Opportunities in the Implementation of REDD+ - Essay Example

Deforestation is a major threat to West African forestlands and a major contribution to climatic changes as it contributes to emission of greenhouse gases. Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) scheme was developed by the United Nations to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests and offering incentives for developing countries to enhance removal of greenhouse gases through a variety of forest management options. This paper will discuss the challenges of REDD+ opportunities and implementation in the Gola Rainforest with a closer look at local priorities, benefits and needs of the forest edge communities. WE will also examine drivers of deforestation and degradation in the Gola forest. Qualitative study using maps was used in Sierra Leone on developments of the REDD+ mechanism in helping address deforestation. While REDD+ carries potential benefits, the prospects for its successful implementation in a developing country like Sierra Leone faces multiple challenges to meeting both its objectives and opportunities to improve livelihood of the local communities. Introduction Global forests, particularly tropical rainforests, play a key role in climate regulation. They provide a range of other benefits such as rainfall for agriculture, flood prevention and biodiversity. However, human activities have significant impacts on forests which in turn affect climate and wider ecosystem services. Deforestation is a major contribution to climatic changes, deforestation alone has contributed to about 20 percent of global greenhouse gases (Gullison et al., 2007). In West Africa, the moist and semi deciduous forests that stretch across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Cote D Ivoire and Ghana have attracted attention as the assumed remainder of a once Upper Guinea forest ecosystem has progressively reduced due to deforestation and degradation. In various ways, international climate change negotiations have created opportunities and attention to the task of how to effectively slow down deforestation in developing countries. It would not only reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but would also provide additional benefits to the climate system including preserving the net carbon sink that may be present in old growth tropical forests and protect the environment. The basic goal is to preserve trees that would otherwise be cut down and thus release carbon dioxide, the most commonly emitted greenhouse gas. The REDD document specifically encourages parties to explore a range of actions, identify options, and undertake efforts, including demonstration activities, to address the drivers of deforestation relevant to their national circumstances, With the aim of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and thus enhance forest carbon stocks due to sustainable management of forests (Crawford, Brown, and Finlay, 2011). Countries wishing to take part in the REDD+ scheme faces numerous challenges, one of them will be designing operational, national forest monitoring systems to support the Measurement, Reporting and Verification, MRVC requirements of REDD+ policies and measures and the UNFCCC (Matieu et al. 2011). This means that developing countries participating into the scheme would only receive compensation for reducing Carbon emissions based on verifiable results that have been measured and reported to the UNFCCC. Consequently, participating countries will have to put in place a system to assess forests cover as well as carbon stocks and their changes, in space and time, and report on any uncertainties in their data. Surely, several developing countries like Sierra Leone would face technical, financial and institutional challenges in addition to the difficulty of designing and implementing national forest monitoring systems. This paper will attempt to discuss the many challenges and opportunities in implementation of REDD+ projects in the Gola Rainforest in Sierra Leone. Several REDD+ design that may benefit the poor and one of them is based on a national level carbon credits sales that would receive financial funds in exchange for avoided deforestation and forest degradation. In Sierra Leone, the fund based approach has been argued to fit with the realities of communal land and forest tenure under village governance and participatory forest management (Burges et al. 2010). The REDD+ would also give possibilities to include the rights of local peoples and their involvement in the management of forest resources (Sikor et al. 2010). 1. Study: maps The Gola Forest is a dense rainforest located on the south-eastern edge of Sierra Leone along the border with Liberia. Gola Rainforest is a protected natural area consisting of three distinct forest reserves namely, Gola North 45,800 ha, Gola East 22,800 ha and Gola West 6,200 ha. The forest reserves is located about 330 km southeast of Freetown covering parts of the Gaura, Tunkia, Nomo, and Koya Chiefdoms in the Kenema District Barri and Makpele Chiefdoms in the Pujehun District and Malema Chiefdom in the Kailahun District and also forms part of Sierra Leone’s border with the Republic of Liberia. The Gola Forests are the largest area of lowland tropical forest remaining in Sierra Leone and form part of the Upper Guinea forest ecosystem which is classified as one of the 25 most important biodiversity hotspots in the World (Myers et al. 2000). Much of the present biodiversity is endemic to the area and encompasses species of flora and fauna that due to deforestation and poaching are in serious threats of being extinct (Crawford, Brown, and Finlay 2011). Twenty years ago the The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) took interest in protecting the forest and conducted the first biodiversity feasibility study of the forest area and the forest edge communities where there is extreme poverty, rapid population growth and complex social dynamics in the seven chiefdoms surrounding the forest (RSPB, 2008). The Gola Forest Program is a partnership between the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, The National Life Bird Partner and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Forestry Division of the Government of Sierra Leone together with local paramount chiefs representing local landowners agreed on a 30 years plan to manage the site as a forest reserve with the primary objective being the extraction of timber. The RSPB has been the key player in the efforts to conserve the forest. From the feasibility study, it was determined that developing REDD+ scheme will be a viable venture to creating financial resources. In 2011, the Government of Sierra Leone declared the forest a National Park which ultimately set the stage for establishment of REDD+ program with the full involvement of local communities to sell credits with the validation of the Verified Carbon Standards, VCS and the climate, community and Biodiversity Alliance Standards , CCBA. The vision of this program is to act as a catalyst for peace, prosperity, a and national pride in Sierra Leone, ensuring that the global important habitats, biodiversity and environmental services of the Gola Rainforest National Park , GRNP and wider Gola landscape are conserved and that neighboring communities are active stewards of the natural resources base that enhances their livelihoods (PSRP, 2008). The REDD+ program aims to develop and manage million hectares of forested lands creating employment for over a thousand foresters generating yearly revenue of one hundred million dollars. 1.1 The leakage Belt To meet the VCS standards for the project, the leakage belt was defined to include forested and non-forested areas that immediately surround the Gola Forestlands and extending approximately 4 miles outwards containing 114 inhabited Forest Edge Communities (REDD+, 2008). The majority of forest edge communities are quite remote and located at some distance from motor roads making market access difficult and restricting economic opportunity. A larger percentage of the population in forest edge communities, subsistence agriculture forms the basis for their livelihoods (Bulte et al. 2013). In Sierra Leone, 73 percent of all poverty is found in rural areas and two out of three districts where the forest is located are recognized as the poorest districts in Sierra Leone (PSRB 2005 :34). Forest edge communities are poor and the vast majority lack basic amenities and services such as latrines, clean water supply, healthcare and education. From the baseline surveys and other consultation and information gathering exercises (Bulte et al 2013 & Tatum-Hume et al 2013a), the findings of national surveys are a reflection of conditions in the Gola Forests zone. In the Gola Forest, the forest edge communities range from small hamlets of about ten people to small towns of nearly twelve hundred people and describe themselves as being mainly natives of the Mende tribe and other ethnic groups such as the Gola, Fula, Mandingo, Vai, Kisi, Limnba, Gbandi and Temne tribes are present. Various tribal communities depend on the ecosystem services provided by the forest for their livelihood. The creation of a forest reserve and the subsequent implementation of REDD+ may assumed to occur a displacement leakage due to the displacement of the subsistence farming activities. Therefore, developing leakage mitigation activities is vital to ensure that primary external pressure that drives deforestation and forest degradation are identified, addressed and benefits to the forest edge communities are delivered. These activities are aimed at addressing the underlying causes of poverty by creating opportunities for alternate sources of income for forest edge communities. 2. Challenges The implementation of the REDD and the REDD+ program in Gola forest of sierra Leone as developed by the united nations has faced a number of challenges. First, the implementation of the UN-REDD program requires the input of various agencies and partners through their professional expertise. However, partner mobilization of the needed competencies is a major challenge to the REDD+ program especially in African countries like Sierra Leone. The country needs well established national level framework and permanent national secretariat for provision of guidance, direction and regulation on climate change and carbon trading issues in Sierra Leone. Uncertainty of legal tenure of land and related carbon rights in the absence of clear negotiation with local district council and national ownership of forest lands is another drawback. In the case of the Gola forest, the forest edge communities must ultimately play a vital role in to the success of any REDD+ initiative. Whether REDD will benefit or marginalise forest communities will depends on local to national arrangements about the allocation of benefits in exchange for avoidance of deforestation, Such issues have negatively influenced the implementation of the REDD+ program for Gola forest. Whether specific policy developments must focus on benefits to forest edge communities, the REDD schemes must be developed to improve forest governance, strengthen local resource rights, including customary rights, and connect national policy to key international thinking. All these would be essential for REDD+ to succeed. The management and implementation of the Gola Forest conservation plan with a focus on carbon sequestration through the REDD+ initiatives would be affected by lack of harmonization. A national approach to REDD+ is supposed to allow broader governance issues and drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. (Angelson et al. 2008). Various REDD+ initiatives at the national and sub-national levels must be harmonized to ensure that the programs work towards the same goal despite the varying sources of funds. The Gola Rainforest Conservation LG , a not for profit organization was established to manage the forest in 2011 with funds coming from the ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds , RSBP and the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, CSSL. All the stakeholders in the seven chiefdoms must be engaged by the funding groups to actively ensure effective implementation of the program. The program also faces the challenge of developing the right partnership and coordination with other Gola Forest restoration entities such as Winrock International and Cambridge-Wagningen Research Group. A number of other entities have provided and will continue to provide various types of technical support in the development and implementation of the project (Romano 2008). At the national level, the challenge of strengthening the national governance level to enable REDD+ policies to be accepted had affected its implementation. Gola Forest conservation must be tagged with the need for development of the social and economic enhancement of the forest edge communities. The project must also be designed in a manner that complies with national forest laws. The principal policies and laws relevant to the management of forest area are the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1972, the Forestry Act of 1988 and the Forestry Act Regulations in 1990 and the recently passed National Protected Areas Authority Act 2013 (Bulte et al. 2013). The issue of carbon rights to the forest reserves which are negotiated with local landowning families and the government of Sierra Leone was another problem faced by the REDD initiative. For the Government of Sierra Leone to secure full ownership of carbon rights for the project area for the duration of the Gola REDD project, the Government had to enter into agreements with each representative of landowning families claiming customary tenure inside the Gola REDD project area (Bulte ET al.2013). There are approximately 99 forest edge communities that live within the leakage belt and some preventive steps have to be taken to address certain drivers of deforestation and deliver benefits to these communities to ensure successful implementation of the REDD+ program. The benefits of the conservation efforts in the country must also be distributed equally to all members of the community and all levels of governance in the country. This however is a challenge due to lack of adequate finance and resources to meet the needs of the heavily populated Gola forest communities. As experienced around the world especially in third world countries, lack of adequate funding by governments has placed the prospect for successful implementation of REDD+ directly to foreign donors. The problem with accessing donor funds is that the focus for the funds is constantly changing as the priorities of governments and international developments shifts (IUCN 2006). In most cases donor funding is given to short term projects which poses challenges to develop a project based on long term goals. For instance donor funds from the EU ended in July 2012 despite the extensive proposals of the Gola Forest National Park, team has not been able to secure further funding via donor routes (Peskett et al., 2008). The ability to secure an effective and sustainable financial program for REDD as a way of fast starting the projects has also affected the implementation of the REDD+ program in Sierra Leone. The time for coming into agreement with the local communities has also been protracted due to various issues emerging from the local communities. This has prolonged the implementation of the REDD+ initiative and given room for continued destruction of the Gola forest by the locals and foreigners (Bulte et al. 2013). 3. Land-Use Scenarios and Drivers of Deforestation Deforestation is caused by multiple pressures, including conversion of land for agricultural uses, infrastructure development, wood extraction (Geist and Lambin 2002; Angelsen and Kaimowitz, 1991; Schaeffer et. al 2005; Fearnside 2006), agricultural product prices, and a complex set of additional institutional and location–specific factors (UNFCCC, 2006), which can be extremely important in certain localities. Rainforests help regulate climate and also provide a range of other ecosystems services to humanity. Without conservation efforts such as the Gola Forest project, this forest will be lost at an alarming rate due to some land-use scenarios and associated direct and indirect drivers of deforestation. The initiation of the Gola rainforest REDD+ program was necessitated by the alarming levels of deforestation and degradation within the site. Despite the safeguards that have been put in place by the government through the environment ministry, the level of deforestation and degradation still remained relatively high. This was attributed to the activities of the local communities and the high increase in population that has pushed up the demand for settlement land (Peskett et al., 2008). Gola rainforest is facing massive degradation and destruction from locals and illegal bloggers in the country, a situation that has threatened the water catchment area. Increase in population has remained the major threat to the existence of the rainforest as the indigenous communities continue to clear the forest for farming and settlement. The seven chiefdoms in the Gola rainforest have significantly contributed to the destruction of the forest as they encourage encroachment in the form of human settlements (Romano 2008). Apart from illegal settlement, the destruction and deforestation of the Gola rainforest has been attributed to the activities of illegal bloggers and timber dealers. The Gola rainforest is home to indigenous and expensive hardwood trees that the bloggers have secretly continued to cut and process. This affects the natural ecosystem of the forest and exposes the indigenous animals in the forest. Through the adoption of environmental friendly waste management approaches, the environment is supported and is cleaned from the wastes. In (Angelson 2012), tropical cyclones are also likely to increase in intensity, which has the potential of causing massive destruction of property and life. As the weather patterns changes, the water resources will dry up while other fresh water bodies will be taken up by the salty seawaters due to the rising of the sea volume. This will result to massive human and animal problems due to the inability to access freshwaters within different parts of the world that will be affected (Angelsen 2012). Improper land use practices also significantly affect the ecosystem balance and accelerate the occurrence of climate change due to the interference with the natural balance. Deforestation, is characterized by unplanned cutting down of trees without replacing them. Sierra Leone has witnessed artificial deforestation for farming and housing projects and this has reduced the overall forest cover in the country (Peskett et al., 2008). Trees are cut to create rooms for farming; an activity that can be considered normal for human natural existence but if not well controlled can affect the climate. Large tract of rainforests have been cut down or burnt in different parts of the Sierra Leone and this has led to the disturbance of the ecological balance (Peskett et al., 2008). 4.1 Direct drivers As the demand for timber by the European Union and other countries continue to grow, illegal and legal logging in many forest areas in Sierra Leone continues to grow. Since 2011, the government of Sierra Leone took action to curb illegal logging by embarking on reviewing all forestry policy and subsequently introduced a ban on all logging and export of timber for an indefinite period. In the Gola rainforest, about 85 percent of the forest trees cut to timber are carried out by uncontrolled loggers. Artisanal mining, Diamond and gold taking place in the vicinity of the Gola Rainforest can cause significant environmental damage due to its methods of clear- cutting and frequent use of toxic chemicals to extract minerals and also it associated livelihood practices of hunting for food and gathering fire woods to support mining population. The majority of the forest edge communities living around the forest engage in primarily subsistence agriculture, but a good number take part in mining as a seasonal activity particularly in the iron rich Bagla Hills. But a 2011 agreement with the seven chiefdoms surrounding the forest reserves, the government of Sierra Leone developed the conservation program and forest guards were recruited to enforce the management agreement. Fuel wood and demand is on the increase and this endangers the forest. Bbush fallow subsistence agriculture which consists of clearing , cultivating and then letting land lay fallow provide the major source of livelihood for the largely rural poor population of the forest edge community. 4.2 Indirect factors Civil wars, the decade long civil war brought with it a breakdown in law and order to the entire country. Many displaced and unemployed refugees made a living exploiting forest resource at unsustainable levels. Forest policy, the Department of International Development, DFID under a program called Good Governance program handed out for free chains saws to several paramount chiefs with the aim of exploiting timber resources in their respective chiefdoms for use in housing infrastructure. The policy turned out to be ill-conceived and most of the chainsaws handed out to the paramount chiefs ended up being used for illegal logging activities in the forest reserves like the Gola rainforest. Poverty and rapid population growth are triggers deforestation to create space. Inadequate investment in conservation: The forestry divisions strategic plan 2012 did not included forest protection and as such only USD115,814 was allocated in 2011 to manage 48 forests reserves totaling 300,00 hectares (Macauley 2011). 4.3 Alternative Land-Use Scenario Selective logging concessions should be put in place in accordance to land laws. Targeted investment opportunities cash crop such as rice and cocoa and production of Agro fuels such as sugar and palm oils in rural areas. Industrial mining of diamond concessions can be administered. Small scale logging activities can be advocated for by agricultural personnel. 5. Opportunities for REDD+ There are several reasons for protecting the Gola Forest taking into account local, national and international prospective. In Sierra Leone, deforestation accounts for one of the main causes of degradation to the environment and only 5% of the land is forested today compared to 75% in the early 1800s. At a local level, the REDD+ program has the potential not only generate enough revenue through the sale of carbon credit but may encourage ecotourism. Any ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation has wide ranging positive global implications. Worldwide forests support the livelihood of 1.6 billion people and are home to 300 million (Macauley 2011). Around 114 diverse ethnic communities live in the Gola forest area relying mainly to the forest for their livelihood. The REDD+ program has a number of opportunities to the local communities by creating capacity of these communities to increase productivity in key crop types outside the forest reserve areas. An established REDD+ mechanism could provide incentive to improve governance capacities as a prerequisite for receiving funds in exchange for avoidance of the forest. It can also foster cooperation and dialogue as well as confidence- building amongst ethnically diverse communities as seen in the leakage belt of the Gola Forest. This has acted as a stimulator of development and peaceful co-existence among the local communities as the Gola forest is conserved (Peluso and Lund 2011). The REDD+ project will create an opportunity for non-governmental organizations and local stakeholders work together to implement cost-effective strategies while engaging with international researcher teams for continued innovation in forestry conservation. The program can also help promote awareness of the ecosystem services provided by forests through regular meetings, workshops, focal groups and presentations. This program will also provide the needed relevant technical expertise, experience and capabilities to the Gola rainforest (Peluso and Lund 2011). This will increase the ability of the country to respond to challenges associated with forest conservation and the reduction of degradation. The Sierra Leone Gola forest restoration policy board is uniquely composed and this enhances its capacity to eliminate the challenges associated with forest degradation. For example, the current Gola forest initiative is composed of the REDD+ countries, various donors, local representatives and indigenous communities and civil society activists (Peluso and Lund 2011). This improves cohesion, understanding, involvement and the overall success of the program despite the financial and resource challenges. The united nation REDDS + program has also led to the development of the multi-donor trust fund, MDTF, an initiative that has contributed to speedy resolutions and approval procedures in the region. The policy boards are also uniquely constituted to incorporate the needs of the local communities and focus groups such as the donors, the representatives of indigenous people and the civil society organizations. This commitment has enhanced the cooperation of the locals and the indigenous members of the region whose rights are observed at all times (Macauley 2011). REDD+ provides an opportunity for the countries involved to deliver their missions and goals as one unit, a situation that environmentalist attributes to the conservation of various forests. Concerted effort is needed in the conservation of the Gola rainforest due to the multi-ethnic nature of the region. With the REDD+, the Gola rainforest conservation effort in Sierra Leone has been enhanced due to the efforts of the NGOs and other Gola rainforest focus groups (Peluso and Lund 2011). Implementation of REDD+ Gola rainforest is the first initiative implemented by REDD+ in Sierra Leone and other African countries, a demonstration of its benefits and relevance in the region. The Gola forest covers over 70,000 hectares and extends to other countries such as the upper guinea forest. A number of endangered species have found refuge in the country’s largest forest and this highlight the reason behind the REDD+ project in the country in conjunction with the united nation. The implementation of this project is viewed as a way of protecting the watersheds, the endangered animals and plant species and stabilization of the high levels greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere (Macauley 2011). The implementation of the REDD+ project in the Gola rainforest of Sierra Leone was accomplished in conjunction with the local chiefs of the seven chiefdoms. Landowners in the region were also included in the endeavour to reduce issues associated with societal resistance and sabotage of the project in the country. In the previous years, the management of such projects aimed at conserving the Gola rainforest was assigned to the government through the environment ministry. However, the project initiated in 2011 was implemented solely by Gola rainforest national park, a development that provided way for the entry of organisations and programs promoted by the United Nations such as the REDD+ (Peluso and Lund 2011). The implementation of the REDD+ project in Sierra Leone is aimed at fulfilling the provisions of the climate community and biodiversity standards and the verified carbon standards, which was validated last year. This will be achieved through biodiversity and environmental service programs aimed at meeting the needs of the local community and the endangered animal species within this rainforest. This project has three focuses, which include the adoption of proper conservation and management strategies of the Gola rainforest national park (Romano 2007). Through the development of an enabled environment in the Gola rainforest, the REDD+ program aim at improving conservation strategies and the national policies aimed at enhancing environmental conservation. This program also aim at improving the sustainability of natural resources and the management approaches through the creation of environmental steward roles (Mayers 2006). This will be achieved through proper education to the locals, capacity development, adequate planning and the socioeconomic empowerment of the local people. Finally, the REDD+ program is aimed at researching and monitoring the process of developing a biodiversity database aimed at ensuring that any plans in the country’s rainforest management programs (Macauley 2011). Meeting local Priorities and Needs of the Locals through REDD+ Program The implementation of the Gola rainforest REDD+ program will benefit the local communities in Sierra Leone in a number of ways based on the program guideline. One of the main objectives of the REDD+ program in the Gola rainforest area in Sierra Leone was to provide adequate opportunities and resources to the local members of the society. Such include the trickle down arrangement of resources and revenues from the program with the local members of the society (Angelsen 2012). The program has made arrangements to ensure that resources are shared with various jurisdictions in the country. This has led to a sizeable flow of resources from the central operational unit of the program to the local communities and the seven chiefdoms in the country. The decentralisation policy that is currently implemented in the Gola rainforest in Sierra Leone has previously succeeded in other countries such as Indonesia and Costa Rica is the motivation behind this program. For example in Costa Rica, the Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme rewards forest landowners for carbon sequestration, watershed protection, biodiversity conservation and the preservation of landscape beauty (Eliasch 2008). Other countries such as the democratic republic of Congo have developed proper legal provisions for the distribution of resources to the local communities in the country. However, the impact of the Congo initiative had no impact as compared to the Indonesian case model, a situation that provides rich reference to the Sierra Leone (Anadu 2008). Most central governments’ scheme to distribute the revenues from natural resources has been skewed and is suboptimal. This has provided insightful information to the REDD+ program in Sierra Leone and is the basis of the program adopted by the program to benefit the locals. To enable proper participation of the locals in programs such as the conservation of the Gola rainforest, the REDD+ program has initiated a community-private partnership (Romano 2008) This will provide a useful vehicle for enhancing the interaction of the local people with the projects thus improving their social and economic status. This project will also improve the capital, technology, marketing and technical knowledge of the local community members. Other countries in Southeast Asia have successfully implemented community-private sector initiative under the REDD program and this demonstrates its ability to change the situation in the region (Angelsen 2012). 5.1 Intensive Community engagement Community forest management focuses on engaging forest edge communities as environmental stewards. If properly applied, the practice can help reduce deforestation, generate income streams for communities and lead to greater transparency in decision making about the future of the forest. 5.2 Land Tenure and carbon rights Lack of clear and secure land tenure and use rights can be a major factor driving deforestation in many developing countries including Sierra Leone. It can also lead to forest edge communities and indigenous people lose their rights over forest land often creating tensions and conflicts. It is therefore worthwhile to secure property rights on paper and properly practiced before investing in forest management practices. Clearly, land within the Gola Forest reserve is under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Food Security. Thus, the Government of Sierra Leone is legislated with the management of the forests resources in the National Park and thus owns the carbon rights within the Gola REDD+ project area. (Macauley 2011). Yet, the project duration is designed for 20 years and the government of Sierra Leone entered into agreement with each representative of landowning families claiming customary tenure to resolve any outstanding rights including carbon rights in exchange for a yearly payment agreed through the Benefit Sharing Agreement. 6. Conclusion Reducing deforestation will be vital if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change and preserve important ecosystem functions. A substantial package is needed to provide funding to Rainforest Nations to help them embark on alternative economic development paths. Rainforests cool the planet, regulate the water cycle and provide a home to countless species, so it is right and essential that the world pays for these services. A global step change is needed in the way land is used and commodities are produced if forest emissions are to be reduced. A vision will focus on sustainable of global production which can meet increasing demand for commodities and lead to reduced carbon emissions, better livelihoods for the poor and preservation of non-carbon ecosystem services such as biodiversity and water services. Each of the three players in the Gola project has a part in establishing a carbon market that delivers environmentally sound and socially beneficial outcomes. Works Cited Anadu, Paul. A preliminary survey or terrestrial mammals in the Gola Forest, Sierra Leone. Survey report for the Gola Forest Programme, 2008. Angelsen, McNeill. Analysing REDD+: Challenges and choices CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia, 31-50, 2012. Global Witness, a Near Miss? Lessons learnt from the allocation of Mining licences in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone. London: Global Witness, 2010. Bulte, Kontoleon. REDD+ socio-economic descriptive analysis Sierra Leone. Cambridge: Wageningen social science group, 2013. The Eliasch Review, Climate Change: Financing global forest, 2008. Hosonuma, Noriko. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries, Environmental restoration, 7, 1-12. 2012. Mayers, Simwela. Forest governance and social justice: practical tactics from a learning group approach in Africa. International Forestry Review 8 (12) 201–210. 2012 Peluso and Lund L. N. and Lund, C. New frontiers of land control: introduction. Journal of Peasant Studies. 38 667–681. 2011 Peskett, L., Huberman D., Bowen E. et al. Making REDD Work for the Poor. London: ODI and IUCN for Poverty and Environment Partnership, 2008. Romano, F. Forest tenure changes in Africa: making locally based forest management work. Unasylva 228(58) 11–17, 2008. Crawford, A., Brown, O. and Finlay, H., Conflict –Sensitive Conservation in Gola Rainforest National Park, Kenema: Sierra Leone, August 2011. Leach, M. Rainforest relations: Gender and Resource Use among the Mende of Gola, Sierra Leone, Edinburgh University Press, 1994. Gabriel T. Emeralds of the Equator: An Avoided Deforestation Carbon Markets Strategy Manual. University of Michigan, 2009. Olander, L., Boyd, W., Lawlor, K., Madeira, E.M., and Niles, J.O. The Crucial Role of Forests in Combating Climate Change. Duke University’s: Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, 2009. Read More