The evolution of REDD+: An analysis of discursive-institutional dynamics

• Published in: Environmental science & policy 2014-01, Vol.35 (1), p.40-48
• Main Authors: den Besten, Jan Willem, Arts, Bas, Verkooijen, Patrick
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate change; deforestation; Discursive institutionalism; Forest governance; Indigenous Peoples; REDD; Sustainable development
• ISSN: 1462-9011; 1873-6416
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2013.03.009

•A Discursive Institutional Analysis was conducted of the development of REDD+ from 2004 to 2011.•Rapid progress on REDD+ at the UNFCCC led to early agreement and preparatory arrangements.•This institutionalisation triggered responses from more actors generating new ideas.•Early implementation led to overlap of actors involved in piloting and in ongoing negotiations.•This helped introduce social, environment and governance safeguards in new agreements. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+11REDD+ in this article refers to ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in Developing Countries and the Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks’ (REDD+), paragraph 1.b.iii of the Bali Action Plan agreed by parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2007. When the text refers specifically to the discourse used between 2005 and 2006 which referred to the narrower scope of deforestation but not forest degradation, the term ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation’ (RED) is used.) is a policy that developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is based on the idea that climate funds and carbon markets can be used to incentivise developing countries to reduce tropical deforestation. This paper analyses the development of REDD+ from 2004 to 2011 through Discursive Institutional Analysis (DIA). DIA seeks to analyse how new discourses become institutionalised in plans, regulations and guidelines, while including and excluding issues, (re)defining topics, and (re)shaping human interactions. The analysis of policy documents and 32 in depth interviews with actors involved in the climate negotiations illustrates how discursive and institutional dynamics influenced each other. Competing discourse coalitions struggled over the definition and scope of REDD+, the use of markets and funds, and the issue of social and environmental safeguards. The rapid development of the REDD+ discourse has nonetheless culminated in new institutional arrangements. The working of a ‘discursive-institutional spiral’ is revealed where discourse coalitions respond to the inclusion and exclusion of ideas in institutions and practices. The institutional contexts at the same time shape the boundaries within which actors can bring in new ideas and concepts.