Governance in the world's tropical forests

Despite the disappointing outcome of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC’s) 2009 climate change conference in Copenhagen, an initiative known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) remains one of the strongest points of international political consensus. REDD was formally introduced at the UNFCCC’s 2007 conference, held in Bali, Indonesia, as an incentive-based mechanism to slow or stop deforestation and forest degradation, which is a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions. As thinking on REDD – now expanded and known as REDD+ ² – has matured over the past few years, a more sophisticated dialogue has developed on the links between governance and better forest management.