On managing co-benefits in REDD+ projects.

Summary Beyond their high potential for climate change mitigation, forests provide many other benefits, notably on livelihood, biodiversity, soil and water quality. In this paper, we assess the level of consideration for such co-benefits in REDD+ projects and carbon markets. We first show that the topic is particularly relevant when climate change mitigation and other benefits are substitutable. Then, we discuss the impact of managing co-benefits in REDD+ projects. We give an overview of the current level of consideration for co-benefits in the voluntary carbon market, based on the results of a survey conducted on players of this market. Finally, we discuss the impacts of integrating more broadly REDD+ projects in compliance markets and show that it might lead to a decrease in the production of co-benefits.