News
Nepal: Community forestry unfazed by political turmoil
22 Nov 2011
Nepal’s joint forest management system has taken such deep roots that the country’s prolonged political instability has had little effect on it. Nepal’s joint forest management system now boasts of 20,000 community forest management groups countrywide, and part of that success has been due to vigorous participation by women.
A 2009 study by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) noted that “a continuing challenge is to ensure equitable...
Laos: Carbon reduction projects get underway
22 Nov 2011
The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) is cooperating with the Forestry Department to implement the Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests Programme (LEAF) in Laos.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed last week in Vientiane by SNV Country Director Ms Megan Ritchie and department Director General Dr Siranvanh Sawathvong.
The programme will be implemented for a period of four years and nine months, initially in Huaphan province and then in the southern...
How to connect REDD+ and markets for a new world with no land crisis
22 Nov 2011
BOGOR, Indonesia (22 November, 2011)_Connecting the idea of paying developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with markets that demand sustainable products could be a step towards a new model of world development and fend off the global land crisis, according to Daniel Nepstad of the Amazon Institute of Environmental Studies. The global demand [...]
UNFCCC Publishes Transitional Committee Report for Green Climate Fund
21 Nov 2011
The Transitional Committee recommends to COP 17 that it: approves the governing instrument of the GCF; requests the Executive Secretary to invite parties to submit expression of interest to host the CGF; invites voluntary contributions for the start-up of the CGF; and sets the date for the first meeting of the board.
UNFCCC Publishes AWG-KP Scenario Note for Durban
21 Nov 2011
The scenario note indicates that although the current revised proposal by the Chair reflects parties’ positions and their concerns, it does not resolve them, especially on the central issue of the second commitment period. The text has been refined and streamlined but further progress is not possible without clarity on an overarching political decision.
UN Secretary-General: REDD+ No Substitute for Deep Emissions Cuts
21 Nov 2011
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon visited the Central Kalimantan region in Indonesia, the location of a pilot REDD+ initiative, on the occasion of the opening of the UN Office for Coordination of REDD+ for Indonesia (UNORCID).
Asia Pacific negotiators hope for decision on REDD+ financing in Durban
21 Nov 2011
BOGOR, Indonesia (21 November 2011)__ Countries in the Asia Pacific hope to get a decision on the financial mechanisms for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) at the U.N. climate summit in Durban, negotiators said, despite low expectations that an overarching global agreement will be reached at the meeting. “We hope the long-term [...]
REDD+: Ready to engage private investors?
21 Nov 2011
The prospect of gaining carbon credits by acquiring land to implement REDD+ has caught the eye of the private sector. In many countries, including Papua New Guinea and Republic of Congo, there are reports of a carbon rush. In Mozambique, private investors have expressed an interest in acquiring more than 22 per cent of the country’s land for REDD+. But Mozambique, like many developing countries, is still in the early stages of preparing a REDD+ strategy. This briefing warns that encouraging...
RI: US pledges US$ 450 mn towards envrt & climate change cooperation
21 Nov 2011
As part of the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, the United States has pledged more than $450 million towards environment and climate change cooperation. The United States is working with Indonesia on a wide range of activities that will advance low carbon growth and address major threats to the world’s environment, including:
Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth: Through the just-signed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact for Indonesia, the Government of...
New method can aid rainforest, help loggers
21 Nov 2011
Reduced-impact logging (RIL) in an Amazon rainforest generated profits while emitting a small fraction of carbon compared with total forest clearing, a University at Albany study concludes.
For decades, scientists and foresters have debated how best to reap economic benefits from tropical rainforests while maintaining their high biodiversity and critical roles in the global carbon, energy and water cycles. In an unprecedented comparison of a logged tropical forest with an intact forest...