Contractual arrangements for the implementation of forest carbon
schemes with emphasis on REDD schemes in Peru: Legal and
institutional considerations.
José Luis Capella
SPDA1
The relationship between avoiding deforestation of forests and dealing with
climate change in developing countries has become an interesting opportunity
among the various stakeholders linked to the management and conservation of
forests. This also implies an opportunity to link two significant objectives for the
planet, the preservation of forests (as the main sink-source of ground carbon)
and the mitigation of climate change.
In Peru, the opportunity to create incentives for the conservation of natural
forests draws special interest, due to the significant extension of their natural
forests (especially Amazon forests) in the country. Peru ranks second in terms
of the area of Amazon forests, after Brazil, with approximately 70 million
hectares of forests (approximately one third of the national territory). It is also
worth noting the relationship between the conservation of forests and the
AFOLU projects in general and the improvement of life quality of Peruvian
citizens who are directly related with this ecosystem.
Talking about forest carbon, one the most significant opportunities in Peru is
found in mechanisms such as reduce emissions from deforestation and
degradation - REDD, where the natural forest coverage capacity to store carbon
is valued and used as an offset and thus, we will focus specifically on this field
in the document herein.
The possibility to provide incentives of this type has given rise to a large debate
about the arrangements that should be included, both at regulation and
institutional levels, which will influence contractual instruments. Thus, one of the
objectives of this paper is to describe the main contractual issues required in
order to implement this type of projects2.
1. The need of a contract for a REDD scheme
As in any new and innovative arrangement betw