REDD+ in dryland forests: Issues and prospects for pro-poor REDD in the miombo wooldands of southern Africa

Summary

For two reasons the miombo woodlands of eastern and southern Africa provide an important opportunity for developing pro-poor payments for avoided deforestation and degradation. Firstly, there is strong scientific evidence that the loss of woodlands is associated with a decline in livelihoods. Secondly, there are two decades of successful community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in the miombo region. This gives the region a ready-built institutional basis on which payments for reduced emissions for deforestation and degradation (REDD+) can be established as well as generating wider lessons for their implementation. Poverty is deeply entrenched across southern Africa and to be successful REDD+ will have to be pro-poor. The purpose of this work is to contribute towards an improved understanding of REDD+ amongst the stakeholders across all sectors in the region especially in the period leading up to and immediately after the meeting of the UNFCCC COP 15 in Copenhagen.