How politics shapes the outcomes of forest carbon finance

Interest in forest-based carbon storage has led to growth financing for forestry. Most financial strategies rest on strong assumptions which are not valid many parts of the world. We use cases drawn from tribal forestry US and government India illustrate how finance relies presence enforceable rights, representative accountable institutions, clear incentives, symmetrical power relations. In absence these conditions, provides perverse incentives that undermine biodiversity human rights without storing carbon. suggest be successful, more attention needs paid underlying political reforms, as well policies reliant finance.