Governments around the world are recklessly betting that a risky method called REDD, or ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation’, will reverse deforestation and help fight climate change. The good news is that we know how to successfully conserve forests: we simply have to empower communities to manage forests on the basis of their traditional knowledge. The main thing that seems to be missing is the political will to do so on a large scale.

Time to ditch risky REDD for community-based approaches that are effective, ethical and equitable

Friends of the Earth International opposes REDD. Our ‘No REDD’ position has been developed after long and fruitful discussions amongst our members, and is based on our work with local communities and Indigenous Peoples, our collaboration with allied civil society organisations and social movements such as La Vía Campesina and World Rainforest Movement, and our involvement in tracking the development of intergovernmental climate change negotiations.