Congo Basin slow to adopt REDD

Arsène Séverin in IPS: Only two of the eleven countries that share the Congo Basin have validated their plans to participate in the forest conservation process known as REDD+. Preparatory plans for REDD (the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation of Forests, the plus refers to the extension of the programme to encompass certain tree plantations) have been completed by only the Republic of Congo and its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Central African Republic, which has forest cover of 3.8 million hectares, has been waiting since January for the valuation of its plan. "CAR has already begun its REDD process and we believe we could benefit quickly from the benefits of carbon credit," said the country's president, François Bozizé, at a Brazzaville summit earlier this month. The summit involved international donors and representatives drawn from the world's three largest tropical forest basins, the Congo, the Amazon and the Mekong- Borneo basins.

Echoing concerns raised elsewhere, civil society in CAR has called for the land rights of forest communities like the Mbororos and the Anka to be taken into account, to ensure that they too can benefit from carbon finance. François Naoueyama, the CAR's minister for the environment and ecology is bullish on the prospects of the process. "The REDD+ process for us is an opportunity to receive necessary funding for the reduction of emissions from deforestation,"

The Republic of Congo, after having a plan rejected by civil society in July 2010, has now completed its Readiness Preparation Plan. "After this validation, we are waiting for funding for our national strategy," Georges Claver Boudzanga, the country's point person for REDD told IPS….

Falls of Boali on the Mbali River. Fall of 50m height on 250m width - Central African Republic - July / August 1993. Shot by Philippe JIMENEZ, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the Free Art License. You will find a specimen of this license on the Copyleft Attitude site as well as on other sites.