The report states: “The United Nations definition of “forest” does not distinguish between a tropical old-growth forest and an industrial monoculture tree plantation. As far as the U.N. is concerned, both are forests. This means that if someone is able to demonstrate that a plantation can store more carbon than an existing forest, the conversion of this forest into a plantation will receive the blessing of the U.N. and the forest’s destruction will be subsidized through REDD.” Although planting commercial forests may balance carbon emissions, native forests offer natural diversity. These delicate ecosystems are home to a variety of species – both plant and animal – some of which are becoming endangered and can’t be restored by planting commercial forests. Moreover, the process of planting commercial forests often ends in the displacement of indigenous people from their ancestral lands. For example, as recounted by Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network, in Papua New Guinea, carbon traders have been criticized for coercing indigenous people into signing their lands over to U.N. REDD. theinternational.org/articles/487-un-redd-program-criticized-for-negative
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:00:01 +0000
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