June, 2009
Hot off the presses from Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions are several reports with the latest science, policy, economics and history of tropical forests and climate change.  These new studies, which TFG’s Director helped co-author, coincide with draft legislation in the United States and the United Nations to dramatically increase tropical forest conservation funding. All reports can be found here.

TFG coordinated the chapter on existing international forest carbon projects. The key messages from this report are:
• Hundreds of new international forest carbon projects have sprung up in the past years. Some are oriented to conserve specific forest blocks, often referred to as “projects.” Other efforts are wider in scope and involve state, provincial, regional, and even national policies and measures.
• Most projects are in an early development stage, have limited transparency and documentation. All surveyed projects plan to use a performance-based approach, where carbon finance is tied to measured changes in land use and associated emissions.
• There is extraordinary interest in forest carbon projects and worldwide capacity is rapidly growing.
• The key challenge facing REDD initiatives remains “who owns forest carbon rights in developing countries?” Policy, market, and regulatory uncertainties are inhibiting project development and initial project-funding is still inadequate, despite several large new funds.
• Decision makers should consult with real forest carbon projects to ensure that new policies and standards are practical and based on real world experiences and realities. READ MORE HERE.