Discussions during the 1997 Kyoto summit on climate change identified forests as a valuable resource for sustainable development. Projects that protect and restore forests can help to reduce the level of harmful carbon emissions, as well as benefiting local people and conservation efforts. These projects are an opportunity for countries to reduce their carbon emission levels and meet their Kyoto targets through investment in schemes that protect forests.

Carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere through activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, causing global warming. Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere whilst they are growing, which helps to reduce this problem. Developed countries can meet some of their Kyoto targets by funding forest carbon projects, which protect existing forests and promote the growth of new forests. One condition of the Kyoto agreement is that all carbon trading projects must contribute to the sustainable development of the host country. Forest carbon projects can benefit communities through the creation of new jobs. They can also support efforts to conserve threatened forest ecosystems.

Research from the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) examines the impacts of forest carbon projects in Brazil and Bolivia. The main purpose of the three projects in Brazil is funding afforestation programmes (planting new trees in former areas of forest that have been cleared). The Plantar project also promotes the use of charcoal for producing pig iron, rather than the more polluting mineral coke. The Peugeot project has an environmental education programme, and distributes seedlings of local tree species to farmers. The Bananal project focuses on forest conservation, protecting existing forests and regenerating degraded forests.

The Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action project in the NKM National Park, Bolivia aims to reduce deforestation by monitoring the actions of logging companies, and buying out logging contracts. The project also assists local communities with sustainable agriculture and forest management. Proceeds from the carbon trading process are used for park management and biodiversity conservation projects.

Analysis of the four projects shows:

• the projects were constantly altered in response to changes in global rules about carbon trading
• further changes to the original aims of the projects were required in response to the needs of local communities
• investors often bought large areas of land, which is not good for the local people
• the projects tended to focus too much on global environmental benefits and not enough on local development.

These projects provide important lessons for future carbon trading programmes. They show how using forest carbon projects can bring many benefits to an area, particularly employment and increased incomes. They also identify potential problems, such as disruption to existing forms of employment. The research identified criteria for assessing the sustainable development contribution of future forest carbon projects, an important feature of carbon trading projects under the Kyoto Agreement.

Recommendations for future projects include:

• It is important for local communities to be involved in designing, running and evaluating projects, to ensure their support and to make the best use of their knowledge of an area.
• Programmes must be organised so that forest jobs continue, and do not end after the initial tree planting stage.  One way to achieve this is planting trees in cycles.
• They must include an aspect of environmental education, to make sure local communities understand the importance of replanting forest areas.
• Future projects must enable smallholders to benefit more by allowing for dispersed forest lots and different land uses.

Forest carbon projects have the potential to create many benefits, at global and local levels. It is important that the lessons from these four pilot projects be used to make future projects even more successful.

Source(s):
‘Local sustainable development effects of forest carbon projects in Brazil and Bolivia. A view from the field’, International Institute for Environment and Development Environmental Economics Programme, January 2004

Funded by: Shell Foundation’s Sustainable Energy Programme, Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida), and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

id21 Research Highlight: 19 August 2004

Further Information:
Professor Peter H. May
Federal Rural University
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

Contact the contributor: peter@rebraf.org.br

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK

Other related links:
'Better living through pig iron', Science Matters, by D. Suzuki, November 2003'

'Collision course: free trade’s free ride on the global climate'

'Securing the future of forests - lessons from Namibia'

'Making the most of forest products'

'Protecting forests for water management'