REDD+ for Green Communities:Lessons from a pilot project in Nepal

Deforestation and forest degradation contribute nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. Thus a mechanism has been developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to offer incentives to developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). When REDD activities also cover forest conservation, sustainable management of forest, and enhancement of forest carbon stock, such initiatives are referred to as 'REDD+'. All forests conserved by communities are eligible for such incentives. This video presents a pilot project in Nepal -- where almost one-third of the land is covered by forest -- that is seeking suitable mechanisms to provide beneἀts for forest-dependent communities that conserve the forest. The project has created a pilot Forest Carbon Trust Fund and has tested a structure and system for ensuring that REDD+ payments are transparent, fair, and inclusive. Local communities have learned to measure and monitor the carbon in their forests. The project has been carried out by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Federation of Community Forestry Users', Nepal (FECOFUN), and the Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB), with the funding of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). The learning from this pilot project -- the only project of its kind in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region -- can be useful to many countries.