Analysing the narrative and promises of 'avoided deforestation' implementation in Central Africa

Demaze, Moïse Tsayem; Sufo-Kankeu, R.; Sonwa, D.J.

doi:10.1505/146554820829403469

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 43 publications

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“…This discourse, which first circulated internationally, was underpinned by idea that reducing deforestation in developing countries was a low‐cost way to mitigate climate change in the short term (Stern, 2006). The promotion of this discourse was circulated by multilateral and non‐state organisations, including the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank, international conservation organisations (CCS‐20210421), and the carbon standards (Blum & Eva, 2019; Tsayem Demaze et al, 2020). This discourse was also supported within DRC institutions by officials from the Minister of the Environment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of policy discourse on the governance of deforestation and forest degradation reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Majambu,

Tsayem Demaze,

Sufo‐Kankeu

et al. 2023

Env Pol Gov

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The international initiative to combat deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+, was put on the DRC agenda following actors' policy discourse aimed at convincing policy‐makers of its effectiveness. This paper uses discursive institutionalism (DI) as a theoretical and analytical framework to analyse a set of selected policy documents on REDD+ issue and to assess the effects of policy discourse on deforestation reduction governance in DRC. From an empirical standpoint, interviews with key actors involved in the DRC REDD+ processes and field observations show that four main types of discourse accompanied the adoption of REDD+ in the DRC: a discourse promoting REDD+ through its forest conservation component, as a policy instrument that would bring in significant financial resources to the DRC forest‐related state bureaucracies, a discourse that considers REDD+ as an efficient mean of reducing poverty while promoting sustainability through “green development”, a discourse presenting REDD+ as a way of reducing marginalisation of local communities and indigenous peoples by recognising their customary rights, and finally, a discourse promoting REDD+ as a tool for territorial planning and governance. In addition, the paper points out strong links between DRC REDD+ policy discourse and three types of governance approaches: organisational and fiduciary governance, territorial governance, local development and benefit sharing governance. Our analysis also shows that political discourse has played a significant role in the adoption of substantial policies aimed at reducing deforestation in DRC.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of policy discourse on the governance of deforestation and forest degradation reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Majambu,

Tsayem Demaze,

Sufo‐Kankeu

et al. 2023

Env Pol Gov

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The politics of forest governance failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lessons from 35 years of political rivalries

Majambu¹,

Demaze²,

Ongolo³

2021

int. forest. rev.

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The promotion of good governance in the forestry sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was one of the major components of the policy reforms initiated by international organisations in the mid-1980s. This paper analyses concepts of 'good governance' in the forestry sector in the DRC between the mid-1980s and 2020 and highlights the recent history of forest policy reforms. From an empirical perspective, our analysis builds both on an extensive review of policy documents and field observations, as well as interviews with actors who have been involved with forest policy reforms or seen how they were implemented. The paper also describes the key actors involved in those reforms and investigates the coalitions formed between some of them to influence the forestland governance in the country. The paper demonstrates that international organisations have often played a decisive and intrusive role in the promotion of 'good governance' in the DRC forestry sector. Their strong involvement is sometimes seen as interference and has aggravated rather than alleviated the governance crisis. In some cases, politicians, military and administrative officers have used political and security unrest as a scapegoat to benefit from forest governance failure and the related business-as-usual in the DRC.

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Who Owns REDD+? Carbon Markets, Carbon Rights and Entitlements to REDD+ Finance

Streck

2020

Forests

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The question of who is entitled to benefit from transactions under the United Nations framework to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) remains one of the most controversial issues surrounding cooperative efforts to reduce deforestation in developing countries. REDD+ has been conceived as an international framework to encourage voluntary efforts in developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon removals from forest activities. It was designed as an international framework under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to enable the generation of emission reductions and removals (ERRs) at the national—and, provisionally, the subnational—level and is, thus, primarily a creature of international law. However, in defining forest carbon ERRs, the international framework competes with national emission trading systems and domestic REDD+ legislation as well as private standards that define units traded on the voluntary carbon market. As results-based and carbon market systems emerge, the question remains: Who can claim participation in REDD+ and voluntary carbon market projects? The existence of different international, national and private standards that value ERRs poses a challenge to countries that participate in REDD+ as well as to communities and private actors participating in voluntary carbon market projects. This paper seeks to clarify the nature and limitation of rights pertaining to REDD+ market transactions. It also links the notion of carbon rights to both carbon markets and government’s decision on benefit sharing. Applying a legal lens, this paper helps to understand the various claims and underlying rights to participate in REDD+ transactions and addresses ambiguities that can lead to conflict around REDD+ implementation. The definition of carbon rights and the legal nature of carbon credits depend on local law and differ between countries. However, by categorizing carbon rights, the paper summarizes several legal considerations that are relevant for regulating REDD+ and sharing the financial benefits of transacting ERRs.

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Analysing the narrative and promises of 'avoided deforestation' implementation in Central Africa

Cited by 4 publications

References 43 publications

The effects of policy discourse on the governance of deforestation and forest degradation reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The effects of policy discourse on the governance of deforestation and forest degradation reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The politics of forest governance failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lessons from 35 years of political rivalries

Who Owns REDD+? Carbon Markets, Carbon Rights and Entitlements to REDD+ Finance

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