What is REDD+
R – Reducing
E – Emissions from
D – Deforestation and forest
D – Degradation
+ – Forest Conservation Sustainable Forest Management and Carbon Stock Enhancement
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for about 12% of all global greenhouse gas emissions and are, therefore, a major contributor to climate change.
REDD+ is an effort to reduce carbon emissions and increase carbon stock in the forestry sector. It is a forest-based climate change mitigation framework which provides potential economic benefit for developing countries. The five activities for REDD+ are: 1.) Reducing Deforestation, 2.) Reducing forest Degradation, 3.) Forest Conservation, 4.) Sustainable Forest Management and 5.) Carbon Stock Enhancement (the acronym REDD+).
The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Conference of the Parties (COP16), Cancun 2010 decision encourages developing countries to contribute to reducing Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the forest sector by undertaking REDD+ activities.
The Phases of REDD+ in Belize:
REDD+ requires years of 1.) Planning (Readiness), 2.) Implementation of Strategic Actions and 3.) Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of Actions.