1 Architecture for REDD+: Management and Flows of Funds

To mobilize resources for the reduction of GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation of forests and the enhancement of their carbon stocks (REDD+), the effective and efficient distribution of finance at the national level is essential. This paper provides a summary of optional institutional structures and operational schemes to effectively attract and manage financial flows in forested countries and present an analysis of the issues associated with them. Deforestation reflects the culmination of many causes in a context of complex social, economic, cultural and environmental factors. However, drivers generally fall into three categories (i) indirect or underlying causes (e.g. policy, economic, institutional, technological, cultural and demographic factors); (ii) direct, immediate or proximate causes (e.g. agriculture, logging, cattle ranching and infrastructure development); (iii)social and physical predisposing conditions. Policies to reduce deforestation rates in developing countries usually seek to make forestry more sustainable, raise the political status of forest conservation, or modify social and economic development policies. It is notable that the most direct measures-- legal actions t