#16 February 2011

This month, the UN-REDD Programme is pleased to formally launch its first five-year Programme Strategy 2011-2015. This strategy, approved and further guided by the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board in November, provides a necessary roadmap for scaling up critical support to UN-REDD Programme partner countries.

The UN-REDD Programme Strategy is designed to be comprehensive, forward-thinking and ambitious. Through six strategic work areas, the strategy aims to provide targeted support to countries that have moved into REDD+ implementation, as well as continuing to provide readiness support to new partner countries. Central to the operationalization of the strategy will be the mobilization of new funding (read more details on the Programme Strategy in the News Section in this month’s newsletter).

The launch of this strategy is timely following the Cancun REDD+ agreement that provides better guidance on what work needs to be done to fully define the REDD+ mechanism. The agreement provides some elaboration on the activities that developing countries need to undertake in the development and implementation of REDD+, such as a national plan, national reference emission levels, robust and transparent national forest monitoring systems, backed by social and environmental safeguards. All of these activities are aligned with the work areas defined in the UN-REDD Programme Strategy (2011-2015). As such, the Programme remains in a good position to:

1. Strengthen country capacities in their efforts to design and implement national REDD+ strategies
2. Strengthen current partnerships and explore new ones, especially in the areas of capacity building, resource mobilization and policy development
3. Consult and engage with a broader range of stakeholders, including the private sector
4. Further support and inform the UNFCCC process as it works towards a comprehensive REDD+ agreement

The work that REDD+ countries undertake in implementing readiness activities between now and 2012 will be important next steps in supporting the Cancun agreement. Over the next five years, the Programme looks forward to focusing our efforts on mobilizing more resources, scaling up further and delivering even more strategic support to REDD+ countries.

Yemi Katerere

Head of the UN-REDD Programme Secretariat