Understanding and managing leakage in forest-based greenhouse-gas-mitigation projects

Projects that increase forest cover or decrease deforestation can help reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). This principle underpins the inclusion of certain land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities in both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Concerns have been expressed, however, that LULUCF projects may only produce greenhouse-gas (GHG) benefits that are illusory due to a phenomenon known as ‘leakage’.