ABSTRACT
Global efforts of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) represent the most ambitious initiative to date to implement the Ecosystem Services Framework. The particular ecosystems service at the centre of REDD+ is the function of forests in global carbon cycles. Forests store carbon in woody biomass and soil, emit carbon when they decompose or burn and absorb carbon when they grow. REDD+ seeks to tap the potential of tropical forest management to contribute to the mitigation of climate change, utilizing financial transfers to tropical countries to entice forest management that avoids carbon losses and increases carbon stocks. Tropical countries are required in return to reduce the use of provisioning services from forests, that is, reduce the conversion of forests to agricultural uses and timber logging.
