International proposals to protect forests to tackle climate change could displace millions of indigenous people and fail to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmentalists.
Friends of the Earth International (FoE) will argue in a report to be published on Thursday, that plans to slow the decline of forests, which would see rich countries pay for the protection of forests in tropical regions, are open to abuse by corrupt politicians or illegal logging companies.
Forests store a significant amount of carbon and cutting them down is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions -- currently this accounts for around 20% of the world's total.
Deforestation also threatens biodiversity and puts the livelihoods of more than 60 million indigenous people who are dependent upon forests at risk.
Working out a way to protect forests will be one of the key issues discussed next week in the United Nations climate change ...