The CoopePueblos carbon initiative : an assessment of impacts after one year

Abstract

This study analyzes the multiscalar interactions of the emerging carbon market and the social, environmental, and economic implications it may hold for small-scale landholders in the tropical rainforest. Based on a change detection analysis from a case study in Costa Rica, this report argues that 1) the scalar mismatch between national carbon trading markets and small scale agroforestry sequestration efforts is driven by insignificant land holdings; 2) secondly, the scalar mismatch limits the small scale landholders’ access to the carbon market; and 3) that in order to link global and local approaches to climate change we need to understand the local economic contexts within which these global markets are interacting.