Is REDD too centralized?

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A recent article on the BBC website decried the treatment of local populations in the development of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) projects.

Although the author gets some facts incorrect - claiming, for example the "+" in REDD+ represents what are more widely known as co-benefits rather than enhanced forest carbon stocks as noted in the LCA text (i.e. sequestering carbon, or afforestation) - he does do a service in pointing out potential problems with REDD.

The gist of the author's argument is that REDD will centralize decision-making over forest resources within government and prevent community managment. Panama is a good example of the decentralization process because it has been slowly recognizing indigenous peoples' rights over their land.

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Palm Oil Plantations and REDD

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The European Commission and some EU member states are pushing for palm oil plantations to be classified as "forest" (Full story) Per the current definition of forest from the UN, palm oil plantations would qualify as if they covered "any area larger than 500 square metres with crown cover of 10 per cent and trees [were] capable of growing two metres high." The Indonesian Forestry Ministry is also pushing to classify palm oil plantations as forest. See the full article at the Jakarta Post. The question of what constitutes a forest is a topic for another post, but these headlines have some interesting implications for potential REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) projects.
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Climate Change Messaging

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I enjoyed this clip by John Stewart in retort to the climate change skeptics. That Vancouver is experiencing lower than average snowfall should make people question the rationale behind the DC snowstorm disproving global warming.

Seriously though, pointing out that a climate change denier is being irrational or thoughtless probably won't change his opinion (I've tried). When discussing this subject now, I frame the debate within the rubric of making our economy more efficient, healthy (less coal smog=less asthma), and less reliant on foreign energy. These are all things that can save us money by putting a price on the negative externalities (that are essentially subsidized by the US taxpayer).

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"Snowmageddon"

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If you live anywhere between Washington DC and Philadelphia (or watch the evening news) you know that this winter has produced some epic snow. Yesterday I shoveled 24" from the sidewalk in front of our house. The federal government is closed for the next two days, and public transportation is slow at best. The accumulation for this season is over 45", and with 10-20" more snow predicted for tomorrow, it looks like DC might break its record of 54.4" set in 1898-99.

This phenomenon is feeding the flames of argument between global warming naysayers and those who trust the hard science behind climate change. They say "Doesn't this record snowfall disprove global warming? Fortunately, Climate Progress has an answer for us.