The case for improved forest management (IFM) as a priority REDD plus strategy in the tropics

We address the controversy over REDD+ financing for commercial loggers who reduce emissions by adopting improved forest management (IFM). We argue that REDD+ incentives should be available to commercial loggers who adopt IFM as long as carbon accounting is rigorous and safeguards are followed. Further, we argue that where full forest protection is not feasible, IFM should be advanced as a priority REDD+ strategy because it can (i) achieve robust emissions reductions without generating leakage or increasing the risk of non-permanence, (ii) generate a variety of local community benefits as a low-carbon development strategy, (iii) maintain native forest biodiversity, and (iv) reduce the likelihood of deforestation, particularly when forest management is community-based. We discuss solutions to some of the remaining challenges to creating incentives for IFM within a REDD+ mechanism. We encourage continued refinement of safeguards to ensure that verified climate benefits of IFM also generate social and biodiversity benefits. REDD+ financing is needed to catalyze the shift to IFM, but IFM should not be dependent (or at least not fully dependent) upon REDD+ financing for long-term financial viability. Measuring, monitoring, and validating emissions reductions from IFM have been a particular challenge, although new technologies and methods are promising. Technologies and methods used to account for avoided deforestation are usually not sensitive enough to detect changes in forest management practices. Funding is needed for research to develop and refine affordable methodologies for measuring, monitoring, and validating emissions reductions achieved through IFM.