Definition of REDD/REDD+

Definition of REDD

REDD stands for “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest degradation in Developing countries.”

Definition of REDD+

"REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Background

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been collecting approved national report data, and has published measured changes in global forest area and its average annual change rate from 1990 to 2010. According to their report, during the decade from 1990 to 2000, there was a reduction in forest area amounting to 8.3 million hectares (ha) every year worldwide, and forest area continued to decrease by an average of 5.21 million ha every year from 2000 to 2010.

Annual change in global forest area (units: ha, %)

Region	Forest Area (1,000 ha)				Annual Change Rate
	1990	2000	2005	2010	1990-2000		2000-2005		2005-2010
					1,000 (ha/yr)	％	1,000 (ha/yr)	％	1,000 (ha/yr)	％
Africa	749,238	708,564	691,468	674,419	-4,067	-0.56	-3419	-0.49	-3 410	-0.5
Asia	576,110	570,164	584,048	592,512	-595	-0.1	2,777	0.48	1,693	0.29
Europe	989,471	998,239	1,001,150	1,005,001	877	0.09	582	0.06	770	0.08
North America/ Latin America	708,383	705,497	705,296	705,393	-289	-0.04	-40	-0.01	19	n.s
Oceania	198,744	198,381	196,745	191,384	-36	-0.02	-327	-0.17	-1,072	-0.55
South America	946,454	904,322	882,258	864,351	-4,213	-0.45	-4,413	-0.49	-3,581	-0.41
Global	4,168,399	4,085,168	4,060,964	4,033,060	-8,323	-0.2	-4,841	-0.12	-5,581	-0.14

• Source:
• FAO (2010) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 Main Report, p.229.

As a result, the FAO report indicates that the total amount of global forest biomass carbon stocks, excluding Europe and North/Central America, continued to decline by 500 million tonnes every year from 2005 to 2010.

Annual change in forest biomass carbon stocks, 1990-2010

• Source:
• FAO(2010) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 Main report,p.18

The South American region showed the biggest decline in forest area, amounting to an average of 4 million ha every year during the period from 1990 to 2010, followed by the African region, which showed an annual decline in forest area of 3.6 million ha. In Oceania, the rate of decline in forest area has accelerated since 2000: its forest area declined by 700,000 ha every year during the period from 2000 to 2010. This was mainly caused by flooding and bushfires in Australia.

Annual change in forest area by regio (1990-2010)

• Source:
• FAO (2010) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 Main Report, p.18.

According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2007, CO2 emissions caused by changes in land use, including logging by the forest industry, is equivalent to 17% of total global emissions. This is the second-largest source of emissions after emissions from fossil fuels. This is why REDD and REDD+ are now drawing a great deal of attention to important measures to prevent deforestation and degradation of forest lands, especially from the standpoint of measures to prevent climate change.

• Source:
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report, p.36.