Payments for reducing carbon emissions due to deforestation and degradation (REDD) have garnered considerable global interest and investments. These financial incentives aim to alter the drivers of land-use change by reducing opportunity costs of retaining forest cover, and are often promoted as multipartite solutions that not only generate profits and reduce carbon emissions but provide benefits for human development and biodiversity. Currently, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is debating a post-Kyoto protocol with national or sub-national emission reduction targets. Anticipating the inclusion of REDD in this agreement, > 80% of pilot REDD projects are being established in tropical regions (table 1). While the capacity of REDD projects to meet their stated objectives must be assessed post-implementation, land-use change models are powerful tools for generating potential outcomes from these pilot initiatives.
