Brockhaus, M., De Sy, V., Di Gregorio, M. orcid.org/0000-0003-2545-217X et al. (4 more authors) (2024) Data and information in a political forest: The case of REDD+. Forest Policy and Economics, 165. 103251. ISSN 1389-9341
Abstract
Data and information are central to policy processes, as they frame the policy problem, the design and the implementation of policy, and evaluation of policy impacts. Better data and information infrastructure is expected to lead to better policies and outcomes, for example, by enabling transparent decision making and enhancing capacity and accountability. However, the collection, selection, representation, framing and application of data are not merely technical and apolitical procedures, but are dependent on the interests represented in the policy processes they aim to inform. Social scientists have pointed to the “politics of numbers” and their effects on forests and trees and on the people relying on them, as well as on those involved in their measurements. We use the case of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) international initiative and focus on the central aspect of understanding drivers of deforestation and measures of REDD+ performance to unpack the politics of policy processes. Data and information are socially constructed, and their interpretations are shaped by the contexts in which they emerge. Dominant beliefs in the transformative power of new data and technologies cannot explain why, often, new information does not translate into policy change and action to halt deforestation. Technological advances in making new and ever larger amounts of data available for analysis are a necessary yet insufficient condition for changing the business as usual in deforestation. Through openness, reflexivity and the tackling of silences in data and information related to the global political economy of deforestation the scientific community can make a key contribution to more equitable policy change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 Elsevier. This is an author produced version of an article accepted for publication in Forest Policy and Economics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Deforestation; Transparency; Monitoring; Remote sensing; Forest governance; Politics; Power; REDD+ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2024 10:33 |
Last Modified: | 13 Jun 2024 10:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103251 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:213463 |
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