Protection of forests and the climate (REDD+)

Project description

Title: Protection of forests and the climate/REDD+
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Colombia
Partner organisation: Agencia Presidencial de Cooperación Internacional de Colombia (APC)
Overall term: 2013 to 2018

Context
More than half of Colombia, an area of around 59 million hectares, is covered by forests. Between 1990 and 2012, the country lost about seven million hectares (or 12 per cent) of this forest cover, due in large part to the expansion of agricultural production areas and pastures, the illicit cultivation of drugs, mining activities, illegal logging, and forest fires.

In order to address these trends, the Colombian Government is currently developing a national strategy to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (ENREDD+). This process is embedded within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as within international efforts to establish the REDD+ mechanism. The basic idea behind REDD+ is to provide financial incentives to governments and local communities which lead them to verifiably reduce deforestation practices and, in turn, decrease emissions. Reforestation and sustainable forestry also make an important contribution to increasing biomass from forests and decreasing emissions: this aspect is represented by the plus sign.

Objective
Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development implements the national REDD+ strategy.

Approach
The programme provides support to Colombia’s Ministry of Environment in drafting and implementing its national REDD+ strategy in a coordinated and participatory manner. It also contributes to preparing the country for the REDD+ mechanism. The programme promotes communication and cooperation among the actors that are responsible for forest use and for reducing deforestation.

The programme is analysing the causes of deforestation in the northern Andes (supported by the consulting firm Como Consult from Hamburg) and in the Amazon region. Pilot activities are being carried out to identify how contributions can be made to reducing emissions through the sustainable use of forests threatened by deforestation and degradation. The programme additionally provides support in creating mechanisms for implementing the national REDD+ strategy at the regional and local levels and in developing the necessary expertise.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and other actors, the programme is developing a series of guidelines, or ‘safeguards’, for social and environmental standards that are to be put into practice within the REDD+ process. These safeguards are meant to prevent against any negative environmental or social impacts that may arise from REDD+ activities. An example of this includes ensuring the participation of all stakeholders and protecting the rights of indigenous, Afro-Colombian and rural populations. Environmental safeguards are needed in order to guarantee that REDD+ activities contribute to protecting natural forests and biodiversity, and that emissions are not simply shifted to other regions.

The programme provides support to the Colombian Government as it monitors and analyses progress made in developing and implementing the national REDD+ strategy (ENREDD+) along with its impacts. The Colombian Government is able to make use of these results as a basis for composing its international reports on REDD+ (such as those within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

Results
The programme has promoted dialogue between the Colombian Ministry of Environment and all of the REDD+ actors in the Amazon and the Pacific Coast ecoregions. Workshops have been conducted with indigenous communities, as well as with smallholder farmers, Afro-Colombians and representatives from regional institutions. In these workshops, participants had a chance to voice their opinions and questions about REDD+ and were likewise able to discuss the opportunities (such as possible investment areas for REDD+ funds) and risks (such as altered forest-use regulations) associated with the mechanism. These exchanges have served as a basis for creating recommendations for additional dialogue and regional communication strategies for REDD+. The workshops are vital for developing the safeguards for REDD+.

The programme has supported the establishment of coordination meetings on forest issues, referred to as Mesas Forestales. This has led to improved communication between state and non-state actors, as well as among the national, regional and local levels.

The capacity of national and regional actors to draft the national REDD+ strategy has been strengthened. Studies and training activities on the economic aspects of REDD+ have enabled decision-makers to make use of more targeted measures for implementing the mechanism.