READINESS TO IMPLEMENTATION

Lessons and Experiences from Zambia

Presented by: Deuteronomy Kasaro

National REDD+ Coordinatordeutkas@yahoo.co.uk7th November, 2014

Outline

1. Zambia's Approach to Strategy Development

2. Some Major Achievements to Date

3. Understanding the Support Required to Transit from Readiness to Implementations

4. Lessons Learned and Experiences from Readiness to Implementation

5. Challenges and Opportunities for Zambia

6. Proposed UN-REDD Support

From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

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ZAMBIA APPROACH TO REDD+ READINESS

01

02

Background to the REDD+

readiness process

Defining a strong nationalvision to guide REDD+strategy

Zambia’s approach

to REDD+ strategy

03Bringing REDD+ strategydevelopment into the coreof REDD+ Readiness

04Development of a REDD+strategy roadmap

05 Connecting the dots:bringing analytical work

together

Partnership buildingand coordination

06

Institutionalization of theREDD+ developmet

process

07

Stakeholder engagement08

Mainstreaming andsupport to legal and policyprocesses

09

.

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From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

Some Major Achievements● REDD+ integrated into Government budgetary frameworks

● Completion of the draft strategy: Draft REDD+ Strategy available and Zambia is demonstrating its global and national commitments to promote REDD+.

● FREL/FRL: Landcover Mapping (1990, 2000, 2010) completed and Forest Inventories in almost 10 Provinces conducted as a basis for FREL/FRL development. Approach to FREL/FRL integrated into draft REDD+ strategy

● National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS): Web portal established for NFMS and ready to be launched. GIS Unit (Laboratories) established in all the 10 provinces

● Safeguards Information System (SIS): Country approach to safeguards already outlined with strong stakeholder consultations in all the 10 provinces with representatives from the 104 Districts. To be integrated with already established REDD+ Wiki linked to NFMS and web portal

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From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

Understanding Support Required for REDD+

Basis for Result Based Payments

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Lessons Learned and Experiences from Readiness to Implementation

● All the 4 REDD+ elements (Strategy, FREL/FRL, FMS, Safeguards) must be handled at the same time as it will help in sequencing of activities and building stronger synergies

● Avoid over ambitious programme so that a country can focus on the major elements leading to results based actions and future results based payments

● Mainstream REDD+ into key national policies and legislations to support REDD+ implementation (i.e. building on existing institutional arrangements in Zambia and mainstreaming core elements of REDD+ into national policies)

● Recognise ongoing/initiatives and broker strategic partnerships at early stages for potential investment financing. Zambia worked very closely with World Bank, Norway, Finland, USAID, GEF, UN-REDD agencies and other stakeholders for collaboration (note: upcoming Jurisdictional REDD+ in Eastern Province through BIOCF emerged from such partnerships. Also, ongoing GEF 5 and LDCF programmes (regeneration programme) are intended build foundation for REDD implementation

●

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From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

● Need to enhance capacity development for key stakeholders in order to facilitate an integrated approach and enable different work streams implemented concurrently in a coordinated manner

● REDD+ is an incentive based mechanism and hence there is need to explain it well to avoid creating over expectations.

● Devolve financial and Programme Management to implementing institutions to facilitate leadership and ownership during readiness

● REDD+ Readiness should be facilitated by a single institution in order to ensure coordinated efforts

From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

Transiting from REDD+ Readiness: Some Challenges/Experiences

● A good Strategy and effective consultative processes is not enough to move to Result-Based Payments stage

● There is a huge gap between the Strategy development and Result Based Payment stage (i.e. how to support countries in phase 2 on investments is generally assumed but has not been clearly thought through even at global level)

● The level of investment required in order to benefit from results based payments is huge and may not be readily available right after strategy development amidst competing demands at the country level and in the absence of an agreed financing at global UNFCCC level

● Therefore, there is need to support systems for Result-Based Actions and investments (act as motivators and incentives for action) since these are the basis for creating Result-Based Payments

● Transition from Readiness to implementation is fluid so REDD+ Readiness programmes should be designed keeping the transitional process in mind and how this will be done, that is have “a good exit strategy”

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From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

Transiting from REDD+ Readiness: Some Opportunities

● Zambia is concluding a robust strategy that defines how to address and guide the country on how to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

● All the 4 key elements of the Warsaw framework are in place (Strategy, FREL, MFMS, SIS). However:

● Zambia needs to be further supported as one of the “early movers” to continue putting in place effective systems for REDD+ (learning by doing) as a process of building confidence and trust among stakeholders and partners towards REDD+ implementation

● There is need to build on the good momentum built in line with UNFCCC and to ensure that there are no major gaps from readiness to implementation (i.e. avoiding the risk of eroding all the major gains made and interest mobilized)

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From REDD+ Readiness to Implementation

Proposed UN-REDD Support and Way Forward

● Immediate actions: The government plans to seek for targeted support to help:

– Develop an investment plan for the REDD+ strategy starting January for 2015;

– Put in place functional systems to trigger partnerships and investments based on strategy;

– Engage with key development partners and private sector

● UN-REDD: Countries with strategies including Zambia to be supported with:

– Financing of selected aspects of REDD+ implementation (enable functional systems)

– Its transitional plan from Readiness to implementation

This is to ensure that the years of hard work are capitalized on and leveraged with minimal or no gaps.

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Thank you for your attention