It is certainly encouraging to see the greater awareness of, and interest in REDD+. We see this in the number of countries that continue to express their interest to join the UN-REDD Programme and the on-going progress with the UNFCCC negotiations. These are encouraging developments. And this month, the UN-REDD Programme is pleased to welcome yet another group of countries as official partners of the Programme and observers to its Policy Board.
But with this growing interest comes challenges. The biggest one is finding the financial resources to enable countries to embark on their national REDD+ readiness preparation plans. While there have been encouraging pledges made by developed countries, it is not clear how much new money is actually available to support readiness activities in countries seeking to develop REDD+ strategies.
As more countries commit to reducing carbon emissions from their forests and thereby holding the increase in global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, adequate resources need to be made available.
It is, however, encouraging to note that the REDD+ Partnership agreement adopted in Oslo on 27 May 2010 states clearly that the intent of the Partnership is “to enable the mobilization of financial and technical resources from developed countries in order to scale up the implementation of REDD+ actions”. And the UN-REDD Programme’s implementing agencies (FAO, UNDP and UNEP) have indicated their willingness to ready themselves to effectively respond to the anticipated level of scaling up.
The UN-REDD Programme will be engaging with potential donors in the coming months, so that we can continue to support vital REDD+ efforts around the world.
Yemi Katerere
Head of the UN-REDD Programme Secretariat
