Deforestation occurred at the alarming rate of 12.9 million hectares per year between 1990 and 2005, contributing to approximately 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions1 and making it the second leading cause of global warming. In countries such as Brazil and Indonesia, land use change is responsible for over 70% of emissions.2 Given these statistics, it is no surprise that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), also known as “avoided deforestation”, is high on the international community’s agenda as it begin