24 June 2010: The fifth Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change took place on 22 June 2010, in Washington DC, US. The Dialogue provided a forum for representatives from governments and civil society to discuss recent developments in the global architecture for a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+).

The Dialogue’s principal focus was on governance, efforts to protect the rights and interests of local peoples, and the prospects for REDD at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UNFCCC. In four sessions, participants: took stock of recent meetings, particularly the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference (May 2010) that saw agreement on an interim REDD+ partnership; addressed challenges in REDD implementation; discussed progress towards a framework of standards and safeguards for forests and climate; and identified critical issues to be addressed and the next steps to be taken in preparation for COP 16. Participants also discussed the role of bilateralism, which some noted could complement multilateral efforts in REDD financing and has the advantage of faster implementation, while others worried about consistency of standards and over-burdening local institutions with both bilateral and multilateral efforts. They also noted discrepancies between statements on safeguards and actual implementation, and discussed the drivers of deforestation and the costs and risks involved with REDD implementation.

Regional RRI Dialogues are being planned for El Salvador, Nepal and Ethiopia, to continue discussion prior to COP 16. [IISD RS Coverage of the Dialogue]