Forest governance, decentralisation and REDD in Latin America

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Purpose and expected results 

Several factors underscore the relevance of discussing the relationships among sustainable forest management, forest governance, REDD and livelihoods. Forests in Latin America are home to tens of millions of people who depend directly on forest resources for their livelihoods. Current deforestation rates and their external drivers deprive these people of the primary resource they depend on. At the same time, deforestation and forest degradation are driven by poverty in many places: Poor communities change  land use to improve their lives.

The conditions of forest governance will determine whether REDD strategies, projects and schemes can realise their potential to preserve forests. These conditions will also determine whether REDD can bring real benefits to poor people who depend on forests and already serve as traditional safeguards, or whether those potential benefits will be channelled to other stakeholders.

The workshop will: 

•Identify trends, facilitate the sharing of experience and distil lessons learnt on sustainable forest managment, forest governance and decentralisation 

•Explore synergies with emerging REDD strategies 

•Identify opportunities and threats to livelihoods and poor people 

•Contribute directly to the ninth session of the UN Forum on Forests 

•Inform pre-2012 discussions on REDD and post-2012 REDD design.

Detailed information attached here.