The Protection of Forests under Global Biodiversity and Climate Policies - Policy Options and Case Studies on Greening REDD+

Summary

This report presents the findings of the research and development project “The protection of forests under global biodiversity and climate policy”, carried out at the Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy and the Chair of Landscape Management, Freiburg University, Germany, between July 2009 and December 2012. In addition to addressing different scientific objectives, the project provided scientific support for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) in the negotiations on forests in the context of the UNFCCC and the CBD. The project had a particular focus on the continuing political and scientific debates on REDD+ as well as on emerging actions on the ground. In this context, the team participated in various national and international meetings and conferences of the UNFCCC and the CBD through which they gained valuable insights and were able to link scientific discussions with the political debates on the same issues.

In addition and as a means of ensuring the political relevance of the identified options and challenges, the project team facilitated an international expert workshop at Freiburg University in 2010. Furthermore, qualitative interviews were conducted with experts from academia, public institutions and stakeholders from civil society. The progress made in research was regularly reported to a project advisory group consisting of members from relevant German ministries and non-governmental organizations.