The political ecology of forest carbon: mainland Southeast Asia's new commodity frontier?

Alarming rates of tropical deforestation contribute 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In mainland Southeast Asia, international actions to reduce deforestation are gaining momentum by creating a market for the carbon stored in the region's threatened forests. Our multi-disciplinary research explores how forest users in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos respond to the complex local, national and regional dimensions of this new carbon market. How does this market articulate with existing forest uses and livelihoods - does it alleviate or deepen socio-economic vulnerability? The study will provide critical new knowledge for viable and sustainable international policy on climate change mitigation.