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Developing REDD+ policies and measures from the bottom-up for the buffer zones of Amazonian protected areas

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Abstract

A key activity in Phase 1 of REDD+—the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) forestry mitigation mechanism—is the development of policies and measures (PAMs) to define where and how emissions reductions and carbon stock enhancements and conservation will be achieved. This paper provides contextual data and information for the development of PAMs specifically for the buffer zones of protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon, sites where REDD+ has the potential to generate considerable social and ecological co-benefits. The study sites are the buffer zones of two national parks, Yanachaga-Chemillen (YChNP) in central Peru and Manu (MNP) in the south-east. Data were collected through smallholder household surveys (n = 200), covering livelihood strategies, land use practices and preference rankings of five REDD+ criteria. The findings suggest that PAMs in buffer zones could realistically achieve an additional ~10 % conservation of remaining forest and between 25 and 70 % additional reforestation of non-forest areas on private lands. The paper argues that in areas where agricultural co-operatives exist, such as MNP, these should be engaged in national REDD+ PAMs and supported by an international NGO; in areas where smallholders operate individually, such as YChNP, international NGOs may be best placed to gain local trust and thereby raise participation rates. The environmental effectiveness of REDD+ conservation PAMs could be greater in areas of intense agricultural production, yet financial and technical support for reforestation may offer the most effective avenue for carbon mitigation in these areas.

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Notes

  1. In the case of MNP, this was a national researcher; in YChNP, this was an international research with 5-years experience in the region.

  2. Smallholders at both sites were owners of private property; however, in the case of indigenous communities, large areas of private property are collectively owned by community members.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) on a joint interdisciplinary PhD studentship. Additional in-field logistical support was provided by the CREES Foundation, Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC) and ProNaturaleza. My sincere thanks goes to all of the inhabitants of the Yanachaga-Chemillen and Manu buffer zones who took the time to participate in this research and share their perspectives and experiences with me. I am extremely grateful to Reynaldo Ochoa and Hisgard Macuri Casimiro who provided indispensable data collection assistance, as well as Damien Catchpole, Yoshie Yoshioka, Quinn Meyer, Miguel Cordero and Stavros Papageorgiou for their in-field advice and logistical support. Thank you also to Yadvinder Malhi and Toby Marthews for their advice on data analysis, and Diana Liverman, Rob Hope, Sarah Valenti, Danae Maniatis and three anonymous reviewers for comments on draft versions.

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  1. Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Joel Scriven

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Scriven, J. Developing REDD+ policies and measures from the bottom-up for the buffer zones of Amazonian protected areas. Environ Dev Sustain 14, 745–765 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9350-z

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