ABSTRACT
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is a broad set of policies, programs and projects at all scales aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forests in developing countries. The launching of REDD+ in 2007 initiated studies on designing and implementing effective, efficient and equitable REDD+ measures. The initial idea of REDD+ was to establish a market for the public services provided by forests by incentivizing and compensating forest owners and users through a system of Payments for Environmental Services (PES). The recent policy debate has increasingly focused on broader Policies and Measures (PAM), e.g. to reduce the relative profitability of agricultural expansion into forests. The implementation of both PES and PAM is fraught with challenges: defining performance criteria, establishing reference levels, designing contracts, balancing trade-offs, building necessary institutions and so forth. This chapter takes stock of four broad REDD+ themes: REDD+ credits in international carbon markets, REDD+ as performance-based aid, national and local PES systems and other national policy approaches to curb deforestation (PAM).
