Review of Policy Frameworks for Effective REDD+ Implementation in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Other National Action Plans

The SDGs have raised a collective international ambition for the sustainable management and conservation of forests, an ambition, which is significant for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Prior to the adoption of the SDGs, many governments had existing policy objectives and commitments articulated in national and sectoral strategies and plans as well as in commitments to pre-existing international agreements. Since 2005, international approaches related to the sustainable management of forests were developed under the programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Later REDD was expanded to encapsulate the role of the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests in developing countries (REDD+). REDD+ is a climate change mitigation approach negotiated by Parties under the framework of the UNFCCC, which provides for developing countries to qualify for results-based payments for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the forest sector. Momentum continued with emission reduction measures such as the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in the context of sustainable development and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), aimed at tracking progress, were submitted by all Parties in advance of COP 21 in Paris in 2015. Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are considered paramount to achieving long-term goals and express the efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. There are significant, potentially mutually supportive linkages among the goals of REDD+ and Agenda 2030, providing a timely and critical opportunity to review policy frameworks for effective implementation of REDD+ in the context of SDGs, NDCs and other national action plans to ensure cross-sectoral coordination, coherent and inclusive outcomes. REDD+ is most closely related to SDG 13 (take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) and SDG 15 (protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems), which include the ambitious target of halting deforestation by 2020. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsâ?? (FAO) Forestry Department, undertook a detailed review of policy frameworks in three case study countries, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Indonesia and Peru. The case study analysis sought to enhance understanding of how REDD+ contributes to Agenda 2030 and how REDD+ and SDGs can be integrated within countriesâ?? policy frameworks. An analytical framework served as the guide for national level analyses to describe the country setting, overall strategic framework for SDGs and REDD+, policy inter-linkages, and the enabling environment. The analytical framework was used to review coherence, consistency and complementarity of policy and governance elements relevant for effective REDD+ implementation and alignment with SDGs and other national action plans. To advance REDD+ objectives in the SDG context, direct and indirect relationships between the elements of REDD+, REDD+ actions and specific SDGs, potential synergies and areas of contention and conditions, process and governance arrangements for each of the country case studies are illustrated and discussed. A cross-country synthesis and relevant literature was used to highlight emerging insights and develop recommendations for national governments to enhance mutual support among SDG and REDD+ frameworks

F Bernard, 'Review of Policy Frameworks for Effective REDD+ Implementation in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Other National Action Plans', p.102, 2018