Search Results (81)

Tropical forests, despite their critical environmental and socio-economic roles, remain highly vulnerable to deforestation, forest degradation, and climate-related disturbances. There is a growing demand for robust and transparent forest monitoring systems, particularly under REDD+, the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), and emerging climate-finance mechanisms. Conventional approaches based on field inventories and traditional remote sensing are often constrained by limited or uneven field data, persistent cloud cover, complex forest conditions, and limited institutional and technical capacity. This review examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are being integrated into remote sensing–based tropical forest monitoring to address these structural constraints. Using a semi-systematic synthesis of peer-reviewed studies, complemented by operational platforms and grey literature, the review assesses AI/ML approaches, remote sensing datasets, and applications relevant to national and large-scale monitoring. Evidence is synthesized across five analytical dimensions: AI/ML model families and workflows, multi-sensor datasets and training resources, operational monitoring platforms, application domains (including deforestation, degradation, and biomass/carbon estimation), and cross-cutting technical, institutional, and governance barriers. The review finds that AI/ML-enabled remote sensing, particularly those combining optical, radar, and LiDAR time series within cloud-based platforms, has substantially improved the automation, scalability, and speed of tropical forest monitoring. However, effective and equitable adoption remains constrained by limitations in training and validation data, dependence on proprietary platforms and data, uneven technical capacity, and unresolved governance and ethical challenges. Emerging solutions, including open and representative training datasets, platform-agnostic processing infrastructures, long-term capacity building, and inclusive data-governance frameworks, are identified as critical enablers of credible and nationally owned AI/ML-enabled forest-monitoring systems. The review highlights that AI/ML can play a transformative role in supporting climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and informed decision-making. This potential, however, depends on transparent data governance arrangements, long-term capacity building, and platform-agnostic infrastructures that support national ownership. Full article

The rapid growth of renewable integration and active consumer participation has made modern power grids increasingly complex and dynamic, where maintaining balanced and efficient energy distribution remains a central challenge. This paper introduces a symmetry-aware optimized fuzzy deep reinforcement learning-gated recurrent unit (OF-DRL-GRU) model that exploits the natural symmetry and asymmetry in demand–generation behavior to achieve stable and adaptive load balancing. The proposed architecture consists of four core modules: a fuzzy logic layer that formulates symmetrically distributed membership functions for interpretable and balanced state transitions; a DRL agent that governs decision actions through a symmetry-preserving reward mechanism balancing exploration and exploitation; a GRU network that models temporal symmetries while performing controlled symmetry-breaking during dynamic fluctuations to enhance generalization; and an improved multi-objective biogeography-based optimization (IMOBBO) algorithm that optimizes fuzzy parameters and model hyper-parameters through adaptive migration alternating between symmetry preservation and deliberate asymmetry, ensuring efficient convergence and global diversity. The synergy among these modules forms a unified symmetry-aware optimization paradigm, reflecting how symmetric structures sustain stability while purposeful asymmetry enhances robustness and adaptivity. The proposed framework is evaluated using three benchmark datasets (UK-DALE, Pecan Street, and REDD) and compared against several advanced and competitive models. Experimental outcomes show that the proposed OF-DRL-GRU model achieves 99.23% accuracy, 99.69% recall, and 99.83% area under the curve (AUC), alongside faster runtime, lower variance, and improved convergence stability. These results demonstrate that incorporating symmetry–asymmetry principles within AI-driven optimization significantly enhances interpretability, resilience, and energy efficiency, paving the way for intelligent, self-adaptive load management in next-generation smart grids. Full article

Community-managed forests within agroforestry landscapes are vital for both carbon sequestration and agricultural sustainability. This study assesses the Hariyali Community Forest (HCF) in western Nepal, emphasizing its role in carbon storage within a Sal (Shorea robusta)-dominated lowland forest containing diverse native and medicinal species. Stratified field inventories combined with satellite-derived biomass and land-use/land-cover data were used to quantify carbon stocks and spatial trends. In 2022, the mean aboveground carbon density was 165 tC ha⁻¹, totaling approximately 101,640 tC (~373,017 tCO₂e), which closely matches satellite-based trends and indicates consistent carbon accumulation. Remote sensing from 2015–2022 showed a net tree cover gain of 427 ha compared to a 2000 baseline of 188 ha, evidencing effective community-led regeneration. The 615 ha Sal-dominated landscape also sustains agroforestry, small-scale horticulture, and subsistence crops, integrating livelihoods with conservation. Temporary carbon declines between 2020 and 2022, linked to localized harvesting and management shifts, highlight the need for stronger governance and local capacity. This study, among the first integrated carbon assessments in Nepal’s lowland Sal forests, demonstrates how community forestry advances REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries) objectives while enhancing rural resilience. Linking field inventories with satellite-derived biomass and land-cover data situates community forestry within regional environmental change and SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) targets (13, 15, and 1) through measurable ecosystem restoration and livelihood gains. Full article

REDD+ is a global mechanism that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by preventing deforestation and forest degradation, enhancing forest carbon stocks, and promoting sustainable forest management in developing countries. It plays a crucial role for developing countries in achieving climate targets under the Paris Agreement and can be implemented at the project, subnational, and national levels. Subnational REDD+ offers several advantages over project-level, such as reduced risk of overestimating emissions and enhanced management of leakage. However, the comprehensive opportunities and challenges of subnational REDD+ have not been extensively investigated in the literature. This paper aims to undertake a thorough review of subnational REDD+, highlighting its potential and the obstacles it faces. This systematic review synthesizes the existing literature on subnational REDD+ implementation, analyzing 54 peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2024. The review identified three key factors for the effective implementation of subnational REDD+: financial, social, and institutional factors. Within these three factors, both opportunities and challenges were discussed, drawing on case studies and synthesizing practical implications. Our findings demonstrate that successful subnational REDD+ initiatives require integrated approaches that address the causal relationships between financing mechanisms, governance structures, and stakeholder engagement. The discussion further explores these interdependencies, revealing how constraints in one dimension create cascading effects across others. This study provides empirical insights and actionable recommendations for policymakers and project developers engaged in climate change mitigation efforts. Full article

Although extensive interventions are being made to protect forests, many developing countries, including Ethiopia, face persistent forest conservation challenges, particularly where local communities heavily rely on forests for their livelihoods. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the government of Ethiopia introduced Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and devolved forest management responsibilities to enhance forest conservation. Therefore, investigating the impacts of PFM on forest covers is important. To this end, our research is based on an analysis of the land use/land cover changes (LULCCs) over the last 23 years in selected forest sites of Adaba–Dodola and their implications for the implementation of REDD+. This study examines the difference in forest cover changes between PFM and non-PFM sites within and between the study periods. Landsat images from 2000, 2012, and 2023 were analysed to detect LULCCs. Overall, the results from the comparison analysis indicate that in the period of 2000–2023, forest lands decreased by 5.22% in non-PFM sites, while they increased by 5.89% in PFM sites. On the other hand, agricultural lands experienced a notable increase of 9.64% in non-PFM sites but decreased by 1.65% in PFM sites. The increase in the forest cover is attributed to the effectiveness of PFM in halting deforestation and promoting forest conservation compared to non-PFM sites. Thus, the PFM approach is a tool for preserving forest ecosystems and mitigating the adverse effects of deforestation and forest degradation; therefore, this strategy could be used as a driving wheel for the implementation of REDD+. Full article

The escalating pace of migration and urbanization in Nepal has triggered profound alterations in land use practices. This event has resulted in a considerable diminution of ecological diversity and a substantial decline in the potential for carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services, thereby impeding climate change mitigation efforts. To address this, a comprehensive assessment of land use change and carbon storage was conducted from 2000 to 2019 and forecasted to 2050 in Nepal. Employing the Markov chain and InVEST models, this study evaluated the loss and gain of carbon, elucidating its economic value and spatial distribution. The findings revealed that carbon storage in 2000 and 2019 were 1.237 and 1.271 billion tons, respectively, with a projected increase to 1.347 million tons by 2050. Carbon sequestration between 2000 and 2019 amounted to 34.141 million tons, which is anticipated to surge to 76.07 million tons from 2019 to 2050, translating to economic valuations of 110.909 and 378.645 million USD, respectively. Forests emerged as pivotal in carbon storage, exhibiting higher carbon pooling than other land use types, expanding from 37% to 42% of the total land area from 2000 to the predicted year 2050. Notably, carbon distribution was concentrated in parts of the terai and mountain regions, alongside significant portions of the hilly terrain. The findings from this study offer valuable insights for governing Nepal and REDD+ in developing and implementing forest management policies. The results emphasize the importance of providing incentives to local communities judiciously to promote effective conservation measures. Full article

In this study, we primarily assess the relationship between social safeguards and the living standards of local communities in different ecological zones of Ghana, relying on data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7) and publicly available policy documents from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Forestry Commission of Ghana, respectively. This research aims to assist policymakers and stakeholders to make informed and appropriate decisions when developing social safeguards for emission reduction projects. The GLSS 7 covers 14,009 households, comprising 59,864 individuals in 892 enumeration areas or communities across the 10 regions of Ghana, now divided into 16. The data were collected using a stratified random sampling technique. Principal component analysis was employed to develop a living condition index, after which we generated a second construct based on the number of factors affecting living conditions. The results showed that access to sharecropping, literacy, extension services, financial institutions, a mobile phone network, and markets have significant positive relationships with the living conditions of local communities in Ghana. In addition, 78% of the social safeguards described in Ghana’s REDD+ strategy, Forest and Wildlife Policy, Benefits Sharing Mechanism, and Forest Plantation Development Strategy are aligned with the determinants of local communities’ living conditions. The findings suggest a need to enforce the Benefit Sharing Mechanism, better forest governance, and tenancy reforms in order to prevent the overexploitation of landowners and avoid elite capture. Furthermore, farmers must be linked to financial institutions in order to obtain credits. Additionally, we must seek to provide local communities with better access to markets and mobile phone networks in a way that allows them to carry out their livelihood activities effectively and efficiently. These measures help to reduce the risk of REDD+ actions and ensure sustainability. Full article

REDD+ aims to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries while ensuring social and environmental benefits through the involvement of diverse stakeholders. While several studies evaluate stakeholder participation in various aspects of REDD+, such as the level and type of stakeholder participation at both the project and national context level, there is a lack of research on how the government conducted the consultation meetings across all administrative levels. The objective of this study is to evaluate the participation of different stakeholders in REDD+ in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), or Laos, funded by the World Bank, with a focus on analyzing government consultation processes to identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The study applied both a literature review and online interviews, conducted with government officials and representatives of CSOs, which took place from March to April 2020. The results indicate significant involvement from cross-sectoral stakeholders. However, central government agencies and development partners dominated stakeholder participation, potentially influenced by government ownership. Non-state stakeholders, though invited to the consultations, had limited participation, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on their roles to ensure the integration of diverse interests and views in the REDD+ initiative. Full article

This article proposes the creation of a participatory governance framework for traditional communities, focusing on financial benefits sharing, whether they come from compensation, indemnification, or socio-environmental projects. The proposed governance framework was developed based on a series of governance principles and the perceptions and needs of fourteen traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon. The results demonstrated that applied experiences were successful. In this way, the proposed framework presents itself as a mechanism that can be adapted to the specifics of managing financial resources in community contexts. Full article

Free, prior, and informed consent, or FPIC, is a crucial component of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) projects. This study addresses a significant research gap regarding FPIC in the context of REDD+ projects, with a focus on the Implementation of Governance, Forest Landscapes, and Livelihoods (I-GFLL) project in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This research aimed to evaluate the FPIC’s components and implementation. We employed a literature review of the FPIC implementation reports from 242 targeted villages involved in the I-GFLL project and face-to-face interviews with 12 key informants. The research found positive aspects, such as female team membership, boosting ethnic women’s participation; the exclusion of forestry officials to foster an open dialogue; and respect for project rejections, displaying adherence to the FPIC principles. However, some challenging aspects were also highlighted, such as the exclusion of civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) and the loss of their expertise; limited team knowledge of forestry/climate change, hindering communication; short consultation durations; and an incomplete understanding of technical terms due to the project’s novelty, raising concerns. The study emphasizes the importance of crafting FPIC teams that promote communication, respect community rights, and, ultimately, ensure successful project implementation. Full article

The Paris Agreement recognized the significant role of forests in climate change mitigating and adapting. It also emphasized the importance of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism as a vital tool for achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. This study aims to assess the REDD+ readiness of Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal in preparation for effectively implementing REDD+ at the national level. A total of 57 indicators across five categories were used to evaluate readiness: overall readiness, technical readiness, institutional readiness, financing readiness, and strategy and safeguard readiness. The indicator-based questionnaire was administered to government officials, NGOs, private sectors, and academics. The results showed that Nepal was slightly more advanced in overall readiness, owing in part to the longer readiness period of the World Bank-supported Terai Arc ER-P. India scored highly in technical readiness and has several sub-national programmes for REDD+ implementation. Bhutan had strong ratings for strategy and safeguard readiness but lower scores for institutional and financing readiness. Myanmar had consistent ratings across readiness areas, but a lower score for technical readiness. However, political and governance situations pose significant challenges to the effective implementation of REDD+ in Myanmar. Full article

Primary forests are essential ecosystems that can play a key role in mitigating climate change. REDD+ is designed to help countries and communities secure benefits for avoiding deforestation but has faced significant implementation challenges. There are substantial potential benefits for REDD+ in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where shifting agriculture is the major cause of deforestation. However, implementation requires significant capacity building in a number of sectors and at a number of levels. This paper explores how well the capacity building activities within the DRC REDD+ strategy are aligned with the capacity needs identified by provincial government stakeholders and local communities in the Équateur province of the DRC, identified through workshops and surveys. The research suggests that while many technical capacity needs identified by stakeholders could be potentially addressed by the REDD+ strategy, there are number of systemic capacity needs that are unlikely to be addressed. Failure to address these needs risks undermining any implementation of REDD+. The results suggest that education and training in governance and management, as well as fundamental education in sustainability, are key capacity needs that REDD+ may need to incorporate. The results also provide further evidence that REDD+ projects need to be long-term and take into account the local context and needs in order to be effective. Full article

Community forestry around the world has demonstrated its potential for implementing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) climate change program. Secure tenure rights and access to rule-making are known as contributing to successful community forestry outcomes. Still, the effects of different aspects of rural ‘community agency’ are not well established. We investigate forest governance and conflicts and the relationships between aspects of rural community agency under the REDD+ climate change program in two forest communities—the villages of Fabe and Mosongiseli—near the southern portion of the Korup National Park in Cameroon. Using data from a survey instrument and interviews, we analyze, using “agency theory”, the concept of rural community agency according to dimensions of attitudes, understandings, and empowerment in the two communities in relation to forest governance and conflicts under REDD+. Our findings indicate a variety of power relations (e.g., on the communities’ use and management rights of their lands) and existential threats of conflicts within the communities (e.g., violation of the communities’ free, prior, and informed consent). The results also show that both communities share many of the patterns of diversity and integration to a similar extent. Although there is no definitive distinction between the two communities, the findings suggest that some differences exist in their degree of integration. Understanding and describing the nature of the power relations and threats of conflicts comprises an important component to begin an appreciation for the communities’ user group characteristics as these relate to the REDD+ program when implemented. The implication of this study is that threats of conflicts may increase when the villagers’ perception of the potential costs of losing their lands to REDD+ is formed by their experiences with current restrictions on the use and management rights of their lands. Full article

As compared with conventional approaches for reducing carbon emissions, the strategies of reducing emissions from deforestations and forest degradation (REDD) can greatly reduce costs. Hence, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change regards the REDD strategies as a crucial approach to mitigate climate change. To respond to climate change, Taiwan passed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act to control the emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2021, the Taiwan government has announced that it will achieve the carbon neutrality target by 2050. Accordingly, starting with focusing on the carbon sink, the REDD strategies have been considered a recognized and feasible strategy in Taiwan. This study analyzed the net present value and carbon storage for various land-use types to estimate the carbon stock and opportunity cost of land-use changes. When the change of agricultural land to artificial forests generated carbon stock, the opportunity cost of carbon stock was negative. Contrarily, restoring artificial forests (which refer to a kind of forest that is formed through artificial planting, cultivation, and conservation) to agricultural land would generate carbon emissions, but create additional income. Since the opportunity cost of carbon storage needs to be lower than the carbon market price so that landlords have incentives to conduct REDD+, the outcomes of this study can provide a reference for the government to set an appropriate subsidy or price for carbon sinks. It is suggested that the government should offer sufficient incentives to reforest collapsed land, and implement interventions, promote carbon trading policies, or regulate the development of agricultural land so as to maintain artificial broadleaf forests for increased carbon storage. Full article

A growing body of literature analyses the conflict implications of REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries). However, the way these conflicts unfold is little understood. We address this research gap through the following question: What are the pathways that connect REDD+ projects and conflicts between local communities and other actors? We review 242 scientific articles, selecting eight that allow us to trace how the conflict pathways unfolded. We draw on a political ecology perspective and conceptualize ‘conflict pathway’ as an interaction of key events and drivers leading to conflict. We find six main conflict drivers: (1) injustices and restrictions over (full) access and control of forest resources; (2) creation of new forest governance structures that change relationships between stakeholders and the forest; (3) exclusion of community members from comprehensive project participation; (4) high project expectations that are not met; (5) changes in land tenure policy due to migrants, and (6) the aggravation of historic land tenure conflicts. Evictions from forests, acts of violence, and lawsuits are among the events contributing to the conflict pathways. To prevent them, the rights, livelihoods, and benefits of local communities need to be placed at the centre of the REDD+ projects. Full article