Best Practices in Governance and Biodiversity Safeguards for REDD-Plus

7/30/2019 Best Practices in Governance and Biodiversity Safeguards for REDD-Plus

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REDD-Plus:Valuing national and eld-basedexperiences to catalyze synergy

between the UNFCCC and CBD

2012


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List o abbreviationsCBD - Convention on Biological

Diversity

CCB Standards - Climate, Community andBiodiversity Standards

CFUG - Community Forest User

Group

ESMF - Environmental and Social

Management Framework

(FCPF)

FCPF - Forest Carbon Partnership

Facility (World Bank)

FPIC - Free and Prior Inormed

Consent

MRV - measurement, reporting and

verifcation

PES - payments or ecosystem

services

PGA - Participatory Governance

Assessment (UN-REDD)

PRISAI - Principles, Criteria and

Indicator Saeguards

Indonesia

REDD-Plus - Activities to reduce

emissions rom deorestationand orest degradation, as

well as or the conservation

o orest carbon stocks, the

sustainable management o

orests and the enhancement

o orest carbon stocks in

developing countries

REDD+ SES - REDD+ Social and

Environmental Standards

R-PPs - Readiness Preparation

ProposalsSEPC - Social and Environmental

Principles and Criteria (UN-

REDD)

SESA - Strategic Environmental and

Social Assessment (FCPF)

SIS - Saeguards Inormation

System

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate

Change

UN-REDD - United Nations REDD

Programme

Table o contents

The Swiss-Philippine Initiative 3

and Implementing Partners

Messages 4

REDD-Plus and Biodiversity: 6

Linking the UNFCCC and CBD Processes

Taking REDD-Plus to the next level: 7

The value o national and feld-based experiences

Best Practices in Governance and 8

Biodiversity Saeguards or REDD-Plus

Realizing synergies between the UNFCCC 18

and CBD on biodiversity and

governance saeguards

Acknowledgements 20

PublisherFederal Oce or the Environment (FOEN), SwitzerlandClimate Change Commission, Philippines

Implementing partnersAteneo School o Government, Philippines

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, Switzerland

Bern/Manila, October 2012


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3

Building on the success o the Cancun Agreements

which ocially set out the parameters o an

international REDD-Plus Mechanism, the 2011

Durban Climate Change Conerence acilitated

agreement among countries that nancing or

REDD-Plus could come rom a diversity o unding

sources, and that a Saeguards Inormation Systemshould be established to address possible risks

arising rom REDD-Plus activities. Both Cancun

and Durban are widely recognized as milestones

towards eectively incentivizing reduced emissions

rom deorestation and orest degradation and

implementing innovative rights-based approaches

towards ensuring multiple benets or communities

and biodiversity in developing countries.

The Governments o Switzerland and the

Philippines continue their close engagement in

REDD-Plus discussions with the key objective o

ensuring that both nations strong commitment

towards community-based orest management,

indigenous peoples rights, and environmental

integrity and biodiversity conservation are refected

in the development and implementation o REDD-

Plus internationally and nationally.

In 2011, the Swiss-Philippine Initiative Towards

Building a Governance Framework or REDD-Plus

Financing identied 5 key messages through

a multi-stakeholder dialogue that contributed

signicantly towards raming international and

national discussions on REDD-Plus nancing and

its broader policy implications. The initiative was

critical in bringing together the latest thinking as

The Swiss-Philippine Initiativeand Implementing Partners

The international community should catalyze adequatenancing or REDD-Plus in all phases o implementation;1

Unlocking private nance requires demand or REDD-Pluscredits and incentives or sustainable investments;2Planning or REDD-Plus nancing should be part o abroader policy approach, which orients investmentstowards specic country strategies and objectives;

3

REDD-Plus payments should cover the implementationand monitoring o environmental, social and governancesaeguards; and

4

Governments in REDD-Plus countries should ensurebalanced investments within and outside the orestsector in order to address all drivers o deorestation

and orest degradation.

5

well as generating inormal consensus around the

topic.

While momentum or REDD-Plus remains quite high

at both international and national levels, Parties

nd themselves at a critical juncture where they

are compelled to take REDD-Plus to the next

level.

Throughout 2012 the Swiss-Philippine Initiative

has continued with consultations in Bohol,

Philippines and Kathmandu, Nepal. Through this

eort, we aspire to elevate the value o national

and eld-based experiences in early REDD-Plus

implementation, and present a set o best practices

that we believe will contribute towards taking

REDD-Plus to the next levelthat is towards

ensuring practical and synergistic guidance at

international level that will support genuine

perormance and practical results on the ground.


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4

On behal o Switzerlands Federal Oce or the Environment, I

wish to give highest priority to this Policy Brie on Best Practices in

Governance and Biodiversity Saeguards or REDD-Plus.

Good perormance in governance and biodiversity saeguards in

REDD-Plus represents an indispensible oundation or its successul

implementation and allows to eectively address potential risks arising

rom its activities. Since the outset o the development o REDD-Plus,Switzerland has placed high priority on making sure that saeguards

are adequately addressed and respected in order to allow or a

successul scaling up o the mechanism.

Our specic interest in contributing to set up enabling conditions

or REDD-Plus success is based on the act that Switzerland has a

long history o experience in issues related to orest governance

and biodiversity that allow multiple benets or communities and

biodiversity both nationally, in bi-lateral and multi-lateral cooperation

in orest projects, in the UNFF, and in the UNFCCC and CBD.

The Philippines also has promoted the importance o REDD-Plussaeguards in the UNFCCC process and on the ground nationally. The

like-mindedness between the two countries has avoured our joint

promotion o REDD-Plus saeguards in the rame o a second phase o

the Swiss-Philippine Initiative that ocused specically on governance

and biodiversity. We strongly believe that saeguards are a common

interest o developing and developed countries and thereore require

joint eorts.

The stocktaking o available national and eld-level experience in the

rame o the two exchanges was organized with the aim to make sure

that the currently available global experience can urther be valuedand promoted. This has not only allowed tapping the rich pool o

experience and innovative approaches that are currently being applied,

but has also enabled a better fow o inormation between the project

level and the conventions.

It is a pleasure or us, jointly with our colleagues rom the

Philippines, to present to you the compiled experiences, insights and

recommendations that experts and eld practitioners rom all over the

world have gathered. We hope with our eorts to make a meaningul

contribution to enable the UNFCCC and CBD negotiations come closer

together and contribute to overall progress in REDD-Plus.

Message rom theGovernment o Switzerland

Ambassador Franz PerrezHead o the International Aairs DivisionFederal Oce or the Environment


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The Philippine Climate Change Commission joins the Swiss Federal

Oce or the Environment in promoting the best practices in

governance and biodiversity saeguards or REDD-Plus presented in

this Policy Brie.

This second Policy Brie produced by the Swiss-Philippine Initiative

brings twice the value because it timely inorms the Parties to both the

UNFCCC and CBD. As with the previous publication on the GovernanceFramework on REDD-Plus Financing, this Policy Brie encapsulates

the experiences, insights and recommendations o experts and eld

practitioners rom all regions o the world. The national and project

level lessons will surely contribute to developing more responsive

and practical guidance relevant to the governance and biodiversity

saeguards during the negotiations under the CBD in Hyderabad and

the UNFCCC in Doha this year.

Aside rom its value in international negotiations, the Policy Brie also

provides lessons or national REDD-Plus programs. The key messages

resonate with our own countrys challenges in ensuring that REDD-

Plus is consistent with our national orest management strategy,and supports the broader goals o inclusive economic growth. We

take pride in our pioneering eorts in recognizing and protecting the

rights o indigenous peoples and local communities to their resources

and to participate in governance. We look orward to developing

our own knowledge and inormation base, including on saeguards

implementation, to ensure that climate change mitigation benets are

realized together with, and not at the expense o, improving the quality

o lie o orest peoples and conserving our countrys living resources.

We hope that through these eorts we are able to demonstrate to the

global community our countrys commitment to share the responsibility

o caring or the Earth.

On behal o the Philippine Government, we would like to thank

our implementing partners, the Ateneo School o Government and

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation or once more advancing the

discussions on REDD-Plus, and bring to the attention o both the

UNFCCC and CBD Parties the need or synergy and convergence

in promoting governance and biodiversity saeguards in pursuit o

climate change mitigation benets rom the orest sector in developing

countries.

Message rom theGovernment o the Philippines

Naderev M. SaoCommissioner

Climate Change Commission


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There is now increasing recognition that biodiversity is acritical element o REDD-Plus. Where incentives are putin place towards avoiding orest loss, the degradationo habitats and threats to loss o ecosystem servicesare subsequently mitigated. In many developingcountries, the conversion o orestlands to agriculture,urban development and other uses is a major cause obiodiversity loss.

Natural orest ecosystems, goods and services are otennot properly valued and managed and their importanceunder-recognized. Hence REDD-Plus and its multiplebenets are seen as strong arguments against theconversion o orests into plantations and as a powerulmodel or providing alternative livelihoods to orestcommunities and promoting the rights o indigenouspeoples and local communities.

Under the UNFCCC, REDD-Plus is not merely treated asa platorm to reduce emissions rom the orest sector.

The mechanism is enshrined in the Cancun Agreementswith a broad set o biodiversity, social and governancesaeguards that are intended to ensure environmentalintegrity and sustainability, and protect the rights oindigenous peoples and local communities and theirrelationship to the natural ecosystem.1 These saeguardsare coherent with several international conventions,more saliently the UN Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD).

Under the CBD, there is growing appreciation or thepotential o REDD-Plus to contribute to and complementthe 2011-2020 Strategic Plan or Biodiversity. TheStrategic Plan is a blueprint or action towardsestablishing global and regional targets to conservebiodiversity, including orest biodiversity, as enshrined inthe Aichi Targets.2

Several Aichi Targets directly reer to REDD-Plusobjectives: atleasthalving,andwherefeasible,bringingcloseto

zero the rate o loss o all natural habitats includingorests and reduce degradation and ragmentation(target 5);

managingareasunderagriculture,aquaculture,andorestry sustainably (target 7);

conservingatleast17%ofterrestrialandinlandwaters(target 11);

enhancingtheresilienceandcontributionofbiodiversity to carbon stocks through conservationandrestorationincludingrestoringatleast15%ofdegraded ecosystems thereby contributing to climate

change mitigation and adaptation and to combatingdesertication (target 15).

1 FCCC/1CP.16, Appendix 12 UNEP/CBD/COP/DEC/X/2 Annex Strategic Plan or Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the

Aichi Biodiversity Targets3 CBD Secretariat. REDD-plus and Biodiversity. Technical Series N o. 59.4 UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/8, Annex; CBD SBSTTA recommendation XVI/7

To support these objectives, the CBD has developedadvice on the application o relevant REDD-Plussaeguards or biodiversity and is developing anindicative list o indicators4 or assessing the impactso REDD-Plus and its saeguards on biodiversity, aswell as their contribution towards achieving the AichiTargets. This continues to be the subject o a specialwork program under the CBD, which strategicallyacilitates progress on the implementation o REDD-Plussaeguards.

REDD-Plus and Biodiversity:

Linking the UNFCCC and CBDProcesses

In a technical report3, the CBD outlines 8 keymessages on the potential o REDD-Plus toenhance biodiversity conservation eorts andvice-versa:1. The opportunities or REDD-Plus and

biodiversity synergies are immense2. Involving indigenous peoples and local

communities is key to the success o REDD-Plus3. Stable storage o carbon depends on stable and

resilient orests4. A long term holistic approach to spatialplanning and analysis is needed

5. Forest restoration (enhancement o orestcarbon stocks) can provide biodiversitybenets

6. Ecological tipping points or thresholds couldendanger REDD-Plus eorts

7. Key tools to enhance multiple benets exist,but need urther research and development

8. There are potential risks o REDD-Plus orbiodiversity that can be overcome

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Indeed, the growing synergy between the UNFCCCand CBD is to be welcomed. I this synergy is to beully realised or the explicit purpose o preparing andenhancing REDD-Plus towards its next stage or its ullimplementation phase, it is only logical that national andeld-based experiences serve as the platorm or globaldiscussions on REDD-Plus.

An enormous number o lessons have been generatedto date rom both national and eld-based experiences.Their inherent value lies in their ability to translateconcepts and guidance developed under the REDD-Plus mechanism into practical realities, demonstratingthe linkages on-the-ground between REDD-Plus,biodiversity and governance. On saeguards alone,we are increasingly learning rom experiences thattheir development and implementation are neitherhomogenous nor static but realistic and adaptive,indicating the possibility that REDD-Plus is likely to thriveand succeed with practical and decentralized models to

address real issues.

Taking REDD-Plus to thenext level: The value o

national and feld-basedexperiences

The Swiss and Philippine Governments through thisinitiative, Best Practices in Governance and BiodiversitySaeguards or REDD- Plus: Valuing national and eldbases experiences to catalyze synergy between theUNFCCC and CBD, divides its key messages into 2 parts:

(i) Generating lessons learned and crystallizing bestpractices rom national and eld based experiences

on REDD-Plus development and implementation.The best practices documented and analyzed inthis initiative demonstrate how saeguards aredynamically being interpreted at the ground level.This shall contribute towards grounding internationaland national discussions towards practical REDD-Plussaeguards implementation.

(ii) Developing synergistic guidance on saeguards inboth the UNFCCC and CBD processes, especially onimproving REDD-Plus saeguards implementationand the establishment o the Saeguard Inormation

System (SIS)

LESSONS LEARNED

LESSONS LEARNED

Recommendations or theUNFCCC and CBD

Policy ramework(coordination,

participation, incentives)

Practical monitoringapproaches

Perormance orsustainable outcomes

Innovations(business model)

Governancearrangements (benetssharing, tenure, rights)

Financial fows(enabling environments,

management)

Rights

Innovations

N

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xperie

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Fieldexp

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Best

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REDD-Plus payment should cover the

implementation and monitoring of

environmental, social and governancesafeguards.

BEST PRACTICES IN GOVERNANCE AND BIODIVERSITY

COMPLIANCE

INFORMATION

UPFRONT

PAYMENT

REDD-Plus should demonstrate that it

facilitates sustainability of the forest

sector by providing multiple benefits,

including the conservation of

biodiversity and ecosystem services,

and the associated rights of

indigenous and local communities,particularly in areas of high

biodiversity value.

1

2

3

REDD-Plus implementation

succeeds when it adds value to

the overall national forest

management strategy and local

development goals.

in REDD-Plus entail ownership of forest

governance structures by empowered

local stakeholders.

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GHG

AFEGUARDS FOR REDD-PLUS

Private

Sector

FUND SOURCES

COMPLIANCE

NON-COMPLIANCE

REDD-Plus Projects

Result-based performance

Domestic Multi-lateral/

Bilateral

REDD-Plus payment schemes

should form part of an innovative

and sustainable financing strategy

linked to broader performance

parameters.

The Safeguards Information

System is a critical platform

for demonstrating

compliance with REDD-Plus

safeguards that secures

results-based payments.

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Among its saeguards, REDD-Plus should ensure actionscomplement or are consistent with the objectives onational orest programmes and relevant internationalconventions and agreements.

A clearer picture is now emerging rom various nationaland eld experiences that a common challenge isnding a niche or REDD-Plus where various orestmanagement strategies and programs already existin line with national and local priorities, or are beingimplemented alongside other international agreements.

While there is no lack o comprehensive orestmanagement strategies and programs in REDD-Pluscountries which already consider national priorities inprotected area management and restoration as wellas local plans that address community-level needs orequitable and sustainable access to orestland products,experience shows that countries that develop theirREDD-Plus strategies with the explicit purpose o addingvalue to existing eorts have a much higher chance osucceeding and gaining traction nationally and locally.

Experience aords us the insight that REDD-Plus could be

demonstrated to add emphasis on how existing plans toavoid and reduce deorestation and degradation can belogically bundled or livelihood support and biodiversityprotection, and vice versa.

There are several examples o countries in theirreadiness stage, where REDD-Plus strategies areintegrated into dierent policy instruments as they are

1.REDD-Plus implementationsucceeds when it adds valueto the overall national orestmanagement strategy and localdevelopment goals.

seen to t organically with broader eorts towardsachieving orest management or conservation goals.

In Vietnam or instance, its National Action Plan orREDD-Plus (2011-2020) eatures very strongly as acomponent o its National Biodiversity Strategy andAction Plan, where REDD-Plus activities are seen asadding value to reinorcing the countrys biodiversitygoals. Similarly, in Nepal, REDD-Plus is packaged as animportant component o the orthcoming National ForestSector Strategy and National Biodiversity Strategy andAction Plan.

Tanzanias efforts to integrate REDD-Plus withlocal goals to demonstrate value

In the Eastern Arc Mountains, the Tanzania ForestConservation Group and the Tanzania ForestConservation Network is implementing the projectMaking REDD-Plus Work or Communities and

Forest Conservation in Tanzania. As a REDD-Plus demonstration project, one o its keyobjectives is to provide equitable incentives torural communities or conserving and managingorests sustainably. Free, prior and inormedconsent (FPIC) was secured through intensiveconsultations and culminated in a participatoryanalysis o the drivers o deorestation and thestakeholders involved.

It was then decided by local stakeholders thatREDD-Plus activities will have to be integrated

under broader village land-use plans andan agricultural strategy to address driversand standing problems o elite capture, landgrabbing and limited access to orest products.As a result, implementation o REDD-readinessacilitated the establishment o Village LandForest Reserves (a platorm or Community-basedForest Management), certication o village landoccupation rights, and the resolution o boundaryconfictsdemonstrating clearly to communitieshow REDD-Plus can add value especially also onissues o tenure.

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Nepals comprehensive REDD-Plus coordinationmechanism

At the national level, Nepal coordinates all REDD-Plus activities through its REDD Cell whichserves as the countrys ocal point. Although theREDD Cell reports directly under the Ministry oForest Conservation and Soils, it is understoodto collaborate directly with the CBD ocal pointunder the same ministry and the UNFCCC and CBDocal points under the Ministry o Environment,Science and Technology. The REDD Cell has servedas a powerul hub or coordination given theactive participation o Nepal in REDD-Plus, itsavailable resources, and the overlaps with othercommitments under the CBD and UNFCCC. Thecoordination mechanism supports eective andecient management o cross-cutting issueso saeguards implementation, internationalreporting and consolidated national adaptationplans which involve cross-sectoral decisionmaking.

The Philippines, while it has a standalone NationalREDD-Plus Strategy, demonstrates how REDD-Plus isbeing integrated into specic government programssuch as the Ecotowns program o the Climate ChangeCommission and the Protected Areas and Wildlie Bureau.Ecotowns are enrolled localities under the governmentwhich develop and implement ridge-to-ree andecosystem-based comprehensive land-use plans with

the broader goal o acilitating public-private partnershipsor climate change adaptation and ecosystem resilience.The ramework includes REDD-Plus as an optional value-adding approach towards incentivizing avoided orestdegradation and alternative livelihoods.

In Indonesia, in order to address dierent drivers odeorestation, there are on-going eorts to coordinate

cooperation across the various land-based sectors,including the development and agreement o equivalentstandards to avoid one sector (e.g. orests) having higherstandards and to standardise rules across the sectors.

In Costa Rica, the National Climate Change Strategy setsout a mandate to develop synergies between the CBDand UNFCCC, while in the Philippines, its National REDD-Plus Strategy creates a National and Provincial Multi-stakeholder REDD-Plus Council to oversee REDD-Pluscoordination, implementation, and dispute resolution.

In many o these cases, consistency or complementationacross national orest management programs, REDD-Plus and other sectors such as agriculture, mining, andurban development, can be made more ecient withinstitutional mechanisms that acilitate exchange oinormation and coordination o policies, regulations andprograms.

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donors acilitating processes towards harmonizationor mutual recognition o standards; and governmentand NGOs taking the lead towards the bottom-updevelopment o nationally appropriate saeguardsguidance, drawing on existing standards and identiyingminimum and realistic requirements (e.g. or protectingbiodiversity and ecosystem services).

REDD-Plus is known or its emphasis on the ull andeective participation o relevant stakeholders indecision-making. This primarily acts as a unctionor transparency and respect or the knowledge andrights o indigenous peoples and local communities.Numerous international initiatives and standards haveemerged in recent years that promote the developmento rameworks, criteria and indicators to demonstrate(to donors, governments and other stakeholders) goodgovernance and environmental integrity, among others(e.g. FCPF Guidelines or the SESA and ESMF, the REDD-Plus SES and CCB Standards and UN-REDD SEPC). Theadoption o such international standards has somewhatbecome the norm or what constitutes a guaranteemechanism to ensure biodiversity conservation andthe protection o rights within a ramework o goodgovernance.

While such standards continue to be important orinorming policy decisions, developing nationalrameworks and ensuring that projects meetenvironmental, social and governance standards, thereare calls rom national and eld-based experiences thata more context-specic and demand-driven approach

towards the establishment o orest governancestructures, let alone REDD-Plus saeguards, is necessary.

National and eld practitioners cite diculties o havingto comply with dierent standards or dierent undingmechanisms, which can result in the doubling o eortsand mechanistic monitoring that ultimately hindergenuine ownership o orest governance.

Several countries such as Indonesia, Nepal, thePhilippines, Vietnam and Costa Rica are attempting toovercome these challenges. Eorts include states and

2. Transparency and eectiveparticipation in REDD-Plusentail ownership o orestgovernance structures byempowered local stakeholders

Indonesias PRISAI facilitating local ownership ofREDD-Plus governance approaches

In developing the PRISAI (Principles, Criteria andIndicators Indonesia), which also means shield,Indonesia directly picks up rom the REDD+ SES(Social and Environmental Standards), the project-level Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB)Standards and the Brazil Social and EnvironmentalPrinciples and Criteria. The PRISAI has beendeveloped through a bottom-up process withinvolvement o key stakeholders at the national

and provincial levels. This extensive consultationprocess has taken time, but has ensured buy-in rom relevant actors (communities, civilsociety, government and private sector) at alllevels. One o the key lessons learned rom theprocess is the need to balance robustness withimplementability. Also, thorough preparation atan early stage is importanta lesson also derivedrom development o the UN-REDD participatorygovernance assessment in Indonesia.

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The Philippines REDD-Plus 101 and Color It REDDRoadshows

As part o the communication and capacitybuilding program o the Philippine National REDD-Plus Strategy, a set o REDD-Plus 101 moduleswas developed and is now being delivered to

both national and eld-based practitioners byaccredited organizations across the country.

The 3-day modules provide a basic overview othe REDD-Plus mechanism, its relationship withclimate change and biodiversity, alongside itsrisks and opportunities specic to the Philippines.The program then accommodates or role-playingand scenario building with participants. Given thepotentially sensitive nature o REDD-Plus topics,it is always ensured that training materials arepackaged or maximum appreciation, building on

amiliar concepts, and that a good mix o resourcepersons rom government, academia and NGOsare always present to ensure balanced views andthe management o expectations.

Advanced modules towards training moreparticipants with basic skills or monitoring andMRV (measurement, reporting and verication),including orest resources and biodiversityassessments, are currently being developed.

There are also roving Color It REDD Roadshowswhich are targeted towards broader local

audiences packaged as townhall meetingsor talkshow programs. In these Roadshows,local communities are given the opportunityto raise questions on REDD-Plus and its relatedissues. These inormal gatherings catalyze adeeper and more transparent understandingo the implications o REDD-Plus and provideopportunities to clear the air on potentiallycontroversial issues. A night o cultural activities,including olk shows, singing and dancing, ollowseach Roadshow.

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Among its saeguards, REDD-Plus requires that actionsare consistent with the conservation o natural orestsand biological diversity, ensuring they are not used orthe conversion o natural orests into plantations, butare instead used to incentivize their protection and theconservation o ecosystem services, and to enhanceother social and environmental benets.

While this saeguard may immediately be viewed asstrictly pertaining to the protection and conservation obiodiversity, national and eld experiences demonstratethat practical interpretations have arisen articulatingthe role biodiversity and REDD-Plus can play in securing

multiple benets beyond carbon.

In several cases, areas o high biodiversity value arehome to indigenous peoples and local communitieswho are dependent on the orest or its goods andservices. Thereore, conservation o natural orestsand biodiversity are intimately tied to access rights,livelihoods, and possible related conficts. There areunique examples whereby REDD-Plus projects havebeen designed rom the very beginning as platorms toconserve, enhance and provide multiple benets beyondjust measureable, reportable, and veriable emissions

reductions. Such benets have ranged rom jobs creation,tenure, ecotourism opportunities, improved water quality,all the way to landslide hazard mitigation and otherecosystem services.

This is due to the simple realization that or projects andnational strategies to succeed and thrive in any localcontext, REDD-Plus has to be demonstrated as providing

short and long-term opportunities rather than takingthem away; acilitating sustainability outcomes and animprovement in the quality o lie rather than just carbonoutcomes.

In Tanzania and Nepal, REDD-Plus is acilitating localcommunity groups to secure community tenure with theestablishment o land registries and oces to outlinecritical orest areas. In both examples, land rights andcommunity development through livelihood generationare some o the multiple benets acilitated by REDD-Plus.

In the Philippines, the National REDD-Plus Strategyadopts a Triple Bottomline approach, where carbon,community and biodiversity are seen as equally valuedbenets to REDD-Plus development and implementationand thereore has implications on how planning andmonitoring are conducted.

Such practical approaches are driving innovation towardsestablishing REDD-Plus as a potential sustainablerevenue model, which could leverage biodiversity,ecosystem services, and livelihoods giving more tangiblebenets to communities. This broader ramework orperormance more condently secures carbon benetsand the enabling environment needed or permanence.

3. REDD-Plus shoulddemonstrate that it acilitatessustainability o the orestsector by providing multiplebenefts, including the

conservation o biodiversityand ecosystem services,and the associated rightso indigenous and localcommunities, particularly inareas o high biodiversityvalue.

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CASE STUDY: Kenyas Kasigau Corridordemonstrating multiple benefts as keytowards sustainability and REDD-Plus

Wildlie Works Kasigau Corridor Project is widelyviewed as a success story or REDD-Plus projectdevelopment and implementation. While the projecthas been certied as meeting both the CCB and VCSstandards, perhaps its most valuable lesson lies in itspractical emphasis on the role job creation plays inengaging communities towards ensuring multiple andlasting benets rom orest protection.

Nestled in an ecological corridor o high biodiversityvalue between two national parks where human andwildlie conficts are commonplace, REDD-Plus hasbeen established by Wildlie Works as a conservation-

compatible economic development approach meetingsocial and environmental saeguards. The project areais comprised o 14 ranches, largely owned by localshareholders, where the primary drivers o degradationand loss o the dryland orest are unsustainableagriculture and charcoal production by the localcommunities.

From the beginning, conservation, communityemployment and income generation were built in tothe project, which was developed rst on one ranch asproo o concept then extended to 13 more ranches.

Wildlie Works negotiated Conservation Easementswith the local land owners, granting them conservationrights, including carbon rights and prescribing theactivities that the landowners may or may notundertake. A benet-sharing system was negotiated

and established whereby carbon revenues were tobe split equally between the landowners, WildlieWorks and the community (i.e., 1/3 to each), with thecommunity independently deciding how to spend theirshare, e.g. on education and water. Meanwhile, WildlieWorks used its share to develop diverse employmentthrough various environmentally riendly venturesand alternatives to unsustainable orest exploitation,including eco-tourism, bio-enterprises (soap andaloe production), eco-charcoal production and aneco-actory which produces and exports organicand carbon-neutral clothing. It has also established an

organic tree nursery, employs community orest rangersand is testing approaches to sustainable intensicationo agriculture.

In this multiple benets model, roles and responsibilitiesare clear. There is also a clear understanding o howthe landowners and community stand to benet, withthe community having independence in prioritizingthe social issues they deem important to address. Bydiversiying sustainable employment opportunitiesand stressing the link to conservation and carbon, itis expected that the benets and project goals will belasting.

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It was agreed in Cancun and rearmed in Durban thata system or providing inormation on how saeguardsare addressed and respected - a saeguards inormationsystem (SIS) is a pre-requisite or obtaining results-based nance or REDD-Plus.5 Parties have agreedon initial guidance and to consider the need orurther guidance to ensure transparency, consistency,comprehensiveness and eectiveness when inormingon how all saeguards are addressed and respected.6They also agreed that Parties undertaking REDD-Plus

activities should periodically provide a summary oinormation on how the saeguards are being addressedand respected in national communications, or throughcommunication channels agreed by the Conerence oParties.7 Under the CBD, the advice on the application oREDD-Plus relevant saeguards, particularly the indicativelist o indicators or assessing the impacts o REDD-Plusmeasures on biodiversity,8 are directly relevant to the SISand any urther guidance that would be developed underthe UNFCCC.

Parties are now in the process o developing their SIS,establishing rameworks, standards and indicators touse as a basis or monitoring, drawing on internationalstandards such as the REDD-Plus SES and existingsystems where possible and learning lessons rom othercountries through cross-ertilisation. The participatorygovernance assessment (PGA) in Indonesia has shownthat while international standards provide importantrameworks, there needs to be scope or interpretationin the national context. This has also been built into theapproach o the REDD-Plus SES where countries such asNepal are developing nationally specic indicators basedon the international ramework through a transparentand consultative process. Both the PGA and development

4. The Saeguards InormationSystem is a critical platormor demonstrating compliancewith REDD-Plus saeguardsthat secures results-based

payments.

o the PRISAI in Indonesia illustrate the importance othorough preparation and taking the time needed or theparticipatory and transparent development o principles,criteria and indicators, as well as data collectioninstruments. The PRISAIs bottom-up process engagingkey stakeholders at both national and provincial levelsnot only ensures buy-in, it helps to ensure the systemwill be implementable at sub-national level.

Nepals Community Forest User Groupsdemonstrating the importance of engagingcommunities in participatory monitoring

In Nepal, 20 years experience in communityorestry has demonstrated the value oparticipatory and joint monitoring wheregovernment, civil society and local groups learntogether. The operational plans and constitutionso Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), whichare themselves developed in a consultative and

participatory way, incorporate provisions orregular monitoring o the condition o the orestby the community as well as the unctioning othe groups mechanisms and compliance withlocal rules (i.e. a orm o governance monitoring).Communities have also elaborated their ownindicators to monitor social development.

The processes that have characterized thedevelopment o monitoring by the CFUGs haveoered important ground or learning to inormthe implementation o the REDD-Plus SES in

Nepal. These have been integrated into theReadiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP), and a rstdrat o country-specic indicators developedthrough a transparent and consultative process.

5 Decision 1/CP.16 para 71 and Decision 2/CP.17 para 646 Decision 12/CP.17 para 67 Decision 12/CP.17 para 58 UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/8, Annex; CBD SBSTTA recommendation XVI/716


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Experience rom several countries stresses theimportance o participatory and inclusive monitoring,and the value o community monitoring. In Costa Rica,participatory monitoring accesses indigenous knowledge,or example to dene indicators, while experience romNepal has shown that community driven indicators aremore practical than (external) expert driven indicatorssince expert driven indicators might exclude the local

communities perspective. In Kenya, the Wildlie Worksproject is developing a combination o communityand expert driven indicators. The Community ForestUser Groups in Nepal conduct a orm o governancemonitoring themselves which inorms and improves theunctioning o the groups mechanisms. This is also oneo the goals o the PGA in Indonesia but on a nationalscale, i.e. to use the inormation rom the governanceassessment to improve national policy processes andgovernance structures.

Establishing SIS will require up-ront payments andinvestment in capacity building, including building statecompetency, but costs will decrease over time - as theexperience rom establishing social and biodiversitymonitoring systems at project level in Kenya indicates.While initial costs are high, these subsequently reducedrastically since the costs o implementing the systemsare considerably less than the development costs. An

integrated approach to monitoring at eld level realizescost eciencies. In Tanzania and Kenya, carbon andbiodiversity monitoring (particularly o fora) is beingcombined or eciency purposes, while Costa Ricasexperience also supports an integrated approach tomonitoring or carbon and saeguards.

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5. REDD-Plus paymentschemes should orm part oan innovative and sustainablefnancing strategy linkedto broader perormance

parameters.

In Durban, it was recognized that a diversity o undingsources including public, private, market based andnon-market based nancing would be necessary inorder to meet the scale o nancing required or the ullimplementation o REDD-Plus.

Since then, REDD-Plus nance has become a subject ointerest in the public and the private sectors alike, asthere is growing evidence rom national experiences thatREDD-Plus investments and payments can be logically

integrated into existing and/or broader sustainablenancing strategies cutting across areas related toREDD-Plus (i.e. ecosystem services, agriculture, locallivelihoods, environment-related taxes and levies). Thisopens up the unique opportunity to manage undingportolios more eciently and competitively whilekeeping sight o broader perormance parametersthat make sense in the context o local realities hencerendering investments more sustainable.

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Similarly, various models are now emerging whereREDD-Plus nancing is adaptively and innovativelymanaged based on the priorities and intended outcomeso particular areas. In these cases, as a rst step, localpriorities are outlined and consultations are held to gaugethe potential o REDD-Plus to meet these priorities andprovide multiple benets. Then investment is channeledinto establishing the capacity and the environment

or sound saeguards implementation, which includesdeveloping the saeguards inormation system andmeasurement, reporting and verication systems. Thenext step is investing in trial or experimental paymentschemes and incentive approaches to test local supportand match absorptive capacities or possible scaling-up.Both national and eld-based experiences demonstratethat phasing payments in this way is likely to allowinvestments to mature into actual perormance orsustainable outcomes.

In Tanzania, trial payments or REDD-Plus perormance

are conducted to test appropriate approaches towardsequitable benet sharing. Local villagers are alsoempowered to participate in crating the by-laws thatserve as basis or the trial payments and the benetsharing schemes.

In Vietnam, the application o the concept o theR-coecient has been studied and may be applied asan economic instrument where environmental and socialbenets are duly valuated and accounted or in localREDD-Plus benet sharing schemeswhere carbon is butone o many perormance indicators.

Perhaps the most signicant insight current nationalexperiences in REDD-Plus payments oer us is thatREDD-Plus nancing models are neither homogenous norstatic. They are dynamic and adaptive to local realitiesand capacities, and oriented towards cost-eectivenessand competitiveness.

Such experiences provide some indication that REDD-Plus payments need to be embedded unto a broadersustainable nancing strategy and be demonstrated toadd value to existing and/or new investments.

Costa Ricas Payment or Environmental Services

Program

PES has been ormally adopted as part o thenational REDD-Plus Strategy o Costa Rica. The PESProgram provides incentives to small and mediumlandowners to implement specic tree-basedmeasures (reorestation, aorestation, orestprotection and natural regeneration) to enhanceenvironmental services such as water supplyand carbon sequestration, as well as conservebiodiversity. The Program has given out morethan US$ 20 million to indigenous territories. ThePES scheme provides an important proportion

o nancial resources to local indigenouscommunities. Eighteen o the 24 indigenousterritories participate in the PES Program.

The Cabecar-Tayni group leads orest acreageregistered in the Program with 30,466 hectares.Presently, they have 3,600 hectares registeredunder the PES conservation category and over360,000 trees under the PES agroorestry systemcategory. Almost 45% o these trees have beenplanted by women, who are increasingly gainingempowerment in the communitys decision-

making processes. Anyone wishing to participatein a tree-harvesting project must ensure plantingat least 20 trees per each clear-cut tree. Since2003, the Cabecar-Tayni have secured almost$1.5 million rom PES. These unds constitute themajority o their annual budget. The PES undsawarded to the Cabecar-Tayni have enabled thecommunities to improve their livelihoods. Someo the money is used as an emergency und whenamilies lose their crops to river foods, or to helpamilies travel to hospitals and cover their medicalbills.

Indigenous peoples are beginning to engage inREDD-Plus Strategy discussions. It should not bedicult because o the similarity o the incentivescheme with PES. It is important to consider therole (economic, social, cultural, spiritual) thatorest resources play in the development olocal and Indigenous communities. The schemesselected in REDD-Plus have to be fexible toensure a more equitable distribution o incentives.The main lesson learned rom indigenous peoplesis that solidarity, level o organization, continuouslearning, inormation and the sense o community

make a dierence in design and developmentand REDD-Plus should strengthen these aspects.

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The UNFCCC and the CBD are independently developingadvice and guidance on REDD-Plus saeguards. Atnational levels, strategies and action plans on REDD-Plus,biodiversity and adaptation are being developed, otenby dierent agencies even though they are inextricablylinked.

Through this initiative, our participants have shownthat extensive national experience rom which bestpractices can be drawn already exists, as evidenced byNepals community orest programme and Costa Ricas

experience with payments or ecosystem services. Morenational and feld based experiences are being added asdevelopment and implementation o national REDD-Plusprogrammes and REDD-Plus projects progress.

Parties and stakeholders alike would beneft romsynergistic guidance rom the UNFCCC and the CBD thatdraws on such national and project level experiences toensure it is not only practical but also relevant and canbe adapted to natonal and local realities.

The ollowing specifc conclusions and recommendatonsare oered towards realizing synergies between theUNFCCC and CBD and supporting the implementation obiodiversity and governance saeguards at national andlocal level.

- Synergies need to be built between national REDD-Plus strategies and action plans, national adaptationplans and national biodiversity strategies and actionplans. To achieve this there must be efcient andeective coordination at the international levelbetween the UNFCCC and CBD and a comprehensivecoordination mechanism at the national level betweenall the relevant ocal points.

- There should be mutual recognition o adviceand guidance between the UNFCCC and the CBDwith respect to relevant REDD-Plus saeguards orbiodiversity. Thus the advice developed through broadconsultation by the CBD on the application o thesesaeguards should be recognized by the UNFCCC,and similarly the guidance under development in theUNFCCC on saeguards inormation systems should be

Realizing synergies between the UNFCCC and CBDon biodiversity and governance saeguards

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recognized by the CBD. The indicative list o indicatorsbeing developed by the CBD or assessing theimpacts o REDD-Plus measures on biodiversity aredirectly relevant to the SIS and any urther guidancedeveloped under the UNFCCC.

- A process should be acilitated which workstowards common standards and guidance or theimplementation o REDD-Plus saeguards at nationallevel and mutual recognition o equivalent standards(e.g. the REDD-Plus SES and PRISAI) with the aim oachieving robustness balanced with implementability.

- Multi-stakeholder processes are needed at all levels rom national down to village level to build orestand REDD-Plus governance structures that are ownedby empowered local stakeholders. A horizontaland vertical consultative process to develop asaeguards ramework achieves buy-in rom dierentgovernment actors and stakeholders.

- Lasting mitigation and adaptation require sustainedREDD-Plus actions that build locally ownedgovernance structures, alongside ecosystem resilienceand opportunities or sustainable livelihoods in ruralareas. This requires a multiple benefts model thatequally values carbon, community and biodiversity.

- A transparent, participatory and inclusive approach todeveloping and implementing saeguards inormationsystems is required to ensure ownership andimplementability. Community monitoring accessesindigenous and local knowledge, while governanceassessment at local and national level contributesto improving policies and governance structures.

- Governance rameworks should ensure equitabledistribution o benefts. Trial payments can be helpulto test suitability to local circumstances. Carbon is oneo the benefts that can be bundled in beneft-sharingschemes

- It would be o interest to conduct cost-beneftanalyses comparing costs and benefts rom schemeswhere multiple benefts are derived with those thatproduce purely carbon benefts. The results couldpotentially be ed into on-going eorts to enhancecertifcation schemes and direct investor interestto ensuring that payments or multiple benefts areproperly incorporated when it is demonstrated thatthey are realized.

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PARTICIPANTS IN THE NEPAL WORKSHOP

CANADAPeter GrahamSenior Economist, Canadian ForestService

COSTA RICACarmen Alexa Roldn Chcon

Jea Departamento de Mercadeo yDirectora Desarrollo y Comercializacinde Servicios Ambientales, Fondo Naconalde Financiamiento Forestal (FONAFIFO)

FRANCEMichael BuckiDirectorate-General Climate Action,European Commission

INDONESIA

Abdul Wahib SitumorangPGA Project Manager, UNDP-Indonesia

Iwan WibisonoForestry & REDD+ Specialist, FundingInstrument Working Group-Indonesia

KENYAMwangi GithiruDirector, Biodiversity Monitoring, WildlieWorks Project

Rosalind ReeveSenior Fellow, Ateneo School o

Government

NEPALResham Bahadur Dangi

Joint Secretary, Chie, REDD-Forestry andClimate Change Cell, Ministry o Forestsand Soil Conservation

Ajeet KarnDistrict Forest Ofcer, District ForestOfce-Lalitpur

Bhim Kumari GhotaneHELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Nepal

Harisharan LuintelNational Coordinator, Grassroots CapacityBuilding or REDD Project, RECOFTC TheCenter or People and Forests- Nepal

Juerg MerzInternational Programme Advisor,

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation-Nepal

Bharat PokharelDeputy Country Director, HELVETAS SwissIntercooperation Nepal

Dil Raj KhanalNational Policy Facilitator, FECOFUN-Nepal

Rabin Raj NiraulaFreelance consultant

Naya Sharma Paudel

Environmental Governance Specialist,Forest Action Nepal

Acknowledgements

Dandu SherpaTreasurer, Nepal Federation o IndigenousNationalities

Anju UpadhyayaIndependent consultant, Nepali NGO

PHILIPPINESAntonio La ViaDean, Ateneo School o Government

SWITZERLANDKeith AndersonForest & Climate Policy Ofcer, FederalOfce or the Environment

Patrick SieberAdvisor in Biodiversity and Landscape,HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation

TANZANIAHassan ChikiraPFM Coordinator, REDD PROJECT at M-ISWACO

VIET NAMBui Hoa BinhOfcial, Biodiversity ConservationAgency, Viet Nam EnvironmentAdministration, Ministry o NaturalResources and Environment

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PARTICIPANTS TO THE PHILIPPINESWORKSHOP

AUSTRALIAStephen LeonardPresident, Climate Justice Programme

Tek Narayan MaraseniOperations Director, University oSouthern Queensland

GHANAAbdul-Razak SaeedProgramme Ofcer, Climate Governance,Civic Response

INDONESIAAnggalia Putri PermatasariForestry Specialist, HuMa (Associationor Community and Ecology-Based Law

Reorm)

ITALYEmelyne CheneyConsultant, Climate, Energy andTenure Division, Food and AgricultureOrganization

JAPANHwan Ok MaProject Manager, International TropicalTimber Organization

KENYA

Stanley Kimaren ole RiamitDirector, Indigenous LivelihoodsEnhancement Partners

Benson Owuor OchiengDirector, Institute o Law andEnvironmental Governance

Rosalind ReeveSenior Fellow, Ateneo School oGovernment

Yonas Yemshaw KetemaSenior Programme Ofcer, Arican ForestForum

MALAYSIAHilary Chiew

Research, Energy & Climate ChangeProgram Ofcer, Third World Network

NEPALBharat PokharelProgramme Manager, Nepal-SwissCommunity Forest Project

NORWAYSiri DammanPolicy Adviser, Rainorest FoundationNorway

PHILIPPINES

Lawrence AngResearch Fellow, Ateneo School oGovernment (ASoG)

Oliver CorozaForest Carbon Project Manager,Conservation International Philippines

Glen de CastroProgramme Manager, UN-REDDProgramme Philippines

Oliver EdolsaTechnical Associate, ASoG

Anthony ForondaProject Coordinator, ASEAN Center orBiodiversity

Antonio La ViaDean, ASoG

Alaya de LeonLegal Specialist, ASoG

Marlea MuezCODE-REDD

Ata RoxasTechnical Associate, ASoG

Vicky Tauli-CorpuzExecutive Director, Tebtebba (IndigenousPeoples International Centre or PolicyResearch and Education)

SWITZERLANDPatrick SieberAdvisor in Biodiversity and Landscape,HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation

THAILANDLakpa Nuri SherpaCoordinator, Climate Change Monitoringand Inormation Network, Asia

Indigenous Peoples Pact

UNITED KINGDOMDaniela ReyLawyer, Climate & Forest Programme,ClientEarth

Lucy GoodmanProgram Ofcer, Climate Change andBiodiversity, United Nations EnvironmentProgramme World ConservationMonitoring Centre

UNITED STATES

Niranjali AmerasingheSta Attorney, Climate Change Program,Center or International EnvironmentalLaw

Kristen HiteGlobal Initiative Advisor, Climate andLand Use Alliance

Gaia LarsenAssociate, Institutions and GovernanceProgram, World Resource Institute

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SWISS FEDERAL OFFICE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

The Federal Ofce or the Environment (FOEN) is the

centre o environmental expertise o the Swiss ederal

government and is part o the Federal Department o the

Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication.

Sustainable use o natural resources is FOENs main

responsibility, while minimising natural hazards,

protecting the environment, maintaining biological

diversity and reducing risks to human health rom

excessive pollution.

(http://www.bau.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en)

PHILIPPINE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMISSION

The Commission is the sole policy-making body o the

Philippine national government tasked to coordinate,

monitor, and evaluate government programs and action

plans on climate change. It carries out its duties and

responsibilities as an independent and autonomous

agency. It was created by virtue o the Philippine Climate

Change Act o 2009 and is chaired by the President o

the Republic.

(http://www.climate.gov.ph)

ATENEO SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

The Ateneo School o Government (ASoG) is the

graduate school or leadership and public service o the

Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Guided

by its vision, Transorming communities. Building a

nation, the School works towards the ormation o

ethical and eective leaders in the public sector, who

serve as vehicles or building prosperous and just

communities throughout the nation. ASoGs strength

lies in enabling a learning process that bridges the

gap between classroom wisdom and real-world policy

decision-making and governance.

(http://www.asg.ateneo.edu/index.php)

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is a non-governmental

development organization rom Switzerland. As a

politically and denominationally neutral association,

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is supported by

102,000 members and sponsors as well as 12 regional

groups in an honorary capacity. 1,170 local and 58

international employees (mainly Swiss) are engaged in

30 partner countries in Arica, Asia, South- and CentralAmerica and Eastern Europe.

(http://www.helvetas.ch/wEnglish/index.asp)

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Documents

Best Practices in Governance and Biodiversity Safeguards for REDD-Plus