A new global assessment shows that impacts of actions under Reduction of Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) on biodiversity and carbon vary across forest types and landscape conditions.

Deforestation (e.g. by converting forests to agriculture) is one of the major sources of carbon dioxide emissions and a major cause of global biodiversity loss on Earth. The UN initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) seeks cations to reduce deforestation including conservation and sustainable management of forests. It aims to bring positive impacts for both biodiversity and carbon on a global scale.

Key findings of the preliminary assessment were released at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Hyderabad, India. The assessment has been prepared by the International Union of Forest Research Organisations' Global Forest Experts Panel (GFEP) and, with input of more than 50 leading scientists from around the world, will constitute the first comprehensive analysis to date of the relationship between biodiversity, forest management and REDD+. One key finding presented was that REDD+ actions have variable impacts on carbon and biodiversity across different forest types and landscape conditions; and across space and time.

The assessment also highlights the critical importance of considering social implications for pursuing REDD+ implementation. For example, poor recognition of tenure rights excludes disadvantaged groups in rural areas from decision making, and denies them access to potential economic benefits arising from REDD+ interventions. For REDD+ to be effective, local communities need to be engaged early on; social objectives should be pursued along with carbon and biodiversity goals; and tenure and property rights need to be clear, the review found. Without sufficient emphasis on local community participation, there is risk that REDD+ only acts to undermine community-based forest governance.

The final assessment of the GFEP expert panel – considered forestry's equivalent to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – will be presented at the international climate change meeting in Doha in November