Lombok , Indonesia – 28 June 2013
During its tenth Policy Board meeting held from 26-27 June 2013 in Lombok, Indonesia the UN-REDD Programme Policy Board approved US$ 4 million in funding for Colombia’s National Programme. During the two-day meeting, Colombia presented its Readiness Preparation Plan (R-PP) which had been the subject of extensive public consultation from 19 April to 3 May 2013. The Plan reflects a high degree of participation on the part of both government and non-governmental actors, and emphasizes consultations with women and youth.
Additionally, the Board approved a $4 million allocation for an innovative community grant initiative. Community Based REDD+ (CBR+) will catalyze REDD+ readiness from the ground up, bringing resources and capacity to communities and empowering them to engage in REDD+. CBR+ will be a joint initiative of the UN-REDD Programme and the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (SGP). CBR+ will leverage equal co-financing from SGP and be implemented via SGP’s impressive grassroots grant-making infrastructure that is in place in 129 countries.
During the two-day meeting, the Board applauded Viet Nam on completing the first phase of their UN-REDD National Programme. A panel discussion with interventions from Ecuador, Cambodia and Tanzania highlighted lessons and provided a forum for participants to learn from each other’s experiences. The Board was also updated on the UN-REDD Programme’s approach to governance. Updates were also made on land tenure and on the recently released UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Other Policy Board Highlights
On Tuesday, 25 June ahead of the UN-REDD Programme’s Tenth Policy Board meeting, an information session was devoted to addressing a complaint raised by COONAPIP (the National Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples in Panama) in February 2013, and their subsequent withdrawal from the Programme. During the session, senior Panamanian government representatives from ANAM and the President of COONAPIP responded to the preliminary findings of an independent investigation and evaluation which was launched in March 2013.
Policy Board members stressed the importance of resolving the conflict through dialogue, and the importance of the Panama experience as a learning process for the entire UN-REDD Programme.
The day before the Policy Board meeting, the English version of the 2012 Indonesia Forest, Land and REDD+ Governance Index (Participatory Governance Assessment Report) was launched. The report offers a comprehensive analysis of the state of governance relevant for Indonesia’s REDD+ process in particular and forest governance in general.
Recommendations were made to address identified shortcomings; as well as information on the performance of selected governance issues at national, district and provincial levels.
The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Salisu Dahiru, UN-REDD Focal Point for Nigeria and National Coordinator REDD+, Federal Ministry of Environment, Abjua, Nigeria and Mr. Magdy Martinez-Soliman, Deputy Director, Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting was attended by 107 participants from more than 28 countries, including representatives from the Programme’s partner and donor countries along with permanent observers from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, and representatives of indigenous and civil society organizations. Other observers included representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, Mongolia and COONAPIP.
All documents and presentations from the tenth UN-REDD Programme Policy Board meeting are available on the Programme’s website.
