News
Highlights from UN-REDD's 8th Policy Board Meeting
At its recent meeting in Paraguay, the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board approved US$8 million in critical funding for REDD+ in Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka, and endorsed the Programme's Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria.
During its eighth Policy Board meeting 25-26 March 2012 in Asuncion, Paraguay, the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board allocated US$4 million each to Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka's UN-REDD National Programmes, bringing the total amount of approved funding for 16 UN-REDD National Programmes to US$67.3 million. The Policy Board discussed progress on the implementation of National Programmes and approved the timeline for implementing a robust country needs assessment in collaboration with the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which will inform how the two initiatives can best deliver streamlined REDD+ support to countries. The Board also endorsed the Programme's Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria as a guiding framework for REDD+ countries. Read the official eighth Policy Board announcement in English - Français - Español.
All documents and presentations from the eighth UN-REDD Programme Policy Board meeting are available on the Programme's website, as is the Programme's newly released 2011 "Year in Review" Report. Check out the latest pictures from the meeting on the UN-REDD Programme Facebook page. The ninth policy board meeting will be held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in the fall of 2012.
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| Republic of Congo |
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"The approval of Republic of Congo's funding request is a way of recognizing the quality of our National Programme submission and encouraging sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation and the enhancement of carbon stocks in Republic of Congo," said Mr. George Claver Boundzanga, National REDD+ Coordinator for the Ministry of Sustainable Development.
"The Republic of Congo is an experimentation laboratory in terms of the sustainable management of tropical, humid forests. To this end, the country has already engaged in a number of planning exercises to ensure the effective management of its environment and its forest and farm resources," said Mr. Claver Boundzanga.
Check out Republic of Congo's new country page on un-redd.org.
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Sri Lanka
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"It's a new dawn, it's a new life for our forestry sector", said Mr. Anura Sathurusinghe, REDD+ National Coordinator for Sri Lanka's Forest Department, after the Board's endorsement.
Mr. Sathurusinghe went on to say the endorsement of Sri Lanka's UN-REDD National Programme provides a great opportunity for Sri Lankan foresters to build their capacities not only on technical aspects but more importantly in sociological and other related areas in forestry. He added that the UN-REDD Programme's support will also help Sri Lanka raise awareness among various stakeholder groups who are directly or indirectly responsible for decision making that have direct impact on the country's forestry sector.
"Being a small but highly populated country with 30 per cent forest cover that is home to very high biological diversity, conservation is the first priority in our forestry agenda. Therefore, REDD+ provides us with the necessary guidance on how to create the path to achieve this goal," said Mr. Sathurusinghe.
Check out Sri Lanka's new country page on un-redd.org.
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