15 May 2014: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) launched a partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) small grants programme (SGP) in support of community based REDD+. The objective of the partnership is to enable indigenous peoples and local communities to effectively participate in the design, implementation and assessment of REDD+ projects and programmes.

The partnership will support grants up to US$50,000 for community-level projects that complement larger-scale REDD+ readiness activities and investments. Initially, the partnership will be piloted in Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay and Sri Lanka with disbursement beginning towards the end of 2014. Overall, the partnership acknowledges the important role of communities and indigenous communities in the success of REDD+, while recognizing that such stakeholder groups may not be adequately empowered to participate in REDD+ through large-scale investments.

The partnership, with a total of US$4 million to disburse, is co-funded by the GEF SGP and the Government of Norway, with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The partnership was launched during the 13th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII 13). [UN-REDD Press Release] [GEF SGP Press Release]