Norway has signed a $30m financing agreement with the United Nations to support a second phase of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation National Programme in Vietnam.
REDD is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.
REDD+ goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
This second phase (2012-2015) will significantly scale up the work Viet Nam has been doing, with support from Norway and the UN-REDD Programme since 2009, to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
As one of the original pilot countries of the UN-REDD Programme, Viet Nam has been a REDD+ leader over the past four years, trailblazing various areas of readiness work, such as developing fair and equitable benefit distribution systems for REDD+, and conducting robust stakeholder engagement to carry out activities such as participatory forest monitoring and ensuring the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples and other forest dependent communities in REDD+ efforts.
“Results of the UN-REDD National Programme’s Phase I have created a solid foundation for the next phase of REDD+ in Viet Nam. With strong efforts and international support, Viet Nam has been able to increase forest coverage from 27 per cent in 1990 to nearly 40 per cent now,” said the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Cao Duc Phat.
At the COP18 in Doha, Qatar, Viet Nam and Norway signed a broad joint declaration on REDD+ cooperation, recognising Viet Nam’s plan for a 20 per cent reduction in emissions from the agriculture and rural development sector by 2020, which includes forestry.
The declaration also highlights Vietnam’s plans to further develop policies and measures that address the drivers of deforestation, and increase overall forest cover to 45 per cent by 2020.
“With this cooperation we wish to contribute to Vietnam’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including measures to protect the natural forests and unique biodiversity by controlling illegal logging, improving forest monitoring, and involving local communities while strengthening their rights and participation,” said Norway’s Minister of the Environment, Bård Vegar Solhjell.
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Norway provides $30m for REDD+ in Vietnam