Conservation of vulnerable timbers in REDD

project summary

Alarming rates of deforestation and ecosystem degradation add to global warming, and sustainable management of forests is therefore an important part of the REDD concept. REDD activities shall both reduce CO2 emissions, conserve biodiversity and secure future livelihoods for local populations. The present project aims at increasing the conservation value of REDD programmes by testing positive and easy applicable tools for planning and monitoring based on novel biodiversity assessment methods. The project targets Dalbergias - valuable, highly vulnerable timer species becoming increasingly rare due to illegal logging and habitat degradation. A strategy for sustainable use and management of Dalbergia is needed as a part of overall forest conservation strategy in Cambodia and adjacent countries. Building on a larger on-going study of diversity and evolutionary potential in natural Dalbergia populations, this project will develop and test  applications of novel biodiversity assessment tools for identifying areas and populations especially vulnerable to future climate change. Further, the project will test the use of DNA fingerprinting methods to monitor the exact species identity and geographic origin of traded timber. This can be an operation tool suitable for use in global certification schemes and/or FLEGT programmes.