Benefit sharing mechanism of forest carbon projects: a special emphasis on REDD+ & A/R CDM projects
Student name: Ms Kanika Grover
Guide: Ms Namrata Gulati
Year of completion: 2011
Host Organisation: WWF- India
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr T.R. Manoharan
Abstract: Forests have a huge role to play as a cost effective climate mitigation option, its has a huge
untapped potential to control global warming which still hasn’t been exploited to its full
extent. This paper discusses the nuances of forest carbon projects focusing on the
methodological and financial barriers to their implementation. The main emphasis of the
paper however is, to assess the implications of local community participation on the fairness
of a Benefit Sharing Mechanism (BSM) of such projects. The level of participation secured
by the local communities who are at the grassroots of conservation activities ultimately are
the ones determining whether the end objectives of securing GHG reductions of the project
are met or not. The greater is the local community participation in the decision making
aspects of the project, the greater is the probability that the funds invested in the project will
be more efficiently utilized converting them into benefits of the project to be distributed
equitably and effectively among all the project participants. Hence, a case study of a REDD+
project in the Juma Sustainable reserve of Brazil has been analyzed and the lessons learnt by
the Benefit Sharing Mechanism adopted has been documented .In the Indian context, a case
study of small scale A/R CDM project in the Sirsa district of Haryana, undertaken through a
primary field research has been analyzed. The project benefits have still not started flowing,
hence the level of participation secured by the local communities is assessed and its
implications on an equitable BSM, has been extrapolated from the Brazil Study.
