Post on 08-Jan-2017
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Prospects for REDD+ in swidden landscapesOle Mertz, Jean-Christophe Castella, Thoumthone Vongvisouk, Neil Dawson,
Rikke Brandt Broegaard, Laura Vang Rasmussen, Guillaume Lestrelin, Sithong Thongmanivong
• International conventions – biodiversity, climate• Global consumer pressure – sustainable production, certified
products• International conservation NGOs and development agencies –
double roles?• National and international agri-businesses• National policy targets
• land sparing seen as economic development• land sharing the traditional practice, ignored
by policy• … but not always
• Science?
Policies on shifting cultivation (SC) in SEAsia
Country SC Illegal by lawSC de facto illegal
by indirect legislation
SC legal, but restricted to certain areas and/or short
fallows
Agricultural and forestry
policies aim to stop SC
SC legal and without
restrictions
Bangladesh X X Bhutan X X Brunei X Cambodia X China X India X X X Indonesia X Laos X X Malaysia X X Myanmar X Nepal X Papua New Guinea XPhilippines X X X X Sri Lanka X X Thailand X X X Timor-Leste X Vietnam X X
Land use change in northern Laos (and elsewhere in SEAsia)
Will incentive-based REDD+ payments stop deforestation?
Deforestation in northern Laos = about 40t CO2 ha-1 year-1
Carbon price: 1 ton CO2 = 10 US$ (World Bank 2015)
REDD+ annual income: 400 US$ ha-1 year-1
Rubber ≈ 6,000-8,000 US$ ha-1 year-1 (2012 data)
What will it take to conserve forests and improve livelihoods?
But first some further obstacles
This sign says that Homephan village in Huaphan province has ended the cutting of forest for the purpose of shifting cultivation
Land sparing in Laos policies: replace shifting cultivation to spare forests, e.g. through REDD+
But also realize ‘land capital’ with agricul-tural investments
Obstacles for REDD+ in Laos
• Contradictory policies: REDD+ and biodiversity conservation land development and investment
• Land tenure has not been clarified by multiple land use planning excercises, e.g.:• previous land allocation overruled by revised protected area boundary• only 3 out of 76 villages had land titled• … and here only house plots, not agricultural land
• REDD+ implementation stalled by institutional re-organizations and associated lacking human resource capacity
• Local authorities hesitant to monitor and report on policy compliance when policies are contradictory (and poorly understood, such as REDD+)
• But this gives room for maneuvering for both civil servants and local communities and the situation is not necessarily perceived as undesirable…
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Dramatic conversions where both forests and mosaic shifting cultivation landscapes disappear
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Importance of mosaic landscapes for livelihoods
Khorn Ngua and Son Kua: Shifting cultivation with rice and maizePhon Song: Continuous maize cultivation
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Importance of mosaic landscapes for nutrition
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
Conclusions
• Shift focus from strict conservation of forest to landscapes
• REDD+ cannot do the job alone – other ecosystem services are essential for local people’s health and livelihood and need to be valued
• Essentially this calls for a political recognition of the multifunctional landscape in Southeast Asia:mosaics that integrate protected forest, productive forest, extensive and intensive agriculture
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
References:Broegaard RB, Rasmussen LV, Dawson N, Mertz O, Vongvisouk T. (in review) Wild food collection and nutrition under
commercial agriculture expansion in agriculture-forest landscapes. Resubmitted to Forest Policy and EconomicsBroegaard RB, Vongvisouk T, Mertz O (in press): Contradictory Land Use Plans and Policies in Laos: Tenure Security and the
Threat of Exclusion. World Development, online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.08.008Rasmussen LV, Christensen AE, Danielsen D, Dawson N, Martin A, Mertz O, Sikor T, Xaydongvanh P (in press): From food to
pest: Conversion factors determine switches between ecosystem services and disservices. Ambio, online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0813-6
Rasmussen LV, Mertz O, Christensen AE, Danielsen F, Dawson N, Xaydongvanh P (2016): A combination of methods needed to assess the actual use of provisioning ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services 17:75-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.11.005
Vongvisouk T, Lestrelin G, Castella J-C, Mertz O, Broegaard RB, Thongmanivong S (in press): REDD+ on hold: Lessons from an emerging institutional setup in Laos. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apv.12134
Vongvisouk T, Broegaard RB, Mertz O, Thongmanivong S (2016): Rush for cash crops and forest protection: Neither land sparing nor land sharing. Land Use Policy 55:182–192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.04.001
Thank You!