6 June 2011: The Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) recently organized two workshops on capacity building for REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks) negotiators and stakeholders.

The workshops convened from 10-12 May 2011 in Douala, Cameroon, and 18-20 May 2011 in Hanoi, Viet Nam. They provided a forum to discuss the way forward in REDD+ negotiations, share strategies and experience in REDD+ readiness and implementation, and explore issues under consideration in the negotiations. Common views on safeguards included: the need for broad stakeholder participation in measuring safeguards; the need for transparency and accountability to accompany public availability of information; and, while a safeguard information system could have international guidelines or general principles, implementation of safeguards should be country-based and not enforced externally.

Participants expressed common views on the importance of equitable benefit sharing, which requires clarification of property rights and land tenure, as well as the view that forests provide many benefits in addition to carbon. On monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), participants noted the need for assistance to determine domestically available skills and resources. They underscored the need to scale up project reference levels to the national level, and called for guidance on how MRV for REDD+ will be consistent with MRV for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

On agriculture, participants stressed the linkages between agriculture, food security and climate change, calling for agriculture to be addressed in a way that links adaptation and mitigation. On financing, they stressed that funding needs to be transparent, equitable and accessible to all countries, that the REDD+ Partnership should be closely linked to the UNFCCC and that financing must facilitate engagement of national experts and allow for contracting domestic consultants. On priorities for follow-up, they called for continued information change, capacity building on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for REDD+ MRV, collaboration on issues related to REDD+ and land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), integrated mitigation and adaptation approach, cost-effective verification processes and domestic REDD+ finance structures. ASB is a part of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [ASB/IISD Cameroon REDD+ Workshop] [ASB/IISD Hanoi REDD+ Workshop] [ASB/IISD Website]