Low carbon land development: Is there a future for integration across sectors?

The Copenhagen Summit of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties may have disappointed enthusiasts for a predictable future for the Kyoto Protocol. But it did mark a turning point in climate change negotiations׳ search for tools and mechanisms within sectors and at scales not given sufficient attention before. Today national and sub-national levels of carbon and offset trading schemes covering many land use and natural resources development sectors are emerging. They provide more opportunities to integrate ecosystem and people׳s benefits and create a more balanced link between climate change and sustainable development futures. The time for establishing a pioneering world network of low carbon development zones (lcdzs) for experimenting and learning from spatial integration of efforts across land use sectors is now. Its realization would however require hitherto unforeseen levels of cooperation within the UN and among its Member States.