Billions of dollars are being mobilised to protect and increase the world’s Forests under a climate protection mechanism known as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). But many experts are unsure that it will work, and some fear it could end in disaster. According to Anne Larson, who works in Nicaragua as an associate at the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), “REDD presents lots of risks.” “Most countries are simply not ready. They do not have policies to protect the rights of local and indigenous peoples, to determine land tenure or even work out who owns the ‘carbon rights’ to a forest,” Larson told participants at an international conference on smallholder and community forestry in Montpellier, France, in late March.

The story also appeared in Reuters Alertnet.

Developed nations have pledged some US$30 billion from 2010 to 2012, with another $100 billion per year from 2020. The accord also stipulates the establishment of a Copenhagen Green climate fund. “With no binding treaty issued, the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism [CDM] becomes unclear,” said Daniel, who is also researcher at the Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor). He said that the government should allocate funds for adapting to climate change as Indonesia should not rely on external aid. “There must be a budget for adaptation. It is not fair if the government focuses purely on funding mitigation programs,” he said.

Recent policies favoring mining and palm oil plantations make the nation’s claims that it holds an important role at climate-change negotiations nothing more than lip service, a climate scientist said on Thursday. “Everyone can claim that they have big roles [on climate-change negotiations]. It’s going to be different if others state that,” said Daniel Murdiyarso, a senior climate scientist who is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He added that Indonesia’s claim to such a role was contradicted by “recent policies on mining and agriculture.”

Communities linked to their own networks and organizations have the best chance of success in community forestry, a research finds. The three-year research project, conducted by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), assessed 30 sites in 10 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. “The research focused on communities that had fought for or been granted new statutory rights,” Anne Larson, senior associate at CIFOR said. The findings were published in a book, Forest for People: Community Rights Forest Tenure Reform, which was launched on Wednesday.

Ngoài sô tiên thât thoát xung quanh các ñôn ñiên ñê xuât, nhiêu khon tiên ln có the ño vào Indonesia thông qua các ñê án REDD. Theo mot báo cáo ca Liên minh Khí hau R¬ng Indonesia, n?c này có the nhan ñ?c 4,5 t) USD/n?m nêu gim ñ?c 30% nn phá r¬ng. Christopher Barr, ñông tác gi ca báo cáo CIFOR li lo ngi rang, dù tình hình ñã ñ?c ci thien ke t¬ sau s s p ño ca Soeharto n?m 1998, hien nay viec giám sát tài chính Indonesia van ch?a ñ?c ci thien và s l?ng ñon rât có kh n?ng tái dien.

Peneliti senior lembaga penelitian kehutanan antarbangsa (CIFOR) Moira Moeliono mengemukakan bahwa zona khusus dapat menjadi jawaban untuk mengelola konflik antara masyarakat dan taman nasional (TN). “Namun, pembentukan zona khusus tidak cukup hanya dengan peraturan. Dibutuhkan keterlibatan semua pemangku kepentingan dan komitmen bersama untuk mewujudkannya,” katanya di Bogor, Jawa Barat (Jabar), Senin. Disela-sela kegiatan “shared learning” (belajar bersama) ke-10 bertema “Zona Khusus di Kawasan Taman Nasional: Peluang dan Tantangan Mewujudkan Keseimbangan antara Konservasi dan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat”, ia mengatakan bahwa di hampir sebagian besar TN di Indonesia hingga kini masih terjadi konflik antara kedua belah pihak.

The story also appeared in Media Indonesia and Sinar Harapan (print paper).

SL itu bertema Zona Khusus di Kawasan Taman Nasional: Peluang dan Tantangan Mewujudkan Keseimbangan antara Konservasi dan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat. Fasilitatornya adalah Ford Foundation, CIFOR, PILI, dan RMI. Dialog dengan pihak Ditjen PHKA adalah acara terakhir peserta. Selama sepekan sejak 16 Februari, mereka melakukan berbagai aktivitas seperti mendengarkan pemaparan sejumlah nara sumber/ahli masalah konservasi/taman nasional dan berdiskusi/saling berbagi pengalaman menghadapi persoalan masyarakatnya.

Según un estudio del Centro Internacional de Investigación Forestal (CIFOR), una plantación de palma de aceite tardaría 840 años en producir el biocombustible necesario para contrarrestar las emisiones de CO2 que se liberan al desforestar una zona turbera del mismo tamaño que la superficie del cultivo. Por su parte, el Gobierno indonesio niega que el cambio vaya a acelerar la conversión de junglas en tierras cultivables, y mantiene su plan de alcanzar los veinte millones de hectáreas de cultivos de palma en 2020, frente a los siete actuales.

The story also appeared in El Diario Montañes, Nuesto Pais, Laverdad, and Yahoo! News.