Figure 5
Source publication
National Strategy and Policy Options Maria Brockhaus Arild Angelsen ... depend on existing institutions and legal structures, current political and economic processes, the distribution of power and wealth, and the REDD+ actions appropriate to ...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... of the seven countries has seen major policy events linked to REDD+ policy formulation ( Figure 5.1). The main policy outputs relate to the establishment of new institutions, procedures and capacity building linked to readiness activities - concrete policy formulation and implementation have been limited to date. ...
Context 2
... chapter uses as a political economy analysis framework based on the 'four Is' outlined in Chapter 2: institutions, ideas, interests and information, focussing in particular on the first three. We investigate institutional and political path-dependencies, the interests of actors driving deforestation and forest degradation, and the way in which their ideas translate into discursive practices ( Figure 5.2). All these factors affect the power of dominant coalitions that enable or limit transformational change in this policy domain. ...
Context 3
... define transformational change as a change in attitudes, discourse, power relations and deliberate (policy and/or protest) action necessary to lead policy formulation and implementation away from business as usual policy approaches and toward supporting (directly or indirectly) reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (Chapter 2). We argue that four preconditions must be in place to facilitate transformational change: in terms of interests transformational change requires: i) a high level of autonomy of the state vis-à-vis powerful economic | 71 Politics and power in national REDD+ policy processes interests that contribute to the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in terms of institutional and political preconditions it requires; ii) national government ownership of REDD+ policy processes; iii) inclusion of stakeholders in REDD+ policy processes; and iv) in terms of policy dynamics it requires the presence of dominant coalitions that want to break off from practices associated with business as usual ( Figure 5.2). ...
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Citations
... Achieving positive outcomes in REDD+ implementation requires policy reforms, often involving conditional contracts between donors and REDD+ countries, aimed at developing cost-effective and carbonefficient solutions (Angelsen, 2017). Di Gregorio et al. (2012) identified transformational changes (TC) from business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios, which can be facilitated by factors such as the level of state autonomy in policy decisions, inclusive policy processes, and coalitions. These challenges and factors significantly influence the development, establishment, and implementation of REDD+ policies and measures (Karsenty and Ongolo, 2012;Di Gregorio et al., 2012). ...
... Di Gregorio et al. (2012) identified transformational changes (TC) from business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios, which can be facilitated by factors such as the level of state autonomy in policy decisions, inclusive policy processes, and coalitions. These challenges and factors significantly influence the development, establishment, and implementation of REDD+ policies and measures (Karsenty and Ongolo, 2012;Di Gregorio et al., 2012). ...
... The result did not confirm the importance of INCL for REDD+ performance. Di Gregorio et al. (2012) also showed minimal impacts on outcomes. This analysis provides insights into the progress of individual countries in their journey toward TC in REDD+ and achieving RBI. ...
... To capture these dynamics, we argue that the analytical framework needs to focus on power relations and processes of change away from a business as usual (BAU) approach that produces ongoing forest and biodiversity loss and related social and environmental injustices and inequalities (Brockhaus et al., 2021, Pendrill et al., 2022. Particular attention is needed to: 1) institutional context and path dependencies to shed light on the history and the institutional stickiness that keeps (re) producing inequality, 2) the actors and their interests, as well as 3) flows of ideas and 4) information -the 4I framework (Brockhaus and Angelsen, 2012;Di Gregorio et al., 2012a;Brockhaus et al., 2021). As shown in Fig. 2, this approach supports unpacking of actor's specific interests and beliefs, material or non-material, but also brings out the specific problematisations and legitimating discourses in policy and practice. ...
... Increasing women's representation in decision-making positions (target 5.5) has been shown to have positive implications for forests in its own right [49], and is also indicative of a socio-political setting with inclusive and participatory decision-making processes, which is generally thought to be beneficial for forests [50,51]. Our findings identified relatively high numbers of countries with currently 'poor' performances in this target, especially in Africa (75%) compared with Asia/Pacific (69%) and LAC (53%). ...
Understanding how countries’ future development pathways could affect forests can help to avoid negative impacts and instead promote positive ones. Exploring this topic requires knowledge of which areas of the development agenda are likely to show the greatest progress, and how these expected changes relate to the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation that are currently affecting forests, or which may emerge as result of development-related changes. Based on this information, researchers, stakeholders and decisionmakers can engage in discussions to inform further research and interventions. We present an assessment framework that draws upon a range of data types to identify specific components of the development agenda that are likely to be of greatest relevance to forest conservation at the national level. We then assess the potential magnitude and likelihood of imminent changes in these areas over the short- to medium-term. We use this framework to assess 48 tropical countries, providing insights into the areas of sustainable development that are most likely to provide risks, opportunities or enabling conditions for forest conservation across much of the tropics. Our findings suggest that, across much of the tropics, ongoing risks to forests associated with agriculture, transport infrastructure and urban infrastructure could worsen, and that new risks from energy infrastructure could emerge. Opportunities relating to poverty reduction, tourism, and industry, among others, will require care to ensure that associated progress results in positive rather than negative forest impacts. Enabling conditions associated with, inter alia, improved education, inclusive decision-making, and effective governance, still have much room for improvement, and the anticipated likelihood of imminent progress in these areas varies between countries and regions. We discuss the implications of our findings for policymakers and development agencies, and consider potential future applications of our assessment protocol.
... (iv) strong national ownership, where national actors are dominant in shaping the policy discourse for TC Cole et al., 2017;Di Gregorio et al., 2012;Korhonen-Kurki et al., 2014); (v) country-specific political and institution structures that can influence the change (e.g. inclusive institution arrangements that support TC, political path dependencies that support the status quo and are hard to change, the level of autonomy of state actors from interests linked to BAU activities) Brockhaus et al., 2017;Chia et al., 2019;Di Gregorio et al., 2012); (vi) external factors, such as availability of donor money to incentivise the change, the will to improve a country's image internationally, and the global market demand and policies in consumer countries that can influence or discourage the change Korhonen-Kurki et al., 2019;Pacheco et al., 2012;Pham et al., 2017). ...
... (iv) strong national ownership, where national actors are dominant in shaping the policy discourse for TC Cole et al., 2017;Di Gregorio et al., 2012;Korhonen-Kurki et al., 2014); (v) country-specific political and institution structures that can influence the change (e.g. inclusive institution arrangements that support TC, political path dependencies that support the status quo and are hard to change, the level of autonomy of state actors from interests linked to BAU activities) Brockhaus et al., 2017;Chia et al., 2019;Di Gregorio et al., 2012); (vi) external factors, such as availability of donor money to incentivise the change, the will to improve a country's image internationally, and the global market demand and policies in consumer countries that can influence or discourage the change Korhonen-Kurki et al., 2019;Pacheco et al., 2012;Pham et al., 2017). ...
... The literature indeed shows that national ownership, that is the fact that 'national actors are dominant in shaping and supporting the policy discourse on REDD+ [for example], and are involved in the development of policy documents, is an important condition for TC to occur . The literature also stated that there needs to be the presence of dominant coalition(s) to want to break off from BAU practices, as in the case of Sabah (Di Gregorio et al., 2012). ...
This paper analyses the policy changes occurring in the forest and palm oil sectors of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, through the lens of the transformational change concept. The aim is to first examine whether Sabah is transforming and, if so, to identify the determinants enabling or hindering the change. To determine if Sabah is transforming, we used two criteria: - (i) an ambitious change in the policy framework, that promotes forest conservation and sustainable use, and is moving away from business-as-usual activities; and (ii) the level of implementation of the policies that we identified as supporting transformational change. We found that Sabah very likely did intend to transform. We made this conclusion based on comparing changes in policies occurring in Sabah, and we decided if it is ambitious by primarily comparing Sabah’s policies with other Malaysian states, the federal government, and internationally. We showed that: (i) Sabah decided to use voluntary international certification standards (private market instruments) like FSC and RSPO, while the other Malaysian states did not; (ii) they decided to protect more forest compared to national and international targets; and (iii) Sabah is an early mover as the state is one of the first in the world to adopt the RSPO Jurisdictional Approach. But intention needs to be followed by implementation, and this is where the state falls short. The policies in Sabah were not fully implemented because of the patronage system where the more powerful actors used their power to continue with business-as-usual activities, there is frequent political turnover in Sabah, and the state faced difficulty in meeting international standards. Our research shows that local leadership and a local transformational change coalition (civil society actively working in Sabah) mainly prompted the transformational change, although the promises of economic gains and better reputation also played a role. We conclude by emphasising the change must be made more compelling for political leaders, as part of a broader institutional structure, not only through the narrow focus on reducing deforestation but through the development of a more sustainable and equitable national economy, and that consumer countries should play a role in reducing pressures on forest by providing incentives to a state that manages its natural resources sustainably.
... 3 Further, no material input -except financial means -is needed for REDD+ and diverted from other uses. However, the local conflict potential presented by REDD+ is high, as alternative uses of the forested lands are possible and various conflicts have evolved -for example between actors from the agricultural sector, industrial logging, sustainable forest management, agroforestry etc.(Di Gregorio et al., 2012). ...
Non-technical summary
Negative emissions technologies (NETs) have received increasing interest in recent years as a potential part of a portfolio of measures to address anthropogenic climate change, in particular following the 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report ‘Global Warming of 1.5 °C’. This increasing significance for global climate policy is faced with a multitude of open questions regarding, among others, the geopolitical implications of large-scale use of NETs. This paper outlines what we can learn for the possible geopolitical futures of NETs from existing international ‘green’ approaches.
Technical summary
We contribute to assessing political implications of NET scenarios, addressing the following question: What are potential geopolitical challenges, conflicts, and consequences of a large-scale deployment of three NETs, namely afforestation, bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), and direct air capture and carbon storage (DACCS)? We turn to the two cases of renewable energies and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation for answers. We find that, first, not only afforestation, but also BECCS and even DACCS would have a geopolitical impact due to their requirements of territory – in the latter two cases, for instance, due to requirements for appropriate carbon storage space. Second, the material requirements of various NETs might also impact geopolitical constellations and induce conflict, providing certain countries and regions of the world with new leverage in the case of large-scale deployment, for instance those which can provide raw materials for fertilizer (for afforestation and BECCS) or energy generation (for DACCS). Third, discursive construction of space and identity might lead to very interesting new patterns of contestation, for instance if specific nation-states can successfully construct an identity of front-running climate protectors and use this to put pressure on other states.
Social media summary
What might be geopolitical implications of using NETs on a large scale to counteract anthropogenic climate change?
... A prominent and persistent myth is the assumption that states and government bureaucracies manage the forest autonomously from largescale economic interests driving deforestation, with an intention to achieve what is best for their country's society. This assumed autonomy of state actors has been questioned for the case of REDD? in an investigation of the politics of deforestation in the tropics (Di Gregorio et al. 2012). Another popular myth is related to smallholders and the promise that 'participation' in global forest governance will solve deforestation, which ignores power imbalances and implies that local people's land-use practices are the main cause of the problem (Skutsch and Turnhout 2020). ...
... countries. In addition, we also conducted a systematic media analysis across nine countries to investigate which actors put forward specific views and positions towards forest-based climate (2012a, b, 2013, 2014a, b, 2017) Di Gregorio et al. (2012Gregorio et al. ( , 2013Gregorio et al. ( , 2015aGregorio et al. ( , b, 2017 Assembe Power asymmetries in information related to presence/absence of (and support of) capacity and access to information, with insufficient knowledge available on adaptation responses In Brazil and Indonesia, knowledge gaps were much more extensive for adaptation than mitigation and were unequally distributed across governance levels, with expertise on climate change adaptation primarily located on a national level, when it was most needed at local level Lack of local expertise translated into the inability of local governments to effectively demand attention for and effectively address local adaptation needs related to droughts, floods, and fires in both forest frontiers, but particularly in Indonesia ...
Halting forest loss and achieving sustainable development in an equitable manner require state, non-state actors, and entire societies in the Global North and South to tackle deeply established patterns of inequality and power relations embedded in forest frontiers. Forest and climate governance in the Global South can provide an avenue for the transformational change needed—yet, does it? We analyse the politics and power in four cases of mitigation, adaptation, and development arenas. We use a political economy lens to explore the transformations taking place when climate policy meets specific forest frontiers in the Global South, where international, national and local institutions, interests, ideas, and information are at play. We argue that lasting and equitable outcomes will require a strong discursive shift within dominant institutions and among policy actors to redress policies that place responsibilities and burdens on local people in the Global South, while benefits from deforestation and maladaptation are taken elsewhere. What is missing is a shared transformational objective and priority to keep forests standing among all those involved from afar in the major forest frontiers in the tropics.
... All REDD+ projects in Indonesia generally focus on the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Di Gregorio et al. (2012) mentioned that agriculture, logging, and mining are the main drivers in Indonesia. Agriculture includes extensive scale activities such as oil palm and small-scale activities such as farming and subsistence. ...
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) in Meru Betiri National Park (MBNP) East Java – Indonesia, is considered an essential collaborative program between the Indonesian government, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and surrounding local communities to mitigate climate change and global warming. In its implementation, community participation plays a significant role because they are impacted directly by REDD+, as stated in the Cancun Agreement and Anchorage Declaration of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change. Therefore, this research focuses on the participation level and how it contributes to the program. This research used the community participation theory from Choguill and benefited from using mixed methods with a single case strategy. Data were gathered through a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a literature study. The results uncovered that the participation level reached conciliation with the least support of three rungs as a degree of participation. At this stage, the local community and government started to realize their interests by supporting each other. Even so, the government had control in enforcing the decision-making process that involved the community in REDD+. In the end, government and stakeholders at the local and national scales should accelerate community participation through law enforcement and full community involvement in implementing REDD+.
... Analyses about the institutional and policy environment for REDD+ implementation illustrated the need for increased cross-sectoral policy coherence and policy reforms around local rights and participation, as well as the need for improved access to information (Di Gregorio et al., 2012;Ngendakumana et al., 2014). Further work has highlighted the challenges of designing effective governance structures for REDD+ given the constellations of power of state and non-state actors, and of formal and informal institutions Somorin et al., 2014;Sunderlin et al., 2014). ...
There is evidence that institutions related to climate change and natural resource management influence each other’s performance, and that local settings also shape policy outcomes. We examine how policy implementation processes and institutional interactions affect the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program in Cameroon. Research on REDD+ implementation has focused on resource tenure, benefit-sharing and participation, giving less attention to how implementation paradigms and other institutions affect REDD+. We combine a policy implementation framework with the theories of institutional interaction to examine how REDD+ implementation typologies, and interactions with forestry regulations influence the outcomes of three REDD+ pilot projects in South and West Cameroon. Drawing from focus group discussions with project beneficiaries and interviews with local stakeholders and land-users, we find that REDD+ projects epitomize political implementation in the South and experimental implementation in the West. We also indicate how project outcomes have been affected by rules regarding community forests, reforestation and timber processing. Our findings suggest that policy designers’ ability to satisfy community preferences is important for projects’ outcomes in the South, and that resource availability and social capital are pivotal in the West. Incentives to promote local timber processing, improve forest governance and expedite decentralization would improve REDD+ project implementation in Cameroon.
... At its inception, REDD+ was implicitly intended to overcome the project approach, combining economic, political, and governance reforms within and beyond the traditional forestry sector to bring about transformational change (Kanninen et al., 2007;Barr and Sayer, 2012;Brockhaus and Angelsen, 2012;Di Gregorio et al., 2012). It was hoped that building policy in collaboration with networks of policy actors beyond the state (Peterson, 2003;Dedeurwaerdere, 2005;Weible and Sabatier, 2005;Leifeld and Schneider, 2010;Newig et al., 2010;Bodin and Prell, 2011;Fischer, 2011) would in turn lead to more effective governance. ...
Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), was adopted in Indonesia with an ambitious vision to promote a new mode of governance for Indonesia's forest, replacing a mode of ‘projectification’. Projectification, as described by Li (2016), is understood as a process through which plans for systematic long-term change collapse into incremental, simplified technical solutions. These proposals often fail to address complex socio-economic problems and political-economic contexts, allowing large-scale deforestation drivers to persist.
We analyze whether Indonesia is on track toward transformational change or is conversely locked into projectification. We construct our analysis using results from a long-term study comprising surveys in 2012, 2015, and 2019 analyzing the evolving role of REDD+ in Indonesian forest governance. Combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, we examine changes in (i) discursive practices and policy beliefs; (ii) institutions and power relations; and (iii) informal networking relationships.
Our findings show that despite high hopes and some promising developments, REDD+ has not yet fully succeeded in creating transformational change. Ideas of REDD+ remain focused on efficiency and technical aspects of implementation and do not question business as usual and the current political economic conditions favoring deforestation. The changing structure of the REDD+ policy network and exchanges between actors and groups over time suggest government actors and large funding organizations are becoming increasingly dominant, potentially indicating a return to established patterns of project-based governance.
... ecosystem services (or payments for environmental services, PES) should be based on straightforward technical calculations(Boerner and Wunder 2008). However, often other factors -such as political and programmatic goals-shape the process of determining the value and price of the benefit provided by the ecosystem (DiGregorio et al. 2012;Matulis 2014). Despite existing gender inequality in land ownership, there is no single consensus on whether PES tend to benefit men or women owners(Yang 2018; Fortnam 2019). ...
