A new climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradatio... more A new climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’ to capture atmospheric CO2 and enhance forest carbon stock in developing countries (termed as REDD+) has been considered by the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy has attracted substantial global attention as it may potentially contribute not only for climate change mitigation by capturing atmospheric carbon (C) but also reward indigenous and local communities in developing countries who manage their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increases. The REDD+ is likely to be a performance-based mechanism so the reward for the C services mainly depends on the annual incremental forest C. This paper examines whether community forests (CF), practiced in developing countries, particularly Nepal, capture and enhance C stocks and are profitable. Four CFs from three physiographic regions (low-land - Terai, the mid-hills and high mountains) o...
Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbo... more Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbon payment for forest management, a cost-effective and practical solution to climate change and unsustainable development. In recent years an attractive policy has been discussed under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), sustainable management of forest, and conservation and enhancement of carbon in developing countries. This could potentially reward forest-managing communities in developing countries. One of the challenging tasks for the successful implementation of this policy is setting up reliable baseline emissions scenarios based on the historical emissions as input for business as usual projections. Forest biomass measurements, the quantification of carbon stocks, their monitoring, and the observation of these stocks over time, are very important for the development of reference sce...
Indigenous people and local communities own or manage more than 22% of the world natural forests,... more Indigenous people and local communities own or manage more than 22% of the world natural forests, and there is increasing interest in community level payment for ecosystem services in the context of carbon incentives under REDD+. One of the major concerns is whether the income that the local communities are likely to receive from international carbon payment schemes will cover both the opportunity costs and the costs of undertaking REDD+ activities, from the initial planning stage to the sale of carbon credits in the market. A three year research study was carried out in four watersheds in three different physiographic regions of central Nepal from 2009 to estimate these costs. The findings indicate that the total average costs for the entire process of REDD+ for individual community forest user groups would be US$ 30.5 per ha in the first year, which was reduced by one third in the following years. Expanding the community level REDD+ programme to a wider scale, making the watershed...
The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, 2012
A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation an... more A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment. This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs (with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009, and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore, it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration. Keywords: Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biomass Pools, Carbon Sequestration, Community Forestry, Well-being
Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbo... more Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbon payment for forest management, a cost-effective and practical solution to climate change and unsustainable development. In recent years an attractive policy has been discussed under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), sustainable management of forest, and conservation and enhancement of carbon in developing countries. This could potentially reward forest-managing communities in developing countries. One of the challenging tasks for the successful implementation of this policy is setting up reliable baseline emissions scenarios based on the historical emissions as input for business as usual projections. Forest biomass measurements, the quantification of carbon stocks, their monitoring, and the observation of these stocks over time, are very important for the development of reference scenario and estimation of carbon stock. This paper reviews a numbers of methods available for estimating forest carbon stocks and growth rates of different forest carbon pools. It also explores the limitations and challenges of these methods for use in different geographical locations, and suggests ways of improving accuracy and precision that reduce uncertainty for the successful implementation of REDD+. Furthermore, the paper assesses the role of remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) techniques in the establishment of a long-term carbon inventory.
A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
an... more A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment. This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs (with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009, and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore, it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration.
A new climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradatio... more A new climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’ to capture atmospheric CO2 and enhance forest carbon stock in developing countries (termed as REDD+) has been considered by the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy has attracted substantial global attention as it may potentially contribute not only for climate change mitigation by capturing atmospheric carbon (C) but also reward indigenous and local communities in developing countries who manage their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increases. The REDD+ is likely to be a performance-based mechanism so the reward for the C services mainly depends on the annual incremental forest C. This paper examines whether community forests (CF), practiced in developing countries, particularly Nepal, capture and enhance C stocks and are profitable. Four CFs from three physiographic regions (low-land - Terai, the mid-hills and high mountains) o...
Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbo... more Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbon payment for forest management, a cost-effective and practical solution to climate change and unsustainable development. In recent years an attractive policy has been discussed under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), sustainable management of forest, and conservation and enhancement of carbon in developing countries. This could potentially reward forest-managing communities in developing countries. One of the challenging tasks for the successful implementation of this policy is setting up reliable baseline emissions scenarios based on the historical emissions as input for business as usual projections. Forest biomass measurements, the quantification of carbon stocks, their monitoring, and the observation of these stocks over time, are very important for the development of reference sce...
Indigenous people and local communities own or manage more than 22% of the world natural forests,... more Indigenous people and local communities own or manage more than 22% of the world natural forests, and there is increasing interest in community level payment for ecosystem services in the context of carbon incentives under REDD+. One of the major concerns is whether the income that the local communities are likely to receive from international carbon payment schemes will cover both the opportunity costs and the costs of undertaking REDD+ activities, from the initial planning stage to the sale of carbon credits in the market. A three year research study was carried out in four watersheds in three different physiographic regions of central Nepal from 2009 to estimate these costs. The findings indicate that the total average costs for the entire process of REDD+ for individual community forest user groups would be US$ 30.5 per ha in the first year, which was reduced by one third in the following years. Expanding the community level REDD+ programme to a wider scale, making the watershed...
The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, 2012
A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation an... more A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment. This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs (with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009, and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore, it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration. Keywords: Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biomass Pools, Carbon Sequestration, Community Forestry, Well-being
Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbo... more Many scientists and policy makers consider payment for environmental services, particularly carbon payment for forest management, a cost-effective and practical solution to climate change and unsustainable development. In recent years an attractive policy has been discussed under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), sustainable management of forest, and conservation and enhancement of carbon in developing countries. This could potentially reward forest-managing communities in developing countries. One of the challenging tasks for the successful implementation of this policy is setting up reliable baseline emissions scenarios based on the historical emissions as input for business as usual projections. Forest biomass measurements, the quantification of carbon stocks, their monitoring, and the observation of these stocks over time, are very important for the development of reference scenario and estimation of carbon stock. This paper reviews a numbers of methods available for estimating forest carbon stocks and growth rates of different forest carbon pools. It also explores the limitations and challenges of these methods for use in different geographical locations, and suggests ways of improving accuracy and precision that reduce uncertainty for the successful implementation of REDD+. Furthermore, the paper assesses the role of remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) techniques in the establishment of a long-term carbon inventory.
A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
an... more A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment. This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs (with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009, and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore, it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration.
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Papers by Thakur Bhattarai
and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration
by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed
at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed
upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international
fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries
with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due
to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding
indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that
biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon
services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment.
This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in
four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds
in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years
using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs
(with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009,
and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore,
it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration.
Keywords: Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biomass Pools, Carbon Sequestration, Community
Forestry, Well-being
and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration
by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed
at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed
upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international
fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries
with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due
to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding
indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that
biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon
services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment.
This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in
four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds
in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years
using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs
(with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO₂e at the end of 2009,
and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO₂e every year. Furthermore,
it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration.
Keywords: Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biomass Pools, Carbon Sequestration, Community
Forestry, Well-being