As new mechanisms for "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" (REDD) are being negotiated in international climate change talks, resource tenure must be given greater attention. Tenure over land and trees--the systems of rights, rules, institutions and processes regulating their access and use--will affect the extent to which REDD and related strategies will benefit, or marginalise, forest communities. This report aims to promote debate on the issue. Drawing on experience from seven rainforest countries (Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guyana, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea), the report develops a typology of tenure regimes across countries, explores tenure issues in each country, and identifies key challenges to be addressed if REDD is to have equitable and sustainable impact.

This technical paper emphasizes the opportunity that REDD+ and the global climate agenda represents for countries to engage more actively in securing land and resource rights for indigenous peoples and local communities. At the same time, it stresses how collective tenure rights represent a key element to achieve long-lasting and successful results for REDD+, contributing to addressing global climate change.

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions of greenhouse gases from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is an important tool under the UNFCCC for incentivizing developing countries to adopt and scale up climate mitigation actions in the forest sector and for capturing and channeling the financial resources to do so. This Handbook eloquently examines the methodological guidance and emerging governance arrangements for REDD+, analysing how and to what extent it is embedded in the international legal framework. Organized coherently into five parts, contributions from legal experts, international relations scholars, climate change negotiators and activists explore the history and design of REDD+ in the UN climate regime, as well as linkages between REDD+ and other international agreements. The book also considers global governance for REDD+, its financial dimensions including markets and investment and future developments and legal challenges. Detailed analysis from a range of angles illustrates the interplay of international norms and institutions and maps out a legal research agenda for identifying best practice solutions. Shedding light on one of the most vibrant and fast-moving fields in international law, this comprehensive Handbook is essential reading for scholars of international law and international relations, policy makers in the area of climate change, REDD+ and land sector experts and NGOs.

Legal frameworks to 'reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation' (REDD+) are analysed to focus on protections and benefits for indigenous peoples and forest communities.

REDD+ is one of the leading near-term options for global climate change mitigation. More than 300 subnational REDD+ initiatives have been launched across the tropics, responding to both the call for demonstration activities in the Bali Action Plan and the market for voluntary carbon offset credits.