ABSTRACT
Evidence for anthropogenic warming of the climate system as a consequence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO2 (carbon dioxide), into the earth’s atmosphere is unequivocal (IPCC, 2007). Annual CO2 emissions from deforestation in tropical and sub-tropical countries accounts for up to one-fifth of global emissions (Baumert et al., 2005). Conserving carbon stored in biomass could be a cost-effective strategy to mitigate future climate change impacts (see Chomitz et al., 2006; Stern, 2007). Reducing emissions from deforestation was, however, excluded from the climate change regime that resulted from the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, held during the 1990s. The first commitment period of Kyoto is due to end in 2012. At the Bali Conference of the Parties (COP-13) in December 2007, countries agreed to reconsider emissions reductions through reducing deforestation as a potential component of a post-2012 climate change regime (UNFCCC, 2007).
