Informed consent utilizing satellite imagery in forestry carbon trading with North Korea

Informed consent can assist in mitigating investment risks associated with forestry carbon trading in North Korea by supporting corporate responsibility. Scientific developments for collecting information necessary to informed consent far outpace the development of inter-Korean regulatory frameworks. This paper seeks to identify how the intersection of legal and technological disciplines can foster informed consent, through the responsible application of satellite data. The permanent record of standard satellite remote-sensing systems demonstrates its capability of presenting area-wide visual evidence of forest conditions. Such data are essential to initiating informed consent, establishing a carbon stock baseline, detecting and quantifying rates of land-cover change, and quantifying above-ground biomass stocks as specified in the Kyoto Protocol. This research could be a valuable reference for utilizing the capabilities of satellites with informed consent obligations in North Korea by suggesting the provision of realistic informed consent mechanisms.     

Assigning a grass-root NGO role to legitimate organizations as resident watch-dogs in negotiating carbon benefits derived from multilateral funding

The private sector in North Korea is virtually non-existent, and typical forms of grass-root Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) required for forestry carbon trading are not recognized. The state regulates the local forest communities and labor market through central planning and control. Previous researches tend to target grass-root NGOs that were established voluntarily after democratization, while implicitly excluding a state-supervised organization in which residents are members. This paper demonstrates that the carbon benefits secured by forestry projects could be negotiated by a non-voluntary state-supervised organization initially established as a resident watch-dog. Since state-supervised organizations in recipient countries can play a key role in educating grassroots citizens on the true role of NGOs, originated from democratized western countries, this paper will be a valuable reference for accommodating beneficiary obligations specified in multilateral funding. Although North Korea has been selected as a case study for this paper, this kind of peaceful intervention is relevant to other countries that face similar state-supervised resident organizations in implementing multilateral funding projects.