Getting hot and bothered about REDD

Its only the third day of the negotiations and we're already at D-Day for a critical policy within the negotiating text. REDD: Reducing Emmissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, is important because it is one of the few texts that we think may actually get passed into something substantive before the end of the two weeks. What exactly in the text will be passed remains to be seen after today. The chief negotiators went into a closed meeting room today at 3pm, and this is what we as the youth hope they will make sure is included in the REDD text:

REDD must:
  • Protect intact natural forests
  • Restore degraded natural forests
  • Support indigenous peoples and local communities 
  • Work through a fair and substantial funding mechanism.
What's at stake:

Basically, a lot. A good REDD could be great: it would be a financial mechanism that would enable local communities to protect standing natural forests and restore degraded forests. It would also conserve biodiversity and alleviate poverty in forested areas across the developing world as well as the obvious: reducing emmissions. A bad REDD could turn into a mechanism that provides money to turn natural forests into plantations, violates the rights of indigenous peoples and even allows logging.

Today the Forests Working Group of the International Youth Climate Movement have been standing outside the meeting rooms where the discussions on REDD have been taking place and pressuring negotiators to make these critical changes to the REDD text. Not much time is left before a decision is made, we hope we will have made a difference!

Photos of all our exciting demonstrations to follow...

REDD Alert! Woo Woo! REDD Alert! Woo Woo!
Protect Forests! Woo Woo! Protect Rights! Woo Woo!

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