An Overview of Readiness For REDD: A

An Overview of Readiness for REDD:
A compilation of readiness activities

prepared on behalf of the
Forum on Readiness for REDD
Edited by:
Tracy Johns
Evan Johnson
Version 1.2 (March 2009)
The Woods Hole

Research Center
Acknowledgements:
The editors would like to acknowledge the valuable input to this report of the following institutions, among
others: Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, The Clinton Foundation, Conservation International,
Fauna and Flora International, The Katoomba Group, The Nature Conservancy, Voluntary Carbon Standard,
Wildlife Conservation Society, The World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, World Resources Insti-
tute, World Wildlife Fund. Additionally, we would like to thank representatives from FCPF countries who
offered their consultation in this report. We would also like to thank Liz Braun, Karen Schwalbe, and Greg
Fiske for their assistance in editing and preparing this report.
We would also like to thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foun-
dation for financial support for the Forum on Readiness for REDD.
Foreword
As the political process for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) moves forward along the UNFCCC
path to Copenhagen, governments, multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), indigenous groups, scientists,
donors, and private sector groups have begun to address the gaps that exist between a country’s willingness to participate in a
future REDD mechanism, and its capacity, technical and institutional, to do so. In expectation of a strong positive policy signal
from negotiation outcomes in Copenhagen, these many stakeholders are building capacity and experience in their countries and
organizations to participate in REDD – a process now widely known as “readiness for REDD.”
Following the successful negotiations on REDD in Bali in December 2007, a group of participants from a wide range of stakeholder
groups, including developed and developing country governments, local and international NGOs, indigenous representatives, and
private sector, donor, multilateral, and research representatives agreed to initiate the “Forum on Readiness for REDD.” The Forum
is a multi-stakeholder group focused on practical approaches for building REDD readiness through cross-stakeholder dialogue,
South-South collaboration, and linking local expertise with regional readiness efforts (http://whrc.org/policy/REDD/).
The Woods Hole Research Center, acting as the secretariat for the Forum, agreed to collect information on readiness activities
taking place in developing countries and assemble a background document that would allow interested stakeholders to get a
snapshot of readiness activities taking place both globally and in their country or region, as a way to highlight potential gaps and
synergies and encourage collaboration and partnerships in all facets of readiness efforts.
This background document aims to provide a first snapshot view of readiness activities around the world. Given the high level of
interest and support for REDD, the pace and number of readiness projects and initiatives has been increasing at an encouraging
rate. This document is by no means an exhaustive catalogue of readiness activities, and we have not been able to include everything
that we would have liked. We intend for this to be a living document and encourage comments and additional input which can be
included in electronic form.
As official government and multilateral REDD initiatives such as the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the
UN-REDD collaboration between UNDP, UNEP, and FAO begin their readiness activities, civil society groups, such as indigenous
networks and national and international NGOs, have initiated workshops, consultations, demonstration activities, and research.
We include a small snapshot of some of these activities, but there are many more that we were not able to include. We hope to
provide a more thorough coverage of these kinds of initiatives in any future updates to this document.
All of the information about specific projects, programs, and activities is compiled from publicly available information sources from
the governments and program/project participants, or from personal communication with them. None of the information herein is
intended to represent original analysis from WHRC. For questions about specific programs and projects, we recommend that you
contact the institutions involved or consult public documents.
This document is divided into 3 main sections. Section 1 provides a general overview of readiness, demonstration activities, and
global initiatives related to REDD. Section 2 provides examples of REDD demonstration activities and programs in developing
countries, based on information supplied by project participants. Section 3 is devoted to a country-by-country glimpse at REDD
readiness, and is focused primarily on countries participating in the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The
information compiled in this section is derived primarily from the R-PINs that countries submitted to the FCPF, which are publicly
available at http://wbcarbonfinance.org/Router.cfm?Page=FCPF&FID=34267&ItemID=34267&ft=DocLib&ht=42503&dl=1. The exceptions
are the descriptions of activities in Brazil and Indonesia which are not currently participating in the FCPF, and whose descriptions
were compiled from publicly available materials.
We made every effort to contact the focal point of each country in producing the summaries. In a number of cases we did not
receive responses from focal points, and therefore would like to note that we welcome any additional input from countries, which
can be incorporated into an updated electronic version of this document that will be made available on the Readiness Forum website
listed above.
Our hope is that this document will provide a useful glimpse at the state of readiness activities around the world and that it may
enable increased collaboration and coordination among countries and organizations in the vital steps leading to global readiness for
REDD.
Section One:
Overview of Readiness, Demonstration Activities, & Global Initiatives
Introduction
An estimated 24% of global CO2 emissions can be attributed to land use change and forestry activities, and the
bulk of these emissions result from the conversion of forest to agricultural lands in developing nations.1 Despite
the fact that the Kyoto Protocol does not presently allow for any mechanism to incentivize forested nations to
reduce their deforestation rates, many entities have undertaken efforts to do so independently. To establish the
viability of demonstrably reducing carbon emissions by reducing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)
in developing countries, a number of institutions including non-governmental organizations, governments, and
multilateral organizations have implemented successful pilot projects or REDD-readiness programs. These
activities represent a broad spectrum of designs and approaches, indicating that, while many actors are eager
to participate in REDD at some level, there is little agreement on how REDD will eventually be valued and
incorporated into an international policy framework. To this end, it is apparent that developing nations and
other stakeholders will require a policy signal regarding the future direction of REDD within the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the role, if any, of related carbon markets. In the
meantime, REDD projects at the local, national, and global level continue to emerge and form the framework
for adopting REDD policies in years to come.
Background
The concept of reducing carbon emissions by reducing deforestation and forest degradation rates was much
discussed within the UNFCCC framework in the run-up to the Kyoto Protocol, but it was left out of the
final agreement. Interest in the concept continued, however, and pioneers began to undertake REDD pilot
activities—projects and programs in support of REDD—although any carbon credits generated were only
saleable in the voluntary carbon market. The issue of including REDD policies in Kyoto was reintroduced at
the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Montreal in 2005, where it derived its current title, and a working
group was directed to research the viability of including REDD in the package of strategies countries could use
to meet their obligations in any post-Kyoto agreement. The working group (Subsidiary Body for Scientific and
Technological Advice, SBSTA) was given a two-year deadline to provide guidance to countries on the role of
REDD in a future climate agreement. At the 2007 COP 13 meetings in Bali, SBSTA reported that REDD had the
potential to be an important tool in the post-Kyoto agreement. Countries now have until COP 15 in December
2009 to design a REDD policy mechanism as a part of the successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
The decision to include REDD strategies in future climate policies sent a strong signal to the private, governmental,
and non-governmental sectors that emissions reductions from avoided deforestation would likely play a role in
any post-Kyoto agreement. As the UNFCCC process develops, multilateral organizations, countries, NGOs,
community groups, and others have been moving ahead, pioneering ways to allow nations to receive recognition
for reducing their deforestation rates. In some cases this work is just beginning, and in other cases projects
are functional; but in all cases, these efforts demonstrate a desire to find a way to reduce the greenhouse gas
contributions of developing nations while delivering other benefits as well.
1
Baumert, K.A., Timothy Herzog and Jonathan Pershing. 2005. Navigating the Numbers: Greenhouse Gas Data and International Climate
Policy. World Resources Institute. 2005.
3
Who is involved?
A web of vested groups and institutions has grown around the issue of REDD. Within the broad community of
individuals working on REDD issues, there are institutions at all levels, from individual indigenous communities, to
The Amazon Alliance representing indigenous communities in Amazonia, and international NGOs such as Fauna
and Flora International and Wildlife Conservation Society, and state and national governments, to multilateral
institutions such as the World Bank.
Support
The World Bank is among the lead organizations supporting REDD development, first extending its support
through its existing BioCarbon Fund, which already houses three REDD projects. Among these is the Mantadia
Corridor Project in East-Central Madagascar, a partnership between the government, Conservation International,
eight local NGOs, local communities, and Fondation Tany Meva. The World Bank has already purchased
initial carbon credits from this project, which combines reforestation, agroforestry, and avoided deforestation
components to protect and restore a forest corridor among three existing national parks.
Second, the World Bank recently launched the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to build capacity for
REDD in developing countries, and to pilot performance-based incentive payments. The Fund hopes to raise
US$300 million to support activities. In July 2008, through a process requiring interested countries to submit a
Project Idea Note (R-PIN), the Bank’s Participants Committee selected the first 14 countries to participate in
the FCPF. These countries are now in the process of developing Readiness Plans. Meanwhile, a second group of
countries—11 this time—have been newly accepted as part of the FCPF.
World Bank FCPF

First- and Second-Round Countries
Argentina Madagascar
Bolivia Mexico
Cameroon Nepal
Colombia Nicaragua
Costa Rica Panama
Democratic Republic of Congo Papua New Guinea
Ethiopia Paraguay
Gabon Peru
Ghana Republic of Congo
Guyana Uganda
Kenya Vanuatu
Lao People’s Democratic Republic Vietnam
Liberia
Finally, the Bank has pioneered its first methodology for monitoring, accounting, and verifying REDD forest
carbon, one of a number of REDD methodologies being developed by organizations globally.
4
Under the designation of the UN-REDD Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have
launched a major initiative to support large-scale, national-level REDD-readiness activities. These readiness
activities are those that help develop the capacity and infrastructure needed for countries to participate in
REDD. To begin, the program is supporting a series of “quick start actions” to be implemented in the months
before the 2009 COP meeting in Copenhagen. Nine countries have been selected to receive assistance through
the UN-REDD Programme initial phase—Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Panama, Papua
New Guinea, Paraguay, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia. The UN-REDD Programme will support readiness
efforts in these countries by developing national strategies, establishing robust monitoring systems, assessing
program status, reporting and verifying forest cover and carbon stocks, and building necessary capacities.
More generally, the Norwegian Government committed US$35 million in support of the UN-REDD Programme,
with the possibility of continued and increased support, contingent on the success of the early initiatives..
Similarly, Australia launched the International Forest Carbon Initiative to promote global-scale REDD capacity
building along with capacity development focused in the Asia Pacific region. The Australian program has already
provided support to a number of regional efforts at the governmental level, including those in Papua New Guinea
and Indonesia, and is aiding the Clinton Climate Initiative’s Carbon Measurement Collaborative, discussed later
in this paper.
At the regional scale, REDD activities in the Congo region Africa are being supported by the Congo Basin Forest
Fund. This fund, supported by the United Kingdom and Norway, will provide funding for initiatives to protect
forests and improve well-being in the Congo Basin. The fund will help to create pilot payments for ecosystem
services, community forestry initiatives, and other capacity building.
And in 2008, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the establishment of a new international fund
to protect the Brazilian Amazon forest. The fund solicits contributions from developed nations; Norway has
already pledged US$21 million to the fund, with the possibility of contributions totaling US$1 billion through
2015 should Brazil continue to show results in from its efforts..
Support is also coming directly from the voluntary carbon market, where companies and institutions independently
offset their emissions by supporting REDD projects. As an example, in August 2008, The Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute (STRI) -- the Panama-based branch of the Smithsonian Institution -- agreed to offset its carbon
emissions by working with an indigenous community to conserve forests and reforest degraded lands in Panama.
More formally, there are many non-profit registries, certifying organizations, and trading schemes that match
project developers to buyers in the voluntary market.
Avoided deforestation projects are becoming influential in the market for voluntary carbon offsets. Of the 42.1
million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) sold in the voluntary carbon market in 2007, more than 2 MtCO2e
were generated from avoided deforestation projects. At an average price of $4.80 per tCO2e for credits from
avoided deforestation projects, this represents nearly US$10 million in funding.2
2
Hamilton, Katherine, Milo Sjardin, Thomas Marcello and Gordon Xu. 2008. Forging a Frontier: State of the Voluntary Carbon
Markets 2008. Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance. May 8, 2008.
5
Ongoing REDD activities
Project Level
Projects that demonstrate the viability of the general concept of REDD have been in place for many years. Some
of these projects have already generated carbon credits that were subsequently sold on the voluntary carbon
market, either directly to buyers or through exchanges such as the Chicago Climate Exchange. Other projects
are still in the concept, design, or early implementation phases. One of the earliest true REDD demonstration
projects is the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project, established in 1997 around Noel Kempff Mercado National
Park in Bolivia and implemented by The Nature Conservancy, Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN), the
Bolivian government, and three energy companies (American Electric Power, PacifiCorp, and BP Amoco).
Although avoided deforestation projects such as Noel Kempff are not eligible under Kyoto, the project was
designed to Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) standards for afforestation and reforestation. By reducing
slash and burn agriculture and developing alternative income programs, the project avoided more than 1
MtCO2e emissions over 634,000 ha during its first period (1997-2005). The resultant offsets were distributed
through a unique system where the Government of Bolivia and the energy companies each received 49% of
the credits, respectively, and American Electric Power received the remaining 2% of the credits as an additional
project development bonus. The project involves three main streams of action: park expansion and short-term
protection; long-term conservation finance and park management; and sustainable community development and
leakage prevention. Under these streams, the implementers have undertaken numerous activities to enable the
project’s success, including development of land tenure and political infrastructure, microenterprise loans, and
community strengthening.
At present, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA)—which, along with the Voluntary Carbon
Standard (VCS) currently verifies the carbon and biodiversity benefits of a majority of REDD projects—has
more than 40 projects in various stages of its pipeline. Not all of these will ultimately move forward, but together
they demonstrate widespread interest in moving REDD projects forward. As of this printing, only one of these
REDD projects, the Ulu Masen Forest project in Aceh, Indonesia, has completed validation by CCBA, while a
second is in the public comment phase. The Ulu Masen project in Aceh, discussed below, will likely generate its
first marketable credits in 2009.
While demonstration activities have proven the viability of REDD at a project level, scaling up REDD-related
capacities that have been developed at the project level, such as institutional structures, monitoring capabilities,
land tenure systems, and other institutions, will prove challenging. For this reason, activities at the national level
are currently focusing on REDD-readiness activities.
3
Jindal, Rohit. 2006. Carbon Sequestration Projects in Africa: Potential Benefits and Challenges to Scaling Up. EarthTrends. World
Resources Institute, 2006.
6
National- and Sectoral-Level
With a few notable exceptions, nearly all developing countries interested in REDD are in the very early stages
of developing capacities for participation. However, considerable excitement and energy has surrounded the
concept of national-level REDD implementation since formal negotiation for REDD under the UNFCCC began
in December 2005.
Though the REDD title may be new, many countries have been working on progressive forest management
policies or programs, or sustainable forestry projects, for years. In several cases, these projects are being
retooled to include the particular needs of a national REDD program. These efforts should not be overlooked; in
many cases, the basic needs of a REDD strategy—technical capacity for monitoring deforestation and establishing
forest carbon stocks, well-defined land tenure, stakeholder processes and organizational and community
networks, and a robust political structure, among others—are crucial parts of the responsible and enforceable
national forest-management strategies already in progress.
To date, the push for development of REDD national strategies is being driven largely by the UNFCCC, and by
international initiatives such as World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the UN-REDD Programme.
Across the main tropical regions, countries are at different levels and stages of readiness, as highlighted in the
following sections.
7
Africa
Generally speaking, forested countries of Africa are at the early stages of these national-level activities although
many have embraced the concept of REDD and have existiing policies that will help enable the developoment
and implementation of REDD activities. Liberia, for example, held a side event at the Bali COP meetings to
demonstrate the opportunities for REDD in its forests. The country adopted a new Forest Policy in 2006 based
on a ‘3C’ approach of balancing community, conservation, and commercial uses, and as a follow up, formulated
a Forest Management Strategy that was vetted through a public stakeholder process. Additionally, Liberia has
worked with Conservation International, South Dakota State University, and Clark Labs, a geospatial analysis
institution, to improve technical capacity both externally and in country, and has a large set of monitoring plots
to assess forest carbon. Finally, the country recently completed an assessment of its civil society sector. These
activities will help Liberia as it develops and implements a REDD strategy.
Madagascar has three existing REDD demonstrations projects that have helped build in-country capacity for
establishing and monitoring carbon reductions and has instigated the development of strong partnerships
with international organizations. Using these projects as learning experiments, the government recently began
national-level discussions on REDD. With a strong history of deforestation monitoring and a number of existing
policy projects, including land tenure reform, Madagascar is well-positioned to build a strategy to make the most
of REDD.
The primary Congo Basin forest countries (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Gabon, and the Republic of Congo) have proposed a regional approach to monitoring forest cover, to be
administered through the Central Africa Forest Observatory of the Commission for the Forests of Central Africa
(COMIFAC). In addition, Agence Française de Développement, World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation
Society, Conservation International, and the Woods Hole Research Center are working with COMIFAC and
national governments to support the development of REDD capacities throughout the Congo Basin.
Liberia, DRC, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, and Madagascar were six of the 14 countries chosen for involvement in the
World Bank’s first round of FCPF activities. DRC, Tanzania, and Zambia will also participate in the first round
of UN-REDD Programme support.
The Americas
Countries in the Americas are also at early stages of national-level REDD planning and implementation, though
a number of countries have made strong headway on forest monitoring efforts independent of REDD. These
independent advances will serve the region well in the development of a REDD program. As with the African
forested nations, a few stand out in advanced preparedness for REDD.
In 2003, the State of Amazonas in Brazil initiated a broad plan to stop deforestation and encourage sustainable
development by valuing and protecting environmental services, including carbon sequestration. As part of this
endeavor, the State supported The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project, which aims to reduce
deforestation in an area of the State of Amazonas that is under great land use pressure.
Mexico and Costa Rica both have existing payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs. Mexico’s program
supports the valuing of water services and forest carbon from reforestation/afforestation projects, out of which
carbon payments would be a natural extension. Since 2004, the Mexican programs have delivered payments
to support forest conservation in more than 1.2 million hectares, and recently the government has initiated
discussions on how REDD could be adapted from these successes.
Costa Rica, in addition to having an PES program, has taken a lead on climate issues through its National Strategy
8
for Climate Change, which has the goal of reaching national carbon neutrality by 2021.
Bolivia is home to one of the earliest and largest REDD demonstration projects, the Noel Kempff Climate
Action Project discussed above. In addition to this project-level effort, Bolivia has worked to set the stage for a
national-level program. The country has held national-level policy and technical workshops to establish a REDD
position. Further, the country has a number of technical and stakeholder efforts underway to support REDD.
These efforts include a coordination strategy with the indigenous sector at the national, regional and local levels,
pilot activities in remote sensing and biomass measurement, technical studies on opportunity cost analyses for
land-use and land-use change, scenario tests for economic development and associated deforestation rates, and
regional and local deforestation analysis.
Asia/Pacific
Interest in and commitment to REDD varies greatly among countries in the Asia/Pacific region. In many cases,
in-country forest monitoring capacity remains low, yet there are a number of demonstration projects under
development in the region. Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) both stand out as global leaders in REDD
development.
The Indonesian government has developed a REDD national strategy, and is in the process of developing several
demonstration activities across the country. Notable among these are the Ulu Masen Ecosystem Project in Aceh
Province.
In Aceh, the provincial government has worked with Fauna and Flora International (FFI), other NGOs, locally based
organizations, and a private company, Carbon Conservation Ltd., to pilot a REDD project on 750,000 hectares
of forest in Ulu Masen and surrounding areas in the Ache Province. The project, the first to be certified through
the CCBA, supports a variety of forest management strategies including land use planning and reclassification,
increased monitoring and law enforcement, reforestation, restoration, and sustainable community logging. The
project expects to reduce deforestation in the area by 85%, thereby avoiding 3.4 MtCO2e annually.
Both Indonesia and PNG have developed partnerships with the Australian government as part of Australia’s
International Forest Carbon Initiative. These partnerships are aimed at developing in-country REDD strategies,
technical capacities, and demonstration activities. Ultimately, the partnerships are intended to help both Indonesia
and PNG participate in international carbon markets.
Activities Supporting REDD

Governments, NGOs, and for-profit entities have collectively developed a number of programs in conjunction with
ongoing project- and sectoral-level REDD activities. Programs range from global-scale, such as the Woods Hole
Research Center’s efforts to develop annual pan-tropical forest maps, to local-scale NGO training efforts.
Notable among these is the cooperative training project between Community, Climate, and Biodiversity
Alliance, Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund.
Recognizing the need to generate and share basic, high-quality information about REDD, these organizations
have created training modules and materials to disseminate information to their regional staff, governmental and
NGO partners, local communities, and other stakeholders. The objectives of the cooperative training project
are to enable recipients to participate in national and international REDD negotiations and develop plans for
national REDD strategies and demonstration projects. This effort is aimed not at technical capacity building, but
rather at developing the ability to further participate in the REDD process.
Independently, Conservational International (CI) has launched a training operation to facilitate the development
9
of in-country technical knowledge, including understanding of the scientific basis for REDD, project design
document development, and project planning and structuring. CI has already carried out training modules in
Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, Indonesia, and Madagascar, and has two more modules planned in the coming
months in Guyana and Liberia.
Other initiatives for information sharing are being carried out at the regional and local level, as is evidenced by
the work of the Coordinating Body for the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). COICA, in
conjunction with Amazon Alliance and the Institute for Environmental Research in the Amazon, an environmental
research institution based in Brazil, held a workshop in August 2008 in Quito to bring together Amazonian
indigenous leaders. At the workshop, these leaders learned about the impacts REDD and other climate initiatives
have on their communities and worked to devise responses to proposed policies. And in April 2008, indigenous
leaders of Latin America, the DRC, and Indonesia met in Manaus, Brazil, to discuss the potential impacts of and
benefits from REDD on indigenous and traditional communities.
Technical capacities are also being supported and strengthened at different scales. At the global scale, the Clinton
Climate Initiative is supporting the development of a Carbon Management Collaborative aimed at developing
a freely available, robust, technology-based bio-carbon monitoring, measuring, and accounting system that will
enable the development of forest-based carbon projects and programs. The collaborative will be conducting
large-scale tests of this monitoring system in several countries.
As an example of regional monitoring support initiatives, the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) has an
ongoing project to model and monitor forest carbon emissions and develop in-country monitoring capacity. In
particular, WHRC has launched a program called INFORMS, an initiative to monitor land use and land cover
changes in the Congo Basin.
10
Section Two: A Sampling of REDD Projects
BELIZE: Rio Bravo Climate Action Project
Status: Implementation
Country: Belize
Location: Northwest Belize
Size: 21,000 ha
Emissions reductions: 8.8 MtCO2e over 40 years
Project activities: Sustainable forest management, education, restoration, capacity building, local economic
development
Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, fire management, habitat conservation
Partners: The Nature Conservancy, Programme for Belize, Cinergy, Detroit Edison, Nexen, PacifiCorp,
Suncor, Utilitree Carbon Company and Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Description: The Rio Bravo Climate Action Project involves the conservation and sustainable management
of mixed lowland, moist sub-tropical broadleaf forest in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area
in northwest Belize. The area, situated amid the biologically rich Mayan forest, is part of a corridor that is
key to biodiversity conservation in Central America and one of the Nature Conservancy’s top conservation
priorities. It is estimated that the Project will reduce, avoid, or mitigate up to 8.8 million tons of carbon
dioxide over 40 years by preventing deforestation and ensuring sustainable forest management.
The Project is one of the first fully funded forest-sector projects implemented under the U.S. Initiative on Joint
Implementation. Programme for Belize, the Nature Conservancy’s partner organization in Belize, manages the
Project and private reserve overall. Investors including Cinergy, Detroit Edison, Nexen, PacifiCorp, Suncor,
Utilitree Carbon Company, and Wisconsin Electric Power Company provided $5.6 million in funding for the
first 10 years of the 40-year Project.
Studies undertaken before the Project began indicated that without protection, up to 90 percent of the
forest cover would have been converted to agricultural use. The Project prevents those losses by reducing,
avoiding, or mitigating 7.2 MtCO2e through prevention of deforestation on 13,400 hectares of upland forest,
and 600,000 tons of carbon sequestration through sustainable forest management and regeneration on
approximately 36,000 hectares of forested land.
Management practices include creation of undisturbed buffer areas and protection zones; reduced-impact
harvesting techniques; and enhanced fire management and site security.
Other benefits include local economic development, increased forest resources and habitat conservation. Jobs
and trainings in forestry, forest management and park security will benefit the local community. Improved
road maintenance and other infrastructure improvements benefit communities that border the area.
Increased protection and improved forest resource management ensures conservation of timber and non-
timber resources. The forest management plan is certified under Forest Stewardship Council Principles and
Guidelines by Smart Wood and Woodmark.1
1
Project description adapted from factsheet provided by The Nature Conservancy
11
BOLIVIA: Noel Kempff Climate Action Project
Country: Bolivia
Location: Northeastern Bolivia
Size: 642,500 ha
Emissions reductions: 5.8 MtCO2e over 30 years
Project activities: Land protection, organizational empowerment, land tenure development, education,
sustainable forestry training, land use planning
Co-benefits: Wildlife habitat protection, decrease soil erosion, protect rivers, job creation, community
development
Partners: The Nature Conservancy, Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza, Government of Bolivia, American
Electric Power Company, BP America, PacifiCorp and Winrock International Institute for Agricultural
Development
Description: In 1997, The Nature Conservancy and Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN) created the
Noel Kempff Climate Action Project to reduce climate change by protecting 642,500 hectares of tropical
forest that were threatened by timber harvesting and deforestation. Together with the Bolivian government
and three energy companies, the partners terminated logging rights and incorporated land into Noel Kempff
Mercado National Park. The partners also reduced slash-and-burn agriculture by enforcing a deforestation ban
in protected areas within the park and initiating alternative income programs for the surrounding communities.
Noel Kempff is designed to simultaneously address climate change, conserve biodiversity and bring sustainable
benefits to local communities. By avoiding logging and agricultural conversion, the project is expected to
prevent the release of up to 5.8 million tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years.
The project’s carbon benefits are expected to last in perpetuity as the site lies within the newly expanded
national park and a permanent endowment has been established to fund protection activities throughout the
30-year life of the project and beyond. The project also includes a comprehensive plan to monitor the number
of trees in Noel Kempff, socioeconomic impacts, and rate of deforestation.
In 2005, Noel Kempff was the first forest emissions reduction project to be verified by a third-party using
international standards employed in the Kyoto Protocol. Monitoring and third-party verification revealed that
between 1997 and 2005, 1,034,137 metric tons of CO2 stored in the forest would have been released into the
atmosphere if not for the project.2
2
Project description adapted from factsheets provided by The Nature Conservancy
12
BRAZIL: Guaraquecaba Climate Action Project
Country: Brazil
Location: Southern Brazil
Size: 64,000 ha, mixed afforestation, reforestation, and avoided deforestation
Emissions reductions: 47 MtCO2e over 40 years
Project activities: Land protection, education, sustainable forestry training, land use planning, community
development
Co-benefits: Land tenure development, job creation, income generation through sustainable businesses
Partners: American Electric Power, The Nature Conservancy, and the Society for Wildlife Research and
Environmental Education
Description: In 1998, American Electric Power, The Nature Conservancy, and the Society for Wildlife
Research and Environmental Education launched a project to protect the Atlantic Forest in the Guaraquecaba
Environmental Protection Area. The project objective is to sequester carbon dioxide through new forest
growth or the prevention of forest destruction; this goal is being realized by purchasing active buffalo ranches
and preserving their remaining trees, while returning their pastures to native forest. The project will also
foster sustainable development in local communities by providing alternative income generating activities and
education on the importance of environmental conservation.
In addition, neighboring buffalo ranchers are being shown more efficient ranching methods, thereby increasing
productivity and reducing harmful effects on the forest. There is also an endowment fund to operate the
preserve in perpetuity. Once purchased, the properties will be owned and managed by the Society for Wildlife
Research and Environmental Education.
The project will capture or prevent the release of carbon dioxide in an amount equal to approximately 47
million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over the 40-year life of the project. 3
BRAZIL: The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project

Country: Brazil
Location: Amazonas
Size: 589,612 ha
Emissions reductions: 190 MtCO2e through 2050
3
Project description adapted from factsheets provided by The Nature Conservancy
13
Project activities: Financial growth, carbon offset sales, capacity building (technological and market-based),
land tenure development, education, stakeholder processes
Co-benefits: Strengthening environmental monitoring and control, income generation through sustainable
businesses, community development, sustainable resource management
Partners: Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, Sustainable Amazonas Foundation, Secretariat of
Environment and Sustainable Development of the Government of the State of Amazonas, State Protected
Areas System within the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Government of
the State of Amazonas, Instituto de Conservação e Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Amazonas, Marriott
International, Inc.
Description: The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project for Reducing Greenhouse Gases Emissions
from Deforestation aims to address deforestation and its resulting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG)
in an area of the State of Amazonas that is under great land use pressure. Its implementation is part of a
wide strategy planned and initiated in 2003 by the Government of the State of Amazonas (GSA) to halt
deforestation and promote sustainable development in Amazonas by giving value to the environmental services
provided by its standing forests.
The Project is the first of its kind to be implemented since the creation and approval of the Laws for the State
Policy for Climate Change and the State Protected Areas System. This legislation provides the legal framework
necessary to implement projects to reduce GHG in the Amazonas.
The GSA established the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve in 2006 with the objective to protect species
at risk of extinction while also preserving the quality of life of the hundreds of families that live in these areas.
The Project, created in an area of 589,612 hectares of Amazonian forest, involves the establishment of a
protected area for sustainable use in a region that would be almost completely deforested under a “business
as usual” scenario.
The GSA created a financial mechanism to generate income from reducing emissions from deforestation.
The resources raised from the sale of emissions credits permits the GSA to implement measures necessary
to control and monitor deforestation within the project site, enforce laws, and improve the welfare of local
communities.
The Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, in partnership with the State Secretariat for the Environment and
Sustainable Development of Amazonas and with technical assistance from the Institute for Conservation and
Sustainable Development of Amazonas (IDESAM), will implement the Project. IDESAM is responsible for the
technical coordination of the development process for baseline methodology and monitoring as well as the
Project Design Document. The Project implementers will provide investors and donors with a guarantee that
the execution and completion of the Project will be done in a manner that complies with all of the relevant
legal, governmental, and regulatory structures. The Project was designed through a transparent process
involving participatory workshops and political consultations in order to guarantee the involvement and
commitment of all the local stakeholders.4
4
Project description adapted from Project Design Document submitted by the Sustainable Amazonas Foundation to the Climate,
Community and Biodiversity Alliance
14
COLOMBIA: San Nicolás Agroforestry
Country: Colombia
Location: Valley of San Nicolás
Size: 5,000 ha of avoided deforestation and 1,400 ha afforestation
Emissions reductions: 0.20 Mt CO2e by 2017 from afforestation and reforestation. A smaller amount will
also be credited to the avoided deforestation component.
Project activities: Capacity building, education, land use planning, carbon offset sales, community
development, habitat conservation, education, stakeholder processes
Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, wildlife habitat creation, financial growth, water resource protection
Partners: Corporation for Sustainable Management of the Forests, The Autonomous Regional Corporation
for the Rionegro-Nare Region
Description: The Colombia San Nicolás Carbon Sink and Arboreal Species Recovery Project aims to
pioneer carbon sinks in Colombia by reversing land degradation. It has two main components: afforestation
and reforestation of roughly 1,400 hectares of abandoned pastures, and avoided deforestation and induced
regeneration on another 5,000 hectares. This will create a sink for carbon and in the process improve the
income of small landowners, through the sale of timber and non-timber products. It will include training and
capacity building of local stakeholders to ensure sustainable management.
The Project is expected to sequester approximately 0.20 Mt CO2e by 2017 through afforestation and
reforestation, while a smaller amount will also be credited to the avoided deforestation component. It will
deliver other benefits as well, including watershed and soil protection and conservation of biodiversity. In
the plantation areas, the Project will deliver increased revenue for landowners from growing produce. Other
social benefits will come from direct and indirect employment from the Project, increase in food safety in
the region, and capacity building activities. An extensive consultation process that involved nearly all local
stakeholders was carried out in the development of the Project. Local landowners made final decisions on
land use through a participatory process, and this should help avoid future leakage associated with the Project.
CORNARE, a regional environment agency, will finance afforestation/reforestation activities, while the
Corporation for Sustainable Management of the Forests (MASBOSQUES) will contribute in-kind through
the development of the Project for qualified work. MASBOSQUES is a public-private partnership involving
government (regional and local), business associations, local farmers, non-governmental organizations, and the
academic sector. 5
5
Project description adapted from World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership FacilityBioCarbon Fund materials.
15
GUATEMALA: Maya Biosphere Reserve
Status: Design
Country: Guatemala
Location: Maya Biosphere Reserve
Size: 150,000 ha
Emissions reductions:
Project activities: Capacity building, community land use planning, sustainable land management
Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development,
Partners: Conservation International, Guatemalan government, Wildlife Conservation Society
Description: The Maya Biosphere Reserve is the epicenter of the ancient Maya civilization and Central
America’s largest protected area, covering roughly 2.1 million hectares. Established in 1990, the Reserve
is part of a tri-national system of protected areas in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. Despite having legal
protection, the Reserve is under increasing threat from agricultural encroachment and illegal logging that
reduces forest cover, increases fragmentation and diminishes the biological diversity of the park. In addition,
the use of fire to clear land causes large emissions of carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate
change. In response, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, and other NGO partners,
in collaboration with the Guatemalan government, are designing a project that reduces deforestation rates and
improves the management of protected areas within the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Through the sale of carbon
offsets, the project seeks to mitigate management problems in the national park units caused by a lack of
financial resources. While initially focusing on the threatened eastern portion of the Laguna del Tigre National
Park, at full implementation the project will include other areas and also will reforest private lands along the
Maya Jaguar Corridor to provide additional habitat for wildlife, increase carbon sequestration and improve the
livelihoods of local communities.6
HONDURAS: Pico Bonito Forest Restoration
Country: Honduras
Location: Northern Honduras
Emissions reductions: 0.5 Mt CO2e from avoided deforestation
Project activities: Reforestation, protected area enforcement, sustainable forest management, carbon offset
sales, avoided deforestation
Co-benefits: Reduced soil erosion, clean water benefits, biodiversity protection, sustainable development,
alternative livelihoods creation, income generation for communities
6
Project description adapted from factsheet provided by Conservation International
16
Partners: Pico Bonito National Park Foundation (FUPNAPIB), Ecologic Development Fund, Bosques Pico
Bonito, Brinkman Associates.
Description: Pico Bonito National Park is an essential part of the Meso-American Biological Corridor,
and home to many significant species, but is threatened by encroaching agriculture, cattle grazing, and illegal
logging.
This forest carbon project, developed by EcoLogic, is expected to sequester at least 0.45 to 0.55 Mt CO2e by
2017. In addition, the Project is piloting an avoided deforestation component, which is expected to sequester
around 0.5 Mt CO2e.
The Project will ultimately employ hundreds of local people to establish a Forest Stewardship Council-certified
plantation, as well as to reforest degraded lands in the park’s buffer zone for conservation purposes. It also
brings social benefits to the park buffer zone through training in sustainable forestry and agricultural practices,
sustainable development, and permanent sharing of profits for community investment. The Project will employ
local community members as park rangers, reducing the risk of illegal logging.
The project developers and sponsors have created Bosques Pico Bonito, a for-profit company, to manage
the Project own the emission reductions. The community will be part owner and share in the profits, which
in turn will be ploughed back into investments that benefit the community as a whole. Bosques Pico Bonito
will also include representatives from the communities. Fundación Parque Nacional Pico Bonito (FUPNAPIB),
a Honduran NGO, will also sponsor the Project and will be assisted by Bosques Pico Bonito to handle the
agroforestry and conservation components.7
INDONESIA: Berau, East Kalimantan
Status: Design
Country: Indonesia
Location: Borneo, Berau district
Size: 971,000 ha
Emissions reductions: 5 MtCO2e per year
Project activities: Forest management, wildlife protection, local economic development, capacity building,
land use planning, habitat conservation, carbon offset sales
Co-benefits: Water resource protection, food security, financial growth
Partners: indigenous groups, government agencies, The Nature Conservancy and other international NGOs,
local and global businesses
Description: Logging, mining and the rapidly growing oil palm industry are killing off the forests of Indonesia
faster than anywhere else on earth. The destruction of these forests produces 80 percent of Indonesia’s
carbon emissions, placing it among the world’s top emitters of climate changing greenhouse gases, alongside
the United States and China.
7
Project description adapted from World Bank BioCarbon Fund materials.
17
On Indonesia’s island of Borneo, the district of Berau, which spans 2.2 million hectares, 75 percent of which is
covered by forest, is working to become the first municipality to implement new conservation strategies and
measurably reduce the amount of carbon it emits into the atmosphere.
Collaborating with indigenous groups, government agencies, global businesses and international NGOs, Berau
is developing plans to combine on-the-ground conservation, financial incentives, scientific monitoring, and
sustainable economic activities to protect its natural resources.
Plans include improved management and conservation of 1 million hectares of forest resulting in the reduction
of carbon emissions by some 5 million tons each year, increased protection for one of the world’s largest
populations of orangutans, stronger local and national economies and the insurance of the long-term health of
the region’s water and food resources.
Initial Project activities include forest surveys to identify areas at risk for illegal logging, develop a baseline
to measure deforestation and create an inventory of stored forest carbon. Implementation plans include
employing efficient logging practices that reduce forest destruction and carbon emissions, using “land swaps”
to develop palm oil plantations on already degraded lands, and avoiding the development of healthy and
undisturbed forests. These practices will allow for the creation of educational training opportunities. They will
also allow Berau to sell emissions reductions credits to voluntary carbon market buyers. Illegal logging costs
Indonesia up to $4 billion a year in lost revenue. Local communities often have no land rights and therefore
are never paid for logging that occurs in their forests. By selling emissions credits and developing a method to
equitably distribute income from carbon markets to all stakeholders, Berau will strengthen its local economy.
Finally, the Project stakeholders aim to develop an internationally-recognized carbon monitoring and
verification system to measure changes in carbon storage over time.
By implementing a broad range of conservation strategies, working on a government-wide scale, and bringing
together local as well as international partners, the Berau program will serve as a model of how developing
countries and industrialized nations can join forces to fight climate change by preventing the destruction of the
world’s forests.8
INDONESIA: Ulu Masen Ecosystem, Aceh Province

Country: Indonesia
Location: Ulu Masen Ecosystem, Aceh
Size: + 750,000 ha
Emissions reductions: 3.369 MtCO2e per year / 100 MtCO2e over 30 years
Project activities: Avoided deforestation in conjunction with Land use planning, restoration,
reforestation, carbon offset sales, community development, stakeholder processes
Co-benefits: Local economic development, capacity building and alternative livelihoods
8
Project description adapted from factsheet provided by The Nature Conservancy
18
Partners: Fauna and Flora International, Government of Aceh, Carbon Conservation
Description: Using avoided deforestation in conjunction with land use planning and reclassification, increased
monitoring and law enforcement, reforestation, restoration, and sustainable community logging, this Project
will protect and manage 750,000 ha of forest in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem and peripheral forest blocks located
in the Indonesian Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh Province). By reducing deforestation by 85%,
3,369,848 tons of CO2 emissions are expected to be avoided each year.
The Project is being undertaken by the Government of Aceh and its institutions. It is supported by a tri-
partnership of government, nongovernmental/civil-society organizations (NGOs/CSOs), and the Carbon
Conservation representing the private sector. Fauna and Flora International (FFI), its NGO partners, and
locally based CSOs will facilitate participatory processes for community development, spatial and land use
planning, biodiversity conservation, collaborative law enforcement, and community-based forest management.
Project plans include developing and testing carbon finance mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
contributing to sustainable economic and social development and conserving biodiversity over the next 30
years.
Carbon Conservation is a private company assisting with project design, development, start-up and carbon
finance at the request of Governor Irwandi’s office. The project is closely associated with, and builds off the
work of the World Bank Multi-Donor Fund’s Aceh Environment and Forest project (AFEP) which called for
among other tasks, development of sustainable ecosystem service finance (including carbon credits. All project
proponents are committed to ensuring that benefits are equitably shared among stakeholders, including forest
dependent communities and those with customary (adat) rights to forest land.
The project has been conceived to ensure that stakeholder confidence and commitment will be built through
a participatory and transparent process. A broad range of government and civil society organizations have
been invited to contribute to the implementation of project activities and the initial community consultations
have begun. In particular, traditional Mukim leaders, once undermined during years of conflict, now have an
opportunity to play a critical role in the management of land and forest resources in Aceh’s rural communities.
Project development, design and early implementation will be initially funded from official development aid
(ODA) funds, strategic first partners and the sale of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). After the initial
phase of the project, further carbon finance from sale of VERs will secure ongoing and substantial incentive
payments to relevant stakeholders who help the project area arrest deforestation and increase forest
protection.9
9
Project description adapted from Ulu Masen Ecosystem Project Design Note, available from Climate, Community, and Biodiversity
Alliance.
19
MADAGASCAR: The Makira Forest Project
Country: Madagascar
Location: Northeastern region, Makira Forest
Size: 350,000 ha
Emissions reductions: up to 9.5 MtCO2e over lifetime
Project activities: Capacity building, sustainable resource management, land use planning, ecotourism
Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development
Partners: Wildlife Conservation Society, government of Madagascar, Conservation International
Description: The government of Madagascar is working with the Wildlife Conservation Society and
Conservation International to implement the Makira Forest Project in the country’s northeastern forest
region. This venture seeks to conserve a 4,600-square-kilometer region by promoting sustainable natural
resource management and legal forest protection measures. By reducing deforestation from agricultural
encroachment in the 350,000-hectare Makira Forest, a protected conservation area that preserves the
biological richness of Makira and guarantees long-term connectivity to other protected forests will result. In
addition, the Project seeks to promote private sector initiatives such as ecotourism, stabilize natural resources
in the area through responsible land use planning, and identify and implement innovative financing mechanisms.
Protecting the remaining forests and reducing the rate of forest loss in Madagascar reduces the quantity of
CO2 released into the atmosphere. Specific activities to reduce deforestation include forest conservation
measures and permaculture practices trainings to teach farmers to continually produce good harvests from
the same land rather than cut new fields every few years.10
10
20
MADAGASCAR: The Ankeneny-Mantadia-Zahamena Corridor Project
Country: Madagascar
Location: East-central Madagascar
Size: roughly 425,000 ha
Emissions reductions: at least 10 MtCO2e over lifetime
Project activities: Sustainable forest management, reforestation, ecotourism
Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, income generation through sustainable

businesses, restoration
Partners: Conservation International, government of Madagascar, local NGOs and communities, World Bank
Description: The Ankeneny-Zahamena-Mantadia Biodiversity Conservation Corridor and Restoration

Project in east-central Madagascar links three crucial national parks to benefit flora and fauna, as well as human
populations. Conceived and implemented in close partnership with the government of Madagascar and local
communities, the Project combines reduced deforestation activities in a core forest area with reforestation
and agroforestry systems on previously degraded lands. The Project’s goals are to sustain local livelihoods and
native biological diversity while mitigating climate change. It will include components eligible for both Certified
(Clean Development Mechanism) and Voluntary Emissions Reductions. The World Bank BioCarbon Fund has
purchased some of the Project’s initial carbon credits from both forest restoration and conservation activities.
The income from selling carbon offsets will provide incentive for the government and local communities to
protect the remaining forests and the services they provide to local residents. Under the Project, more than
425,000 hectares of standing rainforest are being protected, while another 3,000 hectares are being reforested
with native species. In addition, fruit gardens and fuelwood plots will be planted in adjacent areas to reduce
pressure on the remaining natural forests. These conservation steps will help protect threatened species of
amphibians, birds and mammals, including lemurs found only on Madagascar, while also improving agriculture
productivity, developing ecotourism, and increasing the sustainable production and sale of fuel-wood, fruits,
and high-value timber.11
11
21
PERU: Alto Mayo Protected Forest
Status: Design
Country: Peru
Location: San Martin Province in northern Peru
Size: 180,000 ha
Project activities: Technical capacity building, improved protected area management,
Co-benefits: Water resource protection, biodiversity conservation, payments for ecosystem services,
sustainable development
Partners: Conservation International, INRENA, PEAM, GTZ
Description: The Alto Mayo River, flowing through the province of San Martin in northern Peru, passes
through Andean forest areas of high biological diversity on its way to the Amazon basin. Within the upper
elevation areas of the watershed, the Alto Mayo Protected Forest contains habitat for many endemic species
that are under threat from illegal land clearing. Stresses on the lower elevation portions of the basin have
also dramatically affected the availability of fresh water for municipal use and downstream agriculture. GTZ,
the German development agency, has been working in the sub-watersheds of the Alto Mayo to combat
deforestation and improve water supplies through a Payment for Environmental Services initiative. GTZ,
Conservation International, and local and provincial governments are working together to design a project
focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and land use change in the watershed. The
project will reduce deforestation by negotiating conservation agreements with local inhabitants encroaching on
intact forests, planting native species on deforested areas, and designing agroforestry systems to expand tree
cover and carbon stocks throughout the watershed. Current activities include updating deforestation analyses,
identifying priority areas for conservation and reforestation, and measuring forest carbon stocks.12
12
22
Section Three: Sectoral-Level Readiness
Argentina1
The replacement of native forest at present is mainly

due to the expansion of soy plantations. Forest
degradation is caused by fires, cattle over population,
overexploitation of forest resources. Between 1998
and 2002, the area of native forests in Argentina
has shown a reduction of approximately 920,000
ha.  Preliminary results for year 2006 show that the
loss of native forest has increased dramatically in key
provinces.
 
Forest Monitoring and Assessment
Argentina submitted its First and Second National
Communications’ National GHG inventories corresponding to 1990, 1994, 1997 and 2000 that include the
LULUCF (Land use, land-use change and forestry) sector.
 
Policy and Stakeholder Engagement
With strong political support for a comprehensive forest strategy, in November 2007 the Argentinean
Congress passed the Law of Minimum Requirements for the Environmental Protection of Native Forests; it
was ratified in December 2007. This law establishes rules for the enrichment, restoration, conservation, use
and sustainable management of native forest as well as for the environmental services they provide to the
society. It addresses most of the major REDD issues, and will serve as a strong legal framework for the design
and implementation of a REDD program.
 
The law establishes participatory territorial planning, suspends the authorization for the clear-cutting
of forests, creates a National Registry of Law Violators, establishes mandatory Environmental Impact
Assessments prior to forest clear-cutting, creates measures to guarantee the sustainability of native forests
utilization, promotes reforestation and restoration plans for degraded native forests, and to keep information
updated on native forests and state of conservation of covered area. Furthermore, the law requires
each province to have in place a stakeholder consultation process related to the territory planning. This
consultation process should include at least, the organization of workshops and the reporting and publicity of
the consultation process outcomes.
 
Contact Information
Contact: Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development
 Title: Climate Change Director
 Contact Information: www.ambiente.gov.ar
1
Text drawn and adapted from Argentina’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
23
Bolivia 2
 
The National Development Plan (NDP) is the
government’s main framework for action. The NDP
resulted from a participatory process that involved the
government, grassroots organizations, and civil society. 
The National Development Plan includes a policy
(No. 4) on Carbon Sequestration and GHG reduction
policy.
 
Several activities have been undertaken to support a
REDD strategy through the design of a national biomass inventory system, based on a network of institutions
with forest data.  
The Netherlands Cooperation and the German Cooperation are supporting the development of a
methodological study for measurement and monitoring of degradation in specific areas of Bolivia.  This project
is being implemented by a national team with the support of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation
(GTZ) and national technical entities in coordination with PNCC-ODL (Programa Nacional de Cambios
Climáticos – Oficina de Desarrollo Limpio).
The Netherlands Development Cooperation is funding a feasibility study to detect the degradation patterns
through satellite imagery and the corresponding emissions in three different sites.
The Natural History Museum Noel Kempff Mercado (MHNNKM), together with Conservation International,
measured land use change in 1990, 2000 and 2004. The European Space Agency (ESA) supported the
processing of 56 LANDSAT images and 3 AWIFS (Advanced Wide Field Sensor) scenes to homogenize the
temporal cover of GeoCover 1990 and the data from 2004/2005 processed by the MHNNKM.
 
National consultations were made during the elaboration process of the national and joint positions on
REDD under the process of UNFCCC.  Participating stakeholders include members of the Policy Committee,
REDD technicians and other actors from the forestry sector, National Forestry Chamber, representatives of
grassroots organizations and from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Since 2006, five national technical consultations were held in order to develop the documents on the country
position.  These consultations were organized by the Clean Development Office from the National Climate
Change Program. Since 2007, five meetings of the policy committee were held, as well as five meetings of the
technical committee.
The national coordination strategy includes consultation with the indigenous sector at a national, regional and
specific indigenous group levels, and the government is carrying out a training process on Climate Change and
REDD for indigenous peoples.
2
Text drawn and adapted from Bolivia’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
24
The Bolivian Government through the PNCC-ODL is carrying out technical studies in progress on
opportunity cost analyses for land-use and land-use change, scenarios for economic development and
associated deforestation rates, and regional and local deforestation analysis
 
Contact Information
Contact person: Oscar Paz Rada
Title: NCCP Coordinator
Contact information: http://www.pncc.gov.bo
Brazil3
Brazil has had successes in reducing and monitoring

deforestation and forest degradation in the Amazon
region, where roughly 70% of its greenhouse gas
emissions occur. Brazil contains more carbon in
tropical forest trees than any other country 47 billion
tons in 3.3 million square km of forest in the Amazon
alone. According to the National Institute for Space
Research, in the year preceding August 2008, the
Brazilian Amazon lost more than 8,000 square km of
forest.4

Amazon deforestation has been monitored through a satellite system known as PRODES since 1989. In
addition, Brazil employs a system known as DETER, which has a lower resolution, but can detect deforestation
in near-real-time. DETER is used as an alert system for deforestation in the Amazon. Brazil’s Mato Grosso
state has a sophisticated system of private forest reserve monitoring using satellite and GIS technology. This is
one of the world’s most advanced systems of rainforest monitoring.
National Institute for Space Research (INPE), responsible for the PRODES monitoring system, will coordinate
the greenhouse gas emission inventory from land use change and forestry along with Foundation for the Space
Science, Applied Research and Technology.

From January 2004 through December 2006, 23 million hectares of public forest reserves in the Brazilian
Amazon were created, including large forest reserves at the edge of the active agricultural frontier. An
ambitious federal government program to reduce Amazon deforestation succeeded in cutting rates in
half from 2004 to 2006. More recently, the “National Pact for Valuing the Amazon forest and Ending
Deforestation”, with political support from the Federal Government, four Amazon state governors, the
environmental NGO community, and segments of the private sector, has proposed a seven-year target to
reduce deforestation to zero. The Brazilian Congress has also developed legislation proposals that would
establish national deforestation emission reduction targets.
3
http://whrc.org/policy/BaliReports/assets/WHRC_Amazon_REDD.pdf
4
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0831-brazil.html
25
The “Aliança dos Povos da Floresta” (the Forest Peoples’ Alliance) has deﬁned several forms of compensation
that it expects from a REDD program. These forms of compensation include economic incentives for forest-
based livelihoods, improved health, education, technical assistance services, and payments for patrolling
reserve perimeters, timber forest products such as have already been established in Acre and the Amazon.
Direct payments to forest families also have a precedent in the Amazon through the Proambiente program
and, more recently, through the Amazonas state “bolsa ﬂorestal” program
In Brazil, Indigenous communities inhibit deforestation at the same level as biological reserves and parks,
providing an important rationale for strengthening their role as stewards of these public forests. This rationale
is further supported by the fact that 25% of current Brazilian Amazon forests are allocated to some form of
“social forest” use (indigenous land, extractive reserve, sustainable development reserve), and these social
reserves are much more common in active deforestation frontiers than are biological reserves and parks.
REDD Participation
In August 2008, Brazil participated in a Workshop on Climate Change and REDD in Quito, Ecuador entitled
“Diagnostic of the Current Situation and Development of Strategic Action”. Hosted by the Coordinator of
Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) with collaboration of IPAM and Amazon Alliance, the
workshop had the participation of approximately 30 representatives from indigenous groups’ organizations
of 8 Amazon Basin Countries. This workshop was an important wrap-up of what happened in the previous
Manaus Workshop, early April 2008, which generated the Manaus declaration5 and an invitation for a broader
alliance uniting Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities of the Forest in all three continents
The Parliamentary Commission on Climate Change in the National Congress held several public hearings on
deforestation and climate change. The public hearings were attended by members of the National Congress,
State Deputies, Executive and civil society. The Parliamentary Commission launched its report that provides the
foundation for a national policy related to climate change in which the REDD was cited as a way to create an
economic dynamic in favor of forest6.
Demonstration Activities
In August 2008, the Brazilian government launched the Amazon Fund of positive incentives for deforestation
reduction (in Brazil, 75% of national emissions is due deforestation in Amazon). This Fund can be identified as
the first large scale REDD regime implemented in a developing country. As one of the first donors, Norway
will give up to US$1 billion to the fund through 2015, with the amount of the support contingent upon the
Brazil’s continued and demonstrable success in reducing deforestation.
In the State of Amazonas, a demonstration REDD project known as the Juma Sustainable Development
Reserve Project aims to protect nearly 600,000 ha of Amazon forest, avoiding the release of an estimated 190
MtCO2e through 2050.
5
http://www.climaedesmatamento.org.br/files/general/Manaus_Declaration-revisedFinal.pdf.
6
Final report available at http://www.senado.gov.br/web/comissoes/documentos/SSCEPI/RelatorioFinalMC.pdf
26
Cameroon7
 
In 2005 the surface area occupied by closed, dense
tropical forest in Cameroon was 19.6M ha, or 41.3%
of the total territory (Devers, D., Vande Weghe,
J.P., 2006. Les forêts du Bassin du Congo, État
des Forêts 2006).  International efforts towards
the improvement of data on Central African
tropical forests have made it possible to propose
a few estimations for deforestation2 and forest
degradation3.  The Observatory for Central African
Forests (OFAC) estimates net deforestation to be
0.19% (brut deforestation 0.28%) or an annual loss of
37,000 ha.
Forest Monitoring and Assessment 

The last cartographic forest inventory is dated 1999 and the last national inventory is 2003-2004. Over
the past few years, particular international attention has been focused on the improvement of national and
regional capacities in the areas of forest cover and land use. The Food and Agriculture Organization and the
OFAC have developed several small-scale remote-sensing operations.  A national estimation of Greenhouse
Gas Emissions (GHG) was realized within the framework of Cameroon’s national communication in 2005.
Calculations are based on 1994 national statistical data and are completed by factors originating from the
IPCC’s guidelines for national GHG inventories. 
In 2007 COMIFAC (Central Africa Forests Commission), GTZ (German Agency for Technical Cooperation),
and Global Monitoring for Environmental and Security (GMES) initiated a common project between Bolivia
and Cameroon to develop tools to account for national emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
within the REDD framework. 
 
The IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)(supported by IRAD (Institut de Recherche Agricole
pour le Développement), CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) and ICRAF (International
Centre for Research in Agroforestry)) developed research that permitted the evaluation of carbon levels by
type of land cover over a period of 17 years (1984-2001).  
 
Policy and Stakeholder Engagement 
In 1995 after several years of negotiation Cameroon finally orientated itself towards a process of the
sustainable management of its forest and wildlife resources, thanks to the collaboration between MINEF
(Ministry of Environment and Forestry) and the World Bank. International (ACDI - Agricultural Cooperative
Development International) and national partners have enabled the implementation of a vast program of
inventorying and understanding of the forest resource. 
 
The 1994 Forestry Code enabled the clear definition of the objectives of ecologically respectful and socially
responsible sustainable forest management. 
The Forest and Environmental Sector Programme (PSFE) came into force in 1999, contributing to the
implementation of the policy for the sustainable and participative management of forest and wildlife resources
in order that they respond to local, national, regional and global needs of present and future generations. The
placing of 20% of the national territory under the status of protected area, the deployment of Sustainable
Forest Management throughout all Forest Management Units and the development of participatory
7
Text drawn and adapted from Cameroon’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
27
management are the targeted objectives of this program. 
Contact Information 
Contact person: M. Joseph Armathé Amougou  
Title: Focal Point for FCPF 
Contact information: Ministry of the Environment and Nature Protection (MINEP) Ecological
Monitoring and Control Unit 
 
Colombia8
 
The different land tenure dynamics (public, communal
or private) have led to the fragmentation and/or loss
of natural ecosystems in Colombia in the past century,
principally forest ecosystems. Recently, the Hydrology,
Meteorology and Environmental Studies Institute
(IDEAM) has established an official deforestation rate
of 101, 303 ha/yr, for the period from 1994 and 2001,
based on a visual classification of LANDSAT images.
This is the equivalent to the yearly reduction of 0.18%
of the national forest cover. However, this data does
not reflect annual regional variations. The harvesting
of natural forests is the most important wood source for the furniture industry and construction in Colombia.
It is estimated that between these two productive sectors approximately 3 million square meters of wood
are consumed annually (IDEAM, 2006, National Forestry Information System). The harvesting is conducted by
selective logging in many cases, in low-income environments, with complex processes of commercialization
that do not favor the sustainable management of forests. Quite the contrary, they incentivize forest
degradation and deforestation. Much of the income generated by these activities is not left to the local
communities or forest dwellers, but instead to intermediaries and buyers that re-sell the wood or harvested
wood products in towns and cities.
 
The country has its Environmental Research Institutes that are coordinated by IDEAM, and these entities
retrieve and analyze the country’s vegetation cover. A study conducted by IDEAM and published in the
Annual Natural Renewable Resources and Environment Assessment in Colombia for 2004, indicates that of
the national land area, 49% or 55,882,000 hectares are forests (natural and plantations), and that of this area
77,000 hectares/year was lost between 1986 and 1994 and 101,000 hectares/year for the period between
1994 and 2001.
 
The National Forestry Development Plan (NFDP) was designed to incorporate the forestry sector into the
national economy, improving the livelihood of communities by offering productive alternatives that contribute
to sustainable development and peace.
The plan was developed through a participative institutional and sectoral process and with the
recommendations by the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).
Colombia also has a National Strategy for Payment for Environmental Services developed with the
participation of the private sector, regional environmental authorities, research institutes, and international
NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International.
8
Text drawn and adapted from Colombia’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank..
28
 
Colombia is working on a national policy on climate change at the highest level of Ministerial consultations. In
this document, one of the sectors to be treated is the forestry sector. As with all other sectors, a vulnerability
to climate change study will be mandated, as will be a study on mitigation potential (including REDD). The
result will be an adaptation and a mitigation plan for the sector.
 
There is a small-scale pilot project financed by the World Bank in Antioquia (San Nicolas), which is allowing
the Ministry to test REDD options and a new methodology is being implemented for this purpose.
 
Contact information:
Contact: Andrea García Guerrero
Title: Minister’s Advisor
Contact information: Ministry of Environment, Housing, and Territorial Development
 
 
Costa Rica9
During the period 2000-2005 the gross loss of

forest cover was 23,689 ha which is equivalent to
approximately 4,600 ha per year (0.09%) while forest
cover recovery showed an increase of 169,000 ha in
the national territory, representing approximately
33,980 ha per year (0.66), The net forest change then
was of +0.57% per year during that period, according
to the Forest Cover Monitoring Study of Costa Rica
2005.  Deforestation strongly decreased in the last
decade as compared to previous decades; however, the country does not currently have a series of historical
data produced using a consistent methodology. Therefore, the estimates in the forest cover change and
consequently, the existence of carbon, are rather uncertain. 
Studies suggest that the country is recovering large extensions of forests; however, the age of these new
forests and their carbon capture rate have yet to be studied.
 
Forest cover studies for the year 2000 and 2005 have been conducted using Landsat satellite images. The
National Center of High Technology (CENAT) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) of the United States launched the CARTA Mission Project 2003 in the frame of a bilateral agreement
of cooperation. The objective was to renew the geographic, atmospheric and environmental information of
Costa Rica using, among others, remote sensing to cover 70% of the national territory. For the year 2005, the
CARTA Mission Project covered the remaining 30% of the country, which during the first phase of the project
was covered by clouds. 
 
At the national level, there is a significant level of information on the location of indigenous reserves
(inhabitants and area) as well as the management by these communities of their territory from a communal,
physical and legal point of view.
 
9
Text drawn and adapted from Costa Rica’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
29
The national goals of forest conservation and forest cover enhancement are implemented in programs such as
the Ecomarkets II Project (GEF-WB-GOCR), and Addressing Barriers to increase the conservation objectives
in Protected Areas (GEF-GOCR).
The current strategy is based on two main policy guidelines oriented to reduce deforestation and enhance
forest cover recovery through: a) the implementation of a system of incentives and b) the creation of a system
of protected areas, which became successful mechanisms to raise awareness in the population regarding the
forest resource. This was mainly a political decision taken at the government level as a result of demands
from the civil society to take urgent action against deforestation and no formal consultation or dialogue
process was promoted with this specific objective but it has received general approval and support from the
national society.  Aside from the legal framework, the most representative strategic planning instruments for
the Forest Sector are the National Forestry Development Plan and the National Biodiversity Strategy, which
resulted from a broad consultation and dialogue process.
A national process was held to launch the Strategy for the Control of Illegal Felling, based on an independent
study contracted by MINAE to establish the magnitude of deforestation and the country’s illegal felling; from
that process, control actions to be implemented were designed including the role of some of the groups
involved in the conservation of natural resources. Institutions such as the Network of Private Reserves, Costa
Rican Federation for Conservation, etc., participated. This process was developed in 2002 and its objectives
were to: 
- Guarantee, with the participation of society, the adequate control procedures at the national level
which would minimize the impact of illegal felling and its consequences.
- Improve the instruments of control and record necessary to monitor the use of the forest resource.  
- Strengthen the management capacity of the Conservation Areas to fight illegal felling actions
nationwide.  
- Promote, coordinate and ensure the active and efficient participation of civil society in the prevention
and control of illegal felling. 
Contact Information 
Contact: Alexandra Sáenz Faerron,
Title: Coordinator, Department of Development and Marketing of Environmental Services, FONAFIFO
Contact information: www.fonafifo.com
30
Democratic Republic of Congo 10
 
Most of the land in Congo is state-owned even if
certain areas (in the Batéké plateau for example)
are under traditional property rights. There is no
special land tenure associated with deforestation
and degradation (DD), which occurs everywhere
within the country.  The annual deforestation rate
is estimated at 0.20% / year by CARPE (The Central
African Regional Program for the Environment) (2008),
and 0.3% / year by the FAO, which also estimated
degradation at 0.15%. Massive industrial deforestation
has never occurred in the DRC.
DD in DRC is occurring under two main proximate causes: firstly, the gathering of wood around large human
areas and secondly, the extension of agriculture (food-producing and subsistence agriculture) in the forest
zone under shifting cultivation practices.
Data on forest dwellers is incomplete and heterogeneous depending on the area. This data is collected by the
State through census. The State of the Forest 2006 report provides a population density map covering the
entire Congo basin.  DRC forests are traditionally inhabited by Pygmies, who live on picking and hunting. Due
to the extension of some ethnic groups, there is an increasing occupation of the savannas and others zones
close to the forest by farmers, putting a higher pressure on the resource. The State of the Forest counts 150
ethnic groups living in the Congo Basin Forest.
The six forest-rich countries (Cameroon, CAR, Congo, DRC, Eq. Guinea, and Gabon) of the COMIFAC (The
Central African Forest Commission) have clearly indicated that they want to position themselves at a regional
level in the international debate on climate change and have already done so, by regularly submitting joint
proposals to UNFCCC.

OFAC (Central Africa Forest Observatory), under the COMIFAC guidance, is currently monitoring the forest
cover of the whole Congo Basin. The FORAF Project is currently monitoring deforestation rate between 1990
up to 2000 and between 2000 up to 2005. This FORAF (Forests of Africa) project analyses Landsat TM and
ETM+ images using segmentation at two levels, on a systematic ½ degree sampling grid of 20*20 km (covering
4%). It evaluates deforestation / reforestation and tries to monitor the dynamics of degradation / regeneration.
Its main limitation for DRC monitoring is the lack of sampling plots in the south of the country. CARPE has
conducted monitoring over the period 1990-2000 by automatic processing of satellite imagery from MODIS,
ETM+ and TM, applied on a wall-to-wall basis.
 
In the DRC, the discussions on REDD are regular and were held at several national and international
workshops and seminars. A consultation workshop was organized from 14 to 17 April 2008 in Kinshasa
in order to finalize the R-PIN; this workshop gathered officials from the Ministries of Environment Nature
Conservation and Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development, Mines, Landhold Affairs, Interior, Finance,
the environmental platforms of numerous national and international non-governmental organizations (WWF,
10
Text drawn and adapted from Democratic Republic of Congo’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
31
WCS, OSFAC) and the National Satellite Remote Sensing Agency (METTELSAT).  We must also mention the
Members of Parliament Network for the sustainable management of the forest ecosystems of Central Africa
(REPAC) of which the Parliament of the DRC is an active member. This network deals with forest governance,
including problems inherent to deforestation.
DRC also elaborated ambitious programs for reserve and protected areas: the Belgian royal family offered
financial help to create conservation areas and a US$ 16 million program was launched by the Congolese
Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) to rehabilitate protected areas.   DRC also opened discussions for
an engagement in FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade), an ambitious European funded
program targeting improvement in forest governance.
After the organization of the workshop in Kinshasa in April 2008, a tripartite delegation (The Woods Hole
Research Center, Ministry of Environment and Parliament) went to Bikoro in the Equateur province to
evaluate in the field the appropriation of REDD by the stakeholders. A document entitled “The Foundations of
REDD in the DRC” was subsequently prepared by the same parties on 14 June 2008.
Two delegates of the Pygmies league represented the DRC at a Latin-American workshop on Climate Change,
which was held in Manaus (Brazil) on 4 April 2008 and brought together native peoples and traditional
communities from the three large forest blocks of the Amazon and Congo basins, as well as from Borneo and
Papua New Guinea. The same Pygmies organized, in October 2008, a workshop on the carbon market and the
forests for the native peoples of Africa, with a particular emphasis on the REDD mechanism.
Contact: Mr Vincent KASULU SEYA MAKONGA
Contact information: MECNT, Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism
Ethiopia11
The total area under natural high forest is estimated

to be 4.07million hectares or 3.56 % of the area of the
country.
The REDD program in Ethiopia will be managed by

the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
in collaboration with other sectoral agencies at the
federal and regional levels including the organized
local communities and civil societies working in the
forestry sector. EPA will coordinate all the relevant
stakeholders working in the implementation of the
REDD program in Ethiopia.

Currently, the LULUCF sector is a significant sink of CO2 in Ethiopia rather than a source of emissions to
atmosphere. However, this sink capacity is decreasing rapidly.
11
Text drawn and adapted from Ethiopia’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
32
The Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic Planning Project did an analysis in districts where there was high
natural forests to arrive at rates of deforestation caused by increasing population and its need for agricultural
land in the three main forested regions. The results show that approximately 1.33 million hectares of natural
forests are forecast to be destroyed between 1990 and 2020; this loss accounts for about one third of the
forest resources in the country.

The Forest Proclamation of 2007 recognizes two types of ownership--private forest and state forest. The
proclamation has provisions on the promotion of private forest development, conservation and utilization.
The Forest Policy of 2007 had the overall objective to conserve and develop forest resources properly so that
there could be sustainable supply of forest products to the society and contribute to the development of the
national economy.
The Government of Ethiopia has signed a project document with the National Forest Program Facility, hosted
by the FAO, for the development and implementation of a National Forest Program in 2008. The purpose of
the project is to increasing the contribution of the forestry sector to attain Millennium Development Goals.
Ethiopia began Participatory Forest Management 10 years ago in high forest priority areas. The program
is supported by Farm Africa and GTZ and is being implemented by the Oromia and Southern Nations
Nationalities and Peoples Regional States Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The 1997 Environmental Policy contains sectoral policies is on forest, wood lands and tree resources under
which the policy addresses issues such as complementary roles of communities, private entrepreneurs and
the state in forestry development; integration of forestry development with land ,water, energy resources,
ecosystem and genetic resources development in addition to crop and livestock production
In addition to these policies and programs, there are a number of forest management programs in place to
promote sustainable resource use.
Like in most African countries REDD is a new concept in Ethiopia. In the preparation of the R-PIN, technical
meetings were held with relevant stakeholders. National level consultations for reducing deforestation and
degradation are also being carried out in the country.
The Farm Africa-SOS Sahel Ethiopia-Bale-Eco Region Sustainable Program (BESMP) — has submitted a REDD
Project Idea Note for a project entitled Bale Mountain Ecoregion Emission Reduction Assets: A large scale
community based Carbon Finance Project for the voluntary carbon market reducing emissions from the forest
degradation and deforestation.
Moreover, there are many forestry projects in the country which can create favorable environment for the
future REDD program implementation, including community forest management projects.
Contact Information
Contact institution: Federal Environmental Protection Authority
33
Gabon12
Based on the most recent estimates from the

Observatory for the Forests of Central Africa
(OFAC), the net level of deforestation amounts to
0.12%13 for the period 1990-2000. Measured net
degradation would be about 0.09% for the same
period. These low levels result from the voluntary
policy applied by the government in the early 1990s
in favor of forest protection and conservation. These
levels are also a result of the implementation of
sustainable forest management in the country.
Forest areas cover 85% of the Gabonese territory,

representing a little more than 22 million hectares of dense evergreen forests. The forest domain includes
about 13 million14 hectares which are considered production forests (including forest concessions under
sustainable management (FCSM) and small-scale logging permits). Protected areas (national parks) represent
about 3 million hectares and the remaining 5 to 6 million hectares include the Rural Forestry Domain (DFR).
Seventy five percent of the Gabonese population lives in large cities (65% in Libreville and Port Gentil) while
a portion of the population is settled in smaller towns and villages over the country. These populations are
not forest population per se, but there is no doubt that they directly or indirectly depend on forest resources
(hunting, fishing, gathering, and non-timber forest products). The pygmies, the only true forest population,
represent less than 1% of the overall population and are very poorly known in Gabon.

The Observatory for the Forests of Central Africa (OFAC) is a collective platform gathering forest data
for all countries in the region. This regional organization, based in Kinshasa and placed under the authority
of the COMIFAC, aims at initiating a continuous observation of the Congo Basin forests. Supported by the
European Union, the OFAC (the FORAF project) performed a first feasibility study of an evaluation system
of deforestation and degradation from Landsat TM and ETM+ satellite images. The CARPE program has also
produced estimations of deforestation and degradation at the Congo Basin level. 15
The Direction for Forest Surveys, Management and Regeneration (Direction des Inventaires, des Aménagements
et de la Régénération des Forêts or DIARF) is responsible for forest monitoring in Gabon. Gabon does not
currently have a map of forest cover or land use changes.
Currently, Gabon does not have a national monitoring program on biodiversity. In the FCSM, sustainable
management plans required by the forestry law of 2001 must include a biodiversity analysis in the relevant
concession. These plans could be a source of significant information to determine the national state of
biodiversity.
12
Text drawn and adapted from Gabon’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
13
“Net deforestation” under the FORAF project refers to deforested areas less naturally regenerated areas. In case of natural
regeneration, areas are considered as forested areas and contribute to the definition of « degradation ».
14
The Forests of the Congo Basin, State of the Forests 2006.
“CARPE Monitoring of the Congo Basin - results and ideas for REDD monitoring”, Hansen 2008, SDSU, REDD Workshop for
15
COMIFAC Countries, March 10-11 2008, Paris.

34
Under law n°16/2001, there is no more distinction between private and public domain. Article 13 notes that
«any forest falls under the national domain and constitutes the exclusive property of the State ».
Gabon created a National Commission on Sustainable Development (CNDD) including representatives of

public and private institutions and NGOs. The CNDD can be mandated to implement the forest sectoral
policy or to introduce the strategy to the main logging operators, local communities or stakeholders from the
mining sector, etc.
The weak organization of rural communities (few community associations, few local NGOs, etc.) limits the
effectiveness of participatory processes to formulate sectoral policies in Gabon. It is clear that the involvement
of civil society in a REDD process is crucial to ensure the transfer of carbon benefits to rural populations, to
guarantee economic development of these populations, and to encourage communities to sustainably manage
their forest resources.
Since 2005, about 44% of all forest concessions have a sustainable management plan. Production forests in
Gabon cover about 13 million hectares. FCSM (about 7 million hectares) represent about 30% of the national
forest area. The remaining 5 to 6 millions of hectares are granted small-scale permits. The underlying idea is
to change these degradation-causing areas, where logging is not very profitable due to their small size, to a
grouping of small concessions under sustainable management. This project currently includes 71 registered
permits covering a total area of 800,000 hectares.
Gabon has expressed an interest in negotiating a FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European
Community. A local certification system (PAFC) is also under development. WCS set up a program called
« People and Parks » with the objective of assessing the negative and positive impacts of the creation of
national parks on forest populations (job opportunity, tourism development, opening up remote areas,
restriction of access to resources etc.).
Contact: Etienne Massard K. Makaga
Title: Direction Générale de l’Environnement et de la Protection de la Nature
Contact information: Direction de l’Environnement et de la Nature, Ministère de L’Economie
Forestière, des Eaux & de la Pêche
35
Ghana16
In 1990, the total forest cover was 7.45 million ha

and in 2000 was reduced to 6.09 million ha. This
corresponds to a deforestation rate of 1.8% per
annum. In 2005, the forest cover reduced further
to 5.51 million ha. Between 2000 and 2005, the
deforestation rate was 1.9% per annum.
Forest reserve encroachment was on the ascendancy
in the 1960s and again in the 1990s to 2005 when
high incomes could be earned from cash crops such
as cocoa, oil palm etc. Drivers of deforestation are
estimated at the following relative percentages:
•Agricultural expansion (permanent cultivation, cattle ranching, shifting cultivation/traditional slash and
burn) – about 50%
• Harvesting for fuelwood and charcoal, illegal logging, wildfires and biomass burning – about 35%
• Population pressure, development pressure, such as expanding urbanization, settlements and new
infrastructure (e.g. electricity lines, roads) – about 10%
• Exploitation of mineral resources and mining – about 5%.

The Resource Management and Support Centre (RMSC) which is the research and monitoring division of the
Forestry Commission is responsible for forest inventories and tree measurements in the country.
Ghana has national inventory data within Forest Reserves between 1986-1992 and 2001-2002. National
inventory data of the off-forest reserve areas within the high forest zone are available for the time period
between 1996 and 1997. In 2001-02 a national inventory, in which satellite imagery was used to (a), classify the
forest into three categories, namely degraded areas, semi-degraded areas and intact forest cover. There has
not been a forest resource inventory for several years (over 10 years). The interval between the two major
inventories is eleven years (11yrs).
A GIS database on the forest reserves is available in the Forestry Commission which includes data on forest
fringe communities, resource owners, farmers, land tenure, land classification, management plans, role of local
communities in forest management, socio-economic surveys of forest fringe communities with data on number
of inhabitants, a register of farmers engaged in plantation development within the forest reserves and lands
outside.

There has been a ban on log exports since 1995 to reduce the pressure on the forest resources and add
value to the resource through processing. Under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the
European Union, a forest law enforcement agreement, governance and a trade system of credible legal and
administrative structures is being put in place to verify that timber is produced in accordance with existing
forestry laws and policies to eliminate or minimize illegally produced timber on the EU markets.
The Forestry Commission coordinated the establishment of a Forest Forum Network (FFN) in Ghana with
funding and technical support of the FAO under the National Forest Programme Facility. Under the initiative
16
Text drawn and adapted from Ghana’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
36
Regional Forest Forums (RFF) were first established in the ten regions of Ghana and delegates selected to
constitute the National Forest Forum (NFF). The aim of the National Forest Forum was to bring together
all the regional delegates as well as national level stakeholders to discuss and devise solutions to prioritized
national and regional forestry issues on a neutral platform together with technocrats and policy makers.
Contact: Mr. Robert K. Bamfo
Title: Head, Climate Change
Contact information: www.fcghana.com
Guyana17
The Guiana Shield Initiative, funded by IUCN

Netherlands, has started work at Iwokrama in Guyana
as a pilot site to test compensation mechanisms for
provision of environmental services. 
Forest Monitoring and Assessment 

In Mabura and Pibiri, there are several permanent
sampling plots (PSP’s) that were established for
research purposes. PSPs have also been established
in the Iwokrama Reserve that include measurement
of carbon fluxes. Comprehensive estimates of forest
biomass have been established and satellite images
(LANDSAT and CBERS) are in the process of being utilized to determine forest cover with the intent to
monitor every 3 to 5 years with supplementary forest inventory assessment to obtain percent forest cover
changes. In addition, RADAR data, from the Japanese-US sensor ALOS are being acquired and analyzed by
colleagues at Waaginen University and SARvision in the Netherlands. 
 
There are several initiatives undertaken to monitor biodiversity in the forested regions of the country.
Initiatives have been undertaken by the Government of Guyana and organizations such World Wildlife Fund
(WFF), The Iwokrama Rainforest Programme and Conservation International (CI).  
 
Approximately 50% of Guyana’s State Forest Estate has been allocated to sustainable utilization even though
only a small fraction has actually been disturbed.  Approximately 39% of the State Forest is unallocated and
consists mainly of primary forest lands. The areas allocated to sustainable utilization are based on a rotation
system with at least 30-40% of allocated concessions still consisting of primary forests. 
 
The GFC is also providing training to Community Forestry Organizations (CFO) and Amerindian Communities
on Reduced Impact Logging via a Forestry Training Centre which is funded by the Government of Guyana in
collaboration with the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). 
 
Under the Amerindian Act, communities can manage areas of their titled land under different regimes,
and they are allowed to declare portions of their land as conservation areas. For example, the Wai Wai
Community declared their land area of 625,000 hectares as a community owned protected area, which should
reduce emissions from deforestation because certain activities are restricted or disallowed altogether. 
17
Text drawn and adapted from Guyana’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
37
 
The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has a National Log Tagging and Log Tracking System that tracks and
verifies the origin of logs and lumber. The GFC worked with the ITTO and FAO to establish procedures and
guidelines for SFM that included a Code of Practice for Harvesting Operations and annual management plans.
The GFC has also issued concessions for conservation purposes under its present regime. The 80,000 hectare
Upper Essequibo Conservation Concession (UECC) managed by Conservation International in collaboration
with local communities is one example that reduces deforestation threats in both the short and long-term. 
 
Policy and Stakeholder Engagement 
A new Forests Bill is currently being considered by the select Committee of Parliament.  Eleven years of
extensive consultation that began in 1996 and ended in September 2007 has resulted in a revised draft Forests
Bill. The process included consultations with more than 23 entities including representative Amerindian
Associations, local communities, private sector entities in particular those in the forestry sector, and in
conjunction with the World Bank.    
  
The revised Forests Bill allows for “forest conservation activities” which include the preservation of forests for
the purpose of carbon sequestration or any other form of environmental services. Investors therefore have
the opportunity to invest in this area in accordance with the Government of Guyana guidelines that would be
established to govern this.  
  
In addition to the existing Forest Law, there is existing legislation governing forest reserves. Potential new
carbon and biodiversity reserves include the Kaieteur National Park Act of 1929 (as amended 1999) which
establishes the 63,000 hectare Kaieteur National Park, and the Iwokrama Act (1996) that establishes the
371,000 hectare Iwokrama Programme.  
  
Protected Areas Legislation is now being drafted, with the first round of consultations that concluded in March
2008. This legislation will establish the framework for establishment of protected areas which will be part of
the national initiative to maintain carbon reserves in areas of high known biodiversity value.  
 
More recently in 2007, Guyana took steps to initiate the REDD process. Consultations have been held at the
national, regional and local levels with stakeholders that included national ministries, organizations, NGO’s,
communities and individuals (at least 23 groups consulted). A Special High-level Committee was set-up by the
Government in 2007 to address issues related to REDD. The group includes key sectors such as the Climate
Change focal points, the Land Use planning sector, the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Office of the
President and NGOs such as Conservation International.  
 
Contact information 
Contact person: Mr. James Singh 
Title: Commissioner of Forests, Guyana Forest Commission 
Contact information: www.forestry.gov.gy  
 
38
Indonesia18
Indonesia has roughly 100 million ha of forested land,

and forest loss in Indonesia averages between 1-2
million ha/year.19

The country is currently completing the initial phase
of developing a national Forest Resource Information
System to facilitate sustainable forest management, and
maintain accurate forest carbon accounting.20

Indonesia presently has five forest policy priorities:
fight illegal logging, conservation and rehabilitation of forest land, restructuring of the forest sector, community
engagement and empowerment, and land tenure establishment. Each of these initiatives is significant in the
development of national capacity for REDD.
The country has established a National Council on Climate Change established, and is working on a REDD
commission and a set of guidelines relating to the issue. At the provincial level, REDD working groups have
been established.
In 2007, in preparation for REDD activities, the Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance was created to facilitate
stakeholder communication and consultation. The alliance, supported by the World Bank, the UK
Department for International Development (DFID), the Australian Government and Deutche Gesellschaft
fur Technische Zusammernarbeit (GTZ), is comprised of ministry experts and a range of national and
international researchers. Through this alliance, Indonesia undertook an analysis of the major issues
surrounding the implementation of REDD in the country. Issues included: technical capacities, financing and
payment mechanisms, and strategies for addressing the drivers of forest emissions.
Australia and Indonesia have developed a unique partnership to support the development of REDD, and
presently, the two governments are working on a roadmap for Indonesia to develop the necessary capacities
to access the international carbon markets through REDD. In demonstration, the two countries have launched
the Kalimantan Forest Carbon Partnership (KFCP), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
deforestation, drying and burning of peatlands by up to 700 MtCO2e over 30 years.21
18
Indonesia description was written drawing from a number of sources, and guided by a presentation from Nur Masripatin,
Secretary for Forestry Research and Development Agency, Climate Change Working Group, Ministry of Forestry, Secretariat of
Indonesia Forest Climate Alliance (IFCA), presented at the Organizational Meeting, of the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership
Facility, Washington DC, 20 October 2008
FWI/GFW. 2002. The State of the Forest: Indonesia. Bogor, Indonesia: Forest Watch Indonesia, and Washington DC: Global Forest
19
Watch.
20
Information available from the Centre of Forest Inventory and Mapping, Forest Planning Agency, Ministry of Forestry Republic of
Indonesia.
21
More information available at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/international/publications/fs-ifci.html.
39
In December 2007, two governors in Indonesia signed the Forests Now Declaration, vowing to protect
tropical forests for the value of their carbon. Shortly thereafter the province of Papua imposed a logging
moratorium with the hope of engaging in the carbon market. Since then, New Forests, and Australia-based
forestry investment firm, has worked with the government of Papua and agreed to establish a REDD project in
the province.22
There are numerous demonstration projects ongoing in Indonesia. In the province of Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam (Aceh), a demonstration REDD project in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem and has been launched
that aims to reduce deforestation in the area by 85% and reduce avoid 3.4 MtCO2 per year. This was the
first REDD project in a developing country to be independently-approved as conforming to the Climate,
Community and Biodiversity standards.23
Others include projects by The Nature Conservancy, other NGOs, and private project developers.
Kenya24
 
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has a forest inventory
and GIS Department carrying out natural and
plantation forest inventories, biodiversity and socio-
economic surveys. With support from the World
Bank and the government of Finland the capacity
is currently further being developed in order to be
able to implement national forest inventories e.g. to
develop national baselines and to monitor carbon
stock changes as required to develop and implement
a REDD program. In addition, KFS is coordinating
and supporting research organizations and other
government agencies and NGOs in Kenya to design
and implement specific forest monitoring and inventory projects including threat analysis and remote sensing.
 
In the framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010) a 10 km x 10 km grid sampling
survey will provide more accurate and up-to-date deforestation baseline data for a national REDD program.
 
Most of the studies in state forests have been conducted jointly between state agencies and international
organizations mainly UNEP, FAO, World Bank, ICRAF, WWF and IUCN or with technical support provided
by Donor organizations.
 
22
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0514-papua.html
23
The Provincial Government of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Ulu Masen
Ecosystem, Aceh, Indonesia. Project Design Note. 2007. Information updated through personal communication with project
developers. More information and Project Design Note available at http://www.climate-standards.org/projects/index.html.
24
Text drawn and adapted from Kenya’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
40
The Forest Act of 2005 broadened the scope of forest management, providing stringent regulatory practices
while opening up forest management to the private sector and communities. In order to fulfill its governing
role, KFS received a respective mandate from the Government and was established as a semi- autonomous
Government institution. Following this, the 2008 Draft Forest Policy highlights the need to revitalize forest
income generation, and engages communities in forest protection and management.
 
REDD is not explicitly mentioned in the broader development agenda but forest conservation and community
participation in natural resource management is a pillar of Kenya’s development policy vision 2030, which is
the blueprint for Kenya’s economic development road map.
A first stakeholder consultation workshop was conducted on April 21-22, 2008 and in addition technical
meetings with agencies, NGOs and research organizations took place to prepare the R-PIN for submission to
the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. In addition to the specific REDD consultation, there have
been a number of stakeholder consultations in reducing deforestation.
 
The Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources is strongly supporting the development of CDM projects
and in particular, the land-use sector is considering the sequestration potential and co-benefits. With support
from the Ministry and the World Bank BioCarbon Fund, a CDM afforestation/reforestation project has been
successfully developed by The Green Belt Movement supporting Community Forest Associations in 7 project
sites in Kenya. Currently, the first agricultural land use carbon finance methodology is being developed in
Kenya, together with two pilot projects for the voluntary carbon standard with support from the World Bank
BioCarbon Fund. The methodology will provide a baseline and a monitoring methodology for Sustainable
Land Management activities adopted by smallholder farmers in Western Kenya and for smallholder coffee,
turning sun grown coffee into shade coffee. Both projects will have strong adaptation benefits and will reduce
deforestation and forest degradation in the vicinity to the project area.
Contact information:  
Contact: Professor James Ole Kiyiapi
Title: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources
Contact Information: www.kfs.go.ke
 
Lao People’s Democratic Republic25
Comparison of forest distribution maps for 1992

and 2002 indicates deforestation took place all over
the country.  In the northern region of the country,
where mountainous landscape dominates, most
deforestation results from expansion of shifting
cultivation, both subsistent and commercial with or
without initial logging. Commercial tree plantations
such as rubber and agar-wood, which are expanding
rapidly, also contribute to deforestation. In relatively
flat areas along the Mekong River in the central and
southern regions, conversion to agricultural land is
25
Text drawn and adapted from Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
41
also prominent. Other visible deforestation areas are along the borders with neighboring countries and this
indicates heavy logging and expansion of commercial crops on slope land. According to the Forest Cover and
Land Use Survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), the current forest decreased
to 9.8 million ha in 2002 from 11.2 million ha in 1992 with an average loss of 134,000 ha per annum equivalent
to 0.6% of the total land area.
 
Forest cover and land use has been assessed three times i.e. in 1982, 1992 and 2002. All these assessments
were made by the Department of Forestry (DOF). DOF also implemented the National Forest Inventory in
1993-1999 by cluster sampling. The inventory included trees and some non- timber forest products like rattan
and bamboo. Stand volume was estimated for different forest categories (forest type, canopy density, slope,
etc.) and reported by province.
 
There are three forest categories i.e. Conservation, Protection and Production Forests. 21 Conservation
Forests at the national level are officially established with the total area of 3.5 million ha. Protection
Forests have been identified on maps with the total area of 4.5 million ha and field survey for their official
establishment has been carried out.
 
Out of 54 Production Forest areas identified and surveyed with a total area of 3.4 million ha, 37 have been
officially established and sustainable management has been introduced in them, with the assistance from the
Sustainable Forestry and Rural Development Project (World Bank/Finland). In Production Forest areas, local
villages participate in all aspects of production forest management based on contracts with local authorities
and they receive benefits from log sales.
 
The Forestry Strategy 2020 (FS 2020) was formulated by a multi-Ministerial Senior Staff Committee before
endorsement by the Prime Minister, and there were 3 open consultations with stakeholders including donors,
private sector and NGOs on main issues and drafts. An annual stakeholder consultation on implementation
of FS 2020 was held in November 2007. The Government-Donor Working Group on Forestry (FSWG,
consisting of concerned government organizations, main donors, NGO representatives and private sector
representatives) has been  a forum for consultation on implementation of FS 2020 and forestry issues since Jun
2006. Recent FSWG meetings were focusing on REDD and FCPF related issues.
 
Strengthening of the Forestry Law and enactment of the Wildlife Law occurred in December 2007.  A ban
on log and lumber export has also been enacted.  In January 2008 the Department of Forest Inspection was
established, including authority to arrest and file charges against those not in compliance with the Forestry
Law.
 
Other policy initiatives related to REDD include improvements in forest zoning and management with
participation of local communities, as well as support for alternative production systems to replace pioneering
shifting cultivation, a main driver of deforestation.  Additionally a legal guidebook has been created on rights
and responsibilities of land and forest resources at the local level.
 
Contact Information:
Contact: Mr. Oupakone Alounsavath
Title: Director, Planning Division
Contact information: Department of Forestry (DOF), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)
42
Liberia26
 
Liberia contains 4.5 million hectares of lowland tropical
forest that comprises 43% of the remaining Upper
Guinea forests of West Africa. Over 15 years between
1990 and 2005, forest area has been reported as being
reduced by 22% (FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment,
2005) Countrywide, it is estimated that roughly 25%
percent of Liberia’s forests has been recently logged. 
A 2008 forest change analysis in Liberia performed
by a partnership between the Forestry Development
Authority (FDA), Conservation International and
South Dakota State University (SDSU) notes the
average deforestation rate increasing from 0.2% in
1986-2000 (Christie et. al. 2007) to 0.35% in 2000-2006.

Liberia is moving forward with the deforestation analysis, forest data gathering, and monitoring requirements
for REDD. Two main studies provide information on recent change in Liberian forest, including one with a
two-hectare minimum mapping unit produced by the Forest Development Authority (FDA), Conservation
International (CI), South Dakota State University and Clark Labs.  Liberia has also established permanent
monitoring plots and conducted some very initial biomass estimates.
 
Conservation International also supported training of one of its own in country staff and the FDA’s GIS
technical manager during a one-week carbon project development course in Quito, Ecuador.
 
Liberia recently embarked on a forest reform process that has included the revocation of all previous timber
concessions, a new forest policy, revised forest legislation and the issuing of supporting regulations. The new
forest policy seeks to harmonize community, conservation and commercial uses of forest resources, with
sustainable forest management as the explicit goal. In 2007, a new Forest Management Strategy was formulated
and validated through public consultation.
A new community rights law is currently being formulated which will provide for an increased role for
communities in forest governance. Specific surveys of forest dwellers and forest-dependent people have
been undertaken to assess environmental and social impacts of various forest initiatives. These include socio-
economic surveys undertaken by Fauna & Flora International (FFI).
The Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) has assisted the FDA throughout the reform process. The LFI is a
partnership of government, NGOs, and donor agencies including the US government, World Bank, FAO, CI,
and FFI.
The various new Regulations based on the 2006 Law require public communication through radio and
newsprint media, as well as consultation in affected communities. In practical terms, this means that
26
Text drawn and adapted from Liberia’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
43
communities in or around proposed timber concessions of protected areas must be fully consulted in an
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.  These processes demonstrate the capacity the FDA has for
public outreach and consultation which would be used and built upon during the REDD Strategy development.
Contact: Hon. John T Woods
Title: Managing Director
Contact information: Forestry Development Authority
Madagascar27

The country has completed comparable deforestation
rate analyses for three dates (1990, 2000 and 2005)
and therefore has a dataset to analyze past trends
and model future projected trends under different
scenarios.
 
The country has recently launched the development
of a national land-use planning approach. Within this
framework, regional land-use planning schema will
determine optimal land-use and serve as plans for
investments and development within each region.
 
Although no national consultation process has yet been carried out for REDD, the Madagascar Action Plan
(MAP), through which the country develops its deforestation strategies, has already been the subject of
multiple consultations at the national and regional levels.
 
Madagascar has a robust deforestation strategy encapsulated in Commitment 7 of the country development
roadmap document, the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP). The MAP challenges and goals have all been validated
in Madagascar’s 22 regions and each region has developed specific regional MAP plans to contribute towards
the nation’s goals.
 
On a national level, a REDD workshop was held in April to build consensus between sectoral agencies,
institutions, and national and regional authorities.  This workshop was the starting point for developing a
national strategy on REDD.
 
The Government in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society and other partners is working to create
a structured “revenue distribution” from the sale of carbon credits: 50% to local communities, 25% toward
management of the protected area, 15% toward Government RED(D) strategic development, and 10% toward
monitoring and marketing.
 
27
Text drawn and adapted from Madagascar’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
44
Discussions on how to implement REDD began in Madagascar in 2001 and since that time three projects have
been designed and are being implemented.
 
The Malagasy government and various partners launched the Makira project to reduce deforestation by
involving the local community in the conservation of a protected forest area of 400,000 ha and the sustainable
management of 280,000 ha of buffer forest zone.
 
The corridor conservation and restoration project between Mantadia, Analamazaotra and Maromiza is carried
out by the Malagasy government, Conservation International, the World Bank and various local partners, and
has a REDD component aiming to preserve 450,000 ha of forest through social and economical development
of local communities and the valuation of avoided carbon emission on the voluntary market.
 
REDD/FORECA is a REDD pilot project comprised of seven priority sites throughout the country
covering different forest types and representative ecosystems. The project is supervised by the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Tourism (MEFT), with the efforts of German Agency for Technical Cooperation
(GTZ), Inter Cooperation, ESSA-Forêt and vTI Hamburg. It has three objectives: testing different approaches
for changing forest use, enabling the developing and use of tools for measurement of carbon, and supporting a
method for compensating deforestation reductions through carbon credits.
 
These three projects have developed capacity for quantifying carbon that would be sequestered by REDD
project activities, establishing carbon monitoring plots, and training local staff in monitoring and preparing
project design documents.
 
A fourth project, the Holistic Conservation Programme for Forests in Madagascar – funded by GoodPlanet
and implemented in the field by WWF – aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing deforestation
and forest degradation. It covers an area of more than 500,000 ha of moist and dry forests and will help
improve knowledge and expertise on verifiable ways to measure how much the emission of carbon can
potentially be reduced by reducing deforestation and forest degradation and/or sequestrated through
reforestation. It also seeks to improve the living conditions of local communities by giving them direct
responsibility for managing forests and natural resources.
 
Contact information 
Contact: Jean Roger RAKOTOARIJAONA
Contact information : Office National de l’Environnement
http://www.minenvef.gov.mg
 
45
Mexico28
In April 2001 the GOM created the National Forest

Commission (CONAFOR) to support sustainable
production and conservation of forest resources
based on the Strategic Forestry Program for 2000-
2025, which articulates specific priorities, goals,
and strategies in areas such as community forestry,
commercial forestry, soil conservation, forest land-use
planning and management, and reforestation.
A preliminary analysis performed by ECOSUR (2008)

using a geo-referenced land tenure map revealed that
about 59% of the forest land is owned by ejidos and
communities, around 33.5% is privately owned and the remaining 7.5% are forests on national lands. Tenure
rights are relatively secure in Mexico, although agrarian conflicts persist in some localities. About 85% of land
has been geo-referenced through a governmental program and official property titles handed over to the
ejidos, communities and private land owners.

CONAFOR is responsible for forest monitoring and for the National Forestry and Soils inventory;
CONAFOR initiated the monitoring of land cover dynamics using MODIS to monitor land use changes in
areas bigger than 25 hectares; the National Forest Inventory is expected to act as a ground-truthing process.
In 2004 a newly designed National Forest Inventory was developed and between 2004 and 2007, about 25,000
geo- referenced permanent conglomerates were established and measured. Using the Deforestation Risk
Index (DRI) developed by National Institute of Ecology (INE), areas likely to be deforested were identified.

In 1986 the government created the National System of Protected Natural Areas (SINAP) to safeguard areas
with high biological diversity. With financial assistance from the GEF and World Bank, an endowment fund
was created to provide long-term support for SINAP.  The National Reforestation Program (PRONARE) is
a program to restore forests cover in deforested and/or degraded areas, usually in scattered areas with less
than 5 hectares. The Sustainable Community Forestry (PROCYMAF) program encourages sustainable forest
management based on capacity building of forest communities and ejidos, through participatory approaches to
planning, forest production and conservation activities. The program has obtained World Bank’s finance and
technical assistance, although its implementation is currently limited to 6 states in Mexico; an expansion of this
program to 12 states is expected in the next year.
Since 2003, CONAFOR begun implementation of a program called PSAH, which is aimed to prevent land
use change (from forest to non-forest uses) on priority areas for provision of water environmental services;
program is based on payment for environmental services where DRI is used as a criterion for targeting
payments. In 2004 Mexico created a program called CABSA (Program to Develop Environmental Services
Markets for Carbon Capture and Biodiversity and to Establish and Improve Agroforestry Systems). CABSA
supports reforestation activities and land-use changes (from annual crops to agro-forestry) in Mexico and links
them to national and international markets/financing for carbon and biodiversity conservation. Up to 2008,
around 1.75 million hectares of forests has been incorporated to PSAH and CABSA.
28
Text drawn and adapted from Mexico’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
46
The National Forest Council (CONAF) was constituted as an advisory group for providing guidance on forest
related issues. CONAF comprises representatives of government institutions, landholder organizations,
NGOs, private and community organizations of the social and private sectors, academic and/or research
institutes, and professional organizations. CONAFOR is bound to ask for CONAF’s opinion in matters of
sectoral planning and regulation.
The Technical Advisory Committee on Environmental Services Project has recently initiated discussion on
the design of a consultation process for REDD stakeholders at different levels (national, regional or local),
and key issues for designing a REDD strategy have been identified. Methodological issues have been discussed,
implementing participatory approaches and sharing benefits among land holders, have also been discussed.
Others issues discussed include indigenous rights, marginalization indices of forest communities, and law
enforcement and governance matters. Stakeholder consultations have been carried out for the National
Action Strategy on Actions for Climate Change (2006), the Strategic Forest Plan for the year 2000-2025, and
the six-yearly National Forest Programs.
 
Contact information
Contact person: Víctor Eduardo Sosa Cedillo,
Title: Coordinador General de Producción y Productividad
Contact information: www.conafor.gob.mx
Nepal29
A multi-stakeholder REDD scoping meeting was held

between the government of Nepal, agencies, and non-
governmental organizations including World Wildlife
Fund to discuss and debate REDD at the national level.
 
There is no reliable estimate of CO2 emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation in Nepal. There
have been sporadic land cover studies carried out, the
most recent conducted by the Department of Forest
Research and Survey (DFRS) of the government of
Nepal between 1987 and 1998, under the support of
the government of Finland.
 
On-going democratization processes have led GoN to make commitments towards enabling civil society
participation in environmental policy processes and to encourage the private sector to develop a sense of
corporate social responsibility. While the government has a commitment, at least in principle, to use bottom-
up policy making and planning processes, there is still a need to transform the top-down organizational culture
of government institutions in order to allow forest dependent citizens to participate effectively in policy
processes.  In addition, there is also a need to forge effective inter-sectoral coordination among government
agencies while making forest policies in Nepal.
 
29
Text drawn and adapted from Nepal’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
47
There are five main forestry sector policy instruments that the Government of Nepal (GoN) aims to use
to address the key cause-effect aspects of deforestation and forest degradation, poverty alleviation and
restoration of the environment. These are i) the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (MPFS 1988), ii) Forest
Act, 1993, iii) the Agricultural Perspective Plan (APP 1995), iv) the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) and v)
Three Year Interim Plan (2007-2010). Those policies and strategies reflect the high priority accorded by the
GoN to sustainable management of natural resources, with emphasis on forest resources. They reveal a high
degree of Government commitment to implement a forestry sector program in a manner that is user-based,
gender sensitive and poverty focused. A common feature of these policies relates to the importance given to
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector as potential service providers. In 2006, GoN
constituted a multi-stakeholder taskforce to propose approaches for democratic and sustainable management
of forests. The recommendations submitted were on i) policy, legal, institutional and procedural reforms for
the democratization of forest management in Nepal, ii) the management of community and collaborative forest
based on an assessment of their successes, problems and failures, and iii) to suggest other recommendations
for the overall sustainable development of forest areas in the country.
Forest policy and programs and the broad-based national action plans (e.g. 3-Year Interim Plan, Biodiversity
Action Plan) were prepared earlier and now need reconfiguration for facilitating REDD at national-level.
 
Contact Information
Contact person: Dr. Jagdish Chandra Baral
Title: FCPF Focal Point
Contact information: http://www.mofsc.gov.np
 
Nicaragua30
According to the study by MAGFOR in 2000,

approximately 40% of the total national area is
covered by forests. Of the 5.6 million hectares of
forest, it is estimated that half (2.8 million hectares)
would be suitable for productive forest management
purposes, while much of the other half is formally
incorporated into the National System of Areas
Protected (1.9 million hectares) and the rest (0.9
million hectares) presents environmental conditions
that suggest management with conservation purposes.
In the areas of productive forests it is estimated
that only 4% are currently under Sustainable Forest
Management (124,000 ha), while the remaining 96% is subject to gradual degradation process, rudimentary
extractive uses, change of use or simply abandoned.

The estimated rate of deforestation in the country is 1.16% per year on forest cover, during the 1983 to 2000
period with ranges between 80,221 and 66,466 hectares of forest lost annually.
The most complete information which is available in the country on forest cover, land use changes and
deforestation, can be found in the Forest Map of Nicaragua, conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry (MAGFOR) in 2000.
30
Text drawn and adapted from Nicaragua’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
48
Since July 2007 the country has been involved in a National Forest Inventory (INF), the results of which will be
processed and made available for the second half of 2008. The topics covered in the inventory are as follows:
1. Forest cover and dynamics of the agricultural border

2. State, health and vitality of forests
3. Management of forests
4. Productive state of natural forests
5. Coverage of plantations, state of agroforestry and trees outside forests
6. Environmental reporting of forests
7. Socio-economic information of forests and trees outside forest
The National Forest Inventory will also conduct an inquiry in relation to land tenure and other relevant socio-
economic factors that are expected to be useful in future phases of the implementation of REDD.

Nicaragua at present is in the process of a consultation on the National Strategy for Climate Change, as well
as participating in the elaboration of the Regional Strategy on Climate Change of SICA (Central American
Integration System) countries where it is mentioned that the initiatives of REDD are a priority for the
mitigation of GHGs.
The country currently has an updated forest policy, the product of a broad and complex process of social
participation, which responded to the new legal requirements in terms of citizen participation and took place
under the platform of forest governance and institutional decentralization based on three main elements: (i)
inter-sectoral forest-environment commitment, (ii) policy and strategy concerted with the actors and (iii)
mechanism for dialogue and consultation between the actors.
The National Forestry Plan generated five essential components of work that are closely related to the
topic of avoided deforestation: forest governance, forest conservation and management, forest restoration,
development of forest industry and commerce, generation and knowledge management. The new forest
policy will enable the participation in a more appropriate way, of rural communities, small and medium-sized
forest owners and indigenous groups in forest management activities which in turn generate higher incomes,
so that people can better meet their consumption needs of goods and basic services such as housing, energy,
transport and food, many of those that generate the need to seize the forest. In parallel, is required to
integrate other public institutions related to rural development and national development planning, to identify
public policies that help to meet the basic consumption needs of the population, such as those mentioned
above.
Nicaragua has positive experiences with community forest management initiatives, including forest certification
especially in the autonomous regions of the Caribbean coast. This has been with the support of World
Wildlife Fund, Rain Forest Alliance, GTZ and other institutions. Forest certification began in 1996 in Nicaragua
and has developed very slowly. In January 2008 there exist 15,047 hectares of natural forests and certified
plantations, located in the RAAN, the Pacific and San Juan River.
The Government of Nicaragua has formally established a series of consultation mechanisms related both to
forest policy and rural development strategies, which will guarantee the participation of all sectors and actors
in the Forest-related industries. The strategy of consultation is based on the principles of the new government
on public dialogue.
49
The approach of forest governance in Nicaragua is based on the concept of the national forest program,
agreed in 1997 at the Forum on Forests of United Nations and is based on three main elements: (i) the
inter-sectoral forest-environmental commitment, (ii) policy and strategy concerted with the actors and (iii)
mechanisms for dialogue and consultation between the actors. More documentation on this approach is
available on the site: http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/nfp/es/.
Contact Information
Contact person: Javier Gutiérrez Ramírez: MARENA
Contact information: www.marena.gob.ni
Panama31
Panama is a small Central American country with a

total area of 74,927 km2 (ANAM: 2003). The best
information available on land use changes comes from
a study carried out by Panama’s National Authority
for the Environment (ANAM) and sponsored by the
International Tropical Timber Organization (ANAM:
2002). ANAM (2002) indicates that Panama’s forest
cover is of 33,645 km2 accounting for 45% of the total
country’s area. The national system of protected
areas (PA) consists of 65 legally recognized areas
covering 10,801 km2 of forest area. Therefore, 29.1%
of the forests are under governmental protection.
Outside PAs, Panama experienced deforestation at a rate of 1.12% for the period 1992-2000 or 47,000 ha.
Analysis of changes in forest cover per province highlighted hot-spots of deforestation in the provinces of
Panama (-1.53%) and Darien (-1.74%) and in the indigenous territory of the Ngobe-Bugle (-2.72%).

The National Authority of the Environment, with its own resources and technical expertise, has begun the
process of creation of a database for analysis of satellite imagery and digital cartography for the evaluation
and monitoring of Panama’s forest resources in 2007. This new map of forest cover will be compared with
those produced in 1992 and 2000. The 2000-2007 series will be completed by the end of 2008. The report
of forest coverage and use for 1992-2000 as well as information on the diverse forest ecosystems (ANAM:
2003) is publicly available at www.anam.gob.pa. Forest cover and deforestation are calculated using LANDSAT
and ASTER images at 15-30m resolution, as well as aerial photographs in specific project areas. This data is
currently updated and published every 8 years. Scientists from McGill University are providing scientific and
technical assistance to ANAM.

Panamá analyzed the causes and the consequences of deforestation to develop possible solutions. The
country concluded that solutions to deforestation must be linked with the search for alternative livelihood
strategies to improve the socio-economical conditions of those living near the forest.
31
Text drawn and adapted from Panama’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
50
In Panama, REDD is an integral part of the National Strategy for the Environment. This strategy relies on
programs and actions inside and outside protected areas. The country relies on community funds and
environmental markets to promote the implementation of a new model for the forest sector. It promotes
strong participation from community organizations and supports ground-rooted initiatives such as micro-
businesses and cooperatives. The strategy is inspired from the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor of the
Panamanian Atlantic (CBMAP II).
At the same time, various restoration projects for different watersheds are being implemented in Panama.
These involve restoring gallery forests as well as establishing plantations around headwaters. Seedlings
production for these reforestation projects is done by local people to ensure direct financial benefits to
neighboring communities.
The national government of Panama has initiated a public consultation process in the preparation of its RPIN
for the FCPF. This process included 17 public workshops with total participation of 1,043 representatives of
academic, scientific, public, private, and civil society. In the consultation process care was taken to pay special
attention to indigenous organizations and meetings specifically with Indigenous communities have already been
organized and have been supported by national funds. As a result of these consultations, the Panamanian
delegation at COP 14 will include representatives of the Panamanian Traditional Indigenous Authority.
In Panama REDD will be implemented at the national level. Panama’s demonstration activities therefore
include the efforts by the National Authority for the Environment to sustain programs, such as CBMAP II,
that will reduce deforestation. Several initiatives developed by other stakeholders complement the effort of
ANAM: the Panama Canal Authority is working very hard to tackle deforestation in the Canal Watershed;
World Wildlife Fund is developing a Community Forestry project in the Emberá Wounaan Region; an Embera
community of Alto Bayano signed an agreement, under the voluntary market, to sell carbon from plantations
with native species and from emissions reduction from deforestation. Panama’s ANAM is involved in each of
these initiatives that provides feed-back to the development of the national REDD initiatives.
Contact Information
Contact person: Eduardo Reyes
Title: General Sub-Administrator (ANAM)
Contact information: www.anam.gob.pa
51
Papua New Guinea32
PNG has a population of 5.2 million people growing at

2.7% annually with 85 percent of its people living in the
rural areas of the country. Constitutionally, these rural
communities own the local resources and depend
largely on subsistence agriculture and fishing for their
livelihood. With such a significant biodiversity base,
PNG faces many environmental, economic and socio-
cultural challenges. The PNG NFA (National Forest
Authority) and the DEC (Department of Environment
and Conservation) are responsible for forestry and
forest conservation. The two agencies are responsible
for the creation of forest reserves under the Forest
Act and Wildlife Management areas, National Parks, reserves, sanctuary under the National Parks Act, the
Fauna (Protection and Control) Act and the Conservation Areas Act.
The Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA, 1996) recorded a total remaining forest area of 39 million
hectares. Over the last 30 years the main drivers identifies for the forest change in Papua New Guinea are as
shown below:
Plantations – 1%
Forest Fires – 4.4%
Subsistence agriculture – 45.6%
Logging – 48.2%
Mining - .6%
At present, around 97% of the total land area in Papua New Guinea is legally owned and controlled by
indigenous communities. Further, over 80% of the population of Papua New Guinea is still directly dependent
on the local environment for their subsistence and livelihoods (2000 NSO Census Data).

Recently, “The State of the Forest of Papua New Guinea” produced by scientists at the University of Papua
New Guinea Remote Sensing Centre and their colleagues at the Australian National University has provided
some information to understand the PNG forest situation up to 2002. In particular the study generated a
land cover map for the year 2002, which represents the most advanced information available to understand
forest extension in PNG. The study provided a series of maps (see below) that show the expansion of logging
activities from 1980 to 2005. Major deforestation areas were primarily found on the mainland, the New Britain
Island and in Western Province. Between 1972 and 2002 deforestation resulted in the release of a net 926.5
million tons of carbon (3,397 million tones of CO2, with additional 76.39 – 88.83 Mt of carbon (280.1 -325.7
Mt of CO2) being released through logging related forest degradation.

It is an established policy that the Forestry and Environmental Departments consult key stakeholders
throughout the development of any forest concession or conservation area through public workshops and
meetings. These activities include all relevant government agencies, NGOs, institutions, and the private sector.
32
Text drawn and adapted from Papua New Guinea’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
52
As a regulator, DEC uses this process for consultation with the key stakeholders and partners in the
development of strategies that concern PNG environment sustainability and development. The strategies
below have been developed using this stake-holders consultation process.
a) DEC New Strategic Direction
b) DEC Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Program Framework 2008
The other related strategies and actions plans are:

c) PNG National Biodiversity: Strategy and Action
d) Protected Areas Initiative
While indigenous ownership is constitutionally secured, it will be very important that the rightful individuals
and clans are involved when developing location-specific activities under REDD. There is, however, a well-
established and effective legal process to verify legal tenure and land rights.
Contact Information
Contact person: Dr. Warilea Iamo
Title: Secretary
Contact information: Department of Environment and Conservation
Paraguay33
 
Paraguay is a unique landlocked country situated in the
heart of South America. The Paraguay River bisects
the nation into two contrasting ecological regions,
Eastern Region and the Chaco. During the period
between 1990 and 2000 the Chaco Region has lost
more than 1,000,000 ha (GLCF, 2006), and recent
studies (Guyra Paraguay, 2007) estimated a loss of
130,000 ha of forest for the period between May
2005 – May 2006. This region is suffering immigration
of enhanced livestock production because of low
prices of lands compared to other lands for intensive
agriculture (soy) and plantations. Over three quarters
of the UPAF (Upper Parana Atlantic Forest) has been deforested leaving only around 2 million hectares
standing at present and is highly fragmented (FAO, 2006).
Most of the Paraguayan territory (> 90%) is privately-owned; therefore the private sector is a key player in
the conservation and sustainable use of forests in Paraguay.  The indigenous land tenure is recognized as a
constitutional right, which is reflected in the indigenous law 904/81 which established that each family has the
right to receive 20 hectares in the Eastern region or 100 hectares in the Chaco (Prodechaco 2003, Tierra Viva
2005). According to the 2002 indigenous census carried out by the General Direction of Polls, Statistics and
Census (DGEEC, 2007), 1.7% of Paraguay’s inhabitants are indigenous. 95% stated that they depend on forest
products for food supply. From the total of 394 indigenous communities there are 247 with legal status and
legal land tenure, 56 with legal status without legal land tenure and 91 without legal status and without land
(DGEEC, 2002).
33
Text drawn and adapted from Paraguay’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
53
Recognizing the importance of the REDD process the SEAM (Secretary of the Environment) has created the
REDD Technical Advisor Committee through a Ministerial Resolution number 1092/08.  The newly created
National Forest Institute (INFONA) is the operational body in charge of the implementation of the Forest Law
(Law422/73).
 
The 2005 Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) by FAO8 gave a figure for forests at 18.5 million hectares
country-wide. According to the FAO FRA 2005 Paraguay deforestation rates are around 180,000 ha/yr.
Several of the leading environmental NGOs in Paraguay work in close relation to the governmental institutions
in charge of forest monitoring and inventories through specific agreements. For instance, Guyra Paraguay and
WWF worked together with the SFN and SEAM to follow the implementation of the Zero Deforestation Law
and Guyra Paraguay is also providing high-level expertise in monitoring and a real-time follow up of land use
changes.
 
The Secretary of the Environment (SEAM) is one of the newest government institutions, created by Law 1561
in the year 2000 and is in charge of the general environmental oversight and regulation in conjunction with a
consultative body called the CONAM (National Environmental Council). The establishment of the National
Environmental Policy followed with the Zero Deforestation Law, has reduced deforestation in the Eastern
Region by over 90%, as monitored independently by local NGO Guyra Paraguay.  At the same time it has
carried out several interventions in the Chaco to halt deforestation beyond the authorized limits.
Working groups were organized for the development of the non-deforestation law, and included a public
consultation led by national congress. These discussions involved broad public participation, which included
most of the affected sectors (timbers producers, small rural landowners, indigenous communities, private
sectors, academic sector, governmental institutions and the productive sector including the soya producers
and cattle ranching producers). These consultations were held through 2004 and 2005.
Another important initiative led by NGO’s includes the Social Pact, whereby the conservation community has
come to the table with the large-scale farmers, a group 54 small holders, and governments (national and local)
to find ways to reduce conflicts and environmental damage of agricultural activities.
 
Contact Information
Contact person:   Lilian Portillo – FCPF Focal Point
Title:  National Director of Climate Change Program
Contact information: www.pncc.gov.py www.seam.gov.py
54
Peru 34
The Ministry of Environment – MINAM, which has

been recently established on the basis of previous
public organizations, is now the National Authority
regarding climate change and mitigation activities
in Peru, including REDD. For forestry activities,
MINAM closely coordinates with the Ministry of
Agriculture - MINAG, which is the national authority
for the forestry sector production and regulations.
Deforestation has been estimated in Peru at a total of
7.17 million ha (year 2000), at an average yearly rate
of 150,000 ha. The latter figure, however, represents
only 0.2% of the present forest coverage in the
country. On the other hand, participation of deforestation in GHG emission in the country, represents 47%
of total CO2e emitted.
Main cause for deforestation (81%) is the expansion of agricultural frontier, mainly by migratory slash-and-
burn practices; the second one (16.5%) is timber and lumber for domestic rural and small Andean villages. An
additional 2.5% is explained by action of the forestry industry and timber trade.
The Peruvian Amazon is home to approximately 300,000 natives of 59 ethnic groups and 15 linguistic families.
Data on indigenous people and land occupied is fairly complete (compiled by Instituto del Bien Común) and
adequately mapped in GIS. Additional data can be obtained through the approximate 50 ethnic or interethnic
federations grouped in regional organizations that are currently organizing their grassroots bases in order to
obtain land titling according to law. The Directory of Native Communities (Proyecto Especial de Titulación
de Tierras – PETT, MINAG) keeps updated records on land titles both for native communities and single
dwellers. Land occupied by titled communities amount to 7.4 million ha.
Other dwellers of highlands origin tend to be very active in deforesting Amazon lands in order to acquire
rights to land possession, since the current law requires evidence of land cleared and crops to obtain it. In
October 2008 national and regional representatives convened in the city of Tarapoto to hold the Seminar
Workshop on Strategies to Implement Mechanisms to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest
Degradation REDD, organized by the Regional Government of San Martin and the Peruvian REDD Group.
The output of the meeting included the “Tarapoto Declaration” - a compromise and action plan for reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in Peru - which outlines a commitment to
support the Peruvian government to the REDD process and to forest conservation, as well as to strengthening
capacity at all levels and to implement REDD initiatives.
Stakeholder outreach
MINAM has already organized a multidisciplinary group (Grupo de Trabajo) that has started a diagnosis
of capacities and needs (institutional, legal and technological), and is completing the Second National
Communication project to update information on the country situation regarding adaptation and mitigation
measures, including forestry data.
34
Text drawn and adapted from Peru’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
55
Direct consultations with local (peasant and native) communities for REDD purposes will be held in a next
step, although preliminary input for the R-PIN has been already obtained from their representative bodies at
the national level.
Other key stakeholders from regional governments, forestry entrepreneurs and timber industry associations,
NGO, universities and research institutes, etc. at the national and in more than 60% of the country regions,
have been informed about the opportunities that REDD mechanism could offer. The stakeholders have
expressed their interest in supporting the process and have decided to be an active part of it.
To date several public and non public initiatives have started to identify and advance data collection and
processing for REDD projects and related studies. The National Fund for Environment - FONAM has
identified two REDD initiatives in Madre de Dios and Ucayali regions; these initiatives are part of the national
portfolio that was presented in the International Expo in June 2008 in Germany.
Forest Monitoring
The Map of Deforestation in the Amazon region (2000) was developed by using remote sensing (329 maps
at 1:100,000 and 45 Landsat images 1:250,000). Additionally, there is a deforestation map (base 2000)
recalculated by using the same methodology for inventories with year base 2000. Methodologies and
approaches for national studies that would allow differentiating degraded lands from deforested lands, are
still needed and are under discussion. A proposal for monitoring of LULUCF has been prepared and will be
implemented as soon as the funding has been secured.
 
Contact Information:
Contact institution: Ministerio del Ambiente
Contact information: www.conam.gob.pe
 
Republic of Congo35
 
Estimates of deforestation and forest degradation
are very low. The 2006 report on the state of the
forests of Central Africa indicates that Congo has a
deforestation rate of .03%, and a forest degradation
rate of .01%. An evaluation of the deforestation
rates at Congo Basin scale is under development
by the Central African Regional Program for the
Environment, and is producing very close results to
those of the State of the Forests 2006.
 
Reliable estimates of greenhouse gas or carbon dioxide
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation do not exist yet. The national greenhouse gas inventories
carried out in 2000 and 2007 on behalf of the national communication on climate changes of Congo provides
some indication of the rates of deforestation and surface vegetation, and indicate a negative balance in terms
of GHG emissions.
 
35
Text drawn and adapted from Republic of Congo’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
56
A study carried out by Winrock International in the Congolaise Industrielle de Bois (CIB) forest concession in
North-Congo estimated the impact of the forest logging on the carbon stock in a tropical forest.
 
In addition, the National Centre for Forest and Fauna Inventories and Management (CNIAF), Winrock
International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society are designing a method for measuring biomass and carbon
using high-resolution satellite imagery.
 
The Congo forest resources comprise 5% of GDP, and play a large economic and socio-cultural element in the
country. Government law requires the sustainable management of forests. The Ministry in charge of forests,
the environment, agriculture, and urban planning benefit from the sectoral policies, based on: The National
Forest Action Plan, National Action Programme for the Environment, the rural Development Strategic
Scheme, National Scheme of Land Affectation, and Strategic Document for the Reduction of Poverty.
In regards to policy implementation, Congo has eleven departmental directorates and fifty four forest
economy brigades that constitute the main control tool of the forest administration. A public structure in
charge of controlling the forest products for export was added in 2003, and implemented with the assistance
of Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS).
The NGO Resource Extraction Monitoring (REM) was put in charge in 2007 of the independent observation
project of forest law application and the governorship in Republic of Congo, on funds from the European
commission, Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank, in collaboration
with the Ministry of Forest Economics of the Republic of Congo. The general objective of the project is to
contribute to the implementation of the principles of good governance in forest activities and to support the
policies in place for a sustainable development in the Congo Basin, with a view to prepare the negotiation of
the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) between the Republic of Congo and the EU.
The Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade process, which will help to improve the governance in
the forest sector, was started by the Ministry of Forest Economics in January 2007.
 
An important national step was taken against deforestation and degradation through the ratification of the
“Yaoundé Declaration” with the neighboring countries under the Commission for the Forests of Central
Africa (COMIFAC) ten years ago. The Congolese Forest Code obliges the forest concessionaires to engage in
the sustainable management process. Results are already available: approximately 2/3 of the main forest block
of the north east is engaged in sustainable management and the southern area is recovering from the conflicts
which took place about the year 2000. The country decided, with a French funding, to launch an ambitious
program to reinforce capacities and provide services in relation with the sustainable management of the
southern forest block.
 
Several projects about REDD are taking shape in Congo. The most advanced project concerns the area of
Brazzaville, with the objective to limit the pressure on the remaining forest around the city by encouraging
energy efficiency and by creating new wood resources while planting in partnership with the National
Reforestation Service.
 
57
Regarding REDD readiness, Congo participated in a meeting in Paris in March 2008 organized by COMIFAC,
the French Development Agency (AFD) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) organized
a meeting, to present the technical aspects of the monitoring. Congo benefited in addition from a multiform
assistance by:
ONFinternational and CIRAD Forêt Consortium;
FORET RESSOURCES MANAGEMENT (consultation for the drafting of the R-PIN, on French co-
operation funding);
FRENCH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (AFD);
THE WORLD BANK (BM).
FORAF Project
 
Contact person: M. Pierre Oyo
Title: Environment Advisor
Contact Information: Ministry of Tourism and Environment
 
Uganda36
According to figures from the National Biomass Study

(unpublished 2008), Uganda lost an average of 100,000
hectares of forest per year over 15 years (i.e. between
1990 and 2005).  This is equivalent to 3,700,000
tons of carbon, which translates to 13,500,000 tCO2
equivalents.  Well-stocked tropical moist forests
in Uganda decreased from 651,110 Ha to 580,010
Ha by 71,099 Ha; while poorly stocked (degraded)
tropical moist forests decreased from 273,061 Ha to
187,147 Ha by a factor of 85,914 Ha. These changes
in vegetation and land use cover take place in both
protected areas and non-protected areas but most
of the rapid changes in deforestation and forest degradation are taking place on non-protected land and in all
vegetation types.
Seventy (70%) of forested area in Uganda is on private and customary land. Yet these forests are not being
harvested in a sustainable way and are rapidly being degraded or converted to other land-uses, particularly
agriculture.  There are several Ugandan tribes who are vulnerable and marginalized because their lifestyle
and culture is not mainstream and because they are few in number. The most recent report on rural
livelihoods of relevance to REDD was produced by the World Band under the auspices of the PROFOR
Toolkit and the first report is under preparation.
 
Uganda has a forest inventory for selected Central forest Reserves.  Additionally there is biomass inventory
data with national coverage on a grid system. Repeat measurements are done every 5 years since 1995.
 
36
Text drawn and adapted from Uganda’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
58
In 1999 the government created the Forest Sector Umbrella Program (FSUP) to provide the framework and
structure that would enable effective co-ordination of the forestry sector, undertake the iterative process of
developing a new forestry policy, a National Forest Plan, and revise legislation. During 1999-2001 a Forestry
Sector Review of initiatives was carried out to provide basic information on the extent of forestry resources,
how they contribute to the national economy and poverty eradication, and how the resources are managed
in the country. The Forestry Sector Review and the Review of Initiatives provided information on the extent
of the forestry resources, their role in the economy, their tenure and use, and the roles and responsibilities
of the various stakeholders in the sector.  The outcome of this process was the Uganda Forestry Policy,
the Forests and Tree Planting Act 2003 and the National Forestry Plan (NFP). The Uganda Forestry
Policy (2001) offers guidance and identifies the various categories of stakeholders that will contribute
to the development of forestry in Uganda. A participatory, cross-sectoral approach was used to enable
contributions from government and non-governmental organisations and institutions to the development of
the forest sector.
The government has put in place protected area systems to enhance the conservation of biodiversity.
These include over 800 forest reserves, 10 national parks and 15 wildlife reserves.  The Forest Nature
Conservation Master Plan (FNCMP) of 2002 covers conservation of biological diversity in protected forests
of Uganda and it will also form additional basis for efforts to reduce deforestation and degradation
Contact information
Contact person: Damian Akankwasa
Title: Executive Director 
Contact information: NATIONAL FORESTRY AUTHORITY http://www.nfa.org.ug
Vanuatu37
Vanuatu consists of 83 islands, about 220,000

inhabitants, and about 12,000 km2 of land area. More
than 90% of the land area is covered with more than
10-15% tree canopy cover which includes primary
forest land and other wooded land according to
national definitions. All forests and forest lands in
Vanuatu are owned by indigenous land owners with a
cultural understanding of maintaining forests as natural
resource and full respect for indigenous people living
with the forests.
 
Vanuatu has undertaken the first steps for national Forest Area Change Assessment as part of the Vanuatu
Carbon Credits Project (VCCP). Using satellite data, areas experiencing deforestation for 1990-2000 have
been mapped and identified.
 
The most important data sources available today in Vanuatu include national coverage of Landsat-type satellite
data for three time steps of about 1990, 2000, and 2005 to estimate the area of deforestation. Maps of gross
deforestation exist for the periods 1990-2000. The results indicate comparatively low rate of historical
deforestation for Vanuatu with at least half of the observed forest loss being due to subsistence land use.
37
Text drawn and adapted from Vanuatu’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
59
The recent trends in the loss of forest carbon stocks, however, are predominantly associated with forest
degradation (i.e. through heavy selective logging followed by intrusion of (non-indigenous) invasive weeds
but without a change of land use. A national forest inventory was compiled for the year 1990. This inventory
focused on estimating logging potentials and merchantable timber and is being assessed for its suitability as a
starting point for estimating carbon stocks.
 
All forests and forest lands in Vanuatu are owned by indigenous land owners with a cultural understanding of
maintaining forests as natural resource and full respect for indigenous people living with the forests.
 
Land tenure disputes among tribal groupings are a common feature in Vanuatu indigenous land use planning.
 
During 2007 the VCCP also undertook consultations with timber industry players in Vanuatu as a means of
understanding from them their priorities for potential involvement in REDD type activities on lands where
they hold a timber concession.
 
The Vanuatu Carbon Credits Project (VCCP) was developed as a partnership between the Vanuatu
Government and a team of international technical advisors as a result of the SBSTA 24 call for demonstration
activities for REDD policy development. The Vanuatu National Advisory Committee on Climate Change is the
Governing Board for the project and project owner.
 
Phase one has been completed, and included:
1. Identification of capacity building requirements in terms of national and project based carbon
monitoring (carbon stock assessment)
2. National forest area change assessment mapping (more work and funds are needed to be done to
complete this task)
3. Identification of opportunities to address deforestation and degradation drivers
4. Design of potential incentive mechanisms to be incorporated into methodologies for projects or
programs for REDD.
 
The completion of Phase 1 of the VCCP culminated with a national workshop of key stakeholders as a means
of developing a “roadmap” for Phase 2. This was undertaken in Port Vila in February 2008. Key stakeholder
groups included:
Members of the National Advisory Committee on Climate Change, members of the International Technical
Advisory Team, Vanuatu business representatives, and Vanuatu NGO representatives.
 
Contact information
Contact person: Jotham Napat
Title: Designated National Authority, UNFCCC Focal Point, Director Vanuatu Meteorological Service,
Chairman Vanuatu National Advisory Committee on Climate Change
 
60
Vietnam38
 
The official statistical data shows that the area of
actual forest cover declined from 14 million hectares
in 1943 (42%of the land area) to 9.2 million hectares in
1990 (28%). This implies that deforestation occurred
at a rate of 110,000 hectares per annum. Furthermore,
a vast area of primary forests has been converted
to secondary forests with few remaining valuable
species and low timber volume. According to a recent
report of the UK-based Environmental Investigation
Agency and its Indonesian partner Telapak in March
2008, between 2000 and 2005 Vietnam lost 51% of its
remaining primary forests, ranked second worst in the
world, considerably worse than the third ranked country, Cambodia, with losses of 29%.
Indigenous minorities account for about 10% of Vietnam’s population, or approximately 8 million people. 
About 90% of these communities inhabit rural areas. Natural forests have largely been retained under the
tenure and management of local government agencies. 
 
The Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) is the lead national institution in resources assessment and monitoring in Vietnam. The Institute is
responsible for conducting the National Forest Inventory Monitoring and Assessment Program (NFIMAP)
which is carried out every 5 years. FIPI’s National Monitoring and Assessment of Forest Resources Change
Program has used progressively more advanced satellite imagery in each of its 5-yearly cycles over the last 20
years. Forest cover maps are available of the entire country with scales ranging from 1:100,000-1:1,000,000
in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005, produced by FIPI under NFIMAP. Biodiversity monitoring is not carried out at
national level and formal protocols for monitoring biodiversity at the national level have not been developed.
 
In recognition of the negative consequences of forest resources depletion, the Government of Vietnam issued
a series of policies and programs to protect remaining forests and restore deforested areas. These include
the Five Million Hectares Reforestation Program from 1998-2010 (Program 661). Under the 5 million hectare
reforestation project some local communities have been awarded forest protection contracts for natural
forest areas.
The Government and multi-lateral and bilateral donors are funding various supporting programs and projects
intended to have direct and indirect effects on deforestation and degradation, including a national assessment
of forest law enforcement and governance now underway, which is expected to be translated into a Forest
Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) action plan during 2008.
The Forest Sector Support Partnership (FSSP) is an official body formed to provide a forum for discussion
of forest policies and program and to allow harmonization of government, official development assistance
and international NGO supported programs.  The FSSP is formally comprised of 26 institutions drawn from
various government ministries, donor agencies and NGOs, which form the partnership’s governing body under
the chairmanship of MARD.
38
Text drawn and adapted from Vietnam’s Readiness Project Idea Note, submitted to the World Bank.
61
The FSSP has established a fund for forest sector donor coordination, the Trust Fund for Forests (TFF).
 
A national pilot project for community forestry is currently being conducted in
40 communes in ten provinces, including several provinces in the Tay Nguyen that are potential focus areas
for REDD. This project is funded through the Trust Fund for Forests (TFF) and is testing guidelines for
community forestry drawn up in 2006 by a national working group under MARD.  MARD expects the current
TFF project to result in recommendations for establishing a clear legal framework and benefit sharing system
for community forest management.
Contact person: Mdm. Pham Minh Thoa 
Title: Deputy Director General, Department of Forestry, MARD
Contact information: http://dof.mard.gov.vn
62
For more information, contact:
Tracy Johns
Policy Analyst
The Woods Hole Research Center
tjohns@whrc.org 149 Woods Hole Road
508 540 9900, x138 Falmouth, MA 02540
USA
whrc.org

An Overview of Readiness For REDD: A

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

An Overview of Readiness For REDD: A

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

An Overview of Readiness for REDD:

A compilation of readiness activities

Version 1.2 (March 2009)

The Woods Hole

World Bank FCPF

Activities Supporting REDD

Location: Northwest Belize

Emissions reductions: 8.8 MtCO2e over 40 years

Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, fire management, habitat conservation

Location: Northeastern Bolivia

Emissions reductions: 5.8 MtCO2e over 30 years

Location: Southern Brazil

Size: 64,000 ha, mixed afforestation, reforestation, and avoided deforestation

Emissions reductions: 47 MtCO2e over 40 years

BRAZIL: The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project

Emissions reductions: 190 MtCO2e through 2050

Location: Valley of San Nicolás

Size: 5,000 ha of avoided deforestation and 1,400 ha afforestation

Location: Maya Biosphere Reserve

Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development,

Partners: Conservation International, Guatemalan government, Wildlife Conservation Society

HONDURAS: Pico Bonito Forest Restoration

Location: Northern Honduras

Emissions reductions: 0.5 Mt CO2e from avoided deforestation

INDONESIA: Berau, East Kalimantan

Location: Borneo, Berau district

Emissions reductions: 5 MtCO2e per year

Co-benefits: Water resource protection, food security, financial growth

INDONESIA: Ulu Masen Ecosystem, Aceh Province

Location: Ulu Masen Ecosystem, Aceh

Co-benefits: Local economic development, capacity building and alternative livelihoods

Location: Northeastern region, Makira Forest

Emissions reductions: up to 9.5 MtCO2e over lifetime

Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development

Partners: Wildlife Conservation Society, government of Madagascar, Conservation International

Location: East-central Madagascar

Size: roughly 425,000 ha

Emissions reductions: at least 10 MtCO2e over lifetime

Project activities: Sustainable forest management, reforestation, ecotourism

Co-benefits: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, income generation through sustainable

Description: The Ankeneny-Zahamena-Mantadia Biodiversity Conservation Corridor and Restoration

Location: San Martin Province in northern Peru

Project activities: Technical capacity building, improved protected area management,

Partners: Conservation International, INRENA, PEAM, GTZ

The replacement of native forest at present is mainly

Brazil has had successes in reducing and monitoring

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

Policy and Stakeholder Engagement

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

During the period 2000-2005 the gross loss of

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

The total area under natural high forest is estimated

The REDD program in Ethiopia will be managed by

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

Policy and Stakeholder Engagement

Based on the most recent estimates from the

Forest areas cover 85% of the Gabonese territory,

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

COMIFAC Countries, March 10-11 2008, Paris.

Gabon created a National Commission on Sustainable Development (CNDD) including representatives of

In 1990, the total forest cover was 7.45 million ha

Forest Monitoring and Assessment

Policy and Stakeholder Engagement

Forest Monitoring and Assessment 

Forest Monitoring and Assessment 