BUEÑOS Aires, Argentina – Proposals to pay developing countries to conserve billions of tonnes of carbon stored in tropical forests could help secure land rights for some of Latin America’s poorest people, a leading forestry research institute said Wednesday.

“Our research into land tenure in Latin America has clearly demonstrated the potential for local communities to organise and manage their own natural resources,” said Frances Seymour, director general of the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR) in a press release. “Strengthening tenure can improve forest conditions and raise incomes of local communities.”

The notion that carbon payments can be used to conserve forests is central to ongoing negotiations ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. Negotiators are discussing the creation of a global framework to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD).

Under a REDD scheme, developing countries that reduce their deforestation rates would be financially compensated by developed countries. Advocates of this approach say that forest-dependent communities can benefit from these payments if the REDD mechanism is designed correctly. Ensuring effective and equitable distribution of funds – which could potentially reach US$15-25 billion per year – will depend on clear property and tenure rights to the forests.

“We need a new model where the many environmental services offered by forests, such as climate stabilisation, are given a tangible cash value. In that way, the conservation efforts by communities and local land stewards can be adequately compensated,” said Seymour.

Evidence that payments to communities for environmental services can be an effective conservation tool comes from recently completed CIFOR research in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia. In Chaina, Colombia, about 90km from Bogota, water users have joined together to create an association that pays smallholders upstream to maintain and regenerate their forests to ensure regular water supplies. Upstream land owners, often working on small plots, can receive an average of $250 per hectare per year. CIFOR scientist Sven Wunder says the success of Chaina is due in part to secure land tenure.

“As is the case in much of the region, there are overlapping claims of tenure in the Chaina watershed,” he said. “But the water payment system has forced people to think hard about who owns natural resources and rights to use the land. The hope is that payments for environmental services (PES) schemes like REDD can make conservation more equitable and therefore more attractive.”

The prospect of substantial cash transfers under REDD, as well as fears of losing out under land grabs, is also influencing the mobilisation of community groups. In Guatemala, for instance, CIFOR’s work has contributed to the recent formation of the country’s first nationwide community forestry organisation, Alianza Nacional de Forestería Comunitaria.

“Communities need to organise themselves to prepare for REDD,” said Seymour. “They will need to secure recognition of land rights and ability to negotiate with outside interests and gain access to markets. Failure to meet the challenges of implementing REDD now may mean that we lose the opportunity to use forests to combat climate change forever.”

Deforestation and forest degradation currently account for between 17 and 20 per cent of global carbon emissions.

“By securing the rights of local communities we have an opportunity to link local interests to international efforts to stabilise the global climate,” noted Seymour. “We cannot afford to miss this window of opportunity.”