User:Mrsadler/Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

Introduction:
Beyond the CDM, all developed countries that were parties to the Kyoto Protocol also committed to measuring and reporting on efforts to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from forests. The United States also measures and reports on the net greenhouse gas sequestration in its forests. [Link to Kyoto Protocol article]

In response to what many perceived to be a failure to address a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions, t he Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN) was established and in 2005 they proposed to the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC policy approaches and created REDD+ mechanisms which encouraged positive incentives for the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases stemming from tropical deforestation and forest degradation as a climate change mitigation measure.

History:
The call for demonstration activities in decision 2/CP.13 led to a very large number of programmes programs and projects, including the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the World Bank, the UN-REDD Programme, and a flurry number of smaller projects financed by the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among many others. All of these were based on substantive guidance from the UNFCCC. [ ] *Sentence isn't clear

Furthermore, Countries were encouraged to develop national strategies, develop domestic capacity, establish reference levels, and establish a participatory approach with "full and effective engagement of indigenous peoples and local communities in (…) monitoring and reporting". [ ]

These decisions address a work programme program on results-based finance;.....

Finally, The remaining outstanding decisions on REDD+ were completed at COP21 in 2015.

Terminology:
The approach detailed under the UNFCCC is commonly referred to as "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation", abbreviated as REDD+. This title and the acronyms, however, are not used by the COP itself.

The original submission by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, dated 28 July 2005, was entitled "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries: Approaches to Stimulate Action", exactly as is written here.

At COP 19 the titles of decisions 9 and 12 refer back to decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 70 and appendix I respectively, while the other decisions only mention the topic under consideration.

None of these decisions use an acronym for the title of the agenda item or otherwise; the ubiquitous acronym is thus not coined by the COP of the UNFCCC. Surprisingly therefore, The set of decisions on REDD+ that were adopted at COP 19 in Warsaw, December 2013, were was jointly christened  coined the Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus in a footnote to the title of each of the decisions creating the acronyms:

All things considered, there should be no confusion on the formal name(s):


 * REDD originally referred to "reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries" the title of the original document on REDD It was superseded in the negotiations by REDD+
 * REDD+ (or REDD-plus) refers to "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries" (emphasis added); the most recent, elaborated terminology used by the COP

However, the commonly used name outside of the UNFCCC seems to have stuck, perhaps not surprisingly seeing that the second title is quite unwieldy.

Main elements of REDD+:
Decision 1/CP 16 requests all developing countries aiming to undertake REDD+ to develop the following elements:

(a) A national strategy or action plan;

(b) A national forest reference emission level and/or forest reference level or, if appropriate, as an interim measure, subnational forest reference emission levels and/or forest reference levels

(c) A robust and transparent national forest monitoring system for the monitoring and reporting on REDD+ activities (see below), with, if appropriate, subnational monitoring and reporting as an interim measure

(d) A system for providing information on how the social and environmental safeguards (included in an appendix to the decision) are being addressed and respected throughout the implementation of REDD+ [ ]

Eligible Activities: (Move whole section to readiness activities)
The UNFCCC provides no guidance on what specific actions constitute the eligible activities. Possibly an approach will be adopted as under the CDM: project proponents – in this case Parties to the Convention – can submit documentation on an approach which will be reviewed by a technical committee of the UNFCCC. Upon approval this "approved methodology" will be publicly available to all for its application.

Reference Levels:
Reference levels are a key component for any national REDD+ program. and critical in at least two aspects. Firstly, They serve as a baseline for measuring the success of REDD+ programs in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forests and,. Second, they are available for examination by the international community to assess the reported emission reductions or enhanced removals. I n that sense It establishes the confidence of the international community in the national REDD+ program. The results measured against these baselines may be eligible for results-based payments. Setting the reference levels too lax will erode the confidence in the national REDD+ program, while setting them too strict will erode the potential to earn the benefits with which to operate the national REDD+ program. Very careful consideration of all relevant information is therefore of crucial importance. [ ]

Reducing emissions
Emissions of greenhouse gases from forest land can be reduced by slowing down the rates of deforestation and forest degradation, obviously covered by t he first two of the REDD+ eligible activities. Another option would be some form of reduced impact logging in commercial logging, under the REDD+ eligible activity of sustainable management of forests. [ ]

Enhancing removals
Removals of greenhouse gases (specifically CO₂) from the atmosphere can be achieved through various forest management options, such as replanting degraded or deforested areas or enrichment planting, but also by letting forest land regenerate naturally. Care must be taken to differentiate between what is a purely ecological process of regrowth and what is induced or enhanced through some management intervention. [ ]

Implementation phase
Some countries are already implementing aspects of a national forest monitoring system and activities aimed at reducing emissions and enhancing removals that go beyond REDD+ readiness. For example, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility has 19 countries in the pipeline of the Carbon Fund, which will provide payments to these countries based on verified REDD+ emissions reductions achieved under national or subnational sub-national programs. The first countries will begin to negotiate contracts for these payments, and begin implementation of their programs, in 2017. [ ]

Result based actions:
Considering that Brazil is only reporting on emission reductions from deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the technical review identified several areas of improvement (paragraph 34): everal additional countries have followed closely behind Brazil.

Concerns:
Since the first discussion on REDD+ in 2005, and particularly at COP-13 in 2007 and COP-15 in 2009, many concerns have been voiced on aspects of the REDD+ programme. Though it is widely understood that the REDD+ programme will need to undergo full-scale implementation in the near-future, many challenges need resolving before this can happen. [ ]

One of the largest issues is how reduced emissions and the removal of greenhouse gases will be monitored consistently on a large scale, across a number of countries, each with separate environmental agencies and laws. Other issues relate to the conflict between the REDD+ approach and existing national development strategies, the participation of forest communities and indigenous peoples in the design and maintenance of REDD+, the programme's funding, and the consistent monitoring of said funding to ensure equitable distribution across programme members. [ ]

In response to concerns, the COP has responded by establishing REDD+ safeguards, though these themselves face criticism for being overly generic, non-enforcable, and failing to establish a specific set of requirements for participation in the REDD+ programme. [Move to safeguard section]

Natural forests vs. high-density plantations
''Safeguard (e): That actions are consistent with the conservation of natural forests and biological diversity, ensuring that the [REDD+] actions … are not used for the conversion of natural forests, but are instead used to incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services, and to enhance other social and environmental benefits. Footnote to this safeguard: Taking into account the need for sustainable livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities and their interdependence on forests in most countries, reflected in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the International Mother Earth Day.'' [ ]