Download Climate Change News 07 September 09

Climate change in the news
Issue 7 – September 7th, 2009
Recent articles relating to the agriculture and forestry sector
1. Agriculture and rural development day
2. UNEP-sponsored project finds ecosystem preservation plays key role in countering climate
change
3. World Agroforestry Congress Highlights Tree Planting for Adaptation to Climate Change
4. UNCCD COP 9 documents and climate change policy briefs posted
5. UNDP launches new climate change website
6. CBD’s July monthly bulletin highlights biodiversity and climate change
7. Climate change, biodiversity and land degradation: linking sustainable development
challenges
8. New climate regime: Soil as the medium for change
9. Climate change adaptation workshop for Pacific countries
10. FAO contribution to upcoming world summit on food security addresses agricultural
mitigation and adaptation to climate change
11. Convenient solutions to an inconvenient truth: Ecosystem-based approaches to climate
change
12. UNEP and ICRAF Call for green agricultural practices
13. 13th World Forestry Congress to discuss climate change
REDD
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ITTO funds projects on forest governance and building a voluntary carbon market scheme
UNFF submits paper on SFM to UNFCCC
UN-REDD Programme Newsletter
Forest Carbon Accounting: Overview and Principles
Climate change, deforestation and forest degradation highlights of Fiji scoping workshop
Mechanism lacks in PNG’s carbon trading
Forest landowners in PNG to benefit through carbon trading
UNFCCC Secretariat releases technical paper on REDD-web platform
Forest definition paper
CBD Secretariat publishes fifth issue of e-newsletter on REDD and biodiversity
Online course on REDD
Incentives to sustain forest ecosystem services: A review and lessons for REDD
“The road after Copenhagen: priority strategies and actions for ensuring food security and rural
development in the face of climate change”
Agriculture and Rural Development Day
will be held at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen on 12 December 2009 coinciding
with the United Nations Climate Negotiations (UNFCCC COP-15).
The main objective of the Event is to lay the groundwork for a workplan of strategies and actions that
will see agriculture fully incorporated into the post-Copenhagen agenda. Approximately 300 participants
are expected. The Event will consist of an opening plenary with keynote presentations, roundtable
discussions on specific themes, poster sessions and a closing plenary. The Event will bring together
policy makers and negotiators, rural development practitioners, producers, civil society and the
agricultural and climate change scientific community. The event will identify the no-regret priorities for
agriculture and food security – stressing the areas where the world needs to act regardless of exactly
how climate change plays out locally.
We will focus discussions on the following key areas:
 the role of agriculture and farmers in adaptation and mitigation strategies;

future scenarios for agriculture, rural development and food security;

climate change as a development issue;

innovations in the agricultural sector of relevance to the climate change agenda.
Roundtable topics include: Climate change impacts on agriculture; Policies and institutions; Agricultural
responses for adaptation and mitigation and Unlocking the potential of the carbon market for small
farmers.
This event is being supported by a large consortium of partners, namely the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change,
Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP), the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (Platform), the Global
Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the
International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) and the University of Copenhagen (KU).
Given the global significance of Agriculture and Rural Development Day, please forward this
announcement to colleagues and relevant listserves.
For further information, please visit www.agricultureday.org or email [email protected]
UNEP-Sponsored Project Finds Ecosystem Preservation Plays
Key Role in Countering Climate Change
2 September 2009: Investing in the restoration and maintenance of the Earth’s ecosystems
can play a key role in countering climate change and climate-proofing vulnerable economies, says a new
climate issues update by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project.The issues update
was launched by TEEB study leader Pavan Sukhdev, with German Federal Environment Minister Sigmar
Gabriel, European Commission Director-General for Environment Karl Falkenberg; and UNEP Executive
Director Achim Steiner.
The update indicates that ecosystems represent one of the biggest untapped allies against climate
change, and underlines the need for an agreement on funding for forests and for addressing damage
caused by rising temperatures and ocean acidification to coral reefs.Investing in ecosystem-based
measures such as financing Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) could
assist in combating climate change and also be a key anti-poverty and adaptation measure. Coral reefs,
on the other hand, have a key role to play in coastal defense against a predicted rise in storm surges and
other extreme weather events.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the TEEB project, which was launched by Germany and
the European Commission in response to a proposal by the G8+5 Environment Ministers during their
2007 meeting in Potsdam, Germany, to develop a global study on the economics of biodiversity loss.
[UNEP press release][TEEB website]
World Agroforestry Congress Highlights Tree-Planting for Adaptation to
Climate Change
28 August 2009: The World Agroforestry Congress, which convened at UN headquarters in Nairobi,
Kenya, discussed tree-planting solutions that could help the African continent deal with climate change
and also provide a long-term solution to the continent’s food scarcity problems.
Dennis Garrity, the Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre, highlighted some of the Centre’s
most recent research, which is designed to increase maize production in Africa by up to four times by
planting trees that act as organic fertilizers. Garrity highlighted the qualities of a tree called Faidherbia,
which sheds its leaves and goes dormant during the early rainy season making it compatible with food
crops because it does not compete with them for water, nutrients or light. According to the Agroforestry
Centre, farmers in Malawi testify the tree is like a “fertilizer factory in the field,” as it takes nitrogen
from the air, fixes it in the leaves and subsequently incorporates it into the soil. [UNEP Press Release]
UNCCD COP 9 DOCUMENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY BRIEFS
POSTED
A number of documents have been posted in preparation for the ninth session of the Conference of the
Parties (COP 9) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which will take place from 21
September-2 October 2009, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The documents for COP 9 can be found at http://www.unccd.int/cop/cop9/menu.php
The Secretariat has also prepared policy briefs based on the deliberations during Land Day, which
convened on 6 June 2009, in Bonn, Germany. The briefs address sustainable land management and
climate change adaptation
http://www.unccd.int/knowledge/docs/UNCCDPolicyBrief-Adaptationfinal.pdf and the potential in land
to mitigate the effects of climate change http://www.unccd.int/knowledge/docs/UNCCDPolicyBriefMitigation-02.pdf
UNDP Launches New Climate Change Web Site
17 August 2009: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has
launched a new climate change web site. The “UNDP Climate Community” (UNDPCC) offers information
on topics including the economic and policy implications of climate change, and analyses of the
negotiations.
It also provides a library and discussion forums. UNDPCC was launched under the UNDP Environment &
Energy Group’s “Capacity Development for Policy Makers to Address Climate Change” project.[UNDP
Climate Community]
CBD’s July Issue of Monthly Bulletin Activities Highlights Biodiversity
and Climate Change Issues
13 August 2009: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published
the July issue of its Monthly Bulletin of Activities, which features an article on the Drafting Committee
Meeting for the Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate
Change (Cape Town, South Africa, 20-24 July 2009).
[The Bulletin]
Climate Change, Biodiversity and Land Degradation: Linking Sustainable
Development Challenges
By Jaime Webbe, Programme Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Abstract
Taking stock of the current activities of the Rio Conventions, there are many process-related actions of
note.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is developing a revised strategic plan and will soon be
assessing progress towards the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target. The United Nations
Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) is in the midst of implementing the Bali Action Plan and is looking towards
Copenhagen as an opportunity to negotiate a post-2012 agreement. The United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has begun to implement its own 10 year strategic plan.
However, looking beyond the Convention-focused processes, it is increasingly clear that achieving the
objectives of these three multilateral environmental agreements requires a coordinated effort on the
ground and in policy fora. This need was highlighted at the recent meeting of the Ad hoc Technical
Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change, which the CBD convened with a mandate to provide
biodiversity-related information to the UNFCCC.
The Expert Group highlighted that climate change is emerging as one of the greatest threats to
biodiversity. We are already seeing the negative impacts of changes in temperature, precipitation and
extreme events. And, among the ecosystems that are most vulnerable to the negative impacts of
climate change are arid and semi-arid areas including wetlands located in drylands– the same
ecosystems that are most vulnerable to desertification. However, even in such vulnerable areas, species
have a natural adaptive capacity that allows them to adjust to changes in meteorological conditions.
Maintaining and enhancing this natural adaptive capacity requires a planned effort to address the
drivers of loss and ensure the continued functioning of ecosystems including through: restoring or
rehabilitating degraded habitats and ecosystem services; promoting the conservation and sustainable
use of intact ecosystems; preserving and enhancing the protective ecosystem services that buffer
communities from extreme events; and ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is
sustainable.
In addition to climate change adaptation, reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases is essential to the
achievement of sustainable development goals. As with adaptation, it is unlikely that mitigation efforts
will be successful without coordinated efforts across the three Rio Conventions. There is increasing
evidence that limiting the global temperature increase to less than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels will
be impossible without efforts to reduce emissions from a broad range of forest and land-use activities
through conservation and sustainable use. Achieving the full potential contribution from land-use
management activities will depend, in part, on the extent to which countries draw on conservation and
sustainable use lessons learned from the implementation of the CBD and the UNCCD.
Finding a balance between climate change-related activities, biodiversity conservation and sustainable
use, and activities to combat desertifi cation requires careful planning. The ecosystem approach – a
strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation
and sustainable use in an equitable way
– offers one way in which actions to achieve the objectives of the three Rio Conventions can be aligned.
Regardless of the methodology selected, parties to the CBD have agreed that activities to promote
synergies at the national level are the most effective way to realize multiple benefits. In a world of
increasing challenges, designing and implementing such activities will be critical if we are to realize the
principles laid out in Rio.
To read the full article, visit: http://www.iisd.ca/mea-l/guestarticle74.html
New Climate Regime: Soil as the medium for change
Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
The international community should prioritize sustainable land and water management in order to
address climate change more effectively. The new climate change regime should also provide for greater
synergy among the Rio Conventions than is the case under the Kyoto Protocol.
This is the gist of the message that emerged from the interaction between climate change negotiators
and stakeholders of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) during Land Day, organized
by the UNCCD on 6 June 2009 on the margins of the Bonn Climate Change Talks. ...article continues.
Climate change adaptation workshop for Pacific countries
18 AUGUST 2009 NADI (Pacnews) ---- A workshop that will assist Pacific island countries address the
impacts of climate change and rise in sea level got underway at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi,
Fiji yesterday
Opened by the Director, Department of Environment, Epeli Nasome and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative, Toily Kurbanov the week-long
Second National Communications for Pacific island countries workshop is an initiative of the UNDPUNEP (UN Environment Programme) National Capacity Support Programme.
The SNC is a key programme of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), UNDP and the Global Environment Facility to report on measures undertaken by each Party
to implement the Convention in particular Articles 4.1 and 12. For the Pacific Island Countries, the SNC
contributes to placing climate change high on the agenda of Governments, there is improved knowledge
and information sharing carried out by policy makers and implementation is carried out at the
community level.
The Pacific including five Least Developed Countries (LDCs – Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa, Solomon Islands
and Vanuatu ) currently lack capacities to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and sea level
rise, so more policy and community work on mitigation and vulnerability and adaptation (V&A)
assessments have been identified as a priority. Addressing adaptation on the ground and at the
community level is one of the key challenges of making action happen on the ground.
A field visit to Tikina-Wai and Bavu in Sigatoka, will be conducted on Friday to show participants how
adaptation approaches are being adopted by communities directly affected by climate change impacts
such as coastal vulnerability and water access restriction and to learn from experiences shared by the
local communities in the design and implementation of adaptation measures.
Participants at the workshop include those from Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Republic
of Marshall Islands, and Papua New Guinea. UNDP acknowledges the South Pacific Applied Geoscience
Commission (SOPAC), the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the international
consultant for resource assistance. …..PNS (ENDS)
For further information and press inquiries contact: Ms Emma Mario, Programme Analyst, Environment
& Energy Unit, UNDP Fiji. Email: [email protected] Ms Vularewa Ramaqa, Administration Support,
Environment & Energy Unit, UNDP Fiji. Email: [email protected]
FAO Contribution to Upcoming World Summit on Food Security
Addresses Agricultural Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change
31 July 2009: Jacques Diouf, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) DirectorGeneral, has sent a document to Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation and
Agriculture of members of FAO and the UN to initiate the negotiation of a declaration for adoption by
the World Summit of Heads of State and Government on Food Security, scheduled to take place from
16-18 November 2009, in Rome, Italy.
The document proposes elements of a new world food security governance structure and addresses
agriculture mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The document, titled “Secretariat contribution to defining the objectives and possible decisions of the
World Summit on Food Security,” contains a section on climate change, which proposes that the Heads
of State and Government, or their representatives, recognize the impacts of climate change on
agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as water resources and extreme weather events. It stresses
the need to prioritize climate change adaptation throughout the food chain to meet growing food
demands; underscores the mitigating role of agriculture and forestry, noting that it could be enhanced;
and emphasizes the importance that should be given to agriculture and food security on the agenda of
the Copenhagen climate change conference this December.
The document also contains language on transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases, which
recognizes the impacts of climate change on their distribution, incidence and intensity. [FAO press
release][The document]
CONVENIENT SOLUTIONS TO AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: ECOSYSTEMBASED APPROACHES TO CLIMATE CHANGE
(World Bank, 2009) This report argues that ecosystem-based approaches to mitigation and adaptation
should be included as a third and essential pillar in national strategies to address climate change
(http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ENVIRONMENT/Resources/ESW_EcosystemBasedApp.pdf).
UNEP and ICRAF Call for Green Agricultural Practices
24 July 2009: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Agroforestry
Centre (ICRAF), a research center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), are calling for the widespread uptake of “green agricultural practices” that have the potential
to combat climate change, contribute to poverty eradication, boost food production, and provide
sustainable sources of timber.
According to UNEP, agriculture, deforestation and other forms of land use account for nearly one-third
of global greenhouse gas emissions, and agricultural and environmental experts agree that all forms of
land use should be included in a post-Kyoto climate regime.
According to Dennis Garrity, Director General, ICRAF, if agroforestry is implemented over the next 50
years, it “could result in 50 billion tons of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere, about a
third of the world’s total carbon reduction challenge.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) estimates that a billion hectares of developing country farmland is suitable for conversion to
carbon agroforestry projects.
ICRAF and UNEP are partnering in a project to provide the basis for widespread adoption of agroforestry
and other sustainable forms of agriculture. The Carbon Benefits Project, launched in May 2009, is
developing a standard and reliable method for accurately measuring, monitoring, reporting and
projecting how much carbon each kind of land use is storing. This global project makes use of the latest
remote sensing technology and analysis, soil carbon modelling, ground-based measurements and
statistical analysis. Garrity noted that, if nations agree to a scheme for reduced emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) in Copenhagen, the work of the
Carbon Benefits Project will provide a more credible basis for smallholders to receive payments for
conserving forests, practicing conservation agriculture and increasing tree cover on their farms that
sequesters carbon. [UNEP Press Release]
13TH WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS
This meeting will take place from 18-23 October 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The meeting’s focus is
“Forests in development: a vital balance,” and will have a day devoted to “Forests and climate change:
to Copenhagen and beyond.” For more information, contact: Leopold Martes, Secretary-General of
World Forestry Congress; tel: +54-11-4349-2104;
e-mail: [email protected]; internet: http://www.cfm2009.org
REDD
ITTO FUNDS PROJECTS ON FOREST GOVERNANCE AND BUILDING A
VOLUNTARY CARBON MARKET SCHEME
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has disbursed funds to initiate implementation of
two projects under its new thematic programmes, Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
(TFLET) and Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services in
Tropical Forests (REDDES). The funded projects aim to strengthen the capacity of local communities to
manage their forests in
Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand, and to build a voluntary carbon marketing scheme to promote SFM.
http://www.itto.int/direct/topics/topics_pdf_download/topics_id=2095&no=0
As ITTO’s autumn 2009 cycle has been launched, producer and developing consumer member countries
have been invited to submit, prior to 30 September 2009, proposals under these thematic programmes.
Also in the coming months, ITTO is sponsoring a symposium on forest genetic resource conservation and
sustainable utilization towards climate change mitigation and adaptation (5-8 October, in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia).
http://www.itto.int/en/upcoming_meetings
UNFF SUBMITS CPF PAPER ON SFM TO UNFCCC
The Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) submitted a reference document to the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), on behalf of the Collaborative Partnership on
Forests (CPF), on sustainable forest management (SFM). The document provides background
information on already agreed language at the multilateral level regarding SFM. The language, from the
Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests (forest instrument), describes SFM and the
actions to be taken by member States to achieve the purpose of the forest instrument
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/smsn/igo/057.pdf
UN-REDD Programme Newsletter
28 August 2009: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD Programme)
has published its first newsletter.
The newsletter describes recent news related to REDD, including: the treatment of the issue during the
Group of Eight meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, in July 2009; recent information regarding the UN-REDD
Programme website; and progress made in Bonn, Germany, at the recent meeting of the UNFCCC
parties.
In addition, the newsletter has a section on features and commentary, which includes a call for
nominations to the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board. This section also describes collaboration
between the UN-REDD Programme and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. Lastly, the
newsletter includes sections on reports and analyses and upcoming events related to REDD. The UNREDD Programme is a collaborative initiative between the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). [UN-REDD
Newsletter]
Forest Carbon Accounting: Overview & Principles
UNDP is pleased to announce the release of publications arising from the UNDP-UNEP CDM capacity
development project in Eastern & Southern Africa.
Forests play an important role in the global carbon balance. As both carbon sources and sinks, they have
the potential to form an important component in efforts to combat global climate change. Accounting
for the carbon within forest ecosystems and changes in carbon stocks resulting from human activities is
a necessary first step towards better representation of forests in climate change policy at project,
regional, national and global scales. This paper provides an overview of the principles and techniques
used in measuring carbon stores and fluxes associated with forests.
The publication is available at: http://www.undp.org/climatechange/carbonfinance/Docs/Forest%20Carbon%20Accounting%20-%20Overview%20&%20Principles.pdf
Climate change, deforestation and forest degradation highlights of Fiji
scoping workshop
26 AUGUST 2009 SUVA (Pacnews) ----- Deforestation and forest degradation are identified as the
primary source of carbon emissions in developing countries
According to the communiqué of the August 2009 Forum Leader’s meeting in Cairns: ‘Just as
deforestation is part of the problem, so reducing deforestation and providing incentives to preserve
forests should be part of the solution. To defeat deforestation and forest degradation, we acknowledge
that finance, technology and capacity development are necessary to underpin a step-wise process
necessary to increase emissions reductions and carbon sequestration. Global carbon markets will play
an important role, requiring robust methodological standards for measurable, reportable and verifiable
actions.’
The reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and related technologies
and financing instruments, will be the focus of discussions in a scoping workshop that will feature forest
resource owners, the private sector, and various agencies from the forestry, agriculture and
environment sectors. The Fiji REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation)
policy and scoping workshop sets out to develop national strategic directions for REDD.
The workshop will be held in Suva, Fiji Islands, from tomorrow, Thursday 27 August to 1 September
2009. It is supported and organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and GTZ (German
Technical Cooperation), in close collaboration with Fiji’s Forestry Department and Department of
Environment.
One of the key strategic dimensions of the REDD policy and scoping workshop will be to identify
priorities for forest sector synergies combining climate change adaptation and mitigation. This is in
recognition of the important role forests play in adaptation, functioning to strengthen the resilience of
local communities and ecosystems against impacts of climate change.
Another goal of the workshop is to identify resources and capacities needed in order to participate in
international forest carbon trade. An appropriate national forest carbon inventory system for the
measurement and monitoring of forest carbon stocks and rates of deforestation and forest degradation
will be identified to enable comparable analysis and consistent measurement. Such systems or
methodologies will be developed in compliance with the emerging United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) criteria for REDD and project scale inventory requirements.
Current international negotiations indicate that forest conservation, sustainable forest management
(SFM) and forest enhancement are likely to be included in the REDD agreement, to be finalised at the
climate summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. The draft text on methodology for REDD produced in
Bonn in June 2009 makes particular reference to the need to involve local communities in measuring
and monitoring carbon stocks. These statements are firmly supported by Fiji Islands and will be central
considerations in the national policy framework on REDD….PNS (ENDS)
For more information, contact Ms Christine Fung, workshop coordinator: [email protected]
Mechanism lacks in PNG’s carbon trading
03 SEPTEMBER 2009 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) ----Papua New Guinea does not have an institutional
framework to regulate carbon trading.
Acting executive director of the Office of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Dr Wari Iamo
said this in a media statement published in the Post Courier yesterday.
He made the remarks in response to recent media reports on agreements being entered into by
landowners and certain companies with respect to rights over carbon.
Dr Iamo said: “The Government intends to wait until the global community rules for forest carbon
trading under the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) initiative are
developed before drafting policies and legislation.”
He said the United Nations framework convention on climate change meeting to be held in Copenhagen
in December should determine the types of rules countries can apply for carbon trading under REDD.
Dr Iamo said the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare recently clarified the Government’s position on
carbon trading.
He said the Government’s goal is to have the role of tropical rainforests formally recognised in future
climate arrangements.
“The Prime Minister is strongly arguing that PNG should await the development of formal mechanisms
under REDD initiative before entering into carbon trading initiatives,” Dr Iamo said in the statement.
“Until such time as the Government develops a formal carbon trading framework, there is no policy or
legal guidance for the pursuance of carbon trading except under the clean development mechanism
(CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol.
“The CDM only allows for reafforestation projects.”
He said the agreements reported in the media, many of which cover areas logged after 1990 and intact
forested lands under the authority of the Forest Act are not able to be registered under the CDM.
“Voluntary Carbon Agreements (VCA) are not currently supported by the Government as they fall
outside formal REDD arrangements and are highly unlikely to deliver high carbon prices,” Dr Iamo said.
“PNG would be offering its forests cheaply by going down the VCA path.”
Dr Iamo also clarified the Government’s stand on the issue of agreements over areas under the
authority of the Forest Act, in particular Forest Management Agreement (FMA).
He said in the process of developing a FMA, landowners vested the right in the timber resource with the
State.
“Carbon trading agreements cannot legally be signed over these lands until the Government has put in
place an appropriate policy and legal framework.
“This will not be done until after the completion of the investigation in the Office of Climate Change and
Environmental Sustainability, and following review of the outcomes of the critical global climate change
meeting to be held in Copenhagen.”
He said the Government may not be able to help solve disputes that may arise in carbon trading
agreements signed between landowners and carbon traders outside of areas under the authority of the
Forests Act.
He urged landowners not to enter into any agreements with private companies relating to carbon
trading until the rules for carbon trading have been agreed to by the global community and the policy
and legal framework had been determined.....Article from Post Courier, website:
http://www.postcourier.com.pg
Forest landowners in PNG to benefit through carbon trading
21 AUGUST 2009 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) ----- Landowners of forests in PNG can boost their
economic wealth if they ensure that their forest resources are well managed for taking part in carbon
trading, reports Post Courier
Hence key government agencies need to ensure there is efficiency and equity in benefit sharing of any
future carbon trading schemes.
This has been highlighted in the draft Forestry and Climate Change Policy Framework for Action
prepared by the PNG Forest Authority and currently pending approval by the Forestry Board and NEC
this week.
“Carbon trading will generate revenue that would be shared between those that will have a stake in this
fund. It will therefore be incumbent of the Government to establish a transparent and well co-ordinated
financial mechanism that will keep the respective funds in custody and disburse these funds
appropriately to the recipients,” the report stated.
The funds referred will come from the UN REDD (Reduction of emissions of Degradation and
Deforestation) projects and other clean development mechanisms.
The draft report was discussed by key stakeholders at a workshop organised by the NFA on Wednesday.
Carbon trade involves money paid to forest landowners to maintain healthy standing forests.
According to NFA statistics PNG has a total forested area of 29 million hectares of which 0.9 million are
grassland and savannah, wooded land 4.4 million hectares and other landuse as 8.1 million hectares.
Production forest area is classified as acquired areas which has 12 million hectares. The remaining
unacquired area is three million hectares.
Majority of global climate models and PNG research institutions have indicated that the PNG region will
be warmer than it is and vulnerable to climate change. The projected warming may result in higher
maximum temperatures, more hot days, and more intense events.
The peak wind intensities associated with tropical cyclones are expected to increase leading to larger
waves and stronger rages. Droughts and floods associated with El Nino events will be more frequent and
persistent while sea levels are already rising…..PNS (ENDS)
UNFCCC Secretariat Releases Technical Paper on REDD-Web Platform
17 August 2009: The UNFCCC Secretariat has published a technical paper, entitled “Cost of
implementing methodologies and monitoring systems relating to estimates of emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation, the assessment of carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions
from changes in forest cover, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks” (FCCC/TP/2009/1), on the
REDD information sharing web platform.
The paper provides, inter alia, an overview of the possible steps and requirements needed to develop
and implement a monitoring system for estimating emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation, assessing carbon stocks and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from changes in forest cover,
and assessing the enhancement of forest carbon stocks. It also provides information on the indicative
costs associated with the possible steps and requirements of a national monitoring system and
illustrates elements that developing countries may need to take into account when developing a
national monitoring system.[The Technical Paper]
Forest definition paper
If global policies intended to promote forest conservation continue to use the definition of "forest"
adopted in 2001 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (an area of >0.05–1
ha with >10–30% cover of plants >2–5 m tall at maturity), great quantities of carbon and other
environmental values will be lost when natural forests are severely degraded or replaced by plantations
but technically remain "forests." While a definition of "forest" that is globally acceptable and
appropriate for monitoring using standard remote sensing options will necessarily be based on a small
set of easily measured parameters, there are dangers when simple definitions are applied locally. At the
very least, we recommend that natural forest be differentiated from plantations and that for defining
"forest" the lower height limit defining "trees" be set at more than 5 m tall with the minimum cover of
trees be set at more than 40%. These changes will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from what is
now termed forest "degradation" without increasing monitoring costs. Furthermore, these minor
changes in the definition of "forest" will promote the switch from degradation to responsible forest
management, which will help mitigate global warming while protecting biodiversity and contributing to
sustainable development. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122515795/PDFSTART
CBD Secretariat Publishes Fifth Issue of e-Newsletter on REDD and
Biodiversity
30 July 2009: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published the
fifth issue of its e-newsletter on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in
developing countries (REDD) and biodiversity.
This issue features articles on: Forest Day 3, which will take place during the 15th session of the
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC; an online course on REDD; the launch of a project entitled
“Forest Footprint Disclosure;” a REDD Methodology Modules Project; and a discussion of carbon offset
projects in California, US. The e-newsletter also includes summaries and links to several publications on
the benefits of REDD, tenure issues and REDD, and incentives for the maintenance of ecosystem
services. [The newsletter]
Online course on REDD
The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity
Alliance, GTZ, the Rainforest Alliance, and the World Wildlife Fund, have created a self-guided online
course on REDD. The course features 14 fun and interactive lessons that provide a comprehensive
overview of REDD. The course is free and available to all at: http://www.conservationtraining.org/
Incentives to sustain forest ecosystem services: A review and lessons for
REDD
Paying people to protect forests can be an effective way to tackle deforestation and climate change but
only if there is good governance of natural resources, claims this study funded by Norway’s
Government. This report explores existing efforts to pay people in developing nations to protect
ecosystems in return for the services they provide. It aimed to see if such payments could be used to
help tackle climate change REDD. A review of 13 schemes in Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America
concluded that they can be part of REDD but only if important preconditions are met. To download or
order the publication visit: http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=13555IIED