National REDD+ Strategy/Action Plan (NS/AP): Ecuador has completed all the requirements of the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ and is participating in the RBP pilot programme launched by the GCF for the 4,831,679 tCO2 of results achieved during 2014. UN-REDD provided technical support for elaborating the RBP concept note and funding proposal.
Forest Reference Emissions Level / Forest Reference Level (FREL/FRL): Through Component 4 of PROAmazonía (the joint Green Climate Fund/Global Environment Facility (GCF/ GEF) programme implemented by UNDP), and with UN-REDD support, a second FREL is scheduled to be presented to UNFCCC for the second half of 2019. Similarly, the second REDD+ technical annex is being updated and will be presented with the BUR in the second half of 2020.
National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS): UN-REDD is supporting the Ministry of Environment in the implementation of processing chains and in deforestation and forest degradation issues, to determine activity data using the SEPAL tool. In doing so, Ecuador will be the first country to implement this platform in its NFMS, which has fostered new alliances with institutions such as the KfW development bank.
Safeguard Information System (SIS): With the support of UN-REDD, Ecuador is currently working on automating the processes needed for implementing the system that provides information on how the safeguards have been addressed and respected. The REDD+ web portal, which hosts the SIS, is publicly available at the domain http://reddecuador.com.
A road map for a second SOI on how safeguards have been addressed and respected during the 2016–2018 period was developed during 2018.
With UN-REDD support, the country was able to transition successfully to the REDD+ implementation phase and access different finance sources such the GEF, the GCF and the REDD Early Movers programme. PROAmazonía was launched in 2017 and is the first programme to focus on implementing the National REDD+ Action Plan. A description of PROAmazonía can be found here (in Spanish): https://ecuador.corresponsables.com/actualidad/presentan-proamazonia-bosques.
Implementing a National REDD+ Action Plan presents a very significant challenge and change of scale when compared with the various processes that took place during the REDD+ readiness process, which were relatively technical and theoretical. The action plan, which includes PAMs to be implemented in forested and agricultural areas and on degraded land, by many different actors and institutions, aims to address all direct and indirect drivers of deforestation. Now, the Ministry of Environment, in conjunction with the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance, the National Secretariat for Planning and Development, the decentralized authorities, the Central Bank of Ecuador, the private sector (including those who produce, trade, finance and consume agricultural and forest-related commodities), indigenous organizations and academia must implement the actions prioritized in the National REDD+ Action Plan in a coordinated manner. Through the provision of technical advice, UN-REDD adds significant value in supporting these coordination processes and the adequate implementation of this action plan.
The PROAmazonía programme engaged in a technical assistance partnership with FAO to mobilize UN-REDD expertise on REDD+ operational systems that need completion, namely, NFMS, FREL and community monitoring.
