REDD+, too good to be true? Experts weigh in on the framework’s potential to stop deforestation, improve governance and strengthen indigenous land rights.

Efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement will not succeed if tropical deforestation continues business as usual. Protecting forests is among one of the most affordable, efficient strategies to curb greenhouse gas emissions and advance sustainable development. Yet forests continue to be an undervalued asset. Every year, a tropical forested area the size of Austria is cleared. Left unchecked, this deforestation will release 169 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 35 years, squandering one-sixth of the world’s emissions budget.

The good news is that science, economics and politics have aligned in support of a major international effort to reverse tropical deforestation. But one critical factor of the equation is still missing: finance. 

REDD+, a global framework to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, enables developing countries to receive results-based payment from wealthy nations for forest-related emissions reductions. Pilot programs in Brazil and Indonesia show that REDD+ funds not only help countries stop deforestation, but they can also improve governance and empower indigenous communities to secure land tenure.

Join Frances Seymour, author of Why Forests? Why Now? and land rights expert Peter Veit as they discuss the benefits and limitations of REDD+, the international community’s role in financing forest protection, and the challenges that Indigenous Peoples still face when registering their land.

Speakers

  • Frances Seymour, Distinguished Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute
  • Peter Veit, Director, Land and Resource Rights Initiative, World Resources Institute

Moderator

  • Mark Robinson, Global Director, Governance, World Resources Institute

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