Category: safeguards
Promoting and implementing REDD+ safeguards at national level in East Africa
This paper reviews the state of play on safeguard regulations of a range of international institutions, the status of national policy frameworks in East Africa to support a safeguard implementation and insights into making safeguards work from a practitioner level in East Africa.This analysis of the existing policy and legal framework suggests that REDD+ social and environmental safeguards are not an entirely new issue in East Africa. However, some key gaps exist, as well as weaknesses in...
Designing Effective REDD+ Safeguard Information Systems: Building on existing systems and country experiences
A key determinant of REDD+ success will be the continued development and implementation of safeguards. REDD+ safeguards aim to ensure that REDD+ actions do not cause negative social or environmental impacts and cover a range of issues, including respect for the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, transparent national forest governance structures, effective participation of stakeholders, and the conservation of natural forests and biodiversity....
REDD+ Finance and Safeguards
To attract and sustain funding, REDD+ finance must operate within a governance framework capable of demonstrating compliance with social, environmental and governance safeguards. REDD+ must also be competitive in terms of risk and return, which is currently not the case. Forests are seen as a challenging environment fraught with regulatory uncertainty and perverse incentives for unsustainable practices. Key message: transparent national systems to implement, monitor and report on REDD...
Indigneous Peoples and the Green Climate Fund
The launch of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was a concrete outcome of the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference in Durban. Parties approved a final decision on the relationship between the Green Climate Fund and the Conference of the Parties (COP) and adopted general agreements on the GCF Board, its specific funding windows and the role of the private sector. While 2012 will be dedicated to establishing the GCF, discussions have already started on...
Safeguards, anyone?
This is the third in a series of guest contributions focussed on sharing local experiences from around the world in developing and implementing safeguards in REDD+. The series features contributions from Central America, East Africa and Asia-Pacific. In this blog Marlea Muñez highlights the gaps between safeguards policy and practice and the complexities of who should be responsible for implementing them properly.In a...
Operationalizing social safeguards in REDD+: actors, interests and ideas
“REDD+” is a mechanism created under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and forest enhancement. In addition, REDD+ “safeguards” are intended to protect non-carbon forest values. While REDD+ countries are formally requested to provide information on safeguards, there is as yet no agreement on the relative priority of carbon versus non-carbon values, and the appropriate level of safeguard standardization....
Additional Guidance on REDD+ Safeguards Information Systems
To obtain results-based finance for REDD+, developing country Parties should have in place a system for providing information on how safeguards are addressed and respected - a safeguards information system (SIS). Some guidance was provided on these systems, and Parties agreed that in Bonn in May 2012, SBSTA would consider the need for further guidance to “ensure transparency, consistency, comprehensiveness and effectiveness when informing...
Advice on the Application of Relevant REDD+ Safeguards for Biodiversity, and on Possible Indicators and Potential Mechanisms to Assess Impacts of REDD+ Measures on Biodiversity
Environmental and social safeguards2and accurate information on environmental and social impacts are essential for the long-term success of activities for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement offorest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In decision X/33, the Executive Secretary has been...
National Options for REDD+ Environmental Safeguards: Operational Guidance
This guide, based on a full technical paper prepared by SNVpresents six broad categories of options for operationalising the Cancun safeguards, translating these broad generic statements into national policy and practice. These options for national-level safeguard responses are presented in the context of delivering environmental co-benefits; however, they are equally applicable to social co-benefits.
Map of SBSTA Submissions: REDD+ Safeguard Information System. WRI Working Paper
In June 2011, the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) requested input on a guidance document for its REDD+ “safeguard information system.” 26 groups have submitted input to date; this Working Paper describes and summarizes those submissions.
