By Elias Ngalame
Environment experts are touting the REDD+ process as one of Africa’s most promising opportunities to address the most compelling challenges of climate change.
However, the question by stakeholders on the accessibility of REDD+ finance at scale, whether countries deliver on their promises, and how capacity building will be supported to address expectations from it lingers.
It is against this backdrop that the African Forest Forum (AFF) and the UN-REDD Programme are co-organising an innovative four-week-long Community of Practice (CoP) approach “to catalyse a good understanding of REDD+ finance types and sources, as well enhance knowledge of the result-based financing architecture including carbon markets and associated standards, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, other financial instruments supporting the REDD+ process in Africa,” a Press release from AFF says.
The CoP approach will run from 15 April to 10 May 2024, accordingly, and will integrate both web-based discussion and a series of webinars on the theme “Unlocking sustainable solutions for effective REDD+ Result Based finance in Africa.”
According to the release, the discussions are expected to bring to fruition the exigencies of designing REDD+ Strategies with a wide national lens and efforts to acquire financing.
“It will help to explore opportunities to support countries in deepening their engagement with forest carbon markets, which could contribute to harnessing carbon finance as part of their National Climate Action strategy. It aims to ensure a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the critical dimension of the REDD+ process and finance and stimulate experience sharing among community members, invited guest speakers and experts. The release stated that sharing country and experiences and learning from other community members will better improve understanding of the REDD+ process” the release stated.
According to UN REDD+, many countries in Africa have made tireless efforts to integrate REDD+ into their national planning policy and financing processes. Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, among others, recognise investments in key sectors of the economy and the need to realign investments in these sectors to REDD+.
Through an analytical mapping exercise related to land-use investments, Cote d’Ivoire has re-aligned investments to REDD+. Ethiopia has positioned REDD+ in its Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy, and Zambia has integrated REDD+ into the implementation matrix of its 7th National Development Plan.
The CoP discussions on the REDD+ process accordingly will provide an unprecedented opportunity to engage in dialogues at continental and national scales to weigh into what type of policies and measures, based on the discussions around the drivers of forest changes, are needed within REDD+ Strategies and how these can be achieved.
Among other expectations, the discussions in the release notes “will enhance knowledge of the REDD+ process and the implementation status in Africa, improve understanding of the importance of REDD+ finance within the framework of the financial instruments for nature-based solutions to climate change, improve understanding of the REDD+ finance types and sources including public upfront finance and results-based finance, equip participants with knowledge of available forest carbon markets (compliance or voluntary), enhance understanding of different carbon schemes and standards (such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS), ART-TREES, LEAF process, etc.) as well as requirements including costs.”
The African Forest Forum is an association of individuals committed to the sustainable management, wise use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources for the socio-economic well-being of its peoples and for the stability and improvement of its environment.
It provides independent analysis and advice to national, regional and international institutions and actors, on how economic, food security and environmental issues can be addressed through the sustainable management of forests and trees.
