Last month, Ecuador's inception workshop brought together local and national level stakeholders to officially kick-off the country's UN-REDD National Programme.

During Ecuador's inception workshop, which took place on 12 July in Nueva Loja-Sucumbios, the country presented its UN-REDD National Programme to a large group of stakeholders, including the Governor of Sucumbios, local government mayors, parish council presidents, national and international NGOs, as well as representatives from communities and Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio organizations. The diversity of the participants allowed interventions with a high level of debate and substantive contributions. Government officials ceased the opportunity to address the issues and concerns raised by participants, generating a positive reaction in the audience.

The UN-REDD National Programme in Ecuador is intended primarily to help the country to complete its preparation for the implementation of REDD+ at the national level. For Ecuador, REDD+ represents an alternative approach to mitigating climate change through reducing emissions of greenhouse gases associated with deforestation and forest degradation. For this reason, the Government of Ecuador, through its National Environmental Authority, in February 2009, has shown high interest in being part of the UN-REDD Programme.

Read more on the UN-REDD Programme funding allocation approval to Ecuador, endorsed by the Programme's Policy Board in March 2011.

Read updates on Ecuador's REDD+ progress on the country's dedicated webpage on the UN-REDD Programme website.