In this week’s issue of Nature: Solving deforestation in Madagascar by first solving social challenges
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
In another Nature article (subscription required), Anjali Nayar highlights the R.E.D.D. strategy of wealthy countries buying carbon offsets in developing countries by paying to prevent deforestation.
One of the big challenges is the issue of permanence–making sure the forests remain intact so that they serve as an effective carbon sink. Doing so in Madagascar will take more than money; it will require dealing with poverty and political instability.
An excerpt:
Non-governmental organizations such as the WCS and Conservation International are working through the turmoil. But even they are worried. “We could have a very difficult time selling carbon if this political situation becomes the norm,” says Lisa Gaylord, head of the WCS in Antananarivo, the country’s capital. “Why would an investor want to come here?”
The potential:
- 30-yr R.E.D.D. projects will prevent the release of 9 million tons of CO2e, similar to the emissions of 2 million cars in the US.
- Money from R.E.D.D. projects could total $5 million/yr, funding health and development projects to reduce poverty.
The challenges:
- 85% of the population lives below $2/day
- Slash and burn agriculture is common to cultivate rice, but rapid productivity declines means that farmers must carve deeper into the forests every few years.
- Forests had declined form 90% to 15% of Madagascar’s land area by 2005.
- The recent military-backed coup led to an increase in illegal logging and wildlife harvests. Government police are doing little to stop what’s being called a logging free-for-all.
- R.E.D.D. is at risk of losing funding because international donors are not convinced illegal harvests can be controlled. Loss of funding further impedes the ability to patrol against illegal harvests.
- Without R.E.D.D. funding, more people are returning to slash and burn agriculture.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wggyfrog/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
One Response to “In this week’s issue of Nature: Solving deforestation in Madagascar by first solving social challenges”
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Problems with REDD financing in Madagascar go far beyond the current political instability. Slash and Burn is deeply ingrained in the culture of many native people living on the periphery of Madagascar’s wilderness areas. Unless they can see immediate economic benefits of conservation, they will resort to traditional unsustainable use of the forest resources in and surround the protected areas. Traditions concerning forest use and alternative livelihoods (such as farming and tourism) vary greatly from village to village. Grass roots, local strategies need to be developed for how each community is going to transfer its local economy from slash and burn to sustainable agriculture before the conservation zones are established. This way, local people will see conservation as an opportunity, rather than as foreigners taking away their resources. Without the support of the local communities, no real reduction in slash and burn will be feasible in the long term. REDD does have potential to fund sustainable development in Madagascar, it just needs to start with the development strategies, not the regulation of forest resource use.
I have studied the issue intensively for my three months in Madagascar in the fall of 2008. Please e-mail jbush@bowdoin.edu if you want more information / discussion or a copy of my paper on the issue.