Using LULUCF Carbon as a Tool for Rural Development Sara J. Scherr UNFCCC/SBSTA Workshop on Climate Change Mitigation Bonn, Germany – June, 2004

LULUCF is Essential to Climate Action LULUCF accounts for 20%+ of total global carbon emissions (IPCC) In low-income countries, land use & land use change account for most carbon emissions: Indonesia – 75% Cameroon – 80% CDM one of many instruments needed to reverse these trends

UNFCCC MDGs CCD CBD Ramsar Integrating Climate Action with International Agreements

Above-Ground Time-Averaged and Total Soil Carbon (0-20 cm) for ASB sites in Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia (Tomich et al. 2002) LULUCF: Restoring Carbon to Landscapes

Cash income for consumption or investment Invest in LULUCF to Achieve the MDGs Improve agricultural & forestry technologies Conserve wild plants/animals critical for local consumption or farm inputs Rehabilitate critical ecosystem services Resources for community social investment Mechanism to create partnerships

Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Invest in LULUCF to Achieve the MEAs Ramsar Convention

DESIGNING PRO-POOR PROJECTS Ensure strong local participation Enhance the profitability and sustainability of land uses Select the most suitable compensation mechanisms Ensure transparency in investor-community partnerships Reduce project marketing costs and risks Brand projects and environmentally and socially responsible

Initiatives for rigorous project design on all criteria are already underway: * Climate Community Biodiversity Alliance * CINCS * ECCM Three Conventions Partnership Projects with co-benefits are more sustainable Ensuring Rigorous Climate Impacts for LULUCF

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 1) Expand the scale of LULUCF in the CDM, for global climate impact 2) Expand the scope of activities allowed under the CDM 3) Engage the rural development community when structuring internal trading schemes. 4) Make LULUCF carbon strategies an integral part of national development plans 5) Provide legal safeguards for communities and the environment 6) Organize an international policy summit to explore synergies between the MEAs and the MDGs

THE FOREST CLIMATE ALLIANCE * Advocates for national policies to link action on climate, biodiversity, and the MDGs through diverse market instruments * Advocates internationally to link MEAs, UNFCCC, and the Millennium Development Goals * Supports institutions developing forest C projects with low-income producers * Links with the Katoomba Group’s ‘Ecosystem Marketplace’

Scherr, S.J. and M. Inbar Using LULUCF Carbon as a Tool for Rural Development: Policy Recommendations to Link International Action on Climate Change, Poverty and Biodiversity. Forest Trends. Washington, D.C.