Are REDD+ community forest projects following the principles for collective action, as proposed by Ostrom?

Journal article

Forested countries in the global south that have agreed to engage in REDD+, a policy mechanism for addressing climate change, are receiving support to improve laws, policies, systems and structures. As a mechanism initiated at the global level and seeking to use forests to address a global commons crisis (atmospheric carbon concentration), understanding how REDD+ translates into implementation at the local level is essential. Therefore, using a systematic review approach, we examined 15 studies of REDD+ in the context of public and/or community managed forests, drawn from a comprehensive application of inclusion criteria to identify relevant published peer-reviewed empirical research. The common property resources literature was used to highlight the role of local institutions in REDD+ and to distil how REDD+ community forest projects conform to Ostrom’s collective action principles. The review revealed limited sharing of information and decision-making authority with communities; a general absence of FPIC; and a lack of defined benefit sharing and conflict resolution arrangements in many of the REDD+ projects.

Authors: Saeed, A; McDermott, C; Boyd, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals
• Journal: International Journal of the Commons
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Publication date: 2017-03-06
• Acceptance date: 2016-10-24
• DOI: 10.18352/ijc.700
• EISSN: 1875-0281
• ISSN: 1875-0281
• Keywords: collective action; climate change; systematic review; local communities; REDD+; forest