Incentives to Reduce GHG Emissions from Deforestation: Lessons Learned from Costa Rica and Mexico

Global deforestation is occurring at a fast rate, around 13 million ha/yr (FAO, 2006) and is a major contributor to climate change. Emissions from deforestation in the 1990s are estimated at 5.8Gt/CO2/yr, and account for one-fifth of global anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG). Moreover, deforestation is the major source of GHG emissions from the land use, land-use change and forestry sector, it constitutes the main source of GHG emissions from many developing countries, and, at a global scale, GHG emissions from deforestation are higher than the total amount produced by the transport sector annually.