Potential links between monitoring for multiple benefits of REDD+ and the monitoring requirements of the Rio Conventions

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This paper investigates how efforts to set up monitoring and indicator systems for the multiple benefits of REDD+ can benefit from and/or support the relevant work that has already been initiated or completed under the Rio Conventions. The analysis shows that there is a significant amount of overlap between the subjects addressed by existing or emerging monitoring activities under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UNFCCC, and the types of data that countries might wish to obtain in order to track the multiple benefits of REDD+. At the same time, due to the differences in mandate and focus of the various processes, there are also discrepancies with regard to the design of indicators and methods for data collection. However, there is still clearly a high potential for mutual support between current work on monitoring under the Rio Conventions and any new schemes to be set up within the context of REDD+. These opportunities should be used to enable a more efficient and coherent implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.