| Recent events or conferences: The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań |
Foresters Support Measures To Reduce Deforestation 2008-12-17
Following conclusion of the fourteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Poznan, Poland, the Presidents of the Institute of Foresters of Australia (IFA), Dr Peter Volker, and the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF), Dr Andrew McEwen, have jointly expressed support for international recognition of activities to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) within the post-2012 Kyoto framework.
More Groups unite to challenge the definition of forests under UNFCCC/REDD 2008-12-11
Global Forest Coalition, The Wilderness Society, World Rainforest Movement, Global Justice Ecology Project, Via Campesina, the International Youth Delegation and the STOP GE Trees Campaign united today to challenge the UN/REDD definition of forests.
Currently the UN considers industrial tree plantations as forests. This is, simply put, an egregious error. Plantations are not forests. Forests are diverse ecosystems and plantations are void of biodiversity. The UN definition endangers Indigenous Peoples, forest dependent people, peasants, small farmers, biodiversity and exacerbates climate change.
More REDD hot forests 2008-12-08
The U.S. Secret Service and the press are on higher alert with the arrival of U.S. congressional delegations at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Poznan as the second week of the conference gets underway. While the official Bush delegation is remaining low-profile -- even evading questions at today's press conference -- most Democratic congressional teams are pitching better times just around the corner on Capitol Hill.
One of the hottest topics of the conference is Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation -- REDD. Getting policy discussions underway in the coming year is a top priority for environmentalists heading toward the Copenhagen conference in December 2009. REDD has had a rocky time the last few days here, however, with major U.S. environmental groups petitioning the convention to free it from the shackles of a technical panel. If it is released, the good news is that the approaches of the UNFCCC and the U.S. seem to be converging on some issues (despite U.S. delegation chief Harlan Watson's admission in today's press conference that he didn't know the details of the U.S. position on REDD).
More REDD may harm forest people, alleges report 2008-12-02
A new report finds that the World Bank is not doing enough to protect indigenous rights under its mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). "Cutting Corners" alleges that the Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) — which provides seed funding for REDD projects — has rushed its review process and is failing to follow its own rules set to protect indigenous people and forest communities. Such groups fear that without a proper framework, REDD could be used by governments and carbon traders to force forest people off their lands.
More U.N. Program to Fight Deforestation 2008-09-30
Last week the United Nations launched a program by which developed nations will pay poorer nations to preserve their forests and plant new trees. The goal of the program, called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Program, or UN-REDD, is to slow global climate change by reducing deforestation in developing countries like Bolivia, Indonesia and Zambia.
More FSC stakes out its REDD role 2008-09-23
There is now strong and broad international support for formal incentives for a global financing mechanism for preserving forests, or what’s become known as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The REDD initiative would see payments from the developed world to governments and communities in the developing world, particularly those in which tropical rainforests lie.
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