Promoting Carbon financing: will this really create climatic changes mitigation and community benefits?

[isaac]

Reducing emmission from Deforestation is picking up as a global discussion especially for the potential developing countries. But again they are ranking high in poor forest governances. I think govenance may impede these initiatives; though scenarios are sounding better for the resource-rich communities but living in abject poverty. Again will climate changes be arrested through these opportunities?

[Duncan Macqueen]

Hi Isaac,
Reduced Emisions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) is certainly all the rage these days. Everybody is talking about it and there are huge pots of money being talked of. It seems that everyone is talking especially to the Norwegians who have committed billions of dollars to REDD!! I am currently working with a Guyanese team to assess the multi-stakeholder process that decides how Norway's REDD money should be spent in Guyana. I think this is where REDD will fly or fail. Can processes be set up that include people who are currently marginalised from forest decision-making and involved in forest conversion or degradation? Can consensus be reached about payment mechanisms that would reward them for zero-deforestation? An interesting example comes from the state of Amazonas, Brazil where FAS has set up a payment schme known as Bolsa Floresta.

Bolsa Floresta is operational in areas threatened by future deforestation – identified through careful analysis and mapping. It is being scaled up quickly – now making payments to more than 6000 families in 14 threatened conservation areas, covering over 10 million hectares. Bolsa Floresta has a number of unique features that go with a rigorous approach to zero deforestation. Most importantly, it structures payments into four distinct funding channels one of which (Bolsa Floresta Familiar) is dispersed through a purpose-designed debit card system run by a mainstream bank (Bradesco). The fourfold payment structure creates a balance of incentives that make a pledge towards zero deforestation economically palatable at family and community level, involving: (i) Bolsa Floresta Familiar - direct ‘family reward payments’ to participating families (US$ 25 per month); (ii) Bolsa Floresta Associação - direct payments to a community association to enhance stakeholder engagement and local governance (equivalent to 10% of family payments – approximately US$ 500 per month); (iii) Bolsa Floresta Renda - investments into ‘no-smoke’ sustainable businesses based on natural resources management (US$ 175 per year multiplied by the numbers of families); and, (iv) Bolsa Floresta Social - community level social investments, for example in health, education, communication and transport (US$ 175 per year multiplied by the number of families). Money comes both from the Brazilian government (as part of its commitment to reduce deforestation) and the private sector. For example Marriott Hotels encourage voluntary contributions from guests to offset their carbon emission while in the hotel - and several million dollars are then channeled into the Bolsa Floresta programme to avoid deforestation that might otherwise have happened. Could this work elsewhere?

[isaac]

Dear Duncan
Thank you very much for enlightening me on this workable example from Brazil (I hope you are also putting the same scenarios in Guyana). We would wish to copy this in my country. We are just starting to float the ideas and recently Norway has realesed funds for piloting this in Tanzania, coordinated by the Government. Many NGOs and CBOs have applied but I guess no one knows how will it work well. Thanks for this example I can share widely with many people in Tanzania, and hopefully even making a study visit to Brasil.