Programas jurisdicionais são nova oportunidade para o REDD+
Having the rainforest as a stage, 14 national and subnational jurisdictions from around the world united between June 13th and the 15th in Manaus, Brazil, to discuss their programs for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The event was promoted by Idesam (Institute for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas), with the VCSA (Verified Carbon Standard Association) and Ceclima (State Center for Climate Change) as partners and?supported by the GCF, Moore Foundation and GIZ.
The objective of the South-South Technical Exchange on Jurisdictional REDD+ was, as it?s named, to promote technical exchange between jurisdictions that have been developing REDD+ programs ? all at different implementation stages–as well as to create recommendations based on lessons learned and highlight the challenges and opportunities for the implementation of jurisdictional emission reduction programs.
The event made a series of recommendations to be incorporated in the VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) requirements as well as guidance for REDD+ jurisdictional programs. The JNR Framework lays out the technical and procedural steps for jurisdictional accounting and, where desired, crediting under the VCS.
?Many states and national governments present in the event had been testing the requirements and could present suggestions of areas that may need further guidance for the VCS?, explains Mariano Collini Cenamo, senior researcher of Idesam and event coordinator.
The current dead-lock in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) makes it difficult for programs to obtain financing, not only for the activities related to preparing for REDD+ ?(known among experts as readiness), but also for compensating based on results or even effective transactions in emissions reductions.
?The financing which had been directed to the preparation process at the national level does not come through to the subnational jurisdictions, there is an obstacle that needs to be eliminated?, Cenamo says.
During the discussions, experts indicated the need to open financing resources straight to subnational jurisdictions. In Brazil, for example, the states (Acre not included) can access the means to develop their REDD+ programs through the Amazon Fund, endorsed by the federal government
Thankfully, there are financing resources available though avenues like ?the program ?REDD Early Movers – Rewarding Pioneers in Forest Conservation?, the development bank KfW and the FCPF Carbon Fund. However, for the Brazilian states,the FCPF is not available due to a federal government decision.
In addition to six Brazilian States and the Ethiopian Regional State of Oromia, a number of national level jurisdictions were also represented at the workshop, including Ghana, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Chile. Some of the important discussions revolved around jurisdictional program design including defining jurisdictional boundaries, prioritizing subnational jurisdictions for early stage piloting, selecting JNR scenario (1,2 or 3), and reconciling subnational and project level data with the national level.
Meanwhile, on the financing side recommendations included the importance of jurisdictions putting as much effort into developing demand for JNR credits as supply of those credits, including focusing on domestic markets, such as in the case of Costa Rica, and innovative public-private models such as the State of Acre?s, to catalyze private sector investment.
Report presents workshop results
The organizers of the workshop are currently working to produce a report of the main issues summarizing the lessons learned and recommendations for JNR. The reportwill be disseminated to national and international spheres of discussion, including the Conference of Parties (COP), which will take place at the end of the year in Warsaw, Poland.
