Forests for Poverty Reduction: Opportunities with Clean Development Mechanism, Environmental Services and Biodiversity. Proceedings of the Workshop, 27-29 August 2003, Seoul, Korea
An account of the proceedings of the above workshop held from 27 to 29 August 2003 in Seoul, Korea which brought together 47 experts from the Asia-Pacific region. A number of new and interesting initiatives where examined. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – payments for afforestation and reforestation activities to mitigate climate change – is attracting global attention. However, opportunities to tap this source are confined to larger organizations and it remains an uphill task for the poor to capture this source of funding. Likewise, biodiversity wealth remains largely untapped. Converting ecological services into financial payments offers a ray of hope. Albeit, there are still disputes about who should be the recipients and how the payments should be spread. This publication is a compilation of the papers presented at the workshop whose focus was on improving the contribution of forests to poverty reduction strategies. A summary of the recommendations is included.