A judge in Peru’s northern Maynas province last month issued a warrant for the arrest of an Australian property developer. Locals interviewed for an Australian documentary claimed that the developer had been striking deals with illiterate indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Tapping figures into his calculator, the developer allegedly told landowners – who preside over hundreds of thousands of hectares – that they could earn billions of dollars from carbon credits. The developer’s contracts reportedly give him control of the rainforest for 200 years, and half of all profits.
Cover image of Keeping REDD+ clean guide
As this case demonstrates, forest economies are changing. We are beginning to realise that trees are worth far more standing than they are cut down. As cars, planes and coal plants continue to belt out heat-trapping gases, forests defuse their damage by absorbing carbon dioxide. Forest carbon projects like REDD+ are an important acknowledgement of this. By investing in forest conservation they aim to avert trillions of dollars in climate damage each year. Yet these schemes are bringing new money into a sector that is already rife with corruption, so risk abounds.
See full Article: http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/uprooting_corruption_not_trees
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