Forests: The Heart of a Green Economy

Forests provide livelihoods for up to 1 billion people and contribute trillions of USD to the global economy through products and services. Yet in some regions, deforestation continues at an alarming rate. As REDD+ aims to address market, policy, and institutional failures that undervalue the climate change mitigation service provided by the forest ecosystem, while protecting the rights of those who rely on the forests, there are clear links between REDD+ objectives and green economy objectives, both of which call for a change in the business-as-usual economic development in order to slow the loss of natural capital. This short film feature examples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Ecuador, highlighting the potential challenges and opportunities of including REDD+ in the transition to a green economy.