Recognising the importance of forests in addressing climate change, the international community developed REDD+, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, together with the conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable forest management, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
Although conventional REDD+ initiatives have achieved important successes through individual forest conservation projects, experience has shown that isolated interventions often struggle to address the broader economic, political, and social drivers of deforestation.
As a result, a more comprehensive model known as Jurisdictional REDD+ has emerged. Rather than focusing on individual project sites, this approach operates across entire administrative regions, such as provinces, states, districts, or even whole countries, allowing governments to coordinate forest conservation efforts at a much larger scale.
Jurisdictional REDD+ is increasingly recognised as a more integrated and sustainable approach because it combines environmental protection with land-use planning, public policy, economic development and community participation. By addressing deforestation across entire landscapes, it offers greater opportunities for long-term forest conservation, improved governance and increased access to climate finance.
Before examining Jurisdictional REDD+, it is important to understand the broader REDD+ framework from which it evolved. REDD+ is an international climate change mitigation mechanism established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its primary objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries while encouraging sustainable forest management.
The “+” in REDD+ extends the original concept beyond reducing forest loss by also promoting the conservation of existing forest carbon stocks, the sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks through activities such as forest restoration and reforestation.
Participating countries are rewarded through financial incentives when they can demonstrate measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from improved forest management and conservation practices. These incentives help align economic development with environmental protection while encouraging countries to invest in long-term forest stewardship.
Jurisdictional REDD+ represents the landscape-scale implementation of REDD+ principles across an entire administrative jurisdiction rather than within isolated project boundaries. A jurisdiction may include a province, state, district, region or an entire nation. Instead of multiple organisations independently protecting separate forest areas, governments coordinate conservation activities across the whole jurisdiction using unified policies, monitoring systems, and emission reduction targets.
This broader approach enables authorities to tackle the underlying drivers of deforestation, including agricultural expansion, illegal logging, mining, infrastructure development and weak land governance.
By integrating forest conservation into wider development planning, Jurisdictional REDD+ creates a more coordinated and effective framework for reducing emissions. Once verified, emission reductions achieved across the jurisdiction may qualify for results-based payments or carbon finance, providing additional resources for conservation and sustainable development.
The implementation of Jurisdictional REDD+ generally begins with establishing a historical baseline of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. This baseline provides the reference point against which future emission reductions are measured.
Reliable baseline information is essential because it allows governments and independent auditors to determine whether conservation efforts have genuinely reduced emissions over time.
Following the establishment of the baseline, governments develop comprehensive land-use policies and forest management strategies aimed at reducing deforestation while supporting economic growth. These strategies typically include strengthening forest governance, promoting sustainable agriculture, restoring degraded forests, protecting Indigenous lands, improving law enforcement against illegal logging and expanding community forestry initiatives. Rather than treating these activities independently, Jurisdictional REDD+ integrates them into a coordinated regional development strategy.
Monitoring forms another essential component of the system. Advances in satellite imagery, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and field-based forest inventories enable governments to track changes in forest cover and estimate carbon emissions with increasing accuracy. Continuous monitoring ensures transparency and provides the evidence required to assess progress toward emission reduction targets.
Once monitoring data have been collected, independent experts verify the reported emission reductions using internationally recognised methodologies and standards. Independent verification increases confidence among governments, investors and climate finance organisations by ensuring that reported achievements are scientifically credible and transparent.
If verified emission reductions are successfully achieved, jurisdictions may receive results-based payments from international donors, governments, carbon markets or private organisations seeking high-quality carbon credits. These financial resources can then be reinvested into forest conservation programmes, rural development, healthcare, education, infrastructure and other initiatives that improve local livelihoods while reinforcing long-term environmental sustainability.
Several characteristics distinguish Jurisdictional REDD+ from traditional project-based REDD+ initiatives. Government leadership is one of its defining features, with public institutions taking primary responsibility for planning, implementation, monitoring and policy coordination. This leadership helps ensure that forest conservation is fully integrated into broader economic and development objectives.
Another defining feature is its large geographic scope. Rather than concentrating on individual forest reserves, Jurisdictional REDD+ encompasses entire landscapes that may include forests, agricultural lands, settlements, protected areas and industrial zones. Such broad coverage enables governments to address deforestation across interconnected land-use systems instead of isolated locations.
Integrated land-use planning also plays a central role. Forestry, agriculture, infrastructure development, biodiversity conservation and economic planning are coordinated to minimise conflicts between competing land uses.
At the same time, successful implementation depends upon meaningful participation from a wide range of stakeholders, including national and local governments, Indigenous peoples, local communities, private companies, civil society organisations and academic institutions. Because these programmes become embedded within long-term public policies and institutional structures, they are generally more sustainable than individual conservation projects that may end once external funding expires.
Jurisdictional REDD+ offers several significant advantages over conventional project-based approaches. One of its greatest strengths is its ability to reduce leakage, a problem in which deforestation prevented in one location simply shifts to another nearby area. Since Jurisdictional REDD+ addresses entire administrative regions, it substantially minimises this risk by tackling deforestation across the whole landscape.
The approach also strengthens governance by improving land-use regulations, clarifying land tenure, enhancing law enforcement and coordinating planning across multiple government sectors. These institutional improvements often produce benefits that extend well beyond forest conservation itself.
Because it operates at a larger scale, Jurisdictional REDD+ can achieve much greater greenhouse gas emission reductions than isolated conservation projects. Comprehensive monitoring systems, combined with government oversight and standardised reporting procedures, also increase transparency and strengthen investor confidence. As a result, jurisdictions are often better positioned to attract climate finance and long-term investment.
Beyond environmental benefits, Jurisdictional REDD+ supports sustainable development by creating opportunities for sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, ecotourism, non-timber forest products, green employment and improved rural infrastructure. These economic opportunities help align conservation objectives with local development priorities.
Despite its considerable advantages, Jurisdictional REDD+ faces several important challenges. Coordinating multiple government agencies, communities and private stakeholders across large administrative regions is often administratively complex and requires strong institutional capacity.
Land tenure remains another major obstacle. Unclear ownership rights, overlapping land claims, and unresolved customary land issues frequently create conflicts that complicate conservation efforts and investment decisions. Establishing secure and transparent land rights is therefore essential for successful implementation.
Financial requirements also present a significant challenge. Developing jurisdiction-wide monitoring systems, implementing conservation programmes and maintaining institutional capacity require substantial and sustained investment. In addition, although monitoring technologies have improved considerably, accurately estimating forest carbon stocks and emission reductions across large landscapes remains technically demanding.
Political uncertainty may also influence programme success. Changes in government leadership or shifting policy priorities can weaken long-term commitments to forest conservation, making consistent implementation more difficult over extended periods.
Indigenous peoples and local communities play a central role in the success of Jurisdictional REDD+. Their traditional ecological knowledge, cultural practices and long-standing relationships with forests have enabled them to protect natural ecosystems for generations. Consequently, many of the world’s most intact forests are found within Indigenous-managed territories.
Jurisdictional REDD+ recognises that meaningful participation by these communities is essential rather than optional. Their involvement may include contributing to planning and decision-making processes, managing community forests, monitoring forest conditions, protecting customary land rights and participating in equitable benefit-sharing arrangements. Respecting human rights and ensuring free, prior and informed consent are therefore fundamental principles of responsible Jurisdictional REDD+ implementation.
Carbon markets have become an increasingly important source of financial support for Jurisdictional REDD+ programmes. Organisations seeking to reduce their carbon footprint can purchase verified emission reductions generated through successful jurisdictional initiatives. These transactions provide additional funding that supports forest conservation, sustainable development, and long-term environmental management.
Many jurisdictions also receive results-based payments from international climate finance mechanisms that reward measurable reductions in deforestation. However, maintaining environmental integrity remains essential. Carbon credits must represent real, measurable, additional, permanent and independently verified emission reductions to ensure credibility and public confidence.
To receive an expert opinion on it, we contacted to Freddie Voon, a Fellow at Carbon Management Unit, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, UPM, who has expertise on carbon markets.
He said,“Global carbon markets are shifting from project-specific REDD+ to Jurisdictional REDD+, a model that demands higher integrity, sophisticated digital monitoring and active government participation.
“This evolution addresses systemic drivers of deforestation and meets the growing global demand for high-quality, transparent carbon credits. By adopting this jurisdictional framework, transitioning countries/states has the potential to align with international standards, securing access to compliance and voluntary markets while effectively monetising its natural assets through a structured, transparent approach”.
Voon added that several countries had already adopted Jurisdictional REDD+ approaches with encouraging results.
“Brazil has implemented jurisdictional programmes across several Amazonian states, combining satellite monitoring, law enforcement and sustainable economic development to reduce deforestation.
“Indonesia has integrated jurisdictional forest conservation into provincial governance while aligning these efforts with national climate strategies.
“Colombia has expanded jurisdictional forest management initiatives that promote biodiversity conservation, Indigenous participation, and sustainable land-use planning.
“Similarly, Peru has introduced jurisdictional approaches in several regions to strengthen forest governance while supporting local livelihoods. These experiences demonstrate that Jurisdictional REDD+ is sufficiently flexible to accommodate diverse environmental, social, and political contexts,” he said.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached khanwaseem@upm.edu.my
