The role of science in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)

Emissions of carbon from tropical deforestation and degradation currently account for 12-15% of total anthropogenic carbon emissions each year, and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD; including REDD+) is poised to be the primary international mechanism with the potential to reduce these emissions. This article provides a brief summary of the scientific research that led to REDD, and that continues to help refine and resolve issues of effectiveness, efficiency and equitability for a REDD mechanism. However, REDD deals only with tropical forests and there are other regions, ecosystems and processes that govern the sources and sinks of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. Ongoing research will reveal which of these other flows of carbon are most important, and which of them might present further opportunities to reduce emissions (or enhance sinks) through environmental policy mechanisms, as well as how they might do this.