REDD a ‘False Solution’ for Africa

A tree within Mabira Forest in Uganda

NAIROBI , Jul 14 2013 (IPS) - REDD – reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – would seem to be a mitigation strategy that perfectly matches Africa’s needs.

Deforestation and agriculture are responsible for a significant part of Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions – though the continent is by no means a leading contributor to global warming. Conserving and even extending Africa’s tree cover – the Congo Basin contains the second-largest rainforest in the world – would both lower emissions and absorb atmospheric carbon.

But the concept has both its critics and defenders.