Promoting policies for forest management that conserves forest resources, secures livelihoods and reflects an equitable negotiation of rights Critical review of forest regulatory frameworks Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries (REDD) At UNFCCC COP13 held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, the Parties agreed to include consideration of policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to REDD in designing a future global climate framework. IGES research includes reviewing REDD proposals submitted to the UNFCCC and analysing the design of projects intended to reduce emissions through forest conservation measures. Innovative models to promote forest certification for small forest enterprises Forest certification is attractive as a policy instrument as it provides the market with reasonable assurance that wood products are legal and sustainable. However, developing countries have found forest certification difficult to achieve, especially for their small, locally-based enterprises. The Project will evaluate and compare innovative certification models to identify strategies for overcoming the obstacles for small forest enterprises to achieve and utilise forest certification. Promoting trade of certified/verified legal tropical wood Under ITTO Project (PD 391/06) , a centre of expertise to promote trade in certified/legal verified wood (the “Fairwood Centre”) will be established in Japan in 2008. The IGES Forest Conservation Project acts as the National Consultant for this ITTO Project. The research component will monitor and assess performance of the Fairwood Centre during its first three years of operation with respect to its impact, or likely potential impact, on the market share of certified wood in Japan. Local women carrying non-timber forest products, Viet Nam Certificates for two community forests, Java, Indonesia Research Components The study will construct an analytical framework to assess legal frameworks for forest management and their implementation from the perspectives of forest conservation, livelihoods and rights. Using this framework, the Project will commission country studies to: describe the legal, regulatory and institutional reforms that have taken place; identify the driving forces for, and opposition to, these reforms; evaluate achievements and shortcomings, and identify the causal relationships between impacts and the legal treatment of conservation, livelihoods and rights. Forest Conservation Project Mission and Background Natural forests in the Asia-Pacific region continue to disappear and be degraded at alarming rates. The goal of the Project is through strategic policy research to contribute to the development and dissemination of policy instruments that promote the appropriate inclusion of conservation, livelihoods and rights in forest management regimes, effective forest law enforcement, and markets for legal and sustainable forest products. To be effective in promoting sustainable forest management, forest negotiation of ownership and use rights. The reform of forest regulatory regimes in this direction must also be accompanied by the strengthening of frameworks for their effective implementation, which requires action at local, national and international levels. conservation must go hand-in-hand with livelihood’s security and a fair Institute for Global Environmental Strategies ( IGES ) Forest Conservation Project