27 April 2015
UNFF and Partners Discuss SFM and Climate Finance in Southeast Asia
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In preparation for upcoming discussions on financing for sustainable forest management (SFM) at the eleventh session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF11), the UNFF Facilitative Process and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) organized a workshop on forest and climate financing in Southeast Asia.

unff_unescapApril 2015: In preparation for upcoming discussions on financing for sustainable forest management (SFM) at the eleventh session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF11), the UNFF Facilitative Process and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) organized a workshop on forest and climate financing in Southeast Asia.

The workshop focused on gaps and areas for collaboration among financing mechanisms for climate change and forests. In particular, the workshop noted that while significant progress has been made in financing for both sectors, coordination at the international level has been limited leading to overlap and redundancy.

Financing mechanisms considered during the workshop included the Global Environment Facility (GEF), REDD+ funds, the UNFF Facilitative Process, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Standing Committee on Finance, as well as a variety of public and private sector investments.

Overall, participants suggested that: a stronger investment case for REDD+ needs to be built, the relevance of forests to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be emphasized, and forest ecosystem services should be recognized and remunerated.

Participants also called for greater investments by the private sector supported by a simplified regulatory framework and targeted incentives. With regard to a supportive enabling environment, participants called for greater cross-sector coordination, support for multi-stakeholder forums, increased focus on data collection and knowledge management, and the development of feasible benefit-sharing mechanisms.

The UN Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation (RPTC) supported the workshop, which was held 23-25 March 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to providing input to UNFF11, outcomes from the workshop will feed into the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC, the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, the post 2015 development agenda, and the Global Landscapes Forum. [Website: Integrating Climate and Forest Financing in Southeast Asia] [Publication: Integrating Climate and SFM Financing: The Case of Southeast Asia]

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