The international community now recognises reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and carbon stock enhancement (REDD+) as a critical component of national and international strategies for mitigating global climate change. Following the call of the Bali Action Plan, agreed at the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in December 2007, numerous REDD+ demonstration activities got underway on the ground, supported by NGOs, the private sector, bilateral donors, and multilateral agencies.

REDD+ demonstration activities focus on experimenting with mechanisms that can reduce forest emissions in preparation for the...

To map the emerging landscape of REDD+ activities and, since REDD+ activities are not always described as such, we conducted a survey of all activities that focus on reducing forest emissions and enhancing forest carbon stocks (e.g. forest restoration) (see Annexes 5-7). The survey was conducted during November and December 2008 and continuously updated until May 2009. It covers Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

We distinguish three types of REDD+ activities:

Demonstration activities. In the absence of a clear definition, we use the term ‘demonstration activity’ to refer to activities where carbon is the explicit objective. Given the ongoing debate...

A thorough analysis of REDD+ activities is currently challenged for two reasons. First, not much information is available in the public domain – in part because many activities have only just got under way and, also, because project developers probably fear competitors or criticism that could undermine the success of their projects. Second, the sector is highly dynamic. New activities are rapidly emerging while others exist only on paper and are not implemented.

Despite these challenges, we considered it worthwhile to take a snapshot of the rapidly evolving landscape of REDD+ demonstration and readiness activities. Our objective was to identify...

The survey provides some preliminary insights from emerging REDD+ activities. While readiness activities are more or less evenly distributed across country and forest contexts, demonstration activities appear to be driven by carbon objectives – sometimes putting other noncarbon benefits at risk. This becomes especially clear when we examine how REDD+ activities are distributed across forest types. Dry forests – where many rural poor live, especially in Africa, and where there are high levels of biodiversity – are currently neglected as targets for REDD+ demonstration activities. Spatially explicit, high-resolution, environmental and socio-economic analysis offer new scope for targeting REDD+ investments to...