Summary
The notion of benefit sharing - the distribution of direct and indirect net gains from the implementation of an activity - is not exclusive to REDD+. Natural resource sectors such as agriculture and forestry have accumulated years of experience in the design and implementation of benefitsharing mechanisms (BSMs) (Rosendal 2010; Costenbader 2011; Assembe-Mvondo et al. 2013). Environmental and social sustainability is usually facilitated across these sectors by global private-sector certification standards. To identify lessons from such standards for benefit sharing under REDD+, authors reviewed the design and impacts of certification standards, particularly those that seek to achieve sustainable management of natural resources and delivery of social benefits.