It is hotly debated today whether the reduction of tropical deforestation should be supported by a mechanism within the Convention for Climate Change. This mechanism, known as “avoided deforestation,” would benefit developing countries that voluntarily reduce their deforestation rates, thereby generating at least two positive impacts: (a) an increase in the financial resources available to curb tropical deforestation, with expected positive side effects on biodiversity conservation, the environmental services provided by these forests, and sustainable development as a whole; and (b) a greater effectiveness of the global fight against climate change, because tropical deforestation contributes extensively to world carbon emissions. Several proposals were designed for such a mechanism, yet their implementation poses significant methodological problems: first, sophisticated tools available to measure the reduction of emissions might be ineffective when combined with baselines on a national level; secondly, ba...