REDD+ Benefit Sharing: A Comparative Assessment of Three National Policy Approaches

This paper reviews three leading forest sector policy approaches relevant to benefit-sharing for reduc- ing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+): payments for ecosystem services, also known as payments for environmental services (PES), participatory forest management (PFM), and forest concession revenue-sharing arrangements. A survey is made of these three approaches in order to draw on potential lessons for REDD+ benefit sharing. These forest management and conservation ap- proaches are chosen due to their broad usage across tropical forest regions today and their potentially significant benefit sharing implications. None of the three approaches addressed here guarantees “bet- ter” or “more equitable” benefit sharing by design alone. Rather, an attempt is made to explore the dif- fering benefit sharing mechanisms and experiences to date in each approach, their salient architectural differences, and any modifications potentially required of each for successful national REDD+ programs.