Safeguarding and enhancing the ecosystem-derived benefits of REDD+

This issues paper considers options to safeguard and enhance these benefits under a national REDD+ programme. It assesses the opportunities for and risks to these benefits during REDD+ preparation, design and implementation, measuring, reporting and verification. It focuses on those approaches to REDD+ for which there is scope to safeguard and/or enhance ecosystem-derived benefits, and which are included within the existing national strategies of UN-REDD Programme partner countries. It considers various tools and measures that are available to increase the opportunities for and decrease the risks to these benefits, and suggests some of the likely trade-offs between carbon, ecosystem-derived benefits and cost. Trade-offs may involve exchanging short-term use of resources for long-term sustainable use, or may involve a long-term prioritisation of one benefit over another.