Climatic and Environmental Challenges: Learning from the Horn of Africa by David Ambrosetti & Jean-Renaud Boisserie & Deresse Ayenachew & Thomas Guindeuil

Author:David Ambrosetti & Jean-Renaud Boisserie & Deresse Ayenachew & Thomas Guindeuil [Ambrosetti David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: biodiversité, biodiversity, climate, COP21, Éthiopie - Ethiopia, climat, COP21, environnement, Tanzanie - Tanzania, environment
ISBN: 9782821873001
Publisher: Centre français des études éthiopiennes
Published: 2019-04-23T10:41:36+00:00

Incoherencies of REDD+ exposed: Increasing inter- and intra- community inequality, vulnerability

In contrast to villages where implementation of a TFCG/MJUMITA pilot project is occurring, a different story emerges from community members in villages that are involved only in REDD+ readiness. As the benefits of REDD+ offsets remain uncertain, due in part to the legal uncertainties described above, perceived ownership of the program is low. Villagers are concerned that their existing forest use rights and benefits – for many, their main source of income or an occasional risk insurance, as a means to smooth household consumption – will be undermined by REDD+ implementation. Similar concerns have emerged in other studies. A visible result has been less emphasis on protection of the forest from “invaders,” often external charcoal producers, and more concern with encroachment on protected land by external individuals and village community members (C. Leonard, pers. comm).

An additional concern highlighted in the case of Kilosa is the fostering of equity between communities (Katani et al., 2015). If certain communities receive REDD+ revenues while others do not, the latter may feel unfairly treated and be discouraged from supporting the REDD mechanisms. This contributes to the abandonment of sustainable forest management efforts and to further forest encroachment, which may or may not be captured in carbon auditing. Importantly, certain communities and specific groups within communities are less likely to benefit from fair distribution of benefits, leading to social tensions, increased inequality, and increased vulnerability. Appropriate and participatory knowledge input and assessment mechanisms are needed to avoid these maladaptive effects of policy implementation.

Intra-community inequalities are also critical. The income-generating activities appeared to be poorly understood and involved few inhabitants (Vatn et al., 2013). As stated above, in general charcoal and timber producers were initially dissatisfied with the amount of land demarcated for their use. However, in the long run the large-scale producers have the economic incentive to support the project as it ensures them a constant and legal supply of charcoal. Given the fixed tax on the maximum weight of charcoal that is allowed to be transported, a more predictable supply of charcoal means that people involved in commercial and year-long charcoal production are able to maximize their profit margin. By contrast, the marginal gain is low for smaller producers or those who produce charcoal for fast cash for each additional unit of charcoal. Thus a situation is created in which large-scale producers are given incentives to continue producing large amounts of charcoal while those whose is livelihood insecure cannot gain enough to pull themselves up by much. They also have incentive to continue producing inefficiently. Whether the goal to optimize charcoal production has been met or if the new practices have been adopted at all would need further research, although some indications from locals suggest mixed results. Such research is needed for an accurate assessment of overall emissions reductions.

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