As 2021 draws to a close, I’d like to take this opportunity to share some highlights from this year’s work by the EU REDD Facility. This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of our founding, taking the opportunity to reflect on the lessons we learned over the last decade. We’re working to ensure these insights help to shape and accelerate action for protecting and restoring the world’s forests.
Since its inception a decade ago, the EU REDD Facility’s ambition has been to support dialogue and partnership between state and non-state actors to strengthen efforts to ensure tropical forests meet their potential to limit climate change. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Facility, we’re taking the opportunity to reflect on lessons learned over these years, as we worked towards empowering stakeholders to strengthen the rule of law, promoting sustainable land use and investment, and enhancing supply chain transparency.
COVID-19 has brought some of the most pressing global challenges in recent history, including for the world’s forests and the people depending on them. In EU REDD Facility partner countries, the pandemic has had severe social, economic and environmental consequences. Forest-risk commodity exports have decreased dramatically, jeopardising financial security in agricultural sectors. At the same time, environmental standards have become less of a priority for operators and producers, as sustainability goals give way to tactics for economic survival.
I’m pleased to introduce this new EU REDD Facility blog, where our experts will share their thoughts about and experiences with working with our partners in tropical forest countries in Africa, Asia and South America on legality of forest conversion, sustainable land-use investment and management, and transparency in forest-risk commodity supply chains.
