REDD-plus negotiations on positive track: India

"Negotiations in so far as our interests are concerned and the interest of developing countries - these are on a positive track," Jagdish Kishwan, who is handling the REDD negotiations here, said.

"Even Brazil has shifted from its unyielding position, which it was maintaining earlier," he said.
REDD is a policy that aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and requires the developed world to finance and incentivise governments of developing nations for preserving forests.
Meanwhile, the Bali Action Plan calls for "policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries".
This led to the emergence of the REDD-plus track to provide finances for efforts to conserve forest areas, adopt environment friendly methods or plant new trees - as against REDD, which was just about reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation of forest areas.

According to Indian negotiators, Brazil has said that "it is supportive of all elements of the Bali Action Plan relating to the forestry sector, previously it was going on for one element of reducing deforestation".
With two of the largest covers in the world, Brazil and Indonesia wanted the negotiations only to address REDD.
For a long time, this created a deadlock since several countries including India and China supported conservation of forests more broadly through REDD plus.
"There has been a positive change in Brazil's attitude and we are building on that and we hope that we will come out with some outcome that will be an agreement in principle that holistic approach in the forestry sector is a must if we really want to reduce emissions," Kishwan said.
"All the actions that have been taken by different countries need to be incentivised in the future," he added.
While Indonesia was always less candid in its objections to REDD plus, it is now showing considerable support for it.
"Previously we were sticking to REDD but now after development of negotiations and the situations in different countries we support REDD plus," Wandojo Siswanto, a senior negotiator from the Indonesian delegation told PTI.
"We're okay with REDD plus because we really want to share with the rest of G77 and China," he added.
Despite consensus on the REDD plus issue, there is still a long way to go on several areas including finance and methodology that could spill over post Copenhagen, according to negotiators here.
"I don't think decision on the financial part can come here... the only decision in principle can be these are activities that should be funded," said Kishwan.
"Both market and fund based mechanism are important but the details of those mechanism will be after Copenhagen," he said.