November 2010: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) released an information brief, titled “Forests and climate change in Latin America: Linking adaptation and mitigation in projects and policies,” in advance of the Cancun Climate Change Conference.

The brief underscores that integrating both adaptation and mitigation into forestry projects and policies will maximize co-benefits and increase capacity to cope with climate change-related risks. It calls on project developers to assess adaptation opportunities in addition to mitigation potential. The brief notes that, while there has been some experience linking adaptation and mitigation at the project level in Latin America, few forest policies have addressed these dual goals. The brief identifies areas of divergence between mitigation and adaptation responses in terms of affected sectors and spatial and temporal scales. It outlines the forestry mitigation projects that have been launched in Latin America, and examines mitigation and adaptation projects and the extent to which they consider potential co-benefits.

The brief also considers the link between mitigation under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and adaptation, describing the 2% levy on Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) to finance the Adaptation Fund. And it describes the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards, which require consideration of adaptation in project planning. CIFOR is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Information Brief]

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