30 August 2011: The UN-REDD’s August Newsletter reviews several national-level and global-level activities related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). The Newsletter states that Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Paraguay and Solomon Islands have begun the implementation phase of their National REDD Programmes, while Nigeria has begun its REDD+ readiness phase with activities including setting safeguards and inventorying national greenhouse gas emissions.

It also highlights Indonesia’s efforts to link its REDD+ efforts with the national goal to transition to a green economy, and includes a commentary on designing and implementing gender-responsive REDD+ strategies. The Newsletter reports on the first REDD+ Orientation Workshop held in the Zambia to enhance awareness of REDD and engage stakeholders in dialogue, and on an expert meeting on forest inventory approaches for REDD+, held recently in Rome, Italy.

This August issue also features an article by Lucy Wanjiru, Programme Specialist at the UN Development Programme (UNDP), on the collaboration between the UNDP Gender Team and the UN-REDD Programme, which aims to provide technical support and building capacities to facilitate the integration of gender equality considerations in the readiness support delivered by the UN-REDD Programme, and to enhance the capacities of governments to design and implement gender-responsive national REDD+ strategies and programmes.

It also contains a piece on the endorsement and approval of the final version of the UN-REDD Programme’s “Support to National REDD+ Action– Global Programme Framework 2011-2015” by the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board, which met inter-sessionally in August 2011. [Publication: UN-REDD August 2011 Newsletter]