India’s draft on REDD+ safeguards

India’s draft on REDD+ safeguards

Subject – Environment

Context – India’s draft on REDD+ safeguards needs a relook

Concept –

• India has released a draft document on Safeguards Information System to reduce potential risks from the implementation of activities under the UN’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation program (REDD+), a key climate change mitigation tool.
  • The draft document is in compliance with India’s commitment to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  • Experts note the safeguard relies on forest and land use policies, legislations and rules that do not have a good track record of ensuring environmental justice and addressing biodiversity loss. A more robust framework to evaluate compliance is needed.
• The REDD+ framework created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP), is geared towards the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries.
  • The seven safeguards (called Cancun safeguards) articulated as per the Cancun Agreements at Cancun, Mexico, at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, need to be addressed and respected during the implementation of REDD+ activities to prevent any negative impacts of REDD+ actions on natural forests, biological diversity and local communities.
• As per the agreements, developing country Parties to the UNFCCC such as India, are required to create a Safeguards Information System (SIS) to report on compliance to the safeguards while implementing REDD+ activities.
  • The National REDD+ Strategy of India endorses the adherence to Cancun safeguards during the implementation of REDD+ activities, states the draft document.
  • The Strategy also ties in with India’s Nationally Determined Contribution to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

What is REDD+?

• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2005.
• Most of the key REDD+ decisions were completed by 2013, with the final pieces of the rulebook finished in 2015.
• The “Plus” in REDD+, lays out the various ways in which countries have defined the three activities: conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stock.
• It aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation.
• It has three phases — Readiness, Implementation and Result-based actions.
  • Readiness phase involves the development of national strategies or action plans, REDD+ mitigation actions, and capacity building.
  • Implementation is about enacting REDD+ actions and national strategies that could involve further capacity building, technology development and transfer.
  • Results-based payments comprise the final REDD+ phase.
    • It provides financial incentives to developing countries that prove they stopped deforestation during a certain period of time. This is done through rigorous UN-backed technical evaluations
    • The Green Climate Fund (GCF) established at Conference Of Parties (COP)-17 to function as the financial mechanism for the UNFCCC, is currently financing REDD+ programs.
    • Brazil was the first country to receive $96.5 million under the results-based payments.