The Fate of the U.N. Forest REDD Program is Still Undecided (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | After more than two weeks of discussions and arguments at the United Nations climate talks, the delegates have left the meetings with proud announcements of accomplishing important climate pacts. Unfortunately, the fate of the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation program remains undecided. It is a proposal that has the potential to produce real results but has not been fully actualized.

The REDD program had been largely ignored at the Conference of the Parties in Durban, South Africa. Although it was officially organized in 2008, the recent climate talks in Durban failed to make any new progress in this area. This is another example of the general failure of COP17 to accomplish anything important in Durban.

The main issue of funding for the REDD program remains unresolved. As early as 2006, the United Nations was considering private-sector investments for the forestry programs. Unfortunately, the REDD program was a side event in Durban and never received the proper amount of attention that it deserved.

Reuters reported Sunday that the United Nations continues to consider the private sector as a source of funding for REDD. But the details remain vague without a clear plan of action. The climate talks were the perfect opportunity to address the deforestation issues, but they failed to accomplish this by delaying important decisions for another year. Following a pattern of previous climate talks that produced little, the COP17 actually made the REDD program worse by changing the language of the agreements.

Although the REDD program has the potential for limiting deforestation across the globe, it must be handled carefully because of the potential for abuse. The foundation of the program is to allow wealthy nations to pay developing nations a fee, so forests would be preserved.

Essentially, the United Nations wants private sector investments in struggling countries to preserve the ecosystems. However, the creation of this green economy must be regulated to prevent abuse of power and other issues. Funds could be easily mishandled while deforestation would continue.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111212/pl_ac/10650893_the_fate_of_the_un_forest_redd_program_is_still_undecided

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