This report presents an analysis of the synergies between environmental policies and the development of comprehensive environmental projects.

The success of REDD+ depends on whether it can be economically viable and if any resulting payments are sufficient to cover the opportunity cost plus any transaction cost. Where tenure security over forested areas is weak, REDD+ can pose a risk for forest communities, who could be dispossessed, excluded and marginalised. This review explores how payment for avoided deforestation and forest tenure impact the success of REDD+ projects in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and equity.

Trade in ethanol is increasing, and raises the need for the classification of various biofuels within frameworks such as the WTO. With that being said, this paper wonders how do biofuels policies and programs fit within the WTO’s stated goals of liberalisation. In addition, it examines the effects of the rapid biofuels expansion on the prices of grains, and the effects triggered in the livestock industries. The paper indicates that the biofuels industry affects and is affected by government policies in countries around the globe.

This document summarizes current findings from an evaluation of Mexico’s National Payments for Hydrological Services from 2003-2010.  Th evaluation seeks to understand the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the program, with the goal of extracting lessons learned and identifying room for possible future improvement.

Findings: an analysis of program selection criteria and the characteristics of lands enrolled suggests the program has met the dual goals of targeting funds to areas of ecological and social priority. Specifically:

Market solutions based on the trade of carbon offset credits remain a dominant feature in international climate change negotiations. This paper undertakes a preliminary assessment of potential of climate change mitigation projects by evaluating Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects related to agriculture and land use change in Latin America. Results suggest that potential benefits of carbon markets in the agriculture and forestry sectors are often overstated, with failures in the areas of additionality, project accountability and sustainable development.

This policy brief examines the manner in which Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) pilot projects have been undertaken in Indonesia and Peru. The research data summarized within the brief was gathered using a method known as Fair and Efficient REDD Value Chain Allocation (FERVA). The FERVA analysis is used to capture the perceptions and expectations of REDD stakeholders at the preliminary stages of REDD initiatives; it also informs stakeholders of the different functions of the REDD value chain.

The UNFCCC framework asks countries to include a national REDD+ institutional framework with certain key elements, many of which will draw on existing legal frameworks. For example, as part of their national strategies and action plans (discussed above), countries are requested to address. land tenure issues:1 The importance of land tenure for regulating land use and assigning benefits from REDD+ has been widely noted. Nonetheless, clarifying and then administering land tenure is a complicated issue that presents a challenge for many countries.

Kenya has been implementing an active environmental management programme including education and public awareness. Most Kenyans are therefore aware of the link between environmental management and human well-being. They know that environmental degradation exacerbates poverty and undermines economic progress. Of course, there are still those who lack appreciation of the ecosystem services that are central to our wellbeing but these are a minority.

Kenya’s landscape covers a total of 583 000 sq. km12 and is grouped into geographical zones including; the Savannah Lands covering most of the arid and semi- arid areas, the Coastal Margin, the Rift Valley, the Highlands and the Lake Victoria Basin. With a growth rate of 3.1% the population stands at approximately 29 million people. The country’s GNP/Capita is close to US$330. By the year 2010 and with a slow decline, the population is expected to reach a high of 39.3 million, 37.4 million with the medium decline and 35.5 million with a fast decline.

The National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS), also referred to as the ‘Strategy’, is the culmination of a year-long process to develop a comprehensive and concerted suite of strategies to respond to the challenges climate change is posing to Kenya’s socioeconomic development. The NCCRS is a significant step in the recognition that climate change is a threat to national development. It has presented evidence on climate change and associated impacts.

Kenya has been integrating climate considerations into various legal and governance instruments for some time. Notably, there has been progress made in planning and implementing policies, projects and programs in key economic sectors in order to align Kenya with the international community’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate resilience.

Climate change is increasingly being recognised as a global crisis, but responses to it have so far been overly focused on scientific and economic solutions. How then do we move towards morepeople-centred, gender-aware climate change policies and processes? How do we respond to the different needs and concerns of women and men, and also challenge the gender inequalities that mean women are more likely to lose out than men in the face of climate change? This In Brief sets out why it is vital to address the gender dimensions of climate change.