This book reports on the work carried out by the research project 'Kyoto: think global act local", which aims to bring local sustainable forest management projects under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The book draws on work carried since 2003 at three sites in India and Nepal. In India, the project sites were in Uttarakhand state, and in Nepal, in Ilam, Lalitpur, and Manang districts. The project gathered data to show that community-managed forests can play important roles in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change by sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere.

This report summarizes the key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, and the key policy options available to reduce the resulting carbon emissions. It reviews current deforestation rates and the associated issues related to monitoring forest-based carbon emissions and establishing baselines. The findings of research into the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and degradation provide a basis for outlining REDD policy options, while highlighting the associated challenges.

In view of the far-reaching consequences of climate change in India, the festival, held by the Centre for Media Studies, has declared the theme for this year's festival as 'Climate Change' and will hold a one-day "International Summit on Climate Change" on 13 September.