India to assess climate gain; pump millions in forests

India to assess climate gain; pump millions in forests
Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:41pm EDT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will spend some $200 million to protect its forests and will announce how much carbon emission is being captured by its green cover, the environment minister said on Friday.

Jairam Ramesh said the money would go into conserving and restoring unique vegetation, controlling forest fires and strengthening forestry infrastructure, among other goals.

"This reflects the high priority that the prime minister accords to the renewal of our forestry establishment which is critical in our climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts," he said.

Forestry forms an important part of international negotiations for a new U.N. climate change deal in December, and India says efforts to conserve and increase forest cover should be considered as vital as reducing deforestation.

Forests soak up vast amounts of planet-warming CO2 and can act as a brake on climate change.

Under an emerging U.N. scheme called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation, or REDD, developing nations could potentially earn billions of dollars by setting aside and rehabilitating their forests.

The valuable carbon offsets they earn could be sold to rich nations to help them meet their emissions goals under the scheme that is likely to be part of a broader climate pact from 2013.

Ramesh said India would announce on August 10 the results of a study into how much emissions were being captured by India's forests. The quantification could bolster India's demand for money for afforestation efforts under REDD.

"We have for the first time estimated how much of our emission is being captured by the forest cover," he said.

About 65 million hectares, or 20 percent of India's land, is under forest cover. Ramesh said the cover would be extended by another six million hectares over the next six years.

The implications of carbon financing for pro-poor community forestry

The implications of carbon financing for pro-poor community forestry

Authors: Luttrell,C. ; Schreckenberg,K. ; Pe,L.
Produced by: Overseas Development Institute, London (2008)

This paper explores the implications of new financing mechanisms, carbon markets and increased investment in forestry for community forestry. The main focus of the discussion is on 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation' (REDD).

The authors discuss the debate over who has the right to 'own' carbon, and how this controls the levels at which decisions are made. They highlight the fact that, although it is not yet clear at what level REDD will operate, it probably will involve a degree of centralised control. This has implications for pro-poor outcomes including; how carbon baselines and targets will be devolved to producers and the role played by governments. The document points out that the way in which benefits are targeted is a concern for the forest dependent poor.

Key concluding points include:

• carbon financing offers the potential for new forms of financing for community forestry
• the design and process of funding mechanisms need attention to ensure that new forms of financing maintain pro-poor outcomes of community forestry
• clarification of the legal and ownership status of carbon is important to ensure security of contracts and accurate prediction of returns
• transaction costs of carbon forestry are likely to be high; therefore matching of benefits to the transaction costs and operational requirements is advisable.
  

Available online at: http://w ww. eldis. org/cf/rdr/?doc=35593