12 May 2010: The UN-REDD Programme and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and Forest Investment Program (FIP) have released a joint statement in response to a draft document released by the organizers of the meeting on the interim REDD+ (reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) partnership, to be held in Oslo, Norway, on 27 May 2010.

The draft document describes the intent of partner governments to provide a voluntary, non-legally binding framework for the interim REDD+ partnership, whose purpose is to serve as an interim platform for partner governments to take immediate action to scale up REDD+ actions and finance, while a future mechanism under the UNFCCC is negotiated and implemented. The document lists the principles of the partnership, which include: focusing on support for developing countries’ REDD+ efforts; being inclusive; providing transparency around financing, actions and results; promoting safeguards provided by the draft decision being negotiated under UNFCCC; and coordinating delivery of scaled up REDD+ financing.
In terms of organization, the document states that the partnership will meet regularly and will draw on the knowledge of the Facility Management Team of the FCPF and the UN-REDD Programme Technical Secretariat for the partnership’s secretariat services, including organizing meetings, designing and maintaining the REDD+ coordination database, and providing logistical support and analyses, reports and papers. A representative group of stakeholders will participate as observers to the partnership.
The document then lists a series of operational measures, including establishing a voluntary REDD+ database, determining the modalities for stakeholder participation, sharing lessons and best practices, identifying and addressing gaps and overlaps in financing, and facilitating discussion on the effectiveness of relevant initiatives.
In the UN-REDD, FCPF and FIP response to the draft document, the organizations highlight their actions towards enhancing cooperation and coordination, including efforts towards developing a joint delivery platform for REDD+ readiness. They express their support for the objectives of the proposed partnership, and state their readiness to provide the secretariat services envisaged in the draft document. [UN-REDD, FCPF and FIP Joint Response Statement] [Draft Document on Interim REDD+ Partnership]