UN-REDD Programme: 2010 Year in Review

The UN-REDD Programme partner countries can be incredibly proud of what they accomplished in 2010. Extensive national-level consultations and capacity building processes culminated in eight partner countries presenting full or initial National Programmes to the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board, which in turn approved a total of US$29.8 million in funding for them. All nine of the Programme’s initial pilot countries have now submitted National Programmes and by the end of the year, seven of them had entered into implementation.

The UN-REDD Programme partner countries can be incredibly proud of what they accomplished in 2010. Extensive national-level consultations and capacity building processes culminated in eight partner countries presenting full or initial National Programmes to the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board, which in turn approved a total of US$29.8 million in funding for them. All nine of the Programme’s initial pilot countries have now submitted National Programmes and by the end of the year, seven of them had entered into implementation. Building on their achievements over the past two years, UN-REDD Programme partner countries produced valuable REDD+ knowledge and lessons learned throughout 2010, providing significant inputs into the very evolution of the REDD+ mechanism.

During 2010, the UN-REDD Programme remained focused on providing technical expertise, policy advice and financial resources to support the development of national REDD+ strategies, targeted support towards implementation, monitoring and reporting, robust governance systems and stakeholder engagement and the multiple functions and benefits of REDD+. The scaling up of this work will now be guided by the Programme’s new five-year strategy which was officially endorsed by the Policy Board in November.

The UN-REDD Programme continued to work closely with partners such as the FCPF and FIP in 2010 to build and enhance coordinated delivery mechanisms to REDD+ countries. Together with the FCPF, the Programme also provided secretariat support to the REDD+ Partnership, established in May as an interim platform for countries and stakeholders to scale up REDD+ actions and finance.

None of the Programme’s work and support to countries would have been possible without renewed commitments from our donors in 2010. In March, Norway committed an additional US$32 million to the UN-REDD Programme for 2010 and in November confirmed its intention to continue supporting the Programme in 2011. Also in November, Denmark announced US$6 million in new funding and Spain committed US$1.3 million. The Programme was also pleased to hear Japan officially announce their desire to contribute to the Programme.

But perhaps the best news in 2010 was saved for last when, in December, the UNFCCC COP16 delivered one of the most significant steps forward for REDD+ in the form of its first-ever official agreement on REDD+. This agreement gives the entire REDD+ community further guidance in developing strategies and confirms the mechanism as a critical component of the climate change solution.

Moving forward, the UN-REDD Programme will continue to support the UNFCCC process guided by the Cancun agreement on REDD+, and we will focus on mobilizing more resources, working closer with a broader range of stakeholders, scaling up further and delivering even more results - in support of REDD+ efforts by countries.