Identifying Where REDD+ Financially Out-Competes Oil Palm in Floodplain Landscapes Using a Fine-Scale Approach.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) aims to avoid forest conversion to alternative land-uses through financial incentives. Oil-palm has high opportunity costs, which according to current literature questions the financial competitiveness of REDD+ in tropical lowlands. To understand this more, we undertook regional fine-scale and coarse-scale analyses (through carbon mapping and economic modelling) to assess the financial viability of REDD+ in safeguarding unprotected forest (30,173 ha) in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain in Malaysian Borneo. Results estimate 4.7 million metric tons of carbon (MgC) in unprotected forest, with 64% allocated for oil-palm cultivations. Through fine-scale mapping and carbon accounting, we demonstrated that REDD+ can outcompete oil-palm in regions with low suitability, with low carbon prices and low carbon stock. In areas with medium oil-palm suitability, REDD+ could outcompete oil palm in areas with: very high carbon and lower carbon price; medium carbon price and average carbon stock; or, low carbon stock and high carbon price. Areas with high oil palm suitability, REDD+ could only outcompete with higher carbon price and higher carbon stock. In the coarse-scale model, oil-palm outcompeted REDD+ in all cases. For the fine-scale models at the landscape level, low carbon offset prices (US $3 MgCO2e) would enable REDD+ to outcompete oil-palm in 55% of the unprotected forests requiring US $27 million to secure these areas for 25 years. Higher carbon offset price (US $30 MgCO2e) would increase the competitiveness of REDD+ within the landscape but would still only capture between 69%-74% of the unprotected forest, requiring US $380-416 million in carbon financing. REDD+ has been identified as a strategy to mitigate climate change by many countries (including Malaysia). Although REDD+ in certain scenarios cannot outcompete oil palm, this research contributes to the global REDD+ debate by: highlighting REDD+ competitiveness in tropical floodplain landscapes; and, providing a robust approach for identifying and targeting limited REDD+ funds.
Living Landscape Alliance, 110 Maui Court, Waikiki Condominium, Jalan Aru, Tanjung Aru, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.|ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.|HUTAN/Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, 88874, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.|Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom.|Borneo Futures initiative, Ciputat, 15412, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Nicola K
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1886-7297
NK
Abram
Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom.
Douglas C
DC
MacMillan
Department of Forestry and Management of Natural Environment, Technological Education Institute of Kavala, GR 61100, Drama, Greece.
Panteleimon
P
Xofis
HUTAN/Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, 88874, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.|Borneo Futures initiative, Ciputat, 15412, Jakarta, Indonesia.|North England Zoological Society, Research Fellow, Chester, United Kingdom.|Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Marc
M
Ancrenaz
Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom.
Joseph
J
Tzanopoulos
Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, P.O. Box 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
Robert
R
Ong
Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.|Danau Girang Field Centre, c/o Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.|Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, United Kingdom.
Benoit
B
Goossens
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.
Lian Pin
LP
Koh
Althelia ecosphere, Ecosphere Capital Limited, 1 Lumley Street, London, W1K 6TT, United Kingdom.
Christian
C
Del Valle
Danau Girang Field Centre, c/o Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Lucy
L
Peter
School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, United Kingdom.
Alexandra C
AC
Morel
HUTAN/Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, 88874, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Isabelle
I
Lackman
C H Williams, Talhar and Wong (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
Robin
R
Chung
HUTAN/Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, 88874, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Harjinder
H
Kler
Borneo Conservation Trust, 5th Floor, Block B, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Laurentius
L
Ambu
Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
William
W
Baya
ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.|Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom.|Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Andrew T
AT
Knight
D028023:Arecaceae / Q000254:growth & development*; D001893:Borneo; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D000069599:Crop Production / Q000191:economics*; D065928:Forests