Why are there so few afforestation and reforestation Clean Development Mechanism projects?

Schierl, Thomas; Dargusch, Paul; Harrison, Steve; Herbohn, John

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.12.002

Cited by 154 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Caution should be taken that C projects by reforestation should not extensively conflict with existing land uses such as agriculture, as loss of agricultural activity on land earmarked for C-stocking projects could result in leakage, where C stocking in one area results in agricultural increases-and therefore loss of C stocks-in other areas 13 . Also, for reforestation projects to succeed in developing countries, surrounding communities must obtain benefits from forests and be actively involved in their management 41,42 . A number of co-benefits have been shown to improve the success of C-stocking projects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial optimization of carbon-stocking projects across Africa integrating stocking potential with co-benefits and feasibility

et al. 2013

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Carbon offset projects through forestation are employed within the emissions trading framework to store carbon. Yet, information about the potential of landscapes to stock carbon, essential to the design of offset projects, is often lacking. Here, based on data on vegetation carbon, climate and soil, we quantify the potential for carbon storage in woody vegetation across tropical Africa. The ability of offset projects to produce co-benefits for ecosystems and people is then quantified. When co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation are considered, the top-ranked sites are sometimes different to sites selected purely for their carbon-stocking potential, although they still possess up to 92% of the latter carbon-stocking potential. This work provides the first continental-scale assessment of which areas may provide the greatest direct and indirect benefits from carbon storage reforestation projects at the smallest costs and risks, providing crucial information for prioritization of investments in carbon storage projects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial optimization of carbon-stocking projects across Africa integrating stocking potential with co-benefits and feasibility

et al. 2013

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“…Including criteria such as the assessment of the vulnerability of forests and other natural systems to climate change and the design of adaptation measures could require additional costs for project developers, who are already having worries about the initial high transaction cost involved in developing forest carbon projects [38]. Apart from the cost, available and reliable data and expertise to assess present and future climate projections and impacts in particular project sites and program areas could be a challenge to project developers.…”

Section: Opportunities For Planning and Promoting M + A Synergy Outcomentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Opportunities for Promoting Synergies between Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Forest Carbon Initiatives

Chia

Fobissie

Kanninen

2016

Forests

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Abstract:There is growing interest in designing and implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation (M + A) in synergy in the forest and land use sectors. However, there is limited knowledge on how the planning and promotion of synergies between M + A can be operationalized in the current efforts to mitigate climate change through forest carbon. This paper contributes to fill this knowledge gap by exploring ways of planning and promoting M + A synergy outcomes in forest carbon initiatives. It examines eight guidelines that are widely used in designing and implementing forest carbon initiatives. Four guiding principles with a number of criteria that are relevant for planning synergy outcomes in forest carbon activities are proposed. The guidelines for developing forest carbon initiatives need to demonstrate that (1) the health of forest ecosystems is maintained or enhanced; (2) the adaptive capacity of forest-dependent communities is ensured; (3) carbon and adaptation benefits are monitored and verified; and (4) adaptation outcomes are anticipated and planned in forest carbon initiatives. The forest carbon project development guidelines can encourage the integration of adaptation in forest carbon initiatives. However, their current efforts guiding projects and programs to deliver biodiversity and environmental benefits, ecosystem services, and socioeconomic benefits are not considered explicitly as efforts towards enhancing adaptation. An approach for incentivizing and motivating project developers, guideline setters, and offset buyers is imperative in order to enable existing guidelines to make clear contributions to adaptation goals. We highlight and discuss potential ways of incentivizing and motivating the explicit planning and promotion of adaptation outcomes in forest carbon initiatives.

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“…Additional to these national conditions there are other barriers related to afforestation/reforestation projects as discussed by Thomas et al among which the high risk associated with the permanence issue, the lack of revenue in the first years of the project, the actual planting costs etc. Despite the high expectations of the afforestation/reforestation methodology, only a fraction of the projects in the CDM pipeline made use of this methodology (around 0.2%) [54].…”

Section: Challenge 1: Core Definitions What Is a Forest?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pioneering in Marginal Fields: Jatropha for Carbon Credits and Restoring Degraded Land in Eastern Indonesia

Rooijen

2014

Sustainability

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This paper highlights the role of a national Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Indonesia as "pioneer" actor in the jatropha global production network, linking solutions for local problems with narratives concerning global concerns. Analysis of previous activities of the NGO positions their jatropha project as one period in a sequence of donor-funded appropriate technology programs. On the island of Flores in Eastern Indonesia the NGO aimed to establish community based jatropha cultivation exclusively on "degraded land", avoiding threats to food cultivation, and responding to local problems of land degradation and water resources depletion. In contrast with investors interested in jatropha based biofuel production for export, the NGO aimed at developing biofuel for local needs, including jatropha based electricity generation in the regional state-owned power plant. Anticipating progress in international and national regulations concerning the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) the 2008 project's design included carbon credit income as a main source of future project financing. Using methods of socio-legal studies and political ecology, this study indicates that when the economic feasibility of a project is based on the future financial value of a legally constructed commodity like carbon credits, the sustainability of the project outcome can be questionable. The author recommends precaution when it comes to including anticipated income from carbon credits in calculating the economic viability of a project, as price developments can fluctuate when political support and regulations change.

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Why are there so few afforestation and reforestation Clean Development Mechanism projects?

Cited by 154 publications

References 50 publications

Spatial optimization of carbon-stocking projects across Africa integrating stocking potential with co-benefits and feasibility

Spatial optimization of carbon-stocking projects across Africa integrating stocking potential with co-benefits and feasibility

Exploring Opportunities for Promoting Synergies between Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Forest Carbon Initiatives

Pioneering in Marginal Fields: Jatropha for Carbon Credits and Restoring Degraded Land in Eastern Indonesia

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