Local Sustainable Development Effects of Forest Carbon Projects in Brazil and Bolivia: A view from the field. Final Report

The Kyoto Protocol and its flexibility mechanisms triggered a global debate on the valuation of forests as source of environmental services important to economic growth and development. This article seeks to understand what benefits are made available to local communities through existing carbon sequestration schemes and what incentives there are for executors to involve local people more fully as partners or beneficiaries. Drawing on research from four pilot projects in Brazil and Bolivia on a gradient across cerrado and Amazon biomes, the authors highlight critical gaps remain in the understanding of the interfaces between people, forests and carbon, fundamental to successful project design, implementation and outcomes. In conclusion, the authors propose a set of generic project criteria and indicators to be considered by nationally designated agencies in their assessment of forest carbon projects, to promote socially and environmentally "friendly " project design