Studi baru oleh "Center for International Forestry Research" (CIFOR) mengingatkan bahwa dukungan baru terhadap REDD (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation) terancam oleh kegagalan dalam pergulatan soal akar penyebab deforestasi. "Adalah berbahaya jika para pembuat keputusan gagal melihat bahwa pengrusakan hutan disebabkan oleh masalah politis, ekonomi dan sejenisnya yang berasal dari luar sektor kehutanan," kata Dirjen CIFOR Frances Seymour, pada Konferensi Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa/PBB tentang Perubahan Iklim (UNFCCC) di Nusa Dua, Bali, Jumat.

Friday, the Center for International Forestry Research recommended creating a multibillion-dollar carbon trading program that would include payments to forest owners who leave forests intact, so they can continue absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. But, the organization warned, governments might use those payments to exploit forest dwellers if the "Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation" (a.k.a. "Reducing Emission from Deforestation in Developing Countries," or REDD) program is not constructed carefully.

A new study by one of the world’s leading forestry research institutes warns that the new push to “reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation,” known by the acronym REDD, is imperiled by a routine failure to grasp the root causes of deforestation. The study sought to link what is known about the underlying causes of the loss of 13 million hectares of forest each year to the promise—and potential pitfalls—of REDD schemes. Based on more than a decade of in-depth research on the forces driving deforestation worldwide, the report by researchers at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) found that there is ample opportunity to reduce carbon emissions if financial incentives will be sufficient enough to flip political and economic realities that cause deforestation.

Incentives to tackle deforestation and forest degradation can play a key role in combating climate change and requires a strong policy framework that is fair to poor communities, says a new report.

The report from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), was launched today (7 December) at the UN climate meeting in Bali, Indonesia. It states that "an appropriate policy framework to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) would help prioritise areas with high deforestation risk and high carbon content, while ensuring the sustained well-being of forest-dependent communities".

Daniel adalah anggota Panel Antarpemerintah untuk Perubahan Iklim (IPCC) bentukan PBB sejak 1998. Sekitar 3.000 ilmuwan dunia menjadi anggota lembaga ini. Mereka menelisik pengaruh pemanasan global terhadap planet Bumi. Oktober lalu, IPCC, bersama bekas Wakil Presiden Al Gore, meraih penghargaan Nobel Perdamaian 2007. Selain meneliti, Daniel adalah Guru Besar Ilmu Atmosfer di Jurusan Geofisika dan Meteorologi, Institut Pertanian Bogor.

Jumlah lahan gambut di Indonesia mencapai 22,5 juta hektare. Riau menyimpan hampir separuhnya. Sisanya tersebar di Aceh, Jambi, Kalimantan, dan Papua. Greenpeace menduga hampir separuhnya sudah rusak. Studi lembaga peneliti kehutanan internasional Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) menyatakan, dari konversi lahan gambut saja, Indonesia melepas 1.100 juta ton karbon dioksida (CO2) ke udara per tahun. ”Ini sama dengan seluruh emisi yang dikeluarkan Jerman,” kata Profesor Daniel Murdiyarso, ahli klimatologi Institut Pertanian Bogor.

Converting Indonesian forests and peatlands for various agricultural land uses has released huge amounts of greenhouse gases with little economic benefit, according to a new report. The report, by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Indonesian partners, was released last week (21 November). Researchers found that less than two per cent of the 400 megatonnes that the provinces emit per year, largely through ‘slash and burn’ land clearing, yield a clear economic benefit of more than US$15 per tonne of carbon dioxide.

Similar articles also published in Environmental News Network and Forest Watch

The concept, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), appears to have widespread global support, not least because deforestation accounts for almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with about half from Indonesia alone. Experts warn, however, that implementation will be difficult and the incentives will have to be considerable. "It’s definitely not a silver bullet (and palm oil) is a significant new threat to forests," says Ms Seymour. "A very robust REDD regime will be necessary to counter the profits to be made from this lucrative industry."

Similar story also appeared in Irish Times