It is only recently that the international community has recognised the importance of exploring the linkages between climate change mitigation and adaptation. Investigating such complementarities is particularly relevant for forest-based mitigation and adaptation in the developing world, because forests serve both as carbon sinks and as a source of livelihood for local communities. Despite this until recently, forest mitigation and adaptation have been considered separately by global negotiators and national policymakers. The main mechanism for forest mitigation is a market mechanism called REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation - plus). At the moment a number of developing country governments are developing national REDD+ strategies. At the same time the same governments are formulating national policies for climate change adaptation. A study that investigates the synergies between forest mitigation and adaptation and how policy processes should be integrated is therefore timely and important.

This research project seeks to understand the extent to which policy processes related to forest mitigation and adaptation should be integrated at different scales (global, national and local) in order to deliver effective emission reductions and development compatible outcomes. It will identify existing governance constraints to such integration and explore how they can be overcome.

Policy processes addressing forest mitigation and adaptation of forest dependent communities to climate change operate at multiple scales. In addition, the scale dimension differs across the two policy domains. REDD+ policies are developed at the national level, yet need to be informed by local level realities in order to be effectively implemented. Adaptation of local communities occurs locally, yet national policies need to be in place in order to support adaptive capacity of these communities and reduce their vulnerability. In investigating multi-level governance processes, this research contributes originally to the interdisciplinary literature on multi-level forest governance as well as the literature on climate change mitigation and adaptation. In examining the governance constraints and opportunities for integration, this project will inform ongoing global and national policy processes about how to improve effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation.

The study will be undertaken in two countries - Brazil and Indonesia - that are at the forefront of REDD+ policy formulation and that contain among the most extensive remaining tropical forests in the world.

Methods include: a) a multi-level policy network analysis of the forest mitigation and adaptation domains; b) discourse analysis of semi-structured interviews with policy actors at different scales; c) the analysis of policy documents. The discourse analysis will be used to understand the meaning of network relations among policy actors and identify policy coalitions. The integration of social networks and discourse analysis will help to understand the complexity of political relations among actors, and the interaction between political and institutional structure and agency. These elements will allow opportunities for and constraints to policy integration to be identified.

The project will be the first comparative political study investigating how to better integrate national forest mitigation and adaptation strategies in Brazil and Indonesia. It will inform global and national policies that aim to deliver effective carbon emission reductions from forests as well as reduce the vulnerability of forest dependent communities. The study will shed new light on the synergies in these two policy areas and will help to identify how to overcome current political constraints and take advantage of existing opportunities to deliver more effective carbon emission reductions while enhancing adaptive capacity of forest dependent communities.

Potential Impact:
The research aims to impact policy debates, policy processes and the implementation of REDD+ activities.
A number of different stakeholder groups at different scales will directly benefit from this research:
1. Researchers and practitioners working on REDD+ and ecosystem-based adaptation.
This study will produce new knowledge about the policy constraints to and opportunities for exploiting existing synergies between forest-based climate change mitigation and adaptation at different scales. It will contribute to reframe academic debates on forest governance by including local adaptation concerns in the REDD+ governance literature. In doing so, it will also contribute a new multi-level analytical approach to forest governance. In addition, the empirical evidence from the four local cases will inform practitioners working on REDD+ and adaptation projects at the local level about how to better integrate the objectives of forest-based mitigation and forest-based adaptation in Indonesia and Brazil. This will be achieved through participation in conferences and the publications of the findings of the research in high-impact academic journals and two more extensive working papers that explore the application of the results.
2. International negotiators involved in UNFCCC policy processes and government funding agencies (e.g. DFID, NORAD etc.)
The research will inform advisory bodies to the UNFCCC (such as the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice), international negotiators and funding agencies on how to better support the integration of REDD+ and forest-based adaptation in national settings that are engaging in the development and implementation of REDD+ strategies. This will facilitate a more supportive global policy environmental for the integration of mitigation and adaptation and improve the effectiveness of aid used in climate compatible development projects. UNFCCC side-events and international conferences that bring together researchers, international negotiators and development agencies will provide the venues to present, discuss and disseminate the findings of the research.
3. National policy actors, in particular government agencies and civil society organisations in Brazil and Indonesia
At the national level the research will inform national policy actors about the constraints and opportunities to better integrate policy processes across sectors and scales. A policy workshop in each country will provide the venue to present findings and to discuss ways to improve such integration with a variety of national and sub-national level agencies working on REDD+ and forest-based adaptation, environmental and development NGOs and producer organizations that are engaging in REDD+ schemes. The workshop will provide a forum where policy actors working on REDD+ and adaptation can explore these synergies and apply research findings to improve the effectiveness of national REDD+ strategies and future REDD+ activities and schemes.
4. Local authorities, local NGOs in the 4 municipalities/districts where the local fieldwork.
At the local level the study will benefits the work of local authorities and NGOs involved in supporting REDD+ and forest-based adaptation projects. These actors will be addressed through interviews and an interactive workshop. Local workshops will provide the venue for these actors to reflect on the research findings from the study, on existing synergies and obstacles they have observed and how to better integrate REDD+ and local adaptation projects. In particular the workshop will provide an important opportunity for civil society organisations to access state actors and contribute to shaping more effective, inclusive and equitable policies. In the final instance, the research will indirectly benefit local communities living in the forest margins, as it will inform future REDD+ schemes on how to account for and enhance local forest-based adaptation outcomes.