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
Global distribution and genetic discontinuities of mangroves – emerging patterns in the evolution of Rhizophora
Abstract. Mangroves are often described as a group of plants with common features and common origins based mostly on their broad distributional patterns, together with an erroneous view of comparable abilities in long-distance dispersal. However, whilst mangroves have common needs to adapt to rigorous environmental constraints associated with regular seawater inundation, individual taxa have developed different strategies and characteristics. Since mangroves are a genetically diverse group of mostly flowering plants, they may also have evolved at quite different geological periods, dispersed at different rates from different locations and developed different adaptive strategies. Current distributions of individual taxa show numerous instances of unusual extant distribution which demonstrate finite dispersal limitations, especially across open water. Our preliminary assessment of broad distribution and discontinuities reveals important patterns. Discontinuities, in the absence of current dispersal barriers, may be explained by persistent past barriers. As we learn more about discontinuities, we are beginning to appreciate their immense implications and what they might tell us about past geological conditions and how these might have influenced the distribution and evolution of mangroves. In this article, we describe emerging patterns in genetic relationships and distributions based on both current knowledge and preliminary results of our studies of molecular and morphometric characteristics of Rhizophora species in the Indo West Pacific region.