SNV ProPoor REDD+ multiple benefits

SNV Pro-Poor REDD+ Multiple Benefits Participatory Forest Monitoring Agriculture Benefit Distribution Systems Renewable Energy Low Emission Development Plans SNV believes that the success of any REDD+ scheme will ultimately depend on how effectively it is designed and introduced REDD+ could contribute to a range of policy goals above and beyond climate change mitigation These include pro-poor rural development, better forest governance and protection of basic human rights as well as biodiversity conservation and enhanced ecosystem service provision REDD+ and multiple benefits Since its conception, many stakeholders, from the international community to indigenous people’s organisations, have placed expectations of environmental and social outcomes on REDD+, above and beyond the initial purpose of climate change mitigation The multiple benefits of REDD+ commonly referred to include: pro-poor rural development, protection of human rights and improved forest governance; in addition to biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services More details are provided in Box Box Potential multiple benefits of REDD+ Pro-poor rural development: REDD+ could provide important opportunities to reduce poverty if it can deliver significant financial flows to rural areas, which are among the poorest parts of most developing economies The arguments in favour of a pro-poor approach are shown in Box Improved forest governance: The performance-based nature of REDD+ should drive significant improvements in forest management that can only be achieved through reforms and strengthening of forest governance systems Protection of human rights: The heightened international scrutiny of forest management that will accompany REDD+ finance could strengthen the implementation of existing safeguards and have positive implications for the respect for human rights Biodiversity conservation and other ecosystem services: REDD+ presents both opportunities and risks to biodiversity The possible negative impacts can be mitigated and potential opportunities promoted through nationally appropriate balance of regulatory and economic incentives Climate change adaptation: As a climate change policy tool intended to protect and reduce impacts on tropical forests, REDD+ can mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and at the same time help forestdependent communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change The ultimate objective of international climate change negotiations, established two decades ago, is to stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, but in a way that ensures food production is not threatened and economic development proceeds in a sustainable manner1 Five years ago, the Bali Roadmap recognised that REDD could promote co-benefits and may complement the aims and objectives of other relevant international conventions and agreements, and that the needs of local and indigenous communities should be addressed when action is taken to implement REDD.2 In response to the anticipated environmental and social risks of REDD+, Parties to the UNFCCC agreed to a set of safeguards as part of the 2010 Cancun Agreements3 Although the details of financing modalities of the evolving REDD+ mechanism have yet to be agreed, UNFCCC Parties have committed to the provision of information on how safeguards are being addressed and respected as a conditionality to obtaining and receiving results-based incentives.4 SNV REDD+ Box Why should REDD+ be pro-poor5 Moral arguments concern the need not only to ensure that any major international initiative aims at improving welfare and equity, but also to address the interests of those with legitimate rights to use the forest who might be adversely affected by internationally supported interventions Practical considerations relate to the fact that the immediate forest managers, who are often the forest-dependent poor, will need appropriate incentives to ensure the effectiveness of REDD Risk reduction arguments address the risk of local rejection, even social conflict, which could be a major disincentive to external investment, particularly given forestry’s record as a highly charged policy arena Attractiveness of REDD investments will be greater for those investors whose motivations are related to corporate social responsibility if REDD delivers pro-poor benefits Political considerations; much REDD investment is likely to come from international donors and development agencies for which social development is an underlying rationale Procedural matters; the UNFCCC recognises the importance of social issues including poverty as global priorities (Decision 2/CP 13) SNV’s approach to delivering multiple benefits SNV wants to maximise the multiple benefit potential of REDD+ Consequently, SNV’s work in multiple benefits serves as an underlying theme across the priority intervention areas of the REDD+ programme Establishing direct demonstrable links to sustainable livelihoods of local people is where SNV seeks to secure immediate and tangible social benefits from REDD+ In the agriculture sector, for example, SNV assists governments and local stakeholders to tackle drivers of deforestation and identify alternative livelihood options through development of agriculture value chains and promotion of environmental and social production standards (See SNV REDD+ briefing paper on REDD+ and Agriculture) SNV’s renewable energy programme targets rural households and small-scale industries to abate GHG emissions from forest degradation due to fuel wood use Various strategies adopted include: limiting demand through introduction of improved cook stoves; increasing alternative supplies through reforestation, forest restoration and agroforestry interventions; and switching to other, renewable, energy sources, such as biogas and smallscale hydroelectric generators (See SNV REDD+ briefing paper on REDD+ and Renewable Energy) As well as these traditional sectors, where SNV has a long history, SNV has also been expanding its work on REDD+ and links to biodiversity, climate change adaptation and forest governance It also works closely with other agencies more focused on other elements of multiple benefits such as indigenous people’s rights SNV’s current multiple benefits activities Best practice guidance on operationalising environmental and social safeguards SNV and knowledge partners conduct global policy assessments on state-ofthe-art thinking on multiple benefits and how to translate international safeguard commitments into national policy and on-the-ground reality To date, more of the focus has been on operationalising environmental safeguards6 (see Figure 1) Findings from these research initiatives are used to inform international and national policy dialogues, such as those conducted under UNFCCC and CBD, in addition to national REDD+ assistance programmes Figure National options for high-biodiversity REDD+ National policy Including explicit statements of biodiversity objectives in REDD+ programmes (and vice versa) Establishing inter-ministerial and multi-stakeholder institutions (committees, networks, working groups) National safeguard frameworks Expanding upon existing policies, programmes, plans, processes and practices to meet international safeguards Developing national safeguards based on one existing framework (SEPC, SES, SESA) Adopting key elements of existing multilateral frameworks, based on assessment of benefits and risks Integrated sub-national planning Low emissions development planning (e.g LEAF) Forest protection and development planning Regulatory approaches Establishing new/strengthening existing protected areas and corridors Improving production forest management practices such as reduced impact logging (RIL) Economic incentives Monitoring and reporting Biodiversity premiums added to the payment for emission reductions/enhanced removals Differential taxation so that high biodiversity REDD+ ‘credits’ are taxed at a lower rate Harmonised indicators for monitoring against REDD+ standards and biodiversity targets Participatory forest monitoring for local management and national reporting www.snvworld.org/redd Embedding through national policy reform and institutional support SNV and partners endeavour to capture emerging international best practices and assist national governments with multiple benefit policy interventions, such as establishing and maintaining multi-stakeholder technical working groups on safeguards, and facilitating development of safeguard roadmaps through these working groups (see Case study) Supporting cross sectoral integration of national REDD+ programmes into other national policy initiatives are also examples of SNV’s multiple benefits work at the national policy level Designing, field testing and introducing multiple benefit mechanisms SNV and knowledge partners are designing, field testing, and capturing lessons learnt from a number of mechanisms to demonstrate multiple benefits from implementation of national REDD+ programmes Examples of such mechanisms include designing methodologies for grassroots participation in the design of local-level REDD+ and PES Benefit Distribution Systems (BDS): and integrating environmental and social benefits into sub-national lower emissions development planning In parallel to immediate engagement in national REDD+ programme design in the forestry sector, SNV also looks to achieve multiple benefits at scale from introduction of inclusive agricultural business models and renewable energy technologies as approaches to reduce GHG emissions and benefit rural poor livelihoods Participatory forest monitoring (PFM) is a priority intervention area in SNV’s approach to pro-poor REDD+, and is promoted as a means to demonstrate multiple benefit outcomes for local communities In addition to developing methods and systems of participatory forest carbon monitoring, SNV is working on the development of participatory forest biodiversity monitoring and the monitoring of social impacts from future REDD+ implementation (See SNV REDD+ briefing paper on REDD+ and Participatory Forest Monitoring) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Article UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.13 UNFCCC Decision 1/CP.16, Annex 1, Paragraph UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.17, Paragraph 64 Brown, D., F Seymour & L Peskett (2008) How we achieve REDD co-benefits and avoid doing harm? In: Angelsen, A (Ed.) Moving Ahead with REDD Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor Swan, S.R & R.H.G McNally (2011) High-Biodiversity REDD+ Operationalising Safeguards and Delivering Environmental Co-benefits SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Hanoi The ‘Aichi Targets’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Strategic Plan: 2011-2020 Case study: Piloting integration of multiple benefits into national policy in Vietnam Under the national REDD+ network, the Vietnam REDD+ Office (VRO) has established a Sub-Technical Working Group on Environmental and Social Safeguards (STWG-SG), co-chaired by SNV Through the STWG-SG the various options for a national government to operationalise the Cancun safeguards have been reviewed and policy approaches selected through multi-stakeholder consultation Through STWG-SG consultations, VRO has elected not to immediately apply voluntary international safeguard frameworks, but to focus on an assessment of existing policies, plans, programmes, processes and practices (5Ps) that could demonstrate Cancun and other safeguard compliance The resultant roadmap will indicate step-by-step actions for Vietnam to strength existing 5Ps to ensure international and national policy commitments are met, and multiple benefits are realised In parallel with this process to integrate environmental and social concerns into national REDD+ policy, the Government of Vietnam, with SNV assistance, is also exploring mainstreaming of REDD+ into national biodiversity policy Inter-ministerial collaboration between the VRO and the national Biodiversity Conservation Agency has resulted in a draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan This identifies and proposes policy measures to address potential benefits and risks to biodiversity from REDD+ implementation, and how the National REDD+ Action Programme could contribute to delivery of national and international biodiversity targets.7 Donors: Contact: Steve Swan Multiple Benefits Lead sswan@snvworld.org For more information on the SNV REDD+ Programme go to www.snvworld.org/redd and follow us on twitter: @SNVREDD If you are interested in receiving our bimonthly newsletter then please contact Nga: nnguyendaotuyet@snvworld.org SNV REDD+ www.snvworld.org/redd ld / dd ... priorities (Decision 2/CP 13) SNV s approach to delivering multiple benefits SNV wants to maximise the multiple benefit potential of REDD+ Consequently, SNV s work in multiple benefits serves as an underlying... Donors: Contact: Steve Swan Multiple Benefits Lead sswan@snvworld.org For more information on the SNV REDD+ Programme go to www.snvworld.org/redd and follow us on twitter: @SNVREDD If you are interested... elements of multiple benefits such as indigenous people’s rights SNV s current multiple benefits activities Best practice guidance on operationalising environmental and social safeguards SNV and