In October 2018, the United Nations’ scientific panel released a report on climate change, outlining much dire consequences than previously predicted. The complexities of the problem essentially boil down to 1.5 degrees Celsius; if global temperatures increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius, the Earth will be irrevocably damaged. REDD+ or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, is one framework adopted by parties to the UNFCCC in an attempt to mitigate the climate catastrophe.

 

The purpose of this term paper is to assess the viability of REDD+ as a framework, and put forth prescriptive solutions to strengthen the program’s carbon trading mechanism while ensuring the protection of agency and rights for Indigenous and local peoples. An analysis of the program’s history, as well as a look into two different countries where REDD+ projects have been implemented, shows the failure of a voluntary carbon market to withstand stakeholder pressures and the importance of Indigenous and local participation to ensure the most optimum forest management.