The ToR aims to help legislators from tropical forest nations to begin an expert review and develop legislation on incentives for forest conservation, development and sustainable management.

The new model Terms of Reference (ToR) for Forest Ecosystem Services

At the end of our international parliamentary hearing held in Guácimo, Costa Rica, on June 2009, the legislators from Africa, Latin America and Asia decided that national Parliaments in tropical forest nations should start an expert review of existing incentive structures in their own countries and compare with best practices in other countries in order to develop a comprehensive incentive framework for reversing forest degradation and accelerating forest conservation.

As a result the Climate Parliament developed a model Terms of Reference (ToR) to help legislators from tropical forest nations to begin this expert review and develop legislation or national policy on incentives for forest conservation, development and sustainable management.

The next steps will be to adapt the ToR to each country’s specific context, commission an expert review and introduce the bill or draft policy document in the national Parliament for debate and adoption.