Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) was first introduced in 2005 at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in order to establish an international funding mechanism for reducing carbon emissions and protecting forest ecosystems. At that time, REDD was envisioned as a fund-based and/or market-based approach to assist the developing countries in meeting their emission obligations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), where the contribution of conservation, afforestation, and reforestation (ecological restoration) to reducing emissions was first recognized. In 2007 (UNFCCC COP15), the Bali Action Plan was agreed to, and the REDD mechanism was expanded to include the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and is now known as REDD+.