How Funding Source Influences the Form of REDD + Initiatives: The Case of Market Versus Public Funds in Brazil

The Mechanism to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD +), which is being implemented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is considered essential to provide economic incentives for the adoption of forest-based mitigation measures against global climate change. This article analyses the key characteristics of REDD + pilot initiatives in Brazil from different perspectives concerning the concept of payment for environmental services, while exploring how these characteristics relate to the funding models adopted, regardless of whether they are sourced from public funds or via the carbon market. Data collected from publicly available databases are analysed using hypothesis tests. Ten variables from 89 pilot initiatives approved by the Voluntary Carbon Market or the Fundo Amazônia (Amazon Fund) are examined. Findings show that initiatives under each funding model have distinct characteristics in terms of stakeholders, criteria for incentive concession, time frames, geographical reach, as well as Measurement, Report and Verification (MRV) practices. Differences are consistent with distinct theoretical conceptions on incentive-based economic instruments.