"REDD has had a rocky time the last few days here, however, with major U.S. environmental groups petitioning the convention to free it from the shackles of a technical panel. If it is released, the good news is that the approaches of the UNFCCC and the U.S. seem to be converging on some issues"

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

Congress will draft legislation to reduce U.S. emissions to 1990 levels by 2020...

WTF? That make Australia's pissweakness look GOOD.

We're looking at at least a minimum of 5% by 2020 (although I think that might be on 2000 levels, meaning ~4%), and our increase has been almost double that of the US.

check out http://www.envirowiki.info, the knowledge database for environmentalists and activists.

On the need for scientific education regarding the human overpopulation of Earth in these early years of Century XXI...........

Dear UNFCCC Friends in Poznan,

I want to at least try to gain your quick help. I'm not sure if you've heard, but yesterday the "AWAREness Campaign on the Human Population" submitted an idea for how we think the Obama Administration could change America. It's called "Ideas for Change in America."

I've submitted an idea and wanted to see if you could vote for it. The title is: Accepting human limits and Earth's limitations. You can read and vote for the idea by clicking on the following link:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/accepting_human_limits_a ...

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org, MySpace, and more than a dozen leading nonprofits after the Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at becoming policy.

Thanks.

Sincerely yours,

Steve

Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on the Human Population,
established 2001
http://sustainabilityscience.org/content.html?contentid=1 ...

REDD may harm forest people, alleges report

There's a great report showing that REDD can be yet another new round of imperialism, this time of the Green kind.

Indigenous peoples and local farmers' rights risk being trampled under 'reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation' (REDD) schemes.

The report -- titled "Cutting Corners: World Bank's forest and carbon fund fails forests and peoples" -- was issued by the Forests and the European Union Resource Network (FERN) and the Forest Peoples Program (FPP) at the start of UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland.

"In this flawed process forest communities have not been properly consulted. As a result, donors could be complicit in a new global drive reinforcing old top-down policies that will only lead to more forest destruction," said Saskia Ozinga, Coordinator of FERN. "We have seen from the EU's FLEGT process, which aims to control illegal logging, that a proper consultation process will take years, but trying to shortcut consultations will just lead to long-term failure."

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REDD is a threat to forest people:
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1202-fern_redd.html

Many farm associations from developing countries, as well as indigenous peoples and local NGOs (not the big Euro-American NGOs), are all against REDD, because it means stealing their forests and livelihoods, and selling them on the global capitalist market.

REDD needs a lot of work.

"REDD may harm forest people, alleges report" and concludes by saying:

Other analysts say REDD -- in a form that recognizes rural peoples' rights -- offers the best hope for preserving forests in the future while simultaneously fighting global warming.

"REDD can benefit biodiversity conservation as well as indigenous and rural peoples," wrote Daniel Nepstad, Stephan Schwartzman, and Paulo Moutinho in a report published last year. "To succeed, national REDD programs must be consistent with UNFCCC and other UN principles, be transparent and have the active involvement of indigenous peoples and forest communities."

"Rejecting REDD will not defend indigenous rights. Substituting official aid from developed countries for carbon market funding will not be a better, less risky alternative for reducing deforestation. Indigenous rights abuses, often caused by the same activities that drive deforestation, must be addressed directly."

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

Until yesterday afternoon, REDD talks had stalled. The sticking point was the rights of indigenous peoples. There may (will) be other hurdles along the way, but this was a big one. For a detailed post on the topic and what happened in Poznan re: REDD read this blog post from delegates representing the US Business Council for Sustainable Development (and colleagues of mine). For frequent updates on what is happening in Poland behind-the-scenes (since major media seems oblivious - not that you're not MAJOR in our eyes, Gristmill!), check in at http://www.enviromedia.com/enviroblog.

TalleyGreenCanary

Your second link is incomplete.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world