Objectives
The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which became
operational in June 2008, is a global partnership focused on reducing emissions from deforestation
and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, sustainable management of forests and
enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The FCPF complements the UNFCCC negotiations on REDD+
by demonstrating how REDD+ can be applied at the country level and by learning lessons from this
early implementation phase.
The FCPF has created a framework and processes for REDD+ readiness, which helps countries get ready
for future systems of financial incentives for REDD+. Using this framework, each participating
country develops an understanding of what it means to become ready for REDD+, in particular by
developing reference scenarios, adopting a REDD+ strategy, designing monitoring systems and setting
up REDD+ national management arrangements, in ways that are inclusive of the key national
stakeholders.
Governance
Thirty-seven forest developing countries (14 in Africa, 15 in Latin
America and the Caribbean, and eight in Asia-Pacific) have so far been selected in the partnership.
The FCPF relies on an effective and inclusive governance structure, with the Participants Assembly
and the Participants Committee at its core.
The Participants Assembly, which is comprised of all the countries and organizations participating
in the FCPF, meets annually and elects the Participants Committee. The Participants Committee is
made up of an equal number of forest (REDD+) countries (14) and financial contributors (14), and is
also comprised of observers representing indigenous peoples, civil society, international
organizations, the UN-REDD Programme, the UNFCCC Secretariat and the private sector. The Committee,
which meets about three times a year, is the main decision-making body of the FCPF. It reviews
country submissions, decides on grant resource allocation, approves budgets inter alia.
The World Bank assumes the functions of trustee, secretariat and Delivery Partner. The
Inter-American Development Bank and United Nations Development Programme are in the process of
becoming Delivery Partners under the Readiness Fund.
Readiness Fund
With assistance from the Readiness Fund (currently about US$230
million committed or pledged by 15 public donors, each having provided at least US$5 million), each
participating country prepares itself for REDD+ by developing the necessary policies and systems,
in particular by adopting national strategies; developing reference emission levels; designing
measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems; and setting up REDD+ national management
arrangements, including the proper safeguards.
The focus of the FCPF to date has been on REDD+ readiness. A total of 26 countries have already
prepared their Readiness Preparation Proposals, of which 19 for formal assessment, and three have
received grants to implement these proposals.
In the readiness phase, significant cooperation has been developed between the FCPF and the UN-REDD
Programme, the Forest Investment Program and the Global Environment Facility. In addition, a common
approach to environmental and social safeguards has been developed, which allows the proceeds of
the FCPF Readiness Fund to flow through the various Delivery Partners.
Carbon Fund
The Carbon Fund, the second fund of the FCPF, has now also become
operational. It will provide payments for verified emission reductions from REDD+ programs in
countries that have made considerable progress towards REDD+ readiness. About five REDD Country
Participants will qualify for the Carbon Fund based on a progress assessment by the FCPF
Participants Committee.
Programs submitted to the Carbon Fund (currently about US$205 million committed or pledged by ten
public and private contributors, each having provided at least US$5 million) will have to meet the
following criteria:
• Focus on results, namely high-quality and sustainable emissions reductions including social
and environmental benefits;
• Sufficient scale of implementation, e.g., at the level of an administrative jurisdiction
within a country or at the national level;
• Consistency with emerging compliance standards under the UNFCCC and other regimes;
• Diversity, so as to generate learning value for the FCPF and other Participants;
• Clear mechanisms so that the incentives for REDD+ reach those who need them; and
• Transparent stakeholder consultations.
In addition, programs implemented at the sub-national scale will need to be consistent with the
emerging national strategies, reference emission levels and MRV systems, and be accompanied by
measures to assess and minimize the risk of leakage.
The Carbon Fund is intended to play a catalytic role for REDD+, building on the experience of
pioneering initiatives such as the BioCarbon Fund. Accordingly, Carbon Fund commitments should be
made early enough to provide incentives to countries to adopt the necessary policies and systems
and undertake the necessary investments. Consistent with the UNFCCC decision on REDD+ adopted in
Cancun in December 2010, the readiness, investment and performance-based payment phases are not
purely sequential but will instead overlap to a large extent. Nevertheless, to ensure that carbon
finance builds on readiness achievements, the FCPF Participants Committee must have assessed a
country’s Readiness Package before the country can enter into an Emission Reductions Payment
Agreement with the Carbon Fund.
The Carbon Fund will deliver emission reductions to the financial contributors to the fund pro rata
to the capital share.
Main Activities
In the year ahead, the FCPF will advance its work on critical issues
at the interface between readiness and carbon finance, in particular reference levels and MRV for
sub-national emission reductions programs, and valuation approaches for emission reductions.
More information on the FCPF is available at www.forestcarbonpartnership.org.
Support to Countries
The Programme currently has 35 partner countries spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin
America, of which 13 are receiving support to National Programme activities. These 13
countries are: Bolivia, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ecuador,
Indonesia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Viet Nam
and Zambia. To-date, the UN-REDD Programme’s Policy Board has approved a total of US$55.4
million for its nine initial pilot countries and four new countries (Cambodia, Ecuador, the
Philippines and Solomon Islands). These funds help to support the development and implementation of
national REDD+ strategies. National Programmes in seven UN-REDD Programme countries
(Bolivia, DRC, Indonesia, Panama, Tanzania, Viet Nam and Zambia) are now in their
implementation phase.
UN-REDD Programme countries not receiving direct support to National Programmes engage with the
Programme in a number of ways, including as observers to the Programme's Policy Board, and
through participation in regional workshops and knowledge sharing, facilitated by the
Programme’s interactive online workspace. These countries are: Argentina, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guatemala, Guyana,
Honduras, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of
Congo, Sri Lanka and Sudan.
Click
here for more information on UN-REDD National Programmes.
Global Activities
The UN-REDD Programme brings together technical teams from around the world to help develop
analyses and guidelines on issues such as measurement, reporting and verification
(MRV) of carbon emissions and flows, ensuring that forests continue to provide multiple
benefits for livelihoods and the environment, and supporting the engagement of
Indigenous Peoples and civil society at all stages of the design and implementation of
REDD+ strategies. The UN-REDD Programme also seeks to build consensus and knowledge about REDD+, to
ensure a REDD+ mechanism is included in a post-2012 climate change agreement.
Click
here for more information on the Programme’s Global Activities.
Funding
Norway continues to be the UN-REDD Programme’s first and largest donor.
Since the Programme was launched in September 2008, Norway has committed US$52.2 million for
2008-2009, and another US$31 million for 2010. Denmark became the second donor
country to join the UN-REDD Programme, committing US$2 million in June 2009 and another US$6
million in November 2010. At the end of 2009, Spain announced its pledge of
US$20.2 million to the UN-REDD Programme over a period of three years, and confirmed US$1.4 million
for 2010. In March 2011, Japan made its first funding commitment to the Programme of US$3
million for the UN-REDD Global Programme and the European Commission pledged approximately US$14
million (€10 million). The UN-REDD Programme is now actively looking for more
donors, to meet the increasing demand from countries seeking support from the Programme.
For an overview of current funds and budget allocations, consult the Programme’s Multi-Partner-Trust Fund.
For more information on the UN-REDD Programme, visit < www.un-redd.org >.
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