27 November 2012: The Philippines Climate Change Commission, the Federal Office for the Environment Switzerland, the Ateneo School of Government and Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation jointly convened a side event on common guidance for safeguards on REDD+. The event included the presentation of results of a joint initiative between Switzerland and the Philippines.

The side event, held at the margins of the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), highlighted the importance of greater coordination and stronger synergies between the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), especially when considering REDD+ safeguards. Presenters highlighted potential benefits from synergies including: avoiding overlap, enhancing coordination, facilitating stakeholder participation, and linking global policy to local expertise.

The event also presented results from the Switzerland-Philippines initiative titled, “Towards Building a Governance Framework for REDD+ Financing,” which indicate the importance of ensuring adequate financial resources for all stages of REDD+ from planning to implementation.

Finally, participants introduced the REDD+ Social Environmental Standards (SES) Initiative, which addresses issues related to governance, interpretation and assessment through a ten-step process illustrated through country examples from Nepal and Indonesia. [IISD RS Meeting Coverage]