The Fiji REDD-Plus Policy

Suva, Wednesday 09 March 2011

The Fiji REDD-Plus Policy will be launched by the Permanent Secretary of Fisheries and Forests on Wednesday 09 March 2011 at the Holiday Inn, Suva, Fiji. The Fiji Cabinet, on 07 December 2010, endorsed the Fiji National REDD-plus Policy.

Fiji recognises REDD-plus as an opportunity to contribute towards global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the socio-economic status of its forest resource owners and protect its forest ecosystems. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)/ Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Regional Programme Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region is supporting Fiji in its efforts to engage in a REDD-plus carbon financing mechanism through a REDD-readiness programme.

The policy is a first for the region and the participatory development process solicited inputs from all relevant stakeholders. With the increasing interest in REDD-plus, the Policy is very timely as it provides a national framework for implementation to interested REDD project developers.

Fiji has a forest cover of almost 1.1 million hectares, covering about fifty-six percent of the total land mass. Forest clearance, largely attributed to agriculture, can be observed on parts of Fiji. The country also has large areas of degraded and unutilised lands which has potential for reforestation and afforestation to increase carbon stock.

Scientists estimate that deforestation and forest degradation account for around 20 percent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) is an approach aimed at reducing the 20 percent of emissions related to forests through financial incentives. Forests are generally regarded as a source for financial and economical gain (agriculture, logging, land development etc.) and this often takes precedence over forest conservation or sustainable management. The REDD-plus concept links financial incentives to forest conservation, sustainable management, and enhancing and increasing carbon stocks for credits for carbon emissions avoided and/or carbon sequestered.

Developing the Fiji REDD-Plus Policy The first draft of the policy was developed during a consultation workshop where more than 50 stakeholders from various sectors and agencies came together to detail the country's requirements to implement REDD-plus. An important exercise in this consultation was the identification of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The 'drivers' refer to the human causes of carbon stock change and identification is necessary for developing an effective REDD-plus strategy and for establishing appropriate monitoring systems for these drivers. In drafting the national REDD-plus Policy, participants defined the appropriate scope, scale, MRV approach, distribution of benefits, institutional support, and safeguards for the implementation of REDD-plus in the country. Safeguards include ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous resource owners and local communities, consideration of gender issues, and the equitable distribution of benefits.

The draft REDD-plus Policy was finalised in July 2010 after intensive consultations, including the incorporation of relevant resolutions and recommendations from international meetings, and reviewing by international experts to ensure alignment with international policy language and developments.

ENDS

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