Introduction

The first chapter introduces the politics of REDD+ and peasant resistances and the main objective and research questions of this book. From a global environmental and climate justice perspective, REDD+ raises a number of concerns. REDD+ focuses on developing countries and especially on the peripheral forest margins. Forest conservation and the transfer of financial resources could help to promote more sustainable land use but it also transfers responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to those who have emitted much less than citizens in the Global North. Indonesia claims to be a global leader in REDD+; but local realities such as land tenure conflicts and the rampant forest fires of 2015 stand in sharp contrast to Indonesia’s announcements concerning forest governance reforms. In particular, Indonesia’s last remaining frontier areas are heavily contested spaces that are still witnessing violent conflicts about access and control of forest land.