ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of agrarian conflicts in the context of REDD+ implementation, forest carbon offsetting and privatized conservation. It argues that REDD+ can be many different things at different political scales and for different actors and their respective storylines and discourses. REDD+, as most other conservation instruments, restricts access to land and land use. Colonial scales of meaning and regulation facilitated access to land and natural resources to extract benefits for Dutch colonial authorities and corporate actors, challenging the pre-existing scalar arrangements of customary communities. Network relations also proved especially relevant for explaining land conflicts in the context of REDD+. Debates on the implementation of REDD+ as part of the Paris climate agreement are linked to questions of rural development and climate justice.