Viet Nam is one of nine countries where the UN-REDD Programme is supporting the development of REDD+ readiness.  In preparing for REDD+, there are several elements that need to be addressed – the “components of readiness”.  Of these, the Government of Viet Nam identified the design of a transparent and equitable benefit distribution system (BDS) as a priority for UN-REDD support.  This is innovative because few countries have looked at how benefits should be distributed.  It is also courageous because, unlike carbon monitoring and other technical challenges, it raises potentially sensitive governance issues.

credits: Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen - Lam Dong Province in Viet Nam

Under the leadership of the Viet Nam Department of Forestry and the UN-REDD Programme, a team of technical experts and advisors studied the requirements for a REDD+-compliant benefit distribution system in Viet Nam. The full study, which was conducted between September and November of 2009, and published in February 2010, identifies what Viet Nam needs to do in order to create an equitable system for distribution of benefits arising from REDD+. The study, “Design of a REDD-Compliant Benefit Distribution System for Viet Nam” benefited from the technical advice of the Netherland Development Organization (SNV) and co-financing from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and was coordinated with the help of the UN-REDD Programme, IUCN and independent experts.

A REDD-compliant benefit distribution system (BDS) is one which addresses the principles, and meets the expectations of the international community in terms of equity, transparency, additionality, and performance-relatedness, while managing REDD+ revenues in an effective and efficient manner.  Field work, literature review, and stakeholder consultations were carried out from September to November 2009.  The study identified constraints that need to be addressed in order to create a REDD-compliant BDS, and ways to approach them. The 10 most significant policy decisions are clustered under three themes- legal, institutional, and governance- and address:

1. Developing a legal framework for REDD+ in Viet Nam
2. Classifying REDD+ revenues and creation of a dedicated REDD+ fund
3. Identifying sub-national levels at which REDD+ revenues should be managed
4. Identifying Institutions to be involved in monitoring REDD+ interventions and actions
5. Managing revenue retention by the government
6. Identifying Local payment levels and payment structuring
7. Defining types of forest owners eligible to receive REDD+ benefits
8. Strengthening law enforcement for performance-based distribution
9. Developing participatory monitoring
10. Designing a socially acceptable recourse mechanism