Rio Convention Pavilion TV, CBD COP11 (16/10/2012) – Valerie Kapos PhD, Senior Programme Officer for Forest Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change at UNEP-WCMC, and Dr Bhaskar Vira, Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, discuss potential issues with the REDD programme and how they could be resolved.

Kapos and Vira agree that REDD is a challenging policy to implement as it attempts to use one policy to achieve three or four major sustainable development goals.

Vira emphasises that although this can be a problem, it can also be an opportunity. He argues that pursuing social goals can improve effectiveness in achieving environmental goals as local communities get more involved in a project.

Vira also emphasises that forestry sector interventions are not new and the decades of previous experience needs to be drawn on.

Kapos stresses the importance of getting REDD right. She recognises that without a holistic perspective, it could be very damaging. She is particularly concerned that, if carbon alone is taken into account, the introduction of exotic species and of trees into non-forest ecosystems could cause catastrophic biodiversity impacts.