30 October 2014: The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) organized two regional workshops on forests to support forest financing and build capacity for forest monitoring. Both workshops are intended to contribute to expanded participation in REDD+ among countries in the region.

The first workshop, convened with the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), was the third in a series of workshops aimed at mobilizing climate change financing for the sustainable management of forests. The workshop revealed significant disparities in the amount of climate funding for forests between countries and noted that SPC has a role to play in addressing these differences. The workshop also reflected on the importance of insuring that financing addresses all elements of sustainable forest management (SFM), going beyond carbon benefits alone.

The second workshop, convened with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), focused on improving national forest monitoring systems in order to facilitate the participation of Pacific countries in REDD+. The workshop is one component of a larger forest monitoring project that supports the exchange of experiences and lessons learned among participating countries, the expansion of satellite-derived forest information, and the establishment of long-term and transparent national forest monitoring systems. [SPC Press Release on UNFF meeting] [SPC Press Release on FAO meeting]