10 August 2010: In its latest media release, the UN-REDD Programme highlights several recent governance-related activities, describing the Programme’s engagement of partners on governance issues and REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks) at conferences around the world.

During the northern summer, UN-REDD was involved in: a Chatham House Workshop on Monitoring Governance Safeguards in REDD+, in London, UK; the UNFCCC Climate Talks in Bonn, Germany; the organization of a Workshop on Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Recourse Mechanisms in Hanoi, Viet Nam; the Transparency International Workshop on Climate Governance in Berlin, Germany; and the Fifth Dialogue on Rights, Forests and Climate Change in Washington DC, US. In the next few months, the UN-REDD Programme will continue this series on governance with: the hosting of a roundtable at the upcoming Workshop on Forest Governance, REDD and Decentralization in Latin America, which will be held in Mexico City, Mexico, at the end of August; and a roundtable co-organized with GTZ at the 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in November.

Several risks were identified during these events, including the issuance of permits and fraud in forest carbon accounting, and unresolved land tenure and new property and user rights. UN-REDD also notes, however, that REDD+ provides opportunities for engagement and improved governance through: investing in the capacity of developing countries to handle large funds; enhancing stakeholder participation and oversight; and promoting access to information, robust monitoring and feedback mechanisms. [UN-REDD Press Release]