REDD+ and Forest Carbon Rights in Fiji: Background Legal Analysis
The introduction of the mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) under the UNFCCC provided developing countries with the prospect of a financial incentive to reduce their levels of deforestation and forest degradation. The report discusses forest carbon rights and the ownership of the rights in the context of land tenure and the existing laws, particularly in relation to land, forests and timber rights in Fiji. Consideration is given to how a REDD+ policy might be implemented in Fiji, including the appropriate repository of forest carbon rights, the reconciliation of competing rights to lands and forests and necessary administrative arrangements and legislative changes.
World Atlas of Mangroves
Foreword Preface Introduction 1. Mangrove Ecosystems 2. Mangroves and Man 3. Mapping Mangroves Regional Chapters Western Indian Ocean 4. Eastern and Southern Africa 5. The Middle East 6. South Asia Eastern Asia and Australia/New Zealand 7. Southeast Asia 8. East Asia 9. Australia and New Zealand Pacific Ocean 10. Pacific Islands Americas 11. North and Central America and the Caribbean 12. South America West and Central Africa 13. West and Central Africa Annex 1: Species Ranges Annex 2: References for National Statistics Index
Trade, exchange rate, and agricultural pricing policies in Thailand
Thailand is still largely an agricultural country. In 1984, agricultural work was still the main source of earnings for more than 70 percent of the population. For much of the 25 year period covered by this report, government intervention in the prices of rice, maize, and natural rubber was extensive. For these products, intervention took the form of explicit export taxes and restrictive quotas. Sugar, on the other hand, was imported until 1960. For many years prior to that, government policy was to encourage growers and thus achieve self-sufficiency. One conclusion of this study is that the Thai sugar industry would have shrunk dramatically if the government had refrained from intervention. Intervention in the prices of rice and natural rubber had the effect of penalizing farm producers by reducing their output prices. There was, as a consequence a shift of resources towards Thailand's small industrial sector. In 1981, the Thai government lifted its quota restrictions, and liberalized its trade by eliminating its intervention in the maize, rice, sugar and natural rubber markets. Unfortunately for export growers, however, the gradual elimination of intervention was overshadowed by sharp declines in the world prices of Thailand's major agricultural exports.