Posted on September, 05 2012
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Emissions Reduction Programme Idea Note (ER-PIN) will be officially submitted in mid-September 2012 for financing consideration by the Carbon Fund of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The ER-PIN process was developed by the FCPF as a mechanism for evaluating and selecting REDD+ initiatives for financing through the FCPF Carbon Fund. The World Bank, which is the FCPF secretariat, and Carbon Fund partners will assess the DRC ER-PIN to determine whether it should receive financing through the fund, a critical boost for the DRC to realize its commitment to REDD+ implementation at scale.
The development of DRC’s ER-PIN was a participatory process that included input from all REDD+ stakeholders in the DRC including the government, private sector, international and local NGOs, and leaders of local communities and indigenous peoples. WWF believes that the ER-PIN process is an important milestone for the DRC because it will enable REDD+ to be developed at scale by the country. In addition, it provides the opportunity to define the DRC’s national REDD+ strategy and to apply it to a specific site, in this case the 30,000 square kilometer landscape of Mai Ndombe in DRC's Bandundu Province. Through this process, key data has been determined for Mai Ndombe including drivers of deforestation, reference levels, activities essential to REDD+ implementation, implementation costs, etc. In addition, the process provides the opportunity for key stakeholder concerns to be raised and addressed.
“WWF considers the completion of this ER-PIN a significant milestone as DRC continues towards REDD+ implementation at scale,” said Bruno Perodeau, WWF-DRC Forest Programme Manager, “and we are supporting the DRC government in this initiative to ensure the participation of all stakeholders and that the co-benefits of REDD +, both social and environmental, benefit local communities and indigenous peoples the DRC.”
Local communities and indigenous peoples have a prominent place in the ER-PIN as the overall strategy focuses on participatory zoning and recognition of their customary rights. They are also key beneficiaries and stakeholders, particularly in the implementation of activities such as forest conservation, reforestation and protection against savanna wildfire.
“The most important thing now is to continue implementing pilot activities with local communities and other stakeholders,” said Perodeau, “and to validate joint mechanisms such as benefit sharing, before expanding the initiative over the entire province.”
“This program of emission reduction is planned over a period of 10 years and can be begin in 2015 if the tests are conclusive and extended consultation,” concluded Perodeau.
http://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/fcp/sites/forestcarbonpartnership.org/files/Documents/PDF/June2012/FCPF%20Brouchure_June%2013_2012.pdf
(Reporting by WWF-DRC’s Jolly Sassa Kiuka)
