Advancing Methods and Models for Implementing REDD+ for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)” welcomes submissions covering all areas of REDD+ as it applies to national and subnational applications, including measurement and reporting, development of safeguard information systems, community and participatory engagement, national forest monitoring systems, finance, and other aspects of REDD+ across the full spectrum of topic. The Special Issue will include papers that focus on the technical issues associated with measurement and monitoring as well as social and institutional issues associated with governance, benefits sharing, community-based carbon management and other related aspects. Papers related to capacity building are also encouraged.

The importance of forests and forest carbon management in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now well established in both international agreements and national programs. The establishment of the Paris Agreements following the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change has centered forest carbon management as a key element of national and international programs to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. REDD+ is the international mechanism under negotiation within the UNFCCC. Its aim is to provide a common platform for climate change mitigation through actions in the forestry and land use sectors. Although (as of this writing) no final binding agreement on an exact structure for REDD+ and protocols for its implementation exist, a significant amount of work has advanced best practices, methods, and protocols for forest carbon measurement and land cover change. This Special Issue creates an opportunity to elaborate best practices and new approaches that can inform the deliberative protocol-setting process.

The scope of REDD+ includes four elements, each of which requires both technical and social models for the measurement and implementation: Reducing emissions from deforestation, reducing emissions from forest degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable forest management, enhancement of carbon stocks. Each of these scope areas present opportunities for submissions. This Special Issue recognizes that REDD+ in its broadest conceptualization includes management of carbon in areas of forests—both closed forests and woodlands—as well as in landscapes that are predominantly agricultural with systems of trees outside of forests (TOF). The Special Issue is interested in papers that include regions or geographies in which forest and tree dependent communities located in woodland ecosystems and other sparsely treed landscapes, as well as closed high biomass forest areas.

Some example topical areas for consideration are: 

• Measurement and monitoring of deforestation and forest degradation, including modalities for developing reference emission levels
• Management of carbon in systems of trees outside of forests and agroforestry
• Landscape level implementation of REDD+ programs and projects
• Participatory approaches to community-based carbon measurement and management
• Forest land restoration: methods, models, and monitoring
• Forest governance and benefits sharing for low carbon forest management

Prof. Dr. David L. Skole
Dr. Cheikh Mbow
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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