South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation

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dc.contributor.authorRahlao, Sebataolo
dc.contributor.authorMantlana, Brian
dc.contributor.authorWinkler, Harald
dc.contributor.authorKnowles, Tony
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-22T08:52:31Z
dc.date.available2016-02-22T08:52:31Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.date.updated2016-02-12T13:11:12Z
dc.description.abstractReducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is regarded by its proponents as one of the more efficient and cost effective ways to mitigate climate change. There was further progress toward the implementation of this mechanism at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun in December 2010. Many countries in southern African, including South Africa, have not been integrated (do not participate) into the UN-REDD+ programme, probably due to their low forest cover and national rates of deforestation. This paper discusses the potential contribution of REDD+ activities to the South African Government's pledge of reducing national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34% below business as usual by 2020. A number of issues such as complex land tenure system, limited forest cover and other conflicting environmental issues present challenges for REDD+ in South Africa. Despite these genuine concerns, REDD+ remains a practical strategy to contribute to climate change mitigation for South Africa. The paper raises the need for development of a variety of emission reduction programmes – not only in the energy sector. The paper also assesses several national options and opportunities towards a working REDD+ mechanism. It concludes by identifying key mechanisms for moving forward to prepare for REDD+ actions in South Africa and raises the urgent need for national dialogue between stakeholders and institutions to evaluate the feasibility of making use of the mechanism in South Africa and the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) region. The paper further addresses possible synergies and conflicts between the national climate change and forestry policies towards REDD+ development. It suggests that REDD+ should be part of the national dialogue on policy to respond to climate change and should be integrated into the national flagship programmes that the national climate change white paper seeks to implement. A multiple-benefit REDD+ initiative for South Africa can benefit from these international financial initiatives. It is anticipated that this initiative will provide a platform to enhance policy, institutional and technical stakeholder capacities to access financial incentives that may lead to sound environmental practises.en_ZA
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.11.013
dc.identifier.apacitationRahlao, S., Mantlana, B., Winkler, H., & Knowles, T. (2012). South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation. <i>Environmental Science and Policy</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17195en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationRahlao, Sebataolo, Brian Mantlana, Harald Winkler, and Tony Knowles "South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation." <i>Environmental Science and Policy</i> (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17195en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRahlao, S., Mantlana, B., Winkler, H., & Knowles, T. (2012). South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation. Environmental Science & Policy, 17, 24-32.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Rahlao, Sebataolo AU - Mantlana, Brian AU - Winkler, Harald AU - Knowles, Tony AB - Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is regarded by its proponents as one of the more efficient and cost effective ways to mitigate climate change. There was further progress toward the implementation of this mechanism at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun in December 2010. Many countries in southern African, including South Africa, have not been integrated (do not participate) into the UN-REDD+ programme, probably due to their low forest cover and national rates of deforestation. This paper discusses the potential contribution of REDD+ activities to the South African Government's pledge of reducing national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 34% below business as usual by 2020. A number of issues such as complex land tenure system, limited forest cover and other conflicting environmental issues present challenges for REDD+ in South Africa. Despite these genuine concerns, REDD+ remains a practical strategy to contribute to climate change mitigation for South Africa. The paper raises the need for development of a variety of emission reduction programmes – not only in the energy sector. The paper also assesses several national options and opportunities towards a working REDD+ mechanism. It concludes by identifying key mechanisms for moving forward to prepare for REDD+ actions in South Africa and raises the urgent need for national dialogue between stakeholders and institutions to evaluate the feasibility of making use of the mechanism in South Africa and the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) region. The paper further addresses possible synergies and conflicts between the national climate change and forestry policies towards REDD+ development. It suggests that REDD+ should be part of the national dialogue on policy to respond to climate change and should be integrated into the national flagship programmes that the national climate change white paper seeks to implement. A multiple-benefit REDD+ initiative for South Africa can benefit from these international financial initiatives. It is anticipated that this initiative will provide a platform to enhance policy, institutional and technical stakeholder capacities to access financial incentives that may lead to sound environmental practises. DA - 2012 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Environmental Science and Policy LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2012 T1 - South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation TI - South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17195 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/17195
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationRahlao S, Mantlana B, Winkler H, Knowles T. South Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigation. Environmental Science and Policy. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17195.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentEnergy Research Centreen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceEnvironmental Science and Policyen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/14629011
dc.titleSouth Africa's national REDD+ initiative: assessing the potential of the forestry sector on climate change mitigationen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordscarbon stocksen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsclimate changeen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsforest policyen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsindigenous forestsen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsREDD+en_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsterrestrial carbonen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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