Readings on REDD and Governance

Governance is the act or manner of governing. 'Good' governance is a form of political decision making that emphasises legality (rules to resolve conflicts), legitimacy (acceptance and trust by the public that create accountability) and participation (inclusiveness within decision making). Governance can encompass both the processes of making policy, and the processes of managing policy implementation.

Tropical forest countries may be able to generate substantial new revenue flows through REDD. Successful implementation of REDD requires good governance and sound financial management by participating governments and institutions. These potentially large money flows have generated concerns related to governance and the risk of greater corruption in some countries. Sound financial management, financial good governance and effective enforcement of financial law are needed to ensure that REDD funds will be well managed and that REDD revenues will flow sustainably. If funds allocated to REDD projects are lost to corruption, or are badly managed, investors are likely to shift to other countries where financial management and governance are better. Governments will need to put in place effective systems for financial monitoring, reporting and verification (F-MRV) as well as systems for monitoring the carbon emissions averted.

REDD, as well as efforts to conserve and enhance carbon stocks in existing forests (so-called REDD+ processes), will require multilevel governance, involving multiple actors, to make it acceptable to the many stakeholders with different interests. Multilevel governance allows stakeholders, such as officers at local, district and national government ministries and departments, investors and local citizens, to come together to negotiate, formulate and implement policy. Multiactor governance implies collaboration among different stakeholders to achieve public policy objectives. Both forms of governance are considered more inclusive, coherent and participatory than 'top-down' governance, such as legislation.

The readings in this section provide an introduction to governance, policy, and REDD architecture in CIFOR's research.