Forest funding 'could put billions in wrong hands'

* David Adam, environment correspondent
* The Guardian,
* Monday July 14, 2008
* Article history

The rush to protect forests as a way to tackle global warming could see billions of pounds handed over to corrupt politicians, criminals and polluting industries, experts have warned.

The Rights and Resources Initiative, a coalition of groups from around the world, says not enough has been done to address land rights in tropical countries, where much of the money is being directed. Without clearer guidelines on land ownership and involvement by local people, they say, the funds provided by rich countries, including Britain, to protect trees could fuel violent conflict and fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Deforestation causes about a fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and how to protect the huge stocks of carbon locked in tropical forests has become a key issue in the climate change debate. Sir Nicholas Stern, in his 2006 review of the economics of the problem, said that £2.5bn a year could be enough to prevent deforestation across the eight most important countries. Britain and Norway have already pledged £108m to a fund to protect forests in the Congo basin. Rich countries paying tropical regions to protect forests is likely to form part of a new global climate deal to replace the Kyoto protocol, which could be agreed next year.

Stern also said that a series of institutional and policy reforms were needed, including forest property rights. Without such changes, said Andy White, coordinator of the initiative, the money aimed at protecting trees could go to central government officials, many of whom were closely tied to illegal logging and mining activities. He said direct payments to local groups would be more effective, but that required them to be given clear land rights. Evidence from Mexico, Guatemala and Brazil showed that local communities protected the forests better than governments, he said.

White added: "These forests are often in lawless regions with a history of conflict. We have huge concerns about sending all this money in the name of fighting climate change if the land rights for people living there are not resolved. It could cause more violence, benefit only a wealthy elite and lead to even greater carbon emissions.

"We think it would be a terrible mistake to reduce development funding purely to carbon and mitigating climate change. This poses a real dilemma for governments of conscience like the UK. They risk undermining all of their development and human rights work in this area if efforts to protect carbon don't support and strengthen community land rights and organisations."

No different than what could happen to your money invested in Wall Street. They just have to put in-place proper controls and reporting mechanisms no different that that of the SEC, but focused on Sustainability criteria, signed off independent accountants. A nations carbon credit values could be underpinned by such criteria irregardless of demand and supply. One should not think only of the pitfalls of any such programs, but what controls and mechanisms are needed to prevent these pitfalls becoming sink-holes.

If burnham was doing this deal it would have been a success. He would have had lumber companies and miners lined up before he made the offer. When the rest of the so called developed world play stupid he would have used the threat of forest destruction as leverage. This lil bai jagdeo does not know how to negotiate. Look how lil lil suriname doing better than guyana and they got half the land mass and resources.

quote:

Originally posted by Benford:
If burnham was doing this deal it would have been a success. He would have had lumber companies and miners lined up before he made the offer. When the rest of the so called developed world play stupid he would have used the threat of forest destruction as leverage. This lil bai jagdeo does not know how to negotiate. Look how lil lil suriname doing better than guyana and they got half the land mass and resources.

Before he makes the offer he should find out how it will works or he might find out the offer means nothing. LFSB oversaw the demise of Guyana from a viable nation to the most improvished, what gives you confident he would have suddenly turn it around. Just wishful thinking from a dreamer.

quote:

Rich countries paying tropical regions to protect forests is likely to form part of a new global climate deal to replace the Kyoto protocol, which could be agreed next year.

The principle for compensation to preserve the rainforests is established and recgnized.

This group provided their opinion on the general perceptions for internal financial management of the countries.

Those are two distinct issues.

quote:

Originally posted by Demerara_Guy:

The principle for compensation to preserve the rainforests is established and recgnized.

Is it? Where? Brazil, Indonesia? Africa? Malaysia?

I say cut down the damm trees and sell it to them. You would make more money!

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:
I say cut down the damm trees and sell it to them. You would make more money!

You don't have to cut down the coca tree, or even the big ganja trees. Just pick the leaves and sell those to them.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.T:

quote:

Originally posted by Demerara_Guy:

The principle for compensation to preserve the rainforests is established and recgnized.

Is it? Where? Brazil, Indonesia? Africa? Malaysia?

Read again this specific article you posted, and also become aware of the issies of oxygen -vs- carbon dioxide relative to rain forests.

Also, it is of interest to note, that this article made no reference to:

1. Compensation for reinforests is a scam.

2. Leaders of any country conducting a scam regarding rain forests management.

3. This approach as a scam, specifically by Jagdeo.

Suddenly, this British journalist is adopted as an authority on carbon trading, but there is no mention of a scam as indicated in the subject of this thread! Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and others are also looking at carbon trading schemes. Are those countries involved in "scams" as well?

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:
I say cut down the damm trees and sell it to them. You would make more money!

I agree 100%. Guyana is only hemming and hawing while Brazil and other Asian countries are prospering. The world will go on without our forests. With 70% of our land mass forested we could easily get rid of 50% of that.

quote:

Originally posted by Jungle Girl:
The world will go on without our forests. With 70% of our land mass forested we could easily get rid of 50% of that.

what a confounded blithering idiot !

asia will pay dearly for the loss of forests . Europe invested trillions of dollars over decades to restore and expand forests they almost depleted then they went south and started deforestation now everyone is concerned .

In china and other asian countries the weather changes are having devastating effects , pollution in China is the worse in the world and getting far worse , disease will become more rampant as people are forced to live in extreme high densities without proper infrastructure and I can go on and on . Waters are becoming polluted and contaminated .

quote:

Originally posted by Daren David:
Suddenly, this British journalist is adopted as an authority on carbon trading, but there is no mention of a scam as indicated in the subject of this thread! Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and others are also looking at carbon trading schemes. Are those countries involved in "scams" as well?

Quite likely YES. Costa Rica being a possible exception.

The focus of the discussion should be on establishing market based carbon trading systems with corporations which own these forests being compensated for service rendered (i.e. not cutting down trees). Not only will this be ongoing revenues based on services provided, and subject to political interference (i.e. some country refusing to pay)rather than a once off foreign aid, but it will get people like Jagdeo away from his welfare notion that life is about begging people for something. It wil also allow more accountability as to how thes efunds are used. These corporations should be publicly traded and not state owned.


I repaet no country is going to waste tax payers dollars for a new scam to feed corrupt third world politicians. Let those who generate carbon emissions pay for it.

First Countries Named to Benefit from Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

22/07/2008 13:23 (03:28 minutes ago)

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

fThe FINANCIAL -- Fourteen states have been selected as the first developing country members of an innovative partnership and international financing mechanism to combat tropical deforestation and climate change.

According to The World Bank, the 14 developing countries include six in Africa (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar); five in Latin America (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico, Panama); and three in Asia (Nepal, Lao PDR, and Vietnam). They will receive initial funding from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), an innovative approach to financing efforts to combat climate change.

The FCPF aims to reduce deforestation and forest degradation by compensating developing countries for greenhouse gas emission reductions. The partnership, approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on September 25, 2007, became functionally operational on June 25, 2008. The 14 tropical and sub-tropical countries will receive grant support as they build their capacity for REDD and tap into future systems of positive incentives for REDD.

The decision about which countries will receive initial funding came at a two-day meeting in Paris of the FCPF Steering Committee. The committee was made up of an equal number of developing and industrialized countries, plus observers from international organizations, non-governmental institutions, and forest-dependent indigenous peoples and other forest dwellers. The committee was assisted in its decision by an independent Technical Advisory Panel comprised of experts in different technical fields and different regions of the world.

“Deforestation and forest degradation together are the second leading man-made cause of global warming,” said Joëlle Chassard, Manager of the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit. “They are responsible for about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the main source of national emissions in many developing countries. For that reason, we have been eager to initiate this partnership and assist countries while building a body of knowledge on how best to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by protecting forests and helping the people who benefit from them.”

Each of the nine industrialized countries that formalized their participation in the partnership was present at the Paris meeting. These countries are Australia, Finland, France (the French Development Agency), Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, they have committed to contribute about US$82 million to the FCPF. More contributions from the public and private sector are expected in the coming months.

“The FCPF is an important mechanism for giving effect to what was agreed at the Bali climate change meetings in 2007 – that donors and developing countries should work together to trial approaches to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation,” said Robin Davies, Assistant Director General, Sustainable Development Group, AusAID, representing Australia, the first donor to the facility. “The selection of this initial group of developing country partners is an important first step in improving global understanding of ways to reduce forest carbon emissions and lift forest-dependent communities out of poverty.”

The grant money being provided to the first 14 developing countries in the FCPF will help them to prepare for future systems of positive incentives for REDD, in particular by establishing emissions reference levels, adopting REDD strategies, and designing monitoring systems. Developing countries have expressed a strong interest in participating in the FCPF and it is expected that more countries will receive support in the coming months.

“The FCPF has created a true partnership,” said Gisela Ulloa, National Clean Development Office NCDO Coordinator in Bolivia, “where developing countries and developed countries, alongside the World Bank, are working in a transparent and participative way to learn and support each other in the readiness process for REDD. Selection into the program will now allow Bolivia to build its capacity to undertake actions to slow deforestation and to become an early actor in the emerging market for REDD. By joining with other tropical nations and potential carbon market actors, we expect our pace of learning, preparation, and action to address climate change to be faster and better focused on the conditions and needs of our country."

At their meeting last December in Bali, the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to start demonstration activities on REDD. The FCPF, which was announced by the World Bank at the Bali Conference, will help to finance some of these demonstration activities.


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