Seeing the Forest for the Treaties - Evolving Debates on CDM Forest and Forestry Project Activities 10 Years After the Kyoto Protocol

The framework and starting point for analyzing forest and forestry project activities under the clean development mechanism (CDM) is the historical legal and scientific international recognition of the role carbon quot;sinksquot; and quot;reservoirsquot; can play in mitigating climate change. The analysis takes off by differentiating the international legal status of forest. In delineating the scope of the study, two possible approaches to forests and forestry activities are presented: accounting with domestically forestry activities; or through jointly project-based activities. The focus lies on the latter, specifically on project activities under the CDM. Since the 1992 mother Convention, a great amount of progress was achieved. A comprehensive and analytical review of subsequent COPs and MOPs is useful research tool for further analysis. Concomitantly, those project activities undertaken during the AIJ pilot phase, showed experiences gained, the evolution of knowledge, and how this mechanism led the Parties to agree upon flexible mechanism.Based on this historical and analytical overview, assessments are possible on current obstacles, and positive and negative impacts related to CDM forests and forestry project activities. Legal and political obstacles impeding the evolution includes the United States resistance in ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, EU refusal to accept CDM forests and forestry project activities under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and the limitation of CDM forest and forestry project activities to afforestation and reforestation. Following this track, environmental, socio-economic, social and cultural downsides and upsides can also be assessed. With that, perspectives to overcoming obstacles and adverse impacts of CDM forests and forestry project activities in upcoming commitment periods can be drawn aiming at maximizing the utilization of the CDM. This would serve not only the purposes of achieving the objective of the climate change Convention, but also the goals of other major conventions and international forums