5 December 2014: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) launched a report analyzing 23 REDD+ initiatives in Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, Peru, Tanzania and Viet Nam on the sidelines of the Lima Climate Change Conference.

The report identifies many of the challenges faced by the early REDD+ projects, including: measuring carbon; setting baselines and reference levels; developing the institutional structure for implementation; engaging and coordinating stakeholders; and mobilizing financial resources.

Despite the $US9 billion mobilized for REDD+ thus far, the political economy and the need for transformational change has resulted in most REDD+ initiatives taking place at the sub-national level in order to avoid long delays in action. In fact, according to the report, more than 300 sub-national REDD+ initiatives have been launched, providing a good basis for lessons learned and the sharing of experiences.

Overall, the report notes that only four projects have managed to sell carbon credits while ten have opted for results based payments. The other projects rely on donor and bilateral funding. Furthermore, insecure or unclear tenure emerged as a key challenge among 11 projects with many projects also citing difficulties with measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) and the realization of social co-benefits.

Through surveys, interviews and village meetings, CIFOR describes the basic facts for 23 projects including the strategies employed and the smallholders impacted. CIFOR is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. [CIFOR Press Release] [Publication: REDD+ On the Ground – A case book of sub-national initiatives across the globe] [IISD RS Story on CIFOR Event at Lima Climate Change Conference] [IISD RS ENBOTS Coverage]