24 October 2008: The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
(FCPF), a World Bank programme that partners developing countries with
industrialized countries and The Nature Conservancy, a non-governmental
organization, in an effort to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD) in developing countries, convened its first operational
meeting from 20-22 October 2008, in Washington, DC, US. During the meeting, it
was decided that the programme should be expanded and that ten new developing
countries would be added to the 20 that had originally been selected.

The list
now includes: Argentina, Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Lao PDR,
Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. These
countries will be paired on REDD activities with Australia, Finland, France
(the French Development Agency), Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway,
Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, as well as The Nature Conservancy.
Katherine Sierra, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank, noted
the level of interest and commended those countries that were preparing
themselves and dedicating resources to REDD.
In the announcement, the World
Bank also committed to underwriting US$2.3 million for the Facility’s launch.
In addition, the FCPF Participants Committee, which was elected during the
meeting, approved a Capacity Building Program, a US$1 million small grants
programme for indigenous and other forest-dependent communities. [World
Bank Press Release]