The UN-REDD policy brief, titled "REDD+ Beyond Carbon: Supporting Decisions on Safeguards and Multiple Benefits," examines the current system of REDD+ safeguards, including the associated Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (SEPC), as well as the Benefits and Risks tool to assist in the development of national REDD+ strategies.
16 October 2012: The UN Collaborative Programme on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (UN-REDD) has released a policy brief on achieving benefits beyond carbon sequestration from investments in reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+).
The brief, titled “REDD+ Beyond Carbon: Supporting Decisions on Safeguards and Multiple Benefits,” examines the current system of REDD+ safeguards, including the associated Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria (SEPC), as well as the Benefits and Risks tool to assist in the development of national REDD+ strategies.
The brief outlines some of the challenges in supporting the achievement of multiple benefits through the application of safeguards including: the uneven distribution of co-benefits; the varying costs associated with different approaches to REDD+; and the need to assess the value of multiple benefits.
The brief presents case studies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Nigeria and Panama to illustrate good practices in the planning for and consideration of non-carbon benefits from REDD+.
The policy brief concludes that REDD+ investments can be strengthened through the consideration of social and environmental risks and benefits as long as appropriate mapping and analysis tools are available to support decision making. [Publication: REDD+ Beyond Carbon: Supporting Decisions on Safeguards and Multiple Benefits]