Fwd: forests-l digest: November 19, 2014

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From: Jenna DiPaolo Colley <JDiPaolo@rightsandresources.org>
To: 
Cc: 
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 14:24:58 +0000
Subject: Does Conservation "Need People"?

Apologies for cross posting!

 

November 2014   Does Conservation "Need People"? Nature is Speaking, a new campaign from Conservation International, uses celebrity voices to personify natural forces -- Penelope Cruz is water, Kevin Spacey is the rainforest -- with each video concluding with the phrase "nature doesn't need people." The campaign is intended as a wake-up call to a public who might not understand that human survival depends on nature, rather than the other way around. It's a stirring message, but there's something the campaign is forgetting:  the assertion "nature doesn't need people" is not only inaccurate, but actively harmful. Nature does need people.   A recent report released by World Resources Institute (WRI) and RRI contradicts Conservation International's message, and reveals the stunning environmental benefits that come from recognizing and protecting Indigenous Peoples' and local communties' rights to own and manage their ancestral lands. In the Brazilian Amazon, for instance, the deforestation rate is 11 times lower in community-managed forests than outside. In the Guatemalan Petén, it is 20 times lower, and in a part of the Mexican Yucatán, it is a staggering 350 times lower.   This confirms previous research showing that local communities are not only excellent at preventing deforestation, their forests actually store more carbon and host greater biodiversity than non-community forests. One study, Trade-offs and synergies between carbon storage and livelihood benefits from forest commons, found a strong correlation between community forests and above-average carbon storage. It's also no accident that the areas with the highest degree of cultural and linguistic diversity tightly overlap with biodiversity hotspots -- where communities and Indigenous Peoples are able to live as they see fit, they are often far better protectors of biodiversity than governments or private enterprises.   By arguing that nature doesn't need people, Conservation International unwittingly discredits the millions of Indigenous Peoples who have acted as effective and responsible stewards of their land for centuries. This kind of thinking has had devastating real-world ramifications, with untold millions of local communities suffering from forced relocation over the past century of "conservation" -- a pattern that continues all too often today.   The real implications of this view are being revealed in the Chure Hills of Nepal, where the government is proposing the creation of a controversial new conservation area with the backing of a number of key conservation organizations. This proposal has been issued without the approval of local communities, and has the potential to severely curtail their land rights.  The Chure region, which contains over 3,000 community forests, is home to 5 million people who partly or totally depend on the area's natural resources for their lives and livelihoods. Not only is the government's decision in direct violation of international treaties on biodiversity and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, it has been the object of an impassioned, nation-wide counter-campaign.   "The failure of the government's conservation efforts gave rise to community forests," explains Ganesh Karki, the president of FECOFUN, a network of community forestry groups in Nepal. "Now, despite the success of community-based management, the government wants to exclude communities from conservation initiatives and force external governance systems. This simply makes no sense."      It's true, in a geologic sense, that nature doesn't necessarily need people -- the earth will exist with or without humans. But nature as we celebrate it now, including some of the last great wild areas on earth, is often most effectively managed and protected by the human groups that have traditionally called it home.       References    WRI. RRI. 2014. Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change. Link Ashwini Chhatre and Arun Agrawal. 2009. Trade-offs and synergies between carbon storage and livelihood benefits from forest commons. PNAS. Link   David Harmon. 2014. Preserving Biocultural Diversity. The New York Times. Link     About Tenure Trends   Tenure Trends reviews recent research and news regarding tenure, rights, and development in the world's forests.   Tenure Trends is published by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a global coalition of 14 Partners and 150 international, regional, and community organizations advancing forest tenure, policy, and market reforms. It is prepared by the Rights and Resources Group, the secretariat of the RRI Coalition. The views presented are not necessarily shared by the agencies that have generously supported RRI, nor all of the Partners of the Coalition.  If you would like more information or would like to receive future editions in French or Spanish please send a message to communications@rightsandresources.org.      Join our mailing list  |  See all our publications  |  Visit our Website

 

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Wayte, Valerie (FODL)" <Valerie.Wayte@fao.org>
To: 
Cc: 
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:29:34 +0100
Subject: FAO Forestry vacancy - Senior Forestry Officer (Team Leader)

Dear Colleagues,

Allow me to inform you about a vacancy announcement in the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based in Rome. FAO is looking for highly qualified candidates to lead its Forest Products Team and help shape the Organization's strategic directions regarding the work on forest industries and products.

The vacancy announcement is available at FAO's Employment webpage and the application deadline is 9 December 2014.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Eduardo Rojas-Briales
Assistant Director-General
Forestry Department

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ben McCarthy <BMcCarthy@ecosystemmarketplace.com>
To: 
Cc: 
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:40:58 +0000
Subject: INVITATION - State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2014 report launch - November 21 4:00 PM

Dear Colleagues,

Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace warmly invites you join us for a special event exploring findings from our State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2014 report, "Turning over a New Leaf".

To register for the event, please RSVP providing your full name, company, title and email to Ben McCarthy. Space is limited so please register at your earliest opportunity before close of business on Thursday, November 20th.

Time:	Friday, November 21st, 4:00-5:30 PM EST Reception to follow
Location:	Room MC2-800, World Bank Main Complex 1818 H St NW | Washington, DC (map)

 

Presenters:

Molly Peters-Stanley – Director, Ecosystem Marketplace
Allie Goldstein – Forest Carbon Associate, Ecosystem Marketplace

Panel Respondents:

Elly Baroudy - Lead Carbon Finance Specialist, The World Bank (TBC)
Carrie Gombos -  Go Zero Operations Manager, The Conservation Fund
Rick Saines - Principal, Baker & McKenzie

Moderator:

Michael Jenkins – President and CEO, Forest Trends

With the effects of climate change already being felt from New York City to New Delhi, the fight to keep global forest carbon stocks intact, to improve forest management, and to reforest degraded land is more vital than ever. Too often, trees are worth more cut down than standing. But markets that value the carbon storage and other ecosystem services that forests provide are now channeling millions of dollars to forests every year - and leveraging other financing.
This year's report will provide insights such as:

• A closer look at buyer motivations and activities, from internal carbon pricing to customer engagement with offset programs,
• New data on the co-benefits of forest carbon projects, from employment to endangered species protection,
• New information on forestry's role in emerging compliance markets, including California's cap-and-trade market and finance flowing to jurisdictional nested REDD,
• Information on new land-based project types, such as wetlands restoration and bamboo.

Ecosystem Marketplace's State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2014 builds on five previous reports and highlights 2013 trends in forest carbon offset demand. The report data is gathered through an extensive annual survey and interviews with global forest carbon offset suppliers. The report is the only market-wide research tracking performance-based payments for emissions reductions in forests.

The full report will be available this Friday at www.forest-trends.org/fcm2014.php.

We look forward to your feedback on this year's report.

Regards,
Ben

Ben McCarthy
Program Associate | Ecosystem Marketplace
1203 19th Street NW, 4th floor, Washington DC 20036 USA
+1 (202) 446 1989 | bmccarthy@ecosystemmarketplace.com
www.ecosystemmarketplace.com

Please consider contributing to help Forest Trends demonstrate that priceless nature is worth conserving.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: jim.a.stephenson@uk.pwc.com
To: 
Cc: 
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 20:40:27 +0000
Subject: Launch of PwC's 'Ending deforestation: REDD+CGF = 0 deforestation' report
In September this year 130 governments, businesses, civil society and indigenous peoples' organisations endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests. They have pledged to halve forest loss by 2020 and to end it a decade later in 2030. For businesses, this builds on a commitment made in 2010 by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) for Zero Net Deforestation by 2020.

Whilst there are individual examples of the CGF and REDD+ community working together, there has not yet been systematic collaboration on a large scale. This is despite the fact that 100% of CGF and REDD+ organisations recently surveyed by PwC and Code REDD thought that the two communities should be working closer than they are now.

This week PwC has launched the 'Ending deforestation: REDD+ CGF = 0 deforestion' report and video (link here) which examines the challenges that companies face in implementing this commitment and how the REDD+ community may help companies achieve their goals.

Please be in touch with jim.a.stephenson@uk.pwc.com for further details.

Jim Stephenson
 
PwC | Manager | Sustainability & Climate Change
Office: +44 (0) 207 804 2291 | Mobile: +44 (0) 7446916144
Email: jim.a.stephenson@uk.pwc.com
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
7 More London Riverside London SE1 2RT

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