2 December 2014: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation (UN-REDD) has released the December 2014 edition of its newsletter highlighting planned discussions on the post-2015 vision for REDD+ and UN-REDD. High-level discussions will be held with UN agencies, national governments and indigenous peoples at the margins of the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC.

Also with regard to COP 20, the newsletter highlights side events to be held by UN-REDD and partner countries on progress in REDD+ Readiness. Countries holding such events include Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ecuador, Peru and Uganda. The newsletter takes note of the Global Landscapes Forum to be convened at the margins of COP 20.

The newsletter also features a report on the launch of the task force on anti-corruption for REDD+ in Kenya and a summary of the experiences of an indigenous peoples representative to the UN-REDD Policy Board. The newsletter reviews the celebration of the National Day of the Tree in the DRC with a focus on REDD+ and a commitment to achieve 70% forest cover through reforestation and afforestation efforts.

Meetings and workshops highlighted in the newsletter include the inaugural session of the REDD+ Academy in Indonesia, a national workshop on national forest monitoring in Argentina and a seminar on mainstreaming gender in REDD+ in Viet Nam.

Finally, the newsletter notes that the Government of Norway has issued a call for REDD+ project proposals from civil society organizations with a 6 January 2015 deadline for the submission of concept notes. [Publication: UN-REDD Programme Newsletter – December 2014]