Speakers at the implementation launch of Zambia's UN-REDD National Programme, from L to R: Kanni Wignaraja, United Nations Resident Coordinator; Vera Tembo, Zambian Deputy Minister of Tourism Environment and Natural Resources; Marja Ojanen, Embassy of Finland; and Lillian Kapulu, Permanent Secretary MTENR.

Building on the work established by the first phase of the Integrated Land Use Assessment (ILUA), 2005-2008, the Zambian Deputy Minister of Tourism Environment and Natural Resources, Vera Tembo, and the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Kanni Wignaraja, launched the implementation of Zambia's UN-REDD National Programme along with the second phase of ILUA (ILUA II) in November 2010.

The three-year (2010-2012) UN-REDD National Programme will develop Zambia’s capacity to prepare for a future REDD+ mechanism, expected to provide financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The ILUA II programme (2010-13) aims to improve the use and dissemination of ILUA-generated data and seeks to enhance capacity in collecting and analyzing forest resource information for sustainable forest management, REDD+ monitoring and carbon inventory.

More than 70 people from various organizations, NGOs, government ministries, academia, private sector, media, and civil society organizations participated in the November launch.

“The continuation of ILUA will deliver and widely disseminate nationally relevant land use information to help guide national land use management and development planning, strengthen capacity in planning and implementation of sustainable forest management and REDD+,” said Ms. Tembo.

She also stressed that without the concerted collaboration of key sectors such as agriculture, energy, mining and finance, the UN-REDD Programme and ILUA II will not be sustainable.

The UN-REDD Programme is catalyzing momentum from ongoing efforts established in the country to build a strong REDD+ framework.  The success of the UN-REDD Programme and ILUA II in Zambia will depend on a consolidated effort and the inclusion of a wide range of partners.

The UN-REDD Programme in Zambia will primarily focus on building institutional and stakeholder capacities, developing an enabling policy environment as well as benefit-sharing models and adequate monitoring, reporting and verifications systems.

The Deputy Minister and UN Resident Coordinator were also joined by Lilian Kapulu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (MTENR), Dr. Noureddin Mona, country representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Dr. Gaoju Han, Sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa, FAO, representatives from the Norwegian and Finnish embassies as well as a representative from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

A REDD+ mechanism in Zambia would provide financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forest lands by receiving compensation for sustainable management of the resources allowing communities to be engaged in other alternative livelihoods.