The Declaration prescribes six changes to the existing carbon market frameworks:
Ensure that
carbon credits for reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) and the protection of standing forests are included in all national and international carbon markets, especially those created by the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Simplify and expand carbon market rules, including the
Clean Development Mechanism, to encourage reforestation, afforestation and sustainable forest management.
Include tropical forest and land use carbon credits in the
European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, while maintaining strong incentives to reduce industrial emissions.
Encourage mechanisms that recognise the value of carbon stocks and forest
ecosystem services, and support appropriate voluntary carbon market standards.
Provide assistance for developing nations to build capacity to fully participate in the carbon markets, and to evaluate the ecosystem services their forests provide.
Incentivize the sustainable use of degraded land and ecosystems, and remove incentives that encourage forest destruction.
Signatories
Hans Blix signs the Forests NOW declaration in the Arctic, 12 September 2007.
Wangari Maathai and H. E. Pembe Didace Bokiaga, Environment Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, sign the declaration.
Jane Goodall signs the declaration in New York, 26 September 2007.
Sir
Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, signs the declaration.
Senior Adviser on EU and Global Ecosystems for the World Conservation Union (
IUCN) signs the Declaration.
Pedro Garcia signs the Forests Now Declaration on behalf of the Confederation of Indigenous Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), which represents some 180 tribes in the region.
Amazonas Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development Virgilio Viana signs the Forests Now Declaration.
Over 200 individuals and organisations have signed the declaration including:[3]