Why REDD will Fail

Jessica L. DeShazo is Assistant Professor at California State University at Los Angeles, USA.Chandra Lal Pandey is a Visiting Professor in School of Education, Kathmandu University, the Institute of Crisis Management and International Relations and Diplomacy Programme at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies.Zachary A. Smith is Regents Professor at Northern Arizona University, USA.

• 1. Introduction 2. Overview of REDD and REDD+ Evolution 3. Problems with REDD- definition of a forest and leakage 4. REDD Countries 5. Capitalism and Global Division of Labor’s Impact on the Drivers of Deforestation 6. Can REDD help developing countries achieve economic growth and mitigate climate change? 7. Conclusion

"Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is an international program to commodify forest land in developing nations with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The authors paint a critical, thought-provoking picture of why this program, which is less than ten years old, will not achieve its stated purpose. Its scale and complexity is not to be underestimated, yet the authors state that the most fundamental piece of the initiative, the mere definition of a forest, is at the heart of the problem. REDD is facilitated through the UN-REDD Programme, a collaboration of three existing UN organizations. The tangled nature of this global environmental policy initiative is carefully woven through socioeconomic considerations, agriculture, biodiversity, and the future of Earth. The chapters read like amalgamations of journal articles and will be easy to incorporate into the classroom setting. The work is heavily referenced with a strong call to action, as the presented concepts affect all humans. This monograph will be an excellent addition to academic libraries.Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty"J. Clemons, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry - CHOICE