Amazon basin.

Changes in the potential distribution of humid tropical forests on a warmer planet

Zelazowski, P. Malhi, Y. Huntingford, C. Sitch, S. Fisher, J. B.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 2011. 369: 1934, 137-160.

The future of tropical forests has become one of the iconic issues in climate-change science. A number of studies that have explored this subject have tended to focus on the output from one or a few climate models, which work at low spatial resolution, whereas society and conservation-relevant assessment of potential impacts requires a finer scale. This study focuses on the role of climate on the current and future distribution of humid tropical forests (HTFs). We first characterize their contemporary climatological niche using annual rainfall and maximum climatological water stress, which also adequately describe the current distribution of other biomes within the tropics. As a first-order approximation of the potential extent of HTFs in future climate regimes defined by global warming of 2 degrees C and 4 degrees C, we investigate changes in the niche through a combination of climate-change anomaly patterns and higher resolution (5 km) maps of current climatology. The climate anomalies are derived using data from 17 coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) used in the Fourth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. Our results confirm some risk of forest retreat, especially in eastern Amazonia, Central America and parts of Africa, but also indicate a potential for expansion in other regions, for example around the Congo Basin. The finer spatial scale enabled the depiction of potential resilient and vulnerable zones with practically useful detail. We further refine these estimates by considering the impact of new environmental regimes on plant water demand using the UK Met Office land-surface scheme (of the HadCM3 AOGCM). The CO2-related reduction in plant water demand lowers the risk of die-back and can lead to possible niche expansion in many regions. The analysis presented here focuses primarily on hydrological determinants of HTF extent. We conclude by discussing the role of other factors, notably the physiological effects of higher temperature.

Options for sampling and stratification for national forest inventories to implement REDD+ under the UNFCCC

Maniatis, D.; Mollicone, D.

Carbon Balance and Management. 2010. 5: 9, (27 December 2010)

Developing countries that are willing to participate in the recently adopted (16th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun) mitigation mechanism of Reducing emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation - and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) - will have to establish a national forest monitoring system in order to assess anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks. Such a system should support the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) requirement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the REDD+ mechanism is results-based. A national forest inventory (NFI) is one potential key component of such an MRV system. Following the Decision adopted during the 15th Session of the COP in Copenhagen, the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidance and Guidelines should be used as a basis for estimating anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks and changes in forest carbon stocks and area. Results - First, we present the key indispensable elements of the IPCC Guidance and Guidelines that have been developed to fulfil the UNFCCC reporting requirements. This is done in order to set the framework to develop the MRV requirement in which a NFI for REDD+ implementation could be developed. Second, within this framework, we develop and propose a novel scheme for the stratification of forest land for REDD+. Finally, we present some non-exhaustive optional elements within this framework that a country could consider to successfully operationalise and implement its REDD+ NFI. Conclusion - Evidently, both the methodological guidance and political decisions on REDD+ under the UNFCCC will continue to evolve. Even so, and considering that there exists decades of experience in setting up traditional NFIs, developing a NFI that a country may use to directly support REDD+ activities under the UNFCCC represents the development of a new challenge in this field. It is therefore important that both the scientific community and national implementing agencies acquaint themselves with both the context and content of this challenge so that REDD+ mitigation actions may be implemented successfully and with environmental integrity. This paper provides important contributions to the subject through our proposal of the stratification of forest land for REDD+.

Models for supporting forest management in a changing environment

Luis Fontes, Jean-Daniel Bontemps, Harald Bugmann, Marcel Van Oijen, Carlos Gracia, Koen Kramer, Marcus Lindner, Thomas Rötzer, Jens Peter Skovsgaard

Forest Systems 2010 19(SI), 8-29

Forests are experiencing an environment that changes much faster than in at least the past several hundred years. In addition, the abiotic factors determining forest dynamics vary depending on its location. Forest modeling thus faces the new challenge of supporting forest management in the context of environmental change. This review has focused on three types of models that are used in forest management: empirical, process-based and hybrid models. Recent approaches might lead to the applicability of empirical models under changing environmental conditions, such as (i) the dynamic state-space approach, or (ii) the development of productivity-environment relationships. 25 process-based models in use in Europe were analyzed in terms of its structure, inputs and outputs having in mind a forest management perspective. Two paths for hybrid modeling were distinguished: (i) coupling of EMs and PBMs by developing signal-transfer environment-productivity functions; (ii) hybrid models with causal structure including both empirical and mechanistic components. Several gaps of knowledge were identified for the three types of models reviewed.
The strengths and weaknesses of the three model types differ and all are likely to remain in use. There is a trade-off between how little data the models need for calibration and simulation purposes, and the variety of input-output relationships that they can quantify. PBMs are the most versatile, with a wide range of environmental conditions and output variables they can account for. However, PBMs require more data making them less applicable whenever data for calibration are scarce. The EMs, on the other hand, are easier to run as they require much less prior information, but their simplicity makes them less reliable in the context of environmental changes. These different deficiencies of PBMs and EMs suggest that hybrid models may be a good compromise, but a more extensive testing of these models is required in practice.

Combating the effects of climatic change on forests by mitigation strategies

Michael Köhl, Rüdiger Hildebrandt, Konstantin Olschofksy, Raul Köhler, Thomas Rötzer, Tobias Mette, Hans Pretzsch, Margret Köthke, Matthias Dieter, Mengistu Abiy, Franz Makeschin and Bernhard Kenter

Carbon Balance and Management 2010, 5:8

Forests occur across diverse biomes, each of which shows a specific composition of plant communities associated with the particular climate regimes. Predicted future climate change will have impacts on the vulnerability and productivity of forests; in some regions higher temperatures will extend the growing season and thus improve forest productivity, while changed annual precipitation patterns may show disadvantageous effects in areas, where water availability is restricted. While adaptation of forests to predicted future climate scenarios has been intensively studied, less attention was paid to mitigation strategies such as the introduction of tree species well adapted to changing environmental conditions. We simulated the development of managed forest ecosystems in Germany for the time period between 2000 and 2100 under different forest management regimes and climate change scenarios. The management regimes reflect different rotation periods, harvesting intensities and species selection for reforestations. The climate change scenarios were taken from the IPCC's Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES). We used the scenarios A1B (rapid and successful economic development) and B1 (high level of environmental and social consciousness combined with a globally coherent approach to a more sustainable development). Our results indicate that the effects of different climate change scenarios on the future productivity and species composition of German forests are minor compared to the effects of forest management. The inherent natural adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to changing environmental conditions is limited by the long life time of trees. Planting of adapted species and forest management will reduce the impact of predicted future climate change on forests.

A case study of carbon sequestration potential of land use policies favoring re-growth and long-term protection of temperate forests.

McGuire, C. J.

Journal of Sustainable Development. 2010. 3: 1, 11-16.

There is a traditional view suggesting forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Pregitzer & Euskirchen, 2004), but they cease to serve as a carbon sink as they fully mature (Odum, 1969). Recent modeling of old-growth forests indicate they continue to serve as a "net sink" of carbon even after maturity (Carey, Sala, & Callaway, 2001; Zhou, 2006) - sequestering an average of 2.4+/-0.8 tC ha-1 yr-1 (tC=metric tons of carbon; ha=hectare; yr=year), identifying a ratio of heterotrophic respiration (Rh) to net primary production (NPP) of approximately 0.65+/-0.02 (Luyssaert, 2008). These figures show the strongest correlation amongst temperate forest regions. Two calculations are made using the carbon sequestration average. One is made identifying the amount of carbon sequestered through a small-scale land protection organization, showing a net carbon sequestration of approximately 224 metric tons of carbon per year. The other is based on the amount of land required to offset current anthropogenic emissions of carbon in the global carbon budget, showing approximately 235 million hectares of new forest growth would be required to offset current global anthropogenic emissions. One implication of these calculations is the traditional assumption of carbon neutrality increasing with age (Magnani, 2007) is incorrect, suggesting re-growing forests may be a favored policy choice for continued carbon sequestration.

V. Publications, Reports and other media

REDD-plus Finance

ODI

This Briefing paper - Climate Finance Fundamentals 5, November 2010, describes the funding initiatives in support of this major international mitigation strategy and raises some ongoing challenges for the equitable delivery of climate finance. The brief.

Managing Forests for Climate Change

FAO

The report describes the use of an integrated approach to sustainable forest management and outlines the ways forest management can help tackle climate change: carbon sequestration, strengthening adaptive capacity of trees, forests and forest-dependent communities, and conserving forest carbon stocks. The publication.

The outcome for forests emerging from Cancun

Global Canopy Programme

This brief breaks down and summarizes the agreements on REDD and forest conservation from the UN’s Cancun climate change conference. What exactly is in the REDD text? What does it mean? What is missing? The brief.

REDD - approaches to stimulate action

UNFCCC

This fact sheet highlights the role of forests in climate change, reviews the progression of UNFCCC negotiations on forests and deforestation and lists relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to stimulate action on REDD. The fact sheet.

REDD and rights: lost in translation

Forest Peoples Programme

This online statement focus on the important achievements on rights and safeguards in REDD at UNFCCC and the risk of this being seriously watered down and reinterpreted in REDD policy debates and practices, posing significant threats to the environment and indigenous peoples. The statement.

State of the World's Forests 2011

FAO

The ninth biennial issue of State of the World’s Forests. The publication includes a section on climate change mitigation and adaptation. The publication.

Climate Proofing for Development

GIZ

Since 2007, GTZ/GIZ has developed the ‘Climate Proofing for Development’ approach to help governmental and non-governmental institutions answer these questions. The approach is currently being implemented in more than ten countries around the world. A new publication has been produced that describes the method and how it works using examples and best practices. It also draws conclusions based on the experience gathered so far. The report.

Community champions – adapting to climate challenges

IIED

This publication contains abstracts (mainly in English, some in French) from papers presented at the fourth International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change which was held on 21-27 February 2010 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Conference was structured around plenary and technical sessions on a variety of important subject areas such as agriculture, water resources, and ecosystems to cross-cutting issues of policy, funding, and strengthening institutions. The report.

The context of REDD+ in Cameroon

CIFOR

The report describes the state of discussions in Cameroon and looks at the effectiveness, efficiency and equity, and the three phased approach to REDD. The report.

Two Pluses Don't Make a Positive: REDD and agriculture

In this web article it is argued that REDD schemes could favour large-scale farming and do considerable damage to the lives and livelihoods of small farmers, who play a vital role in food sovereignty. REDD “readiness plans” already include plantations and perverse incentives for the conversion of forested land for export-led agriculture. As such, REDD will not necessarily reduce deforestation, but can be characterised as a form of “structural adjustment” programme for land use. The article.

Updated version of the Germanwatch Adaptation Fund Project Tracker
Germanwatch

This excel sheet gives an overview of all 24 projects submitted so far to the AFB, their state of approval, requested funding etc. This new version also includes statistics of the regional distribution of projects.
The table.

Community Forest Monitoring for the Carbon Market, Opportunities Under REDD
Earthscan

Recent developments in international policy on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) open the way for crediting of carbon saved by rural communities through management of the forests in their vicinity.  This book first presents the policy context, concepts, methods and general results, which include estimates of typical carbon savings and their market value. It also looks at the governance issues that may be involved and different ways in which incentive schemes might be designed to encourage communities to participate.  The second half of the book is devoted to case studies from the countries involved in the research. The book.

VI. Jobs

Junior Expert for CD-REDD II - Building National Forest GHG Inventory Systems

Coalition for Rainforest Nations

CfRN is looking for a motivated Junior Expert for the following tasks to be executed under the direct supervision of the Project Senior Expert: 1)Prepare tutorial materials on the AFOLU sector of the national GHG inventory, to be used for the technical capacity building activities at global, regional, national level; 2) Collaborate and exchange experiences and lessons learnt with other agencies and institutions involved in capacity building activities for the AFOLU sector of the national GHG inventories in developing countries; 3) Undertake field missions and deliver training courses in participating countries. Contact Person: Ms Mihaela Secrieru, +39 06 570 52246.

Team leader, communications on FLEGT and REDD

EFI

To reinforce the FLEGT and REDD Communications Team EFI will recruit a Communications Team Leader and a Communications Expert. The Communication Expert will need to assist partner countries in the tropics to develop and implement appropriate communication strategies which will support the implementation of their FLEGT (and later possibly REDD) processes. More.

VII. Announcements

CDM Board – call for new members

UNFCCC

The CDM Executive Board, at its fifty-ninth meeting, launched a call for experts as new members of the Methodologies Panel, the Afforestation and reforestation Working Group, the Small-scale Working Group and the CDM Accreditation Panel with a view to replacing outgoing members of these panels/working groups at its sixtieth meeting. The four calls are open from 21 February 2011 until 21 March 2011, 18:00 GMT. Link to the Afforestation and reforestation Working Group call: <https://cdm.unfccc.int/Panels/ar/call-for-members.html> bulletin.

REDD-Net Bulletin: Carbon Rights and REDD+

REDD-Net

This regional bulletin provides an overview of what carbon rights are and why they are important to REDD+ in East Africa. It also examines the interpretation of carbon rights in Uganda and the implications for local communities, and reports on the outcomes of a workshop held in East Africa discussing carbon rights. In East Africa, even though REDD+ strategies are still being developed (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), some REDD+ pilot projects are already being implemented, making the closer examination of carbon rights at the regional level particularly timely. The

Coalition of Rainforest Nations and FAO Sign Agreement on Capacity Building

The two organisations signed an agreement on building capacity for systems to measure, report and verify (MRV) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the context of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). The agreement will assist developing countries in setting up their national inventory systems.

Scholarships for MSc in Climate Change and Development at University of Sussex, UK

The University of Sussex would like to invite applications for the MSc in 'Climate Change and Development' for entry in October 2011. Scholarship information is provided below. This is unique course that aims to provide state-of-the-art training for the rapidly expanding market for development professionals with specialisation in climate change.  The programme is strongly multidisciplinary and students will acquire specialist knowledge of the causes of climate change, the implications for developing countries, and the policy and practice of efforts to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. Courses are taught by leading researchers in these fields from the world renowned Institute for Development Studies (IDS), the Geography Department and Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU).

More information: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/pg/2011/taught/3331/23691

Open call for contribution of data to State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2011 report

Ecosystem Marketplace

Over the past four years, Ecosystem Marketplace and Bloomberg New Energy Finance have produced the annual State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets report – the only market-wide, freely available quantitative report on the voluntary carbon markets. In 2010, Ecosystem Marketplace published the first-ever State of the Forest Carbon Markets report, giving the first deep insights and fundamental market data for this rapidly growing and historically significant sector. More.

Call for Papers for the second ICARUS meeting

Held at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment on May 5 through 8, 2011. ICARUS-II follows on the highly successful ICARUS-I meeting organized in February 2010 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The theme of the ICARUS-II meeting is “Vulnerability and Adaptation: Marginal Peoples and Environments.” More information.