The document summarizes the objectives and structure of CIFOR's Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (GCS-REDD+). The study aims to support REDD+ policy and practice with science-based analysis and tools to help ensure REDD+ outcomes are effective, efficient, equitable, and provide co-benefits. It works in 12 countries conducting policy analysis and 6 countries with 23 REDD+ project sites analyzing impacts on 190 villages and 4,524 households. Key challenges discussed include addressing tenure issues, balancing local livelihoods and forest protection, meaningful community participation, and building technical capacity for monitoring and reference levels. International discussions are found to affect local implementation, and a "no regrets" agenda is proposed

1. CIFOR’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+
Oslo REDD Exchange
29-30 October 2013

2. The
Project

3. Global Comparative Study on REDD+
GCS-REDD+
Objectives
• support REDD+ policy arenas and
practitioner communities with sciencebased
-
information
- analysis
- tools
• ensure 3E+ outcomes
-
effectiveness
efficiency
equity
co-benefits

4. GCS-REDD Structure

5. Where GCS-REDD+ works

6. Where GCS-REDD+ works
Policy analysis
12 countries since 2009
Laos added 2013
Ethiopia, Mexico 2014

7. Where GCS-REDD+ works
Project analysis
6 countries
23 REDD project sites
190 villages
4524 households

8. Module 1
REDD+ strategies,
policies and measures
new research
-
-
links of national &
international political
processes
benefits-sharing

9. Module 2
REDD+ Project Sites
“BACI” research design
Comparison
Control
Project site
Intervention
Control
before
Control
after
Intervention
before
Intervention
before
Before
After

10. Module 3
Monitoring and Reference Levels
Improve procedures &
practices for estimating
& managing carbon
stocks
Hallmark:
Stepwise approach to
RELs & MRV (considers
countries’ capacities)

11. Module 4
Carbon management at the landscape scale
Improve the design of
multilevel institutions
and processes
to overcome economic
and policy barriers to
REDD+ and other low
carbon land use policies

12. Module 5: Knowledge Sharing
disseminate knowledge, build capacity and strengthen networks of the
stakeholders involved in climate change mitigation and adaptation
Build and maintain
www.ForestsClimateChange.org as a
global hub for climate knowledge
Expand Forests News blog as a virtual
news service on forests and climate
change
260 stories published in 2011
Maintain involvement in high-profile
events e.g. Forest Day (now Global
Landscape Forum)
Explore new and innovative partnerships
with CSOs
Publications on REDD+ in several
languages

13. Thanks to

14. Results

15. GCS Output & Results
2012
2009
2008
+ country profiles
+ scientific publications

16. As an idea, REDD+ is a success story
Significant result-based funding to address an urgent need for climate change
mitigation
Sufficiently broad to serve as a canopy, under which a wide range of actors can grow
their own trees

17. REDD+ faces huge challenges
Powerful political and
economic interests
Coordination across various
government levels and
agencies
Benefits to balance
effectiveness and equity
Tenure insecurity and
safeguards must be
genuinely addressed
Transparent institutions,
reliable carbon monitoring
and realistic reference levels
to build result-based
systems

18. REDD+ requires - and can catalyse –
transformational change
New economic incentives, new information and
discourses, new actors & new policy coalitions:
all have the potential to move domestic policies
away from the BAU trajectory

19. Seeing REDD+ through the lens of 4 I’s

20. How the 4 I’s hinder or enable change (1)
• Institutions
– Formal power rests with ‘stickiest’ organisations – those with
enough influence to resist change
• e.g. colonial rules
– new institutions and actors are often ignored or remain isolated
• Ministries for natural resources
• Interests
– State’s interest in social and economic welfare can fall short if not
autonomous from interests that drive deforestation and
degradation
• rent seeking, fraud, collusion and corruption practices in the
bureaucratic system

21. How the 4 Is hinder or enable change (2)
• Ideas
– discourse affects policy making
– it frames the problem and presents limited choices of ‘reasonable’
or ‘possible’
• REDD+ benefits for those who contribute to efficiency and effectiveness,
versus benefits for those who have moral rights based on equity
considerations
• Information
– Facts are selected, interpreted, and put in context in ways that
reflect the interests of the information provider
• reference level setting

22. Conditions for REDD+ success (seven countries)
Autonomy of state from interests driving deforestation and degradation
Presence of strong coalitions for transformation
National ownership of REDD+ policy process
Multi-level coordination needed
•
Enhance and harmonise
information flow between local
and national levels
•
Incentives – establish benefit
sharing mechanisms that are
perceived as fair
•
Fundamental conflicts over REDD
•
National institutional structure
and policies
•
Iand tenure and carbon rights
Safeguards dialogue needs to
move to action on the ground

23. tenure is essential
property rights over forests, trees and
tree carbon must be clear
To allocate REDD+ incentives, it must be clear who has the right to benefit
If local people are secure in their rights,
they are motivated to manage the land
sustainably; if not:
They are less likely to make long-term investments
Some may even clear land to staking their claim
some may oppose REDD+ if they fear it means more outsiders taking their land
Clear tenure protects people’s rights and
livelihoods
can prevent a resource rush when the value of forests increases

24. tenure is often ambiguous and
contested
In an analysis of villages in five countries,
more than 50% of the respondents said
that some of their tenure was insecure
An analysis of sites in Indonesia found
existing tenure conditions to be
inadequate for effective REDD+
implementation
Even in Brazil, where tenure is well
defined, tenure insecurity was pervasive
among households

25. tenure needs reform
at national level
•
project proponents are trying to resolve tenure issues locally
–
•
But tenure problems are national in scope and origin
–
•
Conflict resolution, boundary mapping, spatial land use planning, identifying legal right holders and
registering property
National tenure reform, though necessary, has been limited
Obstacles that need to be removed
–
–
limited capacity for demarcation and titling, interests of those competing for land and resources, and
ideological barriers
integration of national and local tenure efforts, clarification of international and national REDD+ policies,
and development of conflict resolution mechanisms

26. for villagers,
livelihood comes first
villagers at REDD+ project sites hope for improved income and livelihood, but are worried
REDD could harm them or restrict their access to resources
interest in generating income is greater than in protecting forest for its own sake
REDD+ will be effective only if it can compete economically with other income- or rentproviding activities
REDD+ projects must balance forest protection with villagers’ welfare concerns and protect
agricultural livelihoods

27. villagers want to
be involved
•
•
Villagers want to engage and participate meaningfully in REDD+ projects
They want project proponents to communicate better, demonstrate greater transparency, and
respect and uphold their rights
–
•
•
•
these wishes reflect some UNFCCC safeguards
villagers’ knowledge of REDD+ or local REDD+ projects was low
Most projects have some activities to obtain free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) by the villagers,
but not all are successful and some proponents are delaying education
Project proponents must inform villagers better about REDD+ and involve them in project design and
implementation

28. international talks
affect local actions
Lack of clarity over where REDD+ is heading creates uncertainty and hampers
implementation
will payments for ecosystem services (PES) materialize?
Project combine PES with traditional conservation, to get started
but the old model has a history of problems
Some proponents are delaying efforts to avoid raising expectations in case REDD+ benefits
never arrive
social safeguards must be finalized at the international level to generate real action

29. Capacity building and technology
transfer are essential
lack of capacity hampers
countries’ efforts to fully engage in
REDD+
only 19 of 99 developing countries have good capacity to
implement a complete and accurate national monitoring system
using IPCC guidelines
A survey of 17 REDD+ sites found low capacity for measuring
carbon pools for using biomass equations
for efficient capacity building, the
top 19 countries should be
prioritized so they can get ready
on time for REDD Phase 3
longer-term investments will be needed for countries with poorer

30. a stepwise approach to setting reference levels reflects different country circumstances
countries have different technical capacities and different levels of information on forest area and carbon stocks
and emissions, and on drivers of deforestation
Starting at different levels facilitates broad participation of countries
the UNFCCC adopted this approach in 2011 as the reference emission level framework

31. Moving forward:
A “no regrets” agenda
• Build broad political support and
legitimacy for REDD+ framed as an
objective rather than a program
• Invest in foundations for REDD+
success, such as filling MRV
information and capacity gaps
• Focus on policy changes that would
be desirable irrespective of climate
objectives:
– Clarify land tenure
– Remove perverse agricultural
subsidies
– Strengthen rule of law, tenure
and forest governance

32. Theory of Change
Boundary partners
Knowledge uptake
CIFOR and research partners
Knowledge generation
national / NGO
MRV,
development
strategies
controllable indicators
Effective,
efficient and
equitable
REDD+
new climate
change
regimes
Internalization
and uptake by
boundary
partners
download
rates
trainings
conferences
stakeholder
workshops
Partnercentered
knowledge
dissemination
peer-reviewed
publications
Co-production
of science
Rigorous,
salient, ethical
science
non-controllable indicators

33. Non-controllable indicators
 national partners (Module 1) providing high quality
information for national REDD+ policy processes
 research used by
 Indonesia: development of national strategy (scientist seconded
to work on national REL), negotiations over the NOR-IND LoI
 Ethiopian REDD+ taskforce: developing national MRV roadmap
 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
 integration of “stepwise” idea into UNFCCC decisions
 our expertise called upon by national and sub-national
governments and roundtables (e.g. Mesa REDD Peru)
 solicitation to contribute to REDD+ efforts by other
international organizations (e.g. RECOFTC, JRC)