Four institutions were commissioned by the UK's DFID Forest Research Programme to prepare this Issues Paper on emerging carbon management policies in relation to the livelihoods of the rural poor and landless in developing countries. The objective of the paper is to explore the precedents, potentials, issues and risks of carbon offset land use activities, as a basis for developing appropriate mechanisms that might support both effective carbon management and rural development. The research does not take any position regarding emerging international policies. However, the implications of possible international policy decisions and outcomes are considered, so as to improve the chance that the carbon policy debate supports poor people in developing countries. The print version can be ordered from http://www.earthprint.com/ for $22 or freely downloaded as four Zipped PDF files (totalling 1.5mb) from "Related Links" above.
