Activists see REDD over deal

ENVIRONMENT

Green groups are warning negotiators at the Bangkok Climate Change Talks about the negative consequences of new financial incentive mechanisms designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

An alliance of climate campaigners gathered yesterday in front of the United Nations conference centre to officially launch a civil movement at the climate change talks, where 4,000 delegates are working to negotiate the text of a new climate change deal.

One of the top concerns for the activists is a proposal to cut carbon emissions from forest destruction, known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

REDD is designed to offer financial incentives to developing countries to preserve their forests, which help absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide, and sell that carbon on the market to industrialised countries as a credit to offset their own emissions.

But environmentalists said that with the present unclear framework of the REDD, the scheme could pose a threat to local communities which depend on forests. They fear the proposed mechanism would block local people's rights to access natural resources and boost the logging industry's massive profits instead.

"Sustainable forest management is industry-speak for logging," Sean Cadman of the Wilderness Society said.

"REDD provides the opportunities to break the cycle of industrial-scale deforestation by placing economic value on the role of standing forest in climate change mitigation."

There is no clear distinction between natural forest and forest plantations under REDD at the moment, and this might create a major loophole for the private sector to benefit, Mr Cadman said.

It is estimated the destruction of tropical and peat swamp forests makes up nearly 25% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Bangkok has yet to come up with a decision on REDD.

"We have no need to rush to a conclusion whether to accept or reject REDD. More studies will be carried out to get the answer," said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, the Thai chief negotiator.