Friends of the Earth International Position on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation)

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues that REDD schemes, whether market-based or publicly funded, fail to address the root causes of climate change and risk harming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. FoEI contends that REDD commodifies forests, reduces them to 'carbon stocks', and creates perverse incentives for deforestation while enabling industrialized nations to avoid direct emission reductions through offsets. The organization advocates for the recognition of communal land rights and the empowerment of forest-dependent populations as the only effective means of forest conservation.

• FoEI rejects REDD because it allows industrialized nations to use forest carbon offsets to avoid the responsibility of reducing emissions from fossil fuels, which are the structural cause of the climate crisis.
• The organization argues that REDD commodifies forests, replacing diverse social, cultural, and spiritual values with a single market price, which excludes impoverished communities and undermines traditional conservation practices.
• REDD implementation has been linked to adverse human rights impacts, including the displacement of people and the criminalization of traditional forest management practices such as crop rotation.
• FoEI asserts that REDD creates perverse incentives where governments and corporations may maintain high levels of planned deforestation to generate more offset credits.
• The document claims that REDD is a catalyst for future deforestation because it erodes ancestral knowledge and makes forest preservation dependent on monetary payments; once funding ends, communities may exploit forests for survival.
• FoEI argues that the UNFCCC's lack of a clear distinction between biodiverse forests and plantations allows REDD to be used for the conversion of natural forests into industrial timber and palm oil plantations, specifically citing Indonesia.
• As an alternative to REDD, FoEI proposes strengthening the legal rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, supporting collective forest management, and implementing democratic policies to reduce consumption in the global North.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2014). Friends of the Earth International Position on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REDD-FoEI-position-paper.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Friends of the Earth International Position on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). 2014. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REDD-FoEI-position-paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Friends of the Earth International Position on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) |date=2014 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REDD-FoEI-position-paper.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{friendsoftheearthinternational2014friends, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Friends of the Earth International Position on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation)}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REDD-FoEI-position-paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }