The annual GFOI Plenary brings together the global community of practitioners who support tropical countries in forest monitoring and associated emissions Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) procedures.

Background

Policy makers, donors and the private sector are increasing bilateral. multilateral and market-based funding to harness the potential for forest-based climate mitigation. The voluntary carbon market has boomed lately; companies are interested in investing in REDD+ and other nature-based climate solutions. Simultaneously, forest carbon offsets also face fierce criticism for frequent lack of additionality (inflated reference levels and poor performance), greenwashing of private sector emissions, and thus slowing the energy transition away from fossil fuels, while allegedly ignoring broader socio- environmental goals. This side-event will highlight both the concerns and objections raised, and the potential benefits of forest carbon credits, and options for designing crediting system to mitigate those concerns and maximize the wide portfolio of benefits that may be achieve through REDD+. Accurate and transparent measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of emissions is a vital part of forest carbon market. Any effectiveness assessment needs to validate the additionality by comparing an observed outcome with a hypothetical counterfactual (business-as-usual scenario). Establishing a counterfactual that discriminates confounding effects is key to high-quality forest carbon credits. However, we have too few rigorous impact assessments of REDD+ effectiveness, which has contributed to the absence of clear guidance on good implementation practices. This posts challenges to stakeholders in committing themselves more to forest carbon mitigation to meet targets for emissions reductions and market-based solutions.

This session brings together globally leading experts to:

• share the latest scientific findings on the effectiveness of forest carbon projects, based on CIFOR’s long-term Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (2009-2023) ·      
• strengthen the community of practice to foster learning and collaboration amongst scientists and practitioners in refining and improving MRV system for forest mitigation policies.
• discuss the challenges and prospective solutions in moving towards high-integrity forest carbon credits and effective forest-based mitigation of climate change.

The section will be organized in a hybrid format and consist of keynote presentations, followed up by panel discussion and interaction between speakers and audiences.

Event link

https://fao.zoom.us/j/98591161211
Meeting ID: 985 9116 1211
Passcode: 77931189

Event website

Speakers

Moderator

Agenda

• Introduction: REDD+ credits and carbon markets – Arild Angelsen (View presentation)
• Realizing the promise of REDD: New approaches in voluntary carbon standards for achieving high-integrity REDD at scale – Kevin Brown (View presentation)
• Methods comparison and challenges for accounting systems ​– Erin Sills (View presentation)
• Effectiveness of REDD+: Meta-study results – Sven Wunder (View presentation)
• Commentators
  • International Land Coalition
  • Pham Thu Thuy
  • Arild Angelsen
• Plenary discussions
• Key messages – Sven Wunder

The annual GFOI Plenary brings together the global community of practitioners who support tropical countries in forest monitoring and associated emissions Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) procedures.

Background

Coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems provide a natural climate solution by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the loss and degradation of such habitats, and by restoration, to increase carbon dioxide drawdown and its long-term storage. Mangrove reforestation provides greater blue carbon benefit than afforestation for mitigating global climate change. Moreover, it also provides incomes for local livelihood and increase both landscape and people resilience. While Blue carbon is gaining increasing attraction at both global and national level, less is known about how private sector’s confidence in investing in this market and how blue carbon project can deliver both environmental and social justice.

This section brings policy makers, practitioners, academia, and private sector to reflect on opportunities and challenges for high quality blue carbon market and what can be done to improve private sector’s confidence in this market. The panelists will share insightful on-ground experiences on regulatory framework, market opportunities and constraints, technical sound and rigorous methods and solutions, as well as benefit sharing mechanism required to achieve both climate and social justice. Audiences can also interact and discuss with panelists on  best practice of mangrove restoration models for their scaling up. evidence and attract investors.

The overall objective of this side event is to provide policy makers and practitioners with tools, information and analysis  on to design and implement effective, efficient and equitable blue carbon project. The discussion and networking during this event are expected to provide useful inputs for future design and implementation of blue carbon market. It also aims to foster knowledge sharing and networking and amongst community of practice who are concerned with the long-term services of mangrove blue carbon ecosystems.

The event will take the form of Panel Discussion. The moderator will begin the session by describing the scope and objectives of the session.  Before inviting each panel member to respond, he will challenge with three questions to address. Q&A session will follow to allow the audience (online and onsite) to share their concerns.

Event link

https://fao.zoom.us/j/98591161211
Meeting ID: 985 9116 1211
Passcode: 77931189

Event website

Speakers

Moderator

Agenda

• Blue carbon – status, outlook and challenges; rationale and objectives of the session – Daniel Murdiyarso – CIFOR-ICRAF
• Panel discussion:
  • Priorities in mangrove rehabilitation program in Indonesia – Noviar, Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency, Indonesia
  • High-resolution satellite imagery to identify restoration area – Pablo Martin, FAO, Italy
  • Financing nature-based climate solutions – Melissa Abederrahim, IUCN, Germany
  • How biodiversity fits mangrove blue carbon restoration program – Tim Coles-, Re-PLANET, UK
  • Transformative mangrove governance for climate, nature and people – Pham Thu Thuy, CIFOR-ICRAF, Vietnam
• Plenary discussion
• Key messages and wrap up – Daniel Murdiyarso  – CIFOR- ICRAF

The science-policy dialogue series of CIFOR’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (GCS REDD+) aims to share knowledge and exchange perspectives to support policymakers and stakeholders in reducing forest loss.

The fourth Brazil science-policy dialogue will present recent work on the diagnostic framework of CIFOR’s GCS REDD+ study. This framework consists of two interrelated components to understand deforestation dynamics in the countries the project is implemented. The first component identifies different deforestation frontiers as recurrent ‘archetypes’. Secondly, the diagnostic framework builds on a typology of policy interventions aimed at reducing deforestation in tropical countries. The diagnostic framework combines these components to answer the following question: which policy interventions in which deforestation archetypes have been successful in reducing forest loss?

By participating in this workshop, stakeholders can provide feedback on the different components of the GCS REDD+, particularly those related to diagnostics, policy interventions, and scenario building.

Agenda

Peru is one of the four countries with the largest tropical forest cover and has one of the largest Indigenous populations globally. It is also one of the REDD+ “early movers” with several early initiatives in its Amazonian region.

As REDD+ moves to its results-based payments phase, there is a need to focus on how safeguards are being designed and implemented on the ground.

CIFOR-ICRAF, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA) will convene a multistakeholder workshop to share experiences from research and practice regarding the interpretation and implementation of the REDD+ safeguards in Peru. Led by its Ministry of the Environment, the country has shown progress towards fulfilling its Cancun safeguards requirements under the UNFCCC.

The workshop is part of the activities of the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (GCS-REDD+) and will include presentations from CIFOR-ICRAF scientists, representatives from the Ministry of Environment of Peru, and other organizations advancing the discussions on REDD+ safeguards in the country. The workshop will also include a discussion panel with representatives from civil society, government officials, Indigenous Peoples and international organizations to reflect on the opportunities, challenges and lessons learned from the REDD+ safeguards process in Peru and the way forward.

Agenda

CIFOR and partners have been implementing a Global Comparative Study on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (GCS-REDD+) since 2009. Through this project, CIFOR is fostering the co-creation of knowledge and learning exchange at all levels, ensuring policymakers and practitioners have access to – and use – the information, analyses, tools needed to design and implement effective, efficient, and equitable REDD+ policies and actions. Science and Policy Dialogue series are one of the key components introduced in GCS-REDD+ Phase 4 aiming to tailor research to country-level needs, policies, and targets pertaining to forest-based climate mitigation. As we learned from the first Science and Policy Dialogue, From COP26 to G20: How research can support aligning forest, finance, and development planning in Indonesia, there is a great opportunity for research to support national commitment to transform FOLU sectors into a carbon net-sink by 2030.

This side event of the Science and Policy Dialogue series is established as a platform to share the knowledge and lessons learned from CIFOR and partner’s research on the role of subnational actors, particularly women and youth, to help achieve the government’s climate mitigation target in an effective, efficient, and equitable manner. We aim to invite students and general public, particularly from- and/or have interest in conducting research in East Kalimantan, to attend to this knowledge-sharing event.

Agenda

The workshop acted as a bridge between policymakers and actors in provinces. During the workshop, there were seven presentations from policymakers, researchers and universities about directions, mechanisms and potential for mangroves.

Participants discussed the management and finance challenges they are facing, as well as the viability of current policies and directions. Many participants were in favour of proposing more mandatory policies on budget spending for mangrove protection and management. They highlighted the urgent need to update policies and conduct long-term studies, as well as to establish effective and replicable models and sustainable management mechanisms.

In total, 122 participants attended the workshop in person, while 37 joined online via Zoom.

Background

Under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Indonesia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions unconditionally by 26% by 2020, and by 29% by 2030 compared to a business-as-usual scenario. The Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL), which covers emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and peat decomposition, was set at 0.57 Gt CO2e yr-1 using 1990–2012 as reference period. It was submitted to the UNFCCC in 2016 and used as the benchmark for evaluating REDD+ performance against actual emissions during the 2013–2020 implementation period.

As Indonesia ranks among the world’s top holders of high-carbon reservoir in wetlands, peatlands and mangroves have been identified as major areas for FREL improvement and national MRV systems refinement for GHG accounting. Since wetlands were not accounted separately, there are some sources of GHG that are missing in the current FREL, including: (i) emissions from fires that do not lead to deforestation or degradation (ii) annual non-CO2 GHG emissions from drained peatlands, including CH4 and N2O emissions, and (iii) emissions from dissolved organic carbon (DOC). At the same time substantial missing sinks, including: (i) regeneration and natural expansion of mangroves, (ii) standing secondary forests sinks (mangroves, peatlands and non-wetland forests), and (iii) restored and rewetted peatlands will have to be accounted for.

To this end, assessment of the transparency, accuracy, completeness, consistency and comparability (TACCC) is deem necessary to comply with UNFCCC principles. Identifying underrepresented forest dynamics (sources/sinks) in Indonesian wetlands and consequently incorporating them would eventually improve FREL estimates.

Along this line this workshop is organized to facilitate the use and familiarization of the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement. The dialogue will also allow participants to explore data mining and sharing from nationally and globally available sources for use in the proposed FREL improvement.

Goal and objectives

The overall goal of the workshop is to build the capacity of officials of the Government of Indonesia (GoI) in improving and developing FREL. Therefore, the workshop is designed to have a direct interaction and two-way communication with GoI officials with the following specific objectives:

1. To familiarize with the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement through hands-on sessions on the use and understanding of the Wetland Supplement for peatlands and mangroves by navigating through Chapter 2 (Drained organic soils), Chapter 3 (Rewetted organic soil), and Chapter 4 (Coastal wetlands) of the Supplement; and providing scientific background for some key EF (e.g. peat fire, peat decomposition) for a better understanding on how to develop Tier 2 EF.
2. To present Transparency, Accuracy, Comparability, Completeness, Consistency (TACCC) principles of the UNFCCC to improve the existing FREL 2016
3. To introduce Monte Carlo simulations to estimate uncertainty values for the FREL

Program

The program is designed to allow exchange of knowledge and experience among participants and facilitators/resource persons in the following areas:

• Data identification of data availability and gaps through diagnostic processes
• Methods: Presentation of IPCC guidelines (2013 Supplement on Wetlands) and introduction to uncertainty analysis (Monte Carlo)

Expected outputs

• Participants familiarize themselves with the IPCC 2013 Supplement on Wetlands
• Participants are aware of the gaps of data and information (missing sources and sinks) to improve the FREL following quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC) exercise
• Participants are well-equipped with methods and analytical capacity to further develop an improved FREL

Presentations

• Introduction
• Welcoming remarks
• Roadmap to 2nd FREL
• Peat emission factors: Navigating the IPCC wetland supplement
• Peat emission factors: Scientific background
• Mangrove emission factors: Navigating chapter 4 – coastal wetlands
• Mangrove emission factors: Scientific background on key emission factors
• FREL uncertainties estimates
• Description of TACCC principles
• Recommendations to better align FREL with the TACCC principles
• How best to support FREL improvement?
• Open discussions

Agenda

Mangrove ecosystems play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation, improving local communities’ livelihoods and ensuring Vietnam’s long-term socioeconomic development. To protect and improve the quality of its mangrove forests, Vietnam has implemented a variety of policies and programmes, and has actively participated in the signing of numerous international environmental treaties. However, mangrove conservation and development continue to face numerous financial and technical challenges.

This workshop, which was co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Nong Lam University, aimed to provide a national forum and policy dialogue between policymakers, the private sector, academia, CSOs and NGOs to discuss future policy options for mangrove governance. The workshop connected policymakers and scientists in discussing opportunities, challenges and solutions to support the effective implementation of policies and projects on mangrove protection and development.

Participants in the scientific workshop included policymakers from MARD, the Forest Protection and Development Fund, the Forest Certification Office and representatives of regional departments of agriculture and coastal areas, as well as representatives of CIFOR, USAID mangrove project sponsors, the US Forest Service, domestic institutes and universities researching mangrove and wetland protection and development.

Event report

Agenda

Indonesian peatlands, including peat swamp forests, comprise 36% of the world’s tropical peatlands. As one of the largest tropical peatlands, Indonesian peatlands provide numerous ecosystem services, including their ability to slowly sequester and store carbon. Despite their important benefits, Indonesian peatlands have faced deforestation and drainage since the 1980s, mainly for forestry and agriculture purposes.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by peatland degradation and fires, place Indonesia among the top five emitter countries. In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, Indonesia has committed to restoring more than 2 Mha of degraded peatland area to prevent GHG emissions.

Peatland restoration needs to be underpinned by monitoring efforts that allow an adaptive approach. Peatland monitoring, guided by science-based practice, will enhance the transparency and accountability of reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC). Indicators that are simple, easy to recognize, measure and monitor over time can be helpful.

A scientifically robust, reliable and practical set of criteria and indicators (C&I) can help to assess progress and outcomes of restoration efforts. Identified C&I should cover four aspects:  (1) biophysical, (2) social, (3) economic, and (4) governance.  This allows restoration targets to be adequately quantified, and success measured.

The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Environmental Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), International Tropical Peatlands Center (ITPC), and Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI) has organized this online workshop to facilitate the process of developing C&I for peatland restoration through knowledge exchange and expert discussion.

Objectives

The main objective of this online workshop, as an initial meeting, is to identify key contributors and suitable methodology for selecting appropriate criteria and associated indicators based on characteristics such as relevance, ease of application, responsiveness, representativeness, consistency and sensitivity to local conditions.

Online workshop format

The expert resource persons will discuss specific topics in the following areas:

• The principles of existing C&I in multilateral environment agreements, monitoring schemes and networks, and their implications (Session 1) 
• Initial criteria and measurable indicators to evaluate restoration performance: biophysical, economic and social aspects (Session 2).

There will be a moderated general discussion session where questions and recommendations will be accommodated. 

Expected outputs

At the end of the consultation process (carried out in a series 4 online workshops), expected outputs include:

• Set of validated C&I to monitor and assess peatlands restoration success
• Participants familiarized with validated C&I
• Knowledge exchanged, through discussions, on scientific ways to use a C&I approach to monitoring and evaluation of peatland restoration.

Date and Venue

The workshop will be held online over 3 hours on 2 September 2020 using Zoom platform.

For more information
Kania Rahayu, k.rahayu@cgiar.org

This online seminar will be conducted in English language

Presentations:

• Introduction: Why criteria and indicators
• Keynote Speech: Online Workshop Series: Exploring Criteria and Indicators for Tropical Peatland Restoration
• Indonesia regulation on peatland ecosystem: criteria, indicators, and monitoring system
• Principles and good practice in indicator selection – experiences from the biodiversity sector
• Recent notions on peatland restoration for identification of robust indicators
• Monitoring peatland restoration in Indonesia
• Water balance of peatland hydrological unit (PHU)
• Paludiculture to support peatland restoration in Indonesia
• Economic indicators for peatland restoration
• Research milestone on criteria & indicators toward permanent restoration of Indonesia’s peatlands

Agenda

Background
Indonesian peatlands, including peat swamp forests, comprise 36% of the world’s tropical peatlands. Indonesia has one of the largest extents of tropical peatlands globally, and these peatlands provide numerous ecosystem services including their ability to slowly sequester and store carbon. Despite their important benefits, Indonesian peatlands have faced deforestation and drainage since the 1980s, mainly for forestry and agriculture purposes.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by peatland degradation and fires, place Indonesia among the top five emitter countries. In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, Indonesia has committed to restoring more than 2 Mha of degraded peatland area to prevent GHG emissions. However, peatland restoration needs to be underpinned by monitoring efforts that allow an adaptive approach. Peatland monitoring, guided by science-based practice, can enhance the transparency and accountability of the reporting process, and hopefully ascertain higher degree of success in those efforts.

One approach for monitoring peatlands and its restoration involves use of criteria and indicators (C and I) that are easy to recognize, measure and monitor over time and are also locally relevant. Identified C and I should cover four aspects: (1) biophysical, (2) social, (3) economic, and (4) governance. This allows restoration targets to be adequately quantified, and the success measured.

Goals and objectives
CIFOR, in collaboration with BRG and other partners, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEPWCMC) and Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI), aims to facilitate the learning process and share knowledge on this topic through a series of online workshops.

These online workshops will facilitate consultation with stakeholders to identify an initial set of C and I with necessary attributes to assess restoration success, while being contextually relevant to areas where applied.

Following on the heels of successful Webinar 1 where these important topics were discussed, 2nd webinar in the series is planned for 14 Oct, 2020.

Webinar 2 will facilitate important discussions on biophysical aspects of peatland conditions such as hydrology (water balance), greenhouse gases emissions (due to land use and land cover change and degradation) and impacts of fire.

The subsequent consultative workshops (in this series) will aim at:
• Discussing socio-economic, livelihoods and governance issues pertaining to peatlands
• Conceptualization, design and implementation of frameworks to finalize restoration C&I.
• Determination of the roles and responsibilities of all participating agencies and experts in identifying, testing and finalizing C and I for peatland restoration.

In addition to these consultative workshops, a writing workshop is planned to produce and disseminate a set of C and I. To conclude, a final webinar will be organized for a wider audience, including ITPC member countries to disseminate the results.

Expected outputs
• Set of validated C and I to monitor and assess peatlands restoration success
• Participants familiarized with validated C and I
• Knowledge exchanged, through discussions on scientific ways to use a C and I approach to monitoring and evaluation of peatland restoration.

Background materials
A summary of existing resource material and relevant documents are available at the workshop website
https://www2.cifor.org/swamp/exploring-criteria-and-indicators-for-tropical-peatland-restoration/

For more information
Kania Rahayu, k.rahayu@cgiar.org

This online seminar will be conducted in English language

Presentations:

• Introduction – Online Webinar 2: Biophysical Attributes and Peatland Fires
• Keynote Speech: Principles, Criteria, and Indicators: a ‘means’ by which to adaptively manage natural resources
• Identifying core biophysical criteria and indicators for peatland monitoring and research
• Monitoring tropical peatlands GHG emissions: Is current scientific knowledge sufficient to identify easily measurable and reliable proxies?
• A framework for restoring degraded tropical peat swamp forests
• Peatland hydrological drought and fire risk assessment in changing climate
• Mapping fire: Can spatially explicit criteria and indicators be developed?

Agenda