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Action

Lessons learnt from piloting REDD+ at local level in Vietnam

  • Year

    2014 – 2015

  • Location

    Kon Tum Province, Vietnam

  • Partners

    Fauna & Flora International

  • Budget

    $ 50 000

  • Funded by

    European Union

Introduction

The EU REDD Facility supported Fauna and Flora International (FFI) to document lessons learnt from piloting REDD+ at local level in Vietnam. A national workshop organised by FFI, the Vietnam REDD+ Office and other organisations and agencies also piloting REDD+ at local level gathered lessons learnt from pilot projects around the country. A set of policy briefs summarised experiences and lessons to inform national REDD+ implementation and international audiences.

The objective

The objective of the project was to document lessons learnt from implementing REDD+ at local level in Vietnam to inform the development of national and international REDD+ policy, and to identify opportunities for FLEGT-REDD synergies.

Workshop for sharing lessons learnt from REDD+ piloting
Fauna & Flora International

Workshop for sharing lessons learnt from REDD+ piloting.

The challenge

In Vietnam, the REDD+ process is advanced and has strong political support. A national REDD+ programme emphasising the need for reforms in forest governance and trade in forest products began in 2012. At the same time, Vietnam prepared a plan to reduce emissions from forestry and agriculture by 2020. UN-REDD, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and several bilateral donors support Vietnam’s preparations for putting in place a system for payments for emissions reductions.

Gathering and sharing lessons from projects piloting REDD+ locally is key to developing and implementing a successful national REDD+ strategy.

To support REDD+ preparations in Vietnam, international and national partners are piloting REDD+ locally and testing land-use governance measures, for example:

  • Centre of Research and Development in Upland Areas (CERDA) in Thai Nguyen province
  • FFI in Kon Tum province
  • Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in Quang Nam and Quang Tri
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Quang Binh
  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Dien Bien province
  • Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) in Lam Dong, Ca Mau, Quang Tri and Nghe An provinces
  • Towards Transparency in Lam Dong and Quang Binh
  • World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Quang Nam and Hue provinces

Many of these projects are the first in their respective locations in Vietnam, or address aspects that are important for the development of national REDD+. Gathering and sharing lessons from projects piloting REDD+ locally is key to developing and implementing a successful national REDD+ strategy.

The approach

Our approach had two strands. The first strand was to ensure that policy briefs and dialogues analysed lessons learnt from local REDD+ initiatives to address forest governance and land-use change. The lessons inform the development and implementation of the national REDD+ strategy, emissions reduction programme (ER-P) and other jurisdictional projects, and the voluntary partner agreement (VPA) process.

The second strand was to contribute to stakeholder engagement and dialogue in the National REDD+ Network as well as through a national level workshop to share and discuss lessons from local REDD+ implementation.

Vi Glom village, Vietnam
Fauna & Flora International

Vi Glom village, Vietnam

Results and impact

Results

  • The project produced five policy briefs that analysed lessons learned from piloting REDD+ at local level in Vietnam. The briefs presented policy recommendations for the national government and for national REDD+ policy development on:
    • Forest land allocation and land tenure
    • Stakeholder engagement and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
    • Forest monitoring, and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV)
    • Jurisdictional nested REDD+
    • REDD+ in sustainable, low-carbon landscapes
  • The project shared hard and soft copies of the policy briefs with stakeholders and decision makers, including in the Vietnam REDD+ Office, the Vietnam Forest Administration (VNForest), UN-REDD and FCPF. Workshop participants received hard copies by mail and soft copies by email. Digital copies are available on the Vietnam REDD+ website, the EU REDD Facility website and the REDD+ resources page of the FFI website
  • At the multi-stakeholder workshop, held in Hanoi on 5 March 2015, 59 REDD+ practitioners from government and civil society in Vietnam discussed the policy briefs and shared lessons from REDD+ pilot projects in Vietnam
  • A report of the workshop summarises the key findings, lessons learnt, and the conclusions of discussion groups on key REDD+ challenges and solutions

Impact

  • The workshop discussions and policy briefs enabled the REDD+ technical working group to explore and absorb lessons for local implementation from counterparts around the country for the first time. The dialogue may re-invigorate the regional technical working group (RTWG-LI) and other working groups
  • Key decision and policy makers have a better understanding of REDD+ pilot projects in Vietnam, and how lessons learnt from pilot projects can and should feed into the development of national REDD+ strategy and policy, FLEGT Voluntary Partner Agreements (VPAs) and payments for environmental services (PFES)
  • The policy briefs and the multi-stakeholder workshop raised the profile of REDD+ pilot projects in Vietnam, both nationally and internationally. Reprints of the policy briefs will be distributed at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris, in December 2015, sharing key lessons from REDD+ pilot projects more widely to improve the design and implementation of local REDD+ strategies
  • Staff in organisations working on REDD+ pilot projects in Vietnam gained new knowledge and insights from others addressing the same challenges and gained greater confidence in their own endeavours
  • Collaboration on the policy briefs and interactions during the workshop built networks and strengthened relationships among REDD+ practitioners

Resources

About the EU REDD Facility

The EU REDD Facility supports countries in improving land-use governance as part of their efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation. It also supports the overall EU effort to reduce its contribution to deforestation in developing countries. The Facility focuses on countries that are engaged in REDD+, an international mechanism that incentivises developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their forest and land-use sectors. The Facility is hosted by the European Forest Institute and was established in 2010.

Disclaimer

This website has been produced with the assistance of the European Union and the Governments Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. The contents of this site are the sole responsibility of the European Forest Institute’s EU REDD Facility and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of funding organisations.