BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Forest plan may 'fuel corruption'

But a number of development groups are warning that the Eliasch plan could horribly backfire by creating the illusion of carbon savings whilst fuelling corruption in forests nations who do not have the means to protect their forests, and often do not know who legally owns the trees.

Simon Counsell of the Rainforest Foundation says: "We welcome a lot of the ideas in the review - but there is a nightmare scenario here in which we actually make things worse whilst patting ourselves on the back thinking we are making them better.

"We should not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced in some forest nations where governance is virtually non-existent."