SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Carbon forestry, and in particular REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) , is increasingly seen as a potential mechanism for achieving multiple policy goals. Primarily set up to support mitigation, so-called ‘non-carbon benefits’ have gained increasing prominence over recent years (Elias et al., 2014; Angelsen et al., 2012; Visseren-Hamakers et al., 2012). This chapter considers the case of carbon forestry in Mozambique. Using a political economy framework, the paper looks at actor perspectives, interests and interrelations in order to analyse and the prospects for carbon forestry and REDD+ to support ‘climate compatible development’. We show how discussions of REDD+ in Mozambique are products of both international and domestic debates, in which perceptions are coloured by unresolved tensions concerning land and forest governance in the country. The institutional framework for REDD+ and the practical nature, scale and responsibilities for leadership of initiatives remain contested and controversial in Mozambique, with a range of actors involved and multiple interests at stake.We conclude that stronger and better governance of land and natural resource use in rural Mozambique is essential to establish development trajectories compatible with tackling climate risks. For REDD+ to contribute to this, its interventions need to be located within a coherent institutional and policy framework that combines land governance, forest management, and rural economic development that addresses multi-level governance dimensions involving different sectors of government and multiple players in a territorial context.