This submission contains summaries of four expert workshops on the links between biodiversity and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD-plus), including relevant biodiversity safeguards. The workshops were organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) pursuant to decisions IX/16, IX/5 and X/33. The workshops took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20 to 23 September 2010; Singapore, from 15 to 18 March 2011; Quito, Ecuador, from 5 to 8 July 2011; and Cape Town, South Africa, from 20 to 23 September 2011. Representatives from 63 Parties and from 55 international organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sector institutions and indigenous and local community organizations (see Annex 1) participated in the workshop series. Funding for the workshops was provided by the governments of Germany, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, the GIZ, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and by the UN-REDD Programme.

The Congo Basin region of Central Africa contains the second largest contiguous tropical rainforest in the world, which is an important source of livelihood for millions of people. It is also important for climate change adaptation, as well as mitigation policies on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Men and women relate to and use the forest differently and so may experience the effects of climate change and REDD+ policies differently. Investigations through semi-structured interviews and document reviews in three countries of the region revealed that women have had limited participation in discussions on issues of climate change or REDD+. There is some evidence that gender consideration will become part of future national REDD+ strategies. Strategies to foster the effective participation of all stakeholders are essential to ensure that gender dimensions are addressed in issues of climate change, forest access, forest management and distribution of carbon benefits.

This first document gives you an overview of the COBAM project, its objectives, its components and the framework in which it will be implemented in the Congo basin. The COBAM project will make available information on climate change along with its research results, in a format accessible to all.

This paper discusses the discourses on climate change adaptation and mitigation that are currently at the forefront in the Congo Basin. On mitigation, the forests have enormous opportunities to contribute to the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) mechanism. But the forest itself and its multiple dependent societies and sectors need to adapt to potential climate risks. Hence, actors are debating the design of climate change policy in the forest sector.

The Council of the Lake Tanganyika and the rivers of Burundi being in the Basin of Congo. In this article you will find the following titles: (1) Why a council of the rivers? (2) The situation became unbearable (3) an acceptable compromise (4) the Ntahangwa river and the anarchistic exploitations (4) the respect of the rights of the ground (5) Our lamentations (6) the code of water

 Following a review of old logging titles, the forestry sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) still faces many governance challenges. Communities lack knowledge of forest law and policies due to poor access to legal regulations and guidelines. The sector is characterized by corrupt practices and a culture of impunity. Sanctions against defaulters lack terribly and ths fail to act as a deterrent for illegal logging. This, combined with frequent harassment by state agents, leads to an increase in illegal activities. There is insufficient institutional capacity for forest management, and a huge gap between policy and practice.

TRAFFIC strives to reverse current declines in wild species’ populations and related risks to local food security resulting from over-exploitation for meat and medicines.

An integrated framework for assessing conservation and development changes at the scale of a large forest landscape in the Congo Basin is described. The framework allows stakeholders to assess progress in achieving the often conflicting objectives of alleviating poverty and conserving global environmental values. The study shows that there was little change in either livelihood or conservation indicators over the period 2006 to 2008, and that the activities of conservation organizations had only modest impacts on either. Tropical Conservation Science Vol.3 (3):262-281, 2010

In this report, you will find COMIFAC’ activities during the first trimester which are oriented on the following topics: (1) Planning and monitoring of the convergence plan (2) Communication, sub-regional dialogue and capacity building, (3) International dialogue on forests and environment and promotion of the COMIFAC, (4) Coordination of the convergence plan implementation, (5) Statutory meeting

Please find in this document, the top 10 questions about FSC: 1. There are so many labels. Why should I buy FSC? What others say about FSC? What is the Forest Stewardship Council? What is the problem and what solutions does FSC offer? Why should I become FSC certified? Who makes the FSC rules? What changes do FSC rules require foresters to make? Who can become an FSC Member? Why was FSC created? How is FSC funded? Read more…

This document highlights the Congo Basin Program of the IDH which has now officially started its activities. The main objective of this program is to have an additional 4 million ha of forest concession certified by 2015. It’s an information sheet with more detailed information about the Congo Basin Program and the opportunities to become a partner.

The full report is available only in French.

This brochure shows how measures and policies can be designed in a way that helps both to control climate change, loss of biodiversity and to eradicate poverty. It identifies opportunities to establish a synergy and mutually strengthen the objectives of international agreements, especially the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as decisions taken the UN General Assembly in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF). "The importance of biodiversity and means of subsistence was recognized at different levels in the preparation of REDD-plus. In order to ensure these advantages, new levels of collaboration shall be required between the various actors at national and international levels.

The Congo Basin Forest Partnership aims to reconcile forest conservation with forest use. This article explains what a "policy network“ of this sort can achieve and where its limits lie. For more information contact: Dr Hans Schipulle - From 2007 to 2010 Coordinator – “Facilitator” of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership on behalf of BMZ, Bonn, Germany (hans.schipulle@gmx.de)

Source:  Rural 21: The international Journal for Rural Development, No 2 / 2011 Volume 45

This guide is simple and enables a better comprehension of the FSC certification  (Authors : Centre International d’Etudes Forestières et Environnementales - IMAFLORA: Instituto de Manejo e Certifi cação Florestale Agrícola (Imaflora))

In this report, you will find COMIFAC’ activities during the last trimester which are oriented on the following topics: (1) Information, communication and promotion of the COMIFAC, (2) promotion of the regional dialogue and the capacity building, (3) International Dialogue on forest and environment and regional programs and (4) Council of Ministers

This ninth biennial issue of State of the World’s Forests is being launched at the outset of 2011, the International Year of Forests. This Year aims to promote awareness and understanding of forests and forestry issues. The chapters assembled for this year’s State of the World’s Forests draw attention to four key areas that warrant greater attention during the International Year of Forests and beyond: (1) regional trends on forest resources; (2) the development of sustainable forest industries; (3) climate change adaptation and mitigation; and (4) the local value of forests.

Dans ce document, les auteurs dressent brièvement l’état des lieux de la foresterie et les secteurs y reliés et explorent les synergies relatifs aux nouvelles opportunités naissantes du financement du carbone. Ils commencent par présenter une évaluation des changements actuels dans l’utilisation des terres et des paysages dans le Bassin du Congo et leur impact sur des stocks de carbone. Ils explorent alors les synergies potentielles entre l’atténuation et les activités forestières dans la région et les premiers efforts existants vers le marché du carbone.

The trade in illegally harvested timber provides a living for more than 45,000 people, a major source of income for corrupt officials and not a cent for the state.

This analysis brief is aimed at facilitating understanding of the current state of the climate negotiations. It analyzes and suggests possible ways of moving forward in the negotiations in an educational format accessible to the general public. This analysis brief comprises an executive summary followed by a full report.

This analysis brief is aimed at facilitating understanding of the current state of the climate negotiations. It analyzes and suggests possible ways of moving forward in the negotiations in an educational format accessible to the general public. This analysis brief comprises an executive summary followed by a full report.

In this paper the authors question whether the opportunity cost approach used in many of the major global climate change studies provides realistic cost estimates for use in designing REDD+ programs

The present policy brief reports on some key results from Indonesia. New data suggests that one-third of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation originates from areas not officially defined as ‘forest’. Accounting for carbon in the whole landscape and Reducing Emissions from All Land Uses (REALU) can make emissions reductions more effective.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the substantive results of the Copenhagen Conference, including the status of the negotiations on the key issues under the formal negotiating tracks and the provisions of the Copenhagen Accord, and to draw implications for implementation of actions in developing countries. It is important to note that the analysis in this paper is based upon the UNFCCC negotiating texts as they stand in February 2010.

Central African countries could save billions by investing in their lands, a study on the Costs of Land Degradation has revealed. Whether in the lush tropical forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin, or the drylands of northern Cameroon and Chad, illegal logging, deforestation and poor agricultural practices are costing the region approximately USD 5 billion every year. And this may be just the tip of the iceberg, with a more recent in-depth study warning that the annual bill could be up to USD 2 billion in Cameroon alone. Next to the considerable toll on countries' economies, long term ecosystem decline is aggravating food, health and energy crises and conflicts over the use of land, water and forest resources.

Between August 2006 and July 2008, the FAO and the ITTO jointly funded and convened five workshops - in Southeast Asia, West Africa, Central Africa, the Amazon Basin and Mesoamerica - to promote a multi-sectoral dialogue between countries on improving forest law compliance. The present policy brief summarizes the main findings of those workshops and highlights the lessons learned from experiences on the ground related to forest law compliance and governance elements necessary to optimize the role of forests in mitigating climate change.

This book includes case studies from Brazil, Cameroon, Guyana and Papua New Guinea, which serve as a basis for further analysis and recommendations for the development of laws and regulations for REDD. The report identifies the following four main themes central to ensuring successful REDD legal regimes and elaborates relevant legal and policy considerations with regard to each: (1) Ownership of Land, Forest and Carbon; (2) Participation, Balancing of Rights and Interests, and Prior Informed Consent; (3) Benefit Sharing; (4) Additionality and Permanence.

As pressure goes heavier on the eve of the Copenhagen conference on climate change slated from 7 to 18 December and which aims at finding an agreement with regard to REDD, Alain Karsenty, economist in the International Cooperation Centre in Agronomic Research for Development (CIRAD) and expert at the World Bank, warns against this danger during an interview granted to Le Monde newspaper in October 10, 2009 at 3:02 pm. The interview was recorded by Laurence Caramel.

The "Little REDD Book" is a guide to aid understanding of the UN mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

Whilst there are many reasons to ‘make REDD work for the poor’, notably the potential to enhance the sustainability of REDD systems by reducing conflict over resources, there are various interpretations of what this would mean in practice. Two major options include ‘no harm’ REDD, which aims to avoid increased threats to the poor, and ‘pro-poor’ REDD, which actively seeks to deliver benefits to the poor. Different stakeholders in REDD may be interested in different options, but there are concerns that adding poverty reduction objectives could reduce the overall effectiveness and efficiency of what is essentially an environmental mechanism.

This research study, financed by WWF and the Heinrich Böll Foundation,  has been undertaken as a joint exercise by Gareth Porter and researchers from the Overseas Development Institute. Overall advice and guidance has been provided by David Reed of the Macroeconomics for Sustainable Development Program Office, WWF.