Expectations for Forest and Climate Issues at This Year's Global Climate Change Meeting

 

As the world prepares for the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima, Peru this December, Josefina Brana-Varela, Policy Director for WWF's Forest and Climate Programme reflects on the potential challenges and critical next steps for forests, climate, and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) at this pivotal meeting.  

 
 
Greetings from WWF's global Forest and Climate Programme, and thank you for subscribing to Canopy. In this issue, we highlight people working across the globe in REDD+, and  bring you the latest REDD+ events, learning tools and information from WWF's global Forest and Climate Programme team.
© IISD/Earth Negotiations

Peter Graham announced as new WWF Forest and Climate Programme leader

 

The WWF Forest and Climate Programme has named Peter Graham to be its new team leader, responsible for overseeing WWF's work on forest and climate issues.  

 

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Peru, Indonesia and Guatemala bring scaled REDD+ programmes to the Carbon Fund

 

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility's Carbon Fund added Peru and Guatemala to the Fund's "pipeline" this week at meetings held in Washington, DC, after reviewing submitted Program Idea Notes. Indonesia was also provisionally accepted into the pipeline pending revisions expected before the next meeting of the Fund.  

 

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© A. Mishra/WWF

Peru to Receive $300 Million From Norway in New Bilateral REDD+ Agreement

 

Norway will provide $300 million in funding to Peru from 2014 through 2020 for work REDD+. The funding was pledged as part of the signing of a joint partnership agreement between Peru, Germany and Norway to support Peru's efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the Peruvian Amazon. 

 

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© WWF-Indonesia/Fahmi

First District-Scale Green Economy Plan in Indonesia Launched

 

An event held in September in Balikpapan, Indonesia, celebrated the launch of the new "Green Development Strategy for Kutai Barat District." Work outlined in the strategy would help save 942,000 hectares of tropical forest, strengthen the district economy and local livelihoods, and conserve habitats for some of the world's most important populations of orang-utans and Bornean clouded leopards. 

 

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© R. Thomas

Community Measurement, Reporting and Verification Workshop in Guyana Provides Capacity-Building Opportunity 

 

A recent south-south international exchange workshop on community measurement, reporting and verification was a tremendous opportunity to share lessons learned best practices. In addition to more formal learning sessions, participants had easy access to nearby forests in which to test and demonstrate the innovative techniques and equipment that were shared. 

 

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© Noel Resurrecion

WWF Staff Meet in Indonesia to Discuss Benefit Sharing in the Context of Conservation

 

In August, WWF staff and external observers met in Indonesia to discuss and share insights on benefit sharing as it relates to conservation efforts. Highlights included presentations by representatives of the Alliance of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Indonesian REDD+ Agency, Haribon (BirdWatch-Philippines), and the WWF Forest and Climate Programme. 

 

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© WWF-Indonesia/Kutai Barat

Indonesia-Philippines Learning Exchange Builds Foundation for Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Land and Governance Rights

 

Representatives from WWF-Indonesia and the district government of Mahakam Ulu the Philippines, to learn how indigenous communities there have benefited from the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997. Indonesia issued two similar regulations in relation to indigenous peoples in 2012 and 2014. The great parallels between the two countries created the perfect opportunity for a learning exchange between WWF-Indonesia and the indigenous groups of the Philippines. 

 

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WWF Forest and Climate Programme learning sessions are free and are designed to leverage and share REDD+ knowledge and expertise.

 

Click here to watch an archived learning session or to register for an upcoming webinar.

 

Learning Session 26: REDD+ as a Catalyst for Sustainable Development


Dr Mairon Bastos Lima presents on the important role of forests and land use in tackling climate change. He also discusses the meaning and scope of non-carbon benefits and why they matter for the future success of REDD+ and forest conservation. 

Learning Session 25: What Drives Deforestation and What Stops It?

 

Jonah Busch of the Center for Global Development, discusses his recent publication "What Drives Deforestation and What Stops It? A Meta-Analysis of Spatially Explicit Econometric Studies," coauthored with Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon. 

Interview with Nelson Gutierrez, Forest Carbon Specialist with WWF-Peru

  
Nelson has worked for the past four years as Forest Carbon Specialist with the WWF-Peru team based in the Madre de Dios region.  
 
© Courtesy M. Hansen

Interview with Matthew Hansen  

 

Prof. Matthew Hansen is a remote sensing scientist with a research specialization in large area land cover and land use change mapping at the University of Maryland.

 

The community of REDD+ practitioners and experts from around the world grows every day, and WWF's global Forest and Climate Programme is working to ensure that the capacity building and informational materials it produces are available to the most diverse audience possible. Many of the publications highlighted here are available in English, Bahasa, French, Portuguese and Spanish, and can help us build our collective capacity to deliver successful REDD+ initiatives around the globe that benefit people and nature. 

Strategic Plan Summary: The Way Forward for Forests and Climate

 

This new WWF Forest and Climate Programme publication highlights the global forest and climate agenda, the WWF forest and climate strategy, and where and how we work. 

 

Download...

REDD+ Policy Brief: The Contribution of Forests and Land Use to Closing the Gigatonne Emissions Gap by 2020

 

This brief explores the contribution that agriculture, forestry and other land uses (the AFOLU sector) can make to start reducing emissions immediately. 

  

Download...

Carbon Monitoring Manual

 

This Spanish-language manual, produced by WWF-Peru, provides an easy-to-understand overview of basic concepts of carbon biomass and how to measure and monitor the flow of carbon stored in forests. 

 

Download...


 

REDD+ Inspiring Practices

 

Three new Inspiring Practices focused on work in Indonesia highlight participatory carbon measurement, building the basis for biodiversity safeguards, and participatory land use mapping and planning.

 

Download...

Handbook for Assessing Ecosystem Services in Madre de Dios

 

This guide, available in Spanish from WWF-Peru with the support of SNV (the Netherlands Development Organization) was produced to highlight different methods of valuing ecosystem services and their effective incorporation into the territorial management of Madre de Dios, Peru.

 

Download...

© Roger Leguen / WWF-Canon
South American Yellow-Footed Tortoise

 

Chelonoidis denticulata

is the largest tortoise on the mainland of South America. It gets its common name from the large yellow or orange scales that cover the front of each of its forelimbs and its head.  

 

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WWF's international 
Forest and Climate Programme is working to ensure that:
Conservation of tropical forests as carbon stores is secured by green economic development that benefits people, the climate and biodiversity in transformational ways.

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29-31 October 2014
Bogota, Colombia
Fifth Global Gathering of the Access Initiative

31 October - 4 November 2014
Arusha, Tanzania
Forest Carbon Partnership Facility PC18
 

7-14 September 20143-8 November 2014
Yokohama, Japan
50th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council

 

10-12 November 2014
Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development 

12-19 November 2014
Sydney, Australia
IUCN World Parks Congress 

1-12 December 2014
Lima, Peru
UN Climate Conference of the Parties, 20th Session (COP20) 

6-7 December 2014
Lima, Peru
2014 Global Landscapes Forum 

VIEWPOINTS


 

On the Peru-Germany-Norway Forest and Climate Agreement announced at the UN Climate Summit:

"I hope this inspires other commitments and pledges so that protection of forests can be scaled up."
 

-- Yolanda Kakabadse, President of WWF International

 


On the commitment to deforestation-free palm oil unveiled at the UN Climate Summit:

"The last few months have seen a welcome race to the top. Consumers have sent companies a clear signal that they do not want their purchasing habits to drive deforestation, and companies are responding." 

-- Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever 

 

On the New York Declaration on Forests unveiled at the UN Climate Summit:

"Forests are not only a critical part of the climate solution - the actions agreed upon today will reduce poverty, enhance food security, improve the rule of law, secure the rights of indigenous peoples and benefit communities around the world." 

 

-- Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations 

 





Pablo Gutman
FCP Lead


Breen Byrnes
FCP Communications

Highlight photo: © Zig Koch / WWF, all other photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons license.