Since 2009, CIFOR has initiated the Global Comparative Study of REDD+ in six countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, Tanzania and Vietnam. In analysing national REDD+ policy arenas and emerging strategies, CIFOR researchers have developed five areas of work for each country. These include a country profile, media analysis, policy network analysis, strategy assessment and a fifth area of specific policy studies, to be determined by emerging research results. In 2010 we are publishing the first country profiles and media analyses.
Since 2009, CIFOR has initiated the Global Comparative Study of REDD+ in six countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, Tanzania and Vietnam. In analysing national REDD+ policy arenas and emerging strategies, CIFOR researchers have developed five areas of work for each country. These include a country profile, media analysis, policy network analysis, strategy assessment and a fifth area of specific policy studies, to be determined by emerging research results. In 2010 we are publishing the first country profiles and media analyses.
Governments and administrative agencies are likely to play critical roles in determining the success or failure of payments for environmental services (PES) that are directed at the poor. Using Vietnam as a case study, this article explores the roles, progress and likely impact of the government and the administration in the design and implementation of pro-poor PES. The article focuses on the extent to which it is possible to address the high transaction costs involved and the issue of insecure land tenure, as two major constraints to pro-poor PES. The discussion is based on a literature review, open-ended interviews, and a stakeholder workshop. Although pro-poor PES are welcomed by the government, their implementation is difficult because of overlapping structures and functions, critical gaps in PES policies and a limited understanding of them by decision makers, the private sector and communities. Multi-sectoral approaches and further studies to support policy development and capacity building at the local level are necessary to develop pro-poor PES
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has implemented Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), a process that requires inclusive decision making and accountability. Our research analyses the participation of policy actors in DRC by asking: (1) Who is involved in national REDD+ policy making and what is their interest in participating in core policy events? (2) What level of participation do the different political actors have in core policy events? (3) To what extent do the outcomes, of REDD+ policy events incorporate different preferences of policy actors? We found that although actors' interest in REDD+ policy events have increased over time, their concerns have rarely been taken into account in decision-making processes. The presence of local civil society and indigenous group organizations is weak while international organizations play a major role in the REDD+ arena. REDD+ is treated as a project rather than being embedded in national politics.
Current Ethiopian policies and laws recognize the importance of equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms for natural resource management. The question of 'what is fair' is often unclear in practice. We pursue this question in the context of benefit sharing for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Ethiopia. We present findings from interviews conducted in 2017 with 33 national REDD+ actors, and a review of national policies and laws until 2020 to understand Ethiopia's policy and legal framework, and vision for a REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanism. Our findings show that Ethiopia is progressing in developing a benefit-sharing mechanism (BSM) for REDD+. Government policies on benefit sharing are pro-poor with an emphasis on legal rights. Among the various concepts of fairness, more stakeholders agreed that benefits should be shared according to efforts made to reduce deforestation and forest degradation rather than being based on poverty or legal rights. Left unattended, we believe this divergence of opinion on 'what is fair' opens the potential for questions regarding the legitimacy of the REDD+ BSM among stakeholders in general and can pose practical implementation challenges. We suggest that establishing open dialogue, learning mechanisms and inclusive processes can lead to regulations, policies and procedures that clarify and harmonize the different views on fairness over time.
Financing REDD+ is complex, due to the need to seek answers not only to the question of who should finance REDD+, but also who should benefit from it. This paper examines the perceptions of REDD+ stakeholders in Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam on different aspects of financing: who should finance REDD+ and who should receive REDD+ benefits for what. Our findings show these issues are political, driven by economic considerations at national level and – despite the narrative of inclusive, participatory decision making – are largely determined by governments. Lack of finance was thereby not always considered by national policy actors to be the most significant challenge during 2010–2019; rather other issues – like lack of knowledge on REDD+ by relevant actors; ineffective coordination between state agencies, the private sector and civil society; unclear tenure rights; ineffectively addressing the main deforestation drivers; low law enforcement capacity; and unclear benefit-sharing mechanisms – have also been perceived to impede REDD+ implementation and payment distributions.
The Government of Vietnam and donors have launched numerous programmes and policies to support vulnerable communities' livelihoods, nutrition and agency and to cope COVID-19. Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) has a potential role in contributing to the government policy mix to address Covid-19 impacts.
Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) is an important component of the Paris Agreement. Inclusive decision making is essential to ensure REDD outcomes, but there is limited anecdotal and empirical evidence demonstrating that stakeholder participation in REDD+ decision making has improved over time. This paper presents an analysis of the Vietnamese government's claim that stakeholder participation in REDD+ had been improved over the course of 2011–2019, specifically focusing on various actors' perceptions of their level of interest, engagement and influence in REDD+ policy events. Findings show that the country's legal framework on REDD+ demonstrated Vietnam's political commitment to improve inclusive decision making, and initial effort was made to provide political space for actors to engage in REDD+ decision making. However, momentum has been lost over time. This suggests that understanding the political context, addressing underlying power dynamics in the existing government regime, building up coalitions for change among political elites and civil society, and fostering sustainable political will and commitment are all essential to ensuring inclusive REDD+ decision making in Vietnam.
REDD+ is recognized in the Paris Agreement as a key mitigation policy for addressing climate change. However, a major challenge that has impeded REDD+ is ensuring gender equity. This paper analyses the policies and progress of gender mainstreaming in REDD+ processes in 17 countries between 2008 and 2019. Findings show that there are increasing political commitment and numerous policies in place that emphasize the need for gender equity in REDD+. There are differences in the level of gender mainstreaming across the 17 countries studied. We found several enabling conditions that would help countries to advance gender mainstreaming, including strong political commitment, clear gender action plans, strong law enforcement, dedicated funding for gender, and inclusive decision-making. The paper also illustrates how countries transform political commitment on gender mainstreaming in REDD+ into action.
Intermediaries are seen as important actors in facilitating payments for environmental services (PES). However, few data exist on the adequacy of the services provided by intermediaries and the impacts of their interventions. Using four PES case studies in Vietnam, this paper analyses the roles of government agencies, non-government organizations, international agencies, local organizations and professional consulting firms as PES intermediaries. The findings indicate that these intermediaries are essential in supporting PES establishment. Their roles are as service and information providers, mediators, arbitrators, equalizers, representatives, watchdogs, developers of standards and bridge builders. Concerns have been raised about the quality of intermediaries' participatory work, political influence on intermediaries' activities and the neutral status of intermediaries. Although local organizations are strongly driven by the government, they are important channels for the poor to express their opinions. However, to act as environmental services (ES) sellers, local organizations need to overcome numerous challenges, particularly related to capacity for monitoring ES and enforcement of contracts. Relationships amongst intermediaries are complex and should be carefully examined by PES stakeholders to avoid negative impact on the poor. Each of the intermediaries may operate at a different level and can have different functions but a multi-sector approach is required for an effective PES implementation
Halting forest loss and achieving sustainable development in an equitable manner require state, non-state actors, and entire societies in the Global North and South to tackle deeply established patterns of inequality and power relations embedded in forest frontiers. Forest and climate governance in the Global South can provide an avenue for the transformational change needed—yet, does it? We analyse the politics and power in four cases of mitigation, adaptation, and development arenas. We use a political economy lens to explore the transformations taking place when climate policy meets specific forest frontiers in the Global South, where international, national and local institutions, interests, ideas, and information are at play. We argue that lasting and equitable outcomes will require a strong discursive shift within dominant institutions and among policy actors to redress policies that place responsibilities and burdens on local people in the Global South, while benefits from deforestation and maladaptation are taken elsewhere. What is missing is a shared transformational objective and priority to keep forests standing among all those involved from afar in the major forest frontiers in the tropics.
Over the past 10 years, the Government of Vietnam has developed many policies towards wildlife conservation. The introduction of the Vietnam Forestry Development Strategy for 2021–2030 and vision to 2050 outlines strategies and priorities in biodiversity conservation and implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, effective implementation of these strategies requires context-relevant actions that address issues currently facing central and local governments and people.
The urgent global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions depends on political commitments to common but differentiated responsibility. Carbon footprints as a metric of attributable emissions reflect individually determined contributions within, and aggregated national contributions between, countries. Footprints per unit product (e.g., of food, feed, fuel, or fiber) require a lifecycle analysis and support individual decisions on consumption and lifestyles. This perspective presents a framework for analysis that connects the various operationalizations and their use in informing consumer and policy decisions. Footprints show geographical variation and are changing as part of political-economic and social-ecological systems. Articulation of footprints may trigger further change. Carbon footprints partially correlate with water and biodiversity footprints as related ecological footprint concepts. The multifunctionality of land use, as a solution pathway, can be reflected in aggregated footprint metrics. Credible footprint metrics can contribute to change but only if political commitments and social-cultural values and responsibilities align.
The original aim of Goal 7 of New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) has been met: the Paris Agreement confirms forests' pivotal role in the international climate agenda. But at a time when the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests have never been more urgent, global forest loss is in a worrying upward trend. It is still too early to assess country's progress on their commitments under the Paris Agreement because countries will only report the status of NDC implementation few years from now. In the meantime, we take stock of governments' existing domestic efforts and policies, and offer recommendations on what governments can do to accelerate forest-based mitigation outcomes.
This country profile is a second version from the first country profile that was published by CIFOR in 2012. Since then, REDD+ developments has changed drastically in Indonesia. This version documents changes from 2012 to 2020, on drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, institutional settings and governance for REDD+, the political economy of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, REDD+ actors and 3Es (Effectiveness, Efficiency and Equity) implementation. Indonesia keeps the commitment to addressing climate change but reducing deforestation and forest degradation remains a challenge. Major issues surrounding REDD+ implementation include weak implementation of various international agreements, contradictory regulations and weak coordination between government agencies, changing national political regimes that affects transformation commitment, disconnection between central and regional levels, unclear REDD+ projects impact, and continuous business as usual solution to bridge conservation and development. More attention to elite capture is needed to avoid bias of promoting business and economic growth for the benefit of all but at the expense of the environment.
