23 May 2014: The UNFCCC Secretariat has announced that Austria is supporting a Georgian sustainable forestry project in what is the first match recorded by the UNFCCC’s registry of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The NAMA Registry, fully launched in 2013, allows developing countries to submit their plans and projects related to climate change mitigation, while donor countries can submit offers of support. According to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, the Registry serves as an “efficient clearinghouse” for matching financial, technological, and capacity-building support from developed countries with actions being initiated by developing countries.

Using the Registry, the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, and Water has granted financial support for Georgia’s NAMA, ‘Adaptive, Sustainable Forest Management in Borjomi-Bakuriani Forest District.’

In commenting on this first success of the Registry, Figueres emphasized that the tool has “enormous potential” and invited all Parties to make use of it. In addition to being a transparent mechanism for transferring climate finance and other forms of support from the developed world, the Registry helps developing countries gain international recognition for the courses of action they have defined for themselves to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to Figueres. [UNFCCC Press Release] [IISD RS Story on the Release of the NAMA Registry] [NAMA Registry]