Posted on July, 22 2014

Q: What is your role?
Our role is to establish REDD+ guidelines and mechanisms in Madre de Dios (MDD), Peru with the ultimate aim of reducing GHG emissions in the region. We also manage work related to strengthening governance in Madre de Dios.

Q: How did you get involved in this work?
In 2008, feasibility studies were undertaken, including the creation of the REDD consortium, formed by over 10 institutions – all with short timetables, but that got REDD work going in the area. Afterwards, in 2010, WWF supported the activation of the REDD Roundtable, which was eventually renamed “Environmental Services & REDD+ Roundtable” (MSAR in Spanish). Later in 2010, WWF and UNAMAD (the local university) carried out a special training course targeted at multiple institutions in Madre de Dios: an MRV diploma for REDD+. Through this certificate programme, members of several institutions – including institutions from the regional government – were duly trained in specific subjects that helped them better understand REDD+ topics such as deforestation, carbon stocks and forest inventory.

In 2013, the Regional Government of Madre de Dios (GOREMAD) undertook an active role in the process through the recognition of a space for participation, debate and discussions created through a regional ordinance. Moreover, this space also helps us with the capacity building of the MSAR’s members and officials. This is a long-term project with results focused on setting a deforestation baseline, which we did between 2008 and 2011. MDD is considered a priority area for REDD+ implementation. We not only participate at a national level, but we are also part of an important platform through our involvement in the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF), a unique international collaboration between 22 states and provinces from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Spain and the United States. MSAR has collaborated on other projects, such as the Regional Environmental Commission (CAR), which has one of the most active commissions in charge of developing the Regional Climate Change Strategy (ERCC). The products generated by MSAR are used as inputs to prepare this strategy.

Q: How long have you been working in REDD+?
We have been working in REDD+ since 2008. It has been a long and arduous process, mainly because it was a new idea then and nobody was interested in this subject. Here in MDD, the process started with private initiatives, such as MADERACRE’s REDD project, MADERACRE and MADERYJA (in a forest concession). AIDER also worked on a REDD project in the Tambopata National Reserve. These were the two early initiatives in REDD, and since then there have been many others.

Q: What is the most important thing to move REDD+ forward in MDD?
One of the most important things to move REDD+ forward here is to identify key stakeholders who are contributing to deforestation and then to work side by side with them to revert this situation. MDD is a biodiversity capital of Peru and that designation underscores the importance of halting deforestation. We must find the way to reduce pressures upon forests and generate more profitability to those working with resources in more deforested zones.

Q: Who are your key partners?
Our key partners are members of MSAR. To better understand this, it is important to point out that MSAR’s structure is based on working commissions and sub-commissions, each with a responsible institution. There is a participatory spirit within the MSAR that we enjoy. On the other hand, we also work with several NGOs, such as AIDER, on the deforestation baseline, and WWF-Peru in the carbon mapping. WWF-Peru is currently in charge of the Technical Secretariat, with aims to bolster specific actions of the MSAR’s sub-commissions.

Q: How do you collaborate with WWF? What do you do with them?
We have a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with WWF. In 2010, WWF-Peru focused on building capacities for officials, resource and planning management of GOREMAD and supporting the Amazon Indigenous REDD+ proposal, so we collaborated with them on that work. It is also worth mentioning that FENAMAD is the regional indigenous organization that focuses on issues related to indigenous peoples and ensures their well-being, and WWF collaborates with them too. WWF also provides key support for many studies of the deforestation baseline and carbon stock studies in the region. We believe the technical and financial support that WWF-Peru has provided to us has been critical.

Q: What is the biggest challenge for you in the REDD+ work?
One of our biggest challenges is how to better communicate, disseminate and make REDD+ work visible to communities who are not aware of REDD+ and its process. We believe that the technical nature of discussions and meetings has slowed down the process, because the language used is often hard to understand and full of jargon. We strongly believe that all the results must be translated into a simpler language to be more comprehensible to the public at large. The important thing is to communicate results with everybody and find the way to reach them. We have to include every single person during the process so they do not feel excluded.

Q: What is the biggest achievement you have seen in REDD+?
We have seen big strides in the technical aspects of our work, such as establishing the deforestation baseline and adapting it for MDD. Another important achievement is the capacity that has been built with GOREMAD officials and representatives.

Q: What is a lesson learned during the REDD+ work?
A lesson learned during the REDD+ work was the need to identify the collaborative work with key partners, as well as the translation of technical issues into simpler language to share it with farmers and other community members, among others, who were not fully aware of REDD+. We have also learned about the importance of stakeholder participation and that everybody must join in efforts to make it work. Finally, the need for coordination and communication efforts between the national and subnational government is quite vital; the lack of these efforts has delayed the process.

Q: What is your favourite part of this work?
Learning about and working on a daily basis with all of the technical aspects of REDD+ – deforestation, carbon stocks and reference levels.

(Reporting by Jhonathan Jara, WWF-Peru)