Côte d'Ivoire participated in a South-South Knowledge Exchange that took place from July 27 to August 1, 2019 in Costa Rica. The event focused on sharing experiences around capacity building for REDD+ implementation and financing approaches for the forest sector.

The exchange was jointly supported by UNDP Climate and Forests, UNDP Côte d'Ivoire and UNDP Costa Rica, and it included the participation of high-level government officials from Côte d'Ivoire including the Minister of Water and Forests, government directors and advisors and UNDP officials. The exchange coincided with a visit by a high-level delegation from Korea, led by the Minister of Korea Forest Service. Both the Côte d'Ivoire and Korean delegations conducted productive meetings and field trips hosted by the Vice-President of Costa Rica and the Minister of Environment.

Mr. Kim Jae-Hyun, Minister Korea Forest Service, Alain-Richard Donwahi, Minister of Water and Forests, Côte d'Ivoire, Epsy Campbell Barr, Vice-President, Costa Rica and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a world model for forest conservation. The country has moved from 29 percent forest cover in 1996 to more than 50 percent today. This remarkable achievement owes much to a high -level of public awareness, sustained political will and linking forest conservation with the expansion of social and economic benefits. Côte d'Ivoire, on the other hand, is one of the world’s top cocoa producers and has lost nearly 85 percent of its forests since 1960. However, the country is now committed to saving its remaining forests. President Alassane Ouattara signed the UN New York Declaration on Forests in 2014 and committed to restoring national forest levels to 20 percent by 2030.

Both Côte d'Ivoire and Costa Rica share a similarly ambitious vision for forest conservation and expansion. This common vision inspired a cross-country partnership that will strengthen local ownership and leadership of development issues by providing much-needed support. At the conclusion of the exchange, the Minister of Environment of Costa Rica and the Minister of Water and Forests for Côte d'Ivoire signed a cooperation agreement in San Jose, expressing their interest in continued cooperation on forest conservation and forestry development. The cooperation between the two countries links the protection of forests with the fight against climate change.

The cooperation agreement will include continued engagement, regular consultations and a joint capacity building programme that will commence implementation in 2019. The partnership will ultimately act as a framework to intensify technical and political cooperation, share ideas, experiences and lessons and articulate a path forward for transforming the forest sector and helping to realize the ambitions that sit at the heart of the SDGs.

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Minister Environment and Energy, Costa Rica and Alain-Richard Donwahi, Minister of Water and Forests, Côte d'Ivoire. (Photo Credit: UN Climate and Forests)

The lessons and experiences gained from the Costa Rica exchange will be further digested to adapt to the context, traditions and options in Côte d'Ivoire to create a knowledge base and to forge a strategic direction for accessing finance options for the Côte d'Ivoire New Forest Policy. The cooperation agreement highlights key activities that will facilitate learning and the exchange of best practices between Côte d'Ivoire and Costa Rica on REDD+, PES (payments for environmental services) and eco-tourism. It will also encourage the joint exploration of public-private partnerships and setting up agreements with international corporations involved in commodity supply chains such as cocoa, palm oil, coffee. UNDP will facilitate these partnerships and serve as the broker in the transfer of knowledge, expertise, products, services and resources.

Joint delegation of Korea and Côte d'Ivoire with the Vice-President of Costa Rica on a field trip

Author:

Ela Ionescu

UNDP Knowledge Management Specialist for REDD+

ela.ionescu@undp.org

Replanting efforts in Cote d'Ivoire (credit: Brice Delagneau)

Ivory Coast has suffered serious forest loss and degradation. Forest cover decreased from 16 million hectares at the beginning of the 20th century to 3.4 million in 2015. Agriculture is the main driver of deforestation (62%) and cocoa, the backbone of the Ivorian economy, is the main driver responsible for this change. The country has been engaged in the international REDD + mechanism since 2011 with the aim of reversing this ongoing trend of deforestation. Since 2014, Côte d’Ivoire has committed to decoupling agricultural production from deforestation and restoring the Ivorian forest cover to 20% of the land area by 2030. In November 2017, the Council of Ministers of Ivory Coast approved the National REDD + Strategy. The strategy includes a series of policies and measures to combat deforestation and forest degradation, including the promotion of zero deforestation agriculture in the cocoa, palm oil and rubber sectors.

To implement the REDD+ strategy, eliminate deforestation in the commodity supply chain and restore the Ivorian forest cover, requires intensifying sustainable agriculture and integrating agroforestry to diversify revenue as plantations age, the productivity gap increases and opportunities for expanding production are reduced. Many private actors, especially in the cocoa sector, have also stated their sustainability objectives. Viable sustainable production models exist. However, their upscaling to the national level poses significant challenges that require adequate financial solutions. Through a study of economic viability, the UN-REDD team has identified the challenges associated with each group of actors:

farmers: low and uncertain income due to the monoculture of a volatile commodityCooperative - weak provision of services to farmers and lack of financial robustnessbuyers - risks of agricultural commodity supply linked to deforestationMicrofinance institution - problem of access to long-term capital for developing adequate financial servicesNational Commercial Banker - Absence of a collateral from the smallholdersInvestor/Capital Market - difficulty in reaching smallholdersGovernment - lack of resources for decoupling agricultural commodities production from deforestation

To overcome these challenges, the 1 for 20 Partnership promotes the development of sustainable and viable agricultural production models, facilitates dialogue between stakeholders, and helps build the capacity of partners.

To connect supply and demand for financing, the 1 for 20 Partnership aims at:

Promoting sustainable financing approaches, anchored in viable production models and incentives for small producers, aligned with the country's climate change objectives and rooted in the dynamic development of the territoriesFacilitating partnerships between private actors, the financial sector and public partners to set up financing projects at scale.Promoting stakeholder dialogue for the exchange of experiences on sustainable agricultural models and practices, coordination of efforts and capacity building of private and state partners.

Managed from Abidjan, the 1 for 20 Partnership is a collaboration between the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Coffee-Cocoa Council. It benefits from the technical and financial support of UN Environment (Finance Initiative and UN-REDD) and the EU REDD Facility.

Author:

Peter Umunay

Technical Advisor on Forest and Climate Change

Tree planting is capturing the minds of those who look for fast climate action. Earlier this month, the Ethiopian Government announced a new world record: thousands of volunteers planted 353 million trees in one single day. This came shortly after a team of scientists identified suitable places in the world where up to 1 trillion new trees could be planted. Such a massive effort could absorb about 20 years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions. And on 8 August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launched a Special Report on the importance of land use for the climate. About 23 percent of all emissions come from the agriculture, land use and forest sector. The IPCC outlines land management opportunities with benefits for food security, biodiversity, and the climate, such as agro-forestry.

The growing enthusiasm for forests and trees is a good thing. Ecosystem restoration will be critical in turning the tide against climate change, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. But we need to be mindful of some pitfalls lurking along the way. We have learned valuable lessons over the past decades in afforestation and other restoration projects across dozens of countries. A few basic principles outlined by the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restorationcan help us to reduce costs and minimize future risk as the world embraces the need to plant more trees.

Stop the bleeding

The first rule for ecosystem restoration is to stop the further destruction of forests, wetlands, and other critical ‘green infrastructure’. Conserving natural habitats is always cheaper than restoring it later.

Most new trees do not need to be planted

Most ecosystems in the world have remnant seeds in the soil and natural regrowth can be cheaper and more successful than tree planting. The most cost-effective type of restoration is to work with the forces of nature. For example, across the Sahel, a successful and fast landscape restoration technique is called ‘Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration’. It uses the existence of remnant root stocks below the surface, where the trees above ground have disappeared long ago. Farmers nurture those roots and trees back to life. The results are stunning – within a few years, large trees dot the surface of the once barren and dry savannah, bringing back water, productivity, and life.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel

There is already an impressive body of knowledge on which trees to plant, when and where. Under theBonn Challenge, a global restoration goal initiated by IUCNand the Government of Germany, 59 governments, private associations and other entities have pledged to bring 170 million hectares into restoration by 2020 and 350 million by 2030. Dozens of countries have already detailed maps of where the best restoration opportunities can be found, and how to restore forests and landscapes. Usually, indigenous tree species are preferable, but in a rapidly changing climate, we need to keep in mind that the natural ranges of trees are shifting.

Social inclusion is essential

Forest and landscape restoration is mostly about social transformation, rather than technological solutions. However, this transformation is hard work and requires patience. It is tempting to just stick a few tree seedlings in the ground and hope for the best, but real restoration across an entire landscape is the work of years or even decades. Large-scale restoration successes such as the Shinyanga landscape in Tanzania or theLoess Plateau in China have shown that results of well-planned restoration can yield very high returns for society over a long time.

We must remove the bottlenecks

Some ingredients for success are essential, and their availability varies across countries. The most important one is political will. Fortunately, political will is now growing as protests for more climate action are spreading. Another major ingredient is clarity over ownership and management rights. The estimated 1 billion small-holder farmers in the world will be key. We need to empower them, and give them access to the tools and the finance for improved farming, such as agro-forestry. A third key ingredient is availability of a variety of high-quality tree seedlings, in particular for planting trees on farms.

Finally, perhaps the most critical ingredient are massive public and private investments into land restoration. We need to achieve a similar trajectory for a shift in agriculture and forestry as is happening in renewable energy. And just like the shift in renewables, it will take a massive push from both public and private actors to establish restoration as a new financial asset class. It is estimated that every dollar invested in ecosystem restoration can yield more than 10 dollars in return through ecosystem services. Fortunately, we see growing interest from the finance industry to invest in ecosystem restoration and regenerative agriculture.

Ecosystem restoration and other nature-based climate solutions will be highlighted at the UN Climate Action Summiton 23 September. And the UN General Assembly has just proclaimed a UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration from 2021 to 2030. With the right approach, we can make the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, including the planting of billions of new trees, a major step in building the sustainable future we all want.

Author:

Tim Christophersen

Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration, a gnetwork that unites governments, organizations, academic/research institutes, communities and individuals under a common goal: to restore the world’s lost and degraded forests and their surrounding landscapes.

tim.christophersen@un.org

Since its inception, the UN-REDD Programme has advocated for inclusive, gender-equitable policy formulation and decision making for national and sub-national REDD+ processes. This approach is based on the recognition that the people who live within or in close proximity to forests, and whose livelihoods depend directly on forests, are best positioned to protect and sustainably manage them. To share these perspectives, the UN-REDD Programme in collaboration with theAsia Indigenous Peoples Pact and the Tenure Facility organized a discussion on “Making climate action inclusive”, a side event at the Global Landscape Forum (GLF)held in Bonn on 22 June 2019. The session gathered eleven panel members representing right-holders and development practitioners who shared experience and lessons learnt and was moderated by Serena Fortuna, FAO REDD+ Forestry Officer and a co-leader of the “REDD+, forest tenure and the rights of indigenous peoples” UN-REDD knowledge component.

Divided into 3 panels, the session looked at inclusiveness of climate action from different angles underlining emerging opportunities in climate policy and finance to achieve climate mitigation commitments while further advance in enhancing the rights of Indigenous peoples (IPs) and sustainable livelihoods.

The first round of exchanges highlighted the importance of strengthening knowledge (including knowledge of one’s right) and technical skills of both women and men in local communities and IPs areas. The participants noted that the construction and strengthening of multi-stakeholder platforms become essential in giving space for governments, communities and IPs to create a common vision to maintain ecosystems and its functions.

The second panel discussed some of the emerging lessons from IPs and communities’ engagement in REDD+ strategies and implementation. Advancing the rights of IPs in forested landscapes is tied to their participation not only in the planning phase but also in the implementation of plans, actions and reforms towards reducing deforestation and forest degradation.

The third panel reflected on essential elements to make climate action inclusive, such as the establishment of policy instruments that prioritize IPs’ and local communities’ critical role in sustainable forest management, improved local livelihoods and, ultimately, effective response to the climate crisis. The participants also expressed how various donors and funds are requesting clear information on how stakeholders agreed on benefit sharing and on future joint implementation for continued emission reduction prior to disbursing potential results-based payments/incentives.

The session brought a note of hope, highlighting a shift of perspective observed in several countries throughout the first decade of REDD+. Previously only seen as observers, IPs and local communities have become right-holders and active participants in the process. Enhanced inclusiveness and engagement became increasingly visible – thanks also to re-adjustments learning from earlier mistakes - in the readiness phase, entering in implementation and moving towards results’ phase. The importance of continued capacity strengthening, establishing and consolidating multistakeholder platforms, bridging governments with communities (women and men) as well as facilitating the dialogue among different land-use sectors and private investors were some of the key factors that led to country successes featured during the session. REDD+ represents an opportunity for IPs and local communities to improve the dialogue with the governments in regards to enhanced and more secured forest and land tenure. Looking at REDD+ with a landscape approach might support the country moving towards integrating forest conservation and agricultural development goals. IPs and communities play a key role in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – contributing to the fight against climate change while securing livelihoods and sustainable development. Yet, clear agreements among communities and governments on carbon rights and benefit-sharing need to be reached, to be ready for the time when the country will achieve results in emission reductions and potentially receive results-based payments or incentives.

Amid the growing momentum, the attention, dedication and political commitment of countries and development practitioners in continuing strengthening IPs’ and communities’ capacities and securing tenure rights in an overall system of good governance need to continue. When we talk about advancing in REDD+ as a nature-based solution to fight climate change or about contributing to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to enhance livelihoods, everybody has a stake and a responsibility.

Want to know more?

Author:

Serena Fortuna

FAO Forestry Officer

Co-leader of the UN-REDD knowledge component on “REDD+, forest tenure and the rights of indigenous peoples”

Serena.Fortuna@fao.org

Colombia Academia REDD+ indígena (foto: Mario Gonzalez)

El proceso de preparación de REDD+ en Colombia que inició el año 2011, y se afianzó y completó con la implementación de los Programas ONU-REDD y FCPF a partir del 2015, a través de un proceso de involucramiento de actores con organizaciones de orden nacional y regional de los pueblos indígenas y de plataformas organizativas del pueblo afrocolombiano y campesinas, así como organizaciones no gubernamentales de la sociedad civil. Este proceso dio importantes resultados para consolidar la preparación de REDD+ en el país y en general contribuyendo a los diálogos de la la sociedad civil con el gobierno nacional, liderados por el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, en materia de reducción de la deforestación, conservación y gestión de los bosques.

Se destacan dentro de los principales resultados en este proceso, la consolidación de instancias de coordinación y participación como la Mesa Nacional REDD+, el grupo técnico de trabajo en el marco de la Mesa Permananente de Concertación Nacional con pueblos indígenas y la Mesa Ambiental y de Derechos del Pueblo Afro. También se generaron procesos de fortalecimiento de capacidades al al interior de la organizaciones étnicas, las cuales permitieron mejorar los procesos de información al interior de las organizaciones y generar insumos para la construcción dela Estrategia Integral de Control a la Deforestación y Gestión de los Bosques – Bosques Territorios de Vida- que hoy en día esta registrada por Colombia en el information hub de la CMNUCCC como la Estrategia REDD+ del País. Este proceso permitió también consolidar el enfoque nacional de Salvaguardas y desarrollar los primeros dos resúmenes de información ante la CMNUCC.

En el año 2018, tras el cambio de gobierno, el país inició un proceso de transición marcado por un escenario de terminación del conflicto armado y pos acuerdo de paz, donde la reducción de la deforestación empezó a situarse en el primer orden del día de los diferentes sectores, y donde los reportes nacionales evidenciaron un aumento de la deforestación en regiones con altas conflictividades asociadas a economías ilegales y grupos armados. En este contexto, en octubre del año 2018, se inicia el proceso de construcción del nuevo Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND), que fue aprobado en el congreso de la república en mayo de 2019. El PND tiene como eje central la generación de un “gran pacto nacional” donde concurran las inversiones públicas y privadas, así como los esfuerzos de los diferentes niveles de gobierno, para que como Estado se defina el conjunto de prioridades que generen una verdadera paz y justica social. Para el lograr este objetivo el Plan propone una serie de “pactos transversales”, uno de ellos dedicado a la sostenibilidad ambiental denominado “Producir conservando y conservar produciendo” en el cual se encuentran las metas asociadas a la reducción de la deforestación. Como Meta principal el gobierno nacional establece para el próximo cuatrienio “reducir la tendencia de crecimiento de la deforestación proyectada por el IDEAM” en un 30% en los próximos años.

Colombia: Primera reunión de la mesa REDD+ (foto Marcela Rodríguez)

Si bien en este capítulo, o “pacto” no menciona la Estrategia Integral de control a Deforestación (construida en el proceso de preparación del país para REDD+) a lo largo de su articulado de manera textual, retoma, prioriza y desarrolla algunas de las medidas de esta Estrategia. No obstante, la mayor parte de contenidos de la Estrategia Integral de Control a la Deforestación, si se incorpora en la sección del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo en la sección dedicada a los grupos étnicos denominada “Pacto por la Equidad de Oportunidades para grupos étnicos: indígenas, negros, afrocolombianos, raizales, palenqueros y Rrom”, la cual fue construida mediante un proceso de consulta previa desarrollada en enero-febrero del año 2019. En esta se sección se incluye, entre otros, el diseño e implementación de un programa de restauración, conservación y reducción de la deforestación en territorios colectivos de grupos étnicos, la protección de conocimiento tradicional pertinente a la conservación de los bosques, y la consolidación de instancias de concertación como la Comisión Nacional Ambiental Indígena y la Política Ambiental indígena donde se incluirá un capítulo específico asociado a la reducción de la deforestación en el marco de la Estrategia Integral de Control a la Deforestación y Gestión de los Bosques.

En este contexto, y en particular en este tiempo de transición (de cambio de gobierno) que atraviesa Colombia para consolidación de sus metas nacional de reducción de la deforestación, se visualizan algunos retos y oportunidades:

Las plataformas y espacios de organizaciones sociales y la cooperación internacional juegan un rol importante en los procesos de transición gubernamental, apoyando la continuidad de los procesos más allá de una gestión de gobierno. Es importante que se continúen los esfuerzos para mantener y reactivar dichos espacios, con un carácter que vaya más allá de la información, hacia la discusión y establecimiento de acuerdos en línea con los principios de participación plena y efectiva.Los acuerdos llevados a cabo entre el gobierno nacional y las organizaciones indígenas y afrosdescendientes en el marco del nuevo Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND) en el primer semestre de 2019 en materia de conservación y gestión de los bosques, fueron muy importantes y positivos, que de lograrse su implementación darán un avance sustancial para la implementación de la Estrategia Integral de Control a la Deforestación y Gestión de los Bosques. Se destaca la formulación de una política ambiental para pueblos indígenas, la creación de una comisión ambiental indígena, la implementación de acciones (programas, proyectos) territoriales en materia de restauración y conservación de bosques. El proceso de preparación de REDD+ dejó al país insumos y avances técnicos que permitirán el desarrollo de cada uno de estos compromisos.Se evidencia como algo muy positivo del proceso de participación llevado a cabo en el marco de la preparación para REDD+, que en el período de transición con el nuevo gobierno (lo que finalmente representó la negociación del nuevo PND), se visibilizó el fortalecimiento de capacidades y la madurez de la discusión de los pueblos indígenas y comunidades negras para asumir los debates entorno a cambio climático y REDD+. Ese fortalecimiento de capacidades permitió también validar políticamente recomendaciones para el PND que las organizaciones étnicas habían hecho en el marco de la construcción de la Estrategia Integral de Control de la Deforestación frente al nuevo gobierno.La implementación de los compromisos del nuevo PND en materia de reducción de la deforestación, exigirá al Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo de Colombia, lograr una coherencia entre el proceso que se llevó de preparación de REDD+ con las directrices y lineamientos del nuevo gobierno en materia de reducción de la deforestación.La implementación de los acuerdos del PND demandarán una inversión importante de recursos, por lo cual el gobierno nacional deberá lograr acompasar diversas fuentes de cooperación, entre ellos los Programas de Pagos por resultados como Visión Amazonía y la Declaración Conjunta de Intención firmada con los gobiernos del Reino Unido, Noruega y Alemania.El proceso de preparación de Colombia para REDD+ dejó un proceso de participación sólido y arraigado a instancias de participación establecidas en el ordenamiento legal colombiano, como la Mesa Permanente de Concertación Indígena. Estos espacios, así como el proceso de participación en sí mismo, pueden ser aprovechados positivamente por el nuevo gobierno para la implementación de los nuevos acuerdos del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo en materia de reducción de la deforestación y los programas de pagos por resultados que se desarrollan hoy en día en Colombia.

Para más información, verLa Participación de los Grupos Étnicos en REDD+: Algunas consideraciones, retos y oportunidades para el caso de Colombia.

Autores:

Paola García

National consultant, participation, UN-REDD/UNDP

garciapaola77@gmail.com

Clea Paz-Rivera

Advisor Climate and Forest and NYDF, UNDP

clea.paz@undp.org

Andrea Camacho

Regional safeguards specialist, UNDP LAC

andrea.camacho@undp.org

Colombia REDD+ Academy (credit: Mario Gonzalez)

The REDD + preparation process in Colombia began in 2011 and was consolidated with the implementation of the UN-REDD and FCPF programs from 2015 to 2019. It included an in-depth stakeholder engagement process including national and regional indigenous peoples’ organizations, Afro-Colombians and local communities, along with civil society organizations. This process yielded important results and initiated a dialogue on deforestation, forest conservation and sustainable forest management between indigenous peoples, civil society and the national government, led by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

Among the main results of this process was the consolidation and coordination of participatory mechanisms that include the National REDD + Roundtable, the technical working group within the framework of the Permanent Bureau of National Agreement with indigenous peoples and the Environmental and Rights Roundtable for Afro-Colombians. In addition, there has been a sustained effort to stregthen the capacities of these organizations, resulting in the informed participation in the development of the Integral Strategy to Control Deforestation and Forest Management – Forests Life Territories, submitted by Colombia to the UNFCCC as its national REDD + strategy. This process also allowed the consolidation of the national approach to safeguards and the development of the first two Summaries of Information presented to the UNFCCC.

In 2018, after a change of government, the country began a transition process marked by the termination of armed conflict and an associated peace agreement, where reducing deforestation figured prominently. This was because national reports showed an increase in deforestation in regions affected by the conflict. In October, 2018, the process to formulate the new National Development Plan (NDP) began, resulting in approval by Congress in May, 2019.

This new plan has as its central axis the generation of a “great national pact” to prioritize peace and social justice. To achieve this objective, the plan includes a series of “cross-cutting agreements,” one of them dedicated to environmental sustainability and reducing deforestation rates by 30% over the coming years.

REDD+ meeting in Colombia (credit: Marcela Rodríguez)

Although the NDP does not specifically mention the Integral Strategy for the Control of Deforestation (developed under the REDD+ readiness phase), it retakes, prioritizes and develops some of its measures. Notably, it incorporates most of the strategy’s section on indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and local communities. This section includes the design and implementation of a restoration program, conservation of forests and a reduction of deforestation in collective territories, protection of traditional knowledge, consolidation of policy instruments such as the National Indigenous Environmental Commission and the Indigenous Environmental Policy.

In this context, and in a time of government transition, Colombia faces some challenges and opportunities:

The consultation platforms for indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians, civil society and international cooperation play a critical role in government transition periods by supporting the continuity of these processes beyond government terms. It is important to reactivate and maintain these platforms, expanding the scope beyond information-sharing, towards full and effective participation.The agreements on forest conservation and sustainable management between the national government and indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians under the new National Development Plan are very important and positive. If their implementation is achieved, they will substantially advance the implementation of the Integral Strategy for Control of Deforestation and Forest Management. This includes an environmental policy for indigenous peoples, an indigenous environmental commission and implementation of territorial actions (programs and projects) on forest restoration and conservation. The REDD+ readiness process developed technical inputs that could support its implementation.The REDD+ readiness phase participation process helped in the transition period of the new government and strengthed capacities of indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities to engage in dialogue with the national government on climate change and REDD+. These enhanced capacities allowed them to provide important recommendations for the NDP, weaving in elements from the Integral Deforestation Control Strategy.The implementation of agreements under the NDP to reduce deforestation will require that the Ministry of Environment and Sustinable Development conceptually align the results from the REDD + readiness proccess with the plans and priorities of the new government.Significant investment of resources will be required to implement these agreements. The national government will need to align various sources of international funding, including pilot programs for REDD+ result-based payments like Vision Amazonia and the Joint Declaration of Intent signed with the governments from the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany.Colombia’s REDD+ readiness phase built a solid and entrenched participation process, complementary to the participatory mechanisms established by the Colombian legal system, such as the Mesa Permanente de Concertación Indígena. These participation platforms, as well as the participation processes themselves, can be used positively by the new government in the implementation of new agreements in the National Development Plan regarding reducing deforestation, as well as REDD+ results-based payment pilot programs.

For more information, see La Participación de los Grupos Étnicos en REDD+: Algunas consideraciones, retos y oportunidades para el caso de Colombia.

Authors

Paola García

National consultant, participation, UN-REDD/UNDP garciapaola77@gmail.com

Clea Paz-Rivera

Advisor Climate and Forest and NYDF, UNDP

clea.paz@undp.org

Andrea Camacho

Regional safeguards specialist, UNDP LAC andrea.camacho@undp.org

In an emergency, first responders deploy immediately, mindful that every minute counts. Emergencies require immediate, swift and decisive action. We are now facing an emergency on a global scale. The climate crisis necessitates that we deploy our first responders, forests, to help buy the additional time required and be a critical stopgap measure while the world transitions to and adopts long-term decarbonization strategies.

Forests, as the fastest, most economically viable and immediate means of reducing carbon emissions and increasing carbon sinks, can lessen the most dangerous impacts of climate change and contribute to the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Forests yield significant benefits and contribute directly to achieving the 2030 Agenda by advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) simultaneously, including poverty eradication (SDG 1), food security (SDG 2), clean water (SDG 6), responsible consumptions and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), life below water (SDG 14) and life on land (SDG 15).

By halting and reversing tropical deforestation, forests could deliver a large part of the nature-based solutions – approximately 30 per cent of the total emission reductions needed to avoid dangerous climate change. While the current emissions gap – the difference between the reductions in greenhouse gases that are needed and the reductions that countries have pledged to make – is significant, forests have a major role to play in closing that gap. According to the UNFCCC’s Lima REDD+ Information Hub, 6.3 gigatons (billion tons) of REDD+ emission reductions have been reported over the last six years.

We know how to reduce emissions from forests. Both China and the UN-REDD Programme have shown it can be done and with great sustainable development benefits, protecting the interests of the most poor and vulnerable communities.

The role of forests in contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation will be featured at the upcoming Climate Action Summit, in the nature-based solutions workstream. This workstream is being co-led by China and New Zealand, and a call for contributions has generated the submission of a large number of ongoing initiatives and best practices happening globally in the area of forests, finance, governance, capacity building.

China has been at the forefront in terms of illustrating how forests can help tackle carbon emissions. The Government of China highly appreciates the important role that forests play in addressing climate change, and has developed positive policies and measures to implement the construction of major ecological projects, extensively carry out national tree-planting campaigns, and make solid progress in sectoral and society-wide afforestation. Furthermore, the coverage of planted forests in China has grown from 22 million hectares in the early years of the Reform and Opening-up to 79.54 million hectares, currently ranking the first in the world.

Forty years after the implementation of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Project, 30.1 million hectares of forests have been planted, and forest coverage rate in the project area has increased from 5.05 per cent in 1977 to 13.57 per cent now. Since the Grain for Green Project was launched in 1999, 29.8 million hectares of forest have been planted, and the forest coverage rate in the area has increased by 3.6 per cent on average.

In the context of the continuous decline of global forest resources, China has become the country with the largest growth of forest resources in the world in the last 20 years, as its forest area and forest stock volume have continuously achieved "double growth", and has made significant contributions to the mitigation and adaptation of global climate change.

The UN-REDD Programme, a partnership with FAO, UNDP and UNEP, has worked with 65 developing countries, the private sector and civil society since 2008 to reduce carbon emissions from forests while advancing sustainable development. Building on the power of collaboration, the Programme has supported countries develop plans to reduce deforestation and related emissions. As a result, measures to protect forests and reduce emissions have been integrated into national development plans, climate strategies and laws. For example, in Mexico, the UN-REDD Programme provided technical knowledge and supported participatory processes to coalesce a collective, cross-stakeholder understanding on the legal ownership of forest carbon. As a result of the consensus reached, the Government will promote adjustments to the forestry law, while developing short-term options to facilitate the fair distribution of benefits for the preliminary carbon projects. The technical inputs and lessons learned from this process were shared with the region via South-South knowledge exchanges supported by the UN-REDD knowledge platform.

Critical to ensuring that the role of forests in tackling climate change is valued is through securing that successes and good practices are replicated across countries. This will require renewed vigour, increased investment and commitment to South-South cooperation as well as the technical and financial support from developed countries. It will be critical for developed countries to help attract, mobilize and scale up investments to ensure adequacy and predictability of climate finance in developing countries as well as ensuring technical cooperation and partnerships that are consistent with and allow for a pathway towards low-emission, climate-resilient development.

As the first global UN joint programme on climate change, the UN-REDD Programme has supported countries in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships and increasing South-South cooperation to reduce emissions from deforestation. Building on 10 years as the largest pooled UN climate change partnership, the UN-REDD Programme will continue to assist developing countries as they work towards achieving systemic and sustainable change at scale towards the Paris Agreement goals.

Elevating the role of forests and enhancing stronger South-South cooperation and increasing financial and technical supports from developed countries will provide a vital lifeline to our planet.

Authors:

Mario Boccucci

Head of UN-REDD Programme Secretariat

mario.boccucci@un.org

Zhang Guobin

Deputy Division Director, Office for Climate Change, Department of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China

Scenes of flooding and storms can show us just how much weather and climate affects our lives. Climate change threatens our ability to ensure global food security, eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. The global response to climate change today will determine how we feed future generations tomorrow.

To combat climate change and its impacts, the Paris Agreement was signed by 195 countries representing their commitment to limit the rise of the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius. To reach this goal, each country has developed individual climate commitments, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). But how can countries ensure everyone is contributing to the common cause in a fair and transparent way?

In order to build confidence in the process, the Paris Agreement includes a key element referred to as the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) for action and support. Designed to promote transparency and mutual trust, the framework is based on existing transparency arrangements set up under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), commonly known as Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) framework.

Transparency of action refers to information each country has to provide on a regular basis in order to track the progress of implementing NDCs, national greenhouse gas inventory reports and information related to climate change impacts and adaptation. Transparency of support refers to clarity on the support provided and received for mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer and capacity-building. Developed countries should provide information on the support they have provided, while developing countries should provide information on support required and received. For many countries, capacity-building support is a vital, yet complex task in the implementation these new requirements.

Picture here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unfccc/46330002671

With the objective of recognizing and resolving the reporting burden in many countries, the Katowice Climate package was approved during the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC (COP24) in December, 2018. The package provides further guidance on how to make the Paris Agreement operational on topics including NDCs and adaptation.

Illustration 2 (attached)

More specifically, the transparency framework is guided by the Modalities, procedures and guidelines(MPGs), which stipulates that all countries (except Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developed States) are required to submit reports and information every two years. At the same time, the current international assessments and reviews and the international consultation and analysis process will be replaced by technical expert reviews and facilitative multilateral consideration of progress on support, implementation and achievement of NDCs. These changes provide clarity on the world’s collective progress and promote ambition. However, many developing countries often lack capacity and access to reliable data to report on their climate achivements.

In September, 2016, the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) trust fund was established under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) aiming to build institutional and technical capacities to implement the Enhanced Transparency Framework as a priority reporting-related need.

As of today, 48 of the 155non-annex I Parties(31 percent) have received support for national CBIT projects and 4 global projects (GEF, 2019).

3rg technical workshops on CBIT implementation in Rome (©FAO)

One of the global projects is the FAO/GEF project, Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest), aimed at strengthening capacities on forest-related data collection and the analysis and dissemination process to meet the transparency framework requirements. To improve access to forest-related data, the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) reporting platform will be upgraded. The project will also develop a set of knowledge and training

materials on topics related to the Enhanced Transparency Framework in the forest sector and share best practices and case studies on successful, transparency-related activities. This will complement the global and country support on Natonal Forest Monitoring and REDD+ and provide much needed capacity building on the ETF with respect to forests.

Looking ahead, CBIT calls for greater collaboration and coordination between relevant institutions at the national level and between the different stakeholders at the international level. To ensure transparency around climate commitments, the CBIT coordination platform is dedicated to supporting this process. Such efforts will not only support countries in meeting and measuring their NDC goals, but they will also build trust and transparency which are crucial in tackling climate change and shaping the global course of action toward prosperity and well-being for all.

Useful links:

FAO’s work climate change 2018 (in Spanish,French)

FAO’s infographic booklet on MRV work (in Spanish, French)

FAO’s global INDC analysis (in Spanish)

FAO’s technical paper on REDD+ 2017, update 2018

FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on National Forest Monitoring(in Spanish, French)

FAO’s National Forest Monitoring Systems for REDD+ (in Spanish)

More information on FAO’s MRV work (English, Spanish, French)

More information in the UNFCCC MRV handbook here

More information on Katowice climate package available on UNFCCC web page here

A mapping of Katowice decisions is available here (and in Spanish)

Author:

Rocío D. Cóndor-Golec

MRV/ETF expert

REDD+/NFM cluster

Forestry Department

rocio.condor@fao.org

To support UN-REDD partner countries and development practitioners in meaningfully integrating a gender perspective into their REDD+ efforts to build capacity and organize inclusive consultation processes, the UN-REDD Programme is pleased to share a new tool: Checklist for Gender-Responsive Workshops. This checklist was created in response to requests for additional guidance on how to fully integrate a gender perspective into REDD+ events, and more specifically on how to ensure that women are equitably involved and actively participating in workshops at the regional, national and local levels.

Illustrating the Programme’s commitment to implementing its gender approach, the checklist – now available on the UN-REDD Workspace inEnglish, French and Spanish – suggests a range of practical steps to make workshops gender responsive, with guidance on design, implementation, monitoring and reporting. For instance, the checklist provides tips on how to promote women’s meaningful and equitable participation as well as reminds organizers to discuss the importance of gender with workshop facilitators prior to the event and to set clear targets for women’s participation. The concise and easy-to-use two-page checklist also includes helpful links to additional documentation. With this checklist in hand, organizers will be able to help ensure that all women and men REDD+ stakeholders equitably and meaningfully participate in national and subnational REDD+ processes and actions.

(credit: Timothy Boyle, UN-REDD Programme)

Fostering a learning by doing approach, the checklist is a living document that can also be adapted and modified for future use.

For any questions and/or comments on this resource, please contact the authors of the checklist:

Elizabeth Eggerts, UN-REDD Gender Specialist

elizabeth.eggerts@undp.org

Amanda Bradley, FAO UN-REDD Gender Focal Point

amanda.bradley@fao.org

Training to put out peat fires in Indonesia

Having learned hard lessons from the catastrophic fire in 2015, the Government of Indonesia is now making a concerted effort to shift the paradigm from reactive fire suppression to proactive fire mitigation, with a focus on peat fires. Peat fires have far-reaching consequences, such as social and environmental impacts, haze problems, land loss, reduced water quality, loss of peat carbon stocks and biodiversity reduction.

In the 2015 season alone, fires resulting from poor peat landscape management in Indonesia caused 2.6 million hectares of land to burn. It cost Indonesia an estimated USD $16.1 billion, - the equivalent of 1.9 percent of the country’s GDP in 2015. Noxious haze that blanketed parts of Indonesia disrupted transport, trade and tourism; forced school closures and negatively affected health. According to the World Bank Group, the haze contributed to the deaths of 19 people and more than 500,000 cases of acute respiratory infections. From the 2015 fire episode, immediate health costs totalled USD $151 million. In addition, approximately 15.95 million tons of CO2 emissions were released into the atmosphere daily. By putting an end to these unwanted wildfires, Indonesia could better meet its stated target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 29 percent by the year 2030.

Globally, peatlands are the world’s largest terrestrial organic carbon stock, and the loss of these systems will have a wide-reaching global impact. Indonesia is, quite literally, sitting on a large portion of this priceless global resource. Housing between 25 and 35 million hectares, the country boasts the third largest peatland area in the world.

Schematic representation of a tropical peatland

Natural peat swamp forests are very fire-resistant because of the high humidity under the closed canopy and the organic sponge that draws the water table up above the local water table level. Unfortunately, in the 1980s, the tropical peat land in Sumatra and Kalimantan were cleared from their natural forest cover due to a failure to understand the complexities of the ecosystem and its inherent fragility caused by the relationship between peat and forest. Once the forest is removed and the peat is drained and exposed to fire, the surface peat oxidises and loses stored carbon rapidly to the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide). This results in the progressive loss of the peat surface, leading to local flooding. In addition, rapid and extensive land use changes by palm oil and industrial forestry concession holders on Sumatra and Kalimantan have extensively drained peat areas further and resulted in increased fire risks.

Integrated Fire Management

The Strengthening Indonesian Capacity for Anticipatory Peat Fire Management (SIAP) project aims to support the Government of Indonesia in delivering Integrated Fire Management (IFM). through a cluster-based approach (internationally called “Fire Protection Associations”). Within the context of support to the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), the SIAP project addresses climate change challenges through collective efforts to reduce significant threats to peatland ecosystems and by reducing GHG emissions.

Integrated Fire Management is often misunderstood as being only focused on reaction or response to fires. On the contrary, the reduction and readiness phases are the most important to focus on, as that is where tangible changes are made to behaviour and practices that can result in the reduction of unwanted fires. Full IFM encompasses a multitude of factors that cannot work in isolation, and the communities, which often carry the blame for unwanted fires, are key players in making positive changes.

The cluster-based approach brings together all stakeholders in support of a comprehensive program that ensures adequate resources and systems are in place to address all elements of IFM. This means that all land users in an area, including the Government, private concessionaires and communities, are members of the cluster. It is often the case that individual entities are doing everything in their power to affect change on a relatively micro level, but they may be working in isolation from the bigger macro picture. The cluster system is based on close collaboration, where everyone is working together for a common cause, based on a single integrated fire risk management plan.

A system of “clusters”

The SIAP project facilitates the establishment of prototype Fire Protection Associations (called “clusters” in Indonesia) and builds a solid basis for an integrated environmental mitigation measure for fire risk reduction in Indonesia’s key policies and frameworks. These measures could be considered as an entry point, not only to improve Indonesia’s landscape policies on peat management, but also in building resilience to disaster risk by preventing and reducing environmental impacts to local indigenous people who reside in fire-prone areas.

The initial area of focus will be setting up core clusters in peat fire-prone districts, to later roll out to mineral soil areas. Ultimately, the entire country should be divided into clusters on a district level, with provincial coordination clusters and one national cluster organization to form a single, well-coordinated, country-wide system.

A successful South-South Partnership

The Government of Indonesia is engaged in a South-South partnership with the South African organization Working on Fire/, which brings a science-based approach and its extensive experience with optimizing community benefits and local capacity building. The SIAP project is also supporting the UN-REDD Programme 2019 - 2020 work plan on effective peatland and forest fire management, with peat restoration as a focus of REDD+ policies.

The first phase of the SIAP project is being funded by USAID/OFDA through UN Environment. The Government of Indonesia has called on other development partners to align their projects with the cluster approach and to support further implementation and scaling up.

Looking beyond 2030, with meaningful collaboration and solid systems affecting change, the SIAP project will significantly contribute to reducing threats to health and livelihoods by working towards the achievement of the president of Indonesia policy of zero wildfires in Indonesia.

Auhors:

Johan Kieft

Senior Regional Advisor Asia-Pacific on Green Economy

United Nations Office for REDD+ Coordination in Indonesia

johan.kieft@un.org

Trevor Wilson

Excecutive: New Markets

Kishugu holdings- The Kishugu Group, under the Working on Fire brand, is a global leader in supplying Integrated Fire Management Solutions (IFM).

trevor.wilson@kishugu.com

Nico Van Oosthuizen

Divisional Director: New Markets

Kishugu holdings

nico.oosthuizen@kishugu.com

Signs of soil erosion near Sandhikharka, Nepal. (©Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos for FAO)

In recent years, many countries have expressed a willingness and demonstrated the capability to increase forest cover and restore degraded landscapes. As of 2018, pledges had reached upwards of 168 million hectares. The latest confirmation of this growing momentum can be seen in the recent UN General Assembly’s declaration of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration2021–2030 which will help countries fight against the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme will lead the implementation; of the decade with countries and partners. However, the question remains about whether we are being ambitious or strategic enough with our restoration commitments.

New research, published in the journal Science, led by scientists atETH Zurich’s Crowther Lab, addressed this question head-on, using innovative machine learning approaches to refine estimates of the climate change mitigation potential of tree restoration and quantifying the earth’s tree carrying capacity through The Global Tree Restoration Map. The work, a collaborative effort with FAO utilized FAO’s Open Foris suite of free open-source solutions for environmental monitoring. The article received an immense media following and a wide array of feedback. We spoke to lead author Jean-François Bastin and principal lab investigator, Tom Crowther, about the latest findings.

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What was the big question you were trying to ask and what were your most important findings?

We set out to quantify the global potential for tree cover and forest restoration and estimate what forests could offer as a nature based solution to climate change (in terms of carbon drawdown).

In order to inspire behavioural change, we felt we needed to know the size of this solution, so that individuals and communities can understand how their efforts could contribute to combating the climate crisis, which can be a daunting and paralyzing issue. Ultimately, our results were surprising, even to us.

Our research showed that out of the drawdown solutions currently available, tree restoration and storage potential on land could remove up to 2/3rds of the 300 Gt of accumulated carbon in the atmosphere emitted by human activities since the beginning of the industrial era. All this through the addition of 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover. This correlates to the IPCC report which suggests that increasing the world’s forest cover by 1 billion hectares will be necessary to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is an unbelievably powerful tool.

Although it should not replace efforts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, which prevent new carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity, it has an enormous potential to enhance absorption of carbon already existing in the atmosphere. Carbon capture through restoration is often viewed as a “nice to have,” but this study stresses the vital importance of increasing attention to restoration efforts as a key solution to mitigate climate change impacts.

Another key message of your work is the urgency for action. Can you tell us why immediate restoration planning and interventions are so important?

There is an obvious need for immediate action to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change and temperature increases above 1.5 degrees. This will undoubtedly require a portfolio of climate solutions, but when it comes to restoration, a longer-term outlook is required. Ecosystems can take decades to achieve their full carbon storage potential so the sooner we act, the better. Our view is that this is a very effective carbon drawdown mechanism. It is equally, if not more important, that we drastically cut the annual emissions (of about 10 Gt of carbon) that humans continue to emit into the atmosphere.

In addition, our work showed that as the climate changes and becomes warmer and drier, we are likely to lose about 15% of the identified areas suitable for tree growth. This is a significant decrease and represents lost opportunities for both climate mitigation and biodiversity enhancement through habitat creation, hence the necessity for immediate action. We are not saying the results will be felt right away, and we recognize that restored trees will accumulate carbon slowly over the rest of this century. But like all climate change solutions, this is a long-term vision that highlights the urgent need for action.

Are we being ambitious enough with our restoration targets?

Comparing restoration commitments from the Bonn challenge with our tree restoration potential map revealed that around 10% of countries had overcommitted to restoration goals. Overwhelmingly however, our map showed that many of the Bonn challenge pledges could be substantially more ambitious. Many countries (43%) pledged less than half the area suitable for tree growth in that country and their commitments and goals could be increased accordingly. While recognizing that restoration is a challenging endeavour, with socio-economic considerations and multiple stakeholders and interests, if implemented correctly, it is amongst our most powerful tools to draw carbon down from the atmosphere, and it should be prioritized for its multiple other benefits (e.g. food and medicine production, as well as air and water filtration). We hope our work will serve to not only inspire increased action and engagement, but also to help countries re-evaluate their commitments.

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Putting science into action - providing tools for restoration monitoring

The FAO-ETH collaboration will capitalize on this innovative science by bringing new tools to countries through Open Foris SEPAL. This will not only give countries the opportunity to use The Global Tree Restoration Map, but it will also allow them to apply the methodologies in building their own analyses for local restoration opportunities. Through a project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF), the collaboration will work with four countries in Africa (Uganda, Kenya) and Asia (Myanmar, Cambodia) to offer new and effective ways of monitoring restoration. The project will complete its global component at the end of 2019 and will be moving to its in regional phase by supporting countries in capacity building activities to enable national institutions to more effectively monitor and report on their restoration efforts.

Casamance river in Senegal as seen by Landsat 8 satellite imagery in SEPAL (©FAO SEPAL)

Tools in SEPAL are already being used by over 3,000 experts in 159 countries to rapidly assess forest change due to deforestation and degradation using cloud-based supercomputers. In 2019, a specific restoration-monitoring module will be developed for identifying the biophysical potential for restoration and measuring forest enhancement due to restoration. Most importantly, SEPAL users will be able to recognize when interventions are bringing the expected results.

Further, a FAO Forestry working paper is scheduled for release in the latter half of 2019. The working paper will focus on the assessment and monitoring of both biophysical and socio-economic indicators and will address the need to align and improve guidelines on restoration interventions, paramount to the success of the UN Decade and ensuring progress towards both regional and global restoration commitments.

Useful links:

“The global tree restoration potential”by Jean-Francois Bastin & al. in Science

The Global Tree Restoration Potential Overview Video

GLF Digital Summit session “Restoring Ecosystems, Reviving hope”

Authors:

Khalil Walji works as capacity development specialist within the Forestry Department and is working on the FAO project, “Mitigation potential of global actions to enhance forest carbon stocks,” funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.

Yoshihiko Aga is a Forestry Officer leading the FAO project on “Mitigation potential of global actions to enhance forest carbon stocks,” funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.

Yelena Finegold is a Forestry Officer at FAO focusing on remote sensing and satellite land monitoring and is a co-author of The global tree restoration potential study.

About those interviewed:

Dr Thomas Ward Crowther is a Professor of Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich where he formed the Crowther Lab.

Dr Jean-François Bastin is a Postdoctoral Researcher at ETH Zurich Crowther Lab.

The Amazon rainforest in San Martin, Peru where the key, permanent crops are coffee and cocoa. In 2017, deforestation reached 155.914 hectares, with 60% of deforestation taking place in Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Huánuco and Loreto.

In Peru, the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Federation (FENACREP) brings together around 150 savings and credit cooperatives (COOPACs), or roughly 1.6 million members. The organization is enthusiastic in helping its member institutions move towards a climate sensitive approach to agricultural lending and operations.

With 2.600 million people worldwide dependent on agriculture, climate smart agricultural lending is key to financing more sustainable agriculture value chains and production with a lower impact on deforestation and degradation. In Peru, with a forest area of just 57% remaining, the transition towards sustainable finance is a priority.

Anni Delgadillo, the Value Chain Project Coordinator at FENACREP, explains the project’s objective and the rationale behind FENACREP’s efforts towards sustainable commodity lending and finance.

Why is FENACREP involved in promoting sustainable commodity lending and finance?

One of the principles of cooperatives is commitment to the community. That means that COOPACs must work towards the sustainable development of their communities. Given that agriculture is a predominant activity in rural areas of Peru, our member COOPACs interact both directly and indirectly with agriculture producers. The COOPACs provide financial services to agricultural producers, impacting their access to inputs, incomes, food security and quality of life.

At FENACREP, we try to ensure that the financial services provided by COOPACs respond to community needs and that they are inclusive and sustainable.

Why are the COOPACs key in providing financial services to small and medium agricultural producers?

COOPACs that provide financial services to the agricultural sector, unlike other types of financial institutions such as banks, are often geographically closer to where commodity value chains are located, so they understand better the needs of producers, create more trust and empathy with producers and more importantly, they have a more detailed understanding of the agricultural dynamics and productive cycles and other factors that affect production and productivity.

From your experience at FENACREP, what are the factors affecting agricultural dynamics and why do they affect COOPACs?

Climate change and its effects could impact the agricultural dynamics of value chains. In our work with coffee, cocoa, quinoa, avocado, aguaymanto and dairy producers, we have seen how climate change has increased pests, animal diseases and water resource shortages, disturbing, in some cases, producers’ liquidity and their ability to pay back contracted credit and consequently, affecting COOPACs. Limited national-level information available to COOPACs on climate change impacts in the agricultural sector deepens this problem.

And what is FENACREPs´ Value Chain Project doing to address this problem?

The Value Chain Project focuses its work on understanding producers' financing needs and providing them with financial education training, designing attuned credit lines in coordination with COOPACs, supporting producers’ access to markets to guarantee credit repayment to COOPACs, sharing knowledge between COOPACs and training on credit risk assessment, including environmental risks.

In designing tailored credit lines, for example, we have worked on irrigation systems financing in the cocoa and aguaymanto value chains; biodigesters financing in the dairy value chain; fertigation financing in the avocado value chain; and, fertilizers and pressurize irrigation financing in the olive value chain. We are presently also working on renewable energy financing and usage.

What do you envision strengthening in the Value Chain Project?

At FENACREP, as part of our commitment to community, we understand the need to transition to sustainable commodity production in the different agricultural value chains we work with. Nevertheless, we cannot work in isolation. We envision ourselves working with new and diverse partners at the international, local and sub-national levels. Partnerships will help us strengthen specific areas such as access to alternative funding sources and climate sensitive credit risk assessment that align with COOPACs and their agricultural producers’ partners realities and needs.

COOPACs financing system and the support of sustainable agriculture production is an example of the role local stakeholders can play in promoting sustainable consumption and production and protecting and restoring forests.

The UN-REDD Programme is supporting Peru in identifying mechanisms for financing sustainable land use in the country. In coordination with the Ministry of Environment (MINAM), from 2019 to 2020, work will focus on engaging financial institutions, such as banks and savings and credit cooperatives, in moving towards protecting and restoring tropical forests and incorporating deforestation risks into their financial operations. Supporting FENACREP’s Value Chain Project with COOPACs is a concrete step towards this end.

Author

Gabriela Flores

Technical support to governments and financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean countries in advancing the REDD+ agenda and promoting private sector engagement options for sustainable agricultural production within a zero-net deforestation context

gabriela.flores@un.org

Establishment of temporal plots for forest inventory in the municipality of Remedios, Antioquia. (©FAO Colombia)

As Colombia steps up its efforts to fulfill commitments made under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Agenda 2030, the cross-cutting theme of improved forest governance is at the centre of its efforts to halt deforestation and forest degradation as well as action to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Recognizing forests as important components in strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, the international community agreed on various processes designed to address problems of deforestation and forest degradation. Two of the most well-known initiatives are reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and fostering conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (known as REDD+) and the response to the global problem of illegal logging and trade in associated timber products (known as Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade, or FLEGT). In both the initiatives, four common themes in ensuring success and long-term results include: forest governance, tenure security, gender equality and stakeholder engagement.

With the support of various donors including the Governments of Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been helping many countries move forward with the UN-REDD Programme, in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment, as well as with the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme.

The UN-REDD Programme supports countries in getting ready for and implementing REDD+ activities. Additionally, the programme promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities, in reducing forest emissions and enhancing carbon stocks in forests. The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme promotes the legal production of timber by assisting relevant stakeholders in removing the barriers that prevent them from achieving legal timber value chains, using grants.

UN-REDD and FAO-EU FLEGT collaboration in Colombia

With extensive experience in implementating both initiatives, Colombia actively promotes the collaboration between REDD+ and FLEGT processes to strengthen forest governance, helping to address climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UN-REDD and FAO-EU FLEGT in the country are jointly supporting the implementation of various activities embedded in the National REDD+ Strategy, “Bosques Territorios de Vida.” Those include sustainable forest management and forest control and monitoring.

Colombia’s REDD+ Strategy implementation around sustainable forest management is advancing with a focus on local communities. In addition, the Ministry of Environmental and Sustainable Development, together with the UN-REDD Programme, designed an approachthat includes the application of forest governance instruments improved with FAO-EU FLEGT support, the strengthening of forest producer organizations and their access to legal markets and providing technical assistance to forest producer organizations. In fact, FAO-EU FLEGT actions improved the efficiency of 11 existing procedures related to forest governance. This model is currently being implemented in four departments of the country: Antioquia, Cauca, Tolima and Valle del Cauca, with active participation from indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, local farmers and regional environmental institutions.

Working group Community Council of Yurumanguí during Market Analysis and Development workshop, Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca (©FAO Colombia)

Availability of forest data plays a crucial role in both processes, helping informed decision-making for forest management, as well as the measurement and reporting on already implemented activities. When it comes to forest monitoring and management, Colombia has strengthened its National Forests Monitoring System (NFMS) for measuring, monitoring and reporting deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions for forest and other land use activities, achieving a transparent, accurate, consistent and complete system that follows the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requirements. The activities were implemented with the support of the UN-REDD Programme and other cooperation programmes such as the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and and GIZ’s Forest and climate protection (REDD +) Programme.

Additionally, the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme is supporting the construction of Colombia’s national system of traceability of wood. This system aims to provide reliable information on the harvest, transport and processing of legal timber and to create favourable conditions for fair and legal trade.

One of the most important lessons learned from Colombia’s experience in regards to strengthening forest governance and reducing deforestation and forest degradation is that the synergies and coordinated actions among processes and initiatives represent a unique opportunity to shift paradigms and improve the management of Colombian forests. While tackling the issue from different angles, the combined action of FAO-EU FLEGT and UN-REDD Programmes can address the drivers of forest loss, as well as increase in-country coordination and implementation between various programmes. The resulting synergies can support national forest governance reforms and strengthen multi-stakeholder engagement even further.

Authors:

Adriana Patricia Yepes Quintero

Technical Specialist, Natural Resources and Governance Area FAO Colombia

With input from:

Lucio Santos, Forest Officer - REDD+ LAC Coordinator, Subregional Office for Mesoamerica FAO

Maria del Carmen Ruiz-Jaen, Community-based Forestry and Forest Monitoring Specialist for Latin America, REDD+ LAC team, Subregional Office for Mesoamerica FAO

Nhaydu Bohórquez, National Project Coordinator, FAO-EU FLEGT Programme, FAO Colombia.

Forest in Cote d'Ivoire (©UN-REDD Programme)

Although forests are physically located within the territories of sovereign states, their environmental role extends far beyond these borders. For example, the mismanagement of riparian forests has transboundary implications in terms of soil and water conservation and biodiversity for neighbouring countries. Likewise, airborne pollutants generated in one country may be transported across borders, causing forest decline in others. The role of forests in global ecological cycles highlights the environmental significance of forests beyond the boundaries of the nations. In this context, they are being viewed as global or regional commons, as is the case in West Africa.

West Africa is a region rich in wildlife and forest biodiversity. Within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), its 15 member countries host approximately 66.85 million hectares of forests, corresponding to 13 percent of the total land area. West Africa’s forests are fundamental to improving local livelihoods, as they represent the main source of wood energy, timber and lumber for a population estimated at nearly 234 million. They also provide locals with a variety of non-timber forest products that contribute to improving food security, health and household incomes.

In spite of that, the rate of deforestation and forest degradation across the region between 2000 and 2015 was more than 13%, or about 704,000 hectares per year, 1.5 times the size of Cabo Verde. A key driver of this forest loss is unsustainable agricultural expansion. Guinea, Liberia, Benin and Sierra Leone all experienced a net loss in forest area while also seeing growth in agricultural area (FAO, State of the World's Forests, 2016).

An example of particular concern is the Upper Guinean Rainforest, which covers countries like Côte d’Ivoire, the Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In total, the forest covers approximately 39 million hectares of the Guinean-Congolian ecological zone, a key transboundary biodiversity hotspot that supports the livelihoods of millions of people. The ecosystem is highly fragmented, with large forest areas currently protected in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Liberia. These forests, however, remain under considerable pressure from human encroachment and unsustainable practices, including illegal logging.

Women gathering wood in Cote d’Ivoire (©UN-REDD Programme)

Working Together to Improve Forest Management in West Africa

In response to the decline of forest cover in West Africa, ECOWAS countries have agreed to work together across borders to protect and manage the region’s forests and wildlife.

In 2012, the Convergence Plan for the Sustainable Management and Use of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa was developed to tackle transboundary issues that West African states face in achieving efficient and sustainable forest and wildlife resource management. Other relevant regional instruments include the Common Environmental Policy (2008), the Common Agricultural Policy (2008) and the Renewable Energy Policy (2012). As a result of the adoption of the Convergence Plan, 13 out of 15 countries have developed, with FAO-ECOWAS support, national forest investment plans to support its implementation.

But the question about how to ensure the effectiveness of these policies remains. At the national level, the agriculture-forestry nexus, as well as the enabling of legal policies and institutional frameworks, are needed to ensure the improvement of forest conservation and livelihoods. The role of local communities in forest-law compliance and formal recognition of land rights varies across the sub-region but holds the potential to address illegal logging and agricultural encroachment. Certain countries are also aiming to adapt national forest codes to new decentralization policies. At the same time, international and regional agreements taking into account a human rights approach to protecting the environment, water, biodiversity and forests are becoming a priority for legislators and national parliaments.

For the reasons stated above, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), ECOWAS and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have recently launched the project, “Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate: a focus on West Africa.” The five- year initiative aims to strengthen decision making on forests and land management across West Africa by improving knowledge of forest dynamics, supporting cross-sectoral legal reform and demonstrating and sharing the best community-based and gender-balanced forest practices across the region. The project also seeks to contribute to the 2025 Vision of ECOWAS Heads of State to “turn West Africa into an area without borders where citizens will benefit from opportunities and develop, in a sustainable way, the enormous resources of the region.”

Forests of West Africa recognize no borders. But as policies and legal and institutional structures vary country by country, an increasing number of stakeholders are looking at transboundary forest management as a practical way to overcome these differences. Strong partnerships will allow countries, organizations and local communities to take concrete steps towards improved forest management in the region. This will build on the momentum created in recent years to safeguard West Africa's forests.

Authors:

Francesca Felicani-Robles

Forestry Officer in the Legal Forestry Department at FAO

Francesca.FelicaniRobles@fao.org

Thomas Woolnough

Programme Specialist at FAO

Thomas.Woolnough@fao.org

Export commodities, like palm oil and cocoa, are often responsible for tropical deforestation. And in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, deforestation is now threatening the country’s economic future because of climate change impacts. With a lack of law enforcement, encroachments into forests to produce export commodities are not always located or sanctioned.

But food industry companies are increasingly trying to source these commodities more responsibly. However, reliable audits of their sustainability commitments have been challenging because of the large areas, combined with limited surveillance personnel. This is about to change.

As everyone knows, gaining altitude can offer a unique perspective. More efficient than drones, an advanced combination of optical and radar satellite technology that monitors canopy cover to the nearest tree is offering up a new and innovative solution. This unbiased imagery service assists field operatives who can now act rapidly and prevent farmers from cutting trees and settling in forbidden sites like protected forests, parks and reserves. It also assists in identifying and penalizing the deforestation perpetrator.

Here are two examples of operating technologies worth highlighting:

One company in geospatial services offers comprehensive forest and land cover monitoring products. The primary data sources for the service portfolio are high resolution (HR) optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images from the Sentinel and Landsat satellites. The service allows both the monitoring of periodic land and forest cover status and changes, as well as a continuous forest monitoring and tracking of disturbances. This technology is currently being used in Côte d’Ivoire to do a 9,000 km2 land-use analysis that will be used to inform its reforestation activities. They will include airborne laser scanning and hyper-spectral imaging to do the measurements on biomass and forest canopy cover once the trees start to grow. The seedlings are included in the Tropical Tree Tracking and Tracing (Triple T) geolocation system, also based on mobile and satellite technologies.

Another example is a radar satellite imagery expert who has launched an innovative satellite service, in partnership with the aeronautics and space company, Airbus, and the non-profit organization, Earthworm. It provides unprecedented accuracy because of a combination of 1.5-meter resolution images from SPOT Airbus satellites and a radar that cuts through cloud cover, allowing year-round monitoring. It also means that they can easily differentiate between crop types and between replanting and deforestation. Ferrero and Nestlé have already successfully implemented this tool in a pilot project related to palm oil that helped them verify the impact on their supply chain in Asia.

Let’s hope that these innovations will soon be implemented in Africa so we can transform the production practices in the cocoa sector. These technologies complement monitoring on the ground, as well as offer a useful tool in reversing deforestation, improving observation accuracy and providing extremely valuable measurements for long-term tracking. Companies will now be able to irrefutably demonstrate their ambitious sustainability pledges concerning commodity sourcing, or they will be discredited and run the risk that nobody will buy from them. Hopefully, this new technology will pave the way for a transition to decouple forest degradation from commodity production.

Author

Thomas Yapo

A temple in Buthan (by Arun Rai)

Anyone who decides to visit my country, Bhutan, will undoubtedly admire its unique flora and fauna. Bhutan’s virtually untouched forests are located at a wide variety of altitudes and climatic areas. Travelers visiting Bhutan are often guided through mountainous hiking trails that stretch throughout these forests and along the most beautiful rivers. But breathtaking views are not the only reasons why Bhutan’s forests are so treasured.

Protecting Bhutan’s forests

Located between China and India, Bhutan is the only country whose forests fully manage to keep the country carbon neutral. With a total population of only about 800,000 people, we place environmental conservation and sustainable energy efforts at the heart of our national identity. The former Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tsering Tobgey, giving a TED talk in 2016, said: “Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to develop our country, carefully balancing economic growth with social development, environmental sustainability and cultural preservation. All within a framework of good governance.” This logic is spelled out in the Constitution of Bhutan. By law, at least 60% of the country should be covered by forests. It comes as no surprise that Bhutan embraced the idea of REDD+, given its huge potential to complement the efforts of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) in conservation and sustainable management of our forest resources.

Forested landscape surrounding the river bed in Buthan (by Arun Rai)

Bhutan’s REDD+ journey

Bhutan’s REDD+ program started in 2010, with support from the UN-REDD Programme. Since then, several seminars and workshops have been organized at both national and local levels, helping with the delivery of our REDD+ message to relevant stakeholders. In December 2010, with technical assistance from SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, a scoping study for REDD+ was carried out to address the feasibility of REDD+ activities. In 2013, Bhutan prepared its REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) with support from the UN-REDD Programme, which was then submitted to, and approved by, the FCPF in December, 2013.

The main outcome of the REDD+ readiness programme was identified as Bhutan’s National REDD+ Strategy and Implementation Framework, including the National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), its Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) function, the Forest Reference (Emission) Level (FREL/FRL) and the Safeguard Information System (SIS). Bhutan is continuing its journey through the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank Group, and in this framework – through a technical collaboration with UN-REDD – also developed a National Forest Monitoring Action Plan.

RGoB has also successfully completed its first full National Forest Inventory (NFI), supported by SNV, Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and FCPF. NFI results were presented in two reports: NFI Report VolumeI and Volume II. The National Land Use and Land Cover map was also updated in 2016. Additionally, a study of drivers of deforestation and degradation was completed in 2017.

Since forests remain crucial for the rural communities of Bhutan (for timber, fuelwood, grazing fodder and vegetables), all REDD+ efforts in the country have been implemented with a strong community-based forestry approach. We constantly seek to strengthen the link between people and forests in order to contribute to livelihood improvements, environmental conservation and sustainable use of forests.

Looking forward

Currently, Bhutan has a forest cover of 70.77%, 3.39% of alpine scrub and another 9.74% under shrubs, with 51.34% of the total area under Protected Area management. This is mainly attributed to Bhutan’s enabling environment for conservation and sustainable forest management. With support from various partners, we are eager to move forward in our REDD+ ambitions and conserve our forests for many generations to come.

Useful links:

Author:

Arun Rai

Deputy Chief Forestry Officer

Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Bhutan

arunrai.ar@gmail.com

Esta es la segunda parte de la información relacionada con el evento de cierre del Programa Nacional de Argentina. Lea la Parte 1para más información.

1. Fortalecimiento del Sistema Nacional de Monitoreo de Bosques Nativos

A través del Programa UN-REDD del país y de los esfuerzos por parte de la Dirección Nacional de Bosques en el SAyDS, así como de otros actores clave (gobierno, universidades, centros de investigación, etc.), se mejoró el Sistema Nacional de Monitoreo de Bosques Nativos, tanto en su diseño como en sus tres elementos principales: el inventario forestal nacional, el sistema de monitoreo satelital y el inventario de GEI. Si bien se lograron avances concretos e importantes, el fortalecimiento de las capacidades técnicas fue la base del enfoque de trabajo. Los principales logros incluyen:

apoyo a la elaboración y ejecución del Segundo Inventario Nacional de Bosques Nativos, incluyendo los proyectos piloto de medición de carbono;apoyo al desarrollo y a la implementación del Sistema de Alerta Temprana para la deforestación;apoyo al Inventario Nacional de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (sector agrícola, forestal y de uso de la tierra) y consistencia entre el FREL y el Inventario de GEI, siguiendo los principios acordados por las partes de la CMNUCC.

Estas acciones permitieron el fortalecimiento de los datos, no sólo para el proceso REDD+, sino también, de forma más amplia, para favorecer una mejor toma de decisiones, y mejorar la integridad, exactitud, transparencia y consistencia de los datos generados (según los principios y decisiones de las partes bajo el proceso REDD+ de la CMNUCC). Gracias a este avance, Argentina está preparada para medir, monitorear y reportar la reducción de emisiones y está estableciendo bases sólidas para reportar el incremento en la captura de gases de efecto invernadero derivados de la implementación de las actividades de REDD+, con respecto al FREL establecido por el país y presentado a la Plataforma Web de REDD+ de la CMNUCC.

2. Desarrollo del Sistema de Información de Salvaguardas

A través de un sólido proceso participativo, se preparó la Interpretación Nacional de Salvaguardas (La Interpretación Nacional de Salvaguardas es un análisis técnico, legal e institucional de las salvaguardas de la CMNUCC para REDD+, en el contexto específico de Argentina) y el país logró el acuerdo sobre su Enfoque Nacional de Salvaguardas, que también incluye el Sistema de Información de Salvaguardas (actualmente en desarrollo) y una caja de herramientas para apoyar el cumplimiento de las salvaguardas de REDD+ en la implementación del Plan de Acción Nacional sobre Bosques y Cambio Climático. En este contexto, se ha prestado especial atención a la igualdad de género con el objetivo de promover sustancialmente la participación y el compromiso activo, desarrollar políticas públicas eficientes y fortalecer las capacidades de gestión forestal tanto de hombres como de mujeres. Como parte del trabajo de las salvaguardas, Argentina también está desarrollando un manual con principios y herramientas para implementar un proceso de consentimiento libre, previo e informado para aquellos que necesiten implementarlo en el marco del PANByCC. Como paso clave para completar la fase de preparación para REDD+, Argentina está preparando actualmente su Sistema de Información de salvaguardas, así como un Resumen de Información sobre Salvaguardas, que se presentará a la CMNUCC antes de finales de año.

"De la misma manera que a usted no le gustaría que la gente hiciera planes sobre su casa sin consultarle, a nosotros tampoco nos gusta cuando se hacen planes sobre los bosques en los que vivimos, sin consultarnos. El consentimiento libre, previo e informado, por lo tanto, es clave para la implementación de los procesos de REDD+", explicó Margarita Abapillo, representante de los pueblos indígenas y Asistente Técnica, señalando que los procesos y actividades deben ser adaptados culturalmente para el caso específico de cada comunidad.

Próximos pasos

Aunque el Programa Nacional ONU-REDD celebró su cierre en julio, el programa seguirá funcionando hasta finales de 2019. El Equipo del Programa Nacional planea completar los pilares de REDD+ para finales de este año y comenzar la preparación del Anexo Técnico REDD+ para presentarlo a la CMNUCC junto con el Tercer Informe Bienal de Actualización (BUR). Una vez que todo esto esté en efecto, Argentina podrá ser elegible para aplicar a los esquemas de pagos basados en resultados de REDD+ (por ejemplo, el Programa Piloto del Fondo Verde para el Clima), de manera similar a como lo están haciendo otros países.

El taller de cierre ofreció además una oportunidad para intercambios en torno al tema del financiamiento climático, por ejemplo, a través de la experiencia de Chile. "El aspecto más desafiante hoy en día para acceder a los pagos por resultados en los procesos de REDD+ es tener definidos todos los niveles de referencia y tener un plan claro sobre cómo se distribuirán los beneficios", dijo Jaeel Moraga Veras, Coordinadora del Fondo Cooperativo de Carbono Forestal de Chile (CONAF). "Se necesita un juego de herramientas completo para poder implementar el proceso REDD+ a nivel de país, pero Chile ahora tiene acceso a estos pagos, y ha valido la pena el esfuerzo".

Argentina continuará con su trabajo de "soluciones basadas en la naturaleza" para el cambio climático a través de la reducción de la deforestación y el aumento de las reservas forestales de carbono más allá de 2019. Ya desde ahora, y también con el apoyo del equipo del Programa Nacional ONU-REDD, Argentina estará iniciando la revisión y sistematización de las medidas de mitigación de la NDC del sector forestal (nativo); actualizando el Plan Nacional de Acción sobre Bosques y Cambio Climático con aspectos de género y participación; y desarrollando una estrategia a largo plazo de bajas emisiones para los sectores agroforestal y forestal para el año 2050. Estos importantes esfuerzos contribuirán a avanzar en la implementación de los compromisos de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático y a cumplir con los compromisos asumidos al ratificar el Acuerdo de París.

Para más información sobre REDD+ en Argentina:

Grabación del taller de clausura de UN-REDD dentro de la Semana de Acción Climática:

Los bosques argentinos en imágenes:

Descubra las diferencias entre las provincias argentinas a través de los siguientes videos (SP).

Alice Van Der Elstraeten

Especialista Regional en Gestión del Conocimiento y Comunicaciones para América Latina y el Caribe

Programma ONU-REDD

alice.vanderelstraeten@un.org

El 4 de julio de 2019, el Programa ONU-REDD en Argentina celebró su evento de cierre en el marco de la Semana de Acción Climática de Argentina. El evento presentó los principales avances del país en la preparación y fortalecimiento de los pilares para la reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación forestal, la conservación y el aumento de las reservas de carbono en los bosques y su manejo sostenible (REDD+). El evento también ofreció un espacio para el diálogo sobre política climática forestal, los próximos pasos en la implementación del proceso REDD+ en el país, y una discusión general sobre el financiamiento climático.

"Una fase ha terminado, pero el trabajo que tenemos que realizar aún no ha terminado, y tenemos grandes expectativas", dijo Sergio Bergman, Secretario de Estado de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable (SAyDS), refiriéndose al Programa Nacional ONU-REDD y a la continuación de los compromisos de Argentina en REDD+. "Para nosotros, los bosques, sus políticas relacionadas, los servicios ambientales y los planes de mitigación siempre han sido prioridad en nuestro trabajo para el cambio climático; esto nos permitirá restaurar los bosques, ya que sabemos que detener la deforestación es esencial, pero no suficiente. Necesitamos valorar la experiencia de aquellos que viven y mantienen los bosques, así como apoyar sus actividades para restaurar estos ecosistemas".

"Para llegar a este día, pasamos por un largo proceso, no sólo de un par de días, sino que de cuatro años", dijo Carlos Bruno Gentile, Subsecretario de Cambio Climático y Desarrollo Sustentable y punto focal de REDD+ en Argentina, "No siempre fue fácil, pero lo logramos, y seguimos avanzando hacia la reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación de bosques".

Avances del Programa ONU-REDD en Argentina

A través de la colaboración con el Programa ONU-REDD, Argentina logró importantes avances y alcanzó metas fundamentales en los cuatro pilares de REDD+.

1. Elaboración de la Estrategia Nacional REDD

Argentina presentó el Plan de Acción Nacional sobre Bosques y Cambio Climático(PANByCC) en 2019. Este plan -incluido como uno de los ejes clave de las Contribuciones Determinadas a Nivel Nacional (NDC) de Argentina- representa el marco general de acción para la implementación del proceso REDD+ en el país y contribuye al cumplimiento del Acuerdo de París. La elaboración de la estrategia fue liderada por la Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable (SAyDS) a través de la Dirección Nacional de Cambio Climático (DNCC), en conjunto con la Dirección Nacional de Bosques (DNB).

Como también destacó Carlos Gentile, el proceso fue altamente participativo "la estrategia fue resultado de un esfuerzo conjunto de muchos actores, liderado por la Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable pero elaborado de manera participativa a nivel nacional y subnacional para garantizar su éxito". El proceso incluyó al sector académico, la sociedad civil, el sector privado, los agricultores, las comunidades indígenas y más".

La Estrategia Nacional es un instrumento de política pública y de gestión operativa que tiene como objetivo reducir las emisiones de carbono por deforestación y la degradación de los bosques, la vulnerabilidad de las comunidades locales y los bosques nativos, la restauración de los bosques nativos y el fortalecimiento de la gestión sostenible. El sector de los bosques nativos de Argentina tiene un papel clave para el cumplimiento de las metas de las NDC de no superar los 484 millones de toneladas de dióxido de carbono para el año 2030.

2. Construyendo el Nivel de Referencia de Emisiones Forestales

El Nivel de Referencia de Emisiones Forestales (FREL) es la línea de base que debe construirse para evaluar el desempeño de un país en la implementación de actividades REDD+ en términos de reducción de emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI) en el sector forestal (o el aumento de sus reservas forestales de carbono). También podría servir para fines nacionales para evaluar el progreso en diversos ámbitos de la gobernanza forestal. Argentina su Nivel de Referencia de Emisiones Forestales (FREL) a la CMNUCC en 2019. El FREL fue construido por la Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable e incluyó las cuatro regiones que representan el 90% del territorio nacional cubierto por bosques nativos (Parque Chaqueño, Selva Tucumano Boliviana, Selva Misionera y Espinal). Este esfuerzo permitió al país establecer la línea de base para el período 2002-2013 de un total de 101 millones de tCO2eq.

Enlace a la presentación de FREL: https://redd.unfccc.int/files/2019_submission_frel_argentina.pdf

Para más información lea la Parte 2 del artículo.

Alice Van Der Elstraeten

Especialista Regional en Gestión del Conocimiento y Comunicaciones para América Latina y el Caribe

Programma ONU-REDD

alice.vanderelstraeten@un.org>

On July 4, 2019, the UN-REDD Programme in Argentina held its closure event in the framework of the Climate Action Week of Argentina. The event presented the advances of the country in the preparation and strengthening of pillars toward the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, the conservation and the increase of the carbon stock in the forests and their sustainable management (REDD+). The event also offered a space for dialogue on forestry climate politics, next steps in the implementation of the REDD+ process in the country, and overall reflection on climate finance.

“A phase has ended, but the work we need to accomplish is not over yet, and we have high expectations, said the Sergio Bergman, Secretary of State of Environment and Sustainable Development (SAyDS for its acronym in Spanish), referring to the National UN-REDD Programme and the continuation of the Argentina commitments in REDD+. “For us, forests, their related policies, environmental services and mitigation plans have always been a central axis in our climate change work. This will allow us to restore forests, as we know stopping deforestation is essential but will not be enough. We need to value the experience of those who live in and maintain the forests, as well as supporting their activities to restore the ecosystem.”

“To reach this day, we went through a long process, not just a couple of days, but four years,” said Carlos Bruno Gentile, the Undersecretary of Climate change and Sustainable Development and REDD+ focal point in Argentina, “It was not always easy, but we made it, and we still continue to make progress towards reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.”

Closure Action week of Argentina with Sergio Bergman, Secretary of State of Environment and Sustainable Development and Carlos Bruno Gentile, the Undersecretary of Climate change and Sustainable Development and REDD+ focal point in Argentina

Advances of the UN-REDD Programme in Argentina

Through the collaboration with the UN-REDD Programme Argentina made important progress and reached key milestones in all four REDD+ pillars.

1. Preparing a National REDD+ Strategy

Argentina submitted the National Action Plan on Forest and Climate Change(PANByCC for its acronym in Spanish) in 2019. This plan – embedded as one of the key axes of the Nationally Determined Contribution(NDC) of Argentina - represents the general framework of action for implementing the REDD+ process in the country and contribute to achievement of the Paris Agreement. The preparation of the strategy was led by the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development (SAyDS) through the National Directorate of Climate Change (DNCC), in conjunction with the National Directorate of Forests (DNB).

As also Carlos Gentile emphasized, the process was highly participative “the strategy was really an outcome of a joint effort by many stakeholders, led by the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development but elaborated in a participatory way at the national and sub-national levels to guarantee its success. This included academia, civil society, the private sector, farmers, indigenous communities and more.”

The National Strategy is an instrument of public policy and an operational management with the objective of reducing the carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, the vulnerability of local communities and native forests, restoring native forests and strengthening sustainable management. Argentina’s native forest sector plays a key role in meeting the NDC goal of not exceeding 484 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.

Link to the plan:

Infographic in Spanish: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/infografia_bosques_esp_0.pdf

Infographic in English: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/infografia_bosques_eng_0.pdf

2. Building the Forest Reference Emission Level

The Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) is the baseline that needs to be constructed for assessing a country's performance in the implementation of REDD+ activities in terms of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the forestry sector (or enhancing their forest carbon stock). It might also serve for domestic purposes to evaluate progress in various domain of forest governance. Argentina submitted its Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL)to the UNFCC in 2019. The FREL was constructed by the Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development and included the four regions that represent 90% of the territory covered by native forests (Parque Chaqueño, Selva Tucumano Boliviana, Selva Misionera and Espinal). This effort allowed the country to set the baseline for the period 2002-2013 of a total of 101 mill. tCO2eq.

Link to the FREL submission: https://redd.unfccc.int/files/2019_submission_frel_argentina.pdf

To read part 2, click here:

Author

Alice Van Der Elstraeten

Regional Knowledge Management and Communications Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean

alice.vanderelstraeten@un.org

A farmer working the land in Honduras

Developing a system for providing information on how safeguards are being addressed and respected throughout REDD+ activities is a key requirement for results-based payments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Green Climate Fund. Many countries have been working on the design of their Safeguards Information Systems (SIS), but until now, only a few have put their SIS into operation.

To date, ten countries have implemented a SIS online. A common starting point has been the launch of a webpage that can be followed by other steps towards building a SIS platform, like adding new modules or linking to existing systems. Drawing on the experiences of some countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region, here are the key strengths and challenges of SIS operation.

Strengths

Participatory processes in building the SIS. Mexico was the first country to have an operational SIS, developed with feedback gathered through workshops and inter-institutional dialogues from government, institutions, academia and civil society. These efforts were connected to the development of the National REDD+ Strategy and the establishment of a National Safeguards System, of which SIS is a part. The participation and engagement of stakeholders at the subnational level was key to developing the State Safeguards Plans that resulted from collaboration between the state governments and civil society.

Supporting SIS operation in REDD+ strategy frameworks. The National REDD+

Strategy serves as an action framework for the development of Chile’s SIS. The strategy identifies institutions that will be relevant for providing information to the SIS. The institutional arrangements and decisions made to develop or strengthen the SIS considered the needs to keep the system running in the long term.

Efficient and flexible tools to provide information on safeguards.Ecuador’s SIS includes a webpage, along with manual processes and a template to report on how safeguards are being addressed and respected. The template is being used and adjusted according to feedback received from different information providers. Gradual improvements in the quality and detail of safeguards information can be seen in the SIS. Capacities have to be established among REDD+ implementing partners to use the SIS report template. The next step is to move the report template to a web-based tool and begin the conceptualization and design of the SIS to a more efficient and automated instrument.

Challenges

Linking SIS to a capacity building and communications strategy. Mexico’s experience highlighted the importance of conveying safeguards messages in a way that was clear and user-friendly -- not an easy task. Key stakeholders needed to understand their role in the application of safeguards, as well as receive guidance on implementing safeguards at different administrative levels. Capacity building activities should support the process of communicating safeguards compliance.

Bringing together information for different safeguards frameworks for different scales of implementation. Some countries have received support for the REDD+ readiness phase from different donors and development partners, as was the case in Chile. Given that different donors and partners have different safeguards frameworks, Chile found it challenging to develop a system that responded in a comprehensive manner to all these requirements at all these scales. As a result, the country developed a unified approach to safeguards, which helped determine the scope and ambition of the SIS, as well as the expected outputs and the administrative scale of information gathering.

Formulating indicators for reporting on safeguards. According to the experience of some countries, such as Ecuador, the selection of indicators to structure information in the SIS was challenging. A list of indicators can be seen as a tool for efficient reporting on REDD+ safeguards. Lengthy participatory processes resulted in a long list of descriptive indicators unrelated to any methods to measure them. This is particularly evident when SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound) indicators are expected. On the other hand, in previous years, a long participatory process resulted in a big list of descriptive indicators, not related to a methodology to measure them. Such a list has to be evaluated and prioritized in order to establish a route to effectively measure and create evidence on how the country is upholding safeguards as part of REDD+ implementation.

The initial experiences of some Latin American countries indicate it could be useful to design a SIS and determine an architecture that is flexible and allows for improvements and new information over time, as well as a more gradual approach.

For more information on REDD+ safeguards information systems:

Authors:

Victoria Suarez is a Safeguards Specialist for UN Environment

victoria.suarez@un.org.

Judith Walcott is a Safeguards and Multiple Benefits Specialist in Latin America and the Caribbean for UN Environment

Judith.Walcott@unep-wcmc.org.

Steve Swan coordinates safeguards activities of the UN-REDD Programme (UN Environment) and directly supports countries in meeting their safeguards commitments

steven.swan@un.org.

This is the second part of the information related to the closure event of the National Programme of Argentina. Read Part 1for more information

1. Strengthening the National Monitoring System of Native Forests

Through the country’s UN-REDD Programme and the continuous efforts of the National Directorate of Forests in the SAyDS as well as of other key actors (government, universities, research centers, etc.), the National Monitoring System of Native Forests was enhanced, in its design and in its three main elements: national forest inventory, satellite land monitoring system and GHG-inventory. While achieving concrete and important milestones, strengthening of technical capacities was at the base of the work approach. Main achievements include:

support in the development and implementation of the Second National Inventory of Native Forests, including pilots on carbon measurement;support for the development and implementation of the Early Warning System on Deforestation;support for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (Agriculture, Forestry and Land-use sector) and consistency between FREL and GHG-Inventory, following principles agreed by UNFCCC parties.

These actions made it possible to strengthen data, not only for REDD+ process, but more widely to favor enhanced decision-making, and to improve the completeness, accuracy, transparency and consistency of the data generated (as per principles and decisions of the parties under the UNFCCC REDD+ process). Thanks to this progress Argentina is ready to measure, monitor and report the reduction of emissions and is putting solid bases to report on the increase in the capture of greenhouse gases derived from the implementation of REDD+ activities, with respect to the FREL established by the country and submitted to the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform.

2. Development of the Safeguards Information System

Through a solid participatory processes, the National Interpretation of Safeguards (the National Interpretation of Safeguards is a technical, legal and institutional analysis of the UNFCCC safeguards for REDD+, in the specific context of Argentina) was prepared and the country achieved the agreement on its National Safeguard Approach, which also includes the Safeguards Information System (currently under development) and a toolbox to support compliance with REDD+ safeguards in the implementation of the National Action Plan on Forests and Climate Change. Special attention is given to gender equality with the objective of substantively promoting the participation and active engagement, to develop efficient public policies and to strengthen the forest management capacities of both men and women. As part of the work on safeguards, Argentina is also developing a manual with principles and tools to implement a Free, Prior and Informed Consent process for those who need to implement it in the framework of the PANByCC. As a key milestone to complete the REDD+ readiness phase, Argentina is currently preparing its Safeguards Information System as well as a Summary of Safeguards Information, which will be submitted to the UNFCCC before the end of the year.

“In the same way you would not like people to make plans about your house without consulting you, we also do not like when plans are made about the forests we live in, without consulting us. Free, prior and informed consent, therefore, is key to the implementation of REDD+ processes,” explained Margarita Abapillo, Indigenous peoples representative and Technical Assistant, adding that processes and activities should be adapted culturally for every community.

Margarita Abapillo, Indigenous peoples representative and Technical Assistant, talking about free, prior and informed consent.

Next Steps

Even though the UN-REDD National Programme celebrated its closure event in July, the programme still remains operational until the end of 2019. The National Programme Team plans to complete the REDD+ pillars by the end of this year and start with the preparation of the REDD+ Technical Annex for submission to the UNFCCC along with the Third Biennial Update Report (BUR). Once all of this will be in place, Argentina would become eligible to apply to REDD+ results based payments schemes (for example the Pilot Programme under the Green Climate Fund), similarly to what other pioneer countries are doing.

The closure workshop offered an opportunity for inspiring exchanges also on climate finance, for example trough the experience of Chile. “The most challenging aspect today to accessing payments for results in REDD+ processes are having all reference levels defined and having a clear plan on how the benefits will be distributed,” said Jaeel Moraga Veras, Coordinator for Chile’s Cooperative Fund of Forest Carbon (CONAF). “You need a complete toolkit to be able to implement the REDD+ process at the country level, but Chile now has access to these payments, and it has been worth the effort.”

Argentina will carry on its’ “nature-based solution” work on climate change through reduced deforestation and enhancement of forest carbon stock beyond 2019. Already from now, and also with the support from UN-REDD National Programme Team, Argentina is initiating the revision and systematization of the mitigation measures of the NDC of the (native) forest sector, updating the National Action Plan on Forests and Climate Change with aspects of gender and participation, and developing a long-term strategy of low emissions for the agroforestry and forest sectors by 2050. These important efforts will contribute moving forward in the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation commitments, complying with the ratified Paris Agreement.

For more information on REDD+ in Argentina:

Recording of the UN-REDD closure workshop within the Week of Climate Action:

Argentina’s forests in images:

Discover the differences among Argentina’s provinces through the following videos (SP):

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – General

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – La Selva Misionera

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – Región Monte

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – Bosques Andino-Patagónico

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – El Parque Chaqueño

·Cambio Climático y Bosques – Yungas

Author:

Alice Van der Elstraeten

Regional Knowledge Management and Communications Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean UN-REDD Programme

alice.vanderelstraeten@un.org

“Forests give us medicine, good air and rainfall, all things that are very important for us. We are helping to conserve the forest by talking to our communities and telling them about the importance of forests and why they should replant and restore them.” (credit: UN-REDD Programme)

Noar Natolo and Scovia Bulyaba are carpet weavers and members of the Nagoje community living in the Mabira forest of Uganda. To supplement their income, they collect palm leaves from the forest and weave carpets that are later dyed with local products.

The forest that supplies these women with palm leaves, also provides them with water, medicine and wood for fuel. But the Mabira forest is at risk of being wiped out due to an increasing population, high demand for charcoal and agricultural encroachment.

The Mabira is a rainforest area covering about 300 square kilometres, home to many endangered species like the primate Lophocebus ugandae, a species of Old World monkey found only in Uganda. It is one of the biggest reserves in the country.

Uganda has experienced severe deforestation over the last decade. In fact, the country has one of the highest rates of deforestation and forest degradation in the world. In 1990, forest cover was estimated at 24% of total land area. By 2015, it was down to 12.4%. Today, it is at 9%. Many of the remaining forests reside in protected areas, under the protection of the National Forest Authority (NFA) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

Drivers behind deforestation in Uganda include the harvesting of fuelwood as more than 90% of household energy is derived from firewood and charcoal. Other factors include harvesting timber for construction and land conversion for agriculture.

In and around Mabira Forest, as in several other parts of the country, access to water is a daily struggle. For Natolo Noar and Bulyaba Scovia, working with the NFA has offered them a chance to participate in the conservation of the forest and in accessing water.

“We help the NFA with the conservation of this forest by talking to our communities and telling them about the importance of the forests and why they should not cut it but rather replant and restore it,” says Natolo. “Forests give us medicine, good air and rainfall, all things that are very important for us. In return, the NFA allows us to collect dry firewood, water and medicinal herbs for domestic use on certain days. Before, the NFA was like our foe, but now, for the past ten years, we have had a good relationship.”

Water is not always easy to come by (credit: Griet Dierckxsens)

Mapping Uganda's Forests: The First Step in Forest Preservation

To help protect and promote forests like the Mabira, the Government of Uganda launched its National REDD+ Strategy in November 2017. REDD+ is a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Uganda’s REDD+ Strategy includes developing plans and options for forest management to reduce carbon emissions and maintain valuable ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water supply, soil protection and wealth creation for sustainable livelihoods. With REDD+, the country has an opportunity to manage its forests in a balanced way for long-term, sustainable economic growth, to support the livelihoods of local, rural and forest dependent communities, and to ensure the conservation of its natural heritage.

Making REDD+ a reality has also required building National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) that can accurately and transparently track forest and land use changes, mitigation actions and facilitate the measurement of results. REDD+ has been catalytic in improving data collection and fostering a deeper understanding of forest resources through the UN-REDD Programme and the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), working with local forest authorities and communities.

The UN-REDD Programme and FAO are supporting the Uganda National Forest Authority (NFA) in establishing an effective forest monitoring systems to track and report forest changes and to curb deforestation. Under the initial REDD+ readiness support, national staff were trained in data entry, cleansing and analysis.

Strengthening Uganda's National Forest Monitoring System

“Uganda is not only interested in collecting data for carbon reporting purposes, but also for its own national needs,” says Rebecca Tavani, National Forest Inventory Officer with FAO. “The country has decades of experience with forest inventories and satellite land monitoring. FAO’s support seeks to strengthen coordination of this knowledge and make it more efficient by introducing open-source software that FAO has developed, making it easier to collect and process data.”

This software includes the Open Foris suite of tools as well as SEPAL - System for earth observations, data access, processing & analysis for land monitoring – which is a cloud-based platform that helps countries with geospatial analysis of forest and land uses. These tools allow for the quick processing of data, enabling Uganda to more rapidly understand the extent of forest cover change and related carbon emissions.

In order to measure the carbon stock in each of the forest sites, forest inventory teams measure the height, diameter and density of trees.

“Before, forest inventory was only used to inform the government on the availability of wood and to understand the biodiversity of its forests,” says John Begumana, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV)/NFMS specialist with FAO. “At that time, we were only looking at forests with timber. Now, we also look at forests without timber, with wood including bamboo, local palm trees and eucalyptus. Now, we even look at dead wood. REDD+ helps us in knowing how much carbon we are releasing if we lose a particular part of the forest. It tells us about carbon stocks in different forest types.”

It Takes A Community To Map a Forest

John Dissi, a GIS and Mapping Coordinator with the National Forest Authority, has been drawing maps by hand since 1990. “A lot has changed since then,” says Dissi. “Now, there are free satellite images that tell us about the cover of a country, such as grassland or wetland. And with that, I make the land cover map. Then the inventory teams measure the trees and calculate the carbon stock to make the biomass inventory.”

Dissi interprets the images to make a digital map. “I am proud to do this job because people take data for granted, but it’s a whole process to get it. And by making the maps I sound the alarm bell. I show people and policy makers that there is a problem and where exactly they have to intervene with afforestation or other measures.”

Brenda Nagasha, a biomass supervisor with the National Forest Authority measures the height and diameter of trees to update the maps on biomass inventory. “I have been doing this for six years now,” she says. “It’s important to have accurate maps and reports on the status of the forests so that management teams can make wise decisions. For my job, I sometimes camp for thirty days straight in the forest and walk up to 15 kilometres a day. But I love nature and I am happy that through my work I can help protect the environment.”

There are three kinds of forests in Uganda: government-owned areas and national parks, forests under local management and community-owned forests. “Where the community is adjacent to protected forest reserves, we work together with them so they can get access to non-timber products such as water and herbal medicines in exchange for helping us monitor the forests,” says Xavier Mugumya, Climate Change Coordinator and Alternate National Focal Point for the national REDD+ secretariat, National Forestry Authority. “As for the UN-REDD Programme, we asked them for assistance because we value the expertise from each of the three agencies. They helped us advance and get international exposure.”

Robert Otuko, a forest inventory supervisor with the NFA has been working in the forest for the past twelve years. “My main tools as a field inventory supervisor used to be a compass and a linear tape,” he says. “These days I use a GPS and tablet. It is by giving this information to the government that they can see the status of the forest and decide what conservation policies to develop.”

Robert Otuko at work in Mabira forest (credit: UN-REDD Programme)

Mapping teams in Uganda are currently working on land cover for 2017, with an estimated completion date in 2019.

Author:

Griet Dierckxsens

Regional Africa Communications and Knowledge Management Specialist, UN-REDD Programme

Contact: ingrid.dierckxsens@un.org

Dao villagers in Chu Kan Ho village, Lao Cai Province. Photo credit: Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme

Lo Lo May, of the Dao ethnic minority in North Viet Nam, has returned from the forest to the village with the other five members of her harvesting team. Two of the women carry big baskets on their backs, filled to the brim with a mixture of ferns, leaves and other plant material. A closer inspection reveals medicinal and aromatic plants, carefully selected by trained eyes. The women know what they are looking for, and where to find it. In fact, they know all corners of the forests and the snaking brooks, like the back of their hand.

To the six women and their community in Chu Kan Ho village, high up in the mountains of Lao Cai province, bordering China, the forest is essential to their well-being. Viet Nam’s medicinal plants have been called a “green goldmine” and are a critical component of the ecosystem services that the Dao ethnic group derive from the forests. Yet, these services have come under threat in recent decades as forests have been heavily exploited. Lo Lo May and her fellow collectors are painfully aware of the relationship between forest destruction and the loss of medicinal plants as well as other important goods and services that forests can bring to their community.

Traditional therapeutic medicine in Viet Nam has a long history. Treatments based on medicinal plants are still often used in addition to, or even instead of, allopathic medicine by many Vietnamese. Viet Nam is home to an estimated 12,000 species of high-value plants, of which 10,500 have been identified. Approximately 36 percent of those are known to have medicinal properties. Herbal and aromatic plants are used to make soaps, bath solutions and medicines, such as balms for pain relief, and also supply modern pharmaceutical production chains. For Lo Lo May and the Dao ethnic group, these herbs and plants are used daily for their ‘health baths’, and by midwifes and mothers, during and after childbirth. Indeed, such benefits are well-known throughout the country.

Members of the ethnic Dao minority in Chu Kan Ho village, Tong Sanh Commune, Lao Cai Province going into the forest to pick and gather medicinal herbs and plants. Photo credit: Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme

The “green goldmine” under threat

Since the mid-1990s, several once-abundant medicinal plants have been threatened with extinction from over-exploitation. In this respect, Viet Nam’s experience is similar to that of many other countries in the region, such as with blueberries in Mongolia and gaharu (agarwood or aloeswood) in Indonesia in the early 1990s. In Lao Cai and neighboring provinces, many fresh and processed products are sold domestically and to the Chinese markets just across the border, and demand is growing. As a result, what used to take the women only a few hours to collect, now requires several days of searching in the forests. Although Viet Nam has tremendous potential as a grower and producer of herbal medicine, it has gone from being an exporter to an importer of medicinal materials.

Beyond the Dao ethnic group, other communities have also become aware of the effects of forest destruction and over-exploitation and the dangers the “green goldmine” is facing. In 2017, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc urged government agencies and actors nationwide to develop measures to protect and promote traditional herbal medicines. He affirmed that such medicines are a treasure of the country, which can contribute to poverty reduction. He asked for solutions to tackle challenges in value and marketing chains, lower risks of extinction of many rare herbal plants, and careful use of advanced technology.

Young girl with fistful of tia, an ingredient from the forest used for bathing products. Photo credit: Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme

A new form of treatment, for an old condition

Alliances by non-government organizations (NGO), Forest Protection Departments and local pharmaceutical companies have responded to the call for action. Jointly with local people, they have developed species and area management plans, enhanced capacities and benefit flows from the forest to the people. These initiatives are supported by, and aligned with, the new Forestry Law of 2017. This Law specifically prioritizes forest allocation to ethnic communities who have customary use of forests and recognizes communities as forest owners for the first time. The alliances have also helped to set up cooperatives to assist in the marketing of products.

When the UN-REDD Viet Nam Phase II Programme launched its pilot activities in Lao Cai province, it was the “green goldmine” that connected the issues of forest carbon, local livelihoods and forest land tenure, presenting a promising formula for sustainable forest management.

Until recently, the forests in Tong Sanh commune were nominally managed by the Commune People’s Committee (CPC), which was unable to stop degradation. The formal transition of rights to 545 ha of forests from the CPC to five local villages, with assistance from the UN-REDD Programme, has led to a significant transformation. Formal rights to the forests motivated the villages to develop and implement their own forest management regulations.

The presence of medicinal plants provided significant additional motivation. A cooperative for forest and medicinal plants protection was established to facilitate collective marketing, to obtain fair prices, to be trained in forest protection, and to generate stable employment opportunities. The commune is now moving toward the establishment of a forestry cooperative operating under the Enterprise Law. Agreements or memoranda of understanding (MoU) are used to seal commitment to principles of nature conservation, sustainable consumption and development of medicinal materials, between the village cooperatives, private sector companies, and the concerned local authority. Such MoUs have involved private companies including the Hung Dung Trading Joint Stock Company (Sapa Green) and SAPANAPRO Joint Stock Company. The latter is the only community-owned social enterprisewith more than one hundred ethnic minority shareholders.

Bathing and spa products produced by the ethnic Dao minority on sale at the Sapa Green Hotel in Sapa Town, Lao Cai. Photo credit: Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme

Running the “green goldmine” successfully – further necessary steps

Lo Lo May, who has become a deputy leader of their cooperative group, is happy with the commitment the companies have made to pay a fair price for their products. And she adds that she also enjoys patrolling the forest.

The groundwork has been laid and the era of forest destruction looks to be behind them, at least for the moment. But sustaining this win-win formula will require further investments and innovation. So far, training has been directed particularly at strengthening planning and management capacities. While such capacities are important, cooperatives need to be sufficiently versed and skilled, as well as empowered, to negotiate with other stakeholders to strengthen their rights to land and resources.

Finally, systematic monitoring and evaluation of the pilot in Tong Sanh commune is crucial, especially in view of the impacts on livelihood improvement, poverty reduction and broader environmental benefits that go beyond forest carbon. This should go in conjunction with the requirements under Decree No.: 59/2017/NĐ-CP “On the Management and Access to Genetic Resources and the Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization”. Without rigorous monitoring, no lessons will be learned and Viet Nam’s traditional medicine from the forest could be in danger of being lost for current, as well as future generations.

Employees at the Sapa Green factory turning the medicinal plants into bathing and spa products in Lao Cai province. Photo credit: Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme

Author:

Thomas Enters

Senior Consultant

UN-REDD Programme

thomas.enters@gmail.com

The REDD+ Academy e-courses are now available in English, French and Spanish

What is REDD+? And what does the + stand for? What are the different phases in the REDD+ processes? What is behind the concept of results-based payments? This and much more will be explained in the REDD+ Academy e-courses.

The modules presented in the REDD+ Academy e-courses will equip you with the requisite knowledge to better understand the various components of REDD+ planning and implementation and provide you with the tools you need to promote national REDD+ activities in your country.

Free, self-paced e-courses in 3 languages

To support continued learning on REDD+ and to widen the reach of the REDD+ Academy, the UN-REDD Programme and its agencies (FAO,UNDP and UNEP), with support from the UN CC:Learn Secretariat, are pleased to announce the English, French and Spanish version of the of the REDD+ Academy e-courses.

Based on the second edition of the learning journals and the experiences from the face-to-face REDD+ Academy sessions, the REDD+ e-courses offer self-paced e-learning courses, open to all, free of charge and available in English, French and Spanish, both on the UN CC: Learn Platform as on the UN-REDD Workspace.

In each language, two courses are available offering a coherent bundle of introductory information, detailed accounts and learning exercises designed to build capacity for REDD+ throughout the world, at two different levels: basic and advanced.

Throughout both courses, you will walk through the landscape of REDD+, from the carbon cycle and drivers of deforestation to approaches to finance and stakeholder engagement. The e-courses also explore technical issues, such as the establishment of national forest monitoring systems and processes to address REDD+ safeguards.

Do you prefer to learn using the Learning Journals instead of enrolling for the e-course? All twelve learning journals, covering both the fundamentals and advancing on REDD+ can be downloaded from the UN-REDD Workspace in English, French or Spanish.

For more information contact academy@un-redd.org

We are happy to share this second newsletter of 2019 with you, filled with good news.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2021 - 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, aiming at job creation, food security and addressing climate change through massive restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems that could remove up to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

In a potentially game-changing decision the Green Climate Fund Board approved its first payment for REDD+ to Brazil. Equally historic, Norway and Indonesia have agreed on a first payment under the two nations' 2010 agreement after Indonesia reduced its rate of deforestation in 2017.

Mozambique and DRC signed Emission Reductions Payment Agreements with the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), unlocking performance-based payments of up to US$105 million. In a guest blog from the World Bank you can read how this will positively impact people's lives in Mozambique.

In the Asia Pacific region Viet Nam has become the first country to complete the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ after fulfilling the UNFCCC safeguards requirements.

Finally, under 'Videos' you will find three new films highlighting UN-REDD's work in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. We plan to feature Africa in the next issue and the LAC region after that.

We hope you enjoy this issue and wish you a very happy International Day of Forests later this month!

Members of the ethnic Dao minority in Vietnam

Since its inception in 2008, the UN-REDD Programme has supported inclusive, gender-equitable policy formulation and decision making for national and sub-national REDD+ processes. This approach is based on the recognition that the people who live within or in close proximity to forests, and whose livelihoods depend directly on forests, are best positioned to protect and sustainably manage them. Their perspectives and proposals deserve primary consideration. To underpin this approach, the UN-REDD Programme has integrated representatives from indigenous communities and civil society into its national programmes and processes, ensuring their full and effective participation.

More concretely, the Programme has pioneered rights instruments, such as protocols for “Free, Prior and Informed Consent” (FPIC) and the design of Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM), to advance indigenous peoples rights with respect to decision making and participation in climate and forest policies and measures. In parallel, national REDD+ stakeholder platforms have become instrumental in fostering participatory policy dialogues, as well as developing inclusive national strategies. The Programme has also helped communities and indigenous peoples to advance the demarcation and monitoring of their own territories and to use such information towards community-based land and forest planning. Drawing on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, the Programme promotes the importance of recognizing collective tenure rights, while at the same time reinforcing the legitimate tenure rights of local communities and indigenous peoples. An upcoming information brief will reflect further on this topic.

National REDD+ efforts, supported by UN-REDD, have consistently shown promising results. In Colombia, the full and active participation of indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples in national policy processes reached a milestone in 2018 with the release of the national strategy on forests (Bosques, Territorios de Vida) and the advancement of the national development plan. These two key national policy streams effectively recognize indigenous peoples' rights and their relevance in forest issues. They are models of best, inclusive practices for other countries. For this, UN-REDD also joined forces with other EU funding initiatives supporting identification and implementation of model community-based forestry approaches. The lessons of the national participatory policy process were collected, systematised and disseminated, so as to inspire and facilitate the efforts of other nations and stakeholders.

In Ecuador, indigenous peoples are recognised as priority stakeholders in the implementation of the REDD+ Action Plan. PROAmazonía, the forerunner REDD+ programme in the country with financing of $53 million US from the Green Climate Fund, has provisions to ensure that the majority of programme actions must have the participation of indigenous peoples. As a result, having indigenous peoples at the forefront for REDD+, coupled with government commitment to an inclusive REDD+ agenda, has yielded a rights-based approach to REDD+ actions and investments in Ecuador.

In Vietnam, efforts to promote the development rights of ethnic minorities have yielded exciting outcomes. Most prominently, a High-Level Ethnic Minority Development Forum was convened for the first time in August 2018 and was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister who recognised the need for specific policy and investment approaches in forest lands and in ethnic minority communities.

UN-REDD is also disseminating lessons learned from national efforts on land tenure governance to the international constituency of development co-operation. In Tunisia, the lessons learned from participatory gender-sensitive mapping of state forest lands were showcased at the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington, DC. The UN-REDD Programme also facilitates regular dialogue and South-South exchanges through the online discussion group (‘Dgroup’) on REDD+ and Forest Governance. Featured topics on forest tenure, indigenous peoples, community forestry and gender spark active exchanges of views and experiences. Among the highlights were introduction and perspectives on Zambia’s new community forestry regulations and experience sharing on the forest tenure assessment completed in Honduras.

As the international effort for REDD+ reaches a milestone first decade, it is clear the recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities as essential stakeholders in national REDD+ processes has gained widespread traction. This is a significant achievement for indigenous delegates and activists who have tirelessly advocated for their cause. This promises to yield more inclusive and robust policy and programme responses to the global forest and climate crises.

However, there remains a significant gap between the goals and aspirations of national stakeholder participation platforms and institutional instruments to support indigenous peoples’ rights and the reality faced by many indigenous communities in REDD+ partner countries. There is need for the policy reforms and inclusive mechanisms to be fully deployed and sustained in the longer term. Yet, many land and resource rights defenders find that their livelihoods, their forests and, most critically, their daily lives remain under threat from competing interests and powerful forces that operate outside the bounds of legality and formal governance systems.

As we look forward to the next decade of REDD+, scaled up efforts to institutionalize respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities will be needed to ensure that policy commitments are realized and that people are protected and empowered to sustainably manage the landscapes on which their livelihoods, and the stability of the earth’s climate, so urgently depends.

Author

Elspeth Halverson

Global Project Management & Communications Specialist, UNDP Climate & Forests

elspeth.halverson@undp.org

with input from:

Amanda Bradley

REDD+ Tenure Specialist, FAO,

Serena Fortuna

Forestry Officer, FAO

Josep Garí

Senior Policy Advisor, UNDP Climate & Forests

Smallholder coffee farmers in Lam Dong Province, Viet Nam. Photo credit: Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme

Globally, we drink over 500 billion cups of coffee every year. Most consumers are unaware of where the coffee in their cups comes from. If pushed, Columbia may come to mind. While 67 percent of the world’s coffee is grown in Latin America, Viet Nam is in fact the second biggest coffee producer and exporter (after Brazil). Production in Viet Nam has steadily increased from 78,600 tons in 1990 to almost 1.77 million tons in 2017/18. Between 1990 and 2000, the area for coffee plantations grew ten-fold from 50,000 to 500,000 ha (mainly in the Central Highlands).

There is no doubt that coffee is a significant contributor to Viet Nam’s rural economy. Its export value in 2018 was US$3.5 billion. Its share of gross domestic product is around 2 percent. Viet Nam takes its coffee production seriously. In 2016, the Government designated 10 December as the country’s national coffee day.

While coffee in Viet Nam has been touted as a success story, there is also a downside to the considerable expansion of its production. The conversion of natural forests to coffee contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and thereby to global climate change. Today coffee covers an area of about 650,000 ha. A continuation of this trend will make it more difficult to achieve the target of reducing GHG emissions by 8 percent by 2030, which is Viet Nam’s commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

When the UN-REDD Viet Nam Phase II Programme selected Lam Dong province (in the Central Highlands region) as one of its pilot provinces, the coffee sector as a driver of deforestation was squarely in mind. Turning this driver into a REDD+ potential would require addressing the carbon as well as the socio-political challenge revolving around forestland tenure. The Programme reviewed options for forest restoration by intercropping forest trees and opportunities for and constraints to the adoption of coffee agroforestry in Lam Dong province, where coffee is grown on about 162,000 ha. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is also acutely aware that actions to reduce emissions from industrial crop productions (not just coffee) can be viewed “as a threat to these industries and the socio-economic development they sustain”. It is clear to all stakeholders involved that any measures to reduce deforestation have to simultaneously promote greater sustainability, offer suitable responses to climate change and put more money into farmers’ pockets.

Coffee trees. Photo credit: Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme

The carbon challenge: what can agroforestry offer?

The Center for Agroforestry (ICRAF) defines agroforestryas the integration of trees into farms and identifies it as a potentially significant contributor to climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, while simultaneously improving livelihoods and restoring landscapes.

Agroforestry for coffee has been piloted in Viet Nam for decades, and reportedly covers about 260,000 haalready. Still, agroforestry practices are not considered to have been successfully mainstreamed, and upscaling remains a challenge.

In the Southeast and Central Highlands regions, the estimated carbon storage of robusta and arabica coffee agroforestry systems ranges from 5.8 to 10.4 tons/ha, depending on shade tree species and density. Recent research by ICRAF has highlighted that introducing agroforestry on a further 400,000 ha of current monoculture coffee could sequester an additional 20 to 40 million tons of carbon, both above and below ground. According to a recent report by the IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, fertilizers are by far the most important contributor to carbon emissions in the coffee production they studied in Viet Nam (excluding emissions occurring from forest conversion where this has been involved). Hence, incorporating nitrogen-fixing trees in agroforestry systems can further reduce GHG emissions by limiting the dependence on inorganic fertilizers. From a climate mitigation perspective this looks rather promising.

In recent years, MARD has already introduced other industrial crops as shade trees, such as pepper, fruit trees, avocado, durian and macadamia in coffee plantations or gardens. This diversifies production, creates more jobs, reduces price risks and market fluctuations and ultimately enhances incomes. Beyond providing shade, trees act as windbreaks, limit evaporation and contribute to moisture retention. This is particularly important in the context of climate change adaptation. In recent years, over 100,000 ha of such diversified farms have been developed, mostly in the Central Highlands. And farmers are well aware of the economic and environmental benefits.

Yet, besides the deep knowledge of the benefits of agroforestry there is also limited experience and knowledge on the impact of shade trees on coffee quality and coffee yield. Selection of tree species is often determined by accessibility. Farmers living near main roads tend to plant more commercial fruit trees while farmers living in less accessible areas prefer timber trees. In the Central Highlands, provincial authorities recommend integrating indigenous timber species in coffee plantations and support the provision of seedlings.

The Central Highlands region is an agricultural hub for Viet Nam. Photo credit: Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme

Forestland tenure: Addressing a key challenge

The deeper-rooted challenge for coffee to make the shift from deforestation driver to solution is a socio-political issue revolving around tenure and legality of coffee grown on forestland. The historical legacy of many coffee growing communities in the Central Highlands is closely intertwined with migration and new settlements since the 1960s. This means that many of the smallholder coffee plantations were established through burning and converting natural forests – including protection forests. This makes these coffee plantations or farms ineligible for most sustainable coffee certification schemes. But, illegal or unsustainable is far from the impression one would gain upon learning about the efforts being taken together with the local authorities to make coffee production more sustainable.

As a solution for the tenure security, through long dialogue and lobbying, the central government issued Decree No. 168 in 2016, which allows for long-term use contracts to be signed between State forest managers and other parties for management and use of forestlands. This decree recognizes the limitations of earlier contract arrangements which treated contractors as labor force in State managed forests. Under the new decree, greater rights are rendered to contractors for forests and forestland resources for 20 years with possibility of extension.

The full implementation of Decree No. 168 and close collaboration between coffee growers and local authorities are expected to lead to sustainable production. Coffee agroforestry would not only reduce GHG emissions, but also enhance coffee’s resilience to a changing climate and secure better livelihoods. In fact, from all we have learned in the last several years, diversified coffee farms in Viet Nam can act as carbon sinks without sacrificing yields. A final sweetener would be that more diverse agroforestry systems increase bee populations, which might mean more and heavier fruits, and greater yields. Concerted efforts to make all of this reality are already underway.

Coffee for sale at a shop in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Photo credit: Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme

Authors:

Thomas Enters

Senior Consultant

UN-REDD Programme

thomas.enters@gmail.com

Akiko Inoguchi

Forestry Officer, REDD+/NFM cluster

FAO Forestry Department

akiko.inoguchi@fao.org

With their large, intact forest ecosystems, high forest, low deforestation developing countries (HFLD) play an important role in global climate change mitigation and adaptation. The benefits of intact forests and their removal of carbon from the atmosphere is clear. However, HFLDs have only attracted limited climate finance for forest conservation, while facing growing pressure from the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, such as agriculture and mining. Instead, the bulk of REDD+ financial support is directed to developing countries with a history of high rates of deforestation. While this REDD+ finance is absolutely critical for global climate change mitigation efforts, the time has come to acknowledge the unique challenges faced by HFLDs and to explore options to improve their access to climate finance.

To this end, the International Conference on Climate Finance for HFLD Countries was convened in Paramaribo, Suriname in February, 2019. The Government of Suriname, in collaboration with UNDP and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), hosted the event. Participants represented 15 developing countries (Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Gabon, DRC, Bhutan, Gabon, Guyana, Zambia, Bahamas, Fiji, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Malaysia, Seychelles); 6 developed countries (Norway, Italy, Canada, France, Korea, Finland); 5 UN agencies (UNDP, UN DESA, including UN Forum on Forests, UNICEF, UN Environment, FAO); and 8 other regional and international organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Green Hope Foundation.

The conference issued a call to fully recognize the contribution of HFLD countries in the fight against climate change and explored existing funding mechanisms and potential opportunities. The conference kicked off with a discussion establishing the robust scientific basis for the role of HFLDs in meeting global climate change goals. Additionally, the current treatment of HFLDs within the context of climate finance and options to enhance that support were presented. As well, countries shared their experiences and lessons learned on accessing climate finance.

Participants agreed that the contribution of HFLD countries to climate change is not adequately recognized by financial instruments or multilateral climate bodies. Country representatives expressed concern that the financial instruments currently available are limited and make it challenging for HFLD countries to achieve the goals set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. Many countries also raised concerns about the disconnect between the cost of reducing forest-related emissions and the prevalent international price of just $5 per tonne under current REDD+ RBP payment schemes.

The key result of the conference was the ‘Krutu of Paramaribo Joint Declaration’, developed through discussions and negotiations amongst the HFLD countries in attendance. Formally adopted on February 14, 2019, the Krutu of Paramaribo “articulates the desire of a group of HFLD countries to work together actively to break down barriers to accessing needed climate finance for the continued progress toward sustainable development goals, with concurrent care and protection for their essential intact forest ecosystems.” To do so, the Krutu calls for increasing cooperation among the HFLD developing countries through a platform for dialogue, coordination and facilitation.

The declaration specifically invites the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to consider ways to improve and simplify access to funding for sustainable forest management, as well as to continue to strengthen the dissemination of information on financing for sustainable forest management and capacity building to access the fund, in particular to HFLD developing countries. In formal statements, the GCF board members from Nicaragua and Seychelles committed to raise the HFLD finance issue with the GCF Board. There was also an invitation to the United Nations system to support the follow up from this conference within existing mandates and resources.

It was agreed that the Government of Suriname would continue to take the lead, bringing the Krutu of Paramaribo Joint Declaration to the attention of the international community in several upcoming meetings. Already, Suriname has been demonstrating this leadership, having convened the first meeting and raising the issue of finance for HFLDs at the 14th session of the UN Forum on Forests in May in New York.

The development of financing structures and policies to better include HFLD countries and their forests in the global response to climate change is clearly needed. The global conference and its resulting activity is generating momentum for the global community to act. This momentum needs to be sustained as we look ahead to the Secretary General’s Climate Summit in September where the importance of intact, stable forests and the contributions of HFLD countries to nature-based solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation will be prominent.

Author:

Noelia Jover – Technical Specialist, Climate & Forests, UNDP

Danae Maniatis – Senior Technical & Policy Specialist, Climate & Forests, UNDP

Kimberly Todd – Technical Specialist, Climate & Forests, UNDP

CAFI Dialogues Photo - Members of Gabon's National Agency for Nature measuring carbon in trees litter soil and underground biomass (CAFI Secretariat)

“If demographic pressure and low efficiency of food production and wood energy systems are maintained, the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be gone by 2100.” These words, by BMZ’s Heiko Warnken at the Central African Forests Initiative (CAFI) Dialogues in Bonn in April, 2019, served as a reminder of the urgent need to boost action for Central African forests.

The best actions are those based on evidence, and it is precisely for this reason that more than 20 international NGOs, donors and government representatives of the Central African sub-region poured over facts, studies and shared experiences at the meeting.

What hot topics drew participants in? The complex cause of forest loss in the region, the role community forestry can have in securing lands and sustainable revenues and possible solutions to the growing domestic and international demand for timber.

Consensus emerged on the accelerating trend of forest loss (14 million hectares of forests were lost across the 6 CAFI partner countries over the last 5 years) and the need for more research on causes and drivers. Another concern was around shifting agriculture and the policies and actions needed to ensure it is beneficial for both local populations and rural development. Participants also agreed that community forestry is a good way for communities to secure rights and works best when not geared exclusively towards timber production, but includes an artisanal timber sector.

Part of the CAFI Dialogues included a discussion on different initiatives underway to work with Chinese authorities and economic stakeholders and the best ways in which CAFI can complement these efforts. A series of strategic coordination meetings then looked into collaboration with WWF’s Tridom landscape programmes and approaches, with the World Bank’s ProGreen Fund and with the recently launched GEF Congo Basin Impact Programme.

The CAFI Dialogues were organized a few days ahead of the 12th CAFI Executive Board meeting which was marked by the launch of a high-level policy dialogue and negotiations for a Letter of Intent with the Republic of Congo. This makes the Republic of Congo the third of six CAFI partner countries to enter into discussions about ambitions and large scale funding, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo(2016, $190 million US) and Gabon (2017, $18.4 million US). The board meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the National Investment Frameworks of Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, results obtained so far in DRC and strategic opportunities for CAFI in 2019 and the years to come, building on the growing CAFI portfolio.

Find more on CAFI at www.cafi.org, on Twitter @CAFISecretariat and in this slide show.

Author:

Estelle Fach

Programme Specialist, UNDP Climate & Forests, Geneva.

estelle.fach@undp.org

An elephant taking a bath in zambia (Photo by Nicole Olwagen)

African countries continue to make progress on REDD+ safeguards, with Zambia being the first in the region to submit a summary of information to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is a milestone achievement for Zambia and for Africa, and it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to regional safeguards efforts in recent months.

Côte d'Ivoire has also drafted a first summary of safeguards information to be submitted to the UNFCCC once the formal government approval process has been concluded. Other countries in the region making progress with safeguards information systems that will inform future submissions include Ghana and Liberia, which already have online portals. Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Zambia have designed their safeguards information systems and are working towards getting operational and online, while Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda are in the process of designing their national information systems.

The process to develop Zambia’s first summary of safeguards information was coordinated by the National Safeguards Technical Working Group, a multi-stakeholder platform engaging key government agencies, civil society organizations, academia, private sector and existing on-the-ground REDD+ projects. The working group drew on emerging good practices in REDD+ safeguards reporting from the handful of countries that have already submitted summaries to the UNFCCC. In doing so, Zambia profited from a much shorter process to produce their first summary. It took them four months, including stakeholder consultations, compared to more than a year in some other countries.

A meeting of the National Safeguards Technical Working Group of Zambia

The process of pulling together a formal submission on REDD+ safeguards served a wider purpose. It made clear the urgent need to meet the other safeguards requirements for REDD+, namely putting a national-level information system in place and, most importantly, ensuring the safeguards are addressed and respected throughout the implementation of REDD+. Reporting on safeguards for the first time also gave the national working group an opportunity to consolidate and demonstrate their value as a one-stop shop for all things REDD+ safeguards in Zambia.

The group has their work cut out for them moving forward. After drafting a first summary of information, the working group must now capitalize on the critical mass and energy achieved thus far to support government in:

a) making sure a safeguards information system is in place within the next 12 months;

b) ensuring adequate institutional mandates, procedures and capacities are in place to address and respect the safeguards; and,

c) drafting a second summary of information that captures the country’s safeguards performance whilst achieving REDD+ carbon results.

If this momentum in safeguards and other areas of REDD+ implementation can be maintained, perhaps Zambia will be the next African country in line, after the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, to receive payments for REDD+ results.

For more information on REDD+ summaries of information and safeguards information systems:

Author:

UN Environment’s Steve Swan coordinates safeguards activities of the UN-REDD Programme and directly supports countries in meeting their safeguards commitments.

Steven.Swan@un-redd.org

Countries leverage a decade of REDD+ to advance the Paris Agreement

Mature pine forests in the early morning fog on the outskirts of Da Lat, Lam Dong province, Vietnam.

(Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

The land use sector is crucial to confronting climate change, with forests providing the single largest opportunity to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past decade, countries in Asia and the Pacific have joined a global drive to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and to conserve forests –an approach known as REDD+.

The push requires new policies, institutions and capacities and calls on different sectors, stakeholders and administrations to work together, noted delegates at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) held in Kyoto, Japan, on 13 May.

The panel Spotlight on the journey and implementation of REDD+, co-hosted by the UN-REDD Programme and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), looked at the past and future of REDD+ and presented key insights from Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Forests as capital, not commodities

Malaysia is a federation of states at various levels of economic development. “Some subnational governments think of forests, which cover two-thirds of our land area, as a source of income,” noted Dr. Elizabeth Philip, the REDD+ focal point for the Malaysian government.

“We initially saw that as a challenge, but then realized that REDD+ can harmonize development and climate goals,” she said.

Malaysia has since focused on the sustainable management of forests to reduce emissions from this sector, and it is one of four countries in the world to have reported REDD+ results to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We believe,” said Philip, “that REDD+ can contribute to shifting our perception of forests, so we see them as national capital rather than mere commodities.”

Building capacity and trust

REDD+ presents countries with the chance to address broader land use issues in their territories, including the land rights of Indigenous people. This has been the case for Myanmar, which recorded the third largest area of deforestation in the world between 2010 and 2015.

According to Naw Ei Ei Min, director of Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together in Myanmar (POINT), the REDD+ process triggered a dialogue to rebuild the long-broken trust between the government and Indigenous peoples.

Naw Ei Ei Min started engaging with the REDD+ readiness process nearly a decade ago. Since 2010, she has participated in the safeguard analysis for her country and worked to ensure that the perspectives of grassroots organizations, especially those of Indigenous peoples, are taken into account – both on paper and in reality.

“Law enforcement is important to fight illegal logging and to foster sustainable forest management,” she stressed. She also urged authorities to protect Indigenous communities from further land-grabbing, particularly as Myanmar strives to achieve its commitments to the global climate agenda, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“The 10-year process brought about a greater recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights and more transparency concerning forest management, which makes it easier for us to make our voices heard,” she said.

Members of the ethnic Dao minority who are guardians of the natural forests in Tong Sanh Commune, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. (Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme)

More data, less emissions

As for Vietnam, the REDD+ process resulted in a significant leap forward in terms of technical capacity. Vietnam’s transition in forest cover is testament to the importance of forest monitoring data, as highlighted by Dr. Nguyen Dinh Hung of the country’s Forestry Inventory Planning Institute (FIPI).

“Vietnam’s forest cover has increased steadily from 18 percent in 1995 to almost 42 percent now, and one of the reasons for this success is our national forest monitoring program,” he explained. Over the past two decades, forest-monitoring data has helped Vietnamese administrations launch large-scale tree-planting campaigns spanning nearly five million hectares.

“Data also helped authorities design reforestation and afforestation projects at the provincial level,” he said. “For example, data about the location and area of barren land, or degraded forests, were used to determine the targets for tree-planting activities.”

Plans that make business sense

“Reducing deforestation makes climate sense, and it also makes business sense,” said Emelyne Cheney, regional advisor on Forests and Climate Change at UN Environment in Asia and the Pacific. “Companies are increasingly aware of the risks posed by deforestation in their commodity supply chains.”

Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar work closely with the UN-REDD Programme, which builds on the expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNDP and UN Environment. The programme supports 65 partner countries with technical assistance, capacity-building and policy advice to help them access REDD+ financing.

The need to build partnerships with the private sector, including banks and traders in land-intensive commodities, is one of the main lessons learned over the last decade, pointed out Danae Maniatis, Senior Policy and Technical Advisor for the UN-REDD Programme at the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Maniatis also mentioned the importance of working across government sectors, such as agriculture, environment and finance, to transform the forestry and land use sectors, and stressed the need to work across scales, from the national to the project level.

Community forests in Myanmar. (Aung Soe/UN-REDD Programme)

Lessons learned from a decade of REDD+

Reflecting on the efforts of the three countries showcased at the Global Landscapes Forum: Kyoto event, Cheney from UN Environment emphasized that “forests are the fastest, cheapest and most immediate nature-based climate solution.” For her, the greatest achievement of REDD+ has been to raise the visibility of forests as a key part of the climate discussion, including in Asia and the Pacific.

A decade of REDD+ has yielded valuable lessons as well. Among them include the importance of quality forest monitoring data; Indigenous peoples’ perspectives; and coordination with the private sector, across government areas and across administrative levels.

The diverse panelists reflected on the incredible journey of REDD+ thus far, and also looked towards its potential future. Going forth, Naw Ei Ei Min urged decision-makers to coordinate policies concerning REDD+, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and land rights, as well as to ensure the implementation of REDD+ safeguards.

Dr. Nguyen highlighted the role that REDD+ can play in advancing the Paris Agreement, while Dr. Philip saw it as an opportunity to advance sustainable agricultural and forestry practices, and to increase the area and quality of forest reserves.

An example of intercropping in action: trees and tea plantations in Ilam, Nepal. (Leona Liu/UN-REDD Programme)

About the author:

Gloria Pallares

Writer for the UN-REDD Programme

George Scott, Private Sector Specialist for the UN Environment Office in Asia and the Pacific, discusses the issues faced by the coffee sector in Viet Nam and how the transition to sustainable practices can provide some of the solutions required

Raw coffee beans prior to harvest near Dung Kno, Di Linh, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam.

(Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

Viet Nam is the world’s second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil and the largest exporter of Robusta coffee in Asia. Coffee is the second most important agricultural commodity in the Southeast Asian country, after rice, contributing USD 3 billion to the Vietnamese economy, or roughly two to four percent of its GDP. It also accounts for around 40 percent of global Robusta production and nearly 60 percent of global Robusta exports.

Around 90 percent of Viet Nam’s coffee production comes from the Central Highlands- the agricultural hub of the country. In recent years, coffee has demonstrated its potential to generate high revenues, rendering the crop very attractive for smallholder cultivation. As a result, since the 1980s, coffee production in Viet Nam has increased significantly from 19,400 tonnes/year to 1.76 million tonnes in 2016. This is the result of both increasing land area under cultivation and intensifying farming practices. For reference, Vietnamese farmers typically reach yields of more than 3.5 tonnes per hectare, compared to 0.8 tonnes per hectare in Thailand, 0.5 tonnes per hectare in Indonesia, and only 0.4 tonnes per hectare in Lao PDR.

While this growth has made a significant contribution to the Vietnamese economy, it has not come without cost. In fact, maintaining such high levels of productivity has generated a series of environmental challenges, including deforestation and ecosystem degradation, which may threaten the future viability of Robusta production in Viet Nam. In addition, climate change is expected to exacerbate these issues by significantly reducing the land area suitable for coffee cultivation, as well as reducing the water available for irrigation needs.

A degraded and deforested area near Da Lat, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. April 25, 2019.

(Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

Further compounding these issues is the fluctuation in the global market price of coffee, which results from the cyclic nature of global coffee production. When prices are high, smallholder farmers are more attracted to cultivation, which increases the market supply. Since there is a lag in the response, the market tends to overcorrect, leading to over-supply, which subsequently drives down prices.

This is important to note because firstly, it directly impacts the gross margin of producers, affecting their livelihoods. This, in turn, can incentivise smallholders to encroach on forest, either to take advantage of the higher prices, or for poorer farmers with a higher time preference, when prices are depressed, to reinforce their livelihoods. Secondly, when the price is low, there is limited economic rationale for actors in the supply chain to implement sustainability projects.

Mono-cropping cultivation, typical in the Central Highlands, increases the impact of fluctuations in the price of coffee. This is further exacerbated by relatively small domestic consumption and limited exposure to an international market that is clustered around the production from a small group of countries. Together, Viet Nam, Brazil, and Indonesia, account for almost three-quarters of global Robusta production.

The combined impact of a government-sponsored coffee rejuvenation programme in the region and favourable growing conditions from the other coffee producing countries have led to fears that continued growth in supply could supress the coffee price to a point that farmers would no longer be able to ensure a sufficient standard of living, driving coffee producers away from coffee production.

A coffee shop owner prepares beans for sale in Hanoi.

(Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

Scaling up solutions

However, solutions do exist that can help improve the environmental resilience and economic stability for smallholder farmers, as well as to ensure the supply of coffee from the region. In fact, in anticipation of the impact that the declining price of Robusta may have on the livelihoods of Robusta farmers in the Central Highlands, many international traders and coffee companies have already begun to promote intercropping models. Among them include Louis Dreyfus, ACOM (which promotes intercropping of avocado and cassia siamea alongside coffee) and Thang Loi (which promotes intercropping of cassia siamea and pepper alongside coffee).

The use of “intercropping” (combining multiple crops on one plot) can diversify incomes and reduce the impact of coffee price fluctuation. Intercropping has the added benefit of providing shade for the soil and for the coffee plants, which allows the coffee beans to mature more slowly, increasing their quality and as a result, price.

In Viet Nam, there is also an increasing trend of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). CSA practices include smart water and irrigation management; adoption of improved crop varieties; agroforestry; intercropping; sustainable land management; agricultural waste treatment, such as integration of biogas technologies in livestock production; and improved agro-climate information services. Yet the majority of CSA technologies have a low to medium adoption rate due to low availability of required inputs, high costs of installation, and financial constraints and limited access to tailored information and guidance.

Coffee trees interplanted with banana trees and surrounded by pine forests near Da Lat, Lam Dong province, Vietnam. (Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

Financing sustainability improvements

For smallholders, converting to intercropping and other climate-resilient models can provide economic benefits when compared to mono-cropping models. The diversified revenue also provides a buffer to volatility in the global Robusta market, which only stands to increase as the impacts of climate change intensify.

However, the conversion to alternative production models requires a substantial capital investment at the onset, which is followed by a period of limited revenue between replantation and first production. This makes the conversion financially challenging for poorer households, which lack access to additional financing.

Banks in Viet Nam commonly face the shortage of mid and long-term capital sources for mid and long-term credit. One critical challenge is therefore finding sufficient sources of low-cost capital that can be used to provide loans to smallholders of sufficient tenor to finance their conversion to sustainable cultivation. To fill these gaps in financial capacity, the Vietnamese government calls on the international community and the private sector to provide support. This requires investigating new financing models that can de-risk and incentivize investment in novel modes of coffee production.

To this end, UN Environment, as part of a consortium of partner organisations including UNDP, CIAT, IDH and EFI, is working to establish a zero-deforestation jurisdiction for commodity cultivation in four districts of the Central Highlands. This includes fostering partnerships with agricultural solution providers, agribusinesses, as well as public and private financial actors to develop financial systems that can channel the investment capital required for the conversion to more resilient agricultural production models, with the view towards greening Viet Nam’s coffee supply chain one bean at a time, rendering that espresso all the sweeter and more sustainable for coffee drinkers worldwide.

Cil Mup Ha Thoanh, a local coffee farmer, walks through rows of coffee plants in Dung Kno, Di Linh, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. ( Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme)

About the author:

George Scott

Private Sector Specialist

UN Environment Office in Asia and the Pacific

Forests in Zambia cover about 60% of the total land area and are crucial in supporting low-income communities in both urban and rural areas. A variety of wood and non-wood forest products are utilised on a daily basis by rural and urban households in various parts of the country. The Government of Zambia is advancing in activities aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). This is an opportunity for them to directly address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation while pursuing its long-term development vision to reduce poverty and develop participatory forestry by 2030. According to Vision 2030, community forestry groups, in partnership with NGOs and the private sector, will become stewards of green businesses, earning income from sustainable forest management and sharing the benefits equitably in the community.

Several key policy documents underpin Zambia’s commitment to combating climate change and implementing this vision. These include the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC, 2015), the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP, 2016), and the National REDD+ Strategy (NRS, 2015, 2017). All three documents put an emphasis on community-based forestry actions.

The restoration and management of degraded forests is a key interest of the Government of Zambia as it aims to promote forest practices that are more inclusive and that enhance the involvement of local and traditional authorities and communities, notably through participatory forestry management (PFM). Participatory forest management plays a key role in the country’s REDD+ process as it has the potential to not only mitigate destructive land use practices and create carbon sinks through forest regeneration, afforestation and reforestation, but it also has the offers an opportunity to enhance the resilience of local communities to climate change.

The opportunities for integrated, community-based, natural resource management have rapidly increased. There are now several viable investment options for Zambia for upscaling existing or developing new initiatives in participatory forest management (PFM), in particular, community forest management (CFM), joint forest management (JFM) and private forest management (PvFM):

District platforms for capacity development and PFM deliveryRevision of legal and policy frameworkCommunity Forest Management (CFM) for SFM and poverty reductionJoint Forest Management (JFM) to restore local forest reservesCommunity Forest Buffers and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) around Protected AreasSmallholder private forest management (PvFM)Incentive and market-based mechanisms (IMBM) for community forestry

Mpika, Northern Province, Zambia (©FAO/P.Lowrey)

However, the proposed PFM programme will need to include disincentives or sanctions against destructive practices such as unsustainable charcoal production, and consider an equitable benefit-sharing mechanism. Consultation processes between communities, traditional authorities and local government will have to take place to explain regulations, including mechanisms for conflict resolution and to ensure that women, youth and vulnerable groups are adequately acknowledged and included in management and decision making. Additionally, further development of the PFM programme will require close alignment with the REDD+ safeguard process to invest in activities that are less likely to produce undesirable environmental and social risks and more likely to prioritize land use options that bring concrete and immediate benefits to both the communities and the environment. Securing land and tree tenure and harmonization of the legal frameworks, particularly on the extensive customary lands, will be an important element for PFM success.

The PFM programme will also need to address the paradox between the desire to decentralize authority over forests and increase incentives for active local management of forests with the need to coordinate actions at the national level. This remains one of the key, underlying challenges for REDD+. While there is some will to devolve powers to local communities, draft subsidiary laws often have limited authority at local community levels.

Achieving participatory forestry management will require time and further efforts. Nevertheless, the need for broad-based participation and partnerships cannot be overemphasized, as national REDD+ climate and development goals cannot be achieved if all stakeholders are not included throughout the process.

About the authors:

Amanda Bradley

Tenure Specialist and UN-REDD gender focal point at FAO

Amanda.Bradley@fao.org

Maryia Kukharava

Outreach and Knowledge Management Specialist at FAO

Maryia.Kukharava@fao.org

With special thanks to Guni Mickels Kokwe and Kaala Moombe

Situated in the heart of Central America and surrounded by high tropical mountains, Honduras has it all – rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, dry forest and mountain ranges with pine and oak trees. According to FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015, forests cover 41% of the country. Dedicated to protecting its diverse forested landscapes from the harsh effects of climate change, Honduras became a pioneer in the development of forest inventories and it stands ready to share its lessons learned with other countries in Central America.

What is the National Forest Inventory?

The National Forest Inventory (NFI) is a systematic collection of data designed to identify the extent and quality of forest stands and their associated management. This includes the collection of bio-physical data that is shared nationally and internationally, as well as socio-economic information that can help in understanding the anthropogenic impact of forests and their role in sustainable livelihoods. NFIs are a key information source for modern approaches to forest management and associated planning processes. It is used by countries to measure, report and verify the amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation and forest degradation, as well as document progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other national and international processes.

South-South Exchange Participants in Honduras (©ICF/Honduras)

NFI Developments in Honduras

Since launching the first cycle of NFI activities in 2005, with technical support from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Forest Service and the UN-REDD Programme, Honduras has implemented forest inventory planning, field data collection, data entry, quality control and assurance, data archiving and sharing, as well as data analysis, including integration with remote sensing for biomass modelling, documentation, reporting, communication and dissemination. In 2017, Honduras entered its third NFI cycle, improving measurements for data collection by applying the latest technologies such as mobile devices.

In February, 2019, Honduras held a South-South exchange workshopwith forester engineers from Guatemala and Costa Rica. This workshop was facilitated by FAO, with the financial support of the United States Forest Service through the SilvaCarbon Program and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The event focused on sharing technical experiences in the development of methodologies and processes required for the National Forest Inventory.

"It is important to know what and how many resources we have in our forests,” said Francisco Escalante, the Deputy Minister of the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) of Honduras. “The NFI allows each country to monitor key aspects of its forest resources which facilitates decision-making on activities to be carried out in the field such as forest restoration."

South-South Exchange Participants in Honduras (©ICF/Honduras)

Escalante added that he was pleased with the opportunity to share the experiences accumulated since 2005, over the three cycles of NFI measurement. He also noted the importance of facilitating regional knowledge exchanges between countries.

"We know that Honduras has implemented two forest inventory cycles and our intention is to learn from their experiences for use in Costa Rica so that our methods are effective and achieve the defined objectives,” said Henry Ramírez of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) of Costa Rica.

To learn more about new measurement techniques, participants visited the Omoa mangrove forests in the area of Cortés and the oak forests in the area of Santa Bárbara where they could witness important advances in protecting various vulnerable ecosystems, including mangroves.

"In the face population growth and human actions that create pressure and damage to forests, governments need to take measures towards the rational use of forest resources," said Gilberto Cifuentes of the National Forest Institute (INAB) of Guatemala.

"Honduras is a pioneer in ensuring self-sustainability in the long term," said Carla Ramirez, FAO National Forest Inventory Advisor for Latin-America and the Caribbean. "We hope that Guatemala and Costa Rica can replicate the experiences of institutionalizing the data collection process and progressively depend less on international cooperation.”

Useful links:

Author:

Carla Ramírez Zea

FAO Regional Advisor on REDD+ and NFI for Latin-America and the Caribbean

FAO Forestry Department

Carla.Ramirez@fao.org

Historically, bamboo has played a key role in the lives of many people in tropical countries around the world. Considering that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, with many uses, its booming global popularity comes as no surprise. According to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Ethiopia has two-thirds of all bamboo found in Africa. From traditional handmade, woven baskets to furniture shops, the Ethiopian bamboo industry has the potential to contribute to Ethiopia’s ambition of becoming a middle-income country in the next ten years. However, given the increasing degradation of bamboo caused by land conversion, the challenge is ensuring its sustainable management.

In Ethiopia, bamboo provides an array of market opportunities in the form of commercial, non-wood forest products such as furniture, flooring, mats, toothpicks, scaffolding and serving as food for both people and animals. It also plays an important ecological role through soil erosion control, water conservation, land rehabilitation and carbon sequestration. According to INBAR, the potential revenue and employment from bamboo for Ethiopia is enormous. Three million hectares of plantations could generate $5 billion in revenue and 1.3 million jobs. Although it has already proven a significant economic and environmental resource for Ethiopia, bamboo’s full potential has yet to be fully tapped in bringing additional income to poor farmers and facilitating land restoration.

The highest bamboo forest cover in Ethiopia is found in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State (BGRS) where the Oxytenanthera abyssinica - a species adapted to dry land, poor and shallow soil and degraded landscapes - thrives. It plays a crucial role as a buffer to increasing desertification coming in from neighbouring Sudan. However, in the last 10 years, bamboo in BGRS has been degraded due to unsustainable agricultural practices such as fire and land conversion for agricultural investments. In order to fully tap the potential of bamboo in this region of Ethiopia, a paradigm shift in the perception of bamboo as more than simply a weed is required. In addition, a comprehensive plan for bamboo forest management is required at the regional level to ensure adaptation and implementation at the local level.

To support the development of a sustainable bamboo forest management plan for BGRS, the UN-REDD Programme has published ”Guiding principles for sustainable bamboo forest management in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional state (BGRS)” in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Produced in English and Amharic, the publication provides guidance, suggestions and identifies key challenges and opportunities in the sustainable management of the regions bamboo forests.

To support the use of bamboo resources for degraded land restoration in Ethiopia, there is a need to capitalize on existing projects and adopt available innovative forest monitoring toolsto develop policies and actions in the country. Collaboration with government-managed nurseries and with village cooperatives and smallholder enterprises will be crucial in the process. Furthermore, participatory forest management projects are increasingly receiving recognition by policy makers in Ethiopia. These projects have been in place for many years and are building long-term relationships with local communities and local governments, negotiating rights for communities to trade bamboo resources and other associated non-timber forest products, as well as developing training for sustainable bamboo management, harvest and exploitation.

Useful links:

PUBLICATION:Guiding principles for sustainable bamboo forest management in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional state (BGRS)

PUBLICATION: ዘላቂ የቀርከሀ ደን አስተዳደር ዕቅድ መርሆዎች ቤኒሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልላዊ መንግሥት

PUBLICATION: Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State REDD+Design: A Regional model for REDD+ under the UNFCCC Warsaw Framework

Author:

Rebecca Tavani

Forestry Officer, NFI team leader

FAO Forestry Department

rebecca.tavani@fao.org

Cambodia gender mainstreaming activity (UNDP)

Cambodia is growing and developing at an accelerated pace, and while this has created new opportunities for women, it has also reinforced, and in some cases exacerbated, existing gender inequalities. The country remains patriarchal, and women are still politically and economically marginalized.

This is particularly true for the forest sector, where even if women show a keen interest in forest management, their voice is barely heard and their participation in decision-making is often disregarded. Sokha, Maradi and Sopanha are three committed Cambodian women working for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Administration. They are members of the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Gender Group, helping to make Cambodia’s efforts in forest management more gender-responsive.

“Men think that women are not capable nor interested in forest management activities,” says Maradi. “This is why women do not feel encouraged to participate.”

Common technical activities like forest patrolling and demarcation are dominated by men. Women tend to stay home and are deprived of any genuine engagement in forestry activities. “Women are only involved in the nursery and forest activities that are not very far from home,” says Sokha.

Women often have no choice but to assemble firewood and collect fruits and vegetables. “Cambodian culture believes women should work indoors rather than outdoors,” says Sopanha. “As a result, women are hesitant to work far from home, so we see less women are involved in forest patrolling activities and more in tree nurseries.”

Despite these challenges, women are increasingly positioning themselves to find their place in forest management. Their involvement in forest management has been proven to be crucial in improving sustainable forest management. As the book, Gender and Green Governance, notes, a higher proportion of women participants in local institutions of forest governance is directly linked to significantly greater improvement in forest conditions and conservation. In addition, their knowledge of biological diversity, as well as resources such as wild mushrooms, tubers and bamboo shoots, is essential. However, climate change impacts on forests have resulted in reduced crops yields, which, in turn, have had a devastating effect on the livelihoods of women and their families.

In response, Cambodia has been working in collaboration with the UN-REDD Programme and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and other organizations to implement REDD+. With FCPF support, Cambodia is strengthening policies and institutional capacities to support gender equality in forestry at national, subnational and local levels. A number of activities have been implemented, including gender trainings and workshops.

Sopanha believes that “making government officers aware of gender issues through trainings is important to supporting an integrated gender perspective and reducing the gender gap.”

For Sokha, “there is an indirect impact on local communities when women are invited to join the meetings and trainings.” She says having both women and men actively and equitably involved in decision-making can bring about significant improvement to forest management.

For the REDD+ Gender Group, the next step will be working with national technical teams to mainstream gender into the National REDD+ Strategy Action and Investment Plan. Several trainings will be carried out to reach subnational REDD+ projects, raise awareness and enhance gender consideration through all REDD+ programmes and activities.

Authors:

Lydie Hountondji

Communications Analyst

Tolasreypeou SEM

Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Officer

Your contact for more information about Gender in the Cambodia REDD+ Programme

tolasreypeou.sem@undp.org

We lost our very dear colleague, Victor Tsang, in the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on the morning of March 10, 2019 near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is a heartbreaking loss to those who knew him and he will be greatly missed.

Victor began his role as the UN Environment Gender Focal Point for the UN-REDD Programme in March, 2017. From the moment he started, he brought energy, vigor and fresh ideas on how to support gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment efforts within the Programme. His energy was contagious and led to a great collaborative effort on gender among the three UN-REDD partner agencies. In his one and a half years in this role, Victor made a large impact in strengthening the gender approach within the UN-REDD Programme and was instrumental in the development and launching of the UN-REDD Gender Marker Rating System. Victor’s work ethic, dedication, creativity, team spirit and ability to think outside the box encouraged others to strive to emulate these same qualities in their work.

Victor was a great advocate for gender equality and a real pleasure to work with. The UN-REDD Programme is grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside him, as well as for the invaluable contribution he made to its gender mainstreaming efforts. He will be remembered by those who worked with him with great affection and gratitude. May he rest in peace.

Landscape restoration in Cote d'Ivoire (Brice Delagneau)

On the 1st of March 2019, we saw one of the rare moments in history when the entire world comes together and agrees on a joint way forward. The United Nations General Assembly recognized the urgent need to tackle the compounded crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss, and passed a resolution to proclaim 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. With the aim to restore at least 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030 – an area the size of India – the UN Decade is a loud and clear call to action for all of us. And it is a great opportunity for the UN-REDD Programme and its partner countries to build on 10 years worth of relevant experience with safeguards, impactful policies and measures, and attracting private and public investments.

It is high time that we bring more attention to the essential role of nature for a peaceful, fair and prosperous future. Nature can provide more than one third of the solution to climate change, but nature-based solutions such as ecosystem restoration and forest conservation currently receive less than 3 percent of climate finance. Neglecting nature in our implementation of climate solutions means we are also not doing enough to save biodiversity. The double whammy of climate change and biodiversity loss has impacts that go far beyond our economy. If we do not act now, the very foundations of our culture, and our cohesion as a global civilization could be at risk.

How can we turn the tide? While ecosystem restoration is not a silver bullet for our current crisis, it is a useful approach to shift the narrative, from despair to action. Restoration is about active participation at all levels. The restoration of ecosystems can at the same time restore a sense of community, and restore dignity and hope to disadvantaged and marginalized communities around the world. It can provide many young people with a new sense of purpose and opportunity, and help vulnerable communities to adapt to climate change.

To harness the full potential of this UN Decade, we need three key changes, at global and national level:

The restoration of ecosystems across the globe, at a significant scale, has the potential to be a big part of the required joint effort of humanity to turn the tide of environmental degradation. We have risen to critical global challenges before, and we can do it again.

Author:

Tim Christophersen is the Coordinator of the Freshwater, Land and Climate Branch at UN Environment, based in Nairobi, and Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration. He is also the focal point in UN Environment for preparing the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

Tim.christophersen@un.org

El Perú recoge las decisiones sobre REDD+ establecidas en la CMNUCC que se fundamentan en el abordaje y respeto de las salvaguardas acordadas durante la COP16 en Cancún. Para avanzar en la consolidación de este proceso, el Perú está construyendo el enfoque nacional de salvaguardas, con el objetivo de reducir los riesgos y promover los beneficios sociales y ambientales durante el diseño y la implementación de las acciones REDD+.

En tal sentido, desde junio del 2017 el país enfoca sus esfuerzos en la implementación de la Hoja de Ruta de Salvaguardas para REDD+, documento que da respuesta a los diversos compromisos asumido por el país en la materia. En efecto, ésta establece las pautas para contar con un sistema de información que permita reportar cómo se están abordando y respetando las salvaguardas, y que a su vez contribuya con el monitoreo de la implementación de las acciones REDD+ bajo un enfoque de derechos y buenas prácticas sobre el territorio nacional.

El Perú considera que la participación de los distintos actores es un elemento clave para dar respuestas a la problemática del cambio climático, consolida la implementación de política pública y fortalece la institucionalidad. Por ello, es una prioridad fundamental escuchar, dialogar y construir de manera participativa, transparente e inclusiva los mecanismos, procesos y acciones en materia de cambio climático integrando los enfoques de género, interculturalidad e intergeneracional. En esa línea, la participación plena y efectiva de los diferentes actores vinculados a REDD+ es un elemento indispensable en la construcción del enfoque nacional de salvaguardas. Así, se reconoce además, que lograr un nivel de construcción colectiva requiere de un constante fortalecimiento de capacidades, más retador aun considerando la diversidad cultural, social, ambiental, geográfica, entre otras, del Perú.

A partir de las discusiones generadas en torno a REDD+, el país (gobierno nacional, gobiernos regionales, sociedad civil, pueblos indígenas, entre otros) ha realizado denodados esfuerzos para fortalecer las capacidades de los distintos actores involucrados. Hoy existe una masa crítica y espacios de participación activos que fortalecen la construcción de las salvaguardas para REDD+ en el Perú.

Bajo esta premisa, en el primer trimestre del 2019, se conformó el Sub Comité Técnico de salvaguardas, en el marco de la consolidación de la gobernanza sobre bosques y cambio climático. Este espacio de diálogo y participación especializado está conformado por instituciones públicas de escala nacional con funciones y competencias vinculadas a la deforestación y cambio de uso de suelo, gobiernos regionales amazónicos con procesos en marcha vinculados a las salvaguardas REDD+, centros de investigación, organizaciones indígenas, sector privado, sociedad civil; y personas naturales con experiencia en procesos de salvaguardas REDD+. Esta característica multiactor y multinivel permite enriquecer las discusiones en torno a la construcción del enfoque nacional de salvaguardas.

El Perú tiene como meta del 2019, contar con el diseño del Módulo de Información de Salvaguardas y elaborar el Resumen de Información que permita reportar a la CMNUCC y otros actores, sobre el abordaje y respeto de las salvaguardas en la implementación de las acciones REDD+. Asimismo, el país está avanzando en la construcción de elementos claves como un mecanismo de atención ciudadana para REDD+, el marco de gestión ambiental y social, entre otros, que consolidan el proceso nacional de salvaguardas. Para ello, el trabajo colaborativo del Sub Comité Técnico de salvaguardas con el Ministerio del Ambiente (punto focal de REDD+ en el Perú) resulta relevante para el logro adecuado y participativo de las metas del país.

Autoras:

Karla Mendoza

Profesional en ingeniería ambiental, candidata a Magister en Gestión de la Inversión Social. Se desarrolla como especialista en salvaguardas y brinda soporte especializado en el proceso nacional REDD+ liderado por el Ministerio del Ambiente. Cuenta con experiencia en la elaboración e implementación de estrategias de desarrollo comunal, programas y proyectos de conservación de bosques y REDD+ que requiere alta coordinación multinivel multiactor con énfasis en pueblos indígenas.

kmendoza@minam.gob.pe

Tamara Lasheras

Licenciada en ciencias políticas con maestría en Desarrollo Medio Ambiente y Políticas. Experiencia de trabajo en organismos internacionales y entidades estatales con diversos actores en temas ligados al desarrollo, medio ambiente y educación. En el último período ha brindado soporte especializado al proceso nacional de salvaguardas en el Perú.

Women tend to be underrepresented in the finance industry, but in Honduras, a lower to middle-income country in Central America, we are starting to see a different trend. Women leaders are now starting to play more of a key role in finance, particularly in terms of transitioning to sustainable finance. They are actively promoting the inclusion of financial risks related to climate change as part of investment decision making.

As noted by the Journal of Economic Literature in a study on gender preferences, women are more risk averse than men and when exposed to uncertainty, they are more likely to attempt to lower that uncertainty. To lower climate risk uncertainty in financial systems, Environmental and Social Risks Analysis (ESRA) has emerged as a successful approach adopted by women in financial leadership positions. ESRA identifies, evaluates and manages environmental and social risks in projects and activities seeking finance. More importantly, ESRA minimizes the possibilities of assuming the costs transferred from these risks.

Honduras is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, with an average deforestation of 23,303 hectares per year. Women in financial services and regulatory agencies are responding to this crisis by utilizing and undertaking ESRAs.

Two such key women in the financial sector of Honduras are Ethel Deras, the President of the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS) and Mayra Roxana Luisa Falck Reyes, the Board President of the Honduran Bank of Production and Housing (BANHPROVI), a local public development bank.

Under Deras´ guidance, the Commission supervises, regulates and controls local institutions to guarantee the stability and solvency of the financial system. They are currently involved in the process of understanding the opportunities and challenges of establishing ESRA regulation. The Commission, in collaboration with other institutions, such as the Association of Banking Institutions of Honduras (AHIBA) and its Sustainable Banking Committee, is participating as an observer in the development of a regulation to introduce mandatory ESRA in financial transactions. Under Deras´ leadership, the Commission is on the road to establishing guidelines and standards towards a more sustainable financial system in Honduras.

Under Falck´s leadership, BANHPROVI, a key financial intermediary and direct and indirect investor in the economy, has expressed the political will to comprehensively channel financial resources to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and include ESRAs in its standard credit risk process. Falck is convinced that, given the importance of financial disbursements in the agricultural sector, BANHPROVI could play a key role in the protection and restoration of forests and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.

Mayra Roxana Luisa Falck Reyes, the Board President of the Honduran Bank of Production and Housing (BANHPROVI), a local public development bank

In March, Falck participated in two training workshops on ESRA in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, organized by the UN-REDD Programme in collaboration with UNEP FI and the Ecobanking Project of INCAE Business School. As part of the development of the National REDD+ Strategy, the workshops focused on supporting public-private sector actions designed to address the increasing expansion of the agricultural frontier in Honduras.

Source: BANHPROVI

The workshops were aimed at educating the 60 professionals with BANHPROVI about sustainable finance and the consequences and opportunities generated by the identification and evaluation of socio-environmental risks of their clients and investment partners. Participants were also taught how to identify, evaluate and reduce risks through tools and approaches used by international financial institutions. The training focused on the analysis of social and environmental risk, with a focus on deforestation, stemming from the agricultural sector.

Author:

Gabriela Flores

Gabriela provides technical support to governments and financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean countries in advancing the REDD+ agenda and promoting private sector engagement options for sustainable agricultural production within a zero-net deforestation context.

gabriela.flores@un.org

“The guests are late because of the rain,” says the chief. “And the rain should be over by now, but this year it remains because of climate change.”

We are sitting in Iko Esai, a remote village in southern Nigeria. It took us three hours on muddy, slippery roads to reach the house of the village chief. He serves us palm wine while we listen to music on his hand-held radio and wait for the other chiefs and project leaders to arrive.

Aita Obhort Obio Arong Oway is the traditional ruler of Iko Esai and custodian of village traditions. He welcomes the UN-REDD Programme’s assistance. “They help us relieve pressure on the forest,” he says. “Before we were cutting wood as our main activity and clearing the forest to plant plantain, yam, cassava and cocoa. Now, we have a land use plan which limits where we can farm and hunt. A forest law has been instituted to prevent using poisonous chemicals to kill fish or pollute the water and to protect endangered species. People respect the land use plan, and those who don’t pay a fine.”

The Key Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Nigeria has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, with less than 10% of the country forested. The key culprits are agriculture (both smallholder and commercial), fuelwood use, unsustainable and illegal logging, oil and mineral exploration and infrastructure development.

But since 2010, the UN-REDD Programme has provided valuable support for the country’s ambitious efforts at forest conservation, climate change mitigation and community development. In particular, Cross River State, which has more than 50% of Nigeria's remaining tropical high forests, is host to a Community Based REDD+ Programme (CBR+) that promotes activities to reduce poverty and improve crop varieties and yields, gender empowerment, biodiversity, conservation and climate change mitigation. To date, more than 300 households across 21 communities have benefited from the programme, which targets women, men and youth.

Through the programme, villagers like those in Iko Esai have improved sustainable management of their community forest lands through the development of management plans and reforestation that includes both indigenous and non-timber forest products. As well, improved processing of cassava and sustainable cultivation of cocoa is enhancing productivity and enabling an increase in household income by at least 10% in some target communities.

“We want to give alternative livelihood opportunities to local communities so they can stay out of the forest and relieve the pressure on it,” says Dr. Alice Ekwu, the Honourable Commissioner for Cross River State Ministry of Climate Change and Forestry and Small Grants Program National Coordinator. “For one of the small grant projects, we give cassava processing machines or beehives or introduce agroforestry techniques. The future looks good as we have finished the readiness phase and are now into the upscaling of activities and the investment phase.”

The Iko Esai Community Projects

Wanting to see the benefits on the ground of a CBR + project, we visited projects in Iko Esai that are aimed at redefining participatory local forest management and conservation, while simultaneously improving rural livelihoods through the introduction of agroforestry techniques, tools for improved cassava processing and forest management planning.

After receiving training, Glory Adam Ayo has been planting other trees in her cacao plantation and using natural fertilizer. “Now the cocoa trees are healthier, the leaves do not die and the cocoa produces more than before,” she says.

Linus Ita is a farmer and one of the trainers. “I train the other farmers about the importance of trees, not to cut them because they absorb carbon emissions,” he says. “A tree is life and the whole community knows that now. Because trees clean the oxygen, they protect our watershed, reduce erosion and make for a pleasant and favorable environment, keeping it cooler even during the hot season.”

He said the UN-REDD Programme has provided the community with valuable information on how to get the highest yield for cocoa through new agroforestry practices. “They increased our level of awareness on environmental issues regarding the use of chemicals,” he says. “Now, we use organic fertilizers that we make ourselves from leaves, grass and branches. We plant cocoa and pear trees, plantain and bush mango and avocado. Diversification has allowed communities to generate income through the seasons.”

“We lose 25,000 hectares of forest a year, maybe even more to farming,” says Tony Atah, the UN-REDD Programme stakeholder engagement specialist on the ground. “REDD+ is raising consciousness about that. And the projects we implement are aimed at improving rural livelihoods while at the same time, relieving pressure on the forest.”

In Iko Esai, Aita Obhort Obio Arong Oway explains how the UN-REDD Programme provided a cassava processing mill and brought a big change to the lives of women in his community. “Now, they can process a lot with the machine, compared with doing it by hand. Now, it takes them less time and they can do bigger quantities.”

For example, it used to take six days to grate 50 kilos of cassava, but with the machine, it only takes a couple of hours.

Maria Mark Ettan is one of the women in Iko Esai benefiting from the cassava processing mills. Although cassava processing mills have improved the lives of Iko Esai’s women, they still can’t get their produce to market because of poor road conditions. “We are 3 hours away from the main road, and the people who come up to our village to buy cassava give us very low prices,” says Maria Mark Ettan. “We need a better road.”

Poor road conditions hamper economic progress.

Beehives Improve the Livelihood of Eco Guards

As part of the CBR+ project in Iko Esai, eco guards were given beehives so that honey production could help them improve their livelihoods. The eco guards are a community-based, paramilitary association, respected by the community, that protect the local forests.

Although relatively new, Linus Ita is hopeful the beehives will help regenerate the forest as villagers stay away from the areas where the beehives are located. “There was a stream that dried out because of forest degradation,” says Ita. “Now with the beehives, the water will come back and the honey will provide revenue for the eco guards.”

Author:

Griet Ingrid Dierckxsens

Africa regional Communications and Knowledge Management specialist

UN-REDD Programme

ingrid.dierckxsens@un.org

Collecting the cocoa beans (Cote d'Ivoire, UN-REDD)

Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s biggest producer of cocoa. But cocoa yields in Africa, which range from 200-700 kg/hectare, are surprisingly low compared to South America (2.5 tons/hectare) and Asia (2.0 tons/hectare). Côte d’Ivoire’s first rank is the result of plantations expanding at the expense of forests. The increase of cocoa cultivation lands in Côte d'Ivoire continues, causing acute deforestation and negative climate impacts with rainfall reducing sharply. The reality is bleak and the future uncertain. If no solution is found, forests could totally disappear by 2034 and with them, the cocoa industry, a significant revenue generator and foreign currencies provider for the country.

According to Philippe Bastide, a cocoa expert who formerly worked for the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), one reason for the country’s low cocoa yields is that, unlike in South America, there is no homogeneity in Ivorian cocoa trees. Because of their diversity, only 25 to 30% of trees supply 80% of the cocoa production, whereas in South America, 85% of the trees supply 90% of the production. Cocoa plantations couldn’t be financially viable in South America with African yields as labor there is more expensive in South America.

Another cause, says Bastide, is the lack of good practices, including adequate maintenance and pest and disease control. Cultivation methods remain largely unchanged since the country’s independence in 1960. Farmers continue to use the full-sun method, exhausting soil nutrients and perpetuating low yields. In addition, the advanced age of the approximate 800,000 cocoa farmers prevents modernization and the will to adapt. Old cocoa plantations with old trees can’t produce much: thirty-year-old plantations require continuous attention and rejuvenation to keep the yields high. Without it, yields will continue to drop. More, poverty creates a vicious circle where farmers can’t buy inputs for these old plantations causing diminishing yields driving down farmers’ revenues.

The easiest solution to the soil depletion responsible for decreasing yields is to encroach upon forests. As weak productivity is the principal driver for shifting cultivation, we can assume that improving yields may reduce the current deforestation. Thus, considering that grafting is forbidden out of fear of swollen shoot disease, the simplest alternative to increasing cocoa yields would be intensification. This structural change means growing more cocoa on less land, using 100% productive, improved cocoa trees. An intensification scheme would mean multiplying the high-yield trees (bearing more than 10 fruits/year) by three to gain efficiency. In each plantation, keeping an inventory of productive trees to keep and less fruitful trees to cut may leave room to plant other trees or crops. This constant sorting process will increase yields (without augmenting the production because of the reduced number of cocoa trees) by allowing the additional space to be filled by timber, fruit trees, fuelwood and crop trees that can enhance the health of cocoa trees while also providing additional income for farmers. This agroforestry model is considered the most promising investment opportunity in terms of REDD+ benefits and feasibility. This strategy will help Côte d'Ivoire achieve several sustainable development goals (with priority to #1 no poverty, #7 affordable and clean energy, #8 decent work and economic growth, #12 responsible consumption and production, #13 climate action and #15 life on land) while also breaking with the deforestation trend in the country.

Cocoa has played a major role in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic development, but the Ivorian cocoa machine is about to seize up. A whole industry resistant to change must reinvent itself or die. A thunderstorm is forming on the horizon and the country needs to take urgent action to ensure the proper measures are implemented or prepare for an economic and environmental crisis.

Author:

Thomas Yapo

Ecosystems Programme, Project Coordinator, UNEP Finance Initiative

thomas.yapo@un.org

Colombia boasts 60 million hectares of natural forest, covering more than half of the country. It is the second most biologically diverse country in the world, home to about 10 percent of the world’s species. However, this rich biodiversity is threatened by deforestation caused predominantly by illegal mining and logging, agricultural conversion, coca plantations and forest fires.

The UN-REDD Programme has been working with the government of Colombia to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. Through UN-REDD Programme activities, stakeholders including indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, farmers, public institutions and the private sector have learned how REDD+ can support their empowerment by improving mechanisms that can assist in forest conservation while also improving their own livelihoods.

In 2018, UN Environment’s Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and the Ecobanking Project of INCAE Business School, in collaboration with the UN-REDD Programme and the Global Green Growth Institute, organized an introductory training workshop on environmental and social risk analysis. The goal of the event was to train those working in the finance industry how to identify, categorize and analyze environmental and social risks in lending operations and investment projects. For participants from FINAGRO and Banco Agrario, the training focused specifically on projects and lending operations in the agricultural sector.

“The workshop was part of a wider strategy to develop specific financial products and incentives targeted at the transition to more sustainable agricultural production models,” says Jacinto Coello, UN Environment Programme Officer. “The expectation is that banks in Colombia will adopt environmental and social risk management systems to screen the different financial transactions they undertake, and therefore, stop financing activities with severe negative environmental and social impacts. The goal for them is to finance activities like agroforestry that can support the transition to a low-emissions economy.”

According to Coello, there is also an increasing demand in Colombia for responsible banking products. This year, FINAGRO will start piloting the first agro-environmental line of credit as an incentive for sustainable livestock producers to protect forests and restore degraded livestock areas. This is one of the first steps in strengthening FINAGRO’s institutional capacities in developing and implementing environmental and social risk assessment policies.

“We have a great responsibility, and we are trying to coordinate actions so that Colombia has a responsible bank and the agricultural sector has an offer of financial products that promote beneficial changes for the environment,” says Nidyan Mireya Pinzón Ruiz, Advisor to the Presidency of FINAGRO . “Through lines of credit for working capital and investment offered by FINAGRO, it is possible for agricultural producers to finance activities beneficial to the environment, while also contributing to improving competitiveness and efficiency in their production.”

Author: UN-REDD Programme

Young girl living on a coffee plantation in Cote d'Ivoire (UN-REDD)

In 2014, President Alassane Ouattara signed the United Nations’ New York Declaration on Forests and committed to restore the national forest extent to 20% of the territory by 2030. Following this, chocolate manufacturers launched agroforestry pilots inside Ivorian cocoa plantations as part of their sustainability efforts as agroforestry (associated trees inside plantations) is considered the investment opportunity with the most potential to fight against deforestation. The implementation of these pilots offers solutions to other issues addressed in United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of 17 goals and a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future by 2030.

Here is a list of the solutions that agroforestry could bring:

SDG #1 - No Poverty. Most smallholder farmers have no assets and are below the poverty line. The inclusion of trees and food crops inside plantations brings additional revenue that can lift farmers out of poverty when the value chains are established.SDG #2 - Zero Hunger. Smallholder farmers suffer from poor food diversity in a country where a lot of land is dedicated to export crops. By growing food crop and fruit trees, farmers benefit from better nutrition while providing food security for the country.SDG #3 - Good Health and Well-being. Sound nutrition is the principal cause of good health, but access to medicine is also important. In countries with unreliable access to drugs, certain tree species have medicinal properties that can cure basic, local illnesses. Incorporating them in plantations is important for populations.SDG #4 - Quality Education. Children working in plantations because of poverty is a major issue. With additional revenues brought in by agroforestry and diversification, farmers would be more inclined to send their children to school.SDG #5 - Gender Equality. Plantations are predominantly owned by men. We have seen that food crops bring additional revenue to farmers, particularly to the women who are in charge of this activity. It provides them with autonomy, independent revenue streams and social status.SDG #7 - Affordable, Clean Energy. The increasing need for fuelwood is a deforestation driver. Growing fast rotation trees, like acacias, inside plantations supplies fuelwood and discourages cutting forests. It is important to note that the carbonization process should be as efficient as possible to save woody biomass.SDG #8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. Slavery and poor working conditions exist in remote plantations. The implementation of good practices and technological upgrades through agroforestry improve working conditions for farmers.SDG #10 - Reduced Inequalities. The absence of land certificates prevents smallholder farmers from accessing funding solutions necessary to invest to escape poverty. A financing scheme would empower smallholder farmers by leveling the field.SDG #12 - Responsible Consumption and Production. The use of chemical inputs to grow a monoculture in full sun is not sustainable. To insert trees in cocoa plantations could be beneficial by lowering the need for chemical inputs and creating much-needed biodiversity.SDG #13 - Climate Action. Deforestation has led to many climate change impacts including a steep decline in rainfall. This threatens the culture of cocoa that is economically crucial for the country. Reforesting the country using agroforestry principles will create shade areas that will play a positive role in favoring water evaporating from the soil and transpiring from the plants.SDG #15 - Life on Land. The word ivory in the country’s name refers to what was once an abundant population of elephants, now on the verge of extinction. Implementing agroforestry will slow, halt or reverse deforestation and create a more biodiverse environment.SDG #17 - Partnerships for the goals. With large corporations and investors from advanced economies cooperating with farmers from developing countries in order to reforest for a global gain, the implementation of agroforestry on a large scale is a perfect example of partnership.

Though the primary objective of agroforestry is to restore forest cover, it is not a silver bullet to tackle deforestation, nor is it a silver bullet to meeting all the SDGs. Nonetheless, it is a significant tool in bringing sustainability to a country suffering from mono-culture, deforestation, species extinction and climate impacts.

Author:

Thomas Yapo

Ecosystems Programme, Project Coordinator, UNEP Finance Initiative

thomas.yapo@un.org

Enkhjargal Damia and Charlotte Hicks of the UN-REDD Programme sat down with three members of Mongolia’s National Technical Working Group on Safeguards and Safeguard Information System. These three individuals come from diverse sectors – government, NGO and media – but have all played an integral role in the development of Mongolia’s safeguards approach.

D. Munkhsaikhan

Officer of the Sectoral Development Coordination Division in the National Development Agency

Ganbold Tumurmunkh

Member of the Mongolia Environmental Civil Council’s monitoring committee and an environmental journalist.

Oyunchimeg Altangerel

Head of the River and Water Conservation, a non-government organisation, and member of the Mongolia Environmental Civil Council.

The Technical Working Group was set up in 2017 to guide the development of a national safeguards approach and to help design a safeguards information system (SIS). Can you tell me more about what this group actually does?

Munkhsaikhan: During Working Group meetings, a safeguards approach for Mongolia was identified. We evaluated REDD+ policies and measures in terms of their risks and benefits and proposed ways to reduce risks and increase benefits. We also analysed the required data sources and systems for the establishment of the SIS. This included identifying the SIS structure, design and roles and responsibilities of the different actors.

In what way have you been personally involved in the safeguards approach in Mongolia?

Oyunchimeg: I’m happy to be a member of the Technical Working Group. A boreal forest country like Mongolia is making important steps towards an integrated forest management policy, thanks to REDD+. The safeguards are about preventing negative impacts, but also about the benefits of REDD+. Because REDD+ covers the whole country – from forests to the steppes to the semi-desert area - it will be diverse.

Tumurmunkh: As an environmental journalist, I am interested in how environmental activities affect people in Mongolia. We can already see the impacts of climate change. Awareness about REDD+ should be raised among communities and society, and mass media is key for this.

What are some opportunities and challenges you experienced through this multi-stakeholder working group?

Oyunchimeg: I think the main challenge is to get people mobilised. But we had good participation from different sectors. We had people from many different backgrounds join us, including farmers, lawyers, herders, and urban people. People from rural areas were curious and didn’t know much about REDD+, but they became more aware through our activities. And now they are eagerly awaiting our next training!

How has the safeguards work been useful for you?

Oyunchimeg: What we did in the Working Group taught me about how to minimise risks in my own work and life. Looking at the benefits and risks of each option, and seeing the perspectives of different sectors and backgrounds was an interesting and a systematic approach - it could assist the development of other policies and plans too. I also have a better understanding of the need for the participation of all affected stakeholders. I see now that those living in forested areas are not the only ones affected by changes in the forest; these changes can also affect those living further away and in towns.

Munkhsaikhan: The National Development Agency’s main responsibility is to prepare and help implement development plans, and to conduct research on development policy. Being a Working Group member was very enriching and useful in understanding different aspects of sustainable development. I will use the experience in my future work on sectoral development policies and improving coordination between different sectors.

Tumurmunkh: I learned more about how the media and journalists can be part of REDD+. There’s a role for the media in passing information to the public, using social media, as well as official media. It’s not just the government’s responsibility; people need to be involved too, and the media can help build awareness for REDD+. I am planning to write some articles for my own organisation’s website.

Mongolia’s National Technical Working Group on Safeguards and Safeguard Information System in action. Credit: UNEP-WCMC

What do you think remains the most challenging safeguards issue for Mongolia?

Munkhsaikhan: I was involved in clarifying the safeguards. I find Safeguard D on ensuring the engagement of stakeholders, especially ensuring the full and active involvement of local communities, very challenging in Mongolia. Most likely, it will require some financial incentives and this in turn will require a corresponding legal framework.

Oyunchimeg: The safeguards clarification covers broad areas – environmental; social and governance; land and forest issues; forest user groups and pasture users. These present a set of complicated and sometimes conflicting issues. The question is, as a country, how can Mongolia manage these potentially conflicting issues, through its policies and laws?

What is your advice to other countries that are starting to work on safeguards?

Oyunchimeg: For countries starting to clarify the safeguards and work on SIS, you need to first hold a training session for your working groups. Training was vital for me at the beginning, and it made it easier for me to be part of the process. We brought colleagues in from different NGOs so that they could learn too.

Tumurmunkh: Before introducing the safeguards work, you need to know your forests very well. Forest types affect the safeguards work. For example, Mongolia’s boreal forests are not as dense as tropical forests. So the impacts from REDD+ can be different, ranging from forest to forest.

What’s next for REDD+ in Mongolia? Where do you think efforts need to be focused going forth?

Tumurmunkh: Mongolia has many laws, numbering more than 600. REDD+ implementation needs to be strengthened and civil society participation is vital in monitoring these numerous laws and regulations.

Oyunchimeg: When REDD+ is being implemented, the local people – herders, foresters, and communities – should all be considered. The safeguards work asks us to think about the impacts on everyone. This is the central democratic principle: the equal participation of all our stakeholders.

Horseback riding through Mongolia's boreal forests. Credit: Gantulga Tumurtulga

For more information on safeguards work in Mongolia please visit:

Learn more about REDD+ in Mongolia at:

About the authors

Enkhjargal Damia

National Safeguards Officer, Mongolia National UN-REDD Programme

Charlotte Hicks

Senior Technical Officer, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

Nine years since the launch of the UN-REDD Viet Nam Phase I Programme, Vietnam has marked a milestone at the end of 2018, by closing its Phase II Programme. What have these nine years achieved, and what has it meant for REDD+ in general and Vietnam in particular?

Vietnamese landscape (Logan Lambert)

“Graduation from the REDD+ readiness phase” is the short answer, but for Vietnam, it is more than that. REDD+ readiness has paved the way for transformational change in the forestry and land use sectors. Back in 2009, when REDD+ was launched in Vietnam, the focus of global and domestic stakeholders was largely on unpacking new acronyms, including REDD+ itself, and attempting to communicate them to multiple audiences. In retrospect, however, the key achievements of REDD+ readiness are represented by slogans of the Government, such as “from more forests to better forests”, advancing the forestry agenda to higher political levels through policies such as the Communist Party’s Directive 13 (2017), and the opening of space for more participation and stakeholder engagement. In 2009, REDD+ was considered the preserve of a specific division in the forestry administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). In 2019, REDD+ is managed through a State Steering Committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister. This underscores not only the elevated importance of the REDD+ agenda, but also a wide appreciation of the multi-sectoral nature of REDD+, and the relevance of various agencies within and outside MARD.

At the same time, Vietnam has learned many lessons well-worth sharing beyond national boundaries. For example, in the early days of REDD+ readiness, many national stakeholders perceived that the design of a Benefit Distribution System (BDS) was a central element of REDD+. This stemmed from an early misconception of REDD+ as a collection of many individual localised Payment for Environmental Services (PES) projects (reflecting the lessons from the voluntary carbon market projects that were looked upon as forerunners). Such initiatives can indeed contribute to national REDD+ goals, but through various pilots and discussions, Vietnam has learned that the core of a successful REDD+ strategy is effective planning and investment. By development of national and sub-national investment plans, focused on clearly defined objectives, stakeholders can be incentivized towards better forest management (or dis-incentivized from forest destruction). Such incentives may come in various forms, including through access to more secure tenure over land and resources, assistance for market access or through benefits from a separately managed domestic PES scheme.

Rice field terrace in Vietnam (FAO)

Another lesson is that complex and ingrained policy and governance processes, such as land-use planning and decision-making, cannot be reformed overnight. While the idea of financially incentivizing developing countries to better manage forests is innovative and appealing, the urgency of the global challenge to mitigate climate change built expectations that were not always realistic. Even in Vietnam, where conditions for REDD+ were considered relatively ripe, a significant change was needed in policy, institutions and human capacity before sustainable long-term reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions can be made. Even with strong political commitment, getting the message across and building capacity, among different tiers of government, takes time.

After almost a decade, Vietnam can demonstrate several ways in which REDD+ has contributed to the transformational change in the forestry sector and beyond. A FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) has been signed with the EU last year to institutionalise sustainable forest management practices and legal, transparent trade in timber; state-owned rubber companies are working side by side with local NGOs to develop and implement voluntary standards for sustainable investments in forestry and land use; and mechanisms for leveraging finance from the private sector to forest-based initiatives are in place. However, as with all reforms, momentum needs to be maintained and this will require further investments and strong political commitment. Results-based payments for REDD+, recognizing Vietnam’s progress, are now a tangible prospect, but all eyes are now on Vietnam to show the world how a country can seize the opportunity for transformational change that REDD+ offers.

Author:

Akiko Inoguchi

Forestry Officer, FAO

Akiko.Inoguchi@fao.org

Akiko is based in Lao PDR. She joined the UN-REDD Programme in 2009 just as the Viet Nam national programme (Phase I) came online, and has been involved in the two phases of the Viet Nam national programmes, as well as engaging with UN-REDD support for Lao PDR and other countries.

A new land cover tool originally developed for southeast Asia is now being expanded globally.

“Land cover mapping in the lower Mekong has been challenging in the past, based primarily on outdated maps using different criteria,” said Dr. David Saah, Professor at the University of San Francisco and Managing Principal of the Spatial Informatics Group (SIG). Competing objectives, priorities and resource limitations, in the Mekong and beyond, often mean differential treatment and sometimes omission of key land cover features. For example, forest ministries focus on mapping forest biodiversity, structure, condition, and use. Agriculture departments typically mask out forest cover, displaying features like irrigation treatments, crop type, and yield. In both cases, critical land cover categories such as water and urban areas are missed. Even identical features like orchards often are mapped using different methods, preventing easy comparison and complicating landscape-level analysis.

To address these challenges, SERVIR–a joint NASA and USAID program that partners with leading global technical organizations applying satellite data to development challenges–began developing a regional land cover mapping service in 2016 to support countries with food security, forest management, water management and more. Saah and the SERVIR-Mekong team soon hit a familiar roadblock with respect to monitoring land cover and land use change: a lack of consistent, accurate reference data. To resolve this, a massive amount of data was needed–and quickly. After looking at existing collection platforms and not finding a service able to do this type of landscape-level mapping, they set out to create something new. The team realized their ideal platform had similarities to FAO’s desktop Collect Earth system, used to monitor global forest cover. “We found out a lot of our initiatives and priorities fell in line with FAO, not just Collect Earth. The whole idea of things being open-source, distributed for people to use...ties into the way FAO does land management and governance consultations,” said Saah. Identifying a collaboration opportunity, SERVIR and FAO partnered to create a joint, web-based system, known as Collect Earth Online (CEO).

Two years and three iterations later, CEO now has a much broader geographic reach. Integrating high-resolution satellite imagery and big-data analysis tools, the platform allows users to collect reference data and images from anywhere in the world to create more accurate land cover maps. In addition, its open-source and cloud-based design makes CEO especially crucial for regions with limited internet and local computing infrastructure capabilities.

“On the NASA side, we’re good at product development, data, and science, whereas FAO understands the users, the landscape, what data is needed, and how people are collecting data for forests,” said Kel Markert, SERVIR’s Science and Geospatial IT Integration lead.

“With the technical knowledge from our team, and the on-the-ground knowledge from FAO, we’re able to make something that’s really meaningful,” said Markert.

Starting in March, the Forest Survey of India plans to use CEO for its first high-level collection campaign in Dehradun. The results of this assessment will be incorporated into the 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), covering more than 100 countries. CEO’s collaborative origins and support from Google Earth Engine, the U.S. government’s SilvaCarbon program, and others have made the platform a first-of-its-kind repository for global land cover reference data.

Collect Earth Online can be accessed at http://collect.earth/ .

Authors:

Devrin Weiss

dweiss@chemonics.com

Communications Lead for SERVIR Support Activity.

He has more than 20 years of experience working in strategic communications for the World Bank and USAID in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Iraq, and South Sudan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy from the University of California – Santa Cruz and a master’s in international relations from American University.

Leah Kucera

leah.m.kucera@nasa.gov

Technical Reporting & Communications Lead for the SERVIR Science Coordination Office

Kucera is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied geology and communication design. She is currently based out of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

With natural forests covering 43% of the country, forests are a source of employment, income, and livelihoods in Mozambique’s rural areas. (Photo: Andrea Borgarello/World Bank)

When I tell people that I am a forest specialist, they sometimes assume my work is forest first, people second. But the really exciting part of my job is that better forests make better communities.

There is mounting evidence that forest management improves people’s livelihoods all over the world. Standing forests are worth much more than cut ones and we are setting out to prove this in Mozambique, where protecting forests is among the fastest and most affordable ways to cut emissions and promote sustainable development.

Standing forests contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to food, water, health, energy, security and biological diversity. With 34 million hectares (ha) of natural forests, covering 43% of the country, forests are an important contributor to the country’s economy and a source of employment, income, and livelihoods in Mozambique’s rural areas.

The forest sector contributed about $330 million to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 and directly employed 22,000 people. Forests provide goods and services to local communities, including food, energy, medicine, construction materials and furniture. In some rural communities, miombo woodlands contribute almost 20% of household cash income and 40% of subsistence (non-cash) income.

“Our business relies on our forests, so it is in our interest to protect them” says Geraldo Sotomane, owner of a timber and construction company in Zambézia.

However, rapid deforestation is threatening rural ecosystems and livelihoods, with the loss of already approximately 48% of forest cover across the country. A large percentage of logging in Mozambique is conducted without planning, regulation or management. The adverse impacts on forest structure places excessive pressure on protected and valuable animal species, besides leaving large swaths of land susceptible to fire.

Deforestation in Mozambique has been decreasing since the program started in 2013. And now the country could be rewarded for this reduction in the deforestation rates if this trajectory continues.

Mozambique has just signed one of the first Emission Reduction Payment Agreements (ERPA) with the Carbon Fund of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), unlocking $50 million to support the country’s ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions from its forest sector. With this ERPA in place, Mozambique can begin implementing its Emission Reductions Payment Project in nine districts of the Zambézia province and continue to receive results-based payments for verified emissions reductions from the FCPF Carbon Fund until the end of 2024.

To improve natural resource management and promote rural development, the World Bank is supporting the government through the Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Portfolio to sustainably manage natural resources and support the communities that depend on them.

“Investing in people should always be the priority,” said Marcos Victor, vice president of COGERFFN – a pioneering organization aimed at helping communities access forest resources through commercial concession contracts. “With help from the World Bank, we have developed new forestry management plans and identified possible private sector partners to build profitable and sustainable forest concessions that stop illegal deforestation and economically benefits local people.”

Creating Opportunities for a New Forestry Economy

In Mozambique, the REDD+ objectives are ambitious; between 2013 and 2018, the country received $8 million in grants from the FCPF to prepare a National REDD+ Strategy, a forest monitoring system, a forest reference emissions level, and to consult different stakeholders regarding the strategies to reduce deforestation.

The World Bank and its partners, through the FCPF Carbon Fund, are strengthening their commitment to supporting ambitious programs, like this one in Mozambique. In December 2018, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) announced an additional contribution of EUR15 million to accelerate the implementation of REDD+ programs in Africa.

I have been with the ILM portfolio since its inception. For me, it is so rewarding to witness the real progress Mozambique has made in reducing the deforestation rates and to see the country now in a position to receive payments for reducing emissions.

Mozambique is engaged in a pilot project for REDD+ in two provinces, including Zambézia, establishing a series of new management and monitoring programs, such as promotion of conservation and climate smart agriculture; promotion of key sustainable supply chains (agriculture and forests); development of multi-purpose plantations and restoration of degraded lands; strengthening protected areas management and the implementation of the Zambézia Landscape Program (ZILMP).

ZILMP is curbing deforestation by supporting sustainable multi-purpose plantations that provide local jobs, supply wood for energy, construction and industry, and at the same time reforest these landscapes. These plantations are working to meet local demands for timber and nontimber products while restoring ecological services to degraded land and supporting local food supply.

“We dream of developing community-run multi-purpose plantations that protect our native forests from logging while also bringing economic and ecological benefits to the local people,” said Antonio Macaula, President of ANAWAPE, a group of farmers in the Gilé District of Zambézia who are working together to promote conservation and safeguard their shared natural heritage. “With more income we can then invest back into our land and into other economic areas, but always with the spirit of preserving out natural environment.”

Author:

Karin Kaechele

Carbon Finance Specialist, World Bank

fcpfsecretariat@worldbank.org

Karin Kaechele is a Carbon Finance Specialist at the World Bank's Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, based in Washington, D.C. Kaechele works on forest, landscape, biodiversity and climate change issues. She previously worked with the Bank's Climate Change department. She holds a master’s degree from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, in environmental Science and Policy. She also has a master’s in environmental science from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Federal University Minas Gerais (Brazil).

This past February, youth from across the United Kingdom stood in solidarity with their Swedish peers by ditching school and mobilizing a mass protest over their Conservative government’s poor response to climate change. The protest included student groups from over 60 cities in the U.K., from ‘Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands,’ as CNN reports. These actions echoed strong support for Greta Thunberg, whose frank speech at the United Nations climate talks (COP24)—in which she told political leaders that they ‘were not mature enough’ to deal with climate change—culminated in her weekly sit-ins at the Swedish parliament.

School protests have since sprung up across Europe, Australia and the United States, and there are no signs that they will go away anytime soon. The global movement, known as the “Youth Strike 4 Climate”, gained momentum last October following the publication of a landmark report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warned of catastrophic consequences if humanity fails to act on climate change within the next 12 years. These include worsening food shortages, rising sea levels, floods and wildfire. An intern at The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), Christiana Agustin, noticed these trends and interviewed her colleagues at the International Forestry Students Association (IFSA). Christiana aptly noted that, “Youth have been engaged in the climate change conversation for years, yet their voices are often not heard”. In her article, Christiana and the IFSA students made it clear that they strongly believe that more “youth must be engaged to prepare for the future, especially those in South-East Asia and developing countries [who] will be affected by climate change more”.

It is time that these youth voices are not only heard, but also amplified. This March, RECOFTC and its partners, including FAO, UN Environment and the UN-REDD Programme, will commemorate the International Day of Forests (IDF) with IFSA, students from Kasetsart University and other educational centers in Bangkok. While the theme of this year’s IDF- “Forests and Education” - is not on climate change per se, it is clear to all involved that youth engagement on climate change is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. As Desmond Deh, IFSA representative to RECOFTC and The Forest Dialogue, stated, “Students and youth are closer to the ground. They know what is going on at the local level”.

While the movement to halt deforestation and forest degradation is certainly growing, the community at the heart of improving forest governance is not doing enough in my view to engage and hear the voice of our students and youth. This can be attributed to the fundamental misunderstanding of what good governance is and how to get involved. Organizations like RECOFTC, FAO, and others have been working to define good forest governance for decades. Governance, a cross-cutting theme, is now at the heart of achieving Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in assuring rural economic growth and poverty reduction. Forestry education, and education as a whole, must teach our youth the proper principles of governance so that they know where and when to get involved.

The United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD Programme) and the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme serve as prime examples. Although both organizations have different mandates, they are in unique positions to work together to strengthen the voice of young people in both processes.

Good forest governance is key to all multi-stakeholder dialogues, and youth involvement extends beyond just the forestry education to other sectors critical to the SDGs. There are a number of successful examples, such as the SDG Youth Network of Sri Lanka, which has been active in raising awareness and speeding up the implementation of the SDGs. Similar initiatives are underway through ASEAN with its ASEAN MY World 2030 Advocacy Programmeand through innovative Youth for SDGs conferences like the one hosted by the Wells School in Bangkok. The Asia-Pacific region is particularly well-represented with initiatives like UNDP’s 2030 Youth Force.

Lastly, the one area (and likely most powerful) where youth can get involved is in their roles as consumers. Education and its institutions are important arenas to display this power. Whether it is walking out of class, selecting certain courses, or pressuring administrators through other actions, students are able to exert their influence on environmental education. In addition, youth may learn from online climate change modules such as those provided by RECOFTC, UNESCO and the REDD+ Academy. And beyond academics, students are leading the way by buying plastic free alternatives, thus driving change through action. These are all key examples of students taking principles of good governance, education and climate into consideration. The youth of today are the future of tomorrow. Their actions, as both consumers and producers, are in a position where change can start anew.

RECOFTC looks forward to continuing its engagement with both REDD+ and FLEGT in building capacities and understandings amongst educators and students alike. It starts with the youth, and it starts with education.

About the author:

David Ganz

Executive Director, the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC)

david.ganz@recoftc.org

Dr. David Ganz has over 28 years of experience in natural resource management including several years working in Asia on large-scale natural resource management and biomass energy projects. Before joining The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), David served as the Chief of Party on SERVIR-Mekong, a joint initiative between USAID and NASA aimed at developing geospatial data to respond to the environmental and disaster needs of the region. Prior to SERVIR-Mekong, David was Winrock’s Chief of Party on USAID’s Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) Programme, where RECOFTC served as a key partner. He is a graduate of two distinguished community forestry institutions, holding a BSc from UC Berkeley, and a MSc and PhD from Yale University. He has successfully taken these skills into project management of international organizations including The Nature Conservancy, FAO, IUCN and WWF. David has also recently begun to serve as a CSO observer to the UNREDD Executive Program Board representing Asia and the Pacific.

Local communities are key forest stakeholders, and their involvement in decision-making and sustainable management of forests generates positive outcomes for livelihoods, rural development, and forest conservation. In particular, countries in Latin America are advancing in the process of developing the concepts of community forestry as a collaborative governance approach to forest management. The approach is also a crucial part of countries’ efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) and contribute to national and global action to combat climate change. For example in Colombia, it has been estimated that more than one million people depend on forests for their livelihoods.

(©FAO/Andrés Bolaños)

Colombia is taking rapid steps towards linking its community forestry activities to the country’s Integrated Strategy to Control Deforestation and Manage Forests - Bosques Territorios de Vida(EICDGB in its Spanish acronym). In August 2018, under the Forest Governance Consolidation Project in Colombia and technical assistance of the UN-REDD Programme, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Minambiente in Spanish) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed the Convention on Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the Community Forestry Model. Building on experiences in Guatemala and Mexico, the agreement aims to support the implementation of an innovative model of community forestry with a new approach that encourages sustainable management of forests and their resources; specifically to:

Train representatives of local producer organizations in market analysis and other useful business practices;Work with producer organizations to implement instruments for inclusive governance that can further support effective policies and strengthen value chains; Support community forestry initiatives to shape the development of inclusive value chains in four regions of the country (Antioquia, Cauca, Tolima and Valle del Cauca)

The project’s four focus regions selected by Minambiente - Antioquia, Cauca, Tolima and Valle del Cauca – have already achieved substantial progress in activities related to forest governance. The progress is due to several factors, including the Sectoral Reform Agreement previously signed by the Government of Colombia and the European Union, identifying areas of active deforestation through the Early Warning system of the Instituto de Hidrologia, Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM), integration of governance processes by the Corporación Autónoma Regional (CAR), and a strong community interest in improving legality in the use of timber and non-timber products.

(©FAO/Andrés Bolaños)

Under the technical cooperation program of FAO, support was given to the continuation of a South-South Cooperation process with Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia, which among its activities included an exchange of 16 representatives of local and government actors on issues related to community forestry and governance.

Carlos Nieto, a leader of the Junta de Acción Comunal of the El Carmen sector in the municipality of Remedios, Antioquia, noted that the project has served as an opportunity to realize dreams, and improve the use and management of forests in the area. He highlighted that "here, as in Guatemala, we are going to demonstrate that we can be good stewards of our forests, especially if the forests are in the hands of local communities".

Additionally, the project represents an opportunity for Minambiente to advance in the area of forest governance through working with forest communities. The activities will support the Ministry in moving forward with the objectives embodied in the 2018-2022 National Development Plan of the current government, where the theme of forest governance is particularly relevant to the agreements for sustainability and the pact for entrepreneurship and productivity.

For Olga Ruíz, a community leader participating in the process, collaborative actions and teamwork built during the process were key to achieving many of the goals proposed by communities themselves. She emphasizes that in this regard, the support provided by Minambiente and FAO has been crucial because through the improved online collaborative platforms, the trainings received and the information disseminated, the communities have gained extensive knowledge on governance and forest management they did not have before.

The participants from one of the regional environmental authorities, Corantioquia, highlighted the commitment they have made to support the process and the communities in moving towards the formalization of specific forest production activities. Previously, such activities, although a part of the traditional customs of the region, were often carried out in a poorly organized manner, without having the required permits and without taking into account the value chains processes that could further increase their quality of life.

SYNERGIES

One of the most important lessons learnt was linked to the synergies that have been achieved between the local communities, the regional and national environmental authorities (Corantioquia and Minambiente), and the technical team of the project. In all project areas, the activities served a fundamental purpose - to generate trust among the actors, recognize each other’s functions, reach agreements on how to work together and get to know the production process from various points of view.

All these achievements will continue helping the country to achieve its national and international commitments, and take further steps to reach important results such as the roadmap of the formulation of Forest Management Plans, which must be carried in all four sites.

Useful links:

Author:

Adriana P. Yepes Quintero

Technical Specialist, Natural Resources and Governance Area

FAO Colombia, MSc. Forests and Management Conservation