Focali Theme 2: REDD and Poverty

• 2009 Outputs: Inception Report and ”Communities & Carbon” Case study

• 2010-11 Mandate: Conduct national case studies in Cambodia, Burkina Faso, Bolivia & draw policy relevant conclusions for Sweden

• Interim reports due soon for all three. Today focus on Cambodia and Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso

• Newly-adopted as FIP pilot country• Unusual because low forest carbon so low

climate potential, and low potential of payments

• Interesting because poor people are main deforesters and main forest guardians

• Extreme poverty may make even small payments valuable

BF Interim findings - Review

• Firewood demand and rural to rural migration seem to be key drivers (notwithstanding some conflicting research findings)

• Extremely difficult to address• Even generous calculations suggest little

potential for REDD payments to be significant for poverty reduction

Case Study Findings

• BF attractive to FIP because reputed to have good local forest management

• Study villages chosen as good examples of well-functioning forest management

• Findings suggest forest governance has deteriorated markedly since local forest management system initiated (villagers nostalgic for FAO management)

Cambodia

• Rapid deforestation and significant potential from REDD (approx 25 million USD per annum)

• Second wave of both UN-REDD and FCPF• National REDD readiness strategy drafted

September 2010 after national consultations• Two REDD Pilots: Odar Meanchey Community

Forest and Seima Protection Forest

Odar Meanchey (OMC)

• Community Forests cover 10% of the province’s forest area

• REDD pilot ready to go – awaiting government signature

• Population of the province increasing at rate of 10% per annum

• Reason to migrate is to clear forest land for agriculture (illegal but encouraged)

Communities and Forest ProtectionLooking into the Community

cleared area (some protection)Looking out at the surrounding

’forest’ area

Protecting forest in Bak Nim

Powerless to resist land concessionLittle evidence of cutting in the area we visited in the CF

Better Forest Protection Where Agricultural Plots Allowed in the Community Forest Area

•Villagers go through the CF to get to their rice land•If they see or hear anything they inform the CF committee who then organise a patrol which can be a day trip or two or three nights in order to follow up•Villagers articulate support for the CF

Extract: Swedish policy on Forest and Climate within Development Assistance

Forests are of major importance for many people’s

livelihoods and employment.…Sweden shall contribute to climate-smart and sustainable use of the forests by means of stronger forest management and measures that discourage deforestation and safeguard forest ownership and user rights especially for poor, forest-dependent communities and indigenous populations, as well as assist in the development of national forest information systems.

Conclusions on Competing Land Uses

• Dangerous (but widespread) to caricature forest-dwellers as NTFP dependent

• Acknowledging and legalising some agricultural conversion can generate basis for forest protection (there are possibilities in Cambodia)

• All becomes irrelevant if government then signs forest away to sugar cane plantations...

While REDD is piloted in the 10%, what happens to the other 90%?

South-east of Kok Sampor degraded by villagers

West of Bak Nim deforested by a senator’s sugar cane plantation

Does REDD inadvertently distract from Land Use Planning and

Sustainable Forest Management by channeling focus into small pilot

areas and technical issues around carbon measurement?