CIFOR agricultural economist expert, Maria Brockhaus gives her comment on Norway country bilateral agreement as the way to avoid delays in hatching a post Kyoto Protocol deal through United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.Norway has invested heavily in finding measures to mitigate climate change through REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) hence they don’t want to see the process failing,” Dr. Brockhaus said.

Louis Verchot, CIFOR’s principal climate Change Scientist comments on REDD standard mechanism where it was touted as one of the biggest potential deals at Cancun. Some countries want to weaken requirements that forest communities give full, informed consent to REDD programs, arguing that such strict standards may be hard to meet, said Louis Verchot of the Center for International Forestry Research.

CIFOR’s Principal Climate Change Scientist Louis Verchot comments on the future climate change negotiation and REDD post COP16. The chances of a legally binding deal to tackle climate change are looking increasingly slim as the negotiations in Cancún, Mexico, enter their final days. So much so that even environmentalists are deserting the sinking ship. The only half-way successful negotiations in Cancún to date have been on REDD. Verchot’s expects the formation of a REDD “coalition of the willing”, made up of governments and corporations who want to fund forest protection schemes and developing countries keen to be funded.

CIFOR’s publication “A guide to Learning about livelihood impacts of REDD+ projects “are cited in the story on community agreement under REDD+ in India.

CANCÚN, Mexico – Forest rights advocates and indigenous community organisations from India are adding their voices to what promises to become the newest division in the climate talks here: the inclusion of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation + in developing countries, or REDD+, as an agreement.

CIFOR”s Principal Climate Change Scientist Louis Verchot comments on REDD in Indonesia.

JAKARTA — For environmental campaigners and scientists discouraged by slow progress in the fight against climate change, Indonesia, with its vast forests and history of breakneck land clearing, has been a rare point of hope.

Louis Verchot, leading climate scientist at CIFOR, is interviewed by CNN in this special report on efforts in Indonesia to slow the rate of deforestation.

JAMBI, Indonesia _ Rainforest covers 60 percent of Indonesia, yet this developing country is among the world’s highest carbon emitters The reason: it has one of the world’s fastest rates of deforestation, mainly for palm oil production. As trees are felled, the carbon stored in them and the soil is released into the atmosphere.

Scientists with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Daniel Murdiyarso, Kristell Hergoualc’h and Louis Verchot call for a special focus on peatlands in any future deal on REDD+.

BOGOR, Indonesia — Massive amounts of carbon are being released into the atmosphere as swathes of forests growing on peat swamps in Southeast Asia are being converted to palm oil plantations, prompting scientists to call for a special focus on them in the upcoming climate talks, China’s Xinhua news agency reported citing a press statement here.