The Forum on Readiness for REDD

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) emerged from the UN climate negotiations in December 2007 as a likely new tool to enable tropical nations to participate in the new climate treaty, to be agreed in December 2009 and begin in 2013. REDD offers the potential of economic incentives to support developing countries in valuing their standing forests and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction and degradation of their forests.

The Forum is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on practical approaches for building REDD readiness through cross-stakeholder dialogue, South-South collaboration, and linking local expertise with regional readiness efforts.

The Forum operates as a neutral convening space to allow various stakeholders involved or interested in REDD readiness to build their understanding and capacity, and interact with different stakeholder groups and regions, to increase South-South dialogue, information exchange, knowledge transfer, and collaboration and consensus building on the implementation of readiness activities. The Forum relies on leadership from developing countries, including governments, civil society, and indigenous groups, and will also include other important stakeholders such as international NGOs, multilateral institutions, and representatives from the private sector.

The concept of the Forum was developed through meetings which began in early May 2008, when a cross section of scientists, developing country governments, indigenous representatives, multilateral institutions, and NGOs met in Washington, D.C., to discuss steps needed to move the REDD readiness process forward on a global scale. In June 2008, in conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings in Bonn, Germany, meetings were expanded to include broader representation from developing country governments, indigenous and forest communities, civil society, and non-governmental organizations. As a result of these initial meetings, participants agreed to initiate the Forum and create an advisory committee to guide the work and priorities of the Forum. The Woods Hole Research Center agreed to serve as Forum Secretariat, to carry out the work agreed upon by the Advisory Committee.

An Overview of Readiness for REDD

©Woods Hole Research Center, 2009