Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

Climate change has become the most important global environmental crisis. To fight against global
warming, an international forum, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) was established. It facilitates decision-making to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. Decisions within the UNFCCC result from a long negotiation process. The contribution of
different countries to the atmospheric GHG concentration differs, as well as their level of development.
The UNFCC established main principles which are the precaution, the common but differentiated
responsibilities and sustainable development. In 1997, the country parties of the UNFCCC established
the Kyoto Protocol. It stipulates that developed countries must reduce their emissions in a quantif[...]

Climate change has become the most important global environmental crisis. To fight against global
warming, an international forum, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) was established. It facilitates decision-making to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. Decisions within the UNFCCC result from a long negotiation process. The contribution of
different countries to the atmospheric GHG concentration differs, as well as their level of development.
The UNFCC established main principles which are the precaution, the common but differentiated
responsibilities and sustainable development. In 1997, the country parties of the UNFCCC established
the Kyoto Protocol. It stipulates that developed countries must reduce their emissions in a quantifiable
way, while developing countries can implement voluntary actions. The option to use the forest
ecosystems to mitigate climate change in developing countries was excluded from international
negotiations since 1997 and only afforestation and reforestation have been included in the CDM (Clean
Development Mechanism). The idea of compensating developing countries based on the reduction of
deforestation came back to the negotiations since the Bali Action Plan in 2007. This idea gave birth to
the REDD+ mechanism (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing
countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest
carbon stocks in developing countries). However, the establishment of such a mechanism in developing
countries and especially sub-Saharan Africa faces many constraints such as governance, the increasing
population density, food security and the state of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is one of
the core element of REDD+ because it should enable countries to establish the GHG inventory and
ensure reliable emissions reductions that are accurate, complete in space, consistent over time and
comparable across countries. Developing countries can receive financial compensations for their efforts
to preserve forest ecosystems and their carbon stocks on the basis of emission reductions that are
previously measured, reported and verified (MRV). Sub-Saharan African countries, and particularly those
with important forest cover, represent a major potential for the success of REDD+. However, at present,
statistical data on carbon stocks and dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa are lacking. African countries are
mostly in margin of the process because they lack scientific expertise and knowledge to facilitate further
quantification of their contribution to the carbon cycle and the overall effort to mitigate climate change.
Quantification of carbon stocks has become crucial for sub-Saharan African countries to increase their
participation to the climate discussions arena and develop actions to mitigate an environmental crisis
they are the most vulnerable to.