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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