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UN-REDD Programme (Vietnam)

Introduction

Last updated: 8 June, 2011

The UN-REDD Programme for Viet Nam seeks to address deforestation and forest degradation through capacity building at national and local levels.  Firstly, it will build capacity at the national level to permit the Government of Viet Nam, and especially the REDD focal point in the Department of Forestry (DoF) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), to coordinate and manage the process of establishing tools to implement a REDD programme.  Secondly, it will build capacity at local levels (provincial, district and commune) through pilots in two districts in Lam Dong province that demonstrate effective approaches to planning and implementing measures to reduce emissions.

The Objective of the UN-REDD Viet Nam Programme is “To assist the Government of Viet Nam in developing an effective REDD regime in Viet Nam and to contribute to reduction of regional leakage.”  This will contribute to the broader Goal of ensuring that “By the end of 2012 Viet Nam is REDD-ready and able to contribute to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation nationally and regionally.”

In order to secure this Objective, three Outcomes and associated Outputs will be pursued:

Outcome 1: Improved institutional and technical capacity for national coordination to manage REDD activities in Viet Nam

Output 1.1: National coordination mechanism

Output 1.2: National reference scenario for REDD

Output 1.3: Framework National REDD Program (Strategy)

Output 1.4: Performance-based, transparent benefit sharing payment system from national to local levels

Output 1.5: Communications materials for sharing lessons internationally

Outcome 2: Improved capacity to manage REDD and provide other Payment for Ecological Services at district-level into sustainable development planning and implementation

Output 2.1: Provincial and district-level forest land-use plan mainstreaming REDD potential

Output 2.2: Participatory C-stock monitoring system

Output 2.3: Equitable and transparent benefit sharing payment systems

Output 2.4: Awareness-raising at provincial, district and local levels

Outcome 3: Improved knowledge of approaches to reduce regional displacement of leakage

Output 3.1: Quantification of regional displacement of emissions risk

Output 3.2: Regional dialogue on displacement of emissions risk

Output 3.3: Analysis of opportunities for linkage with non-REDD initiatives to reduce cross-border flow of illegal timber

Elements of REDD

Management and coordination

The Implementing Partner of this Programme will be MARD. A National Programme Director (NPD) will direct the programme and carry overall accountability for the programme to the GoV and to the UN agencies. The Programme Executive Board will be responsible for the effective coordination of the programme, the approval of all detailed work plans, budgets, and overall monitoring and evaluation of progress made. A Program Coordination Group (PMG) is also active, comprised of people at working level from the three UN agencies and the REDD focal point in MARD. While a programme management unit (PMU) is responsible for day-to-day management of the programme, including the preparation of annual and three-monthly workplans, and financial and programmatic reports.

Stakeholder engagement and participation

Key stakeholders across sectors are being engaged by UN-REDD Vietnam. This includes part of the REDD-Network, where representatives of Government Ministries, IGOs and NGOs meet to discuss REDD activities. At the local level, UN-REDD activities have included free, prior and informed consent. This includes Lam Ha and Di Linh provinces, where 78 villages were consulted about REDD+.

Rights and tenure

UN-REDD acknowledges that clear ownership of land is critical to implementation of REDD – in many cases the benefits need to be distributed in a transparent and equitable fashion down to the level of individual organizations, households, individuals and other legal economic entities. Although there is no specific output regarding rights and tenure in the UN-REDD workplan, it will be discussed through capacity building and awareness raising activities undertaken by UN-REDD. It is also expected to be included in the National REDD Strategy being developed as part of UN-REDD Vietnam.

Reference level

One of the key outputs for UN-REDD is the development of an interim National Reference Scenario for Vietnam, including analyses of different technical options for definition of the REL. As part of this activity, UN-REDD will review methodologies related to RELs. At present, there is growing consensus that RELs/RLs for Vietnam will be developed for all carbon related activities within the scope of the REDD+ mechanism being negotiated under the UNFCCC. Also, a historical REL will be developed based on historical deforestation trends dating back to at least 1990. Sub-national RELs/RLs will be developed based on stratification of the national.

Safeguards

For Viet Nam, the UN-REDD Programme will produce tools and guidance to assess biodiversity and ecosystem services in reforested areas, with the aim to support the realization of co-benefits from the major reforestation effort underway in this country. This will include simple tools for identifying which ecosystem services could be important in reforested areas, and guidance on selecting approaches for assessing and monitoring change in services.

MRV

The methodology for MRV will include different types, including ground-based (through participatory carbon monitoring) - this will be supplemented by satellite-based monitoring.

Related Institutions

Institution Role
UN-REDD Programme implementation

Financing

Institution Type Amount USD Date of Agreement
UN-REDD Programme Grant $4,384,756