Using Accountability

The document argues that REDD+ programs must integrate legal, financial, and reputational accountability tools to ensure governments meet social and environmental objectives beyond greenhouse gas emission reductions. Drawing on case studies from Brazil and Indonesia, it identifies three primary functions of accountability tools: facilitating negotiations for reform, protecting people and the environment during policy implementation, and enabling the enforcement of agreed rules. The author suggests that REDD+ designers should explicitly include civil society in monitoring and oversight roles and build upon existing, effective laws rather than layering new programs over ineffective ones.

• Accountability tools in land-use planning serve three primary functions: facilitating negotiations for reform, protecting people and the environment during the design and implementation of laws and policies, and enabling oversight actors to enforce the implementation of agreed rules.
• The effectiveness of accountability tools depends on several factors, specifically the clarity of relevant laws, the strength of oversight institutions, and the strength of the economic incentive.
• To be effective, REDD+ programs should link economic and legal accountability tools to social and environmental outcomes in addition to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, as reputational tools alone are likely insufficient.
• REDD+ designers are encouraged to integrate civil society into the drafting of laws and regulations and grant them monitoring roles to strengthen their capacity as oversight actors.
• Layering REDD+ programs over existing ineffective laws may hinder the ability of oversight actors to hold government officials accountable; therefore, designers should build on clear and effective existing laws and institutions.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Using Accountability. https://www.wri.org/research/using-accountability

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Using Accountability. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/using-accountability.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Using Accountability |url=https://www.wri.org/research/using-accountability |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendusing, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Using Accountability}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/using-accountability}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }