Safeguarding against Harm in a Climate-Smart Forest Economy: Definitions, Challenges, and Solutions

Sustainably managed forests and forest products have a well-documented potential to deliver significant climate change mitigation benefits via sequestration, storage, substitution (the 3Ss) when they are sourced sustainably substituted for traditional resource-intensive materials. Moving beyond product-specific considerations, climate-smart economy (CSFE) aims bolster the 3Ss catalyze broader systemic address crisis. In their most successful cases, value chain interventions that lead CSFEs will link secondary tertiary sectors greater waste reduction, substitution, innovation, overall cascading benefits. However, contribute CSFEs, from small large scale, inevitably impact environments communities, both directly indirectly. While positive impacts can be thought of as co-benefits should encouraged, negative considered externalities, these avoided or minimized wherever possible by safeguarding against harm. The failure minimize externalities implications equity, project longevity, This paper provides preliminary results mixed methods research with an aim identifying building consensus on definitions, challenges, solutions relevant assessment, planning, implementation CSFE safeguards. broad novel safeguards application faces diverse this explores practical advance set foundation future dialogue, analysis, application.