The Political Economy of Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Asia-Pacific: Critical Issues for REDD+

background

This study examines the political and economic factors that have commonly shaped reforestation and forest restoration initiatives in the greater Asia-Pacific region.

Research Goals & Methods

The authors draw on case studies from literature on tree-planting schemes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, India, and China to highlight a set of risk factors that will need to be anticipated and addressed in order for REDD+ projects in the Asia-Pacific to achieve their objectives in a sustainable and equitable manner.

Conclusions & Takeaways

These case studies argue that the design and implementation of reforestation and forest restoration initiatives have been influenced by forest rent distribution practices of state forest bureaucracies, by the accumulation strategies of corporate actors involved in increasingly globalized supply chains. These studies also assert that these factors have frequently exacerbated existing inequalities in the forest sector by concentrating resources for powerful political and economic actors, and that this has been detrimental for forest-dependent communities. The authors recommend rights-based spatial planning, equitable and accountable distribution of financial incentives, improved financial governance to prevent corruption and fraud, policy reform to remove perverse incentives for forest conversion, and strengthening of economic benefits and safeguards for small-holders.