Climate Change and Forests: Benefit-Sharing Perspectives

Citation

Savaresi A (2014) Climate Change and Forests: Benefit-Sharing Perspectives. BENELEX Project Blog, 27.02.2014. http://www.benelexblog.law.ed.ac.uk/2014/02/27/climate-change-and-forests-benefit-sharing-perspectives/

Abstract
First paragraph: Benefit-sharing considerations have emerged in the context of efforts to mitigate climate change by protecting forests. Approximately one sixth of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions result from the clear-cutting of forests, felled to gain land for agriculture and pasture in the tropics (IPCC, at 36). Endeavours to reduce forest loss and enhance forest cover in developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have led to an unprecedented wave of national reforms. These reforms include contentious questions of forest governance, including the protection of the rights of forest-dependent communities. After introducing the relevant international legal framework, this post illustrates how benefit-sharing has increasingly been regarded as a key issue for the long-term feasibility and success of efforts to mitigate climate change in the forest sector in developing countries.