Forests blogs

Communities are protecting Vietnam’s forests, but are they sharing in the benefits yet?

Protecting forests from illegal logging and helping them to flourish is of paramount importance in the fight against climate change.  But of equal importance is ensuring that systems of forest management are helping to pull those dependent on forests out of poverty. 

Needed: Local farmers and communities to plant trees in Indonesia

Forests cover almost half of Indonesia’s surface but, because growing new tree plantations and sustainably managing forests has historically not kept pace with the country’s extensive timber proces

REDD+ project design: 10 points to consider so the poor don’t lose out

REDD+ aims to reward or compensate tropical developing countries for keeping their forests intact  or for reducing the scale of  deforestation. It’s predicted that financial flows to these countries from REDD+ could reach up to US$30 billion a year. So getting the issue of REDD+  benefit distribution right is crucial, not only to ensure that it is benefiting the poorest of the poor (or at least not harming them), but for building REDD+’s legitimacy both at the national and international level, which in turn will help preserve forest ecosystems.

Working with local journalists: a mutually beneficial partnership

"I am not exaggerating when I say that reporting on the UN climate change talks is one of the best experiences an environment journalist could ever have. Suddenly it seems as if everyone in the world talks only about forests, water and climate."

Postcard from Durban: Greener football and tree-preneurs

I met this 60-year old mother of seven on the outskirts of Durban, South Africa where she and hundreds of other women are helping to transform their communities and the landscape around them, one s

UN climate negotiations video update: Forest day

James Mayers, the head of IIED's natural resources group, discusses key themes being discussed at the UN Climate Negotiations’ forest day in Durban, South Africa.

Louder this time, ‘Turn REDD on its head!’

A year ago, ‘Turn REDD on its head!’ seemed like a good title for a blog. Now it seems like an essential way forward if REDD is going to work.

REDD+: a win-win deal is possible!

With the dusk of the International Year of Forests fast approaching, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, sustainable forest management, conservation and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) has the potential to bring positive changes to the lives of people who are dependent on forests for their livelihoods. But this can only happen if REDD+ is implemented in a way that ensures their participation in the process.

REDD+: Learning from participatory forest management

As policymakers prepare to discuss REDD+ at UN climate talks in Durban, they should heed the lessons learned from years of experience in participatory forest management across the developing world.

Q: When is a forest not a forest? A: When no-one knows

Take a look at these two photographs and play spot the difference.

Wangari Maathai: activist, environmentalist and mother to a movement

It is with great sadness that I heard of the death of Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai aged 71. She has been a great champion of why environment matters for people across the planet, and especially for women and poor groups in Africa. Like a tall spreading tree, perhaps an Acacia, her influence and courage have provided nourishment and shelter for a wide range of activities in Kenya and beyond.

REDD+ in Mozambique: new opportunity for land grabbers?

Land is cheap and is perceived to be abundant in Africa. A scramble for its land, following the food and fuel crisis three years ago, is on. European and North American companies have been acquiring land to grow export and biofuel crops and to supply their need for pulp and paper. Now they’re being joined by newly emerging economies – in particular Brazil, India and China – which are also increasingly acquiring large tracts of land and searching for other natural resources, in particular water and minerals.

Assessing REDD+: beyond carbon measurements

Assessing projects to reduce deforestation and forest degradation is not just about measuring how much carbon they have sequestered or enhanced. It is equally about asking what such projects have done to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives.

Biomass: boon or bane?

A new IIED briefing paper asks some hard questions about biomass investments and warns that rising demand for renewable energy sources could drive land grabs.

Sanity in REDD governance shock!

When it comes to forest governance — who gets to decide what about forests — REDD is a pleasant dream for some, a nightmare for others. I think it is depends on how you see the money and the leverage.

Uganda's forest grabbers are back - but the people are ready

Biomass in the red – but can we put biomass into REDD+?

Commercial forest rights that create incentives for Malawians to plant trees on farm for food and fuel are essential for REDD+ and climate change adaptation.

When we care for it...preserving cultural and spiritual values of forests

Everywhere in the world people care for and try to preserve the things they value.

What is considered valuable is relative to the socio-cultural context, and often things that are of great significance and deeply precious for some individuals and groups are not for others. There are things and places that are priceless because they refer to our identity and our sense of being and belonging.

Delivering REDD+: can past lessons help in tempering optimism and making headway?

The International Year of Forests is celebrating the importance of forests and raising the profile of challenges and opportunities. The perceived value of forests has been raised by the recognition of their role in mitigating climate change. But the International Year of Forests is a momentous reminder that there are still unresolved issues.

Setting fire to outdated thinking on biomass energy

Energy shortages and rising fuel costs are nothing new to the poor in developing countries where 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion use biomass as their primary cooking and heating fuels. What is new, is the idea that renewable biomass energy itself could enable developing countries to fight poverty and climate change, create jobs and gain energy independence.

Nepal: space to debate, opportunities to act

A first visit to a country is often the time when we ‘see’ the most, and our recent brief visit to Nepal certainly afforded some lasting impressions. High Himalayan ranges glistening in the sun contrasting with the air pollution and traffic congestion of Kathmandu; immense cultural, religious and architectural wealth side by side with acute poverty; roads without streetlights or traffic lights, and shops in the city centre lit by candles, (power cuts were increased from 12 to 14 hours per day during our visit).

Forest Connect: championing local forest enterprises

Last week (16–18 February), I joined the Forest Connect alliance at a meeting in Ethiopia to learn from the country’s experience in locally controlled forestry and reaffirm our vision that poverty reduction and forest conservation can go hand in hand if locally controlled forest enterprises can be made profitable and sustainable.

Lumbering illegality: how to make timber sustainable and pro-poor

The European Union is closing its doors to illegal timber exports. But unless we tackle unsustainable logging to satisfy domestic timber markets, their actions will little benefit forests, or the millions of poor people that live within them. Making timber sustainable requires the use of both trade and climate strategies in unison to bring about locally controlled forestry.

Local voice, global forest, local forest, global voice

Who had heard of G3 eighteen months ago? Nobody, because it didn’t exist.
Yet an alliance known as The Three Rights Holders Group has had a strong presence at COP 16 in Cancun, manning an information booth and participating in various panels.

The group’s message was a simple one, advocating for sustainable forest management and locally controlled forestry as a vital component in any realistic strategy going forward to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

So who is this group and where has it come from?

Tick tock — it’s the year of forests

The UN has declared 2011 as the international year of forests — although more than a billion forest-dependent poor will probably not see it that way. Spiralling global demand for food, energy, fibre and water spell trouble for these people’s forests.

Schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) may have been agreed at last month’s climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, but without locally controlled forestry this, in itself, will not stop the pressure on our forests. If you listen carefully you can still hear the forest clock ticking down…