REDD+ and Forest Carbon Rights in Papua New Guinea: background legal analysis

Summary

Who owns the carbon in the forest? This is a question of great importance for all developing countries preparing to engage with REDD+, particularly in Papua New Guinea. This background legal analysis report explores how forest carbon right might be allocated in Papua New Guinea. It concludes that customary land tenure, as presently structured, cannot legally support a market-based approach to REDD+ which involves site-specific forest carbon projects due to the legal restrictions which customary land tenure brings and the contractual obligations that underpin REDD+ projects.