Exchange and Learning: Participatory...
25th November 2016 – How can we apply participatory forest monitoring approaches...
SNV believes Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programmes can contribute to a range of policy goals above and beyond reducing emissions, like pro-poor rural development, better forest governance and protection of basic human rights, as well as biodiversity conservation and enhanced ecosystem service provision. These environmental and social multiple benefits are directly linked to and contingent upon national REDD+ programme implementation and design.
To ensure that REDD+ effectively addresses certain associated potential negative impacts or risks and indeed contributes to positive environmental and social outcomes, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to a set of safeguards principles as part of the 2010 Cancun Agreement. REDD+ countries have committed to the provision of information on how these safeguards are being addressed and respected as a condition to receiving results-based finance under the mechanism. The ‘Delivering Environmental and Social Multiple Benefits from REDD+ in South East Asia’ (MB- REDD) project aims to support the governments of Vietnam and Lao PDR to successfully implement national REDD+ programmes that facilitate social and environmental multiple benefits.
Operationalising REDD+ safeguards and demonstrating co-benefits requires testing and the introduction of innovative mechanisms to support sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, while delivering emission reductions/enhanced removal of greenhouse gases. As part of the project, which is funded by the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and implemented between 2013 and 2016, innovative mechanisms are designed and tested through demonstration and ‘proof-of-concept’ pilots, socialised through national REDD+ sub-technical working groups (STWG), and embedded into the national REDD+ strategies/ programmes in each of the target countries. Such mechanisms include: sub-national REDD+ implementation plans (RIP), which look to factor emissions reductions and social and environmental criteria into local level planning, participatory forest monitoring (PFM) and local benefit distribution systems (BDS) for REDD+, a mechanism allowing for the dispersal of benefits (financial or otherwise) derived from REDD+ project activities to stakeholders in these activities.
SNV provides technical assistance to the governments of Vietnam and Lao PDR in:
Through the MB-REDD project, SNV has provided a crucial leadership role on the important issue of safeguards in REDD+ in Vietnam and Lao PDR. To date, MB-REDD has: