Ever wondered how REDD+ can work, or if it can work?
by Caity Petersen
The Central Kalimantan in Indonesia has a dark history of land use and abuse. Upwards of 1.4 million hectares of peat-swamps were cleared and drained there in the mid-1990s, inflicting heavy damage on both the natural environment and the livelihoods of indigenous people living there.
But now the Kalimantan Forests Climate Partnership is reviving the area by way of the largest REDD+ carbon scheme ever implemented in Indonesia. And in doing so has produced a practical guide of dos and don'ts for implementing REDD+ initiatives. The secret to its success: the introduction of strategies that prioritise the livelihoods of local communities as well as emissions reduction.
Caity Peterson is a visiting researcher and science writer based at the Center for International Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. Click here to read more about CCAFS's work in pro-poor climate change mitigation.
