Challenges and Opportunities of a Landscape Governance Approach to the REDD+ Programme: a Conservation Outlook

Challenges and opportunities of a landscape governance approach to the REDD+ programme: a conservation outlook

R ICHARD M BATU

Abstract Implementing the Reducing Emissions from management of forests in developing countries. REDD+ de- Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) programme veloped from the initial idea of avoided deforestation has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gases (Humphreys, ): the idea that because forests can se- whilst also helping to maintain biodiversity. However, a pro- quester significant amounts of carbon, and because carbon posed landscape governance approach to the REDD+ pro- emissions are linked to climate change, protecting forests is gramme, encompassing all land-use activities, could alter a vital way of protecting the world from climate change. The these desirable outcomes. Under the proposed approach, idea is to compensate developing countries that reduce car- governments and private entities could encourage types of bon emissions from forests (Santilli et al., ). Following land use that have the potential to threaten biodiversity years of conversations in the international community, and disrupt ecosystems. Yet a landscape governance ap- REDD was agreed by the Parties to the United Nations proach could also stimulate governments to develop land- Framework Convention on Climate Change during use management policies to facilitate adaptation to climate COP- (the th Conference of the Parties) in Bali, change. I organized focus group discussions with members Indonesia, in .In, barely  year after REDD was of conservation groups, REDD+ scholars, and members of formally accepted (in principle), its scope was broadened the REDD+ agroforestry research community at the to include other possibilities, on the grounds that ‘climate Association of American Geographers  Annual benefits can arise not only from avoiding negative changes Meeting, to identify potential conservation challenges and (deforestation, degradation), but also from enhancing posi- opportunities associated with carbon-farming in grasslands tive changes, in the form of forest conservation and restor- and plantations under the proposed landscape governance ation’ (Wertz-Kanounnikoff & Kongphan-apirak, ). approach to REDD+. I evaluate and synthesize this informa- Thus, at COP- in Poznań, Poland, in , REDD became tion, making recommendations for strategies to maximize REDD+ in recognition of these other possibilities. Some the conservation opportunities and minimize the chal- scholars and agroforestry researchers (e.g. Sayer et al., ; lenges. Understanding the challenges and opportunities Naughton-Treves & Wendland, ; Minang et al., ; will enable policy makers and other stakeholders to improve Turnhout et al., ) have advocated for a broader scope the presentation of their arguments in their efforts to shape for REDD+, calling for an approach that encompasses all the course of the REDD+ programme in the post-Paris land-use activities, arguing that such an approach would sig- Agreement era. nificantly reduce terrestrial emissions (Herold, ). This holistic approach has been deemed the landscape govern- Keywords Biodiversity conservation, carbon-farming, for- ance approach; that is, a comprehensive and integrative est governance, grasslands, landscape governance approach, multi-functional use of land to foster interaction between plantations, REDD+ sectors such as forests, agriculture, biodiversity, natural resource conservation, and their actors and institutional systems, to achieve social, economic and environmental objectives (Minang et al., ). Introduction Even though climate treaty negotiations (in Doha ,     ver the past  years the international community has Warsaw , Lima , Paris , and Marrakesh ) Osought to make the protection of forests a key element have endorsed a landscape governance approach, and of plans for addressing climate change. The idea is to reduce such an approach is largely promoted by the Global  emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) Landscapes Forum (GLF, ), it presents new challenges, and to enhance the role of conservation and sustainable as well as some opportunities for enhanced conservation. Therefore, the implications of a landscape governance approach to REDD+ for conservation and tropical forest gov- RICHARD MBATU College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida ernance should be a priority for researchers and policy St. Petersburg, 140 Seventh Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA E-mail [email protected] makers. As the international community debates the possi- Received  January . Revision requested  March . bility of accepting a landscape governance approach, it is Accepted  April . First published online  June . vital to examine the potential challenges and opportunities

Oryx, 2019, 53(1), 130–135 © 2017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317000527 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 26 Sep 2021 at 21:45:41, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000527 Landscape governance approach to REDD+ 131

the approach may present to conservation and forest gov- carbon stocks are the focus, management interventions ernance beyond forests. Here I examine two probable fea- that favour carbon stock enhancement put natural tures of the landscape governance approach: grassland ecosystems at risk. carbon-farming in grasslands and in plantations. Although a number of carbon-farming initiatives are currently being undertaken (e.g. revegetation of agricultural Theme 2: Confounding plantations with forests Across all land using woody tree species, and soil carbon enhancement focus groups many participants expressed concerns about techniques such as no-till farming), I focus here on grass- the lack of distinction between a forest and a plantation: the ‘ ’ lands because under the landscape approach grasslands so-called forest definition question . Participants feared that “may contribute more to the ‘missing sink’ than was previ- substituting oil-palm plantations for natural tropical ously appreciated” (Scurlock & Hall, ), and on planta- rainforest damages biodiversity, as there are fewer species of tions because under the landscape approach an birds and mammals in oil-palm plantations. However, on across-the-board definition of ‘forests’ that includes planta- marginally fertile land, plantations can enhance biodiversity. tions may be adopted, thus increasing forest carbon sequestration offsets. Theme 3: Adaptive management practices In many focus groups participants discussed a variety of factors that can Methods enhance carbon stocks in both grasslands and plantations while benefiting biodiversity and enhancing the people’s To evaluate challenges and opportunities associated with well-being. Participants discussed unique conditions under adopting a landscape governance approach I reviewed the which plantations can enhance biodiversity conservation, literature and conducted a focus group at the Association considered sustainable practices in grasslands, and of American Geographers Annual Meeting in explored land rights and tenure problems. San Francisco, USA, on  March . Thirty-five members of conservation groups, REDD+ scholars, and members of the REDD+ agroforestry research community participated Discussion in the focus group discussion. Participants were recruited from the Association’s list of specialty group sessions by The challenges and opportunities of carbon-farming in identifying potential participants and inviting them to join grasslands the focus group. I randomly divided participants into seven groups of five people, aiming for homogeneity (to Although most terrestrial biomass carbon is in trees, there is take advantage of participants’ shared experiences) and di- potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon in versity (to capitalize on different perspectives) within the grasslands through appropriate grassland management  groups. I presented a documented history of the landscape (Conant, ). A landscape governance approach to the approach to participants, asked them open-ended questions REDD+ programme that goes beyond forests to encompass in relation to the REDD+ programme adopting the ap- all landscapes would generate the desire to sequester carbon proach, and encouraged them to report their own experi- in non-forest ecosystems such as savannahs and other ences. The discussion groups met – times. Here I analyse grasslands, which could lead to unacceptable conservation the transcripts of these discussions, describe the areas of outcomes. Although biodiversity conservation has been agreement and disagreement, and offer some recommenda- addressed mainly in a landscape setting since the early   tions to facilitate conservation while minimizing any poten- s (Noss, ), participants across all focus groups tial damage from the landscape governance approach. agreed that delivering REDD+ climate action through a landscape approach could be problematic for biodiversity conservation in grasslands. For example, when carbon Results stock becomes the focus in low-carbon-density landscapes, such as the eastern African grasslands, which support I found three encompassing themes permeating the seven some of the greatest diversity of protected species, the im- focus groups. pact in terms of patterns and consequences of changes in biodiversity could be enormous (Putz & Redford, ). Theme 1: Risks of carbon-based conservation In many of Recipient governments are likely to promote grassland the focus groups members expressed concerns about carbon-farming, which would encourage carbon-enhancing dangers of carbon-based conservation. Participants activities such as fire suppression to increase grass and soil discussed management interventions aimed at increasing carbon, fertilization (using nitrogenous fertilizers and carbon stock that are deleterious to biodiversity. Many composting) to spur grass growth and soil formation, and participants deplored the fact that in grasslands where irrigation to counter high evapotranspiration rates.

TABLE 1 Effects of some carbon-enhancing activities on grassland biodiversity and ecosystem.

Carbon-enhancing activity Impact on grassland biodiversity & ecosystem Source Fire suppression Loss of native vegetation; increase in non-native plant Leach & Givnish (1996); Brooks & Pyke (2000); species; loss of native wildlife Keeley (2006) Fertilization Weak grassland species diversity; reduced species Conant et al. (2001); Silveira et al. (2007); Socher et al. asynchrony; decreased species richness (2012); Hautier et al. (2014) Irrigation Leaf distribution alteration; dominance of noxious Srivastava & Singh (2005); Bullock et al. (2011); weeds; changes in orthopteran populations Riedener et al. (2013); Andrey et al. (2014)

Patterns and consequences of changes in biodiversity result- forest has never been clear. The inconsistent elements of ing from such perturbations have been well documented the etymology and power politics of resource use in medieval (Table ), particularly in relation to species diversity through England indicate that the definition of forest has always been knowledge of species traits such as richness, evenness, com- perceived by stakeholders in different ways (Putz & Redford, position and interactions, and of ecosystem functioning ). For example, the forestry profession’s definition of through responses such as resilience and resistance to envir- forest emphasizes instrumental/utilitarian value (Helms, onmental change (Chapin et al., ). ), in contrast with the environmentalist definition, Although participants across all focus groups agreed that which emphasizes preservation (Putz & Redford, ). adopting a landscape governance approach to emissions re- The definition of forest used by the United Nations duction in grasslands would be detrimental to biodiversity, Framework Convention on Climate Change emphasizes participants in some groups argued that it could also act as land area (at least .– ha), canopy cover (–% thresh- a strong incentive for recipient governments to develop and old) and height (minimum of – m; UNFCCC, ), enforce climate resilience and climate change adaptation which further broadens these discrepancies as it allows policies based on grassland management practices. every country to define ‘forest’ to meet its objectives as Management practices such as rotational grazing systems, long as it falls within these ranges. sustainable stocking rates, mixed stocking (cattle, horses The current conflicting wishes of stakeholders are at the and sheep/goats), grazing season planning (anticipating centre of the controversial discussion over whether or not to when and how much it will rain), and use of fire–grazing in- grant plantations equal standing with natural forests. teractions tend to make systems more resilient to climate Throughout all focus groups participants affirmed that the variation and climate change (O’Connor et al., ). With development of plantations affects biodiversity conservation more than  billion people inhabiting the world’s grasslands and poses serious ecological problems for natural forests, as and depending on them for their livelihoods (Conant, ), plantations are sustained by intensive management prac- some participants contended that requiring comprehensive tices (clear cutting, tree rotation, pesticide application and grassland climate resilience and climate change adaptive other agro-engineering practices; Bhagwat et al., ), management policies under a landscape governance ap- which are at odds with characteristics of natural forests proach to the REDD+ programme could encourage both na- and conservation. For instance, clear cutting often takes tional governments and grassland communities to reach place before plantations are established in tropical regions, general agreement on major land-use issues such as land which not only have the biophysical conditions most condu- rights, clarification of tenure and carbon ownership, and cive for growing cash-crops but are also the most conducive the need for negotiations with stakeholders. These partici- for the growth of rainforests. pants argued that under a landscape governance approach Many tropical forest-rich countries are therefore engaged both national governments and grassland communities in clear-cutting of their rainforests to establish plantations. would seek to maximize the carbon market value of grass- In Malaysia and Indonesia, for instance, two of the world’s lands, as payments would be performance-based. biggest producers of palm oil,  million ha of tropical rainforests were clear-cut during – (Wicke et al., ). Carbon-farming in plantations: the forest definition The rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia are among the ’  problem world s biodiversity hotspots (UNEP-WCMC, ), and more clear-cutting of these countries’ rainforests to make The forest definition problem, which was at the centre of ne- way for oil-palm plantations under a landscape governance gotiations to incorporate forests into the global climate ac- approach could be catastrophic to the cause of biodiversity tion plan prior to the Paris Agreement, could be conservation. exacerbated by a post-Paris Agreement adoption of a land- Many participants insisted that adopting a landscape scape governance approach to REDD+. The definition of governance approach to the REDD+ programme could

FIG. 1 Potential conservation challenges and opportunities of a landscape approach to REDD+.

precipitate expansion of oil-palm plantations, as the ap- Despite the known negative effects of plantations and proach may overlook the forest definition question, which their management practices on biodiversity, some research is an active issue at national level in many countries (e.g. has indicated that plantations can contribute to biodiversity Indonesia; Romijn et al., ). A landscape governance ap- conservation (Hartley, ). This is especially true in cases proach would render the forest definition debate meaning- where plantations established in areas of heavily degraded less, as plantations would automatically fall within the scope natural forest ‘help restore native biota to degraded si- of the broader landscapes approach, thus allowing planta- tes...by stabilizing soil and creating site conditions favour- tion developers to benefit from carbon credits at the expense able for native animals and plants to recolonize’ (Hartley, of natural forests and the biodiversity they preserve. ,p.). Although all focus groups agreed that

plantations have potential to conserve biodiversity, many Acknowledgements participants argued that this was possible only in specific conditions, such as in degraded forests. Adopting a land- I would like to thank members of the REDD+ focus group scape governance approach to the REDD+ programme and related special groups at the Association of American could provide opportunity for recipient governments to de- Geographers Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California,  –  velop and enforce land-use policies that encourage the use of March April , who participated in thoughtful dis- heavily degraded lands for plantation cultivation. However, cussions. I thank H. LaFollette for reading a draft of this art- such policies would need to be approached with caution icle and for his many helpful suggestions, and M. Fisher and given that secondary logged natural forests, which are anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. often considered to be degraded, can in some cases still preserve natural forest biodiversity, as they are used by species of high conservation value (Maddox, ). References These potential challenges and opportunities of the pro-  posed landscape governance approach for the REDD+ pro- ANDREY, A., HUMBERT, J.Y., PERNOLLET,C.&ARLETTAZ,R.( )  Experimental evidence for the immediate impact of fertilization and gramme (Fig. ) suggest that policy makers and other irrigation upon the plant and invertebrate communities of stakeholders need to give full consideration to the various mountain grasslands. Ecology and Evolution, , –. outcomes of the approach, so as to articulate their positions BHAGWAT, S.A., WILLIS, K.J., BIRKS, H.J.B. & WHITTAKER, R.J. () on REDD+ and make appropriate choices in the post-Paris Agroforestry: a refuge for tropical biodiversity? 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