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Progress against the Warsaw Framework

NS/AP: The National REDD+ Strategy has been developed, with the support of the UN-REDD Programme, through a driver analysis, comprehensive multi-stakeholder consultation process, including with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), and development of a strong cross-sectoral set of policies and measures. The document is currently pending formal approval from the government. In addition, a first draft of the REDD+ Investment Plan has been prepared, based on criteria to prioritize policies and measures for implementation and geographic areas. These have been compared with existing planned investments relevant to REDD+ that are in the pipeline, with gaps identified. Indicative proposals to fill the gaps have been prepared.

FREL/FRL: After completion of the technical assessment and uploading of the revised FRL document to the UNFCCC website in January 2019, the technical assistance continues to support the Government on development of information and capacity for subsequent FRLs including changes in forest remaining forest, and in sub-national jurisdictions and strata, including mangroves.

NFMS: The NFI design has been finalized and piloted in several forest types. Field methodology and data analysis methods have been developed, ready for full-scale implementation. The Satellite Land Monitoring System (SLMS) has been fully developed and is ready for public launch. Through technical assistance, data on mangrove forests and national capacity to measure changes in this forest type have been improved.

SIS: REDD+ safeguards have been defined in the context of Myanmar, with strong participation from both government institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs). Guidelines for adherence to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent are being finalized. An SIS has been designed and is in the process of being operationalized, with an interim webpage developed and progress made on information-collection templates and institutional arrangements. A summary of information on safeguards has been submitted to UNFCCC.

REDD+ Implementation

The initiative titled Integrating Mangroves into REDD+ Implementation in Myanmar was developed and approved by the UN-REDD Programme Executive Board.

Challenges and solutions

In a complex political and social situation like Myanmar’s, characterized by a low historical level of trust between communities and Government and great diversity of indigenous groups, more resources would have been needed for stakeholder engagement. The stakeholder engagement budget should not have been based on norms from other national programs. The quality and quantity of communications, information flow, and capacity building are critical in a low-trust environment. A specialist EAO advisor to support the Stakeholder Engagement Advisor under the national program would have been useful. More investment and design of appropriate stakeholder engagement approaches will be explored for the subsequent phases of REDD+ implementation in Myanmar, and this lesson can be incorporated into relevant ongoing and pipeline initiatives including the mangroves initiative.

Challenges were encountered related to shifting to more remote support and online or remote consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic; experience was gained in adjusting approaches for restrictions in Myanmar, such as the virtual launch of the mangroves initiative and individual interviews and calls on SIS development, but delays in implementation of this initiative were unavoidable.

Gender-mainstreaming capacity gaps remain, as well as a need for support staff working on gender, sufficient budget allocated to addressing gender-related issues, and additional political will from the government to further support gender mainstreaming in REDD+ efforts.

With regards to the uncertain circumstances in the country after the events of February 2021, the UN and UN-REDD partners are analyzing the situation and security is being closely monitored. A conflict sensitivity analysis will be prepared when and if circumstances allow. For the time being, training and workshops are on hold.

Gender and social inclusion

Women’s participation in consultations and events has increased from about 20 percent in 2016 to more than 40 percent in 2020.

In addition, the indicators proposed for the SIS have included gender-disaggregated data, and the policies and measures note the establishment of gender-responsive forestry, agricultural, and Agroforestry extension services in rural and hill areas.

The capacity of national institutions to implement effective and participatory governance arrangements for REDD+ has increased, but further progress on inter-sectoral coordination is necessary. Institutional measures for REDD+ awareness-raising and information flow are defined, and the quality of available information, some of which have been translated into several ethnic minority languages, is sufficient. But the diversity of stakeholder groups and associated logistical complexity means that the national program was not able to ensure that information flows are able to reach all groups throughout the country. Policy, legal and regulatory (PLR) analysis was conducted and the target of filling 75 percent of PLR gaps was mostly achieved.

Indigenous peoples’ representative organization POINT (Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together), and national CSO MERN Myanmar Environment Rehabilitation-conservation Network) continued to represent their constituencies in the Programme Executive Board of the national program until its conclusion in November 2020, and continue to be active through the technical assistance mangroves initiative. Through the mailing list of the Technical Working Group on Stakeholder Engagement and Safeguards, the draft version of the SIS interim webpage has been shared for feedback with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.

Partnerships

The improvement of the SLMS has been supported together with the SERVIR Mekong Initiative, and the web-based geoportal for the NFMS will be hosted on the OneMap platform.