Valuing Tigerlands-An Update

Eric DinersteinChief ScientistConservation Science Program,WWF-US

Creating a REDD+Tigers Initiative

Construct a 3-D forest map with laser-based (LiDAR) measurements

A Technological Breakthrough is at Hand: Carbon Accounting through REDDLite

4,000 ha/hr

$0.05/ha

Peru, Madagascar, Colombia, Ecuador, DRC (other),Sabah?

Since Hua Hin:

Norwegian Ministry of the Environment grants:1. $1 billion for Brazilian Amazon2. $1 billion for REDD+ in Indonesia3. $1.4 billion to FAO for forest inventory work related

to REDD4. Can we ask for a fraction to create a Tier III forest

carbon base map of the tiger range? and 5. Can we secure $XXX million for a REDD+Tigers

Initiative?

Three Questions:

1. Can tigers become the face of REDD/REDD+?2. Can financing from REDD/REDD+Tigers form

the basis for protecting and restoring TCLs?3. Can incentives be added to a REDD+Tiger

initiative to help realize Tx2?

Can Tigers Become the Face of REDD?

“We are totally committed to saving the tiger and India’s bio-diversity. I would stop using the label ‘Project Tiger’ and call it ‘Project Eco-System’. We need to communicate effectively that saving the tiger is not some middleclass obsession. It is an ecological imperative—by saving the tiger, you are saving the forests. The tiger is merely the symbol. By saving it, we ensure our water security.”

-- Jairam Ramesh, India’s Minister for Environment & Forests, June, 2009

Can Tiger Conservation Landscapes be Protected and Restored through REDD and REDD+?

Tier I Estimates of Forest Carbon Stored in TCLs

Forests containing tigers hold 3.5 times more carbon than do forests without tigers.

How do we move from Tier I estimates with 50-100% uncertainty to Tier III estimates with <5% uncertainty?

3-D Views of the Amazon3-D Views of the AmazonForest from CAOForest from CAO

Forest Aboveground Carbon Storage in 4,300,500 ha at 0.1 ha ResolutionForest Aboveground Carbon Storage in 4,300,500 ha at 0.1 ha Resolution

http://claslite.ciw.edu

Core+Adjacent = 137,000 km2 ≈ Bangladesh (144,000 km2)?

All 76 TCLs = 1.1 million km2

≈ Thailand x 2 (1.028 million km2)

What area should REDD+Tigers payments cover?

Tiger Core PAs, adjacent reserves, and all 76 TCLs

or Th x 2?

Wait!

How do we avoid situations where REDD(+) mechanisms protect glorious forest stands that store huge amounts of carbon but are devoid of tigers and prey?

Can incentives be added to a REDD+Tiger Initiative to help realize Tx2?

Could countries be rewarded with higher annual payments as tigers regain occupancy?

Could countries be rewarded with higher annual payments as the population approaches its recovery target?

Monitoring Carbon Flux and Tiger Recovery in “Tigeristan”

tiger“baselines”

What if price of carbon jumps from $5/ton to $35/ton after shift from Tier I to Tier III baselines?

What if tiger dividend adds $5 to price/ton where tiger targets have been achieved?

emissionsbaseline

At Bali: 1.Advocate for the environment ministry of government of Norway and other donors to facilitate creation of a REDD+Tigers program

A proposed way forward for the REDD+Tigers Initiative:

Between Bali and St. Petersburg:2. Design REDD+Tigers Initiative, present to environment ministry

of Norway in August

At Global Tiger Summit: 3. With head-of-gov’t of Norway attending, announce REDD+Tigers

Initiative4. Toast with vodka and champagne

At Cancun, Mexico December, 20105. Launch REDD+Tigers Initiative to yield dividends for those

countries that reduce emissions and increase occupancy and numbers of tigers

CLIMATE STABLIZATION

FOREST CARBON

TIGERS