Grassroot newsletter 5th 10 02 15

Issue 5: February 2015

REDD+

Grassroots

Newsletter

Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+
Training and Capacity Building of Forest Sector Grassroots Stakeholders for
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Asia
Welcome to the REDD+ Grassroots Newsletter
HIGHLIGHTs
•฀ Grassroots฀Project฀key฀lessons฀were฀highlighted฀at฀COP฀20฀–฀The฀United฀Nations฀Climate฀
Change฀Conference฀in฀Lima,฀Peru.
•฀ Indonesian฀villagers฀were฀able฀to฀voice฀their฀concerns฀to฀policymakers฀for฀the฀irst฀time.฀
•฀ The฀Nepal฀country฀team฀took฀to฀the฀radio฀waves฀to฀raise฀awareness฀on฀climate฀change฀
and฀REDD+฀issues.
•฀ The฀Grassroots฀Project฀team฀developed฀a฀handbook฀on฀equity฀in฀climate฀change฀for฀
grassroots฀facilitators.
•฀ Vu฀Huu฀Than฀of฀RECOFTC฀Viet฀Nam฀shares฀his฀experiences฀developing฀REDD+฀sites฀in฀

Viet฀Nam.฀

Project updates from country
teams and partners
INDoNEsIa
The฀ Indonesia฀ country฀ team฀ delivered฀ a฀ range฀ of฀ capacity฀
development฀ programs฀ for฀ various฀ target฀ stakeholder฀ groups,฀
including฀for฀female฀community฀volunteers.฀Another฀initiative฀taken฀
by฀the฀Indonesia฀team฀was฀to฀gather฀grassroots฀concerns฀through฀
a฀ series฀ of฀ consultation฀ workshops.฀ Beginning฀ with฀ three฀ multistakeholder฀events฀at฀the฀grassroots฀level,฀these฀events฀progressed฀
up฀to฀the฀district฀level฀as฀the฀Indonesia฀team฀engaged฀with฀districtlevel฀policymakers,฀PERHUTANI-state฀owned฀enterprises,฀local฀CSOs,฀
academics฀ and฀ community฀ representatives.฀ These฀ consultations฀
were฀the฀irst฀time฀the฀grassroots฀stakeholders฀had฀an฀opportunity฀to฀
directly฀interact฀and฀share฀concerns฀with฀district-level฀policymakers.฀
Moreover,฀ this฀ participatory฀ approach฀ led฀ to฀ the฀ formation฀ of฀ a฀
working฀group฀on฀climate฀change฀and฀REDD+฀at฀the฀district฀level.฀
The฀ local฀ villagers฀ and฀ other฀ stakeholders฀ also฀ planted฀ trees฀ in฀
the฀ rehabilitation฀ areas฀ of฀ Meru฀ Betiri฀ National฀ Park,฀ indicating฀ a฀
commitment฀of฀the฀stakeholders฀towards฀increasing฀the฀forest฀cover฀
to฀address฀climate฀change฀impacts.

Lao PDR
With฀support฀from฀the฀National฀University฀of฀Laos฀and฀the฀Department฀
of฀ Forests,฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ key฀ focuses฀ of฀ the฀ Grassroots฀ Project฀ in฀
Lao฀ PDR฀ is฀ to฀ strengthen฀ the฀ capacity฀ of฀ grassroots฀ stakeholders฀
on฀ REDD+฀ social฀ safeguards฀ in฀ the฀ context฀ of฀ sustainable฀ forest฀
management฀ (SFM).฀During฀September฀ and฀ October฀of฀ 2014,฀ two฀
sub-national฀level฀training฀programs฀were฀organized฀for฀the฀district฀
level฀ staff฀ of฀ the฀ Provincial฀ Agriculture฀ and฀ Forestry฀ and฀ Provincial฀
National฀and฀Resource฀Management฀ofices฀and฀the฀members฀of฀the฀
Lao฀Women฀Union.฀During฀the฀trainings,฀the฀participants฀relected฀
on฀ the฀ key฀ challenges฀ of฀ implementing฀ REDD+฀ and฀ discussed฀
capacity฀development฀issues฀for฀various฀stakeholders.฀฀Some฀of฀the฀
key฀ capacity฀ development฀ needs฀ discussed฀ were:฀ strengthening฀
technical฀knowledge฀of฀REDD+,฀promoting฀access฀to฀information฀and฀
disseminating฀regular฀updates฀on฀REDD+฀and฀enhancing฀knowledge฀
of฀tools฀for฀communicating฀about฀REDD+฀to฀local฀people.

Participants translate and simplify REDD+ language into Lao at a training in Luang
Prabang.

Villagers discuss illegal logging practices during a consultation in Meru Betiri
National Park, Jember district.

Participants draw diagrams explaining the relationship of forests, livelihoods and
climate change at a training in Salavan province.

Police oficers and park rangers worked together to plant trees to reduce climate
change impacts.

MyaNMaR

NEPaL

Friends฀ of฀ Wildlife,฀ one฀ of฀ RECOFTC’s฀ partner฀ organizations,฀
organized฀a฀capacity฀development฀program฀in฀Yateshe฀Township฀for฀
grassroots฀REDD+฀stakeholders฀and฀focused฀on฀raising฀awareness฀at฀
the฀village฀level.฀Over฀800฀villagers฀attended฀the฀awareness-raising฀
events฀held฀in฀ifteen฀villages฀during฀September฀and฀October฀2014,฀
raising฀ key฀ issues฀ such฀ as฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ secure฀ tenure฀ and฀ access฀

rights฀to฀their฀land.฀

Over฀ the฀ past฀ few฀ months,฀ the฀ Nepal฀ country฀ team฀ implemented฀
several฀ REDD+฀ information฀ fairs฀ to฀ raise฀ awareness฀ at฀ the฀ district฀
level฀ about฀ issues฀ surrounding฀ REDD+฀ implementation฀ in฀ Nepal.฀
The฀ events฀ were฀ organized฀ in฀ collaboration฀ with฀ key฀ partner฀
organizations฀ and฀ related฀ agencies฀ in฀ the฀ districts฀ such฀ as฀ CARE฀
Nepal,฀ Multi฀ Stakeholder฀ Forestry฀ Programme฀ Nepal,฀ Rupantaran฀
Nepal฀and฀the฀district฀units฀of฀FECOFUN฀and฀HIMAWANTI.฀Over฀100฀
participants฀of฀both฀government฀and฀non-government฀sectors฀were฀
able฀to฀express฀their฀views฀on฀REDD+฀implementation฀issues฀during฀
the฀ inaugural฀ ceremony฀ of฀ the฀ event.฀ Discussions฀ on฀ sustainable฀
forest฀ management฀ and฀ REDD+฀ were฀ held฀ and฀ live฀ interviews฀ of฀
the฀related฀stakeholders฀were฀broadcast฀on฀the฀local฀radio฀after฀the฀
events.฀

The฀ villagers฀ of฀ Yateshe฀ Township฀ responded฀ to฀ the฀ awarenessraising฀events:฀
“After฀understanding฀the฀relationship฀between฀deforestation฀
and฀climate฀change,฀we฀are฀interested฀in฀helping฀to฀protect฀
forests฀and฀restore฀degraded฀areas.”

“We฀have฀been฀dealing฀with฀the฀impacts฀of฀climate฀change฀
in฀ recent฀ years;฀ we฀ are฀ ready฀ to฀ help฀ in฀ whatever฀ possible฀
way฀there฀is฀to฀slow฀down฀climate฀change.”
“We฀ should฀ protect฀ forests฀ because฀ climate฀ change฀ can฀
decrease฀social฀and฀economic฀well-being.”

The Nepal country team presented various communication tools at the information
fair, including books, brochures, pamphlets, posters and training manuals .

Villagers of Hlae-pwe-lay discuss REDD+ as a tool for climate change mitigation.

Grassroots participants perusing REDD+ information.

Villagers study a poster in Myanmar language developed by the Myanmar country
team explaining the beneits of REDD+ and the need for local involvement in REDD+
implementation.

Local radio DJs interviewing RECOFTC and project partner representatives live
during the REDD+ information fair.

Project news
CoP 20
Representatives฀ of฀ the฀ Grassroots฀ Project฀ team฀ participated฀ in฀ the฀
20th฀ Conference฀ of฀ Parties฀ (COP20)฀ in฀ Lima,฀ Peru,฀ presenting฀ in฀ a฀
side฀event฀on฀the฀experiences฀and฀challenges฀of฀REDD+฀safeguards฀
capacity฀ development฀ at฀ the฀ grassroots฀ level฀ in฀ the฀ Asia-Paciic฀
region.฀The฀representatives฀also฀participated฀in฀a฀pavilion฀on฀gender฀
mainstreaming฀ in฀ REDD+฀ (https://www.facebook.com/recoftc)฀
organized฀ by฀ the฀ Global฀ Gender฀ and฀ Climate฀ Alliance฀ during฀
Global฀ Landscape฀ Forum฀ on฀ 6-7฀ December฀ 2014฀ (http://blog.cifor.
org/26712/participatory-gender-research).฀ Learn฀ more฀ about฀ the฀
event฀ by฀ visiting฀ http://www.recoftc.org/events/recoftc-cop20฀ and฀
http://www.facebook.com/recoftc฀ or฀ http://www.iisd.ca/climate/
cop20/enbots/3dec.html#event5.฀
Regional coordinator of the Grassroots Project, Dr. Chandra Silori, explains the
challenges of REDD+ safeguards capacity development at the grassroots level in the
Asia-Paciic region

Grassroots team perspectives
REDD+ site-level planning in Viet Nam:

Experience from the field
One฀of฀the฀original฀UN-REDD฀pilot฀countries,฀Viet฀Nam฀is฀currently฀
in฀Phase฀II฀of฀the฀UN-REDD฀Programme,฀which฀will฀inish฀at฀the฀end฀
of฀this฀year.฀One฀of฀the฀key฀outputs฀of฀the฀current฀phase฀is฀Provincial฀
REDD+฀Action฀Plans฀(PRAPs),฀developed฀with฀site-based฀activity฀plans฀
for฀each฀REDD+฀site.฀The฀UN-REDD฀Programme฀selected฀RECOFTC฀
to฀implement฀the฀formulation฀process฀of฀such฀PRAPs฀in฀four฀villages฀
of฀Lam฀Dong฀province฀because฀of฀its฀experiences฀implementing฀the฀
Grassroots฀Project฀in฀Viet฀Nam.฀RECOFTC฀was฀also฀invited฀to฀provide฀
develop฀ capacities฀ on฀ REDD+฀ site-level฀ planning฀ over฀ the฀ course฀
of฀ May฀ through฀ December฀ 2014.฀ To฀ do฀ so,฀ RECOFTC฀ promoted฀ a฀
participatory฀planning฀approach฀throughout฀the฀process฀to฀develop฀
common฀ understanding฀ and฀ a฀ sense฀ of฀ shared฀ responsibility฀
between฀the฀stakeholders฀and฀to฀invite฀inclusive฀solutions,฀leading฀to฀
a฀stronger฀community฀commitment.฀
—Vu฀Huu฀Than,฀Training฀Coordinator,฀RECOFTC฀Viet฀Nam

Capacity development products: Featured publications
During฀the฀past฀few฀months,฀Grassroots฀Project฀produced฀the฀following฀key฀publications:฀

FPIC in REDD+: A handbook for
grassroots facilitators - Vietnamese
This฀ publication฀ has฀ been฀ developed฀
to฀ provide฀ support฀ to฀ local฀ trainers฀
and฀ facilitators฀ who฀ are฀ engaged฀ in฀
delivering฀ REDD+,฀ climate฀ change฀
training฀ and฀ capacity฀ development,฀
and฀ therefore฀ already฀ have฀ a฀ basic฀
understanding฀of฀these฀subjects.฀http://
www.recoftc.org/node/24884

Equity in climate change and
REDD+: A handbook for grassroots
facilitators
The฀ objective฀ of฀ this฀ question฀ and฀
answer฀ handbook฀ is฀ to฀ support฀
grassroots฀facilitators฀who฀are฀engaged฀
in฀ delivering฀ training฀ programs฀ on฀
promoting฀ social฀ equity฀ in฀ climate฀
change฀ mitigation,฀ speciically฀ in฀

REDD+.฀To฀access฀the฀handbook,฀please฀
visit:฀ http://www.recoftc.org/project/
green-mekong/training-manuals-andguides/equity-climate-change-andredd-handbook-grassroots-facilitators

Gender in REDD+: Q&A handbook –
Myanmar

Social equity in community forests:
Two case studies from Nepal

The฀main฀objective฀of฀the฀handbook฀is฀
to฀support฀local฀trainers฀and฀facilitators,฀
who฀ are฀ already฀ familiar฀ with฀ climate฀
change฀ and฀ REDD+.฀ It฀ provides฀ them฀
with฀ useful฀ information฀ on฀ gender฀
considerations฀ for฀ climate฀ change฀ and฀
REDD+฀ related฀ training฀ and฀ capacity฀
development฀ programs.฀ To฀ access฀ the฀
handbook,฀ please฀ visit:฀ http://www.
recoftc.org/node/24885฀

The฀ Nepal฀ country฀ team฀ produced฀
a฀ short฀ booklet฀ compiling฀ two฀ case฀
studies฀on฀the฀key฀aspects฀of฀equity฀and฀
its฀ application฀ in฀ selected฀ community฀
forests.฀ To฀ access฀ the฀ case฀ studies,฀
please฀ visit:฀ http://www.recoftc.org/
project/grassroots-capacity-buildingredd/research-papers/social-equitycommunity-forests-two-case-studiesnepal฀

This฀newsletter฀is฀published฀by:฀
Grassroots฀Capacity฀Building฀for฀REDD+฀in฀Asia
RECOFTC฀–฀The฀Center฀for฀People฀and฀Forests
P.O.฀Box฀1111,฀Kasetsart฀Post฀Ofice
Bangkok฀10903,฀Thailand
REDDgrassroots@recoftc.org
http://www.recoftc.org/project/grassroots-capacity-building-redd
Copyright฀©฀2015฀RECOFTC฀–฀The฀Center฀for฀People฀and฀Forests฀gives฀permission฀to฀make฀digital฀or฀hard฀copies฀of฀portions฀or฀all฀of฀this฀work฀for฀educational฀
or฀non-commercial฀purposes฀without฀fee฀or฀prior฀written฀consent฀provided฀the฀copies฀are฀not฀made฀or฀distributed฀for฀proit฀or฀commercial฀advantage฀and฀that฀
the฀source฀is฀fully฀acknowledged.฀Abstracting฀with฀credit฀is฀permitted.฀To฀copy฀otherwise,฀to฀republish,฀to฀post฀on฀servers,฀or฀to฀redistribute฀to฀lists,฀requires฀prior฀
speciic฀permission.฀Send฀written฀requests฀for฀republication฀to฀RECOFTC฀–฀The฀Center฀for฀People฀and฀Forests,฀P.O.฀Box฀1111,฀Kasetsart฀Post฀Ofice,฀Bangkok฀

10903,฀Thailand.฀Please฀email฀your฀queries฀to฀REDDgrassroots@recoftc.org
Disclaimer:฀The฀views฀expressed฀in฀this฀document฀do฀not฀necessarily฀relect฀those฀of฀RECOFTC฀–฀The฀Center฀for฀People฀and฀Forests฀and฀Norwegian฀Agency฀
for฀Development฀Cooperation฀(Norad).฀We฀disclaim฀any฀errors฀or฀omissions฀in฀the฀translation฀of฀this฀document฀from฀the฀original฀version฀in฀English฀into฀other฀
languages.

Issue 5: February 2015