'REDDiness' is needed to implement REDD+ :

'REDD'+ paves way for availing Carbon credit from soils.

Dear friends,

The long pending demand of environmentalists and organic growers is heeded (partially of course) at last by the UN. REDD+ is a UN programme under development which is likely to be included in a post 2012 international climate agreement.

It is a well known fact that atmospheric CO₂ is fixed as carbon in not only terrestrial vegetation but also in soils. In fact, ‘Soil’ is the major  medium that contains more carbon than all terrestrial and atmosphere combined.

You may wonder then why tree sequestration alone is taken into account under Kyoto standards when finding the amount of ‘C’ sequestrated in soil is very easy when compared to the difficult task of finding them in trees?. Fertility of the soil is determined by the net amount of organic carbon content available in it. If the O.C is more than there will be reduced usage of agro-chemicals. (Click link 1, Link 2 and Link 3).

It is sacred soil. Not dirt.

Pic.courtasy: Colorado Boulder. 

So, the main intention of the inventors of this carbon credit trading system, with enormous aid from giant agro-chemical and seed  companies, was not to encourage the production of fertile soil but to retain their current potential market which otherwise will vanish if there is improvement in soil fertility. To put it simply, these mega multinational companies will suffer huge losses with the decrease in the usage of chemical fertilizers and the so called doctored hybrid seeds.

The Kyoto protocol has also established that the tree grower has to give a legal guarantee that he won’t cut trees for 30 years (in some cases for 100 years). It is illegal to convert the land for food production or even grazing land. The farmer can not sell his land and he can only reclaim his land for future use when all the carbon credits are refunded in hard cash or replaced by credits from some place else. By adopting these clever strategies, emergence of new fertile agriculture areas can be restricted thereby encouraging agriculture in lands which need constant chemical inputs.

Now, this major lacuna is find (seems to be) addressed in the proposed REDD+.

REDD+ means ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation', and '+' means enhancing carbon through sustainable forest management, without sacrificing the ecosystem services, livelihood and biodiversity. Thus, REDD+ is sustainable forest management through conserving forest and enhancing carbon stock.

Thus, REDD is a global endeavour to create an incentive for developing countries to protect, better manage and save their forest resources, thus contributing to the global fight against climate change.

If this programme is implemented fully then the consequences will be far reaching as it envisages assessment of carbon not only above ground level (read ‘trees’) but also below ground level (read ‘soil’). To put it simply, financial value of the carbon added in the soil over and above the value of carbon already stored in the base line year will be suitably compensated by money or can be availed as carbon credit.

There are yet to be solved challenges like, How will the REDD+ mechanism link to existing national forestry programs? How can forest communities and farmers participate in the design, monitoring and evaluation of national REDD+ programmes? How will REDD+ be funded, and how will countries ensure that benefits are distributed equitably among all those who manage the forests in Govt. lands and private lands? Finally, how will the amount of carbon stored and sequestrated as a result of REDD+ be monitored?.

India has only 2% of the global forest area. In 1987, we had 19.49% of forest cover out of the total geographic area of the country and in the assessment made in 2007 it was found that forest cover increased to 21.02% (79.37 Million Hectares). India achieved this increase despite pressures like maintaining 16% of world’s human population and 18% of world’s cattle population.

1. India is very keen to implement this REDD+ since the approach incorporates important benefits of livelihoods improvement, biodiversity conservation to protect, better manage and save our forest resources, thus contributing to the global fight against climate change.
2. REDD+ goes beyond merely checking deforestation and forest degradation, and includes incentives for positive elements of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
3. It works on the basis of creating a financial value for the carbon stored and enhanced in biomass and soil of standing forests. Countries that reduce emissions and undertake sustainable management of forests will be entitled to receive funds and resources as incentives.

The key objectives of the REDD+ are:

1. To assess baseline carbon in the identified sites with reference to a    

    baseline year.

2. To assess additionality (gains) in carbon stock in the sites as a result of   

    SMF (Sustainable Management of Forests) and other good practices. The   

    carbon will be assessed by adding above ground and below ground carbon 
    as per IPCC guideline.

3. To assess leakage (loss) of carbon from the identified sites as a result of  

    unsustainable practices.

4. To apply the methodology for monitoring success of REDD+ at National 

    level.

So, 'REDDiness' is needed on our part to implement 'REDD'.

This article flowed out after I happened to hear from Mr.Irulandi, IFS, who is now Chief Conservator of Forests (CDM) and Project Director (TCPL) in the Project Management unit of the Tamilnadu Bio-diversity Conservation and Greening Project (TBGP), that he had attended one REDD+ meeting last month at ICFRI, Dehradun as representative of TN Govt.

Source: Click: 1. REDD+   2. ‘Preparedness of REDD Plus in India’.

Regards,

A.Vishnu Sankar.