Governing Ecosystem Carbon

Abstract

After decades of climate policy development, global attention has recently shifted to the mitigation potential of terrestrial ecosystems. The focus is on the world's remaining tropical forests and how developing countries can reduce rates of forest loss while encouraging sustainable development and land-use. Since it was introduced at COP-15 in Montreal in 2005, the program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDDϩ) has supported many tropical countries to develop carbon mitigation initiatives. REDDϩ has accelerated national and sub-national policy reforms in the forestry sector and the development of on-the-ground carbon forestry projects. The majority of these initiatives are funded through climate aid from multi-lateral and bilateral donors that has targeted cross scale institution building, technology transfers, and in some countries greater involvement of local communities. However, managing carbon in terrestrial ecosystems remains a challenging and problematic undertaking. In developing countries, forests are commonly subject to multiple and competing claims leading to regular disputes between the state, private interests, and forest-dependent communities. Many countries also lack the administrative capacities or political motivation to control deforestation and illegal logging within their territories.The Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and carbon markets more generally have encouraged broad research on the governance of climate change and carbon. 1 This research has focused on governance through voluntary and compliance-based carbon markets and the practices of carbon offsetting, including numerous case studies from forest projects in developing countries. 2 These studies direct attention towards the agency and the shifting authority of public and private actors engaged in market governance, its transnational nature, and the mode or form that governance adopts. 3 For example, the CDM represents a hybrid form of administrative hierarchy with signiªcant regulation by international and national bodies, while the voluntary market operates as a networked domain under the authority of private and civil society actors. 4 Carbon offsets and markets have also been analyzed from a gov-1. See Biermann et al.

Sensing Reality? New Monitoring Technologies for Global Sustainability Standards

“…Bäckstrand and Lövbrand 2006;Okereke et al 2009;Stripple and Bulkeley 2013) and to the intersection between climate and forest governance Boer 2013;McGregor et al 2015). Governmentality approaches can also be found in studies of specific voluntary sustainability standards in areas such as water ( Vos and Boelens 2014), biofuels (Ponte 2014), fisheries (Ponte and Cheyns 2013), and palm oil (Djama et al 2011;Ponte and Cheyns 2013).…”

Governing carbon, transforming forest politics: A case study of Indonesia's REDD+ Task Force

“…Luke (1999) was one of the first researchers to apply Foucault's ideas to the government of human-environment relations. Second, REDD+ is promoted as a form of ecological modernisation -combining economic growth opportunities with ecological conservation benefits (for discussion on carbon conservation as a form of ecological modernisation, see Lovell and Liverman, 2010;Gupta et al, 2012;Boer, 2013;Lovell, 2014). Typically, this involves recourse to scientific knowledge and the use of statistics, mapping technologies, satellite images and computer modelling to construct truths about the environment and prescribe appropriate conduct for populations to act upon (Rutherford, 2007).…”

“…Typically, this involves recourse to scientific knowledge and the use of statistics, mapping technologies, satellite images and computer modelling to construct truths about the environment and prescribe appropriate conduct for populations to act upon (Rutherford, 2007). REDD+ can also be described as a form of neoliberal governmentality (Gupta et al, 2012;Boer, 2013;McGregor et al, 2014). First, as a form of geo-power, REDD+ is constructed as a necessary politicaleconomic intervention required to address the global ecological problem of climate change; in other words, it is the interest of the global population to adopt REDD+ as a mechanism to prevent climate change (e.g.…”

“…This approach goes beyond traditional text-based discourse analysis by undertaking ethnographic research to reveal how the 'conduct of conduct' is implemented, contested and challenged, as well as the intended and unintended consequences and effects (Hart, 2004;Li, 2007;McKee, 2009). Bäckstrand and Lövbrand, 2006;Gupta et al, 2012;Boer, 2013). Bäckstrand and Lövbrand, 2006;Gupta et al, 2012;Boer, 2013).…”

“…In this example, the introduction of carbon terminologies provides a means of discussing and framing forest management in ways that are far removed from the biodiversity, livelihood and economic concerns that would previously have been used to consider deforestation (see also Boer, 2013). As such, REDD+ is adding new dimensions to the already complicated politics of Indonesia's forests.…”