Download Climate Change News 10 February 10

Climate change in the news
Issue 9 – February 11th, 2010
Recent articles and publications relating to the agriculture and forestry sector
1. Trees on farms: tackling the triple challenge of mitigation, adaptation and food security, World
Agro-Forestry Center Policy Brief
2. Climate, Livestock and Poverty - International Livestock Research Institute publication
3. General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development takes stock of
agriculture’s role in climate change
4. FAO publishes report on organic agriculture and carbon sequestration
5. FAO launches new programme for climate change mitigation in agriculture
6. FAO publishes brief on jointly addressing climate change and food security
7. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre has launched a series of reports on climate change
and biodiversity
8. CBD sets up website on biodiversity-climate change linkages
9. CBD Brochure on Ecological Networks Highlights Adaptation Benefits
10. Climate change and Agriculture: Threats and opportunities
11. Improving land and water management to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects
REDD
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
UN-REDD newsletter reflects on Copenhagen conference
REDD+ gets $16bn in Copenhagen
CIFOR releases analysis of lessons for REDD+ from Indonesia
The allure and the elusiveness of mangrove forests as carbon sinks
Global Canopy Programme updates Little REDD books
Forest governance and climate change mitigation, FAO and ITTO policy brief
The financial costs of REDD: Evidence from Brazil and Indonesia: IUCN
Forests in the Balance Sheet: Lessons from Developed Country Land Use Change and Forestry
Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Practices: WRI
Beyond Copenhagen: REDD+, agriculture, adaptation strategies and poverty, Global
Environmental Change
World Agroforestry Centre release briefs on emissions from all land uses
ITTO newsletter examines the competitiveness of REDD and oil palm
CBD launches guide on biodiversity and REDD
PNG sees REDD on climate change
OECD publishes working paper on biodiversity co-benefits and REDD
CBD underlines role of forests in climate change mitigation
On fair, effective and efficient REDD design
UN-REDD programme media pack
The end of the hinterland: Forests, Conflict and Climate Change
General
30. FSM President calls for new policy on climate change
31. World Development Report 2010: development and climate change
32. Community based adaptation to climate change
33. Community based adaptation exchange
Trees on farms: Tackling the triple challenge of
mitigation, adaptation and food security.
World Agro-forestry Center policy brief. 2009.
This policy paper establishes the positive implications of incorporating trees on
agricultural farms. It builds on the fact that trees are carbon sinks and are alternative
food sources. However, to achieve this, the paper recommends that policies should
support diversification of farmlands, payment of environmental services, and
availability of finacing for agricultural development.
Brown Environment
Climate, Livestock and Poverty: Challenges at the
Interface.
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2009.
The report showed how important it is to put livestock on the climate change discussion
table since livestock is very prone to weather externalities, and mapping vulnerability to
climate change is important in keeping our food sources stable. Another often neglected
fact in all climate talks are greenhouse gas (GHG) from animals. Since livestock,
specifically ruminants also produce greenhouse gas, specifically methane which is
several times more potent than C02, ways to reduce GHGs of livestock systems was
discussed.
General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural
Development Takes Stock of Agriculture’s Role in Climate
Change
28 January 2010: The annual General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform
for Rural Development, an organization of global donors, met in Rome, Italy, from 26-27
January 2010, to consider issues related to agriculture and rural development in working
sessions addressing: agriculture and climate change; aid for trade and development; land and
development; and lessons from the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development
Programme.
Approximately 130 individuals from the donor community, international financial institutions,
foundations and farmers’ organizations participated in the meeting. The session on climate
change highlighted the contribution of the Global Donor Platform in putting agriculture and rural
development on the agenda of the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the
UNFCCC. Participants examined efforts to strengthen the links between responses to poverty,
food security, and climate change, as well as ways for agriculture and rural development
policies to contribute to adaptation and mitigation efforts. The event was hosted by the Global
Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). [Global Donor Platform for Rural Development
Website] [Annual General Assembly Website]
FAO Publishes Report on Organic Agriculture and Carbon
Sequestration
11 January 2010: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a
report examining the potential for organic agriculture to sequester carbon and meet carbon
accounting requirements, including permanence, leakage and additionality. The report, titled
“Organic Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration: Possibilities and constraints for the
consideration of organic agriculture within carbon accounting systems,” also discusses
measurement and verification approaches and how organic agriculture could be considered
within existing carbon accounting standards. It suggests the development of guidelines for
measurement and verification strategies suitable for organic agriculture and the development of
pilot programmes. [The Report]
FAO Launches New Programme for Climate Change Mitigation in
Agriculture
8 December 2009: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has
launched a US$60 million programme to support climate change mitigation in agriculture, which
aims to support sustainable low-emissions agriculture in developing countries over the next five
years.
Highlighting that many agriculture mitigation practices already exist, but that barriers to adoption
of these practices need to be addressed, FAO explained that the programme aims to unlock the
mitigation potential of agriculture. FAO added that many of these mitigation practices also
contribute to increasing food security. The programme will fill a current data gap by creating a
global database on land and agriculture greenhouse gas emissions from the most important
agricultural commodities, countries and regions.
Finland has been the first country to contribute to the programme with US$3.9 million for 20102011. [FAO Press Release]
FAO Publishes Brief on Jointly Addressing Climate Change and
Food Security
1 December 2009: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a
policy brief that identifies opportunities in the agriculture sector to address challenges relating to
development, food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The report, titled
“Harvesting agriculture’s multiple benefits: mitigation, adaptation, development and food
security,” highlights that many agriculture-based climate change mitigation options, such as
restoration of degraded land and using cover crops on fallow fields, also improve food security
and productivity.
The report notes that leveraging financing through mitigation from agricultural practices would
also contribute to food security funding shortfalls. The report underscores challenges to realizing
these synergies, such as identifying and testing innovative ways of sourcing and delivering
funds and developing approaches to measurement, reporting and verification. To advance the
goal of building confidence, capacity and commitment to implement action on agriculture postCopenhagen, FAO advocates the establishment of a work programme on agriculture under the
UNFCCC to clarify technical and methodological issues. FAO also calls for the development of
country-led pilot programmes for agriculture mitigation readiness that focus on adaptation, food
security and development synergies.[FAO Press Release ][The Policy Brief]
This brief is based on a more detailed paper available at
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak596e/ak596e00.pdf
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
reports on climate change and biodiversity





Two summary reports on Tanzania and Jiangxi Province, China which provide detailed spatial
analyses of the relationship between carbon storage, biodiversity and ecosystem services
Three posters outlining spatial analyses of the relationship between carbon storage, biodiversity
and ecosystem services in Tanzania, Jiangxi Province, China and Honduras,
An updated global carbon map
A report reviewing the measures to promote co-benefits from REDD
Reviews of the recent scientific literature on climate change and biodiversity, produced in
support of the CBD AHTEG on Biodiversity and Climate Change, either as the full report or a 2
page summary
They can all be found here: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/climate/publications.aspx.
For more information please contact: [email protected].
CBD Sets Up Website on Biodiversity-Climate Change Linkages
7 December 2009: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
has set up a webpage for posting relevant CBD documents and statements on linkages
between climate change and biodiversity for the UN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
The webpage includes a summary of CBD events at UNFCCC COP 15, as well as recent
publications. [The Website]
CBD Brochure on Ecological Networks Highlights Adaptation
Benefits
2 February 2010: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has
released a brochure titled “Case Studies Illustrating the Socio-economic Benefits of Ecological
Networks,” highlighting climate change adaptation as one of the benefits.
Developed with the financial support of the Dutch Government, the brochure provides a broad
examination of the benefits of ecological networks, including how the concept is applied in the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity
target, and how these networks can contribute to poverty alleviation and address climate
change issues. With regard to adaptation to climate change, it includes case studies on the
Gondwana link in Australia and the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative in the US. [The Brochure]
Climate Change and Agriculture, Threats and Opportunities
Mark W Rosegrant, Mandy Ewing, Gary Yohe, Burton, Ian; Saleemul, Huq; Valmonte-Santos, Rowena;
There are different climate change-related challenges that the agricultural sector in developing countries will face
and various opportunities for emission reductions and adaptation. Adaptation measures in the agriculture sector are
highly significant for poverty reduction, agriculture in developing countries can play a significant role in mitigating
greenhouse gases and it is critical to work out incentives that are conducive to emission reductions in this sector.
Therefore sustainable management of natural resources is key to both mitigation of emissions and adaptation in the
agricultural sector.
Free to download in English pdf
Improving land and water management to mitigate climate
change and adapt to its effects
Source: NCCR North-South
10 December 2009 | EN
Terracing in Ethiopia helps farmers increase their yields, reduces emissions and increases the carbon stored in soils
Flickr/treesftf
This policy brief, published by the research network NCCR North-South, argues that good natural resource
management can benefit poor farmers and help developing countries mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
In Ethiopia, farmers have increased their yields by rehabilitating degraded soils through simple land management
such as building earth walls, drainage gutters and terracing. But these measures also reduce emissions and increase
the carbon stored in soils, which makes them more resilient to climate extremes such as prolonged drought.
Good water management similarly speeds up carbon sequestration by improving vegetation cover. It also helps
farmers cope with changing rain patterns and receding glaciers that provide a crucial source of agricultural water.
Studies around Mount Kenya reveal that protecting headwater forests — forests found at a river's source, usually at
higher elevations — offers one way of improving water flows downstream during dry seasons to help farmers cope
with increasing variability in rainfall.
But good land and water management requires investment. Rehabilitating degraded soils is often too costly for poor
farmers but could be supported through, for example, carbon trading. Planning where to take action will also require
investment in tools such as soil reflectance spectrometers that can measure soil carbon to collect local and regional
quantitative data.
Improving irrigation systems and technologies will also be critical to ensure that dwindling agricultural water supplies
are more efficiently used. It is particularly important in Central Asia where climate change is reducing glacier
meltwater and changing river flows.
Link to full policy brief from NCCR North-South
[880kB
REDD
UN-REDD Newsletter Reflects on Copenhagen Conference
22 January 2009: The fifth issue of the UN-REDD Programme Newsletter provides an
overview of events surrounding the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference related to
reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD).
These events included the production by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological
Advice (SBSTA) of a draft decision on methodological issues, which was adopted by the 15th
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15), and references to REDD being included in
the Copenhagen Accord.
The Newsletter includes articles on Forests Day 3, moving forward on monitoring, verification
and reporting (MRV), and high school education programmes on REDD. Also featured in the
Newsletter is a commentary by Markku Simula on the lack of attention paid to forest degradation
in REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including
conservation, sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement). [The Newsletter]
REDD+ Gets US$3.5 Billion Initial Funding
16 December 2009: During the UN Copenhagen Climate Change
Conference, the Governments of Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the UK and the US
collectively agreed to dedicate US$3.5 billion as fast-start climate change financing between
2010-2012 for REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including
conservation, sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement).
At the announcement, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated that “around $25 billion over the
period of 2010-15 is needed to cut deforestation rates in developing countries by 25% by 2015.
Developed countries should provide the majority of this, supporting rainforest countries’ own
efforts.” [UK Government Press Release]
CIFOR Releases Analysis of Lessons for REDD+ from Indonesia
21 January 2009: The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), a member
of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), has released a paper
titled “Financial governance and Indonesia’s Reforestation Fund during the Soeharto and postSoeharto periods, 1989-2009.”
The paper describes Indonesia’s role as the largest carbon dioxide emitter from deforestation
and its potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and raise revenues from a
mechanism on reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including
conservation, sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement (REDD+). It uses
experiences from the management of Indonesia’s Reforestation Fund to understand challenges
that could face financial management associated with a REDD+ mechanism. It highlights the
need to build capacity to manage finances, strengthen institutional response to corruption,
develop systems for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), revise policies to remove
perverse incentives, and ensure equitable distribution of benefits. [The Report] [CIFOR Press
Release]
The Allure – and Elusiveness – of Mangrove Forests as Carbon
Sinks
Author: Steve Zwick
Mangroves not only protect coasts and nurture young fish, but they could be one of the most
potent tools in the battle to slow global warming. Two major reports highlight the ability of
mangroves to pull carbon from the atmosphere and bury it in coastal soils, where it can remain
for thousands of years. So, why aren’t mangroves the darlings of the REDD set?
http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7441&se
ction=news_articles&eod=1
Global Canopy Programme updates Little REDD books
The Global Canopy Programme is pleased to announce the recent release of the Little Climate
Finance Book. The Little Climate Finance Book is a guide to the multitude of proposals put forward under
the UNFCCC to address the scale of financing to tackle climate change. The different proposals are
presented using clear non-technical language, and a visual framework that allows the options to be
understood and compared at a glance.
The Little Climate Finance Book has been developed in collaboration with the Overseas Development
Institute (ODI), the Australian National University and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES)
and is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. The latest versions of the Little Climate
Finance book can be downloaded online from www.littleclimatefinancebook.org.
The Global Canopy Programme has also recently released an updated version of the Little REDD Book.
This third edition contains the latest positions of Parties on REDD+. The Little REDD Book is available in
full at www.theREDDdesk.org, an online platform for collaboration and sharing information on REDD.
Forest governance and climate-change mitigation.
FAO and ITTO. 2009.
This policy brief summarizes the main findings of five different workshops held to
promote a multi-sectoral dialogue on improving forest law compliance. It argues that
policy failure and overly delayed reform are the key reasons for poor forest law
compliance and governance. It also noted that effective forest governance is a
prerequisite to ensure the optimal role of forests in mitigating climate change.
The financial costs of REDD : Evidence from Brazil
and Indonesia.
IUCN 2009
This study reviews the financial costs of abating greenhouse gas emissions through
reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). It is written from
the perspective of an institutional investor seeking cost-effective climate mitigation
options. A review of empirical data from Brazil and Indonesia suggests that REDD may,
in many areas, provide a cost-effective climate mitigation option.
Forests in the Balance Sheet: Lessons from Developed
Country Land Use Change and Forestry Greenhouse
Gas Accounting and Reporting Practices.
WRI 2009.
This working paper analyzes country experience in relation to the implementation of LULUCF
(land use, land use change and forestry) provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. Several lessons and
recommendations for actions were provided that will be useful even after the Copenhagen
conference, an example of which is the improvement of the current LULUCF rules since it has
resulted in the significant under-reporting of forest-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond Copenhagen: REDD+, agriculture, adaptation
strategies and poverty.
Global Environmental Change. 2009.
This paper discusses the importance of forest in assimilating not just CO2, but providing all other
"co-benefits" such as alleviating poverty, improving governance, and conserving biodiversity
and providing other environmental services. It also argues that the concept of REDD+ , the
possibility of realizing co-benefits, is greatly enhanced. The paper concludes by providing the
path where REDD+ can work and also providing light on the possible positive trade offs of forest
protection and agricultural development.
ASB Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins and the World
Agroforestry Centre Release Briefs on Emissions from All Land
Uses
December 2009: The Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) Partnership for
Tropical Forest Margins and the World Agroforestry Centre, members of the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), have released two policy briefs on the
implications of ambiguous forest definitions for a REDD-plus (reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, including conservation,
sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement) mechanism and on the case for
moving towards a Reducing Emissions from All Land Uses (REALU) mechanism under the
UNFCCC.
The papers highlight questions regarding eligibility of landscapes for participation in REDD-plus
based on current definitions for forests. They note the dangers of emissions leakage if there is
no accounting of all land-use categories and underscore the importance of non-forested land
uses, such as peatlands, to the global carbon cycle. [World Agroforestry Centre Press
Release][Reducing Emissions from all Land Uses Report][Forest Definitions and REDD Report]
ITTO Newsletter Examines the Competitiveness of REDD and Oil
Palm
1 February 2010: The latest issue of the International Tropical Timber Organization’s
(ITTO) newsletter, Tropical Forest Update, includes an article that questions whether payments
for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries
(REDD) can make natural forests competitive with oil palm plantations.
Palm oil plantations, while highly lucrative economically, have replaced large swaths of tropical
rainforests in Southeast Asia. The authors, Lian Pin Koh and Rhett A. Butler, note that since
REDD carbon credits are currently limited to voluntary markets, such as the Chicago Climate
Exchange, they are unlikely to compete financially with oil palm on most types of land. The
authors add that if REDD is recognized as a legitimate activity for reducing carbon emissions,
REDD credits would be compensated at higher prices through either a UN-sanctioned market
mechanism or a global fund, potentially making forest protection an economically competitive
land-use option. [The Article]
CBD Launches Guide on Biodiversity and REDD
30 November 2009: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) launched a guide titled “Biodiversity and
Livelihoods: REDD Benefits,” which provides an array of tools and examples for how synergies
in the implementation of the UNFCCC and the CBD can be achieved through reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD).
The guide highlights that while REDD is foremost a mitigation strategy, it can also provide
significant adaptation benefits for societies, and calls for ecosystem-based adaptation measures
that provide multiple benefits. It further highlights the role of indigenous and local communities,
as well as community and small and medium forest enterprises, as partners and beneficiaries of
REDD efforts. It suggests that forest conservation should be the management objective of
REDD activities in primary forests, while sustainable forest management (SFM) and forest
restoration should be applied in modified natural forests.[The Guide]
PNG sees REDD on climate change
Ahimsa Kibikibi, PNG, Climate Pasifika
Friday 11 December 2009, COPENHAGEN-- A Papua New Guinean non governmental organization has
criticized the country's sole focus on Reducing Emissions on Deforestation and Degradation, (REDD) at
the climate change talks in Copenghagen. Executive Director of the PNG Eco- Forestry Forum, Thomas
Paka told Climate Pasifika PNG is spending too much time and focus on REDD and is neglecting other
climate change issues like adaptation, which he said is sad and disappointing to note at the meeting. Mr
Paka said adaptation measures are equally important as PNG's low lying islands are sinking and food
security is at stake for many islanders but PNG is blinded by REDD because of the anticipated financial
gains from this incentive, which he said is a narrow way of addressing climate change.
SOUNDBITE: " Climate change is not REDD, PNG is spending too much time and focus on REDD which
is very very narrow. It must address all aspects of climate change,"
Meantime, Vanuatu has revealed it is making very good progress in terms of its preparations on REDD.
Vanuatu's Director of Meteorology and lead delegate, Jotham Napat said Vanuatu has developed a
manual and has appointed its Designated National Authority (DNA), to approve REDD projects and is
ahead of PNG in terms of preparations, should REDD be endorsed.
He made this known when asked on its position on REDD and whether it supports PNG's push in the
plenary session, for an amendment to be made to the Kyoto Protocol to include REDD.
SOUNDBITE: " In REDD, Vanuatu also stands to support Papua New Guinea because we have
developed our REDD".
Fiji strongly advocates REDD+ at Copenhagen Climate Summit
Friday 11 December 2009
Bella Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark - The Fiji Government is strongly advocating REDD+, that is in
reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing forest carbon stocks in
developing countries.
The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Samuela Lagataki said at the UN Climate Change Conference that
forestry plays an integral part of adapting climate change.
Fiji’s areas of broad interests as indicated under the draft Fiji REDD policy continued to be adequately
covered, although we can not really get everything as we had to move forward through compromises,
sustainable management of forests, forest conservation, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks
are included in the proposed clean text, Mr Lagataki said.
At the UNFCCC contact group discussions some countries stated that they need to see sustainable
forest management, forest conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks included under
REDD+. This is a statement that Fiji strongly supports, Mr Lagataki said.
However, REDD+ received oppositions from a number of countries including Tuvalu which insisted
that market mechanisms under REDD should not be recognized and the concept should not be
allowed to be included in the final statement of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
But REDD+ continued to forge its way through, and finally after the removal of all the brackets from
the draft texts at the drafting groups, the good news for Fiji is that REDD+ is going to be included in
the final text proposal and we are happy with this,� Mr Lagataki said.
It is also good to start to see some big countries such as the US strongly supporting a legally binding
agreement to come out of the Copenhagen negotiations, the quick response of big countries to come
to compromises is a good sign that the outcome of Copenhagen is going to be fair to everyone.�
Dr Martin Herold, a REDD expert who carried out a preliminary assessment in Fiji, briefed the Fiji
delegation on Thursday morning on the REDD preparations for Fiji. His briefing was received with
interest Mr Lagataki said.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries is moving
towards including tropical forest conservation in addition to sustainable forestry practices in its
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation mechanism
Ruci Mafi reporting from the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
National policies must change if REDD+ is to succeed
Wednesday 09 December 2009
Bella Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark. - National strategies and policies must incorporate reforms in
land tenure, forest tenure, forest monitoring and governance if schemes under the REDD+ policy are
to succeed, a report stated today.
The “Realising REDD: National Strategy and Options report” which was published by the Centre for
the International Forestry Research (CIFOR) went on to say that past efforts to stop forest loss have
failed more than they succeeded.
“Many past efforts have failed to prevent tropical deforestation from continuing at high speed.”
“Two reasons are the failure to address the fundamental drivers, and the tendency to view the forest
sector in isolation from other sectors. The current mainstream REDD+ debate has only partly taken
these lessons into account and looked beyond the canopy,” the report said.
The REDD+ which means reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and
enhancing forest carbon stocks in developing countries is a concept which is contentious in the
Pacific.
Launched at a side event on the third day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference at the
Bella Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, the report cautioned governments to consider how
participating countries are going to reduce emissions and increase carbon stocks that they hope to be
paid for through global mechanisms.
It challenged governments to look at what new institutions, processes, policies, and projects are
needed and what are some options in these areas?
An important idea which is driving REDD+ is the performance based payment system. “Such
payments for environmental (or ecosystem) services (PES) has its merits: it provides strong incentives
directly to forest owners and users to manage forests better and clear less forestland. PES will fully
compensate carbon rights holders that find forest conservation more lucrative than the alternatives,”
the report said.
The report noted that PES has its uses especially since it encourages forest owners and users to
manage forests better and clear less forestland. The PES systems for forest conservation have been
running for some time but there have been challenges that hindered its wide application.
The “Realising REDD: National Strategy and Options report” showed that challenges included the lack
of definition of land tenure and carbon rights with many deforestation hotspots “characterized by
unclear and contested rights.”
The report recommended that forest carbon be monitored regularly at the scale where payments are
made and institutional and governance structures are to be established to manage payments and
information, and to link local PES systems to national (or global) REDD+ systems.
REDD+ can be realised in national policies, institutions and actions on the ground and it would include
new elements, in particular performance based payments at a scale that has never before been
attempted.
“The international community have demonstrated strong willingness to pay for REDD+ ”
“Many developing countries are demonstrating strong willingness to tackle the problems. This match
between international ‘willingness to pay’ and national ‘willingness to play’ is essential for the success
of REDD+,” the report concluded.
Ruci Mafi reporting from the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
For more information on the REDD report go to: http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/
OECD Publishes Working Paper on Biodiversity Co-benefits and
REDD
December 2009: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) has published a working paper, authored by Katia Karousakis, on promoting
biodiversity co-benefits with reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in
developing countries (REDD).
The paper discusses potential biodiversity implications of different REDD design options that
have been put forward in the international climate change negotiations and examines how the
creation of additional biodiversity-specific incentives could be used to complement a REDD
mechanism, so as to target biodiversity benefits directly.
The author formulates suggestions on how biodiversity co-benefits can be mainstreamed into
REDD activities, including by investing some international financing in economically evaluating
and geographically mapping biodiversity and ecosystem services benefits, to increase the
likelihood of using this information to maximize REDD co-benefits. She states that a REDD
mechanism could free up financial biodiversity resources from areas where high carbon and
high biodiversity benefits coincide, thus allowing for biodiversity-targeted funding to be focused
on areas with high biodiversity and low carbon benefits. [OECD Working Paper No. 11]
CBD Underlines Role of Forests in Climate Change Mitigation
2 December 2009: Ahmed Djoghlaf, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Executive Secretary, has underlined the potential synergies among the Rio Conventions, noting
that discussions on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing
countries (REDD) will be an important part of the Copenhagen climate change negotiations.
Djoghlaf indicated the CBD’s support for present efforts to expand the commitments under the
UNFCCC through REDD, under the condition that the biodiversity that underpins forest stability
and the forest ecosystem services that ensure the livelihoods for indigenous peoples and local
communities are considered.
The CBD Secretariat has recently launched two reports on the role of biodiversity for successful
climate-change mitigation and adaptation, published as CBD Technical Series nos. 41 and 43.
Biodiversity experts, including Ahmed Djoghlaf and Ian Redmond, Ambassador for the UN Year
of the Gorilla, will be present at Forest Day 3, to be held on 13 December 2009, in Copenhagen,
Denmark. [CBD Press Release][CBD Technical Series No. 41, Connecting Biodiversity and
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group
on Biodiversity and Climate Change][CBD Technical Series No. 43, Forest Resilience, Biodiversity,
and Climate Change: A Synthesis of the Biodiversity/Resilience/Stability Relationship in Forest
Ecosystems]
On fair, effective and efficient REDD design
A new paper aims to address two key requirements of any potential REDD mechanism: first, the
generation of measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) REDD credits; and secondly, the sustainable
and efficient provision of emission reductions under a robust financing regime. The institutions needed
to meet these requirements are presented in Obersteiner et al: On fair, effective and efficient REDD
mechanism design, Carbon Balance and Management 2009, 4:11
http://www.cbmjournal.com/content/4/1/11
UN-REDD Programme Media Pack
4 December 2009: The UN-REDD Programme has released a Media Pack titled
“Reporting REDD” to provide journalists with an overview of issues related to reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) ahead of
the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 15).
The Media Pack includes: a short media briefing explaining how the REDD mechanism might
work and raising some of the key controversies to be resolved at Copenhagen and beyond; a
video news release explaining why REDD is high on the agenda in global climate change
negotiations; a short film that looks at the possible effects of REDD on forest communities; and
a document to assist national and regional negotiators to get ready for REDD. [The Media Pack]
The End of the Hinterland: Forests, Conflict and Climate Change
The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is pleased to release a new strategic analysis on the status of
forest rights and resources globally – and the issues that affected them - in 2009. The report was
designed to both review the status and issues of 2009 and also preview what to watch for in 2010.
The End of the Hinterland: Forests, Conflict and Climate Change
http://www.rightsandresources.org/publication_details.php?publicationID=1400
General
FSM President Calls for new Policy on Climate Change
With the approval of the new FSM Nationwide Climate Change Policy last month, President Mori is now calling on all
Department, Office and Agency Heads to revisit and update the existing sectoral plans and develop new ones for
sectors that have no plans, incorporating climate change measures where necessary.
The new Climate Change Policy establishes the climate change vision and goals of the FSM and the process to
attain these goals.
While the main solutions to remedy climate change by reducing and/or eliminating the emission of greenhouse
gasses requires adequate international agreements, this policy details FSM’s part in both mitigating greenhouse
gases and adapting to climate change.
The new Policy calls for the implementation of climate change in the FSM by mainstreaming and integrating climate
change into other policies, strategies and action plans.
Currently, climate change has been reflected in some of the sectors and in the FSM Strategic Development Plan
and the Infrastructure Development Plan.
President Mori has designated the Office of Environment and Emergency Management as the lead agency to assist
all departments in adequately reflecting climate change measures in their sectoral plan development.
The President has set a deadline of December 1, 2010 for the time by which all relevant sectoral plans are to be
developed or updated with climate change measures.
A copy of the FSM Nationwide Climate Change Policy can be viewed on the website of the President at the following
link: http://www.fsmpio.fm/Nationwide_Climate_Change_policy.pdf
From http://www.mvariety.com/fsm-has-new-policy-on-climate-change.php
World Development Report 2010: development and climate
change
Produced by: World Development Report, World Bank (2009)
The World Development Report 2010 indicates that climate change threatens all countries, with
developing countries being the most vulnerable. Estimates are that they would bear some 75 to 80
percent of the costs of damages caused by the changing climate. Even 2°C warming above preindustrial
temperatures, the minimum the world is likely to experience, could result in permanent reductions in GDP
of 4 to 5 percent for Africa and South Asia. Most developing countries lack sufficient financial and
technical capacities to manage increasing climate risk. They also depend more directly on climatesensitive natural resources for income and well-being. And most are in tropical and subtropical regions
already subject to highly variable climate.
The report argues that economic growth alone is unlikely to be fast or equitable enough to counter
threats from climate change, particularly if it remains carbon intensive and accelerates global warming.
So climate policy cannot be framed as a choice between growth and climate change. In fact, climatesmart policies are those that enhance development, reduce vulnerability, and finance the transition to
low-carbon growth paths.
To have a climate-smart world, the report recommends that:





there is need to act now in order to avoid disappearing options and increases in costs as the
world commits itself to high-carbon pathways and largely irreversible warming trajectories
there is need to act together to keep the costs down and to effectively tackle both adaptation and
mitigation. National and international support will be essential to protect the most vulnerable
through social assistance programs. This will develop international risk-sharing arrangements
and to promote the exchange of knowledge, technology, and information
there is need to act differently to enable a sustainable future in a changing world. In the next few
decades, the world’s energy systems must be transformed so that global emissions drop by 80
percent. Infrastructure must be built to withstand new extreme weather conditions
an equitable and effective global climate deal is needed. Such a deal would: recognise the
varying needs and constraints of developing countries; assist them with the finance and
technology to meet the increased challenges to development; ensure they are not locked into a
permanently low share of the global commons; and establish mechanisms that decouple where
mitigation happens from who pays for it
a change in behavior and shifting public opinion is required through public policy changes (local,
regional, national, and international). These are necessary to make private and civic action
easier and more attractive.
Available online at: http://go.worldbank.org/FTD88BBDV0
Community-based adaptation to
climate change
This special issue of Participatory Learning and Action
focuses on recent approaches to climate change adaptation
which are community-based and participatory, building on
the priorities, knowledge, and capacities of local people. It
discusses how community-based approaches to climate
change have emerged, and the similarities and differences
between CBA and other participatory development and
disaster risk reduction approaches. It highlights innovative
participatory methods which are developing to help
communities analyse the causes and effects of climate
change, integrate scientific and community knowledge of climate change, and plan adaptation
measures. Whilst CBA is a relatively new field, some lessons and challenges are beginning to emerge,
including how to integrate disaster risk reduction, livelihoods and climate change adaptation work,
climate change knowledge gaps, issues around the type and quality of participation, and the need for
policies and institutions that support CBA.
More Information: http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=14573IIED
Community Based Adaptation Exchange
CBA-X is a shared online resource designed to bring together and grow the CBA community. It provides a site for
the exchange of up-to-date information about community-based adaptation, including news, events, case-studies, tools, policy
resources, and videos.
http://community.eldis.org/.59b70e3d/