SIANI, Focali & Naturskyddsföreningen organized a one-day seminar in Gothenburg.
Summary: Vietnam has been targeted as one the REDD+ pilot program countries with great willingness to mitigate emission from carbon dioxide by avoiding deforestation. However, being a country with a diverse landscape and scattered deforestation and reforestation the REDD+ approach is not obvious. This study suggests a landscape approach to quantify emission from broadening the REDD+ scope to include other relevant landscapes. Land cover conversion and land use change in tropical forest margins affects both carbon stocks and profitability. Where the carbon stocks generally decrease during land use conversion and profitability (from the perspective of the actors) increases, the ratio of these changes is indicative of an opportunity cost of foregoing the change. The OPCOST model of Opportunity Costs Analysis used in this study combines information on land cover types (typical C stock densities and Net Present Value) with a land use change matrix for a certain period. This model has proven to be a very useful tool for providing a science-based carbon offset price estimation that is important for decision making for any conversion of forestland into non-forest land.
Matilda Palm’s research included financial mechanisms related to climate and forest as well as landscape rehabilitation in developing countries with a special focus on degraded and marginal lands. Palm has a masters and PhD in physical geography, did a postdoc at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Vietnam and is currently doing a postdoc at Physical Resource Theory at Chalmers.