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CIFOR–ICRAF publishes over 750 publications every year on agroforestry, forests and climate change, landscape restoration, rights, forest policy and much more – in multiple languages.

CIFOR–ICRAF addresses local challenges and opportunities while providing solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

We deliver actionable evidence and solutions to transform how land is used and how food is produced: conserving and restoring ecosystems, responding to the global climate, malnutrition, biodiversity and desertification crises. In short, improving people’s lives.

Contexte et justification

Le Centre de Recherche Forestière internationale – Centre international pour la Recherche en agroforesterie (CIFOR-ICRAF) est une institution de recherche de classe mondiale qui fournit des preuves et des solutions pratiques pour transformer la façon dont les terres et les ressources renouvelables sont utilisées, et la façon dont les aliments sont produits. En mettant en œuvre un programme d’appui à la recherche appliquée en écologie et sciences sociales en Afrique centrale (RESSAC), le CIFOR-ICRAF vise à renforcer l’impact de cette recherche sur la gestion durable des écosystèmes forestiers d’Afrique centrale. Financé par l’Union européenne pour une durée de 4 ans (2022-2025), les objectifs spécifiques du programme sont : a) d’organiser et soutenir des recherches appliquées visant à renforcer les connaissances en sciences sociales et en écologie sur la gestion et la valorisation des ressources naturelles dans les écosystèmes forestiers d’Afrique centrale ; b) de favoriser l’utilisation de ces connaissances dans les modes opératoires des acteurs ciblés et dans l’élaboration, la mise en œuvre et le suivi des politiques publiques et des programmes d’aide au développement durable en Afrique centrale.

L’une des premières activités de ce programme a consisté à sélectionner des projets de recherche innovants en écologie et en sciences sociales. À l’issue de l’évaluation des projets soumis dans le cadre du premier appel, neuf ont été retenus. Par la suite, les post-doctorants et les étudiants en Master ont été recrutés dans la plupart des projets, conformément au cahier des charges. La plupart des projets étant lancés, il était judicieux d’organiser un atelier d’échanges et de concertation pour parvenir à un cadre d’action et de suivi harmonisé des projets retenus.

Les objectifs de l’atelier

L’objectif final de cet atelier est de créer un cadre d’action et de suivi harmonisé des projets retenus par le programme RESSAC.
Plus spécifiquement, l’atelier vise à :
• Présenter tous les projets financés ;
• Discuter des progrès réalisés dans chacun des projets ;
• Définir des critères de suivi-évaluation ;
• Promouvoir le partage d’expérience entre les différents participants ;
• Renforcer les capacités des différents bénéficiaires ;
• Tirer les premiers enseignements de la mise en œuvre des différents projets ;
• Identifier les défis potentiels des post-doctorants et des étudiants en Master.

Profil des participants

Trente-huit (38) personnes de différentes institutions participeront à cet atelier :
• 27 participants des consortia (1 postdoc par projet, 1 encadrant de la structure d’accueil, et 1 encadrant de la structure de recherche) ;
• 1 représentant de la COMIFAC ;
• 1 représentant de l’UE ;
• 1 représentant de la CEEAC ;
• 8 représentants du CIFOR-ICRAF

Résultats attendus

À l’issue de cet atelier il est attendu que :
• les méthodes et les processus de mise en œuvre soient harmonisés ;
• les participants reçoivent le même niveau d’information sur les attentes et les délais de gestion des projets ;
• les participants créent de nouveaux réseaux ;
• les méthodes de recherche soient renforcées.

Déroulement de l’atelier

L’atelier se déroulera sur trois jours et sera divisé en 7 sessions :
• Cérémonie d’ouverture et objectif de l’atelier ;
• Émergence de la recherche forestière et objectif du RESSAC ;
• Concept de postdoctorant et ses réalités ;
• Présentation des projets et de leur état d’avancement ;
• Travaux en groupe : défis et opportunités ;
• Réseautage et suivi des projets ;
• Conclusion et perspectives.
Les participants effectueront une visite de terrain dans la scierie de la Cameroon United Forest (CUF) le quatrième jour entre 10 h et 12 h.

Animation, suivi et prise en charge des participants

La préparation, le financement et la facilitation de l’atelier seront assurés par le CIFOR-ICRAF

Speakers

Richard Eba’a Atyi

Coordinateur scientifique du programme RESSAC

Chouaïbou Nchoutpouen

Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC)

Guillaume Lescuyer

Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD)

Pr Moïse Tsayem

Université du Mans

Symphorien Ongolo

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

Justin Kamga

Forêt et Développement Rural pour un Monde Meilleur (FODER)

Agenda

Partners

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

Erin Sills

North Carolina State University and CIFOR-ICRAF senior associate

Sven Wunder

European Forest Institute and CIFOR – ICRAF senior associate

Arild Angelsen

Norwegian University of Life Sciences and CIFOR-ICRAF senior associate

Kevin Brown

Wildlife Conservation Society

Pham Thu Thuy

Team Leader, Climate Change, Energy and Low-carbon Development, CIFOR-ICRAF

Moderator

Sven Wunder

European Forest Institute and CIFOR – ICRAF senior associate

Agenda

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

Presentations

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
  • 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

Organizers

REDD+ Safeguards in Peru: Opportunities and Challenges

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

Supported by

Women and youth in forests and land governance

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

Event report
Policy, Technical and Financial Solutions to Improve the Effectiveness of Mangrove Forest Protection and Development in Vietnam in 2021–2030, with a Vision to 2050

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.

Supported by

Capacity Building on the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement, FREL Diagnostic and Uncertainty Analysis

Speakers/facilitators

Daniel Murdiyarso

Principal Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF

Rupesh Bhomia

Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF

Kristell Hergoualc’h

Senior Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF

Erin Swails

CIFOR-ICRAF

Sigit Sasmito

Researcher, NUS

Oswaldo Carrillo

Freelance Statistician, Mexico

Belinda Margono

Director Forest Resource Inventory and Monitoring, MoEF

Ruandha Agung Sugardiman

Director General of Climate Change, MoEF

Syaiful Anwar

Director GHG Inventory, MoEF

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

Agenda

Supported by

Policy, Technical and Financial Solutions to Improve the Effectiveness of Mangrove Forest Protection and Development in Vietnam in 2021–2030, with a Vision to 2050

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

Supported by

Exploring criteria and indicators for tropical peatland restoration

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:

Agenda

Organised by

Supported by