Comparative Multi-Criteria Assessment of Climate Policies and Sustainable Development Strategies in Cameroon: Towards a GIS Decision-Support Tool for the Design of an Optimal REDD+ Strategy

Abstract

Abstract:Cameroon is committed to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). To achieve this goal, the government has introduced a series of policy reforms and formulated a number of key strategic planning documents to advance the REDD+ readiness process in Cameroon. This paper assesses the extent to which major cross-sectoral policies support or impede the development and implementation of an optimal REDD+ strategy in Cameroon from a comparative multi-criteria perspective. Study results reveal that a majority of the policy instruments reviewed appeared to be less prescriptive in terms of any tangible REDD+ strategy, as they do not have provisions for tangible measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. Given the lack of adequate flexibility, prompt review and responsiveness of these cross-sectoral policies to adapt themselves to new realities and respond to a changing environment, this paper introduces a GIS-REDD+ decision support system (GIS-REDD+DSS) that is necessary to support the adaptive element of an adaptive REDD+ strategy in Cameroon. The OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2014, 6 6126 GIS-REDD+DSS, an electronic REDD+agri intermediary hub, serves the following purpose: (1) host a database of locally-relevant climate information, improved input technologies, best practices as well as land use and forest cover geo-spatial maps; (2) host a virtual economic tool that performs economic valuations (costs and benefits) and financial analysis of REDD+agri projects to aid investment decision-making; and (3) host an electronic marketplace to mediate any-to-any transactions among REDD+agri project developers, service providers, input suppliers, private and institutional investors and buyers (wholesalers and retailers), thereby creating value in two ways: aggregation and matching. This decision support tool, we argue, is a fundamental prerequisite for "policy and REDD+ safeguard integration" innovation that allows new scientific findings to be integrated into REDD+ strategies in a short period of time.

Synergizing climate change mitigation and adaptation in Cameroon

“…This appears to support Tompkins and Adger's (2004) assertion of collective stakeholder action to inform understanding of climate response capacity. Thus, harnessing the strengths of private, public and nonprofit partners through multistakeholder partnership is critical in addressing existing regulatory, participation, resource and learning gaps (Kehbila et al, 2014;Pinksea and Kolka, 2012). Strengthening partnerships between government, the private sector and civil societies is therefore crucial in successfully harnessing synergy between mitigation and adaptation measures (Huong and Dhakal, 2013).…”

Does the ‘One Map Initiative’ Represent a New Path for Forest Mapping in Indonesia? Assessing the Contribution of the REDD+ Initiative in Effecting Forest Governance Reform

“…By positioning REDD+ in this broader context of institutional interplay and political economy, this paper complements and extends literature on REDD+ governance that analyses (i) the challenges and opportunities for the REDD+ initiative to effect forest governance reform [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] and (ii) the potential social and economic impacts of REDD+ policies on local people and communities' participation on project implementations [31][32][33][34][35][36]. Moreover, concepts from political economy have been deployed to explore the challenge of REDD+ in creating incentives for forest conservation that are able to 'out-compete' other interests, such as timber, mining, and agricultural economics [10,[37][38][39].…”