TY - JOUR
T1 - Stakeholder Participation in REDD+ Program
T2 - The Case of the Consultation Process in Laos
AU - Sawathvong, Soukphavanh
AU - Hyakumura, Kimihiko
AU - Fujisaki, Taiji
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - REDD+ aims to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries while ensuring social and environmental benefits through the involvement of diverse stakeholders. While several studies evaluate stakeholder participation in various aspects of REDD+, such as the level and type of stakeholder participation at both the project and national context level, there is a lack of research on how the government conducted the consultation meetings across all administrative levels. The objective of this study is to evaluate the participation of different stakeholders in REDD+ in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), or Laos, funded by the World Bank, with a focus on analyzing government consultation processes to identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The study applied both a literature review and online interviews, conducted with government officials and representatives of CSOs, which took place from March to April 2020. The results indicate significant involvement from cross-sectoral stakeholders. However, central government agencies and development partners dominated stakeholder participation, potentially influenced by government ownership. Non-state stakeholders, though invited to the consultations, had limited participation, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on their roles to ensure the integration of diverse interests and views in the REDD+ initiative.
AB - REDD+ aims to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries while ensuring social and environmental benefits through the involvement of diverse stakeholders. While several studies evaluate stakeholder participation in various aspects of REDD+, such as the level and type of stakeholder participation at both the project and national context level, there is a lack of research on how the government conducted the consultation meetings across all administrative levels. The objective of this study is to evaluate the participation of different stakeholders in REDD+ in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), or Laos, funded by the World Bank, with a focus on analyzing government consultation processes to identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The study applied both a literature review and online interviews, conducted with government officials and representatives of CSOs, which took place from March to April 2020. The results indicate significant involvement from cross-sectoral stakeholders. However, central government agencies and development partners dominated stakeholder participation, potentially influenced by government ownership. Non-state stakeholders, though invited to the consultations, had limited participation, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on their roles to ensure the integration of diverse interests and views in the REDD+ initiative.
KW - consultation process
KW - developing country
KW - Laos
KW - multi-stakeholders
KW - REDD+ program
KW - role of stakeholders
KW - top-down
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202623212&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3390/land13081137
DO - 10.3390/land13081137
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85202623212
SN - 2073-445X
VL - 13
JO - Land
JF - Land
IS - 8
M1 - 1137
ER -