Framing justice in REDD+ governance: centring transparency, equity and legitimacy in readiness implementation in West Africa

Abstract

SUMMARYThis paper investigates the dimensions of justice in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation plus enhancement of forest carbon stock (REDD+) in West Africa. By paying explicit attention to transparency, equity and legitimacy (TEL) in Nigeria and Ghana, the paper examines justice considerations in REDD+ implementation with a focus on tenure. We draw on analysis of policy documents and interviews with stakeholders in both countries. Our results show that commitment to the pursuit of justice in both cases is limited when examined through the elements of TEL. Efforts to recognize the tenure rights of indigenous peoples, effective representation in decision making and transparent disclosure of information to all stakeholders were limited in Ghana by the tacit evasion of tenure ambiguities, especially in the migrant-dominated REDD+ pilot areas. In Nigeria, such limits were shown in a similar evasion and in the strategic orchestration of tenure complexities evident in the changing local forest access under a protectionist regime. We argue that explicit attention to TEL as mediating dimensions of the normative elements of justice provides important insights into how environmental policy instruments such as REDD+ might both enable and disable justice for local people living around project sites.

Negative emissions and the long history of carbon removal

“…Numerous carbon forestry schemes have been shown to interrupt and limit local resource use, entrench existing local inequalities, or destabilize local economies, while promised local incentives commonly fail to materialize in any significant way (Chomba, Kariuki, Lund, & Sinclair, 2016;Leach & Scoones, 2015;Milne et al, 2019). In marketbased schemes in particular, the promise of efficiency drives the pursuit of economies of scale, which often manifest in biases against smallholders and attempts to cluster up local communities in ways that privilege dominant groups and divert benefits away from the poorest (Benjaminsen & Kaarhus, 2018;Isyaku, Arhin, & Asiyanbi, 2017).…”

Transformation is what you expect, models are what you get: REDD+ and models in conservation and development

“…The model REDD+ state in Nigeria has not led to a roll out of the scheme at the wider national scale; neither has the experience of Cross River been replicated in any substantial way in other Nigerian states, despite proponents' intentions and efforts. In fact, while the discursive and practical logics of the model were abundantly evident in Cross River, the impacts of REDD+ in relation to the problems of emission reduction, forest conservation and governance, and rural livelihoods and development were either insignificant, ineffective or even counterproductive -except for some selective reinforcement of state power, strategic positioning of NGO actors within the state forestry apparatus, and strategic appropriation of carbon forestry claims by some forest communities (see Asiyanbi 2015Asiyanbi , 2016Asiyanbi et al 2019;Isyaku 2017;Isyaku et al 2017;Nuesiri 2016Nuesiri , 2017. In Tanzania, the extensive suite of REDD+ model projects and villages have not led to a scaling up of REDD+ from the village and district level to a broader country level.…”

Preserving Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in West African Forest, Watersheds, and Wetlands: A Review of Incentives

“…Therefore, in engaging with participating communities, notions of equity and justice should be strongly considered. Studies that examined the dimensions of justice in REDD+ in West Africa advocated for the inclusion of transparency, equity, and legitimacy as specific elements of justice in conservation instruments [9]. Similarly, equity is crucial to planning and implementing effective policies, and assessing social effects engendered by changes in the value of ESs [88].…”